Christmas

I think I’m not form a normal family. We never celebrate Christmas like the rest of the people. First, we never make a Christmas tree or decorate house for the holydays, and we don’t get crazy buying gifts, we just make some little presents. What we usually do is go to my aunt’s home –she’s more “Christmas spirit”-  and spend a very lovely night whit all the family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more) and share a simple meal and open some gifts. But the most important is share with all my family this celebration.

But this year was different. Maybe it was the worst Christmas ever. First, I spend my Christmas in Santiago, far away from all my family. I thought I could spend it whit my brother, but he was in Chiloe. So I was just with one of my best friend because she could spend it with her family neither. So, we made a simple meal and was not for Christmas, we we’re just hungry. Then we talk about “the real sense of Christmas” (in an ironic way) we conclude that it is really a cruel celebration. Just think about it: Jesus was born in a crib, because nobody helped poor Maria. And thinking well, a crib is a dreadful place to born, because that maybe it is very unhygienic place. I think people forget about it, and dedicate just to celebrate buying gifts, so we are part of a cruel society since Jesus was born to now.

Well, but maybe we just thought this because we were sad and upset because we were far from our family, and next day we had to study or make stuff for University and Monday classes again… It wasn’t a nice Christmas, but New Year will compensate it :)

How language transformed humanity

Mark Pagel talks about language as a tool to communicate and make possible the cooperation between humans. According to that, language would be the main reason of the evolution and adaptation in human beings, because is thanks to language that we developed the ability of social learning; this is the ability from learning from other’s experiences. So, language allows us to communicate and share information and knowledge. And this is very important to avoid what Mr. Pagel calls “visual thief”. So, we don’t transfer information by stealing from other’s experiences, but we use language to make agreements. But I would like to mention that the possibility of agreements is not always possible, and in that case rises conflicts between humans, and that seems to need “other kind of languages” to resolve. So I think Mr. Pagel is showing just the idealistic and simple part of the language in human history, omitting the different conflicts, wars and more; just because language is a tool, but is a tool useful (or manipulated to be useful) just for some of the humans, the ones that holds the power. So I would like to ask if you think that language is a “democratic” or egalitarian tool?

This last is also related with the possibility of “One world, one language” that is also mentioned by Pagel. Because if language is not egalitarian, that means that there is one language more powerful than others, a “hegemonic” one. And besides to be the verbal language (Mr. Pagel doesn’t talk about other kind of language) I think that it would be the language of those who has the economic power to control and impose their language until makes it the universal one. But now I just know that Spanish language is very powerful too, especially for its ability to change and evolve, so I don’t think it could disappear under English.

Learning English in the BBC web

Learning English on websites can be a very useful tool, especially because it makes more fun and interactive the way we learn. In that way, the BBC website is a really good site to learn and practice your English; and besides that you can learn a lot of other things, like news and actuality from the whole world. All these you can find in the section “Words in the news”, where reading news you will learn vocabulary, grammar and some expressions that are very usual in English, but more interesting is the topics of the news. One of the most interesting ones is about the scientific found of new 208 species in Southeast Asia, because that makes me wonder about evolution, especially because one of the recent discovered species is a female only lizard that reproduce by cloning, so maybe true that males are going to disappear someday… (?)
But returning to the main topic, in this section of the BBC website you will learn words and expressions because there is a vocabulary at the end of the news where the words are explained into the context of their use.

Other section that results very interesting for me is the one called “How to…” In this section you can find a program to learn a lot of tips for having conversations and to know how to communicate in some situations, like giving good/bad news, or use language when you’re chatting. And besides, at the end of the program you’ll find a test to check your new vocabulary.

So I think the BBC website is a great site to learn English in a very fun and interesting way, making more interactive and participative the learning process.

The end of a year without end....

Finally is December. For everyone this means the end of the academic year and that summer vacations are coming, but that’s not our case. We are just beginning the second semester, so we will be studying during this summer. But really it is not a big deal or a problem for me. Obviously I’m going to miss a lot of things, especially because I will be far from my family during Christmas, but I think we have to be consequents and assume the cost of the strike, even if the results are not what the country needs. And just because of that, I think that studying during this summer could be in our favor.

We have to assume consequences that are more superficial like stand the heat during classes, or miss to see our friends. But having this extraordinary (and very short) semester also means more sacrifices for those who are ending our careers. I just hope that this semester will be productive, but not extremely stressing, after all this is an extraordinary term.

Does school kills creativity?

School is the institution dedicated to the instruction of the young members of society: children. In that sense, is in school where people start to receive all the knowledge and values that they require to live and be useful for society. But there’s a problem that makes a big contradiction in this point: how does it considerate individual’s interests and abilities?

Obviously, school must be the place where we can develop all our abilities and learn how to use the type of intelligence that every one of us has. So, educational system should be able to offer satisfaction in an individual level, besides to respond to the social interests. The problem is resuming to individual v/s structure problem, and it supposes that school can conciliate these two poles, providing education and instruction to every one, letting us to develop our capacities while these are useful for our society.

But why school would be killing creativity? According to Ken Robinson the conflictive point is not in the institution of school, but it is in the structure of society, based only in the productive and intellectual knowledge, serving just for economic and scientific proposes. In this sense, artistic and humanities abilities are not in the first places of the hierarchy and according to that, these areas are sub valuated and school doesn’t concern to develop it. In that way, children that wants and have to dedicated their lives to artistic professions and occupation are limited by all the social structure, because being an artist or an actor or a writer, at first place doesn’t make them win a lot of money, and at second place this is not considerate in school like a real ability or a type of intelligence, just because it is not associated to intellectual or economic-productive activities.

Resuming: we live in a cruel society. It is cruel whit people that has a different way to learn and different interests; people that has a different type of knowledge.

We should try to change this, first valuating artistic activities like real jobs. Just look where singers and actors of our country are: in Transantiago buses or in subway station, doing their “jobs” for a couple of coins, just because they are not intellectual people or business man.

We should think about it and learn to accept differences in all senses.

Walking around...

Today is a free post. Is not easy to decide a topic to write about, but I want to write about walking. Yes, to walk. It’s a simple thing, so simple that sometimes we forget about it.

Have you ever though about what really means to walk?

To walk is one of the first things that make us humans (besides rationality) There are some theories that says that the beginning of humankind was when Homo sapiens stand up and started to walk. Obviously, before to walk was necessary to develop others abilities, like thought and physical develop of muscles and bones. Anyway, to walk is one of the things that make us different from other animals, and is one of the biggest achieves we can make, just remember how happy were your parents when you did your firsts steps, and all the time that they spend teaching you how to do it.

But besides that, I think to walk is one of the most beautiful things that we can do. When you walk by the streets of the city is like take your time to think, to look all around you: people, buildings, trees. Or sometimes you can walk just watching the shine of your shoes.

To walk is like feeling free: wind blows on your face and mess up your hair. And I think that walking around is the best way to know places.

Sometimes you can walk so much, until your foots feels pain, but that means that you have walked and watched so much.

I like to walk, especially when it’s autumn or winter. I like to walk on the leaves of the trees and hear them to rustle under your shoes. I like to walk by the streets, whit my friends or my family or even, I like to walk alone. It’s so great that we can make it!

using internet

I’m not the kind of person who uses internet for important things, like visit news websites or things like that, but sometimes I visit elciudadano.cl, because I think that it present more objective information about national actuality. But I have to admit that the most part of the time that I spend on the internet is just for leisure time, especially for listen to music or watch some movies. Because of that youtube.com is one of the websites that I visit more.

I remember I discovered it a long time ago, when my brother and I where searching music from a punk band called Eskorbuto, so looking for it we find youtube.com and we discovered that in this site we could find videos of everything (music, movie trailers, TV shows, and more)

Other website that I use a lot is groveshark.com. This is one of my favourites sites, because you can find a lot of music and make your playlists, and IT’S FREE! Also you can play music from stations according to the kind of music that you want to hear, for example, electronic music, rock music, etc. Besides that, you can find related bands or singers, so you can learn a lot about music using groveshark. I discover this page because my best friend uses it and she recommended it to me, and I think It’s really a great site.

I like to visit the side cinepata.com, for find movies from Chile and Argentina and information about it. I think this a Aleberto Fuguet’s site, but I’m not really sure. The point is that here you can find some alternative movies from Latin-American directors.

And talking about social networks, I use facebook to talk with my friends and my family, to uploads photos and share music. Besides I use e-mail, to be in contact with friends and things related to the university.

About using internet, I think that’s all.

Watching cartoons

I would like to take this opportunity to write about my very favorite cartoon: Hey Arnold!

Maybe it is a very simple thing, but I decided to write about it because yesterday I realized that during this year I haven’t watched TV at all. Even I haven’t watched news, because I spend all my time studying, so I feel kind of nostalgic of spend some time watching TV, specially watching Hey Arnold! No matter if this will be a waste of time; it could be so fun and relaxing…

I like this cartoon since I was a child of 9 years old, the same age that Arnold and his friends, and that makes me felt that sometimes the adventures of the characters was very similar to mine. I also remember that I used to watch it every day at nickelodeon channel, no matter if there was a repeated episode, because I think that everyone is an unforgettable episode that makes you feel moved, especially because it contents are so human. For those who used to watch it, how can you forget about the episode of the “portico boy”? Or what about that one when Arnold finds his father’s diary of life? I still crying when this one, I think it’s so sad…

Also I have to talk about the characters. Everyone has a special characteristic, for example, Helga, that shows herself like a rude girl, but deeply she is so sweet and romantic, always in love with Arnold, the dreamer boy who protagonists the cartoon.

I really have to say that this cartoon is my favorite one, because it shows how the life is when you’re 9: full of adventures and free time to watch TV or being playing around with your friends.

movies of a film festival

I stole this picture from a friend of mine because this symbolizes one of the most unforgettable travels that I had done. My friend took this picture last year, in Valdivia, but it’s important to me because I was right there in 2009; living something that was like a movie; one of those movies that makes you believe that dreams can come true. This is the story:
It was on October, 2009 and was in the week of the film festival of Valdivia. I went there just for watch the last movie of my favorite film maker, someone who is really like an idol to me; and because he was going to be there to present his film “Excursiones”. His name is Ezequiel Acuña and he’s an Argentinean film maker; and during that year we were talking by chat and sending emails, so we were something like friends.  So I though “I can’t lost the opportunity to meet him”

I went to Valdivia, alone, just for watch the movie and see him, but things were much better. At the end of the movie, I decided to overcome my shyness and I went to talk him and that was a very good decision because he, after say hello to me of a very friendly way, walked with me for the riverside. And then we sit around there, eating cookies and talking about music, movies and books, watching how the night was reflected in the river…

And that’s why this picture is so important to me, because it makes me remember about that incredible day in the film festival, living my own movie.

The song that I like now

Today I will tell you about my favorite song in English at this moment. Well, I really prefer music without lyrics, but this song is one of the most listened from my playlists of the last two weeks. It is called “Playground love” and is from a band called Air. Also, this is the central song from one of my favorite movies at this moment, directed by Sofia Coppola “The Virgin Suicides”

I think the first time that I heard this song was when I was 13, because that was the time that I saw the movie. In that moment wasn’t a song too relevant for me, but this year I heard it again and… was like get back to my childhood!!
It is a love song, lyrics talks about to be in love when you’re a teenager; or maybe, that kind of love that makes you feel like one. When I hear this song I fell very relax and calm, and makes me remember when I was 13, or remember about this summer; and also makes me think about a very special guy…
Besides, listen to this song makes me remember scenes from the movie; it’s like watch it again and again.

About the kind of music, it’s a little complicated to classify. I can say that Air is a French band that makes electronic music, but they include psychedelic rock and other styles too. The most that I like is the ambient that their music can create, especially when I hear “Playground love”

technology

Actually I’m not very interested about technology, I mean, there is people that really knows about it and even love it! … Well, I’m not one of those. I just think that now some pieces of technology are useful and necessary because we live in a capitalist and global society, and maybe that’s why we buy pieces like cell phones or computers, but it’s hard to me to think that this are objects that I could love some day, or that I couldn’t live without it. Despite it I have to admit that there is one piece of technology that I like a lot: it’s my camera. My mom gave it to me in 2007 because I was always talking about how I wanted to learn how take good pictures. So she gave me a camera and I use it since then.

What I like from my camera, or from every camera, is that you can capture special moments, or important events. Besides you can take photographs of people that you love that you can’t see a lot and remember about their every time you look their pictures; or make photographs of places that you have visited and then relive when you were there… But the most that I like is that photography is an art so you can learn about techniques, illumination, perspective, and maybe become an artist.
How often I use it? I try to use it a lot, but now I haven’t make photographs because I’m too busy with university. Well, I hope that soon it will be time for use it

=)

“I want to be an anthropologist”

Why am I studying this career? Most of the time I can’t answer this question because to study anthropology is like a roller coaster to me: you can learn about social life and culture but sometimes you have no idea about social life and culture because you spend a lot of time reading texts.

When I finished school I wanted to study sociology, but then, in the last moment, I thought that anthropology was what I really wanted. I saw that anthropology is wider than sociology, I mean; anthropology has a point of view that covers more areas of social life, because we study about “culture” that is a bigger concept that “society”. That’s the difference that I saw between anthropology and sociology.  And that’s why I decided to study social anthropology.

I think anthropology, especially social anthropology, is a great contribution to society because it emphasizes in “the other”, it reveals different realities that sometimes we don’t note every day. And this is really important, for example, to make public politics that really can include everyone.

I think that most important tool for a social anthropologist is to be a good observer and to be very friendly, because we work with people and their discourses and practices.

My favorite subjects are economic anthropology, because I thinks is very interesting to know about social classes. And also I like politic anthropology because it shows how politic exists in every area of our life, not just in politicians.

Finally I have to say that study anthropology is very interesting and even fun. It is a really beautiful career!!!

About a place

I’m going to tell you about a place that is very important to me. It is a small town called Taltal, in the north of our country (Second region of Antofagasta). I used to go there every summer when I was a child because my grandparents bought a house in the town,  but then I didn’t go more until this summer, that I promised myself to enjoy my vacations with my family. So, in January of this year I packed my stuffs and went there with my sister (16 years old).

Travel was a real adventure. My sister and I had to get down of the bus in the middle of the desert, after traveling around 16 hours, and wait there for my grandparent to pick us in his car and take us to the town.

Taltal is a really nice place to relax and enjoy summer. Is a little town, so population must be around 1.500 inhabitants (but I’m not good calculating) I think Taltal is very quiet, and it makes you forget about cell phones and clocks, and that’s what I like more. Besides, there are some really beautiful beaches, so I tried to swim a lot… and to get tan too!

Well, I hope someday you can go there because it’s a really nice place to be =)

something about me

Hi, my name is Paxy Nuñez. I study social anthropolgy and also I like to write, to paint and make collages.
This is my blog "unapetiforro", named for a Julio Cortázar's book, one of my favorite writters.
I hope you enjoy it :)