Just Giftstmas...

Well, I do not celebrate Christmas. I am an atheist, selfish and I have no money to buy gifts ... But since entering the University, I take Christmas Eve to travel to my hometown, Curicó, and be with my family and friends.

In my family are all Catholics, so they celebrate Christmas in the spiritual sense and also about the gifts. Before we had the habit of spending the night together, but for a couple of years my sisters formed their own families, so now pass Christmas with my brother and my parents.

When I have money I make some gifts, there are always little things; for example, last year I give away all my family chocolates…

My parents have a habit of giving me useful things for the rest of the year, things like clothing, shoes, socks ... So I do not complain, the economy does not go as well we all want. With my girlfriend are we on anniversary the 28th of December, so as usual we have put together this gift and Christmas into one, is much better that way.

Personally I have nothing against that people give away things, but I have to admit it's quite annoying that many people do not know because they do. That is when you ask to someone why is giving away free things, they reply: "because it's Christmas xD". There is no spirit, there is no love, no religion, no god or anything ... is just consumerism, advertising…

People are not happy these days, it becomes happy with gifts, and only if they like gifts. Beyond anti-capitalist critique can we do to Christmas, this date shows our worst physiological faults . And that's pretty annoying.

Green as dollar...

Uh, now that I'm asking, do not think I'm very green ... But I have an excuse! It happens that I'm not really very consumerist and I have the custom that when I have to throw  the garbage in a trash can.  I know that is not enough to have a "green consciousness" but I have to admit that at least so I can sleep peacefully.

My green habits are basically throwing out the garbage where it belongs, I dump it in a trash can when another leaves it in the ground (if I can). I never put garbage in a recycling-can because always throw in the first trash can I see, and there are few recycling-can.

I think people learn about environmentally friendly practices principally in their homes, their families are those that teach these things. The schools also teach children to care for nature. However, I believe you should have as campaigns in thet elevision address, because that's what most people see.

This year I want to bring my bike to Santiago, because it is much cleaner and cheaper than public transport. I think that will be my green action, because I have thought about joining any eco-organization, because I have no time.

Some time ago I heard something about the carbon footprint, but until today I had measured.

I think the environmental problem today is that while we are all responsible, large firms are guiltier than the rest of the citizens and it is they who should participate more actively in their solution.

Za zdaróvie, tavárich!!

In fact, during my life I have traveled a little, I left the country only once and I know few Chilean cities. Right now I'm more worried about finishing my studies that travel, so I'm content to travel in mymind with some books when I have free time...

However, one of the illusions that have been feeding this last time is to take a trip to Russia. I like the imagery associated with Russia, large land wrapped in mystique, history and extreme conditions. I want to make a kind of guided tour by train through the most important places of the Slavic culture.

I want to know Moscow, that giant city, walking out of his great and historic buildings, meet next to the Kremlin, Red Square ... then go to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the Bolshoi Theater among many other places.

After spending a week in Moscow, I would take a train and guide me to Píter, St. Petersburg, former capital of Russia, and would walk the streets that inspired Pushkin and Dostoevsky, look for small churches and bars. Come to the Hermitage Museum and then the Russian Museum. I would try to get a bicycle to explore the banks of the great river Neva finishing my tour in the Winter Palace Pier.

I want to know these cities because they have an important historical weight, both Moscow and St. Petersburg still offer landmarks of war and peace: the russian revolution and civil war, the Stalin years, the second world war ...

US: No Future

2011 will be remembered like a bad year for americans. In this year, the savings of those who are unemployed since 2009 had been spent. The US media announcing a new hiring but this still not enough to keep pace with the number of those who would normally have entered the labour force.

Happy new fear!!

The long crisis that began with the collapse of the housing bubble in 2007 and the subsequent recession will continue. For this year, 2012, the americans thiks that is possiblethat the United States will solve its political problems and finally bring down unemployment to 6% or 7%. But americans believes tha the pre-crisis level of unemploymente (4% or 5%) is too much to hope for.

Others problems like climate change and other environmental threats, high unemployment, and increased poverty and inequality in most countries around the world have not gone away.
The author thinks that addressing these long-term problems would actually help to solve the short-term problems. More progressive taxation policies such as, simultaneously reduces would increase employment and Inequality by boosting total demand. Or for example, higher taxes at the top could generate revenues to finance needed public investment, and to provide some social protection for those at the bottom, including the unemployed.

That is to see something good from everything bad that is expected for 2010

Link fot the entire article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2012/jan/13/many-americans-2012-worse

"The reality exceeds our lyrics"

How important is music in my life? Well, music was very important since I was a child because in it I build my identity and met new ways to see and understand the world.

I like punk, but not the classical stereotype of punk (just noise and smacks). I like the strong of punk, but when this gets an important social and politic message.  According with is, one of my favorite band is a group of people that is coherent with his lyrics, this band is a spanish group called ‘Sin Dios’, they says that music has to be free (in both meanings), also they talk about responsibility of our acts and worries of our society. Listen this kind of music on chilean radios is very difficult, so I listen my own music collection.  There are just a few goods cds on the music shops and these are so expensive… so I prefer download music from internet, there is a lot of webs of bands and political collectives who want to share his songs and ideas.

 I think that music have connect the people whit his reality, and make feel people interested in our future, and make feel fight for themselves … at least, music make me feel like that.

The books will never die!!

I do several things to avoid the tedium… the principal of this things is read, seriously, I like books a lot, sometimes I spend a whole day reading a interesting novel, or a essay… sometimes poetry or history, politics and theory books.

When I started to take literature seriously, one of the first books I read was "God and the State" by Mikhail Bakunin, a classic of anarchist theory. I like political and controversial  books, so one of my favorite titles is "1984" by George Orwell.

The books I enjoy most are the nineteenth-century Russian novels, I love writers likeDostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Lermontov ... their stories are always full of details and ideasthat provide insight into the functioning of an entire society through the personalities of theirdeep characters.

However, I also like some contemporary American authors, such as Luis Sepúlveda, Eduardo Galeano or poets like Mauricio Redolés and Mario Benedetti, who is the poemthat I leave in the video below.

No te salves - Mario Benedetti

La donna è mobile

Italy is a country in southern Europe, is separated from France, Switzerland, and Austria by the Alps, a chain of mountains like Andes here on Chile. Italy it’s a peninsula, meaning it is surrounded by the sea on all sides apart from one.

This country have beautiful cities, amazing monument, they dance tarantella, great music and a lot of art. I think Italy is one of the most beautiful countries of Europe, you can breathe history in its streets, buildings filled with great architecture and beautiful and old squares. 

I would like to travel around all over the country with my girlfriend, walking through cities such as Rome, Milan, Tuscany ... know the big wineries, visit museums, and I’ve love to learn to speak Italian.

When finished with my studies, I would like to continue studying at a university in Italy, learn the language, maybe I stay at Italy, working in a big city.

Lovely term...

Ohhh summer time!! The warm Christmas and the year just beginning. It is something entirely new have classes, being in Santiago with a warmth that does not drop thirty degrees the entire day.

This term has been strange, pressed and strange, but after all, if we are taking classes now is because we decided that, or at least most of us (?). I would live to finish this semester, I hope to pass all classes and have some time to rest and be with family and friends. I want - if February is free - to travel to the mountains and relax and forget everything I'velearned these past months.


It would be nice to end the English courses in order to maintain a decent vocabulary and pronunciation, who knows, maybe I can use in the future...