Last post.

Dear all.

First I have to say that it's been a crazy year,  as usual. But this post is more about reflecting about the year than merely having to describe it. 

Write about:
> Good things that have happened
> Situations that haven't worked so well
> Your achievements
> Other things you want to mention

Alright then, let's see... 2018 was supposed to be a good year in my head, at least in economic terms. And I must say it hasn't been what I planned. In the beginning I had three job opportunities and of those 3, U de Chile is the only one that remained viable. The other two jobs didn't start and at this point I've just discarded them. That made me make the decision of having U de Chile as my only employer for what's left of this year. 

One really bad thing that happened is that my mighty vaporizer got stolen :( I still have a tiny hope of having a positive answer from the faculty as to what happened with it. I forgot it in a classroom and it should have turned up by now :(.


But not only bad things happen, one must open their eyes and observe that in between "negative" things, good or positive things can be found. 

This year I consolidated a complicated relationship with my girlfriend, we designed our house, and right after I finish writing this post, we'll go to start building the foundations of our new home. That's awesome!!

Lastly, I'll mention something that's new for me. For the first time working at U de CHile, my students have asked me to share and celebrate the end of the course with a "convivencia" which I find really cute and sweet. I look forward to friday after our written test so we can share some nice food and a fun time. 



Now it's your turn, tell me: How's your year going?
Leave comments in my post and three of your classmates (no pictures needed this time).
Wordcount: 200 

Have you had a good year, so far?

Myself in 10 years.

Hey everyone!

We're almost done with blogs!
This time we're going to write the third and last chosen topic. Myself in ten years.

Some of you may think that 10 years is a long period of time, but I've seen years fly right in front of me and all we're left with is the feeling of being older. Now, I'm not saying that time doesn't have any consequences, but deep inside, I don't "feel 30".

In ten years from now I'll be 40, that sounds really weird inside my head, but let's see.. I think that I'd probably be working in my own cactus company, which is something that I've been preparing myself to do for a couple of years now. In this company I imagine that I'll be able to sell not only plants, but also seeds and "full gardens", as in the service of designing and creating a garden in the spaces required by people. So if in 10 years you have a house and want to design a low maintenance (that requires not a lot of water) garden, email me ;).

Another thing I'd like to be doing, is to mix education with the cactus topic, for example giving lectures and workshops to people who desire learning about them.

As for my personal life, I hope to be able to travel around Chile with this, also continue my project of living together with Alejandra, my couple.

In a more political point of view, I really hope our country suffers the necessary changes to leave behind the sad political and social structure we're living in, I hope for copper, water and lithium to be nationalized. 

So, what about you?
Write at least 190 words about this topic. 

V

Post 8

 A Subject you enjoy studying this semester



We're in the final stage of the semester, and in the final posts. If we count this session, we only have 3 left.

 

Today's post will be about: "A Subject I've enjoyed studying this semester"
I know you have very different subjects or courses each semester, most students have 5/7 courses, and they can be divided into practical courses (doing and putting theory into practise) and theoretical courses. 


Was the subject practical/theoretical?
Did you choose it because of the teacher or the schedule? 
What would you change to this course if you could?
What was your favorite aspect of this course? 

The questions above are meant to help you start writing :)

Don't forget to mention these:

> Name
> Describe what you do in classes
> Mention the main contents you have seen
> Explain why you like the subject


Word Count: 180

Make comments on 3 of your patners' posts + a comment on the teacher's post.

Post 7

YES! It's the seventh post already, that means the semester is about to end!

For this post, you have to choose only ONE of these  2 options:


A career-related website that you enjoy visiting.

You have to:

- provide the link
- describe the website (sections, features,etc)
- say how often you visit the site
- explain why you like the site.


>Add comments to 3 of your classmates’ blogs + a comment on your teacher's post



A person/expert on your field that you admire.

Say:

-Who she/he is. (short biography)
-What she/he has done. (examples of their work)
-Why you like her/him.
-Include his/her image

> About 170 words
>Add comments to 3 of your classmates’ blogs + a comment on your teacher's post.


_____________________________________________________


A career related website I use all the time is Word-reference.com.
I've even recommended you using it for your posts, as it includes examples of the words as well as discussion about uncertain translation and other expressions.

I visit this website on a daily basis, because as you know, english is my second language too, so I learn new words very often, also to remind myself of the spelling of words I don't use regularly. One of the most recurring situations in which I use this site, is when my students ask me technical words related to their careers.

The sight of this page is very nice in my opinion, it uses soft colors and that usually helps people to relax, also it provides links to different useful sites, as well as dictionaries in several languages that are one click away!

 

Now it's your turn.

Post 6

Hello once again!
Second chosen topic, who's ready to write about poets?
Pablo Neruda, Ezra Pound, Walt Whitman, Violeta Parra, and others? well, uhmm... it was not poets, it was Pets, sorry, my bad.

So, this time, thanks to your choice at the beginning of the semester, we'll devote this entire post to talk about pets. I currently live with 4 pets. Two cats and two dogs. Marley (F) and Guatón (M) are my cats, and Negrura (F) and Harrison (M) are my dogs.

Everyone likes animals, I guess. I liked them since I was a boy but I didn't really pay attention to animals up until I was 20 something. That's when I first got my dog Harrison, my first pet. He's lived with me since I'm 24 and I'm 30 now.. so you could say he's an adult dog.
I also have a female dog, she was given to me by my brother "to take care" but I ended up adopting her and changing her not very well suited name, Diana, to Negrura.
Here's the two of them:



As I mentioned, I also live with cats, they don't like each other, but I love them both. Here's how they look:

 
On the left Marley, and on the right Guatón.

Now, having pets is not only the cute part of looking at them, they also mean responsibilities, work, and sometimes sadness of knowing they will go. I personally have lost one cat and one dog, both for tragic reasons, and that has made me aware of the fact that no matter how much you love them, when their time comes, they'll just go.
So I guess what I'm saying is ENJOY their company while you have them around :)

Now it's your turn to tell me about pets! remember, don't be like me.. thinking about poets xD
alright: wordcount is 160 words.
Don't forget about pictures and comments in my post and three of your classmates!
V.

Post 5

Hello everyone!
This has been a complex year so far, this semester has had its ups and downs, but we've carried on and we're now in the fifth posts for this blog activity.
This time we'll write about our first chosen topic, that is: Picás to eat around the faculty.

I remember tha day we voted for this, everyone seemed to like the idea, but now you'll face the difficulty of having to write a 160 word post about the places you usually visit to have a quick or cheap meal.

During this year, and since unlike other years where I worked in many faculties, I haven't been forced to eat in many restaurants or food joints. So, my main knowledge abou this comes from my previous years as a teacher at the Chemistry and Dentistry faculty.

When you're a vegetarian, by default, every place you , you will be offered salad. And as the Simpson's already established, "no vives de ensalada", so it's pretty boring not to have any nearby veggie restaurants such as Vg burger, Vegan Bunker, or Evergreen.

Whenever I had a short window of time during lunch time I visited "pollo completo" which was the cheapest, fastest option. In there, with about 3 lucas, I was able to eat some french fries, a glass of juice and a plate of several different types of salad. Clearly not the best lunch, but still something that gave me enough energy to go on.

Other places that are near our faculty, that I've used as source of food, are Tottus (where I'd buy a "pascualina" or "empanadas") and the very expensive, but quick "Ricoffee".

What about you?
Write your post about your favorite places to eat around the faculty. Don't forget the minimum wordcount, 160, and to upload at least one picture, and the comments on my post and your classmates'.

Post 4

A photography you like and its story!

Hi girls and boys!
This week's post is about a photography you like, any of them! It can be one you took, or a famous one taken by a photographer of your choice.

Here's mine!

 In the picture, you can see George Harrison, and Bob Marley (and two other people I don't know)

I've liked these musicians for a long time now. Harrison, former guitar player and my favorite Beatle, is also the name of my first dog. And Marley, family name of one of the greatest artists/activists I know, is the name of my first cat :)

 Here's my version of it. These are my Harrison and Marley :)

This took place in Copiapó, where I adopted Marley. She was about 4 months old in the picture, Harrison had never lived with a cat before, but he's such a lovely dog that he never had problems with her. This picture is special because it reminds me good times. It was taken back in 2014 when I lived in the Atacama Region. The reason why I chose this picture is because these animals were my family then, since I lived alone and knew nobody there. 

EXTRA!!! Just because they look so cute!

So...
What's your favorite picture?
Where was it taken?
Who took it?
Why is it special for you?

- 150 words minimum.
- Include at least one picture. 
- Comment on your teacher's post and 3 of your classmates’ blogs.