ENGLISH LANGUAGE CHALLENGES

My experience with the English class was very good, I liked writing the blog because I really needed to practice my English, especially my writing. I’ve always had problems with tenses and now I can say that I write better.

I also think that the blog is a great tool, especially being  journalism students. So practicing every week, writing in the blog about different topics it’s a good way to learn and improve English and also to learn about the different tools that you can find on the internet.

But I missed some things in the sessions. I would have really liked a correction class to class about our post, because in that way we can know what our mistakes are. I mean, if I have an error in a post, in that way we could know our mistakes, and improve them.

In other way, posting in the blogs of my classmates was an enriching experience because I can get to know more about them and their lives. It’s a good way to leave our prejudices aside.

Although English class is ending, I think I still need to improve my pronunciation because I never speak english outside the class. I would like to travel and try to speak english with native english speaking people or people who speak english better than me so I can practice.

I think that all people need to speak and write English well because it is essential in life. Now a days is one of the most important languages around the world.

In conclusion the English sessions were very good. I think that the combination between the blog sessions and the normal classes were a good way to learn a foreign language.

PRACTICE

CHANGES TO MY STUDY PROGRAMME

When I decided to change my career and study journalism (I studied law one year before) I chose the University of Chile for many reasons. For example, I liked the curriculum of the career and the pluralistic vision of the University. But that was before entering the career because now my opinion is very different.

First, the curriculum has many flaws, we don´t have subjects about world history or Chilean history or even a basic economics course. Of course there is an option of having these classes, but only on an optional basis so you can choose between hundreds of other options. This seems serious because if you don´t choose those subjects you don’t have all the knowledge that a journalist needs.

I think this year the new students have a different curriculum, with new subjects including subjects like history and economics, so I'm very glad for the changes.

Before going to school, I thought the university had a large infrastructure and of course it does, but they´re for other faculties… In winter we don´t have many places to be, and if we consider that the Chilean winter is very cold, it is clearly a problem of infrastructure.

Since I entered the career I've heard rumors that they will build a new building with more indoor places to hang out, but so far I have not seen any change.

There is also a problem with the number of cameras and equipment that journalism students need. Every year, near the end of the semester, every camera and equipment has to be booked for weeks in advance because the University has not purchased enough equipment. So they should definitely spend more money on that.

Finally, I have never liked the teaching methods of my career, in most of the subjects you have to do work with your classmates, so almost all the school assignments are in pairs or groups. I think this should definitely change because when we graduate and work alone nobody will help us.

In short, I like my career and my University, but there are many changes that are slated to do to be a better place of study.

WINTER HOLIDAYS

This year in my winter holidays I would like to travel to Iquique. Since I have memory all my summer vacations they have been there, so this year I would like to spend a winter there.

Some years ago my family bought an apartment right next to the beach, so the view is wonderful and it is a perfect place to relax. You delay only 5 minutes to reach Cavancha, the best beach in Iquique, so it can’t be better located.

Although is a little bit far from Santiago, no doubt you should go. So if you take bus you can spend more tan 24 hours travelling, but if you decide to spend a little more money you can take a plane and arrive in two and a half hours.

The best thing of Iquique is that iquiqueños (people who live in Iquique) are much more friendly and respectful than santiaguinos (people who live in Santiago), so it is a very different city from what we are accustomed.

Over the years I have know to many people, who until today and despite the distance are great friends. So, obviously, I am very excited because I'll see my friends from Iquique.

Every time I go I have a list of things I like to do, this time I would go to the ZOFRI (tax free shopping center), go to Huayquique (a beach on the outskirts of the city) and eating ice cream watching the sunset with my friends.

A MEAL I LIKE TO COOK FOR MYSELF

I think it is not very original but I really like cooking pizza because it’s my favorite food. I enjoy doing it myself because when I order I can’t add all the ingredients I would like to eat.

Pizza is one of the first things I learned how to cook. I used to buy a pre-made pizza and just add the toppings for sleepovers with my friends or for birthdays.

Now that I know how to cook better I like preparing the dough too. It took me a couple of attempts until I got it right but now I think I make a pretty decent pizza dough.

I always make two different pizzas, one with meat and one with only veggies because a lot of my friends are vegetarians.

My favorite meat topping is pepperoni so I always put a lot of it in my pizza. I also like adding spicy souce but not everyone likes that.

I am not a big fan of raw tomato so I avoid it. I prefer adding onions, olives and mushrooms to the veggetarian one because they have strong flavors and it doesn’t matter if it isn’t pepperoni. Sometimes when I’m feeling fancy I also like making garlic bread.