Test Practice

 Hello, I found the activity difficult, but I think I understood what it said, my level of English has improved over the years, I don't think it is the most optimal, but I understand what people say, for example, when I watch a movie on I understand English more. This must be the last post. Thanks for being there. Bye. 

A Chilean Landmark

 Hello, today I am going to talk to you about a building that I really like in Chile, the CEPAL building, this is the United Nations Building in Chile, it was built in 1966 by the Chilean architect Emilio Duhart, who also built the airport of Santiago and the university city of Concepción. All his works are modern in style, with influences from Le Corbusier. The building is located in Santiago de Chile in the commune of Vitacura. I visited with some friends on the occasion of Heritage Day, when public buildings are opened to be visited.

One of the things that I really like about the building is its modern style, since they are volumes with very simple geometries of reinforced concrete, it is also surrounded by nature and a reflecting pool. Its horizontality stands out. Inside, I really like the meeting room, which is made of wood and the windows of different sizes.

I would really like to visit the University City of Concepción, which has the same style, but is much larger and has more emblematic buildings like this one.

A Little Bit of Chile

Hello, today I am going to talk to you about places; one of the places i like the most in Chile is Valpraiso.

 Valparaíso is a port located in the central area of Chile, it is internationally recognized for its typical architecture, it was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Valparaíso is recognized for its particular architecture, a mix of English and Chilean architecture.

We went with my family, my dad, my mom and my brother when I was 15 years old, we had a great time, what we liked most, apart from its architecture, was the variety of food we could eat.We went by car, since it is very close to Santiago, we stayed for a week and visited museums and typical places, we have been many times since then, but it is always good to go.

One of my favorite places was the Baburizza Palace, it is located on Cerro Alegre, this is currently a Museum, but it was built in 1916 for a rich family from Valparaíso. The art collection of Chilean painting is of great quality, especially the works of Juan Francisco González, you can see many of his works such as Los Nogales, which has many colors.

Language

Hello, now I'm going to talk to you about the language.

I started speaking English at school when I was 12 because it is mandatory at school. It was very difficult for me to learn English, I think I read better than I speak. But I have tried to speak another language, Italian, but I can only say phrases from Italian movies, like “vendetta” or phrases that Marcello Mastroianni said in Fellini's 8 ½ like “Perché non sa voler bene.”

 Outside of class I practice watching movies in English and listening to music in English. Most of the movies I watch are in English and I watch them with subtitles; and on the radio they always play music in English.

In English class I enjoy the activities where I can talk to others, it seems like an easier way to learn English.

I think English is very useful for work, architectural modeling programs are always in English and structure books too.

I find English culture interesting, rock music and bands, because the best rock bands are English like The Rolling Stones, Queen and The Beatles. I'm also interested in Hollywood movies, both old and new.

A Job

Today I am going to talk to you about jobs. The only job I have in my life is as a secretary in my brother's office, the job was: sorting papers, books and answering phone calls, I didn't do it for a long time and it wasn't that bad.

But I have always wanted to be a truck driver, because truckers are free, They can listen to all the music they want at full volumen, and can see many places,  they drive on the road and go where they want and when they want, they don't need anyone. I also like trucks, they are like cars but bigger and can carry different loads.

To be a truck driver you need to: know how to drive trucks, have a license, be of legal age, patience to spend many hours in the truck and time to take very long trips.

Truck drivers are very important for the transportation of merchandise in a country as long as Chile where the train does not reach many parts.

I remember an episode of The Simpsons, when Homer and Bart replace a truck driver who died because of them, and they drive to deliver the load.

A book you can Recommend

 

Hello, Today I am going to recommend a book that I really liked, because it is real and not fiction. “Blue Nights”(2011) by Joan Didion, the book tells how Joan Didion lives after the death of her daughter Quintana, the book is the sequel to "The Year of Magical Thinking" (2005) where she tells the sudden death of her husband John Gregory Dunne and his daughter's illness. 

This was the first book I read by Joan Didion, I heard the book recommendation on the radio, but after I read many of her books, especially essays, like when Joan Didion met John Wayne or that Harrison Ford (before he was famous) fixed his kitchen, or when she went with the hippies, or when they didn't accept her at the University , or that she was born in Sacramento California. Joan Didion died in 2021, but their great stories will always remain with us.

FP Top 5

I was already very tired so it seemed like a good idea not to have classes during the week.

1-Movies

This week I saw a movie that I wanted to see for a long time. Dracula from 1958, is a remake of classic story from Bram Stoker, starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula and Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, the films are very bloody, but more illuminated than the common vampire movies.

2-Laser Cutter

I also learned how to use a laser cutter, which will be very useful to be able to make my models. Learning to use 3D modeling programs is very difficult, but I think that with time I will learn how to do it well.

3-Cook

I cooked food for my family, we eat meat and empanadas, my nephews and their pets were there, 3 dogs and a cat, we had a great time.

4-Sleep

I think I slept a lot more this week than I did all semester. I slept more than 8 hours a day which made me feel very good, as I write this I already feel tired. This is what I enjoyed the most this week.

5-Shells and structure

I studied shell structures, I think this will take me the whole semester, these are light structures that resist large loads and have very strange shapes like sea shell or a walnut shell.

(I'm as tired as Count Dracula )