And the year ends

This year was a great year, with difficulties, but just as I expected.

At the beginning of the year I wasn't very confident, because I thought that my classmates would be better than me, but when I knew them I realized that they had the same apprehensions that me and beside we has a similar level of English. Then I began me to feel surer of myself.

My favorite classes were Practica de Estrategias Auditivas and Desafios Educacionales de la Sociedad del Siglo XXI. Since I realized that I was good in listening activities Estrategias Auditivas began me to like. I liked it when we had to do transcriptions because although I don't do nothing important (only I listen English music), I almost always understand and I don't find any difficult.

Desafios Educacionales also like me because it showed us the reality of the education in Chile, the problems that exist and the problems that the teachers have, too and the things we'll find when we begin our labor life.

I had some problems with Grammar, firstly I felt that I didn't understand anything that the teacher taught us and I felt disappointed when I didn't get the marks that I wanted. In this subject I learnt a lot, from very basic things that I hadn't learnt well in high school, to some new things for me as reported speech, phrasal verbs, conditional clauses, etc. I had to study hard and I did a lot of exercises to improve and passed the subject in first semester and second too.

Another subject which I had problems, was Vida Cotidiana, this doesn't mean that I don't like the course, but speaking test were very difficult to me. I remember one time I got very upset because I felt that instead of improving I was worsening  but after I understood that I had to take it with calm and try to control my nervousness at time to give a speaking.

In this course I liked when we watched videos (movie trailers, music videos, lessons of internet, etc.) and I liked when we read too. The most I enjoyed was when we did the movie project; it was amusing to have to masquerade and act and besides we had fun running through the university shouting and laughing.

For me, it was great to come back to studied in the university again, even though  I have studied hard to improve and get good marks; nevertheless, I have to improve a lot yet and for that during the summer vacations I'll review all I study this year overall Grammar and also I'll talk and read a lot  in English.

Finally I must say that despite all the difficulties I had, this has been a great year.

A Scary Story

I have to begin this tale explaining something, I've never  believed in ghost, scared stories, witches or UFOs, etc; even though I'm easily frightened, also  I'm incredulous, but I am really sure that this history is true.
I was 9 or 10 years old and I had gone to the countryside with my mother because there were my relatives from Santiago, I remember we had a amusing day, had lunch together (as we always  did as my great-grandparents were alive), and with my cousins we had a lot of fun: we swam in the stream, ran and did a lot of games. In the night we always made a bonfire and the kids had to recollected branches and another thing to throw into the fire, and when we were around the bonfire, my uncles told us histories about colorful lights in the sky and how it abducted people; they also told histories about the evil and the pacts he made with the farmers and what happened with the soul of these people in the hell. Those histories game me curiosity, but I believed all were lie, that they made it up only to scared us. In that we were, when somebody (I don't remember who), told a story about a woman called La Llorona, who had lost her children (they were killed), and she is looking for revenge and it said that she could steal children so replace hers.
When it became cold, everybody went into the house (an old house) and with my cousins went to go to bed but we stayed over the bed talking about the stories, how was the day, etc, and besides we were laughing and throwing pillows  and toys to each other, when suddenly, one of my cousins made us remain silent because she had listened something. When everything were in calm, typical sounds of the countryside were listened, but something else was also listened; someone were crying outside our door. It was a harrowing crying full of pain and suffer. We were so scared almost paralyzed of the fear, that only my bigger cousin dared to make something and he opened the door, which gave to the patio, but no one were there not even an animal; although, it was dark anyone couldn't hide behind a tree, besides, the sound disappeared immediately when my cousin opened the door and the crickets or the wind were not even listened by a good while. 
It was so weird so I decided go to look for my mom and I asking if I could sleep with her that night, and she said only if I didn't move all the night and I am pretty sure it was as I had promised her.

The boy who saved the river

This is a story about a boy called Julian, and how he saved the river.

One night, when Julian was sleeping, the river beside his house got angry and flooded the whole village where he lived. His family escaped and ascended to the roof of the house. Julian was so scared that he didn't want to descend until the water had returned to the river.

When it dawned, he noticed that the river was full of rubbish and he thought that was the reason why the river got angry with them. Julian felt sad with this fact and decided to finish it. He began asking to his mother and the others women of the village, why they threw away the rubbish into the river, and they said to him that people who lived above in the bank of the river also made it.

He continued walking along the bank of the river, and found a man throwing bottles and other things in the river, Julian asked him why reason he made it, and the man answered the same thing this mother and the others women of the village have said.

On the way he found industries, which have thrown dirty water contaminated with chemicals to the river. Julian was disappointed and tired because anyone gave him a good reason why they were messing the river; however, his curiosity was more powerful and he continued with his journey.

And then, almost without realizing, he arrived to the mountain, where the river is born, although it was no longer a river, but rather a stream, and beside it there was a little wooden hut, where lived a beautiful girl. Julian asked her if she has thrown rubbish to the river and he told her about the inundation in his village. She said that she never thought that the stream became a river able to flood a village and promised him she'll never throw the wither flowers in the stream again.

When she was saying that, Julian suddenly saw a piece of paper floating on the water, the girl told him that once daily piece of paper passed floating in front of her hut. Julian ran and caught the piece of paper and saw that it was a poem from the boy who lived above the stream, to the girl; she read it and said that she would go to see him and she asked him not to throw rubbish to the river again.

And that's how Julian saved the river.

Chilean Food

In Chile the food is eat depending the season of the year, so in summer we eat fruits and other dishes that we don't eat in winter, besides, because the length of the country the variety of food is big.

Here, in the central zone of the country, in summer we usually eat fruits like strawberries, watermelons, melons, pears, raspberries, etc; and the typical dishes are humitas, which are a mixed of milled corn with onion and basil, winded in leaves of corn; empanadas, corn pie, that is quite similar with humitas.

Usually people eat these dishes in familiar meetings and always the first time  that it has been eaten in the season is an event.

Also the seafood is more common in summer than in winter. The fried fish is an obligation when someone goes to the beach, and the shellfish is a delicious that can't be denied, as also the marine frying pan.

the mot typical deserts in summer is the glass of mote, which is peeled and boiled wheat, with huesillo, a dehydrated peach, all this  sweeten with sugar or honey, mixed in water. Also this desert can be eaten when it's hot, so people refresh themselves from hot.

Another deserts are the milk deserts (roasted milk, snow milk, etc.), which  aren't very healthy because of all the sugar and the fatty of milk, but they are delicious.

In winter, the food is abundant and satisfied, generally for dinner people eat soups (like casseroles, beans soups, etc), that contains meat, pumpkin,  potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. The fruits is expensive in this season, only the oranges are cheaper; and the only desert that I remind is hulpo, a mixed of toasted flour and sugar or honey.

I think Chileans are good fellows diner , we like good food (not the healthy food), and we enjoy eating, food is considered  a expression of love. For this reason I think people don't do exercise, and maybe we don't have the culture. The majority of the population is unfit , with healthy problems like obesity, or heart diseases, and the most worried is that children have the same problem. I believe exercise is good not only for to be fit, besides it's make people feel good, happy and healthy .

Exercise must be a priority in school, works, universities, etc, above all in this sedentary society, maybe this is the solution to many problems.

My winter vacation

During the vacation I didn't do so much and I should say that they were a two weeks relaxed. The best thing was that I could get up late (not too late either, because in the morning I took advantage and did all my things or went to the center or went out with my friends) . But the most of the times I woke up very early (like 7 or 8 am) and I had breakfast in bed and watched TV, so I could slept (if I wanted) for an hour more.



The first days I didn't nothing exciting, I stayed at home taking care of my niece (she stays in my house all days in the afternoon) ; she leaves the school and the bus will leave her to my house, so we had lunch together, normally we hadn't any problem with meals, but one day she made a lot of tantrum and put me very nervous; but the other days, when she behave well I decided to went to the mall and eat what she want. We went a few times there and we ate hot dogs, French fries and a lot of chocolate ice cream. Besides we went to "Happy land" a store with games for celebrate the kid's day, and we had a lot of fun.


I didn't go out a lot with my friends, because some were on vacation too, and they left toward another side, but I met with one, who visited me and we talked a lot of things and walked around the downtown. Besides him, I tried to met me with an old friend of mine, but as always, we couldn't.


In the second week, my brother invited me to Santiago, and we went shopping and stores looking for things for the computer, and we watch a 3D movie, that was incredible because the images seemed to be within reach of the hand, like to be outside of the screen, there was even a moment when a ball jumped and it seemed it fell over the people, and everyone screamed. It was fun.


I rested a lot and I needed it, I was so tired of the university that I wanted a little bit of free time and not have to travel, to stay in Curico or in my house doing anything, and I enjoyed it.