The hardest year

Hello there!!

This is my last blog and I want to share with all of you about my 2009.

When I got in university in last year, I was full of doubts about how will it be. Now, almost two years from there, I have only one thing for sure: This is exhausting!! In this year I had thirteen subjects in eight months. I don't know how, but I think I'm going to finish everything ok, but extremely tired. This makes me think about the relation between my mental health and good marks... Unfortunately for my brain, I choosed the marks.

As I said, thirteen were my subjects this year, some of them really interesting, some of them extremely boring. Others were hard and others not so much, but the other thing that I've learnt in university, is that nothing is free. Anyway, I didn't put everything of me in all the exams, but I choose the subjects that really matters to me and I studied more in those.

Chilean social history was, and this is for sure, the best subject of the year. It was amazing to see the chilean history from a really different perspective than any other time that I had seen it. Also, I got really good marks so I am very happy for that subject in general. In other hand, a really good subject, but not with such good marks was Theory I. In this case, the problem was in myself: I can´t study until the night before the test, so, I don’t read everything I need or I want to read and I am averyday really sleepy, it sucks.

The worst subject was quantitatives techniques I. It was so boring, and I just can’t see myself making surveys all my life. In general, there were really good subjects and others not so much, but the evaluation is positive, because I learnt a lot of new things that will be useful for my career now and in the future.

This year leaves some challenges for the second half of my studies here in University. The first one, is to be more responsible with my readings, not only for the exams, but always and because I really like to know what the authors said. But more importan than that, I must learn to combine my studies with the rest of my life. I have always thought that University can not be the only thing that a person should do, but going out, to be with my girlfriend or friends in general, or participate in other activities it’s extremely important, and I am never going to leave those things.

Good luck in everything, it wasn’s so awful to make this blogs.

The sociology facing reality

The sociology pretends to be the discipline that understand better the reality and all her complexity, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't, but it could be said that this is the principal challenge of sociology.

Well, but this social reality can be abord from several persepectives, theorics or from practical troubles of today: Poverty, social structure, economy, politics, etc. But today we are going to focus on three particular areas: technology, social matters and education. Before anything, I must clarify that somethings that are going to be told here aren't specificly about the clasical sociology, but from a point of view that mixes different professions, like anthropology, psychology or economy.

The relation between technology and sociology has been very good from the beggining of this science. Helping specially with the data treatment in stadistics and several machines and computers softwares that helps in the data analyze.  By other hand, technology like a matter to be studied, has been related with the social work division. In this case, the use of technology has been looked critically, like a phenomenon that in the modernity has submit to the human work. So, the technology isn't bad by it self, but the man hasn't always given a human use.

With social matters, the sociology is directly related. As I said at the begginin of this blog, poverty, social structure, happiness or life conditions have been the most important issues in the history of sociology. In general, this science has looked how modernity affect to society in all different parts of it, from the most intime relations to the structural relations between the states or in the economy.

Finally, in the education, the sociology has studied how this affect in the first years of life to the personality of the children (this also does the educational psychology). Also has studied how the education generates social differences in the structure, so, who "grabs" the better carrers, also get the better jobs and salaries. Or, who studies more, also will get a better position in society.

The problem in these issues like in many others ones, is that sociology isn't always prepared to offer solutions to them. So, the challenge is open, is necessary that sociology get a good position between sciences and could be prepared to face all the problems of different societys.

That's all, thanks for reading.

Teachers strike

Hello there!


In these days, teachers from everywhere in Chile are on stoppage. They demand to state to pay off a lot of money that they must have received a lot time ago, but the people in government doesn't want to listen them.


Is so unfair! Thay must work a lot every day with really low salaries, and the state doesn't give them what owns them. Even when the authorities has been saying that the strike has just a little support, the teachers from the entire country is today demanding for their rights.


Is sad that a lot of students can't go to school because nobody is going to teach them, but that isn't a excuse for the blackmail that the mass-media are doing against teachers. Nothing of this will be happening if the authorities had keeped the agreement about the payments that they promised at the beggining of the year.


The half of the teachers are today supporting the strike, demanding the pay of the "historic doubt" that means between $300.000 and $450.000 for teacher. Is terrible that in no television channel or big paper the subject has been tackled seriously, wit a real discussion about the problem that affect to such an important sector in Chile. This should be the news about this in TV or newspapers, and not just blaming to teachers for their demands.


With a lot of angry because of this, I say goodbye...

My politic opinion

The last year, my girlfriend forced me to register to vote. She said that if I was angry with politicians, one way to say it was by voting. Not so convinced, we went to the polling station and I registered in Santiago.
I voted for the last major elections and I nulled. I don't feel represented at all by the actual way of doing politic in Chile. I think that nobody really works for the people... well, almost nobody, the ones that really do, are never ellected.

In this president campaign, the thing get even worse. Who can nearly believe anything to any one of them? I'm sorry, but this subject makes me angry. I think that is very dificult, and it isn't so good that the people choose to other persons to decide for them. May be when it's about some subjects, for not such a big thing like a country, but a district o something like that.

Now, assuming that this is the situation, I think that a president must be someone really committed with the people, making enormous changes to the actual reality, taking care of the biggest problems in our society.
How I said, I don't like very much the way of doing politic in Chile, I could never be a president, a senator, not even a major! I like more to work directly with the people, but not imposing what I want to them, but I helping to do what they think is better for them.

Anyway, like in this blog I must answered a lot of thing that I wouldn't answer in other situation, if I have to choose a ministry for mi, it would be the treasury department. I think that the state has a lot of money, but it isn't well expended, so I would distribute resources where are most need. That is directly connected wit the biggest problem in Chile: Public transport, education, health, poverty and discrimination. Clearly this aren't troubles that can be fixed out with money, but with an entire politic in each matter... but we know that money helps... it always helps.

A voluntary locked life

Portrait of Ben Gunn by a fellow prisoner.

A 14 years old, John Gunn, has a fight with a friend and kill him. He is condened to 10 years in a special prison made for youngs. Thirty years later, he is still in prison. Why?


John Gunn is the general secretary of the Association of prisoners, and he is fighting inside the prisoners with non-violent actions, against the abuse of power that the system make against them. He says that a 14 years old kid can not understand what means to kill someone. So, if that kid became an adult in prison, what kind of person leaves the jail and get into the society?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/07/ben-gunn-blogging-prisoner-aop

My ideal job

I recognize that I haven't work too much in my life... Just a few things like waiter or giving private lessons of history. Althought there were good experiences, I prefer to work in something more interesting... or a relax job (or boath).

When I think about my career, I see me in some years doing researching and stuffs like that. I like the idea, but I'm sure I will get bored whith the years. I prefer independents jobs, where I can manage my time and resources. To know a lot of people and places, to know differents cultures where I can give some of my experience and the people can do the same with me. It's not a specific job, but I like a lot the idea of travelling for differents places, in Chile and other countris, specially around Latin America. I can do my job as a investigator there or anything else, it's not so important what I'm going to do as what I'm going to live and learn of the people.

So, my ideal job it's the one that let me do what I want more: to know different people and cultures. It can be anything, in my preference, as a sociology doing investigations and putting into practice good solutions to the differents troubles that comunities and the societies could have.

Maybe this, Maybe that...

It is strange to think about the future, it produces contradictions to me. Sometimes I get enthusiastic doing it, but others tunes I prefer not thinking very much about what is going to be of me in some mor years, for fear of compromising too much with certain projects and persons. Anyway, I have some ideas for the future that I will share with you.

My career lasts 5 years, and I am in the second one, so I expect already to be working at some interesting place. I would like to develop some independents projects, where I could have the money and the sufficient time to investigate areas where my vocational training will be useful. I don't know if I'm going to have a girlfriend, maybe the same than now, maybe another one... or maybe no one. If she is going to be the same than now, we will be thinking about marriage.

I would like to be living alone or with some friends, but not at my parent's home. Is just that I want to have the possibility of organice my life by my own, my times, my order, my things.

Finally, I also want to do a master or something like that in a better university, out of Chile, in Europe will be great, but I don't know when exactly it's going to be. As you see, there is a lot of "maybe" in my words, that's because I'm not clear enough about my future, these are some of my intentions, but nobody knows how is my destiny going to be.

The wall

In 1962, begginned one of the most controversial constructions in the human being history: The Berlin's Wall. This enormous line crossed all Berlin, separating Germany in two. The story is actually very known, but sometimes we don't think about the people who saw how their city was divided. In fact, one person did think about this: Henri Cartier-Bresson.

This french photographer catched the moment when two friends saw the image that we described some lines up. Can we even imagine how they felt?

The scene so spectacular as terrible was taken in Berlin in 1963, when the construction of the wall that was transforming into ghetto oriental Berlin had just began.

I think that, though the protagonists are of backs to the camera, the image says many things, they come many emotions and feelings to the mind when an image so impactante settles in front of our eyes...

The very best of the olds: Max Weber

In 1864, in the city of Erfurt borned one of the most important sociologists for the German discipline: Max Weber.

He studied in three different Universities: Heidelberg, Strasbourg and Berlin and already in 1895 obtained his doctoral thesis in laws. He dictated the chair of economic right and worked for the German government where he realized the research "The situation of the rural workers to the east of the Elba". Nevertheless, his ambitions were enormous, and he proposed to write one of the most important works for the nascent social thought: "The Protestant ethics and the spirit of the capitalism" (1903).

A great problem had Weber: his health. He was depressive and very weak physically. He suffered a sudden death in 1920 without finishing the books "Economy and Society" and "Economic general history".

I chose Weber, because of the classic sociologists (he more Durkheim and Marx) is the one that advanced more in the sociological thought, he did studies of different type and separated of the classic trends that up to this moment the discipline had taken. A lot of his works are considered up to today and, one century later still it has not been overcome in topics as the power or the domination.

Hakuna Matata

When i was a child, my favourite movie was "The Lion King". Mufasa, Simba, Nala... all great personages, but not like the best of all: Timón and Pumba.

Why? A very short sentence says all: Hakuna Matata...

How would be life if we follows all the advices from the "hakuna matata" way of life? No preocupations, nothing about being worried of...

Well, if there were a guide to do it, I'm sure that all of us had already expent our money buying it. But not, there is no guide.

Thomas Moore wrote on the XVIth century the "Utopia": The story of an island where everything worked perfectly. Kings and citizens, mustards and slavers, merchants and artisans, all the people in peace. No one so rich, no one so poor... just perfectly fine...

Today, is really hard to think that our world could be like Utopia, but maybe if we start some changes from our selves (like Hakuna Matata), step by step our society could improve.

With this essay, I remembered to the brazilian people. The entire world knows them because of their happiness... Some years ago I know a little of them, and I had the impression that they haven't got a nervious system. All the day they laugh. With no excuses they celebrate, nothing can worry them. Money, good clothes, an enormous car... nothing of this is necessary for their happiness, a good day is every day, in every situation.

They have troubles, life doesn't goes very good always, but for them, first of all is Hakuna Matata.

The best world is inside of you. Take advantage of it and your world will be a little better!!!

Bye!

A concert on the bus

Hello there!!

Today I had a really exciting trip from home to Universitiy.

There were a lot of cars, buses, red lights, a lot of people with sleepy face... and also, the very best music of all the times: It was perfect.



I live far away from downtown or University, but I don't hate, such as you could think, going out and get trips for even an hour. Everything changes when I put my phones on my ears with a very selected constelation of songs chosen the last night from my music. It's just unbelievable how life changes with an mp3. I don't like the modern ones, i just love mine. Is broken and is old... but I feel a great affection for it.



Sometimes I forget to put it in my bag... I hate those days!! Everything goes bad. Other days, the battery is off, that's even worst, because I have dreamed with the perfect trip and I finish having just a lost hour of my day.



Without my mp3... I don't know what would I do...

A small presentation

Hello there. My name is Fernando, and from here I want to share some experiences with all of you. I hope this space becomes into a natural place of healthy discussion about different matters about our reality.

I am Chilean, nineteen years old and I study sociology in Universidad de Chile. I really like my course, and I hope I can use it in the future to work for solutions in different conflictive areas of our society.

I’m also very interested in cultural subjects, like music and literature, not necessarily the famous musicians or writers, but those that are not so well known.

I’m into the actual discussion about the public education and I absolutely hate how this matter has been treated by politicians.

But not everything is so serious. I also like sports, especially football. I’m a great fan of Universidad de Chile. Unfortunately I haven’t as time as I would like to play, although I’m trying to leave some time to do more exercise regularly.

Well, that’s all for now. May be I will write soon.
Bye!