SO WHAT

I don't really get the idea. (See the teacher's blog) Was it about our internal problems? Or maybe about the challenges we're supposed to face soon? OK: nevermind. I'd like something more free to write about, but... well, what can I do. May I write about the weather? Or something related to food?

It's warm out there today. Isn't it? (Yesterday it was so fresh at this very time).

The point is this: I'm not well informed about the actuality of my 'career' (oh no, not that word again! In Spanish it means the same as 'race'. Is anybody getting to the finishing line already?). Call me irresponsible. Maybe I am.

Well ... I'll try.

Let's suppose I know a lot about the actuality of my discipline (but I'm not disciplined! What a paradox!). Then, I can say that the challenges we face regarding technology are the following:

-We don't have a good technological infraestructure.

-We're not really into technology.

-Then, it doesn't really matter (in fact, it does, but there are more pressing subjects to worry about).

(You can read it as a silogism, or as you like it).

And what about our challenges about social matters?

It seems like we're not into social matters, at least not most [of the] time. What a shame! Art ALWAYS concerns about social or political matters, but nowadays apparently it's not. Personally, I have to solve some problems of mine first. I don't know. I don't think I'm going to change anything, unfortunately.

The same goes for E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N. Our own education isn't going as it should: it's expensive (considering that IT SHOULD be FREE) and we don't have enough resources; then... How could we help to improve the whole country's education? We better fill our vacuums by ourselves first. Then maybe we could do something better.

I just can't go on right now. I'm feeling Ill. I'm wasted. My brain's not working fine today. Maybe I'm going a little mad. I need a beer and a rest. Yes, because I didn't sleep at night.

And I'm very sorry if I couldn't keep the expectations.

I hope I see you soon. Cheers!

P.S.

After all I'm just supposed to be an Art theorist. Sure.

SSS

Sects.

Why people find them so appealing?

I think we're in a very technical era, but human's mystical side can't be silenced that easy.

People use to need something to believe in (I'm looking for/ something to believe in, sang Joey Ramone). Many people use to feel empty in this strange but ridiculously monotonous world; I can't blame them. They're just everyday people, and day after day the world seems to be boring (not all the time, of course).

Then, people think in something different to do, something to give meaning to their lives. Not just to work and go to the supermarket and the shopping center and, pum, buy buy buy. Then some of them meet in "strange" associations. Some of them need to follow a leader (I can't stand it, but it's the truth).

In some way, all sects are religious. They're based on faith, with or without a god (but god can be a politician or a football soccer player). They're not necessarily offensive, sometimes they're just like a child game.

Anyway, the subject of sects is not that simple. Sects have been there since the beginning of the times. Sects don't follow the rules of an "official" or institutional organization. That makes them, sometimes, more interesting. Sects must have a limited number of persons; just like some local fans club. Anyway, it tells us about that something's not working in our society (what a discovery!). Ergo, it's not that sects are a threat to society, it's that society has intrinsic threats to its members.

Unfortunately -I think- most people who joined a sect has nothing new to say. They just need something to cling to.

By the way, Szandor LaVey rules!

(just kidding)

And no, I don't know anyone who joined a sect so far.

My faculty (Faculty of Arts, Las Encinas, Universidad de Chile) is not as good, nor as beautiful as it should be. I'm sorry but it's the truth. The best thing is that we have a nice green place here, but I don't know if it will last long.

Now I'm writing from one of the computers of the Faculty, and it doesn't even work good. Internet is as slow as a snail here. Maybe THEY can start with the improving of this system. Of course, I think they should make a better building: the one which is already look horrible, really depressing. The library is very poor too, and it shouldn't be that way. It's small, dull, the computers really suck and most interesting or necessary books aren't there (actually, they're more "useful" books in the Faculty of Philosophy.

Well, many of this is the result of the decline of education because of the dictatorship's policies (after all, it is supposed to be a PUBLIC university, but actually it isn't, you know, we have to pay a lot for this).

I'm not a very proactive man, I really don't know how to improve all this in a viable way, but I can claim or complain, at least. Not all the things are that bad, of course, but they should be better considering that it's about the "main" university of this country. I don't know if it's actually like that. And I don't know how are other institutions in the rest of Latin America. It's a shame, but it's true. I really want this Faculty to work better, and the same goes for all education in Chile.

But the birds still sing nicely out there. And I'm going to drink some beer.

C-H-I-L-E-A-N

Identity is a complex thing. There are different factors involved in it. But, in conclusion, it's basically a matter of Politics and Economy; the configuration of society, from its beginnings, needed to make networks to produce (to satisfy any kind of necessities) and to protect themselves, and later, to keep heritage. And that is, basically, the way it goes. The birth of the identity issue.

In a larger scale, I'm sure that nations (nation-states) don't involve a kind of substance or essence that makes them . We must know that there's not necessarily a common History (what is it?) between a Nation, nor an Heroic past nor anything like that.

The same goes for the case of Chile "my" country. "We" are not all the same; most of us are "of mixed race" (between native and Spanish), but anyway, we're not Spanish, and most mapuche people don't consider themselves as Chileans (and I agree with them: this Country has stolen their culture and lands). We're kind of orphans, maybe that's our identity all along the territory.

Anyway, I think of a specific term: the "Chile profundo" (deep Chile), which refers to the centre of the territory, between the south of Santiago and the Region VII; it's mostly agricultural,

If I have to choose something like a Chilean identity, I'd like to be this: being in an old bar, drinking chilean wine and eating empanadas, or pork sandwiches, or cazuela, listening to 'canto a lo poeta' (typical music of Central Chile); or being in the shore of the sea in a windy cold night, because Chile isn't a tropical country. Or maybe we just have to know Violeta Parra's life and work.

And don't we hate our neighbours.

Santiago City (some things to do in)

Santiago of Chile is a stressing city, but not if you know how to treat it (and if you have enough time). Any foreigner who come to Santiago must know some things, obviously; but I don't like official holiday's packs nor guided tours: the best way to know a city is, I think, touring with a friend or some friendly people who knows it well.





So I think that the places and things a foreigner must visit and do in Santiago aren't necessarily those that appear in touristic guides. I'll write some points about some interesting places and activities in the city, just according to myself.


A nice green area in the center. Cerro Santa Lucía (Saint Lucy Hill) is one of the main places in the City. An historical one. There are trees, grass, fountains, and sculptures. You be careful: sometimes there are thieves.

Rest in peace. I like cementeries. What can I do? Well, you must know the main one in the city (Cementerio General), or you'll never know Santiago. It's very old and large, like a little city. You must know the historical part, with its wonderful graves and mausoleum.

Churchs. I'm atheist, but I like old churchs more than museums. It's culture in context. So you gotta visit the city's Cathedral (at Plaza de Armas), the San Francisco church (the oldest one in the city), the San Agustín Temple, the basilicas of La Merced, Los Sacramentinos and El Salvador, among others.


Where to eat/drink/lunch/ have a dinner. I don't know what kind of meal do you like, so I just can talk about my own taste. I don't like luxury restaurants. So if you want to know the local food and drinks you can go to some typical restaurant or tavern, such as El Hoyo, Monte Rosa or La Tinaja, where you can ask for a "terremoto" (earthquake, a drink made of cheap wine, pineapple ice cream and some liqueur) or a pork sandwich. If you like loin sandwiches, you go to Fuente Alemana in Alameda, it's amazing. For chinese food, Los Chinos Pobres in Plaza Brasil.

Some Fun. I don't know. If you like chic gigs I'm afraid I can't help you. But anyway, I like Bellavista, a kind of bohemian district with a lot of pubs, bars and restaurant. You can also go to Lastarria.

This Public Transport

I don't think I have to describe the Transantiago system. If you don't know what is it about, you can find it on the Net.

One thing is clear: I hate it.

It started to work, I think, about three years ago. Then, THEY said it would be something like "the transportation of the future": faster, cleaner, nicer, more comfortable. They said it would reduce the noise and air pollution. I don't know if it did. Anyway, the previous system (yellow buses) was awful, I think, even when there are people who miss it now. Well, I don't. It was horrific. But Transantiago isn't much better.

In the previous system, depending on the hour and on the route, the minibuses could be completely full or almost empty. In the first case, you couldn't always get in the vehicle, then you could arrive late to your destiny (and, what is the worst, in some cases, people fell out the bus and they got wound or simply died). All this was supposed to change with Transantiago. But actually, it didn't. It didn't then and it didn't yet now. I have to get in a bus (I can hardly do it) full of people almost every morning, all of them sad or angry. It happens even on the large buses ("caterpillars"). It's depressing. What can I say?

Well, the worst mistake with Transantiago, and of this I am sure, is that the organizers, and the goverment, didn't plan it rightly, with time: and they applied it to soon, because they wanted the people to be impressed with it before they left. Then, shit happened. I think they have to improve many things, including the freqcuency of the trips, but the drivers don't use to cooperate. Because most of them ar not interested in a better system, they don't need it. Anyway, I don't know what else those ineffective engineers, performers and shitty companies can do.

I'll say it again: I hate it.

The Last One?

Now I'm sick at home. Yes, I have the flu. But now I'm a little better, I think, At least, I'm not feverish now. I was drinking a cup of coffee just a few minutes ago, and I'm still listening to Miles Davis. I couldn't go to the class today, obviously.

This is (probably?) my last post in this blog, because of the teacher's request and the end of the semester.

I enjoyed writing in it - except for some topics that I didn't like at all. But all the rest was fine. I think it was an interesting initiative to propose the creation of the blog (congratulations to the one who suggested it!). I really liked it. It's just that I don't like to be obliged to write about an specific topic that I'm not interested in.

In addition, I think it really helped me to improve my English, at least my written English, that is very important for me. The practice of writing about something is a very beneficial exercise, it helps to think better, to write better, to share or capture ideas, to learn a language better. I like to write but I'm too lazy to do it on my own with some frecquency, so I think this blog was a good opportunity to practise my writing, but not so good to expose or develop my imagination (most topics were really limited, I think). But, anyway, I don't know what I could write about if they (the topics) were completely free.

I'd like to write in this very blog the next semester.

In spite of everything, I don't want it to die.

Goodbye.

I hope I see you soon.