A travel experience

Althoug we know the air travels are the most sure, it’s interesting the feeling we have when we don’t have our feet on the ground. Be over 1000 feet high produces an insecurity feeling on myself.

However, in September past I had to go to Madrid, Spain. During the travel, I prepared myself to spent a good sleep and relax time; to be ready for the time shift. Unfortunately, it was impossible because I was in the middle sit between two young couple with little children that cried almost all the time, were more than unfinished 14 hours.

I was in Madrid for 5 days, The return was more quite, it was a direct fly. And I had for traveling companions only adult persons. It was exciting to visit one of more tourist country, unfortunately I could not go with my family.

I have talk about bus travels that are long and uncomfortable trips. I also had travelled by bus, and obviously it’s different , it makes me think about many people that have to do this kind of trips daily for their works.

When I was a child, my family travelled to Iquique by car a lot of times. It took two or three days, we enjoyed it very much. Now we are thinking to make it again. We have to decide to go by plane or car. If it is by car we will can to visit several cities and beautiful northern places.

I have planned to travel when I finish my study, I would like to visit Europe or Africa.

My experience learning English at the university

The English subject has implemented 2 year ago as a compulsory subject in my career. This innovation was part of a change in all of our course program and we were the first generation in it, the “mechones 2009” of Midwifery career in the University of Chile. It try to afford us a comprehensive learning and give us more tools for our future professional work, however this is not the way like the direction wanted.

On the faculty of Medicine there are 4 levels of English: Started, Beginning, Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate; and it depends on the result of a test you do at the beginning of your first year in the University at what level you start. All of these last one term and you have class twice at week.

In my case, I started at the Beginning level, in the second term of 2009. Since then I have had 3 different teachers, one on each level. In general it has not caused me problems, although it is clear that each of them evaluated differently, in spite of they were in the same department.

At the last time, I have learned more than ever, to have these class gives to me a lot of new ways to communicate and understand some English books, already I can watch some easy language films.

In my opinion, my last level was the most interesting about the Midwifery career, it makes difficult to me but it has made more useful too. It was referred to medical language and increases my medical vocabulary. A good tool was the blog writing, because I could practice my reading and understanding in order to visit my classmates` blogs and I could share my thoughts and experience through my writings.

I always thought that English is important to know. It is becoming more essential knowledge because today is the universal language and learn to speak it opens more doors for future labor situation. By the above do I think it is a very good chance to have English class in the University, freely.

about films

Hi! I’m thinking about films. And I have to recognize that I don’t have too information, I’m not going or watching films so frequently, but I usually watch films at home on Sunday afternoon if I might not study. My parents buy some films in sale, sometimes they have found too cheap films.

However, I have like a favorite film “Brave heart”. I like it so much if I am watching TV and I see that it is in another canal, I change only for watch it again. This film was made by a good and handsome actor, Mel Gibson, with excellent locations and interesting lovely story and I prefer lovely films. Another film I watched was “Imagining Argentina” with Antonio Banderas it is about dictatorship time in Argentina, and it has a nice end.

I haven’t watched a lot of Chilean films, but I should mention that I don’t like them very much in order the poor language, I think there are too much bad words. Obviously they are made in Spanish and I don’t have problems to understand and I note them. The most interesting Chilean film that I have watched was “Fuga” three or four years ago.

Nearly, we are planning go to the cinema to watch a new film called “Red” it is an action film, it will be a good family time. Also we want to watch a film about meerkats family, it would be next week.

“We only use 10 % of our brain…”

It began when Einstein said that he only used 10% of his brain. Then, in 1930 Karl Lashley, using electric shocks, talked about “silent cortex”. Also, many dubious interpretations have fuelled this myth.

Actually, thanks imaging techniques, we can observe several functional areas, such as:

-Primary visual area: eye information

-Primary auditory area: ear information

-Several areas are linked to produce and comprehension of language.

If we accept the “10% myth”, we are misunderstanding the brain activity, because if we think that the areas function separately, for a determinate activity we would have a small active area, and the rest of the brain would be inactive, but it does not occur.

Really, we use many areas simultaneously. For example, when we see an object, our brain gets the primary information from eyes, and then analyzes it in the “secondary area”, participating the information of memory and language too.

Another source of the myth is concerning the “glial cells” (90% of the cells comprising the brain), because they do not participate in the transmission of the nerve impulse (only the neurons). However, the glial cells are essential to the right nervous develop.

Through neuroscience, we can know that there are not inactive brain areas. Even during sleep or under anaesthetic, we have movement, sensation or emotion areas functioning.

Other physiological reason that allow overthrow the myth, is the evolution theory, considering the brain consumes 20% of available energy. With such high energy, evolution would not have allowed the development of an organ of which 90% is useless.

In my opinion, it is very interesting!

Before I read the Dr. Maldonado`s paper I thought the this myth was true, but now I have learned it was wrong. The information is clear and easy to understand. I hope you are agree.