Why I'm Studying

So after school I actually took a 'year-break' to think what I wanted to do with my life because there wasn't any career that interested me at all. That year I did 'preu' at 'Pedro de Valdivia' in Puerto Montt and focused on Language, Mathematics and History. In History I was very comfortable, the friends that took with me the subject were very friendly and we grew more on each other and also the teacher was very good and funny. While we were on the geography part of the subject it made a 'click' on me and I started to get more and more interested on it until I decided that I wanted to study geography.

On this 2 years of studying, I think the thing I like the most are the 'terrains' because there we can actually see what we have been learning until now and prove that they are real in a sense. The main thing that I dont like it's a thing of the university in general instead of the career and that is the academic pressure that occurs when the semesters (and years) are finishing and all the works and tests get focused and I think that that's kind of inhuman, you get exposed to a really lot of stress and can really lose your head. As for what I want to do when I graduate, actually I don't have any idea so lets see what happens between now and then.

Friends that I can't see that often.

Fortunately I dont have a friend that I've known my entire life and I can't see now. But I actually have two friends that at one point left Chile to live in other countries and study there. The first one is called Ian and we were classmates at school in the "basica". One year he suddenly went to Norway because his dad had to travel there to look a job he was being offered I think. He came back but after a year or two he left us definitely and despite knowing that we were going to keep talking via the internet every now and then (the hour difference is a huge deal), it was a sad goodbye. The second one was one of my best friends, that I've known since I have memories and we've been friends since then, called José Ignacio who is argentinean but lived with his family here in Chile, in Puerto Varas. He traveled all years to Argentina with his family to see their argentinean family for a month or so in summer and then come back. Later he decided that he wanted to study traduction in Argentina due to the availability of the career over there and the free studies so our other friends and I had to be prepared. But despite knowing that he was going to leave like two or three years before him doing so, nothing could prepare me enough for that. His flight was early in the morning so he came to my house (we were neighbours by the way) very early without telling his parents and so they came to my house guessing he was there. And we said goodbye, it wasn't so terrible for me at the moment because I was barely awake, like a zombie but as soon as I was completely awake late in the day, I felt everything. Of course we knew that we were going to see each other on large vacations but still it had a huge impact on us because it symbolized the end of our normal (like, scholarship "normal"lifes) lifes in Puerto Varas with all our friends, because for us, there comes a moment when we all have to flee.

Something I'm proud of

In school, at 'tercero medio', it existed a colaboration between the language department and the history department to make students do a mini-thesis. This whole project lasted all the year and was divided into three parts, being each one based on a different book: the first one that was a semester long it was for students that wanted to do their thesis about 'The Illiad' by Homero; the second semester was divided into the other two books, being 'The Name of the Rose" and 'Les Miserables'.

I wanted to get past that work as fast as possible so I did the 'The Illiad' thesis and my theme was the concept of Death in that book. Like I said it was a semester long of work and a lot of effort was put into it as well as help from the teachers and friends so it was kind of a test to me, the most 'produced' work I've done until that point in my whole life. Unlike the majority of my fellow companions, I really enjoyed the book, at least in my mind it was very interesting and epic with the fights and stuff. In the end, I though my work was pretty good and felt very very proud of it but I felt like it could have been still a lot better so all of the remaining year I had a feeling that I wanted to do another thesis but we didn't have much time so I had to enjoy my friends and companions thesis to the fullest.

 

A movie I'd like to watch again

Because of the last news about the Marvel-movies universe about "phase 3" and a lot of new movies of Captain America, Thor and company, I'd like to rewatch The Avengers. This movie it's like a "first" but it is also kind of a sequel because it follows some points of the plot of other marvel movies like Iron man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk. The story begins when a powerful object known as the Teseract being stolen by Loki, brother of Thor, from S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization that works mostly in the shadows for the sake of the world. Due to that, this organization unites some superheroes it has contacted like Iron man, Captain America and Hulk to help them take the Teseract back.
It has a pretty good cast of actors like Robert Dawney Jr as Ironman, Samuel L. Jackson as Director Fury (the director of SHIELD) and Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
The first time I saw this film was on a cinema in Puerto Montt with my family and we all loved it. Some days later I went to see it again with some friends and then I went to see it a third time with my mom and sister but this time in 3D. After that I watched it a several more times on DVD or on TV.
I'd like to watch it again because of all the new Marvel movies announcements, to refresh the memories.

A Concert or Exhibition

I have been to a few of concerts but the one I liked the most was definitely the Paul McCartney one. He's a former member of The Beatles, one of the two who are still alive and a living legend. It was on 2011 if I can remember well, at mid-year or so. I went to the concert with a cousin that I live with and is one year younger than me. It was in the National Stadium and my first concert there. At first I wasn't so fond of going to the concert because I felt that I wasn't (at the time) that huge of a fan to go and see him perform but my cousin convinced me to and until today I don't have any regrets.
The concert was a blast, it included the better-known Beatles's tracks that McCartney composed, everyone was singing, the public was composed by people of all ages and the air was filled with happiness... and other things. It was very produced too, the quality of the sound was perfect, the instruments were perfectly equalized too and even at some point (when he was playing Live and let Die) they shooted fireworks!

A Special Talent

The only thing I can think about as a "talent" is to play some different music instruments. The first one I played was the mettalophone in my early school days but it got kind of boring at some extent so luckily then we were taught flute and that I liked a lot more. Later when I was aproaching my last years on school I learned to play the guitar and I loved it. I started playing a lot at home and wherever I found a guitar so I practised a lot and became somewhat good.
I think that knowing to play guitar can be useful to generate good ambients when you're at a meeting with friends or family or even at school breaks, in which I and some friends started playing on electric guitars and basses so everyone could hear and be happy.
For some time people told me that I was pretty good at playing guitar but eventually I lost some interest and started to play less until I got bad and definitely stopped playing. I still like playing a bit whenever I found a guitar at friend's houses and stuff but it is nothing compared to when I liked to play and improve every day.

Something I'm reading

Lately I haven't read too many books, actually I think I've only read one this year. This book was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the dreadfuls. It is a very jokey novel that makes fun of the famous Pride and Prejudice books by adding zombies to it. You can't take really seriously the book because of the funny situations it has and the absurd of the plot overall.
 But more than reading books I'm reading a lot of manga so I'm going to talk about one i'm really enjoying right now that is called Nanatsu no Taizai or The Seven Deadly Sins. I started reading it because I heard that it was really good and decided to check it out.
The plot is set in a medieval context, when a lot of knights known as 'holy knights' are killed simultaneously supposedly by seven powerful people known as the seven deadly sins and thus they are targeted as criminals and wanted dead or alive. Ten years later, a woman goes to a bar searching for the seven deadly sins and then the story begins.
This manga got an anime that is currently airing and has only two episodes but it's really great, I've enjoyed it a lot and I'm happy that they adapted the manga so well and the background music or OST (original sound track) is fantastic. It's going to be 24 episodes long and the episodes are online and subbed on Sunday nights. The manga publications are weekly and it currently has 98 chapters.

My Group Activities

Generally I'm not that much into doing group activities in my life but there are a few that are remarkable at least for me.
The first one was scouts which I did for 4 or 5 years more or less. With my group, Group Germania, we went to a lot of camps, including two very big ones: The desert Jamboree which was in 2008 if i can remember well and was on the north of Chile, in La Pampa del Tamarugal and we did things like competitions between group and a "raid" from the camp to La Tirana which lasted like 6 hours long  under the sun and conditions of the excruciating desert. The second one was the Century Jamboree wichi was the celebration of the 100 years of scouts in Chile and was a huge deal because Chile was the second country to have scouts in it. It was similar to the desert one but this one was in Picarquín, a place that is relativly close to Santiago and surprisingly heater, even in comparison to the desert.
A second group activity is Basketball, which i'm doing right now on Mondays and Tuesdays with Christofer right here and Daniel (he doesn't shows up a lot though). It's a lot of fun because its a very dinamic activity  and it creates a feeling of competition and friendliness very unique. Also, I find out enjoying myself a lot when I'm playing even knowing that I am pretty bad in comparison to the others.

My Fiestas Patrias experience

This year's fiestas patrias for me were average-low in terms of fun. The first like, two or three days I was able to see friends because later they had to go elsewhere or stay at their houses to spend time with their families. The rest of the days with my family we barely did anything special apart from having a barbecue on a day that wasn't even the 18.
The other things I did were the usual when I go to my house: staying awake late, having strolls till midnight or a bit later, playing videogames and reading. When I was with my friends we played cards, saw videos and played videogames too. Two of them stayed in my house and we played 'til dawn. I also found out that my previously little cat wasn't that little anymore, but it was still as playful and problematic whenever he encounters our female cat. One of our dogs was fatter too. Also i ate a lot, and now perhaps i'm fatter too.

Fiestas Patrias

Normally I celebrate FP by travelling to my home in Puerto Varas, that 'free week' is a good excuse to escape from here and going home. I can't remember well  but last year i think I went there the same day as fonda fau so I could stay only a few hours but it was still pretty funny. It was very special because it was the first time in the year that I could see all my friends at the same time because due to the large student breaks we had, almost no one of my friends could see others.

The best FP I can remember isn't one in particular but all the ones I spent in Puerto Varas when I was still at school because I could freely see all my friends and family without problems and have lots of fun. The typical activities are fun for me but I've never been too much into them, at least I've played spinning top or rayuela or to fly a kite but never somethink like 'palo encebado' or 'catching the pig' and that stuff.

I don't care much about the rodeo but when I think about it for a little, it must be hard for animals, they suffer a lot and that's terrible... probably it should be stopped but its hard because it has a very large "fanbase" and it has its deep roots on the country. It is somewhat similar to the corridas in Spain and the animalists-moral debate around all that.

Lack of Cards

So i'm a huge fan of the popular chilean card game "Mitos y Leyendas" and recently a new edition came out and I went to the pre-release and acquire some of the new cards. In addition to that, two friends that don't live here in Santiago asked me to get them some cards once the new cards officially come out (which whas the 6th of September). The problem is that on that day every single one pack of cards and decks was completely sold out, all because of preorders and even that wasn't enough because a lot of pre-orders on different shops were less than they expected and a lot of people ended up without cards and of course, don't even start to think about selling not pre-ordered cards.
That day I went on a trip searching for cards in different shops with my best friend and her's boyfriend and of course didn't find nothing but we had a very good time. On one of those shops, the people attending told me that they were going to have cards to sell on Wednesday at 3pm more or less so  I became careless and feel very happy and relaxed thinking that I was going to get them.. but I was wrong.
In Thursday night, the facebook page of that shop stated that they received a message from the distributor telling them that the card wouldn't be enough the next day and because of that, they were only give them to the card that preordered before the official release and due to the high demand didn't get them.
Anyway I tried to get cards on Wednesday but I had the same problem: old sold out. So no cards for my friends an we'll have to wait until we come back from the vacation week that is coming.

A Special Place in Santiago

I think that Los Leones (both the metro station and the actual Street) could be like a special place for me. This is because although I like how the place looks, I have made good and important memories there. Usually I go with a very close friend of mine and then we go to the Costanera Center mall but the better times where in Los Leones when we had have important conversations about our lifes or our friendship solving problems between us while strolling.
Also in Los Leones there is the "Portal Lyon", a "caracol" shopping centre full of shops that sell things I really like, like Music bands T-shirts or video games or 'Manga', my new hobby.
The years before I came to live to Santiago, I found Los Leones to be very far from the place where I was staying (currently my home) and had no idea how to get there, but now I find it a place very close to my house and with only one bus that stops like one square from my house I can get there in fifteen minutes or so.
Also before I came to live here, I went to Los Leones with my famly to buy rock bands t-shirts because we couldn't find them in any other place neither in Santiago nor in Puerto Varas and my mother loves the 80's music so she wanted them badly.

Free Post: Why i'm here

Well I was born in Santiago but i lived my whole life in Puerto Varas (at least the life that i can remember) and this is the story of why i'm living here. Unfortunately over there in Puerto Varas there aren't universities, i mean there is one  (Universidad Gabriela Mistral) but it is new and really small; also there are some universities in Puerto Montt, the capital of the region that is like15 minutes from Puerto Varas in car but they aren't as good as the ones over here and they don't have as much variety of careers than here. This ends in almost every kid leaving school to flee to other cities far away to study what they want. It is very sad because we have to say goodbye to all our friend and families at an age that i find very early on and that makes things very hard... when i left school there were a lot of tearjerking moments when everyone was leaving. I didn't leave after finishing school because i didn't know what to study and i wanted some time to think so I stayed one more year there going to a preuniversity (i dont know if this is the name) with some friends that decided to stay one more year as well and it was really fun until we had to leave once and for all. There while i was studying history, when we were seeing geography as a unit i found it pretty interesting and decided to study it at university. I already have made my mind to study here in Santiago because i came like every year to see family that lives here so the change wasn't too much extreme i already got used to the 12 hrs trip between the two cities years ago.

I remember clearly the first meal me and my family had the first day i arrived to Puerto Varas this past Winter break (i'm from that city so i have to travel every once in a while between there and Santiago) because apart from being very delicious, it had a certain taste of nostalgia and reunion. The meal, which consisted in mashed potatoes and meat, was extremely good for me because in the house that i stay in here in Santiago, the family doesn't eat very balanced, to the point that i didn't eat mashed potatoes in about 6 months. Due to that, the first thing i requested when my parents at home asked me what i wanted to eat were mashed potatoes and from that point on i tried my best to eat the most variety of food that i could. 
In that meal in particular there was my whole family which consists in my parents, my sister and my grandma as well as my cats who were there playing. I remember that on that time we were all happy to be reunited and laughed a lot because one of my cats was still young and kept doing all kinds of crazy stuff like escalating our legs while we were eating, running up and down the ladder and chase my other cat that never even tried to like him. It was a very funny and good meal.