I Chose to Educate

By Vanessa Carvajal

I always thought that my calling was not to teach. Nevertheless, the experiences lived in my practicum have changed my way of thinking, and every time I feel stronger desires of turning not into a teacher, but into the best, with fresher ideas that will help to change what is established, and thereby, boys and girls will feel the English language closer in their lives, and not as something difficult to learn. As a practicum student, it has been very comforting at the end of the day to feel that I have delivered something of myself to the pupils of the school, whose behavior, maybe, has not been the best, but it helps me to learn techniques of group managing; they must see me as a teacher, and not as an equal young woman, and it is what has been the hardest for me: to be less friendly and become more strict with them, but I know that I still have lots of things to learn about my calling that I have lately found, but than makes me feel proud and happy. So now I can say that to teach is my vocation, and that is why I chose to educate!

A New Member in the Family

By Carolina Delgado

            If you've lived your whole life as an only child in your family, where everyone will make your life easier and simpler, where only a shout or a pot gives you the gift that you want, a new member in the family can be horrible for you. When my nephew of 6 years knew he was going to have a brother, he was jumping up and down out of joy. But when he was born, my oldest nephew felt ignored and excluded, because everybody’s attention went to the new baby. To me it was funny when he cried to us and he told us that nobody loved him, but he probably felt terrible. The whole family talked with him and we told him that our love didn’t changed, that we loved them both the same, it was just that his new brother was younger and he needed more attention. In the end, he understood, he matured and started to behave like a good big brother. So if you are going through the same thing, think that a new member can be more fun, also you really don’t want to be the only one who takes care of your parents when they are old.

My Ideal Job

By Daniela Varas

                  I love all kinds of jobs related with people interaction, but if I had to choose an ideal job I would choose to be a famous musician and singer. Since I was a child I always had talent for music. I learnt how to sing, how to play the piano and I took acting classes. I am also an excellent composer. I have written a lot of songs. But I have never practiced my talent, because everybody tells me that being singer will never be a real profession and it will not last for ever. I know that being a famous musician could be a really difficult job. However, I want to be recognized for my music, for the lyrics of my songs and the emotion of my melodies. If I had to choose someone to work with, it would be Celine Dion. Definitely, she would help me to improve my talent and it would be an honour to sing with her. She is a recognized singer with a terrific talent, an amazing voice and a fantastic career in music. But no matter whom I sing or I play with, for me the objective of being famous for my songs is to pass on the emotion and the sense of my lyrics. Besides, for me it is very important to be an example for young people today because is a good way to say that there are other ways to be happy and successful. Maybe if you have the talent you should do what you like.

How the Internet has Changed my Life

By Gonzalo Frez

                        Since Internet became available to me, my life changed a lot. I would say it changed everybody's lives. It is a door to the world, indeed, removing boundaries and restrictions which made some things impossible before. As for me, I had to go to libraries, look information up on magazines, newspapers, and books, whereas now I can search through a few websites and have all the information I need without leaving my desk. Also, the best way of entertainment was to watch T.V., or play with friends. However, since the Internet became massively available, I can play with my friends online games, watch videos on Youtube, read news on blogs and online newspapers, and much more! And there have been also many improvements in communication! The telephone is becoming obsolete for me, since I can use Skype to talk with my girlfriend, or use I.M. Services as MSN Messenger to chat with my friends. I can talk to many people at once, while doing several other things, whereas when I used the phone I could only talk to one person, and could only talk, and not do anything else. I think the Internet changed my life a lot, it made everything easier and more accessible.

Domestic Violence

By Carolina Gozategui

One of the most worrying problems that is affecting our country, is the domestic violence, and the real cause of this, is the increase of chauvinism in men. Chauvinism frustrates women’s dignity, and men’s physical violence can cause even women’s death. Nowadays, women are incapable to confront this problem. They are battered psychological and physically, and most of the time they do not talk to someone who can be a support for them, or maybe go immediately to the police and leave some evidence about what happened. They are always frightened of the reaction of their husbands. In fact, in the capital of Chile, Santiago, 50.3% of women have lived some type of violence in their marriage. Therefore, this must be stopped. We can not tolerate that men hurt women without any conscience, causing even death in some cases. The dignity and life go first. And if you know somebody that is suffering this type of violence, you must go immediately to the police and let them know what is happening. A women’s worth is very important, and nobody should attempt against their lives, and of course, their dignity.

Financial Problems

By Oscar Castillo

                  Nowadays some of the most important problems in society are financial problems, and even more importantly is when it happens in your family. One of the factors that causes financial problems is that things are too expensive now, so people who do not have enough money to pay for their needs, cannot live well. My family had financial problems one time and it was awful, we did not have money to pay debts and to buy basic things. That was a very difficult time in my family’s life. For that reason money is so important now, if you want something you will need the money to get it. If you have the chance to watch interviews done to thieves you can notice that they are people who did not have an education, and that is because their parents did not have money to pay school fees and they went to the streets and steal money in order to live well. Finally, money has become in one of the most important things in life, because if you do not have it, life could be more difficult.

Pollution's Terrifying Effects

By Esteban Farias

                   Nowadays the earth is suffering unbelievable changes and pollution is one of the principal causes of them. People are unaware of the great damage that is caused to the earth, for example, people are always throwing the rubbish where it is not supposed to be done and people do not think about how dangerous that is. Forests are getting smaller and smaller because we do not replant the trees when they are cut and this means there is less oxygen in the air. Deserts are getting larger and larger because of the weather which has been changing constantly producing hotter temperatures. The ozone layer has been in a large amount destroyed producing that the sun’s rays hit directly the earth, affecting people’s health and this is because humans are polluting the air. The sea has suffered from lots of oil spills which are very dangerous and can cause terrifying problems like the death of millions of sea animals. The greenhouse effect is also a worrying problem; for instance, more and more heat is being kept in the earth and this can produce that the ice caps are melting, flooding lots of places near the coasts. A really terrifying fact because more than a half the world’s population live near the coast and this is all because all of us are producing greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, which is produced by burning oil, coal, gas, etc. There is enough information about what governments, businesses and people should do in order to slow down global warming. For example, always turn off TVs, DVD players, computers or any kid of electrical equipment since machines use 70 % as much electricity on stand-by as when they are being used. Recycling is another important point if we want to repair all the damage we have caused to the earth. In the end, every day the earth is getting worse because of us. Therefore, if something is not done quickly we will destroy our home.

Technology Versus Communication: Are we really connected?

By Ronny Roman

                Most of the people in the world now have a computer, a modern mobile or an easy internet access device which gives them the chance to communicate with other people everywhere and whenever you want, but people forget that they can talk to someone else personally.  Some people spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer or talking on their mobiles and they prefer to do that instead of talking to the people around them. In my family, for example, my younger brother spends lots of time sitting in front of the computer, chatting or playing, and we just can talk with him. At 8 pm when we are having tea, he is very nervous because he needs to come back quickly to the computer. I cannot bear that situation anymore; therefore I had a talk with him, however he did not understand what I think. Maybe the technology comes to make our lives easier, but we should live with technology instead of living for it.

Friendship also has its Limits

By Cindy Molina

            Friendship is important for our life but it has also its limits. Most people have friends; we enjoy good moments with them and we usually share our problems because we trust them. Definitely a friend is a person that we love, but, some friends could confuse the confidence and do not respect your private life. For example, it happened to me a while ago. I used to have a friend that I told all my secrets and problems. We used to be close friends until the day she begun to call me all day long or leave me messages because I did not invited her to a party or to my house. This behavior was very strange and she was driving me crazy, I decided to get away from her because we were too different. Fortunately, now I have friends that understand me. I think that friends are very important for us but they have to respect our private life as well.

One of a Kind

By Mauro Sáez

              Learning is a well- known natural psychological process where we acquire some knowledge. This can be shown in many differents ways and sometimes we learn some behaviors and we acquire them from someone we admire. In my special case, I learn something, but it meant more than a specific topic, I learnt inspiration for teaching and the person who is responsible for that is the woman that I invite you to read ahead. Sue Sylvester is the most amazing person that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I know her for almost a year. In July of 2009 she made her first appearance. She is one of the main characters in a TV series called Glee. She has worked as a teacher for 10 years, when she was younger she was lost, she had a lack of motivation. She didn’t know what to do with her life, but since she found the passion for teaching she has always found the way to succeed in life and now she teaches her students everything that she can so they can achive their goals. She is tall, blonde and she’s gorgeous. The thing that inspires me the most of her is the fact that she’s so strong and she’s hard with her students but she still shows that she has a heart because she can be the sweetest thing when she wants to, she’s just pure inspiration for teaching. She’s is just one of a kind. I’ve never seen someone like her before in my life.

My Brother

By Juan Eduardo Espinoza

I think that an exceptional person should be somebody who is a good person and a role model for other people. The person that I choose is someone who really helps me when I need it, he is always there for me and I think he is great. He is my brother Alan Espinosa, he is a tall guy, bold and an outgoing person, but he is really serious when he has to. He is a biologist and an excellent professional, because since he was a child he loves bugs and little animals. I think that he studied what he really loved, and that is admirable. But the quality that I like the most is his ability to hear and help me, even though sometimes there are some little things, he is always there to give me some good advice, even if he has had a hard day, he is always there to listen to me, I think that all brothers should have a relation like the one my brother and I have. 

What am I going to study?

By Nicole Cruces 

                Deciding what you are going to study is always a difficult question in life. When you leave high school you have to decide which course your life will follow. You have to decide, whether you are going to study something or not. If your answer is positive, you will have to deal with a lot of factors. Friends and family´s opinions are important factors in your decision. Some teenagers never study what they really want; because their families do not support them. On the other hand, your likes and your abilities are the most important factors. You have to think about these questions, what do you like? , and what can you do best? In my case, when I decided to study English it was a difficult decision that I had to take. Even though my knowledge of English was little, I decided to be brave and make my major effort in order to do what I really wanted. Now I can say that making big efforts is the best way to overcome your own obstacles. But, it is really important that you can enjoy studying what you really want, because if you do not, you are going to be unhappy and people are not going to get anything good from you. Psychologists are worried about this too, for example: María Soledad del Río, Psychologist from the Catholic University of Chile says: “Nowadays with many alternatives to study is more necessary in young people the need to choose a course of study with greater accuracy and safety”. Due to all these reasons, this big question has to be answered with carefulness and maturity in order to achieve your goals in life.

An Exceptional Person: Hugh Jackman, my Favourite Multifaceted Man

By Maria Rojo

                  Hugh Jackman is the most multifaceted man I have ever met. When I was a child I watched the movie “X-Men” and I just fell in love with the main character, Wolverine, a savage super hero who had lost his memory. I started searching more information about the actor, his name was Hugh Jackman, a multifaceted Australian guy who started being an actor, a dancer and a singer in musicals in Sidney, but he didn’t become famous until he did the musical “The Boy from Oz”. Then, he started doing movies. He acted in X Men, becoming the most wonderful, mysterious and good looking superhero of comics. Hugh Jackman is a kind of person that does many things, he has enough energy to act, sing, dance, do exercises two hours a day and to spend time with his family. According to his wife he is an amazing father! He loves everything that he does and he never feels tired. I think that he is my ideal man; I have never met someone like him.

Children’s Behaviour is a difficult issue for Teachers

By Jazmin Espinoza

 

                    In my opinion one of the most important issues we will have to deal with as a teacher is the behaviour of the children. It seems to me that they do not care about having respect for others at all. Apparently they are careless about other people’s feelings. I think it is because they are not educated as well as people used to be, maybe one of the reasons of this is because their parents are not as present as old generations used to be, whether it is because they have to work or because they are not concerned about their children’s education. There is, however, another factor that makes difficult the teacher’s job, and it is that kids do not seem to be worried about their future, nowadays this may be because one part of children population have all they want easily, whether it is a new game or a homework done. Everything they “need” can be found on the internet, or be given from their parents, and it is something that makes kids think everything is easy to get, and so, they do not make any effort to get something. On the other hand, there are children who barely have the things that cover their needs, and they grow up believing that they are never going to be able to have a better life, and that is why they think there is no sense in trying to improve their lifestyle. Those are for me the most important factors that make children’s behaviour one of the most difficult obstacles that teachers have to come across.

Vampire Life

By Leandro Sanchez

            Since I was a teenager, I have had problems to fall asleep. It started when I turned 13 years old, and it has been a nightmare. In simple words, what happens to me is that I cannot fall asleep during the night, so I am tired all day long, and if I have a day off, I use it to sleep, and not because I want to, but because I need to. I have to admit that I have tried everything: from counting sheep, to reading books; from blinking forty times, to taking a relaxing hot bath before going to bed. I even tried drinking a tepid glass of milk, and if there is something that I really hate, that would be milk! At some point, I got really tired of trying the natural tips, so my mom and I decided that it was time for me to visit the doctor, and he told me that I was suffering from insomnia, but neither of us was surprised, because it was the obvious answer. So he said that I needed to take pills and I accepted it, but I left the pills two months after, because I decided that it was not the kind of life that I wanted to live; I was not going to be a pill freak! Nowadays, I am just dealing with this disorder. I accepted the fact that I live like an owl during the night and a zombie during the day. I hope someday, or some night in my personal case, I will find the way to sort my problem out and start sleeping as normal people do.

Distance Relationships

By Henriette Sasso

Keeping a distance relationship is very difficult, especially when you feel really lonely and when you need that special person who can comfort you. By this I mean any kind of relationship, like the ones you have with your family, friends or your couple. In my case, almost every important person in my life lives in others cities, far away from Valparaiso. That is why there are many moments when I feel lonely. In those cases I communicate with them on internet, and in that way I feel that all of them are right beside me. The best thing of this is that when I see my family and my friends, it is like the time has not passed. When you have important people away from you, you should keep in touch with them and always tell them how much you love them, and tell them about your life and the things that have happened to you, even if it has to be through the internet, so they will always feel part of your life, because being apart can be very painful.

Take Care of your Heart!

By Marco Acevedo

As we all know, a lot of people have suffered from a love disappointment, at least once. Heart and love problems are really harmful and damaging. These problems keep us sad, unhappy and heartbroken for a certain time, sometimes they can take a long time to get over, especially when the one you really love hurts you. There are some people, especially men that drink in order to erase their memories, at least that is what they think so…and there are people who get depressed, especially women. I think love is always dangerous, but at the same time it is the best thing that can occur in your life, it is like a game; in a game you can either win or lose, but there will be always another option: “start a new game”. So feel sad if you have to, get drunk, and get depressed. However, keep in mind that the sun always will come out no matter if clouds are darkening your sky now!

Respect for Animals

By Romina Gallardo

Nowadays, people seem to forget how to treat living beings. Every day we walk by hundred of dogs or cats and we do not pay attention to what is going on with them. They live in precarious conditions and they do not have anything to eat, only leftovers.  People complain about them because they can spread diseases, but they do not understand that all these problems are produced by human beings and their irresponsibility. In fact, I knew about a protest against people who wanted to kill strays dogs in Valparaiso because of those diseases. Another example of this problem is that the other day I was going to the university and I saw a dead dog in the street and I realized that nobody cares about that kind of situations and they just avoid them. People should be worried about their own behaviour with these living beings who really need love and respect.

Working as a Salesman would be The Best Job for me.

By Diego Urbina

            If you asked me what kind of job I want to choose to work, I would choose something related to sales and music, because I am a sales technician. I studied this in High School and when I had to do my practicum I did it in three different places: a drugstore, a cyber café and a shop store. I did not like any of those jobs, because in the first one I had to trick people in order for them to buy expensive medicines; in the second one, I had to work too much and I did not earn enough money; and in the last one, I had an unfriendly and inconsiderate boss. However, since I was a child I liked music and dancing. Some people told me about the idea of working as a dancer... I think I would earn a lot of money, but I still think it is not a good idea for now, because I have to be fit first. Nonetheless, if I work I think I want to do it on my own, starting a new music store company which will sell music CDs, music DVDs, books and movies. I know… it sounds like “Feria Mix”, but I believe it would be the best job for me, because I love music and I love seeing people’s face when they buy the things they like and especially when they are happy because of this.

Ways of Losing Weight: One healthy, The other one dangerous

By Patricia Manriquez

               Weight loss is one of the most talked about health issues nowadays. Lots of people are unhappy with their present weight, whereas there are very few people that are happy with their weight. They want to look like the models or actors in magazines and on TV, but we have to be realistic.  There isn’t a magical diet that will help you lose kilos or pounds in a few days. If you stop dieting, it is probable that you will gain some weight. The same thing happens with pills that decrease the urge to eat. These methods can’t make you look like someone else. However we can lose weight in a healthy way. For example, if we go to the doctor, it is the nutritionist who will tell us how many kilos we lose according to our height and weight and what foods can be eaten, another way to lose weight is to do exercises like sports or jumping rope, dancing, walking 15 minutes every day, trying to spend as many calories as possible. Finally it is very important  to eat fruits, vegetables and drink a lot of water because they improve our health, help our bodies and most importantly, do not make you fat.

I Used To Be

By Francesca Ibarra

                    Ten years ago my life was very different to now; I mean it has changed in every aspects: psychological, physical, etc. For example I used to be very shy and introverted. To socialize was very uncomfortable for me. I felt afraid to talk with strange people, whereas now I am an extroverted girl who loves to meet new people, I think that all of this is thanks to having confidence. Another thing that has changed in my life are my grades and it is a pity because I used to get good marks and now it is very difficult to get them; I only receive fours and fives (four is the minimum passing grade, on a scale from one to seven).  Finally I think it is worth mentioning, responsibility. Before, I lived with my mother and my grandmother so I did not have another responsibility besides of going to school. Money was not a theme in my life and if I had a problem I turned to my mother, but now I am utterly responsible to myself. I live alone and I do not have my mother close to me. Consequently, I have to manage my money. However, I prefer my life now because I love being independent.

Why Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mr Bungle are not the same

By Chris Errickson

                   Rock fans know for sure there that there is no comparison between Mr. Bungle and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I mean, they both have a strong bass line, that goes from funky to rock, and both singers dressed pretty similar in the early 90’s on their live shows. Mike Patton from MR. Bungle, is one of the best voices (if he’s not the best) and one the most influential singers of all time, but Anthony Kledis from red hot chilli peppers is the weak part of his band. Also some people may say that Mr Bungle has an inspiration on Red Hot Chilli Peppers, because the Peppers are older and world famous. Some people say they Mr Bungle copied the sound of the Peppers; they even use the same name in 1999 records “Californication” (RHCP) and “California” (Mr. Bungle). But this is just coincidence, in fact, both records are great and, I think they don’t have a single thing in common, Mr. Bungle’s “California” went straight into the mind of a pshyco, and made a hell of a record, and Red Hot’s “Californication”, changed the sound of the band from what they where doing so far. You may classify the Peppers sound as Funk, or Funk Rock. But you can’t classify Mr. Bungle’s sound, it flows in all directions, and your mind gives him a meaning, they can have a beautiful song, a nice tune, and the lyric talks about suicide. The road both bands had to travel to do their own music is pretty different. You can’t compare these bands because in rock n’ roll history they are like the sun and the moon, black and white, you name them.

My Dearest Roommate

By Camila Contreras

                             Being really good friends doesn’t mean that you will be really good roommates, I realized that after I graduated from high school. In my first year of university, I lived with some friends from high school. We were close friends. However it wasn’t a good experience. If you plan living with your friends, the more prepared you are for the ups and downs, the better you will all feel. I had to go to the university in Playa Ancha, so I needed a place for living in Viña del Mar, so I decided to do it with my friends. We were four, Fernando, Luis, Marco and I. We were really good friends, thus sharing a flat or an apartment should not be a problem. Our decision was to live together in Viña del Mar. We found an apartment and we started living together. At first, everything was alright. But, after the first month, the problems started. My friend, Luis, was very messy, filthy and he never tidied up the apartment and, at the same time, he was always delayed with his bills. We did not say anything at the beginning because of our friendship, but then, one day, I arrived home earlier than I usually did and I found him eating and drinking our things with his friends from university; I felt betrayed and angry, now I think that event was the straw that broke the camel's back. The same night, we talked to him. We had an argument and finally, after a week of not talking with anybody, he decided to leave the apartment. Of course he never paid anything and from then on, we never talked to him again. My friendship with the rest continues until now. We always remember the problem; we think that the main problem was the lack of respect, and this situation helped me to think my decisions well before making them. I will always remember the lesson that I learnt, that being really good friends doesn’t mean that you will be really good roommates.

Hard Work Can Be Satisfying

By Stephanie Araya

Since I was a child I have liked to get things based on my effort, because many times I have discovered that hard work can sometimes be satisfying. When I was in high school in the year 2008, I wanted to get into a good university and years later become an excellent English teacher; I know if I haven’t gotten a good grade in the PSU, I would not have enrolled in the university next year. In February 2008 I registered in CEPECH, because I knew that that preparation course was one of the best of the city, so I could be more prepared to take that difficulty test and also I wanted to study a lot for that, so I thought that CEPECH was the best place to reach my goal. As the months passed, I studied harder because I got really nervous about taking the test in December. After I studied a lot all year I felt very confident about taking that test that I have waited all my life and that confidence reflected in the results of that test. When I saw the results my best friend told me: “You did it”; in that moment I felt very happy because I got a really good grade and I could get in the University of Playa Ancha. Now that I am in my second year of studying here, I can say that getting the things that you want with a lot of effort is better, and you feel more satisfied than getting things with no effort, this is a great life lesson for person that I would like to share with people.

Cerro Alegre, the most wonderful place to live

By Sebastián Araya

            Cerro Alegre is the most wonderful place to live. I know this because I lived all my childhood there and I knew every spot of it, and, since I left my home in Cerro Alegre, I realized that there is no place like this beautiful hill. Now I am living in Rodelillo, located at the top of Cerro Barón. The first difference that you can see is that you cannot walk anywhere you want. There are dangerous spots where people sell drugs. They fight rival gangs, and they shoot each other, whereas in Cerro Alegre, you can walk safely anywhere visiting all the touristic places that this hill offers. Another difference is that Cerro Alegre has excellent sightseeing places, where you can see the entire bay of Valparaíso. These places are amazing to watch the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. You can see the fireworks in their entire splendor. However in Rodelillo, it is not the same situation. It does not have any sightseeing places. In fact , the only thing that you can see are hills. The last thing I am going to mention is that Cerro Alegre has amazing houses. Most of them were built by English settlers over a hundred years ago, so they have a lot of history and they have a British style, whereas in Rodelillo most houses were built  approximately twenty years ago and they are quite simple. As you can see, my current home has nothing better than Cerro Alegre. Now that I am living in Rodelillo I am capable to realize that Cerro Alegre is the most wonderful place to live.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

By Romina Alvarez

                  Differences between women and men are frequently the center of jokes, and the biggest question that human kind has done is: why are women and men so different from each other? Women tend to communicate better than men, talking about any issue, intuiting emotions more quickly and being more empathic, whereas men tend to be less talkative and a little bit slower at intuiting people’s emotions. That can explain why friendship between men is different from friendship between women. Another important difference is that women are more emotional than men. This is because of our limbic system, which is usually deeper than men’s. Because of this, we have a better capacity to express our feelings, or to get depressed, and something very important: to be a mother, whereas men tend to be stronger and less emotional than us. Another difference between women and men is the way of thinking. Although they can think similar things and make similar decisions, the process that they use can be a little different. While women are more complicated when solving some problem, men tend to be simpler. While men believe it is almost impossible to understand women, a common mistake that women usually commit is thinking that men think or understand something from our point of view. So, even when we cannot understand all the existing differences between women and men, we can quote the famous phrase “We do not have to understand them, we have to love them”.