9

Hi everyone! Today I’m going to talk about my blogging experience. I think that blogs are a very good way to express and communicate ideas with other people, and are one of the best ways to make the most of internet.
I like writing, in fact, I had a blog in the past (but obviously in Spanish), but I never think that one day I will have to write a blog in English. I think that the idea of a blog in English classes is great to learn the language and exchange knowledge while you learn more English. However, I must say that in many times I feel very frustrated because I have many ideas in Spanish about a subject, but translate it to English makes changes in my ideas, and I think that ideas lost the power that could it have in Spanish. I know that this situation is a sign of my level of English, and it have to encourage me to learn more English, but I have to recognize that my first reaction is frustration.
Apart from this situation, I think that writing in English had improved my command of this language, and my fluency when I speak in English had improved too (or at least I feel that).
I think that other advantage of writing in English’s blogs – that isn’t related so directly with the learning of the language – is that you can know other classmates, and know things about them too. Personally, I considerate that I’m not a social person (I’m not crazy and neither hate people, is only shyness), and share ideas in this way (the blogs) help me to be more social with others (in the real life), because I know some about their ideas.

8

Hi everyone! Today I’m going to talk you (sorry, I don’t know other way to start my posts) about the blog of my classmate Gonzalo that is called “The Tea House”. In his blog Gonzalo had written ten posts. I like the Gonzalo’s blog because the posts are interesting, most of all the posts about Japanese and oriental things, I think that aspect is very original in relation with others blogs. I think the template and the slide of photographs in one side are beautiful … and the fishes that follow the cursor of mouse, I love them!
My favorite post of Gonzalo’s blog is called “Remember to Puerto Montt”. In general, I like the stories that people tell about foreign places that know, and more when I know the place, because I compare my own experience with the experience of the other person.
I don’t know what to say about an aspect of English that Gonzalo should focus more. I read his posts over and over again and I think that apparently doesn’t have failures in his written, maybe a few typing mistakes, but nothing seriously that my super-high level of English could perceive it.
Well… This is the end of my review. I expected keep reading the posts of the “Tea House”.
Regards for all!

7

Today I’m going to talk about the Chilean national culture. I think that the essence of the Chilean people is demonstrated in events like Teleton or football championships, like, for example, the effervescence caused by the triumph over Honduras in the last game in the World Cup.
In this kind of events the people feels that is memberships of something, even for some few minutes or hours (ninety minutes that longs the game of football or the “twenty-seven hours of love” that longs the Teleton). I think that the characteristics that those events exploit – like the extreme solidarity of the Chilean people or the union of different people that is caused by football – are only shallows and temporary feelings. The people feel those things until the events stop and everyone turn off the T.V., and come back to their real life, with problems that make this person forget the solidarity and the beautiful union with other people.
I think that the supposed strong sense of identity those events gives is only appearance. People in the street are more and more selfish and individualist. I’m not saying that you have to walk and say hello to everyone or something like that, but a little attention to others will do more nice places like Metro and the public transport in general. I think that details with others Chileans (for example, with the old people in the public transport) create the real strong Chilean identity.

6

Today I’m going to talk you about Sir Ken Robinson’s talk called “Do Schools Kill Creativity”, and my opinion about the matter. This talk is about how the current system of education stopped the development of creativity, that for Ken Robinson, is an innate quality that all the humans have. This matter he related to thing like music, dance and art, all in a very funny way.
I think that really the school kills creativity, but is a problem that involves many types of “schools”. Is not only the primary school, I think that the first incentives that we received in our families since we born are very important in the future, especially when we will have to confront to the school and the ways that this institution have for kills this quality. I know about the power of the school like an institution with a lot of authority, and how that it forms the kid character in her bases. However, I think that the kid comes to school with things that will be more or less reinforced, it depends of his first year and incentives. And, even this things in the kid character aren’t forms yet (the schools will finish – in part – the work), this first incentives “will pronounce sentences” in the future.
The problem with the teachers and the antiquated way to teach that they still have is other subject. In fact, is a big subject of discussion that Ken Robinson refers in his talk.
Well, that is all. I expect that you could understand my idea about the matter.
Regards for all!

5

I took this photo in Tongoy. Tongoy is a little town in the 4th Region in Chile. I went there in 2008, with school companions. The travel was very good, I knew places that I never seen before, and I knew more people of my school, because the rest of my companions were a year younger than me (that year I was in my last year in the school) We traveled for many places of the 4th Region, likes La Serena, Ovalle, Guanaqueros, even we visited an astronomic observatory (I don’t remember which, but I remember was amazing).
Well, I have to talk about the place in the photo. Tongoy was my favorite place in the travel. I have to recognize that the beaches don’t like me at all, but Tongoy was special. The sand was very soft, and completely different that the sand of Viña del Mar, for example. And the sea was so quietly, like a pool, and I loved pools. When I was in Tongoy could swim far away of the shore. Could sounds exaggerated, but I really felt in the bottom of the sea for first time in my life.
The town was very quietly (like the sea), and this was other reason because I loved Tongoy. But I traveled to there in April, and the tourist guide said me than in the summer Tongoy was full of people. Well, I think that doesn’t matter me very much, because the sea will be like a pool forever. A pool full of people or without people, but finally like a pool, and that is the important. I hope visit Tongoy again, and I recommended that if you don’t had gone to there, go someday in the future, because is a very beautiful place.

4

Today I’m going to talk about a website – my favourite website in the last days -. This site calls SalonKritiK, and is a great blog about art. This blog was created in Spain, Madrid, but now everyone can write and send articles. Obviously this articles are edited and revised by the editor in chief Maria Virginia Jaua.
In SalonKritiK you could found columns, comments and critic articles about art, but not only visual arts; you can read about music, cinema and literature. And one of the most important reasons because this site likes me is the rate of them articles; I found everyday a different column, and hardly ever disappoint me.
This website has stables sections. One of my favorites is calls “domingo festín canibal”. This section – that like the name says: is only for the Saturday – is about art critic. The name, in my opinion, is great. This come from a phrase of Walter Benjamin, in which refer about art critic, and says that “The truly critic get close to his object with the same tenderly that a cannibal would eat a newborn baby”. I think that this phrase is awesome, because define the art critic through of a great analogy.
Well, I sincerely recommend this site. The columns are very interesting, and is a very good way for know about contemporary art, its critic and to keep informed about it.

Regards for all!

P.S.: Oh! I forget it! The link: http://salonkritik.net

3

In the class of today I visited the BBC World Service for Learning English, and like Miss Beatriz said: this site rocks! I began watching The Flatmates. These cartoons are interesting but, mmm… Maybe not much for me. Then, I read a section called Words in the news, there talks about a Chinese business man, so rich and but he didn’t make money in a good way. (That reminded me a person that I know and all Chilean people know too, maybe president Piñera?) Well, I thought that the business subjects are boring and I decided to listen some podcasts about learning English. These was so useful, but not so didactics. So, I founded the Crosswords. These games are so entertaining! There are a lot of matters of Crosswords that you can choose. I played my first Crossword about The Beatles, one of my favorite bands. My second Crossword was about Art. This was more difficult than the first, because I didn’t know many words about arts in English, but this is better, because I learn new words.
I didn’t know this site, and I think that is awesome. Is very useful for to learn and in a very didactic form. I visited them in the future.

2

Friday’s night of February 26th 2010 I had been in my house, watching the Viña del Mar Festival on TV, more specifically the Ricardo Arjona’s show. Then, when I thought to myself than nothing could be worse than Ricardo Arjona, I decided to go to sleep. Well, a few hours later, while I was sleeping, it happened something worse than Ricardo Arjona: an earthquake.
At the beginning I thought that will be just another earth tremor, but not. This “earth tremor” didn’t stop, and increase their stronger. The first thing that I did was wake up and run out of my house (yes, in that moment I driven crazy, but now I know that is the worst reaction and I promise that for the next earthquake I’ll not do that).
While I had been run, I felt the floor shaking so hard under my feet, and was difficult keep running. In that moment, my uncle Alejandro took me of my arm and hug me. Then I felt really scared.
When the earthquake finished, I realized that I had lived my first earthquake. My family and my house were fine, scared but fine. A lot of things (like dishes, books, cds) fallen to floor, but I was nothing compared that the problems that other people suffer cause the earthquake.

1

Hi. I'm Lucy. I hope that English III help me to learn more english. That means that I could speak english in a better way that today, because today I speak like a mexican crossing the frontier to USA (or maybe worst)

Well... Miss Beatriz said me that I have to write some about me. Mmmm... On the subject I can say that I'm nineteen years old, I study Art Theory and History in the University of Chile (second year!) and I like to take photos, see movies and eat ice-cream. I live in Peñaflor, a little town to 50 km of Santiago and takes me two hours to arrived to University :( This is so sad.

( Ah! sorry for my bad english (: )