English course review and self-evaluation

 

Learning English at university has been an experience, because it's a very different form of teaching compared to my experience in school. To get started, I was accustomed to learning this idiom, the same as any other subject, I mean, without any practice and memorizing verbs in different tenses. Because of that, this semester on the English course was very strange and difficult for me because it was the first time I learned an idiom in the right way.

The in-person classes that we had at the beginning of the semester and in the last weeks have been very interactive and helpful, especially on Mondays when we did team work. I have to say that I am very introverted, but nevertheless, I feel very comfortable. It helps me to realize my realistic skills with the idiom that, sometimes I think, are not very developed. In the case of the zoom classes that we had during the strike, I personally felt more distracted and in the last classes I felt that I didn't put so much effort as in the other mode. But the good side is that we work more in listening and writing activities, which are also very important.

As well, having this blog has been a challenge for me because I am very slow at writing in English and I always have to look for the translation of words that I know but forgot at the moment. This has helped me to improve and every time it takes me less effort! Also, the topics has been very interesting and it made me think about things that i never asked for.

Outside of this class, I find and use this language frequently in a lot of activities. Most of the time on the social media, where I see a video, listen to a song or even when I read a meme haha. Actually, this semester I downloaded an app to study the idiom, so there I had to speak too. As well, the professors send more and more texts in English, so I really find it in various aspects of my life and every time I am better prepared to face it.

To close, I think that the aspects that I have to improve for the future are especially talking and reading in English, because I can understand a lot of words in the context of a conversation or in a text, but when I had to spin the idea I had a lot of difficulties with vocabulary and verb tenses. I expect to have the opportunity to continue studying and practicing the idiom until I can integrate it as a second language.

Changes to my study programme in anthropology

Since I started studying anthropology at the Universidad de Chile, I have had a very good experience with the study program. Even so, I think there are some changes that would be helpful for future generations to have a better integration into university life and the contents of anthropology.

Regarding the curriculum, which was updated very recently, I think it would be a good idea to carry theoretical studies into practice, because we study many authors, but sometimes you wonder how I can apply this knowledge?

On the other hand, I think that the workload and length of studies are very good, but I think that the workload should be more egalitarian because sometimes, in a semester, there are subjects with a lot to read and in others almost nothing to read, even so they are all interesting and that is why I wish we would dedicate the same study time to each one.

Speaking of the infrastructure of my faculty, I consider that the rooms are very small for the number of students who enter the degree. I remember that when I just joined there were more than a hundred students in my generation and the rooms where I have had classes can accommodate no more than 50. I think that two rooms could be joined to make a big one and that would be a good solution.

Regarding the use of technology, I have been in some laboratories that are very well equipped. Therefore, to improve this aspect, I would suggest that these instruments be used more, since many first-year subjects could take advantage of their potential.

Finally, the teaching methods of the professors have been very diverse, but an improvement that could be applied to all the classes would be, as a conclusion of all the above, the greater integration of the practical in the discipline. More field work, going to museums and laboratories would make studying anthropology at this university much more enjoyable.

Time travel to the past

If I have the opportunity to travel across time, I would choose to go to the past, specifically to early times at the beginning of human life. I would like to go to Africa, where the first Homo sapiens appeared, because I am curious about the environment and conditions where we evolved. 

To say a specific time, I would say two hundred thousand years ago in the Rift Valley, which is in East Africa. It's supposed that in the pleistocene it would be cold and with a flora and fauna very different from the current one. It would probably be a dangerous place to stay if I didn't go with the appropriate equipment.

For the above reasons, I wouldn't like to stay there very much. I don't know if I would survive if I did as well, jaja. Maybe I would walk a little bit, breathe the fresh air and see if the reality of that age is like the modern theories say.

I would like to see a human settlement to see the way of life, the tools and infrastructure where they live. More than intervene or interact, I would like to travel there to satisfy my curiosity about the origin of our species, so I'll be sure to keep that moment in my memory and then leave.

A job I would like to have in the future: Archaeologist

I signed in to the anthropology major at this university because of the specialization in archeology. I have always admired that job, especially for the practice part of digging up in archaeological sites. I don't care about a specific work, because archeology has a big laboral field, I like the discipline in general.

The job of an archeologist consists of studying the materiality related to human intervention. They work on the sites doing outdoor work and also complement the investigations with theoretical and historiographic information. 

Personally, I want to do this job because it combines two things I like very much, which are working outdoors and being a humanistic discipline where I can learn about different cultures. I would never support a monotonous job!

I think I would like to do the work because I love the practice subjects I have had about this speciality, because I can make a lot of conclusions by only seeing a piece of pottery, a paleolithic tool or a bone. 

To close, the skills and abilities I think will be useful for this kind of work are being observant, meticulous and investigative to produce accurate and pertinent knowledge.

The best concert I`ve ever been to: Cultura Profética

Since I was 13, I have been a fan of the Puerto Rican band "Cultura Profética". In April 2017, I have the opportunity to see them live with my sister. The concert was in my hometown, Concepción, in a place named "Sur Activo" which is like a gym conditioned with a stage.

This band was born in 1996 in Puerto Rico as a root reggae band inspired by the Bob Marley style and with a definite political content. They have eight albums and they are still recording discs. At the moment of the concert, they were doing "La Dulzura" Tour, which is my favourite disc ever.

During the event, I felt a very relaxed atmosphere. There was a lot of smoke and the lights were in dark colors, so you felt like you were in a mystical and pleasant place. All the people, including me, were singing loudly and dancing because there were no seats. 

I enjoyed that concert especially because these band performances are very intimate, even though they were surrounded by thousands of people. The vocalist talks about this country with a lot of love and admiration to artists from here like Victor Jara.

Other things I remember about this experience is that I reached to see the long and characteristic big dreadlock of the vocalist that he cut shortly after that concert. Also, at the entrance, the guards didn't let you in with water, so we had to put our bottles out inside the shrubberry and go for it after.

A country I would like to visit: Uruguay

 I have always thought that Latinoamerica has very beautiful landscapes and cultures. Some of my favourites are in Uruguay. This country attracts my attention because of the musicians, writers and politicians I know from there, who I think have a very special sensibility. I would like to know the places where they grew up and have been inspired.

Also, I know that the political system didn't work so badly because they have high indices of IDH and IPC and his ex-president, Pepe  Mujica, has been recognized and admired internationally. Because of that, I think it must be a nice place to live, but I don't have plans to leave my country for a very long time, so I would like to go to study, especially because they have free education there.

In addition, i have a big interest in music and gastronomy in general, so if I went to Uruguay I think I would spend a lot of time and money going to concerts and restaurants. I've heard that in this country they don't pay IVA when they buy books, but I don't know if that applies to foreigners. If it does, then I think I would look for some ones.