My Christmas

When I was a child, I loved Christmas, after my birthday it was my favorite day of the year. All the family got together and as I’m the only girl I had always more presents that my male cousins (they didn’t thought it was fare… I never understand why). After, when I become an atheist, and we were all grownups, we stop giving presents to everybody and we start playing to the secret friend. That way we spend less money on presents, everybody got something and we focus on the family celebration.
Anyway, I love to give gifts to my loved people. I love to choose the perfect gift and see the face of happiness of the others. I also love receiving gifs, especially when the other person knows my tastes and needs.
As in my family we play to the secret friend, we decide the minimum price of the gift, it has to be at least 5 thousand pesos, and we don’t have a maximum. The price of my gifts depends on how big it’s my wallet. This year my wallet was pretty stunted, so I stayed on the minimum. My secret friend was my sister in law and I gave to her a very pretty Mafalda’s agenda.
It’s easier to me to find good gifts to women than guys; I always have headaches thinking on the perfect gifts for men. For example, when I look for presents to my dad, I always look for a perfect gift, and I always end giving him a shirt, or a scarf, or some socks. Instead for my mom, there are so many things that I know she would love.
When I can’t think in any perfect gift, I prefer to make a fun panorama.

About enviroment

The friendly environment practices aren´t something you learn at school or college, in general, this society doesn’t encourage the culture of taking care of our environment. As the individualism it’s more promoted than the collectivism, the people doesn´t concerns about anything that isn’t from its propriety.
I’m not the queen of ecology, but I try to take care of the places that belong to everybody. I don’t throw trash in the floor, and I have put some plants outside, also giving some color to the walls is taking care of the environment, that way it’s nicer to everybody.
I have never join to an eco- organization, honestly because I don’t like them, taking the risk of been unpopular, I think there are more important problems in our society, and I prefer to spend my time in those things. That doesn’t mean I like contamination and the destruction of the planet, but I think that if the people could take more conscience about their own neighbors, and the different governments’ didn’t let the big companies do whatever they want with our land, the things would be very different.
I also ride a lot in my bike, some days at the week I go from my house in Peñalolen to College in Macul, on my bike, It’s not too long, I take like 15 minutes when I’m in a hurry, and I save the money from the Transantiago (at bus I take like 30 minutes). That way I also reduce my carbon foot print.
I think the city should have more trushcans, because sometimes you can’t save the trash until your house (for example an empty yogurt or a banana peel ). And there should be more public bathrooms, because the people pee everywhere.

About trips!

I love to travel, especially without a certain destiny and a planified road. I love to pack my belongs, including my tent and the portatil kitchen and go away. Leave all the preoccupations behind and just forget about it for a few weeks it’s the best. The problem is that I don´t always have the time or the money for doing this, for example, this year I think I won’t have the money to go anyware. In the past I have always work on the summer as a waitress and make the money to go on vacations, but this year it’s different, because of the strike we won’t have time in January.
I specially prefer to stay on a tent, near a river, and all the nature. Cook my own food, and relax. Go exploring the place. In the past when I have gone on vacations with my parents, we stayed on our relatives houses, at Temuco and Punta Arenas.
I would love to visit Machu Pichu, Perú. I know that it’s like the favorite destiny for all travelers, and a lot of my friends have go there, but I just see the pictures and it looks so wonderfull!!!. Also I would love to stay a long time in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I went there a few years ago and I couldn’t visit every think I wanted.
Last year I went to Chiloe with Juan, my boyfriend, and we love it. We camp in a lot of places to arrive there, so when we get to Chiloe it was all a triumph. I would definitely repeat that trip.

A youtube video of a bussisness man beating a Mexican parking attendant, sets the alarm on racism.

The photographs of Miguel Sacal hitting Hugo Vega, concerns the mexican authorities about classism and racism.


The video, that is on youtube is pressuring mexican authorities to confront the “class-cased and racist abuse”.

The images shows Miguel Secal at the lobby of his appartment in Mexico City, hitting hard and repetitively to Hugo Vega, the employee, who didin’t defend himself. The attack ocurred because the parking attendant didn’t leave his work at the counter to help Secal on his Porsche’s flat tyre. During the attact, Seal says “fucking indians”.

This kind of videos are cousing indignation on the social networks. There are other videos like one called “Ladies of Polanco”

The social and political historian Lorenzo Mayer explained that this behavior is consecuence of cultural traits, that was installed on the colonial period, to justified the dominations of the europeans over the natives.

Now the victims are raising their voices. Even though Vega did not defend himself becuse of the fear of lossing his job, now he is pursuing a legal case of assault, to have a compensation fo his two broken teeth.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/11/video-man-beating-mexican-parking

Raprapraprap

When I was a little girl, like 6 or 10 years old, I liked to listen pop music, like Shakira, or Backstreet boys, because all my friends liked them, I remember that I used to do coreographys with my neighbors.
Then, when I had like 13 years old, I re discovered Silvio Rodriguez (my parents have always listen Silvio), and I liked a lot, it started to have a meaning to me. Later I started to listen Fito Paez, because its my mom favorite artist (she is very young), like at the same time I start to listen to Los prisioneros, los Tres, and chilean music, like Intillimani, Illapu and Sol y Lluvia.
I have always like the music in spanish, because I’m very practical with the music, I have to understand it, and it has to provoque me some feelings. That’s why I have never listen music in english, because even though I like the rithm, as I don’t understand the lirics I don’t enjoy it that much.
A few years ago, I started to listen to other styles. I loooooove the chilean rap, I like ska a lot, Bersuit Vergarabat, and I still listen to Silvio.

me & the books

Since I was a little girl, I like reading, probably because my both parents are teachers, and they have always encouraged me to read. I like to read because I love the feeling of discovering something new in a book (or photocopy, now a days), I love to get in the book and get disconnected of this world.

My favorite book of all times it’s Harry Potter, even though it’s a little bit neardy. Since I start reading the first part, that I can’t stop, I like the movies too, but I prefer the books.

The first book I read was “TEO va a la escuela”, that was a kids book that my mom brought from the library. It has a lot of drawings, and it was very fun.

My favorite authors are Karl Marx, Vladimir I. Lennin, Pierre Boudieu. And in literature, I like Jose Saramago, Pedro Lemebel, and Gabriel García Márquez.

Returning to classes.

After the strike, that last more than 5 months in the faculty, we are now returning to classes. We have a very short semestry, of 11 weaks, and it ends at de begginigs of March, with de final exams. My only expectation on thise warm semestry, is to pass all my subjects and don’t die triying.

On this semestry i’m taking 6 subjects: Sociological Theory VI, Social Evaluation of Proyects, Introduction to Pierre Bourdieu, Economy II, English IV and workshop . Plus a Fondecyt proyect in wich i’m a investigator assistant, it ‘s about inmigrant childs from Peru in Chile. It’s a lot of work, and i’ll have to work very hard.

It’s very sad that we have to come to classes around Christmass and New Year, most of all, because those dates aren’t hollydays.