Free topic! One of my favourite artists: Serj Tankian (230 words)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4-1bHbYb68

Serj Tankian is 52 years old. He is an Armenian-American artist, best known for being the lead singer of the band System of a Down, but he is a lot more than just that. Nevertheless, I’m not going to write about his personal life; you can read his Wikipedia page. I’m going to tell you about some of the many amazing things he does.

First of all, he was the lead singer of System of a Down for many years since 1994. He performed live in many countries, including Chile, and released several albums: the most famous is called ‘Toxicity’. However, he decided to leave that band to concentrate on three different things: his solo career, his painting, and his activism. Alone, Serj Tankian released 6 solo albums, including a symphonic release of his rock album called ‘Elect the dead’ and a classical symphony called ‘Orca’. Also, he worked on the soundtrack of a few films. Moreover, he started painting as a hobby and now has many works of art. Finally, one of his most impressive feats is his activism: He advocates for animal rights, environmental issues, and has been very critical of the US government and their military interventions, mainly through his music.

To sum up, Serj Tankian is an amazing artist who uses his art to make people enjoy, but more importantly, think critically. In conclusion, he is absolutely awesome.

Post graduate studies (220)

I started studying in my undergraduate program at UMCE 12 years ago. Then, I got a master’s degree at the same institution. When I started studying, I didn’t know I wanted to keep studying, but now I think I’m going to do it. I think that I will apply for a scholarship, because I don’t have money to pay for a program in this country. There are many options out there.

I could take some courses, what in Chile we call ‘diplomados’, to learn specific things related to my own field of studies, or to learn about something new that could help me develop as a professional and/or as a person. I could study another master’s degree in a related field. Furthermore, I could try to get a doctorate. They are expensive (if you don’t get a scholarship) and they take a lot of time, but I could try. I could even take courses that are not related to my career, to acquire new skills. Maybe I’ll try to learn a new language; just because it would be fun.

Or maybe I won’t study in any formal institution and I will dedicate myself to find informal learning instances. I don’t know. The only thing I know is that I’m sure I want to keep learning.

MY FUTURE JOB (210) I don't know.

In the future, I’m going to be a teacher. Moreover, I’m going to be working at the same place I am working now (hopefully); maybe I will work at a school, or maybe I’ll go abroad and learn more about teaching. I like my job. In an imaginary world, where I’m not a teacher, I have other ideas.

First, I would probably be a translator. I would love to create subtitles for interesting material. I would translate TV shows, movies, and documentaries. Also, I could translate papers, dissertations, and columns about all types of topic.                                                                              Second, I would work in a hostel. I wouldn’t work in a hotel, because they are too fancy. It gives me the possibility of learning new languages, meeting new people, and learn new things. Or something similar. I could be a tour guide in a museum, but I don’t really like museums.                            Third, I would love to work in a library. I was a very good reader when I was young, but now I don’t read as much as I used to. Then, I would have the opportunity of reading many different books of many different genres.

However, I think I’m going to be a teacher. That’s what I like and that’s what I’m trained to do.

Free topic! One of my favourite TV shows (180 words).

Today, I’m going to talk to you about one of my favourite TV shows. I could talk about The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, or Avatar (The Last Airbender). But those shows are famous. Even Cowboy Bebop, another anime, is kind of famous. That’s the reason why I’ll try to convince you to watch Samurai Champloo. I know that many of you probably hate anime, and there are good reasons for that. Nevertheless, this anime from 2004 is really good. This show has three main characters: Jin, Mugen, and Fuu. The three of them meet in strange circumstances and they start an adventure together. That’s it. For 26 episodes we go with them on their adventure, we get to know them better, and we understand them better. Why is Samurai Champloo different to most shows? It is because it mixes a musical genre (hip-hop) with the aesthetics of the scenes and with the story. If you are not a regular anime fan, it can have some weird things like Momo (a “character”), but you can ignore it. If you are an anime fan, you should really watch it!

Free topic! Football (200 words.)

Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved football. In fact, since I was 15 years old, I’ve been going to the stadium to watch my team Universidad de Chile. Every home game, I’m there. However, for the past few years my feelings towards men professional football have been changing. There are things I used to accept that, now that I’m older, I cannot accept anymore. I could talk about the treatment of women in the sport, the treatment of women and lgbtq+ people by the fans and their chants, the racism, the ridiculous levels of competition, the outrageous money being moved, the corruption of its head organisation FIFA, and so much more. I am going to focus on one in particular: The World Cup in Qatar in 2022. First of all, it was a product of bribes; they didn’t win clean, they paid to get the World Cup (as many others have done before). Second, the Qatari government is using football to clean its image while, because of the World Cup and Qatari working conditions, 1,200 workers have died already just to be prepared for the event. I love the sport, but everyday it gets more difficult to love it.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/nov/14/fifa-bribery-corruption-trial-qatar-2022-world-cup

https://observatoryihr.org/news_item/labour-conditions-in-qatar-could-result-in-as-many-as-4000-deaths-before-the-start-of-the-2022-world-cup/

Entry 2: Best concert or holiday. (170 words)

The best concert of my life was seeing Los Jaivas in a very trippy night. First, we drove from Santiago to La Serena with 3 other friends. We took a tent, a little stove, some food, some beers, and we went on the trip. After we arrived in La Serena, we bought something to eat and started to drive towards the hill were the concert was going to take place: Mamalluca. When we got to the hill, we parked the car and walked like a kilometre to the place were the concert was going to be. We waited patiently, until they started to play. They played their greatest hits to a very excited crowd. Me and my friends were very happy. After a short break, they played an entire album to close the night. After a magical concert, we went back to the parking lot, set the tent, cooked some noodles, had a few beers, and looked at the stars, enjoying the silence. That was one of my best experiences and I’m glad I shared it with my friends.

Iceland, the most equal country in the world. (A place I'd like to visit)

The place I would like to visit the most in the world is Iceland. Iceland is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Europe. Despite its name, it is not as cold as you would imagine.

There are two reasons why I want to visit Iceland. First, I love the landscapes and I really want to see the northern lights; the most beautiful spectacle in the world. Second, and more importantly, equality. Gender equality in Iceland, even though not perfect, is the best in the world. For example, 80% of women are part of the workforce, whereas in Chile only 52% of women are working. This gets worse in politics. In Iceland, out of the 62 seats in parliament, women occupy 30, which is 48%. In Chile, only 15.5% of the parliament is occupied by women.

For those reasons, I think Iceland is an amazing place and I really want to visit it!