"Urban population boom threatens Lake Titicaca"

In the last twenty years, urban centers nearby Titicaca Lake have grown very fast. That threatens the Lake wish had sustain agriculture societies from Andeans plains for many years.

The demographic boom is explained because rural peasants look for a better life and they go to live to the city. Wish it has being devastating for the watershed. Garbage and industrial waste are dumped into rivers that flow into the Lake.

But change those conditions is not easy, meanly because there are not strong politics and laws about environment and there isn’t an adequate infrastructure.

The 80% of drinking water is provide by networks, and people from other countries are helping to install more, but the construction of a new plant to treat the water is very far away.

Local people tell their story. When they were young the rivers were clean, and they could drink and fish there, but now there are no fishes on rivers. That shows how pollution affects everything. Animals are born with defects or they are skinny, all that because of the concentration of heavy metal contamination produce by industries.

The effects on the lake and small towns are similar. About the lake, most of it has its water clear, but signs of pollution are visible in the areas near the mouth of rives. Plants had been removed and the fishes have been affected. For example, some of them used to live in warm shore waters and now they are living deep in the lake. Other effects over the fishes are the decrease of population and size. All this is a vicious circle, because it makes former fishermen migrate to cities

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/12/urban-population-boom-lake-titicaca

Happiness

I believe happiness does not exist if we understand it like that stage in life when everything is perfect and we have no problems at all and never again.

I believe in happiness in two ways. One of them is like those periods in life when all our projects and plans are actually working. But that doesn’t means that everything is perfect, and there are no problems, it is more like have everything is going on, and be satisfied with that. The other concept of happiness that I have is about those little seconds in life, when everything seems perfect. In those moments when ours chest seems like it’s going to exploit at any second, full of good feelings, specially love.  

I don’t know if now, this year, this month I’m happy with my life. I feel a little stress and I feel like I’m not spending enough time with the people I love the most. But I can say that I do have those moments when I fell so complete and that happens when I with my son and he does funny and sweet things.

I think people are not happy because they are not living the life that they want to have. And usually that happens because they don’t have the chance to even think about the real life they would like to have. There are too many people that is living like a puppet, doing what they have to do or what they think they have to do, without asking them self is that is what they want, or if there is another way to do thing.

I think Chile is not a happy country. I think that the way Chile is thought to satisfy some people interested and that is not compatible with the things that people need to be happy. I think people is obligated to do thing and have a life to satisfy their basic need but not to become who they would like to be. 

France

Hello everyone, Happy New Year!!!

Today I’m going to talk you about travelling and visiting other countries.

Well, to start I’m going to tell you that I love to visit other countries! The first time I traveled was when I was one year old. I went to Peru to visit my family. I had traveled many times, but almost every time to Peru. I think Peru is a beautiful country and I love the people there, but I would like to know other countries too.

One of them is France. I would like to go because I think France, besides to be a beautiful country, is full of art, knowledge, history, nice food, etc.

I know that in France is a big museum called The Louvre. There are many of the most famous art works in history, and a huge collection from Egypt that was stolen by Napoleon in the Nineteenth Century.

I also know that there is a palace called Versailles, were the Royal Family used to live before 1779. That year started the French Revolution,  a long process of social and politic changes inspired on principles of equality, citizenship and inalienable rights, and ended with the absolute monarchy.

When I visit France, I would like to go to The Eiffel Tower, to the Triumphal Arch, to all the museums and the countryside. I would also like to go to eat and buy some clothes.

I think that I would like to live in Paris, is a beautiful city, but I can’t go because my son has to be near his father and he is not going to live there. Anyway, some day we will go and visit every interest and nice place in that city

At this time of year...

Hello

Today I’m going to write you about Christmas. This is a celebration that has a place en almost every part of the world. It remembers the day that Jesus Christ was born. This date has a lot of meaning for Jewish and Catholic persons, because is the day that their prophet was born.

People around the world celebrate it with symbols (like Santa Claus, the Christmas tree, and the Nativity scene) and rites (like Christmas dinner or midnight mass). Some of the most important elements for Christmas actually are the gifts. Everyone goes crazy buying gifts at this time of the year, especially for kids.

To me, Christmas is a family day. I’m not a believer, so to me it doesn’t have a religious meaning. But my mom loves Christmas, I don’t know why, she doesn’t believe, neither. She likes to invite my big bother with his son and my dad’s sister with her two kids. Sometimes there are more guests, but at least is us. We have dinner, all good dressed and after that we open the gifts. But it doesn’t end here. We stay until late drinking wine and talking.

To me every year Christmas is losing importance. When I was a kid I loved the gifts, but know I don’t care too much. Like I said before to me it doesn’t have a religious meaning. And it’s true that gets family together and everything but I don’t believe it should be necessary a holiday for that. Besides, now people is only interest in buying gifts so if sometimes it has another meaning I think it lost it at all. So I could say that I like Christmas because I have a good time, but the meaning that it taking lately I hate it and I think is ridiculous.

Anyway Merry Christmas  

This weird term

Hello, I’m Manuela Jimenez and I’m coursing my 4^th semester of sociology in the Universidad de Chile.

This term is kind of weird; it started on November and usually does it on July or August. So it will be finish at the end of January and it will last only ten week. I think is a mistake having a semester that short. Because of that, I don’t have too many expectations for this term. We won’t be available to go deep with subjects and all the evaluations will be too close and that will be stressing.

I took six subjects: Statistic III, Sociology theory II, Economy II, Epistemology, Qualitative Techniques I and English IV.

I thought studying in summer/Christmas would be awful, but it was not that bad. I think it is because I like the University and see my friends every day. Anyway it’s kind of sad that all my friends that are not from this University are starting their vacations and I can’t do any plans with them or it’s very complicate.

About this class I don’t know what I would like to do. I think it exceeds my level of creativity, so any ideas I could have, teachers already had it. I think that the thing I would like the most is improve my English level, and learn more vocabulary. 

A zebra crossing photograph

The picture that I’m going to talk about is the cover of Abbey Road album, the last album that recorded by The Beatles. 

Here it is, so you can see it, do yo like it?

The picture was taken by Iain Macmillan, in August of 1969. It shows The Beatles walking across the street, outside EMI studios, where they recorded the album, located on Abbey Road with Grove End Road. In the picture, you can see the band in a single file. The order of appearance from left to right is Harrison, McCartney, Starr and Lennon.  

This picture has a lot of curious details. For example, Paul McCartney is the only one without shoes and has the wrong foot foward. Also, there is a Volkswagen parking on the left side of the street, that after appear on the cover album, the number plate was stolen several times, and today the whole car is in a museum. Another curious thing is that the photographer only could take six pictures, because that street had a lot of traffic. The photograph has been source of a myth too. It says that Paul is dead and the picture was representing a funeral procession. 

I like this picture because I think is simple, creative, different, irreverent, specialy if we think about the time when it was taken. Also, I like it because The Beatles are in it, and I love them. I believe they are very good musician and never will be a band like them, because they cause a revolution in music. This picture is important to me in this moment because lately I’m listening The Beatles a lot, and the whole Abbey Road album is a landmark in the band’s carrer.

My TV addictions

Over the years, TV serial has become part of our lifes. Their role in our societies is mostly, entertain. But also, TV serial can show different realities and, in some way, they are art.

People like TV serial because they tell a story, like a movie or a book. The difference is that they are longer, so people can be watching a story in short parts but for a long time, usually six months. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have a bad side. Their bad side is that sometimes TV serial shows realities that are not real and sometimes people misinterpret them.

I have two favorites TV serial. One of them is very light and it’s about teenagers and their gossips. I like it because it distracts me and it is fun. Besides I started to see it a few years ago, and I feel that it has joined me thru the years. My other favorite TV serial is a thriller. It’s about serial killers and FBI’s detectives that use psychoanalysis to catch the bad guys. I like it because I like detective serials and I think that this psychoanalysis thing is very fun and interesting. Other reason why I like it is because it makes me feel adrenaline. I saw them every week, but I hate when the season is over because I have to wait six months to see new episodes.

To finish this, I’m giving you a tip so you can see TV serial: you can watch them online, all the season, free, without commercials, and all the seasons whenever you want!!! One of the sites that give that service is www.cuevana.tv.

Hope you enjoy it!!!