Blog session n°10

Hi everyone!

Today we conclude one particularly long blog activity. Because not only the semester got extended due to the paro, also the completion of this activity.

So.

Today's topic is:
"Evaluation of your Blogging Experience"

Write about your experience using blogs in the English class.

Probably for many, the complications of the semester made it difficult to catch up with this weekly activity, and some others may have found a reason to reflect on different topics so they could express what they felt about the different topics that we covered this semester.

Here's other things you can mention.

> What you think about the experience in general
> How much you feel your writing skills have developed
> What you would like to include in the future
> What else you would like to write about

The minimum wordcount is 200!Don't forget to make comments on 3 of your classmates' posts.

Post n°9 Travels

Hello everyone!
Today's post is the ninth session, so only one more to end this activity for the semester.
This will be an interesting topic to develop. It is about travels, so here I go:

As all of you know, I'm kind of a weird cactus grower/fan, so I'll tell you about my lastest trip, to the Atacama desert during this year's summer.

It all began when I left my house in Curacaví to join my friend, and driver in our adventure, at his house in Olmué, fifth Region. That day we prepared everything to start early the next morning, we had a long way coming. We started the day early, at 7, and then we went out heading north to El Cobre, Antofagasta (2nd) Region. The idea was to go there and start coming back south, stopping in locations to find, photograph and try to discover seeds of Chilean native cacti. For that purpose we had the knowledge of my friend, who's been travelling to the dessert for at least 5 years now, and the help of this book, which contains pictures and descriptions of several species :)

We were true adventurers, walking for hours to find plants, climbing hills and small mountains ranges. On a normal day, we would wake up at 9 approx. And then have breakfast to start the day exploring the camping site we had chosen the night before. After that we would find a new site, and track the land to find more species. It would all finish when the sun was coming down, as we needed to find a good camping spot, and use sunlight to set the tents.

It may sound boring for some, but this was one of the best experiences I've had, I learned and enjoyed every moment of it :) Here you have some pictures of the trip!

A view of the desert, from the car.

Copiapoa krainziana, Quebrada San Ramon, in Tal Tal

Copiapoa solaris, at El cobre

Very old specimen of Copiapoa.

 

Thelocephala, one of the smallest genus of Chilean cacti. You have to walk staring at the floor to find them.

One of the beautiful sights of the desert, beautiful rock formations!

OK!
Now it's your turn to tell me about travels, what will it be?
Maybe your dreamed vacation, or the trip you've enjoyed the most, you decide.
The minimum wordcount is 190. As usual, don't forget to comment in my post and in three of your classmates' posts.

Blog Session Nº8

Hello everyone! 

We're in the final stage of the semester, and in the final posts. If we count this session, we only have 3 left.

Today's post will be about: "A Subject I've enjoyed studying this semester"

I know you have very different subjects or courses each semester, most students have 5/7 courses, and they can be divided into practical courses (doing and putting theory into practise) and theoretical courses. 



Which one was your favorite course? 
Was the subject practical/theoretical?
Did you choose it because of the teacher or the schedule? 
What would you change to this course/subject if you could?


These questions can help you develop your writing.
Please don't forget to comment in your classmates' posts, as well as in mine.
The minimum wordcount is 180.

Blog Session N°7

YES! It's the seventh post already, that means the semester is about to end!

For this post, you have to choose only ONE of these  2 options:


A career-related website that you enjoy visiting.
 

You have to:

- provide the link
- describe the website (sections, features,etc)
- say how often you visit the site
- explain why you like the site.


>Add comments to 3 of your classmates’ blogs + a comment on your teacher's post



A person/expert on your field that you admire.

Say:

-Who she/he is. (short biography)
-What she/he has done. (examples of their work)
-Why you like her/him.
-Include his/her image

> About 170 words
>Add comments to 3 of your classmates’ blogs + a comment on your teacher's post.


_____________________________________________________


A career related website I use all the time is Word-reference.com.
I've even recommended you using it for your posts, as it includes examples of the words as well as discussion about uncertain translation and other expressions.

I visit this website on a daily basis, because as you know, english is my second language too, so I learn new words very often, also to remind myself of the spelling of words I don't use regularly. One of the most recurring situations in which I use this site, is when my students ask me technical words related to their careers.

The sight of this page is very nice in my opinion, it uses soft colors and that usually helps people to relax, also it provides links to different useful sites, as well as dictionaries in several languages that are one click away!

Now it's your turn.

Blog session nº6 90's cartoons

Hello Everyone!

This session is devoted to one of the topics you chose, that means: 90's cartoons.

I was born in 88 so I grew up in the 90's, and while I grew up, television was essential in the living room of chilean families. So.. I watched pretty much all the cartoons that were available at the time. I have two younger brothers so I also saw some of their generation.

When I was about 7, I remember I watched Bobby's world. I have memories of having lunch before school time (I started school when there were morning and afternoon classes) while watching episodes of this show.

As I grew up, many cartoons appeared on tv, and even more when cable tv started being popular. I've watched public tv channels like CHV and Mega, so you can guess what my favorite kind of cartoon was when I was a bit older.. yes Anime. The emision of shows like Ranma 1/2, Evangelion, Samurai X, and of course, Dragon ball, and many others, revolutionized tv, and of course these shows were among my favorite ones. At that time it was something that the whole generation was watching. 

Finally, I'll say that I have memories of Pokémon being one of my favorite shows, but also they were found in video and card games.

Alright, enough about me!
It's your turn now. Tell me about your favorite childhood cartoons! 
The minimum word count is 140. You should NOT use online translators, only dictionaries. And finally, don't forget to post in my blog and in 3 of your classmates'.

Blog Post N°5

A photography you like and its story!

Hi girls and boys!
This week's post is about a photography you like, any of them! It can be one you took, or a famous one taken by a photographer of your choice.

Here's mine!

                           

 In the picture, you can see George Harrison, and Bob Marley (and two other people I don't know)

I've liked these musicians for a long time now. Harrison, former guitar player and my favorite Beatle, is also the name of my first dog. And Marley, family name of one of the greatest artists/activists I know, is the name of my first cat :)

                           Here's my version of it. These are my Harrison and Marley :)

This took place in Copiapó, where I adopted Marley. She was about 4 months old in the picture, Harrison had never lived with a cat before, but he's such a lovely dog that he never had problems with her. This picture is special because it reminds me good times. It was taken back in 2014 when I lived in the Atacama Region. The reason why I chose this picture is because these animals were my family then, since I lived alone and knew nobody there. 

                                      
                                         EXTRA!!! Just because they look so cute!

So...
What's your favorite picture?
Where was it taken?
Who took it?
Why is it special for you?

- 140 words minimum.
- Include a picture. 
- Comment on your teacher's post and 3 of your classmates’ blogs.

Blog Session Nº4

Hi Everyone!

We're already in the fourth session of this semester!

In this session, you'll be free to speak about this topic:

M U S I C


For me, music is many things. I really love listening to it, and I even like singing.
I believe I can sing, even though I'm clearly not a talented singer. In my opinion, singing has to do with emotions, and not only techniques and voice. So maybe everyone could be a singer, if they found a song they could truly sing from their hearts.

Now, from the listener point of view, I think music nowadays has been corrupted by the market,  I mean, the music industry. Most of nowadays musicians seem to sing in a very shallow way, and the styles and lyrics that are on fashion these days, are not very good.

My favorite music styles are rock, reggae and hip hop. For a long time now, I've been listening to Sublime almost every day. Have you heard this band before?
Here's one of their songs :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awb_rzWZHIY



_________________________________________________________________
What music styles do you like?
Do you prefer listening or playing?
Who is the biggest musician or band in the world?
What's the importance of music in your life? 

Those are some questions that can help you develop your writing.

Please leave a comment on my post!
And don't forget to comment on at least 3 of your classmates' posts.
Minimum word count 130.

Blog Session Nº3

Hello everyone!

Today we'll write about our favourite pieces of technology

I'll start by saying that I have a weird relationship with technology, I love it, but on the other hand I feel it causes us many problems.

Having a smartphone nowadays is a very common thing among people from our generations, and I'm not the exception. Mine is not a very advanced one, and even though it's not, it can do many amazing things, if you think about it.

To have, in one device, the possibility of doing practically anything, from taking pictures, using it as a lantern, listening to music, filming videos, writing and reading texts, to name a few options, is something that makes me wonder if we're really using technology as we should, or if maybe we're only using it as a means of instant fun.

As many of you, I use my smartphone every day, many times a day, so my life without it would be very peaceful, but I'd miss some of its functions!

Now it's your turn!

Here there are some things you can say:

What it is.
When you got it.
How you use it.
How often you use it.
Why you like it.
What life would be like without it.


- 130 words minimum.
- Include a picture. 
- Comment on your teacher's post and 3 of your classmates’ blogs.

Blog session nº2

Hello Students!

Why did I choose this career?

Well, to be honest, I just wanted to be an English teacher, I didn’t really know why. I remember as a child I liked English, but I didn’t want to become a teacher back then. In those daysI was interested in archaeology and later on cooking. I actually studied cooking in highschool and nowadays I’m a pretty good cook J

Even though sometimes “Pedagogia” can become “pega jodida”, I have enjoyed being a teacher: I’ve worked with different stages of education and I’ve had students of very different ages, for example first year primary students all the wat into adults that had already finished university. I worked for a year as the head of the English Opens Doors Program of the Ministry of education in Atacama, and I also had the opportunity to work in my favorite soccer team, U de chile, where I was the teacher of English for the young players of the team.

                                Here with an 'I'm a future english teacher' shirt, back in 2010

Here's a plate I prepared, sauté mushrooms, onions and zuccinis, rice and fried vegan fries tortilla :3

And here as the Master of Ceremony at the Spelling Bee tournament in Copiapó, 2014.

Today's post will be about your thoughts around this question: 

Why did I choose this career?

Here there are some questions that can help you start writing!

- your dream jobs when you were a child

- other career options that you had at the moment of applying to university

- what made you decide in the end

- your experience at university until now

- the kind of job you would like to have

 > word count: 130 words

 > don't forget to leave comments on 3 of your classmates posts and on your teacher's post as well.

Blog Session Nº1

Hello everyone!

For today, and as the first post of this semester, you have to write your auto biographies.
Include:

- Birth info
- Studies info (elementary/high school/ univ)
- Family Info
- Hobbies
- Others...

> Number of words: 120 (minimum)
> Make comments on three of your classmates posts and also leave a comment on the teacher's post.

Here's my post as an example:

Victor Manuel Rubio Fuenzalida, born on April 23th 1988, in the city of Santiago. Second son of Patricio and Cristina. He studied his whole primary school in La Granja, at Teniente Dagoberto Godoy school. Later on, he continued his secondary education in La Cisterna, at the Ministro Abdon Cifuentes High School, where he studied cooking.

During 2006, and after 3 months of experience in the kitchen, while doing the internship, he decided to become an English teacher, which led him to enter Universidad Autónoma de Chile. In 2009 he applies for a scholarship to go and study abroad, and there he studied for one semester at the Iowa Central Community College.

Once he got back to Chile, he finished his career and started working as a teacher for different schools in La Cisterna, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, and Lo Prado. As a professional he's worked for many institutions such as Instituto Chileno Británico, Ministerio de Educación, Club Deportivo Universidad de Chile and currently he's working at the University of Chile.

Nowadays Victor lives alone with his pets in Curacaví and enjoys his time by gardening, his favorite hobby.
Here there are some pictures that can help you see what I've written about :)

                                                 

                                                                 Young me, at a school presentation.

                                                 

                                                  

A more recent picture, taken last summer. I was pollinating plants :D