An Amazing Experience

Hello again! I believe this is my last post and I would like to talk to you about an important topic: my experience writing on a blog :)

I’ve never had a blog before and I must say that I’m quite surprised with the experience, it was very enjoyable and it helped me a lot because it made me conscious of what I'm doing every week and also more grateful of what I’m going through this semester.

My favorite post was Lucho Jara’s because that day I felt like I didn’t want to take this so seriously, I found that post really funny because I don’t have a famous Chilean role model right now and the fact that I woke up and I saw my mum watching Luis Jara’s tv show kind of inspire me to write about him.

I love writing so none of the posts felt boring to me but there was one post that I think was more difficult than the others. It was about the architecture of the future, it took longer because I had to read an article first and I’m a slow reader (it’s difficult for me to focus on something for longer than 10 seconds).

I think my English vocabulary improved because I had to look for new words to express architectural terms and that’s very important because some of the texts that I have to read for my classes are in English and having the chance of learning new words in such an entertaining way becomes very helpful. Also it helped me having a teacher who isn’t Chilean because at school I only had Chilean teachers and it was way easier to understand them because all of them had the same accent, so having a teacher with a different accent feels more challenging and I believe that’s always good.

My favorite blog this semester was Agustina’s. It’s a very interesting blog, I love the way she expresses herself and every time I visit her blog I learn something new about her or about culture.  

This Year

Merry Christmas!

Today I'd like to talk about my 2016. This year has been evidently different from the others, the reason? This year I became an architecture student, the type of person who doesn’t have enough sleep and wears black all the time, being my first year of university I’ve been trying to get used to it, to do the same things I did last year but also complete all the tasks.

When this year started I know it would be an important one: My brother gave me a ticket for a Coldplay’s concert as a Christmas present, he bought two tickets so we went together and we were in the front row, I never thought I’d be so close to Chris Martin. That concert meant to much to me because when I was younger (around 12 years old) my brother said that I had to stop picking bad concert seats because I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the show which sometimes are mainly made for people who are closer to the stage, he mentioned that when he was a teenager he went to a Coldplay’s concert and it was the most amazing concert ever, the stage was amazing and the whole thing was unforgettable.  I wished so much that they came back so I could see what he was talking about. They did and my brother was right. The experience was unbelievable, the colors of the bracelets, Chris Martin’s talent and the colored balloons floating! I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing.

Also this year had its ups and downs, last semester was amazing because I started quite skeptical, I wasn’t sure of what I was doing but then, after a few projects I realised that architecture is actually what I want to study. It wasn’t an easy semester, it became really difficult sometimes and it made me breakdown a few times because I thought I wasn’t good enough and I was running out of ideas. Luckily I made it through it and now I feel very proud of what I achieved.

Now that this year is coming to an end and I’ve been busy thinking about my final project, doing some sheets and buying Christmas presents, I realise how much I’ve grown up, I’m not saying that I feel more mature but I feel like I know so much more than before. I met incredible people this year, I learnt to work as a team, to help people and to let them help me. Even when this year hasn’t been the best one, I wouldn’t like to forget it.

Happy Holidays! :) 

Aurora

It’s really difficult to choose one person to talk to. It feels like there are so many interesting people in the world, so I decided to choose an interesting person from my playlist.

Today I would like to talk to you about the most intriguing, cute and sophisticated human being in the world and that’s Aurora Aksnes.

The first time I heard about her was last year, I was listening to Birdy or some music I like to listen to at home, when I’m just chilling, drinking tea and checking my social media, and I started to see the thumbnail of a white haired girl with a blue background. I didn’t understand why her video was recommended until I watched that video. It was Runaway, it really caught my attention how white her hair was and how pale she looked, soon I started to watch her other videos and look for more information about her, I was really surprised because she only had around two videos and the information I found about her said that she’s Norwegian. A couple of months later, I found more information and also more music, actually a few months back she released an album and I wasn’t disappointed. Now every time I have to spend the night working on something I listen to her album, it keeps me inspired and somehow it makes me think about winter, nature, lights and a bit of Christmas. This year she had some really important performances on tv shows and on Vevo Halloween, that makes me really happy because that means people are appreciating her work.

If I ever get to know her I would like to ask her if she’s human, how was her life before becoming famous, is she’s working on a new album, if she would like to collaborate with other artists and stuff like that, it feels like it would be more like an interview that an actual conversation, I just want to know so much about her but at the same time I feel like I don’t. I like the fact that she’s so mysterious and I wouldn't like to change that. 

A Very Helpful Subject

Hello

Personally, I believe this semester is not as interesting as the first one, I’m not saying that is not interesting at all, what I mean is that this semester has more theoretical subjects and I’m not a big fan of those. But if I had to choose the most helpful and interesting theoretical subject I would say “Environmental Research”, my teacher is Emanuel Giannotti, he’s a very interesting person and also quite charismatic.

I would like to apologize for the translation of the subject’s name because I’m not sure if that’s the correct one, I feel like the Spanish version says a lot more than it does in English. But just in case you didn’t understand what the subject is about I will explain it: The goal of this subject is to help us understand that the city has different contexts, and we should be able to take them into account when we work on an architectural project. We can’t just put a school in the middle of a highway, because a) it’s dangerous and b) we must look for a context, analyze people’s behavior, age range, skyline, and etcetera. Everything we do in the future must have a logic and this subject gives us the tools to find that logic.

Even when it is not my favorite subject this semester (I don’t have a favorite subject so far) I find it extremely helpful and the fact that the teacher allows us to work in groups makes everything easier, because every member works on a different task and when we put all together, everything makes sense and we can also see if there’s a problem in the context that can be solved with an architectural project. 

Hobby!

Today I’d like to talk about a hobby I used to have. I’ve never had a real hobby until last year.

My brother loves sports, he’s always practicing a new one but two years ago he told me that nothing compares to swimming, He highly recommended me to try it because I wasn’t practicing any sport. At first I was a little skeptical but it he seemed so happy I decided to give it a chance. Last year I went on a trip to see my aunt that lives abroad, I stayed there for around three or four months, I was spending time with my cousins and visiting the city but I was a little bored so I decided to do what my brother recommended so I took swimming lessons. It was a little difficult at first because I didn’t know the different swimming styles in English. The teacher had to show me what he was talking about, it was weird but he was really patient. The next few weeks I learnt the styles’ names so it was easy and also my swimming skills improved.

When I came back to Chile I went to another Swim School, I used to go at least three or four times a week, I loved that because I was getting faster and stronger. After a couple of months I went to another place, my mum paid a gym membership so I could go every day during the whole semester but I didn’t have enough time to go, I went as much as I could but I was barely sleeping and eating so I didn’t have the energy to swim. My membership expired on September therefore I haven’t been swimming for months now. I’m hoping to get another membership soon but it is a little expensive and I have other plans (such as spending money on christmas decorations). 

Luis Jara's Greatness

I’m having a hard time trying to think about a Chilean I admire, there are so many artists, authors, architects, and etcetera. But for some reason today I want to talk about Lucho Jara and how much I admire this man.

Luis Jara was born in Santiago in 1965. He’s a singer, actor and television presenter. Luis Jara is known for his versatility and his perfect humor sense. Nowadays he is in a morning television show that my mum always watches, every time I wake up I hear Luis Jara’s voice followed by my mum’s laugh.

Even though is evident he’s quite egocentric, he looks very humble and funny on TV. I admire the way he’s always smiling and making people happy in the mornings when we feel everything but happy because we’re still tired or sleepy. I also admire how honest he is about his plastic surgeries and about the mistakes he has made through his career.

If I ever get to meet him, I would like to talk about his fears, because since I was very young I’ve been seeing him in embarrassing situations but he never loses his confidence, he’s always so professional and that’s one of the things that I also admire about him. I would also like to talk about how amazing his voice is. I grew up listening to Luis Jara’s songs and they seem so powerful and meaningful because of his voice.

I hope one day I’ll be as amazing as Lucho Jara. 

The Architecture of the Future

Hello, today I’d like to talk about the Victory City project. I read three sections of the project: the introduction. Recreation and ecological and environmental issues. It seems like the perfect city for the future, taking into consideration how damaged our cities are nowadays. What I liked about the Victory City is how easy it will be to live surrounded by air conditioning and free-flow traffic. We are all aware of how the weather has been changing and it has been affecting our behaviour and that gets even worse with traffic congestion. Also I like the fact that recycling will be an important part of the development of the city and uneaten food will be fed to animals. Trash production is such a common problem and it affects our health, so using that system will create a more conscious city.

What I didn’t like about this project is how there will be no cemeteries, many families like to feel close to their beloved ones even when they are dead, so it might be considered a problem in the future to not be able to visit a family member or a friend.

I do believe architectural projects might be quite similar to Victory City but not as complex, what I mean is that architecture will adapt itself to our necessities and if these aren’t as complicated maybe there will be no reason to create a Victory City but to improve our own. 

Last Weekend's Adventure

Last weekend was a little busier than usual. My weekend started on Friday with my aunt giving birth to my two cousins, I went to see her after class just to make sure they were fine. On Saturday I went with my brother and my mum to Cajón del Maipo to have dinner, the journey was magical, listening to my brother’s playlist while watching the sunset behind the trees from the window of the car, the way the landscape turns dark green and the weather becomes windy and colder. These are the moments I cherish the most. On Sunday my family went to the funeral of my sister-in-law’s grandmother I wanted to go as well but my aunt decided to help me get rid of my green hair that day, so we put baking soda in my hair, we bleached it and also put tomato sauce, after that I felt really frustrated, I couldn't go to the funeral and my hair looked destroyed, green and smelt like ketchup. I was tired and decided to dye it pink again. 

On Monday we went to the beach, my family wanted to go to San Antonio to have lunch, we spent the most part of the day at the mall, which is the most ridiculous thing to do considering we left Santiago to enjoy a different view and breathe fresh air, but I still enjoyed the trip. We went back to Santiago in the afternoon because it was Halloween and I wanted to decorate the house, my neighbourhood is full of children and they always compliment my house’s decorations. This year I used glow sticks, I put them on spider webs and also broke some sticks to use the liquid to make the house glow in the dark. It looked amazing. At night I decided to watch a movie so I watched “It”, I love watching that movie on Halloweens, I love that clown. On Tuesday I went to the mall twice with my brother because I was trying to avoid working on my project for Thursday. 

It was a great weekend, my favourite part was going to Cajón del Maipo, I’m looking forward to going back next Saturday. 

A Walk I Would Like To Do Again

When I was younger my mum used to take me for a walk through the park that’s near my house. It wasn’t a long walk, actually now that I’m older I realise how short it is. At first when I was around eight or ten years old we would go to the park and sit on a bench to talk about school or family issues. But when I became older the walk became longer, we would go through the park and walk a few more blocks. It was another neighbourhood I guess, because the houses looked slightly different from ours.

It was a very simple walk but something that I really liked about it is how we used to take those walks around 7 PM in summer, so it wasn’t so hot and the sky had that orange/pink colour that always puts me in the mood to go outside and breathe some fresh air. Another thing I remember about those walks is that my mum and I would talk about where we would go for holidays while eating an ice cream. Now that I think about it, my favourite part of that walk was the person I was walking with, I only see my mum on weekends and those walks are a reminder of how much I enjoy being with her. Lately we haven’t gone for walks like we used to do before but that’s completely understandable considering we both have been busy on weekends. The last time we went for a walk like that was when I was around sixteen years old, now that I’m almost twenty I think I have so much to tell her (like how much I miss those walks). Anyways, I hope we repeat that very soon. 

This Book

The book I’d like to talk about is called The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. The first time I knew about this book I didn’t realise it was a book. I was on a trip and I used to see pictures of it everywhere but mostly on the tube, it was full of advertisings of this book and I became really curious.

When I got back home my mum gave it to me as a present. There were very few times where I could read something without feeling forced to do so as in high school, I had to read at least 10 books per year and sometimes I didn’t have enough time to sit and enjoy it. But I read this book during my gap year and I liked it. What I found really interesting at first was how it was written in different points of view and how the main character seemed so out of her mind.

Another thing that kept me reading it were the plot twists, I love when books have plot twists because I have to take a moment to understand what happened, I always get so emotionally involved in books, when I finish them I feel sad and I have to look for something else to fill that void.

A few weeks ago I discovered that there’s a movie of this book coming out soon. I hope I like it as much as the book. 

Something I Would Like to Learn

Hello, today I’d like to talk about an instrument I haven’t learned to play yet: the drums.

When I was younger (first year of secondary) I met my best friend, she was the nicest and the most interesting person I’ve ever met, when she introduced herself, she mentioned that she was in a band and that she plays all types of instruments since she was very young. She invited me to see her band perform.

 One day I went to the auditorium of my school and she was playing the bass but what really caught all my attention was the drummer behind her, she seemed so concentrated and at the same time, she looked like she was having the time of her life. After that I realised how much I wanted to learn to play the drums. As a kid I never showed any interest on that instrument but for some reason, I couldn’t stop listening to the drums that day. I asked my friend to teach me, but she told me that the drums are the only instrument she doesn’t know how to play, therefore I talked to the drummer of the band, we became friends and she taught me a few things, I liked it but it was really difficult for me considering I’m not the most coordinated person on earth.

A few months later I learned to swim, and that helped me with my coordination. Now I feel a bit more prepared, although I know it’s going to take a long time to be as good as that girl, because it isn’t as easy as it seems. I hope someday I’m at least half as good as she is, it would make me really happy and it seems like a good stress reliever. 

Southern Chile

Last summer my family decided to go to Puerto Varas, it was mainly because I spent years complaining about why they took me to Southern Chile when I was 3 years old, I have pictures there but I don’t remember anything, they always talked about how amazing it was but I was too young to understand where I was. 

We took a plane to Puerto Varas because none of us wanted to drive all the way there. We stayed there for five days, the weather was perfect and the landscape was unbelievable, but what impressed me the most was the fact that they sell all types of berries and they are way more affordable than in Santiago, so we bought 2 kilos of blueberries and I ate them all (no regrets). We also went to Frutillar, the weather was cold and a bit rainy but that didn’t stop us from taking pictures and visiting “Teatro del Lago”.

The last place we visited was Chiloé, we spent the last two days there. Everything seemed so calmed and simple, I felt like I wanted to stay there forever, but at the same time I missed the city.  We tried to visit all the churches and important places. I would like to post a picture of the island (so you can see how beautiful it is) but my brother kept all the pictures I took and I’m too lazy to ask him to send them to me. 

Tumblr

A few years ago I discovered Tumblr because one of my friends was obsessed with it and she asked me to create an account, I did so and it became one of my favorite websites so far and that's why I would like to talk about it.

Tumblr is a platform where you can post anything you like and "reblog" posts from other Tumblr accounts, I like it because you can follow artists and send them messages. You can also customize your blog the way you want it and keep it private so people won't see what you're posting (just in case you don't want people to see what you're doing).

I visit this website when I’m bored or when I’m looking for ideas for my projects, it’s very helpful when it comes to finding inspiration (not as helpful as Pinterest but I still like it). I follow a blog on Tumblr called Archatlas, it’s about architecture so I can see different techniques of sketching and designing. I also follow blogs that post memes and funny pictures about topics that I like and that I know my friend Antonia likes as well. We always send each other those memes in awkward situations, we’ve been doing that for months I don’t think it will ever stop.