Language challenges

I liked this subject because I was able to speak in front of people that also understand the language and had the chance to practice by talking with them. That was something I never did before, in school the only chances to talk in English was when we had to expose in front of the class, besides the teacher talked in English the entire class but we only had to answer short answers, it wasn't an obligation to elaborate a complex answer.Blogs are an interesting activity, you can write about your experiences, give your opinion and learn new words. I think this is important as talking in class because you have more time to think what are you going to write and how are you going to write it so it's a chance to create something more complete.
Sometimes it's hard to find the right words to express what I'm trying to say, especially when I'm talking. I think I need more confidence and my English to be more fluid, in my head my English is very fluid but when I have to speak I get a little bit nervous. The only way to fix this is practicing even more.
Outside the English class, I use English very often for reading stuff on the internet (including memes hahaha), watch series or movies without subtitles or with English subtitles and singing/understanding song lyrics. I do these activities so I can learn more words, idiomatic expressions and get just to hear the language, I mean, make it more familiar.

What about 2013?

When it comes to this year nothing really big has happened to me...maybe a good thing that have happened is that nothing wrong have happened hahaha. I'm more close to my friends, especially to my girls from college. My dad's fine, also my sister and through my grandma has several pains she is fine (and alive), I have a home, food, a bed and I can take a comforting shower whenever I want... so I'm pretty great!.

 I don't really remember any serious situation that didn't go so well. I think there were little situations that went wrong like, for example, doing homeworks with people you don't know and you don't know how they work...also my plan for going to college every morning Monday didn't go so well. 

My most important achievement this year is I stopped smoking cigarettes!! It was bad for my health, lately made me feel bad specifically in my stomach. At first was so hard to quit it because a lot of my friends or people where I went to party smoke but then when someone offers you a cigarette and you feel strong and capable of saying "no, thanks" it's so much easier. Another little achievement it's I stopped biting my nails...from this problem I'm not entirely rehabilitated because when I'm stressed with university one hand loses it nails jijiji. 

One thing I still don't do it's going to the south were I go every summer and I hate the waiting! but I went to Punta Arenas for the first time and also had my first flight, I had a really great time there, we met beautiful places like the city, the cemetery and Torres del Paine. In this last place I drank pisco with real and natural ice!! with ice from the glaciers!. It's pretty stupid feel so great about it but if you think about it, it's interesting and a once in a lifetime thing to do hahaha. 

 Finally, this year we have to decide who's going to be our president, like I though it would happen people voted for the same liars...not giving a chance for new ideas or ways to do politics. I can understand those who didn't voted for their ideals or because they believe nothing will ever change (I though like them too) but, come on! It does matter for who you vote...I mean, for me there's two ways for being happy and having the life we all want, one it's voting, marching, and occupying schools and universities and the other one it's a real revolution...by real I mean taking the power back.  

My music preferences

Although my music preferences have always changed as the years pass by, the radio shows new artists, my social circles change or my sister and friends are slowly manifesting their own musical tastes exist in me a mechanism that selects what I like and what bores me. I also acknowledge just a couple of years ago I'm at this point where I like to listen to what either it's lyrics, or the melody, or rhythm (or all three) makes me feel good and makes my body dance.

When I was little I liked the music that was heard and danced at family parties and also those popular bands like Backstreet boys and Spice girls. I remember it was a shared taste with my cousins which made ​​it entertaining see their music videos and sing (at that time with my disgusting english and not knowing what the lyrics said). Then there is a phase closer to pre-adolescence, where I focused on listening styles closer to rock (especially bands from U.S.A) and spent several years missing any "other music" to which I never paid attention because in one hand I believed I was tough (and that kind of music was my style, a static music taste), on the other hand I believed it was better, more credible, I liked only one kind of music. Oh boy I was so wrong!.

Finally, I have also learned to listen to the radio every day, either by updating myself with new music and because I prefer to hear the variety of music offered there. Another thing I've realized It's I love live music, I mean, there's a special thing about experience songs right there with the harmony between the singer and the band instead of just listening to a recording.

How green am I ?

Learning about environmentally friendly practices starts at school when you're a little kid, for example, doing handcrafts with recycle materials. There was a period at my school there were chosen delegates for every row, his/her responsibility was making sure the floor was always clean and without any kind of trash. In other cases you learn to take care of the planet in your own home, like when your parents tell you to be considerate about the water and light you use, I mean, not leaving the lights or the water on in case you are not using them.

The only recycling habits I have is separate my garbage but I only do it when it's paper or glass bottles, also I don't just through my clothes away, I give it to people who may need it or sell it.

I use the bus or subway to travel around the city and walk a little every day. Sadly, I just use the bicycle to have fun...well, If I used the bicycle for going to college and then return to my house I would have to get out of my house with 2 hours of anticipation!

Although I believe it's necessary and important recycle I have never joined an eco-organisation because I haven't really think about it, besides I haven't had any proposal from a friend for example, and I'm very lazy to do it for myself :P

I haven't done anything else than what I said before...mmm I don't have a car so maybe that's something positive hahaha. Maybe I would like to join an organisation to be more informed about this serious problem, so in that way I could inform others and change some of their habits. Also I would like to travel on bicycle but in this city everything is far, almost all drivers are reckless and there's a lack of bike paths. When it comes to reduce my carbon footprint I try to use the necessary water and light.

I get so angry when industries are irresponsible over exploding our planet or throwing their wastes to the ocean and air. And I get angry too when people throw their garbage on the streets, I mean, It's not that hard to take that garbage with you and deposit it in your house's trash can. I think we need to have a stronger awareness of our relationship with the planet, like really understand that everything we've done and we're doing has consequences for the planet and for our own survival. This can be improved educating society and creating recycling centers. 

Street Performers

Through years I believe they haven't had the enough recognition in our society, recognition of their way to constantly change how we experience the city. In my case I've seen them in Santiago but they exist all over the country and the world!, in this opportunity I'll refer about the ones enrich my bus trips. I mean, travelling in bus can get really boring when you do it twice a day and five days at week, especially if you travel one hour, sometimes standing on your feet, other sitting for a while until the pregnant woman and the old lady appears. 

This type of street performers it's varied, I've bump into clowns, singers, rapers (even freestyle), couples where one sings and the other plays guitar, violinists, saxophonist, duets conformed by an accordionist and a violinist, a flautist who played classic compositions, comedians, two old man who sang and played cueca, bands similar to Illapu and Los Jaivas, and the last one I saw this week and surprised me was a young man who waited for a while pretending to be a "normal passenger" then suddenly started to make a monologue about his life in the mines, then revealed he was an actor student. Those were the great ones! because I've seen this "strange" people who sings like crap or plays a simple bucket like if it was a tambourine. Finally, the ones I hate the most: religious speakers that yell every single word like if that's gonna change people's beliefs.

I think many people like me enjoys street performers, but when it comes to authoryties like the government and police, street performers see how their activities are not being appreciated. Some of them even receive fines! and that's when you realize how messed up the world is!.

Phobias: the rationale behind irrational fears by Dean Burnett.

It's natural to feel fear, like when you're being assaulted in the middle of the night, but when you fear something for no rational reasons you can be sure it's a phobia. There are three types: specific phobias, social phobias and agoraphobias. Specific phobias are an irrational fear of a specific thing or situation and can be subdivided into situational (eg claustrophobia), natural environment (eg acrophobia), animal (eg arachnophobia) or blood-injection-injury types. Social Phobias are related with how people will react to you in a certain situation, for example, fear of rejection. One way to reduce this fear is to read comments on internet so you can see how different are the opinions that people have (so possibly would be the same about you). Finally, Agoraphobia it's more than having fear for open spaces; it is also related to this fear of where escape would be difficult and /or help wouldn't be forthcoming.

Now, where does this fears come from? one explanation is classical conditioning, it says you associate a bad experience with a thing, then you're afraid of the thing. Other explanation is the learning of that fear by observation of others behaviors. Also, if we receive inaccurate information we'll "realize" some things are scary via instructional fear acquisition, for example, via horror films.

What can you do about this? having a phobia means you are aware of the irrational nature of your fear (DSM-IV criteria) but this doesn't mean you can't just make someone confront the thing they're afraid of by telling/showing them it's harmelss because as far a the brain is concerned (insular cortex and amygdala) the fear response is a negative physical consequence so at a subconscious level the phobia is self-fulfilling. Because of this, there are several methods like systematic desensitisation, cognitive behavioural therapy and even antidepressants.

At last but not least, things like homophobia or islamphobia are misleading named prejudices, not phobias! Unfortunately science still doesn't have a cure for being a dick.

(I love that last part jijij)

You can check out this and other news here ----> http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/jun/28/phobias-rationale-irrational-fears

Friends

Well...in this opportunity I'm going to write about friendship, how I understand it's about. My conception about friendship has changed several times in my life, I mean, when you are a kid you think that your friends are the ones you do group homeworks with or those who invite you to their birthday parties...most of them because your parents are friends with their parents.

Then you start to realize you don't have so much things in common with those "friends", also can happen that you end up in different courses where you meet new people, new people you start to talk to because you find them interesting, nice or share some tastes. 

If you ask me what I think friends are about...Friends are the ones you can think out loud, they are this kind of brother/sister you choose to share you life. But it's not like you choose them and it's done, It's a relationship you have to take care of, by this I mean to empathize with your friend's thinking, feelings, choices, actions, etc. It's not about always agree with them but to be sincere about what you think and what you have to say to them...also, friends are the ones where silence is not uncomfortable, it's not taken as boredom...'cause it's not necessary to talk all the time to feel they are your friends.

Actually, in the beginning I didn't share too much tastes with most of my friends, but as time passes we've found similar musical tastes so we've been in a couple of concerts together, also we share some hobbies like watching movies, cooking, going out to parks and (of course) partying...not clubbing, just hanging out in someones house, drink something, talk about life and laugh at each others.

Now I'll share something really nice I read some time ago..."You don't need a certain number of friends, only a number of friends you can be certain of" :)