The final post: November 25

For about four months I have been on this English class. At first I wasn’t so sure about taking it, because all my friends decided to join to the French class, but then I understand the importance of English. I talk with my dad and I ask him what the best choice was. He told me “English is the language that moves the world. When I was young, I couldn’t take English lessons because I couldn’t afford them, now that I have the money I don’t have the brains to study it”. It was “Peter Parker moment” (when his uncle tells him that "Great power implies great responsibility"), jeje, but it’s true, language is one of the biggest powers that you can have nowadays, and such a useful tool implies great responsibility. As student of architecture to know English is the key to open new doors on the international business. That’s the reason I decide up my mind to take English class, and I don’t regret on it.


As a general opinion, the curse has been great. I’m against those who believe that English class are only grammar, cause that way you never really understand what you are studding, but you do realize it when speak on English with others, because that way you are force to think in English that is much better that just study it from a book, without including how much you improve your pronunciation and confidence. To speak with others and post all weeks during four months different activities have definitely revolutionized my concept of the University courses. I have never post something in my entire live, and to learn this new system have been so much funnier and interesting than the typical printed work idea. Because you got your own space were you can tell whatever you want, no matter how boring or frick it could be. That way you also improve your spelling and the use of grammar, in an entertaining way. You also have to take care about the design of what you are publicizing, to get the attention of the readers, so that way you have to look for attractive pictures that everyone can enjoy. Another interesting thing about posting is that you always feel the attraction or the curiosity to see your classmate’s post, which never happened in a normal class, so that gives more points to the posting experience! Thanks for the patience and this entertaining way to understand and make us progress on this language!

Blade Runner: The ugly reality

This film, directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, is based on the Philip K. Dicks novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. It has become a recognized classic of our time just because it did what no one ever did; start talking about "postmodernism" and "cyberpunk", when it was just coming out of the closet. Viewing the film from an architect point, it has become regular topic to have a vision of the future and most of all, the city’s future into a dark and bad context, like in an “end of the world” way. But I have to say that I’m against all those prophetic. As an architect, we are fighting with this reality, those who believe that nobody is taking care about the environment problems and the electric sources are wrong, because nowadays there are new construction methods and bioclimatic systems to control these problems. By the other hand, I could see on the movie, that the public areas sucks cause who could imagine a city with such highness without a reasonable public space. People on the movie lucks more like rats than human been. I hope not to fall on this movie reality to increase the depression or the sadness, cause future is not the way that someone shows you, future is going to be the way you are going to built it!

My favorite website:

I can’t imagine my life without hotmail. Every time I’m on the net, I have to cheek my e-mails, this doesn’t mean that I have lots of emails on my inbox, only that I have become a real addicted to it! Hotmail is a website based on electronic mail, where you can send and receive mail from everyone that has another electronic mail, no matter where you are. And just as hotmail, there are more mails on the internet like Gmail, yahoo mail, etc. But Hotmail is different, and for my especial. I have it since 1999, about 8 years ago, and I have been able to see all the changes of this site. The particularity of it is that when you log in, you have infinity of thing you can do on it, well, you can send email, and attachments, like some publicity, works, photos, music, and whatever you want! It gives you the possibility of join msn, a quick and easy instant internet post that aloud you talk with your friends immediately and fluid. This give you the chance of continue friendships at long distance, which is great! Definitely give it a try!

Do schools kill creativity?

After hearing Sir Ken Robinson talk on TED, a fascinating website, I just can’t stop thinking: If he his right, why technology keeps innovating on new thing? Why there still are architects, designers and artist that impress us? I think that creativity is not a “material thing” that you can remove from people. Some of us have it and some of us just don’t. And no institution, education or way of life can take that away. Personalities can be transform especially on a child, but somehow he will express himself the way he want, cause school can regulate or model your ideas and your thought to make them become more structure an organized, but what you got inside, your passion, your dreams, the unrevealed behaviors just can’t disappears. That is how I explain myself why I can study architect, because my career depends on how creativity I can be to resolve in the better way the useful space problem. During my school time no one teach me how can I take more vantage of my ideas or how get more innovating works, but that doesn’t make it a creativity killer, instead of that, I thing that school give you tools to become responsible, worker, mature and sacrificed, and for that I am graceful. I hope that everyone can see the education no as a problem, just as the first device to make people reach what they want.

Xavi’s Blog!

I have surf through all my classmates BlogSpots and I have to say that if you read quite concentrated Xaviera’s blog, you will find her exactly personality reflex on her words! I met Xaviera this semester because we got the same workshop, but I have to affirm that I have saw her before, around the University, and trust me, what you see I what you got! Xaviera style reflexes her personality in all ways. She is crazy, but in the good manner, she just does what she thinks. She is an excellent person. She’s always smiling, and the little I know about her makes me understand why “everydayisherday” (her BlogSpot name), because no matter how bad lucky she got in things, she will do her best effort on transform it into a lesson to grow up as a person. In her posts you will see some part of her. F.A.U athlete, with a high sense of the ecological concerns, with an untypical music tastes, makes her an interesting person to know about. I think that she write as well as she thinks, and in a very clear way, very easy to understand. I could say that her blog design is not the best one, but who have it? Jajaja. Well done Xaviera I like your comments, especially the one about Victory City, because I think in the same way!

I-pod technology

I remember the first time I saw one i-pod. I was at school when a friend came with this thin white small thing and he told us that he not only could listen music on it, also he could safe all his music on it, all in the same place. At the begging I don’t believe him, cause on my computer I used to keep about 10 gigs of music, but then he show us all the list of music that he keep on the ipot and definitely I got in shock! Few months later on the T.V., watching my favorite series E.R , I saw the main character actually taking an ipod out of his pocket!. Certainly it was a good way of publicizing it, and it worked with me; now I want to have an ipod. So last year was my first Uni year, so my dad bought me an ipod, as a present for my effort. He told me that it will make me some good company during my nights spent working on my models. Now I’m in second year and surely it was true, my ipot have become my favorite piece of technology, and I have become fond of it. I use it almost every day, on the way to University, working, I even bring it to my parties and I use it to put music for everyone. It’s easy to use, comfortable and you can carry all your music on just one appliance piece! A good invent for the running times that we are living, and now they can even match with your clothes, cause they are in every colour you want.

Life map

Hey everyone, these are the life map questions given that Simon give. If you miss that class, here you can find the information you need! good luck!

In the beginning
1 what was the first present you received?
As a child
2 what was the most interesting place in the neighborhood where you live as a child?
3 As a child, what was the first job you wanted to do when you grew up?
Life experience
4 who was the most interesting person you ever met?
5 what is the most dangerous or frightening thing that ever happened to you?
Locking back on your life
6 what do you most regret doing?
7 what are you most proud of?
The present
8 where do you spend most of your time?
9 what is your favorite thing that you own?
Your future
10 what is your biggest dream or ambition?

Back into the Orwell’s reality

The Victory City it’s the future city, an American dream come true. It’s based on one big institution that controls everything, but provided people comfort, security and happiness. Wait, did I just say happiness? All in the same place? Wow, this must be a hug project, taking care of every life detail, but shouldn’t it be already done? I think that this extraordinary place for some reason doesn’t exist. I don’t think that it’s a good idea to mix everything in the same place; human action can’t just be pigeon hole. Sometimes we need to get out of the real world, escape, get out of that routine that suffocate us, but this kind of cities just keep us like prisoners of life, doing everything in the exact way every day, the same markets, coffee shops, restaurants, gym, work, etc. It’s true that our real cities may have pollution problems, traffic, natural resource and definitely they aren’t perfect, but a good urbanism knows that we need to fix our problems know to model our next move in the future. You just can’t start a new perfect city based on a theory that might result, because in the meantime you will understand the mistakes and which things can be improve. People need real money to life, their own privacy, parks, in some way, individually, not always but there must be a space for it! Have you read Big Brother from George Orwell? This is the kind of reality that we are going to built with Victory city, a cold, impersonal and manipulated way of life. We need to grow from our present mistakes to build a correct future, bearing in mind our past, just to consider not going back to it.

A piece of Nicolas Salgado

It was my first English class and I realize that I was alone, because none of my friends wanted to study English with me. But I got lucky, cause everyone were so friendly that I didn’t care much about been by me. I have never met these classmates before and the first one I met was Nicolas Salgado an architecture student cursing fifth year. Looking back on his life, the first presents that he receives was a bicycle, something for him really important until today, because nowadays he is planning to buy a new one just to remember his childhood days, and also because he believe that is a great way of moving around Santiago since he sell his car.


When he was young, he used to lived on a very close neighborhood in which the most interesting place that he remember was a big tree where he dreamt on build a house tree, motive that end on a good reason to become an architect, is only and first job that he wanted to do when he grew up. Discussing about life experience, the most interesting person that he ever met was a school teacher, who arrived from England to teach on his school. He always has loved to be with exchange people, to know about difference of cultures, and life styles.

At the time of twelve years old, he remembers himself on a car accident, which has been the only dangerous situation that he had experimented, but luckily nothing happened to him. About his life, the only thing that he regrets of not doing it is an exchange, which he is planning on doing it now. He is really proud of studding architecture and he is the kind of person that moves a lot around the city, where he used to spend the most of his time, so his career is just perfect for him.

His favorite thing is a computer, which he use a lot working as a future architect, and is funny, cause is biggest ambition is to become a bioclimatic one, just like me, so maybe in a future not so far away we can work together!

How difficult is to love, and try forget at the same time.

I choose this song, because is make me remember. Remember things about love, this strange but comfortable feeling that full us. I'm not against those who believe that love is the most important gear of life, cause in some way I also believe it to, but not with the same strength. What I do accept us true is that what impulse us to do thing that sometimes you even don’t care, is what I call love. This song remains me that we cannot forget what moves us, what we want in life or the reason for what we are made of, to love and be love. God made us to stay in pairs, and that's the way we are became to be. But be in love is such a great experience that have to forget it's a really difficult task to do. Not always the person who we love it is made for us (kind of destiny), and when you realise that, there’s no such pain or difficult thing to be done than take this person out of your mind. The chosen one, that speacial been that one day make you dream about happiness is now the one who keeps you apart from it. Decisions have to be taken, but wich one? What is important to consider is that sometimes you have to believe in second chances, not be so stubborn and denied the possibility to forget and forgive. That is my gear, never forget that life is a rollercoaster and never stop trying to live it.








Sara Mclahan
Angel
From afterglow album



Spend all your time waiting

for that second chance


for a break that would make it okay


there's always one reason


to feel not good enough


and it's hard at the end of the day


I need some distraction


oh beautiful release


memory seeps from my veins


let me be empty


and weightless and maybe


I'll find some peace tonight





in the arms of an angel


fly away from here


from this dark cold hotel room


and the endlessness that you fear


you are pulled from the wreckage


of your silent reverie


you're in the arms of the angel


may you find some comfort there





so tired of the straight line


and everywhere you turn there's


vultures and thieves at your back


and the storm keeps on twisting


you keep on building the lie


that you make up for all that you lack


it don't make no difference


escaping one last time


it's easier to believe


in this sweet madness oh


this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees





in the arms of an angel


fly away from here


from this dark cold hotel room


and the endlessness that you fear


you are pulled from the wreckage


of your silent reverie


you're in the arms of the angel


may you find some comfort there


you're in the arms of the angel


may you find some comfort here

Have you seen this child?

This is Madeleine McCann, a four years old child that disappeared during her family holiday’s, from the apartment that they were staying, in Portugal. It is four month since Madeleine she was mysterious kidnap.


Her story has travel around the world becoming an illusion for all other families that have also lost one son like her. She have transform into a sort of image, icon for all the dead causes of finding boy and girls that only God knows the reason of what or why they disappear.


Bu t what make her so special? Why her story has become so famous? When 800.000 children fade every year. When just in her country, England, 70.000 children are deport missing in the same strange ways. I’m not trying to be rude, but her parents have become more important than the same cause. The fact that they have created a foundation that collect money to pay for Madeleine search, and the millions of dollars that they earn with the sell’s of wristbands and posters with her information, makes everyone think that maybe they are taking vantage with this all situation. Even the police department and the investigators believe that could be a possibility that the parents are related with this child missing.


And that make me think: Is necessary to do all this public campaign? I can even imagine how hard must be to lose one son, but make it such a massive story? Makes even the kidnappers (if there was a truly snatch) thinks that they could have more money vantage and reword of this situation than they ever thought. Or other families to do the same just to earn with it something, which I really don’t understand what could be more valuable than your own family.


I just hope that little Madeleine feels alright wherever she is, and that their parent find peace in their souls when the truth came
out.


David Batty, James Sturcke and agencies
Wednesday September 12, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Harry Potter Summary

Harry Potter was eleven years old when the first book of his adventures came on the market. This unusual boy lives with the Durseleys, his aunt family at Privet Drive number 4, a common and ordinary perfect neighborhood. The unfair family always privileges his cousin Dudley, forcing him to live an unhappy life. But everything changes when he acept at Hogwarts School, a mysterious Witchcraft and Wizardry instruct place. Here, he discovers his real past; his parents, who where magicians too, were murder by Voldemort, the most powerful but darkness magician. This warlock, known as "the one who must not be named", disappeared when he tried to kill Harry, after “finishing” with his parents.


Now, introduced to the whole magic world, Harry must assure that this evil magician never come back to the magic community, otherwise, he will control the entire´s magic future. So, during his first year, Harry develop this strange connection with Voldemort, making clear that he still alive somewhere, trying to returns to recovered the power and authority that he once got, to takes ravage by killing Harry Potter once for all.

First Harry will have to seize a magical stone that make the owner immortal, and keep it safe and away from Voldemort. Then in the second school year Harry will discover that his connection with the Lord of the Darkness has increase, because he realized that he knows Parsel, the dead snake’s language that his enemy used to speak. Something is turning students into stone, and thanks to this new gift, Harry discovered that an enormous, ancient Snake was left in freedom, so he must fight with it.

The third year, luckily, Harry finds out that the only “real family” that he have left is a godfather named Sirius Black, who was unfair blamed for killing Harry parent´s, recently escape form Azkaban (the magic prison guarded by Dementors). He will help Sirius run away from the authorities, combating Dementors, unpleasant creatures that take all happiness from your body to torment their victims. In fourth year, there is a competition between three wizards' schools; opportunity that Voldemort take to kill Harry, but know Harry have improved his battle spells, so he hardly escapes just to tell everyone that "the one who must not be named" have finally returns. Fifth school year, only Harry’s friends believe that Voldemort is back cause the Ministry of Magic refuses to acknowledge his return. They will created a secret headquarters called the Order of the Phoenix's, to protect Harry´s life and battle against this powerful warlock and his followers, that now are join together again. Harry will have to look after some strange crystal prophecy, which revealed Harry´s and Voldemort future, showing that one of them must die to allow the other lives.

BBC Learning English web site

It’s very fascinating the way that English have become so important on this global world during the last century. Now, everyone is interest on learning this massive language no matter how, cause people have realize that unknowing it, means stay outside the big world marketing, that no matter where or when the internationals opportunities will let you aside if you don’t speak in the same channel.




All types of cultures now understand that the only reason that speak in English has become necessary is not because United States or England are world-wide powers, is because it has grown the need of be connect with the “outside world”, and the direct way of doing it, is just comprehend the other side. This explains why the internet has created different websites to clarify and teach in a better way this language.

















A very good example is the BBC website, that has create one of the most complete ways of teaching English by the net, using all kind of methods to make you clear grammar, listening and way of used this idiom. By exams and quizzes you can improve your English, resolving entertaining questions in different easy-hard levels. Also, you can listen exercises to progress the vocabulary and the pronunciations. Ass well you can discover the difference among all of those difficult words that are very similar between them.

As a conclusion, I could say that I spend lot of my time in this page, but I never get bore, because it’s so didactic and dynamic that you forget that you are learning something so important as the English language.