I don't normally get involved with the celebrations for Fiestas Patrias or the national holidays. Reason being, I feel nowadays there is little independence to refer to. I always wonder how the native people in our country feel during these celebrations.  But let’s face it; it is a great opportunity to have a relaxing time. I used to go to barbeques with friends or house parties but I never enjoyed going to fondas in Santiago because I always found them over-crowded and over-priced. In fact the only fonda I ever really enjoyed was 10 or 12 years ago when I went to Algarrobo. I went with my darling husband, a British friend of his, Karen, and a very good Chilean friend of mine, Claudio. Connie, Claudio’s girlfriend at the time, was there too. Claudio's parents have a house in Algarrobo and we went to stay there for a couple of days. It was great being near the beach and getting some fresh sea air. Also, the weather was warm and sunny during the daytime and not too cold in the evenings.

The fonda was on the main road leading into Algarrobo and we went twice on consecutive evenings. There were lots of people but the atmosphere was friendly. We did the typical things like play some games, eat empanadas and drink chicha. There was music and people dancing cueca. Later on we drank piscolas and danced (shuffled about!!) to cumbias.

We all enjoy our national holiday for different reasons, I suppose.

Write about a Fiestas Patrias celebration you remember:

Say:

When it was,

What you did,

Who you were with,

Why you enjoyed it.

Mention anything else you think is interesting. Write at least 250 words. Leave a comment on your teacher’s blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

If you have extra time, visit www.plataforma.uchile.cl

my friend

Hi everyone:
Since today we are talking about personal things, I'd like to talk about a good friend of mine. I met Ivonne in around 2000 because she was a my sister's classmate at Uni and they were pretty close. Later, my sister left to live in the UK and didn't see Ivonne again until around 2005. I am not sure how we got in touch again but I am glad we did because I feel she is really nice company. I like talking to her about anything because most of the time she has wise words to tell me. Plus, she has a great sense of humor and is a very active woman.

I'd say we have  things in common. We like music and arts in general, and we share our sense of humor & we love animals. We don't eat them ! I really enjoy our evening meetings to have a drink and play music. Ivonne plays the guitar magnificently and can pick like few people I have met. But she is very humble about her guitar playing and that is nice too.
She is a lawyer, but one of the smart ones who will always tell you about the details of the legal actions you take. Furthermore,  most of the time she knows what is going on with the laws they will pass or if they already passed them and how they affect us. It is a pitty we only see each other 3 or 4 times a year.

Write about a good friend of yours:

Say:

Who it is,

How you met,

What things you have in common,

How often you see your friend.

Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on  4 classmates' blogs .

Here are some examples so you use tenses correctly. Notice the previous post has a verb list and therefore, you can look at the verb and tense you want to use.

what I normally do:

Nosotros vamos a conciertos 1 vez al año/ Nunca leo sobre arte/ My mama trabaja en su casa. 

 We go to concerts one time a year / I never read about arts / My mom works at home

When I want to talk about a particular occasion.

En esa oportunidad yo fui al campo/  Nosotros estábamos cansados ese día/ Comió el pastel y se fue.

I went to the country on that occasion /We were tired that day/ She/He ate the cake and left.

About things that started in the past and continue to the present...

He estado bien cansada ultimamente/ No he comprado tantos dulces / He querido ir pero no he podido

I have been tired lately/ I have not (haven't) bought many sweets/ I have wanted to go but haven't been able to.

When I am talking about the past and I want to refer to something further in the past.

Ese día me di cuenta que lo había visto más temprano. / Hasta entonces no había tenido tiempo.

That day I realized I had seen him earlier./ I hadn't had time until then.

Conditionals

Si tengo tiempo, te llamare.

If I have time, I will call you.

Si tuviera tiempo, te llamaría.

If I had time, I would call you.

Si hubiera tenido tiempo, te hubiera llamado

If I had had time, I would have called you.

Modals
Creo que puedo ayudarte/ Tú deberías trabajar un poco más / Ellos irían si  ella  los invitara

I think I can help you /  You should work a little more (harder) / They would go if she invited them

I hope this helps :)

Frist term

2012 started differently from other years.  With the strike last year we started the year teaching. How bizarre!! Coming to Uni in January was really odd. Plus, I was studying and needed to finish a paper so it was all really strange& stressful. I recall there were a lot of predictions about the interpretation of the Mayan prophecies and the end of the world.  Then, they started talking about massive earthquakes. Remember?  Like there aren’t other things to think of!!!!

However, after March the semester turned out to be good for me. I feel I have learnt a lot about research in education, which is an area I’ve become more and more interested in. I cannot say it has been really easy and some aspects of research methods I still find hard to get. However, I feel learning is probably the best thing; I could never get tired of it.   

At a personal level, I did some swimming until July and then I became too stressed so I stopped. However, I feel it has been a good year. Everybody in my family & my friends are Ok.

The downside at a personal level is that I have not played the guitar or enjoyed live music at all. There are things I feel need sorting out and maybe are not going as quickly as I have dreamt of, like social justice in general, but I suppose we need to be patient and hope politicians realized they are voted to listen to the people and not just make money L

Write about your experiences during the first term of 2012.
Describe:
- what you learned/studied
- the sports and free time activities you did
- the challenges/problems you had to face
- Others (family, friends, etc..)
- Word Count: 180
- make comments on at least 3 classmates & your teacher post.