Blogging Experience

My blogging experience was, well, normal, I guess. It was what I expect, but with the difference that I learned more than I was expecting., and also, as the time went by, I learned more.
At the beginning was really bored for my, but after a few classes I realized when was the last time I wrote in English (long time ago) and who I was forgotten a really big amount of my writing skills, so I thought : “ Well, you had better to take advantage of this time, perhaps some good come out of this”, so I star to do what I have to. After that everything was so much easier (despite is, unless, hard to keep coming every thursday of every week).
So it did help my to improve my English. I don´t know if worth it if I take into account the time that I have to spend (on thursday my classes finish at 13:30), but It wasn’t my choice.
The advantages are clear: if you do the things right, you will learn, unless, some English. If you do it really well, you will learn more, so it an opportunity to. Is, in great measure, up to you.
Also when have the chance to chose the topic many time, that`s other advantage.
On the other side, the bad one, it the time. While I`m writing is really dark outside, and I could be in my home, enjoying of my youth, spending time with friend and my girlfriend or studding, hours ago. It just too late for my, and writing is not precisely the skill I`m concerned about, or not now. I would like to improve my reading skills, and I guess this (the blog) will be good for that, but in this kind of exercise are not focus on this part of the language.

The World Cup

I´m not a big fan of football soccer, really. I never see a complete match, in fact, I think I can remember the exactly numbers of time I saw 90 minutes of football (I can say the same about match in stadiums). Despite all this, I do like the World Cup...is just to good. I really like to see this match, I guess, for two things.
It`s objective: the football match of the world cup are so much better (technically) than many others, perhaps are the best in the world, so the football quality is really good, is “nice” to see such an spectacle like this.
The other things (this is a more stupid one) is the struggle about countries, like when England played against Argentina during the Falkland’s war or against Ireland, Turkey against Greece, and etc... This make`s the match a bit more interesting, because you know the people who is watching in the countries who belongs the football selection are hating the other team.
I don´t have plans to watch any match; I am not saying I`m not going to see them, in fact, I really would like to, is just that I`m not making any giant efforts. Tomorrow I don´t think I`ll see the match, is just too early for to see soccer for my.
I would like Chile win tomorrow, but I’m not expecting anything at all... well, it is Honduras (it is?), that doesn’t sound very hard.
The relevance for the country? Wow, It`s big, I guess. Chile like football (what a surprise), and the last world cup that whe went was 98`s, so should be important to us.

D-Day

This picture was taken by a Hungarian photographer, Robert Capa.He covered 5 wars: the Spanish Civil War (there are many grates pictures from this war. One he took in the exactly same moment that a soldier was shoot), the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War.
I choose this one because I have to (I mean, choose just one).
Capa is a war photographer. He use to say “if a picture is not good enough it because you waren`t close enough”. With this philosophy he went really close to some quite dangerous situation, in fact, he died when he set of an antipersolan mine.

This picture was taked during the D-Day, in the north cost of France, Normandy (Omaha beach…everyone who saw Ryan Soldier movie will know it), in June 6, 1944. It`s difficult to imagine a more dangerous place to be with, instead of a riffle, two Contax II cameras (for my is just crazy, and I really thing Capa loved his job and lifestyle). It`s shows when the americans where out of the boats and star to walk (run) to the nazi`s bunkers in a really critical position.

I like it for , I think, two reason. First you could say it`s a real picture, not an artistic one (I do like the artistics pictures to, anyway) who show us a part of a history but, and this is the second reason, it was taken with such a big sensibility that, don`t mind the picture was taking from behind the soldiers, you could feel the fear (if you see the others pictures of the serie, you will see the faces and tetrical stages) and it`s easy to appreciate what this people were dealing with

The road of Santiago de Compostela.

My favorite trip, or one of my favorites (I can`t decide) is the Road of Santiago of Compostela.
That was something I did when I was 18 years old, and it was quite great experience. I took a plane, from England to Valladolid, Spain. After that I took a coach to Burgos and from there I star to walk, the next morging (at 5 am in the middle of a electric storm), and I walked from 18 days consecutive (without stop any day).
This is an old pilgrim way wich , theoretically, begins from the door and finish in the front of the grave of the apostle Santiago (in the cathedral of the city), in the south-west of Spain (Galicia).
I went alone, but there are some many people (sometime too much persons) , from all ages and countries, who do this, that you`r never really alone. Some pleople do it for religious matters, but the most (like myself) of the people walk the road of Santiago for, well, hundreds of reason`s, like spiritual, sports, cultural or who know what.
This road is special for several reason. Firts, i`d never walk that much in my life. It was more than 600 km (like 33 km per day). I visit very differents cities and landscapes, I meet grate people, specially one (who was very important for my; other story). It was very cheap (I spend like 10 euros every day, that`s nothing). I visist really old churchs and I learned a lot of Spanish history (also a lot of Christian history as well) and it was really good fun.

My favorite band

My favorite group is Congreso. The music they play is a little bit difficult to describe (very different to others), because they combine progressive rock, folk music, and some types of jazz. They got together as a group as an initiative from three brothers (Patricio, Sergio, Fernando González) and the bass player Fernando Hurtado, all from the town Quilpué V region), to start playing some “covers” from anglo-speaking rock bands in 1964, just as everyone did on that time. Then they started introducing some ethnic instruments into their music and finally when the bass player and singer Francisco Sazo joined their group, the formed what is now known as “Congreso” in 1969. They started with influences from bands like “The Beatles” but started to join the national musical “movement” like “Los Jaivas” and “Los Blops”. They had a difficult time playing in concerts and selling records during the Military Regime from 1973-1990, because of the censorship and the shutting-down of many cultural sites; even through these hard times they continued to play music and creating albums. I like this group because they can capture national or latinamerican “motives” in their rock-like music. They use instruments such as charangos, Andean windpipes and sweet flutes at the same time as they use electrical guitars, bass (really grate´s bass guitars) and drums. They have been playing music for many years now so they have quite a big repertoire of songs with different characteristics. One can easily identify the stronger rock influence in their earlier years, while in the past years they have been moving more towards the folkloric side of music.

Mp3

As a music lover, for my, the best technological device es the mp3.

I got one before a big trip that I did in april 2008, one with capacity to store 20 gb of music.

It´s really easy to use. I just connect my mp3 to the computer, put some music in it and i´m ready to list my music everywhere.

I use it really often, kinf of everyday. I`m going to the univeristy by bicycle while i`m listening music; I know that is not themost responsible thing to do, but for my is almost necesary.

But when i´m travelling my mp3 is the most necessary gadget. This summer I made my way in to the very south of Chile, and it was so good to have it.

I like it because I can put a really big load of discs, and with 20 gb I don´t have to delet any disc of my collecion (until now…I almost run out of free space). Sometimes (almost never really) I buy original cd`s but the most regular thing for my is to download the music, i got like 150 cd`s in my mp3 for free.

Without this my life, by shoure, will be less happy and colorfull.

Spanish Omelet

One of my favorite dish is the spanish omletet. This is a very easy and teasty food from that mediterranean country.
The basic version is it with eggs (4), some potatoes, oil and other ingredients like pepper, salt. There are more sophisticated version with bacon or spanish sausages.
First you have to stir the eggs till are absolutly homegeneous. Keep this in a deep plate.
Cut the potatoes in slices. In a oilpan with hot oil you must frie the potatoes till are golden. Add this to the egg and mix well.
After that add some salt and pepper to the mishmash and cook the mixture in the oilpan. After 5 minutes put a plate on the top of the omelet and turn up side down. The omelet should be half ready.
Carfully you must deposit the non-cocked part from the plate to the oilpan and cook the other that half of the omelet.
It will be ready in other 5 minutes.
I like this recipe because after you do a couple of time it turns really easy fast and you could add some ingredients to make it tasty (black olives or paprika , for example). When you finish with the “Tortilla Española” you`r full.

famous anthropologist

Bronislaw Malinowski (7 April 1884 – 16 May 1942)
Malinowski was a polishanthropologist (sometimes considered the most important 20th-century) pionner of the discipline, specially in field work.
In 1914 he traveled to Papua New Guinea and his work about the theTrobriand Islandsis really famous, and he arrived on that island for politics problems (World War II) .
In 1922 his book Argonauts of the Western Pacific was published and become a masterpiece and this book was created in a very particulary way. He is often referred to as the first researcher to bring anthropology the everyday experience . This give us a deffinition of ethnography as: “to the way to grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life and how to realize his vision of his world”.
I chose this author because his is one of the first people who went to a really native place to study the locals in his very nature and pure context by the way of ethnography, that`s mean staying for a long time with the natives.
I find it kind of romantic job. I know this sort of job is now quite hard (perhaps imposible, I don`t really know if there still exist a native without contact with “western culture”), but is just a dream job.

Earthquake experience

On "that" nigth I was in my home, in Santiago. I just arrive from Valparaiso. I was in a small bicycle trip (from Algarrobo, just one night on the road) with my girlfriend.


That could be irrelevant, but is not, because we tought to stay one other nigth, and by sure, the earthquake, on that case, will found us in a crowded disco or something like that. That was what we did the last nigth (thursday), and we wanted to repeat that.
But the case was very different, and boring. I was just slepping in my bed when the eart star to shake.
I went to the door frame with my brother and one friend of my brother and, off course, wait till stop. I chilled out quite fast, but the my brother`s friend was really warried about his family.
I did`t have electric light for the next 6 days, but I`t was find. I read a lot on that days and it was kind of fun to eat with candles every day.
I know I was really luckyin comparation with others.
For us (my family) was just another experiency (well, my mother was completly freakout till this days).

Ricardo`s blog.

Hi, this is my enlgish class blog. You are very welcome.
My name is Ricardo Labra, i`m 20 year old and I`m studing anthropology.
I hope I`ll achieve succesfully the blogswork, and have many friends, be happy and worldpace.
Also I have to improve my english skills. My grammar is crap, so perhaps I`t will be a bit better after this exercises; otherwise I will stil writing in a very poor way.