Learning English

Learning English is an excellent opportunity that the university provide to us because is a tool that will help us for too many things.  I think is important that we never stop learning and practicing English because in that way we will not lose what we have learn so far and we will keep improving our English.

Personally, I think that I don’t have a bad base of English, but I know that I have too much to learn.  It has been a very enriching experience to have English classes in the university this semester.

With the blogs I had to think and write in English once a week, what has helped me to get used to the language.  Even so I have realized that I have a lot to improve in my writing, so I would like to continue practicing.

Also in the grammar classes I think that I had learned a lot.  Although as usual I am easily distracted, it had not been difficult for me keep my attention in the classes, because the teacher always does didactic classes in which it keeps you participating.

Outside the English classes I always watch movies and series in English and sometimes I take out the subtitles, and if I do not take them out I try not to read them.  I also hear a lot of music in English, but I am not used to speak or write in English outside the English classes.

Finalizing, in hope that in the future I could travel to another country to improve my English.

Changes to my study programme

Although I like my career I think that the University can improve it a lot.

First of all, I think that the infrastructure it’s in worse conditions, it is hard for me to understand how an architecture´s school does not respond to the spatial needs and demands by the students. Unfortunately, the improvement of the infrastructure is slowed down by the restrictions that the buildings have for being historical icons.  I think is time to leave the restrictions behind because the increase of admitted students that grows every year generates an evident lack of space, so every year is more necessary start making changes.

Another thing that is important to improve is the teaching ability of the professors, because they are just professional architects, and even if they are very good professionals that does not means that they have teaching skills.  So I propose that every professor has to attend at least one teaching course.

I also think that the workload imposed by most professors is too heavy, I think is urgent to change this especially in first year, professors has to understand that the workload is not directly proportional to what students learn, on the contrary, the only thing they achieve is that the students get frustrated with all the workload they have, because they can’t rest and neither give the best of themselves.

Besides this are much more things that can be improve in the University, the important thing is to keep the progress of the school.

Legalizing drugs
To begin I think that all drugs are bad, whether they are natural or synthetic.
They are substances that alter the nervous system and have negative effects
on the body and in the mind particularly.  Maybe it is not so terrible to try
some mild drugs just few times, but if you have an addicted personality and try
any drug might become a problem to you and those around you, and sometimes it's
hard to know how vulnerable you are to falling into an addiction.

Addiction is a problem because it is wrong to depend on a substance to be
stable, that's what the drugs do, they cause personality and emotions problems,
and the recovery from an addiction is a difficult and long process for the addict
and his or her family. The recovery process must be done with
the support of the closest people for the addicted.

In a way the ideal would be that no drugs where legal. In regard to
marijuana I think it is a problem that is a better accepted drug, because although it is
natural and it is not as strong compared to other drugs, it is also a drug and
generates addiction.

On the other hand I also think that it is a good option to legalize marijuana to stop
drug trafficking and increase safety on the streets. This will only work if the authorities
generate an awareness of what marijuana is and the problems it brings,

My Family

My family is the most important thing for me, more than anything, although for some people it is difficult to understand it because we are a big family.

My parents divorced when I was two years old, so I’ve always had two pair of parents, my mom with her couple, and my father with his couple.  I have a big brother, a twin and a little sister, with whom I have shared my whole life, especially with my twin with which we were even born together, I can’t imagine my life without her by my side.

also I have two step sisters who are daughters of the couple of my dad, but I love them as if they were my blood sisters.  They have always been there for me, and I for them, we have shared a thousand of good and bad moments.

Also I have three step sisters who are daughters of the couple of my mom, but I’m not very close to them because they are much older than me, it doesn’t mean that I don’t love them, but they are more like a maternal image for me, the important thing is that I know that I can go to them for whatever I need.

I am so thankful for the family I have, they had been the ones who support me in every step of my life.

My future job

When I am already qualified I will be able to start my career as an architect, maybe at the beginning I will have to work in an architecture office to gain experience, but as I really want to work in the future it is independently.

If I work in an office I would probably have to produce material for another person's project, but if I am independent I would receive charges to make  my own projects, and in that way I would have the possibility to design and make decisions according to my convictions and my tastes.

 Also I will have the possibility to be me who set my schedules, so I can decide when to work and when to have time for me and my family.  So I will be free to manage my time, and I think I will prefer to take less charges, and have less money but more time, because the time for me is more important than money for have a better quality of life, and even though I see myself in love with my career and my projects, I do not want to be a slave to my work, because I also think that if someone is overloaded with charges is not able to give the best.

Urbanism: Peter Calthrope

Peter Calthrope share tu us in the video seven universal principles to solve sprawl problems and build planned and sustainable cities focused on human interaction.

He propose start planning cities and start thinking how people needs to live.  Pointing to cities made for peolple to walk, instead of cities made for cars, giving priority to people´s health and the enviroment, so he talk about the proportion of street and sidewalk, clear example of how cars have taken over the cities, so we have to start recovering our place and demand our right to have a space to interact to each other, the space that the cars have taken for us.

Another problem that derives from the sprawl is the segregation of people in economic enclaves, which also hinders social interaction.

I, as an architecture student, am completely agree with Peter Calthrope, I think we should start to proyect compact and heterogeneous cities, ending the segregation and integrating the public and private space, taking advantage of the space we have to generate places that allow us to relate between us, and inhabit it integrally.  Also I think that we can not turn a blind eye to the environmental problems that are growing every day, so we should start to take charge.

My best holiday

My best holiday was two years ago when I visit Playa del Carmen in Mexico with all my family for two weeks.  Everything was perfect, the hotel was excellent,
we were in the middle of an ecological reserve, so we were among many types of plants and animals.  It also had many type of food, a very good service, it had a pool bar, everything included. The beach was beautiful, and we also went to other beautiful places. We visit Tulum and Chichenitza, where the Mayan buildings are. We also visit two Cenotes, both wonderful. Then we went to swam with turtles, they were enormous, and I also saw a stingray, which was swimming right below me.  Finally we visit xcaret, a water park where we swam in an underground river and did many activities, and at the end we saw a spectacular Mexican show.  I saw many beautiful things on this trip, but the best of all, was that I did all of that with my family.

The place I’ve always wanted to visit 

I am particularly interested in visiting Thailand.  This is mainly because I dream
of meeting happy elephants.  But I also would love to see other interesting places of Thailand. My trip would begin in Krabi, a province with attractions such as hot springs, a sanctuary for wildlife, sea caves, coral reefs, exotic marine life, and I also would visit the paradises of the island of Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, then I would travel to the third largest island in Thailand Koh Samui with lush tropical rainforest, palm trees lined up on stretches of golden sand and surrounded by water. 

Then I would travel to the capital Bangkok, where I would particulary like to visit the Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and the floating market.  Then I would travel to Chiang Mai to visit the Elephant Nature Park, an elephant sanctuary where the tourist is at the service of the animal and not the reverse. And my trip would end there in Chiang Mai where I would go up to Doi Suthep, the sacred mountain.

What is my favorite food?

What kind of food do I prefer?

Why I prefer the food I cook?

My favorite food are clams with lemon and asparagus with homemade mayonnaise.  I have always liked the seafood, since I was little maybe beacause my family is from Coquimbo where is a port.  And I also always loved green vegetables like broccoli, artichoke and asparagus, but the asparagus are the ones that makes me more happy and if I mix them with the mayonnaise that I made they are the perfect combination.

  Even though I like many kind of food like sushi, seafood, italian food, etc. I always prefer the dishes cooked by myself.  I also like my mom´s food, I learned from her, so when I enter to the university and started eating other food, I realized how much I love the homemade food.

I always prefer the dishes cooked by myself because I always want things in my way and only me know my likes, the exact portions and the quantity of condiments that I prefer. Even so I never reject the food that other people cook for me, even if it´s not my way is a sign of love for me and I appreciate it a lot.