My Blog

My experience with using blogs at the English class has helped me to use a communication and technologic tool that I had not used in a long time. It is very important to be constantly interacting and this tool is quite helpful to learn languages if you dedicate some time to it.  In that respect, my abilities in the language increased specially on my  writing skills, for instance, how to organize the sentences in English. The fact of thinking about the sentences in Spanish is a big influence, because if I have the structure of the sentence very clear on my mind, then it is more probable for me to write it correctly in English.

In the future, I would like to include in my blog more stories that are related to my real life, but stories that have a more fantastic or futuristic component, even if they are not necessarily true (leaving this point very clear). Then life becomes more enjoyable and you can have your own virtual space to make your own creations.

Thanks to the blog, I now use other virtual platforms in English so I can keep up with the language use and develop more vocabulary. Even though blogs seem to be a little out of date with the facebook peak, this allows people who are actually interested in blogs to create their own.

Saltos de Apoquindo

The best experience I've had during the semester was the "trakking" to Aguas de Ramón Park, which leads to the "Saltos de Apoquindo". It was a great experience because not long ago I had the opportunity to take a tour of this kind in Santiago.

I could also share with my fellow students in a journey that lasted more than 8 hours round trip, and in which less than half of them reached the falls, as they were better prepared physically. I was not in my best condition but I felt the confidence to reach the final. It was difficult but we got together with 15 colleagues to "Salto de Apoquindo".

I felt great, it was a rewarding experience. One of the things I like the most is to walk, even if it is in natural environments and if it constitutes a physical and mental challenge.

Finally, the event was organized by the SECMA (Ministry of Environment) and the CDAP (Sports Centre for Public Administration), and was on April 27th this year.

The last ghost

A few years ago, when I got to Santiago I looked for a job to combine work and education. I didn´t want to work in fast-food restaurants, Mc Donald´s, among others. I preferred to work independently, which would allow me a better division of time. 

In that time a friend that I met at university talked to me about a job that he had and as he knew I had the intention to work freely,  he offered me the ghost job of the old public transport, better known as the "Micros Amarillas". I found it very interesting. It consisted of  being a hidden passenger in the bus and detect if the drivers were doing illicit things like giving false tickets, cutting half of the tickets, or whether they were giving or not tickets to the students, among many other cases.

That was my first job, it was completely informal. A lady would hire us for a daily quantity of buses and my remuneration per hour was a little more than what the fast food restaurants give, so I didn't doubt in taking the job. That's how I knew a big part of Santiago, thanks to the various routes of the bus. Later on, the final day of work came. It was a 9th of February at night, it was almost the 10th day, and in a few hours the new type of transport the  'transantiago" was going to begin. I remember that I had long hair, I got off of a 311 bus and became the last ghost.

About Friedrich Nietzche

Nietzche was a German Philosopher, poet and composer. He was born in Rocken the 15th of October in 1844 and he died the 25th of Agost 1900 in Weimar. He is known for writing several critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and aphorism. Among their best known works are "Ecce Hommo", "Human, all to human", "Thus spoke Zarathustra", "The Antichrist", "On the genealogy of moral", "Beyond good and evil", among others.

Nietzche is important for the contemporary study of the human being. He is considered to be ahead of his time, because the peak of his writing came after his death. He received great acknowledgement during the 20th century, even though he is criticized by other authors due to contradictions in their ideas. However if we accept those ideas we will realize about the variety and wealth that can be found in his proposals and philosophy.

Finally, Nietzche is relevant because through his writing I could question the actions of humanity, the importance of his criticism towards christianism, and how important it is to look beyond good and evil.

Charles-Jean Baptiste Bonnin

Charles-Jean Baptiste Bonnin is a progressive French thinker, considered the founder of the worldwide science of Public Administration. Besides,  his ‘Social Doctrine’ situates him amongst the initiators of the science later known as Sociology. Auguste Comte, described Bonnin as a “mature and energetic man, a person with a spontaneous deep kinship for positivism and in whom we can find the true spirit of Revolution”.

Nowadays, his countrymen give him the tribute he deserves. His main work ‘Principles of Public Administration”, has been re-edited and published on-line - in the original French version and in a Spanish translation - it's easier to access to it. However, this is mainly thanks to the edition produced by Mexico’s Fondo de Cultura Económica in 2004.

The first time I heard about Bonnin, was in a class of Introduction to the Study of Government and Public Management. It caught my attention because of the little attention and recognition it has today, being called the father of Public Administration, issue which my professor emphasized in class.

Today is my birthday

Today is my 26th birthday. It is also a special date because it is close to the 27th of april when my dad celebrates his day, the carabinero's day.  He expected me to be born that day. He even made a bet on it with his colleagues. The positive side about  having been born in a different day is that we have more special dates to celebrate, which is appreciated in the south.

To my misfortune I overslept during the night. I was so tired because the day before i went trekking with a group from my university and that is why I did not answer some of the calls frome some people who wanted to congratulate me.

During the day I received phone calls from my parents, friends, cousins and some presents. The most special present was a box with  chess pieces made of chocolate. I still have the king and the queen. It was a very good day, because the people that I appreciate the most  congratulated me. At the end of the night I could be with that important person, who has made this year a very special one.

Thank you all for your greetings

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper

The picture was taken by Charles Ebbets to denounce the insufficient safety measures that the workers of the first skyscrapers in the United States were under. The image is of the 70 storey Rockefeller Center building, located in New York, where we can see the workers sitting in the 69th floor. It was taken in September 29 in 1932 and was published in October of the same year in The New York Herald Tribune’s Sunday supplement. Ebbets was able to take the picture after seeing several buildings which was a very risky work for him.

I like the photograph because it is a way to fight for the workers rights and especially because while taking the pictures he exposed himself to the same risks that the workers have to face.

Finally, the image belongs to the Benttman archieve which has more than 11 millions of photographies including the most important ones from the United States history.

My Town

My town is called “La Pasada” and it is located in Maullin (X región), which is 1100 kilometers away from Santiago, the capital of Chile. To get to “La Pasada” you have to cross through a boat which transports people during the day and pay $400. In case you want to go there at night, you have to ask someone who owns a small boat to transport you and pay around $3000 or $4000. The trip lasts for about 10 minutes and the landscape that the Maullin river offers is quite beautiful. There are about 1000 persons living there, who work gathering shellfish and seaweed, but there are also some little fishing companies. The people is very pleasant and kind and during this few months that my family has been living there they have had the opportunity to know the neighbors and specially to enjoy the raise of animals and vegetables. My father is raising several animals such as chicken, goose and sheep and now he is making a deal to buy a piece of land so he can raise a bigger quantity of animals and take advantage of the tranquillity that that town offers.

My favourite piece of technology

My LCD televisión is my favourite technological device, because it allows me to enjoy HD televisión and Full HD which is a unique experience when you want to watch movies. I have had it since 2010 and only after one year I accidentally realized that it had a menú where I can watch videos in HD and Full HD format by using a pendrive or external hard drive enclosure. That’s when I decided to have a collection of movies, which I downloaded at work. I don’t watch tv during my free time, I watch some movie from my collection. That’s the reason why I have not gone to the cinema for a long time, because the quality is lower than the one my tv has. I only want to watch movies with a high picture and sound quality and I can’t imagine myself without the LCD.

About me

My full name is Francisco Javier Macías, but they call me Pancho, Pancho Preu, Muhammad. I’m 25 years old and I live in Santiago, Chile. I was born on April 29th 1988, in Valdivia, which is the rainiest city of my country. My family is composed of 4 persons, my parents, my sister and I. My mother’s name is Elizabeth and my father’s name is Francisco. My sister is called Ana Maria and she is in 4th year of English Pedagogy. They live in Maullín, X region.

I studied in several cities. I started primary school in Chaiten and finished it in Santiago and then finished high school in Puerto Varas. Currently, I am studying Public Management in Universidad de Chile. It’s a dark career but with lots of challenges. I’m in 5th year and I’m eager to start working.

I enjoy all type of music. I have gone to different concerts, for example I went to see Metallica last week. I also like going to the stadium to see my favourite soccer team, Universidad de Chile. During the last weeks, I have been using my spare time to read.

My semester

This semester I’ll take 7 subjects, but one of the main challenges will be the degree’s seminar to obtain my academic degree, so I can apply to the university’s continuing masters next semester. I am not doing any extracurricular activity in the school at the moment, because I’m focused on having a good academic year. In previous years I run the Preuniversitario Popular Víctor Jara, which was an invaluable experience for my personal and professional development.

My goals for this semester are to pass all my subjects with tranquility so I can get my professional qualifications. I also want to get the opportunity to do my masters to be better prepared for the working enviroment.