Is the final essay!!

In the past year, my first years as a college student, there have been lot of challenges, difficulties, and specially lot of new knowledge on the academic side. Both semesters where full of tests, works and presentations, however, all the new elements that now I can use, make me feel that all the effort has starting to pay off. This is the reason why now, at the end of the second semester, I’m starting to feeling confidence about the election of the Psychology career as the best options without any doubt.

At the beginning of 2009, the first weeks in the University where like an adaptation time, all the freshmen where trying to understand the new system, new teachers, new spaces, and specially, new teachers. On the first semester, we have six subjects, but only one (Psychology I) was fully related with the career! That situation makes me feel a little bit anxious about when I’m able to known truly the matters of this discipline. However, there were a couple of subjects like Social anthropology and Methodology of the social research that were very useful, The first one, gave me a new perspective about the human behavior; and the second one, taught me lot of skills in what involves the social research (a very important thing in my future work as psychologist).

By august, the first semester was over, and luckily I pass all the subjects, without forgetting that I just pass Social History with a poor 4,0! So everything was starting from scratch, and six new subjects started. Now I had the majority of them directly involve with the psychological issues, and for that reason I was very excited, however, as the semester was passing, the difficulty grew… the texts have more pages, the essays multiplied, and we have tests all the week. But this is what I wanted, this is what I expected the first semester, so I have to enjoy as much as I could.

Doing this fast travel through my first year of psychology I can noted that despite of all the difficulties and effort that I make, all the new knowledge that I’ve reached only in one year worth it. For that reason, now, at the end of the second semester besides that I feel tired, I have all the energy to keep learning the interesting things that the next years are going to show me in the way to become a psychologist.

Psychology, a developing Social science

In my point of view, the second semester of psychology has been full of very interesting challenges. On the technology area, the research work of statistics that my group and I are be doing during all the semester, have been quite a challenge in what involves the knowledge of a very complicated PC program calls SPSS. This program could be very useful in the future if I decide to go for the psychometric area. This area of psychology involves all the tests, questionnaires and scales that therapists use to know what is the pathology, issue or anything that the psychologist want to know. Nevertheless, this area is watched for many people like a complement of a psychologically therapy, rejecting the psychometric as a way of treat a person, because for many psychologists this method cannot understand a person in all of his dimensions.

In what concerns to the social matters, the psychology has a lot to say. This is the reason why this career has an area called Social Psychology. This area works very close to the social assistants, and even sociologists. The social psychology tries to have a more collective or social way to look and understand the human issues. Understanding the social context of those persons and from there, work with the individual human being. However, this area is watched for a few as an intromission in the social context, because the “traditional” and basic characteristic of this discipline was that is centered in one person, without paying attention of the social context that he/she belongs. But as the years pass, more students of psychology get interested in this more social area of the psychology, as well as this area is getting more important in the majority of the countries.

Finally, in the education area, the Psychology is much known in this area, especially in the University of Chile, here, a lot of the psychology teachers develop the educational psychology and have lot of projects and investigations centered in recover the public education and to finish with the big gap between private and public schools. Considering this huge problem, the developing and improving of the educational area in this discipline is, in my point of view, one of the biggest challenges that the we as future psychologists cannot leave behind.

Pros and cons of being wealthy...

I think that the major advantage of being wealthy is the economic stability that the money can bring us. On the other hand, the main disadvantage of being rich is that the way of life turns into a kind of bubble, free of the real problems of most of the people.

In what concerns to the pros of have a lot of money, first of all, I think that in this world that it’s so material, the money can brings lot of stability to live peacefully. Secondly, having money can be so good if we do periodically donations to all kinds of foundations.

However, being millionaire also has cons. One disadvantage, as I recently named, involves the “fake life” that we may live if we start to forget that poverty and hunger are outside of that bubble that the money creates allowing us to live surrounded of all kind of material things. In addition to this, being wealthy also can makes us dissatisfied because we enter in an endless circle of needs; because when we achieved our needs, we immediatly continue to needing more and more.

To sum up, I think that the pros and cons of being wealthy are going to depends on the way that we as human beings knows how to managed -in a good way- the fact of have more money than the rest.

Awkwardness at the office!

A very embarrassing moment that I remembered was last semester, In July, in the office of my Anthropology teacher.

I was there because I want to re-check a test, so I went to his office and started to notice that all the points that I missed was on the three written questions, in which I had 5 of 7 points. But I was so sure that all the answers where completely good, that I started to blame on the teacher’s helper of that bad correction of my answers. As I was saying things like “The helper is so dumb” or “It’s obviously that he made a mistake correction my test”, my teacher (that it was talking with someone on the phone), came to me and told me: “So the dumb it’s me because this time I was the person that check the tests”.

As I was listening that words I couldn`t be able to do or say anything. I fell so embarrassing that I even want to turn around and watch him to his face. So that, I quickly left the test on the table and start apologizes of my words, saying that I thought that his helper was corrected that answers as usually. Then, I run out of the office and I immediately fell my face very blush. Felling so embarrassed about the situation that even now every time that I see my teacher on the hallways I get a little bit nervous.

A very interesting article...

Children made 'sick with fear' in UK immigration detention centres

Weight loss, difficulty sleeping, bed-wetting and sickness among symptoms found at Yarl's Wood

Karen McVeigh
The Guardian, Tuesday 13 October 2009

Medical experts have found clear evidence that children held in UK immigration centres develop mental and physical health difficulties. A team of paediatricians and psychologists found 73% of children they examined had developed significant emotional and behavioural problems since being detained.

All those seen by a psychologist displayed symptoms of depression and anxiety produced by the confusion and fear about the experience. Even some children suffered the comeback of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The study in 24 children shows serious issues in the Yarl’s Wood immigration centre, founding that:
• Eight children had lost weight, managing to lose 10% of their body weight.
• Three children had refused to feed themselves.
• Ten out of 11 children examined by a psychologist had begun to experience sleep disorders. Also, four of them start to bed-wetting, an indicator of severe stress.
• Four children had regressed language skills, including had become selectively mute.
• All nine parents interviewed reported severe psychological distress, some of them contemplated suicide.

Dr Kim Ehntholt, clinical psychologist, said that "The detained children's mental health is likely to have been negatively affected by a combination of factors including a recent deterioration in their parents' mental health, increased fear after being suddenly placed in a detention facility which children often believe is prison, anxiety over returning to their country of origin where they may have experienced traumatic events, as well as the abrupt loss of home, school and friends."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/13/children-immigration-detention-health

The orange clockwork will never die!

One of my favourite movies of all times is “The orange clockwork”. When I saw this movie for the first time, I really loved it. Later, for Philosophy (in my senior year) I had to do an essay of this movie and I liked even more. I think that the reason of why I like so much this movie is because the plot and the characters are very special and unique; things like the invented language that Alex and his friends (or droogs , in his language) use, or the violent and inexplicable behaviour of them are very interesting to watch and to analyze. Also, I like this movie because in spite of it was make in 1971, it’s never going to seem old- fashioned.
The main character is Alex, a young man that lives in the UK. He and his three friends always are hanging out, rapping women, beating old men in the streets and breaking in houses. But one day, Alex get arrested and convicted of murder and rape. While in prison, Alex is used for an experimental program in which prisoners are programmed to rejected violence; this program called Ludovico Technique consists in exposes Alex to a sequence of images of naked women, violence, Nazis in the Second World War, etc; at the same time that he listen the Beethoven's 9th symphony (his favourite song). After this, Alex came out of prison and he hates violence, but the rest of his gang members, and his old victims are still after him.
This movie directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of Anthony Burgess is kind of difficult to label, but the novel was considered as a Science fiction one. Also, the main character, Alex is performs by the English actor Malcom McDowell.

My TOP FIVE list!

If a foreigner tourist arrives in Santiago de Chile, and he hasn’t known what to do in this big city, My TOP FIVE list of places that he must visit until leave to another country will contain:
1. San Cristóbal’s Hill: This beautiful hill in the middle of the city is a place full of different things to do and to watch. Here my foreign friend could ride bicycle visiting all the gardens, the landscape and the view of the main part of the city (if he has luck and there is no pollution). Also, he could go to the zoo, to the swimming pools, and even have a ride in the typical lift of this enormous hill. The reason of why I choose this place is because you can go and do lot of interesting and very different things in the same place.
2. Lastarria Street: Arrive to this zone is very easy, so that, my foreign friend shouldn’t have any difficulty to arrive (On subway, he would have to stop on Universidad Católica station). This narrow street is full of places, like restaurants, cafeterias, cloth stores, pubs, museums and even a cinema called El biógrafo that always have very good movies. I choose this street because is placed in a beautiful zone near to Santa Lucía’s Hill and Forestal Park.
3. Bellavista Neighbourhood: I choose this place because here you can have a good time, with a nice drink and some chips in one of all the bars and pubs (even discotheques) that this neighbourhood offers. Also, there is all kind of crafts that you can buy in the street.
4. Patronato Street: Talking of buying, and if you want to have lot of cloth and accessories for very good prices, this is a place that my foreign friend cannot miss.
5. Bellas Artes museum and Contemporary Art museum: I choose these museums because there are like the emblematic museums of the city, also because of their amazing architecture. Definitely, you can`t go of Santiago until visit them.

Transantiago, a truly headache

The theme that I’m going to talk about now was a very controversial one in 2007. This event involved the change of the main part of the public transport... I’m sure that you already know that I’m referring to the famous and still present Transantiago.

This new public transport system promised to repair big problems like the pollution of Santiago and the safeness of the buses, but any of those are closed to be fixed even two years after!
The "new" buses where actually the same yellow ones but with a new coat of paint, so that, the pollution doesn't disappeared. And in safeness, the new buses still ride at a very high speed, even when the doors are still open!

The only thing that I could accept as an advantage comparing it with the old system is that with the Transantiago, we can pay only one ticket and do all the changes that we need between buses and the subway.

But this bad situation with the new system didn't start like this. Back in 2007, it was true that you can see new buses, and that any bus starts if the doors where opened. Also, the times of waiting weren't where so long.

However as the time passes, the Transantiago is getting worse. So that, the main change that needs to be done is improve the synchrony between the buses of each line in order to stop the conglomerations of people on the bus stops and also, to make shorter the waiting times.

The food in my life!

Today I’m going to talk a little bit about a thing that I enjoy very much: The food; not only eating it, also preparing it. The interest in the cuisine began when I was very little with the cuisine programmes on TV. And then, when I learned to read, with all kinds of kitchen books.

With these two elements, I started to write in a notebook the recipes that I thought I could do with only six or seven years. So that, the next step was in the kitchen, experimenting with all kind of ingredients and learning from mistakes. In this stage of my life, I had to recognized that with out the permission of my parents to let me be familiar with the ingredients and the procedures of make something that can actually eat, I wouldn’t be able to make a progress in my cooking skills.

As the time passes, my interest in food and cooking has been increasing, and going to different kinds of restaurants and cook for my family are things that I enjoy a lot.

Also, as I learnt more about food, I discovered that the world related to it have no limits, changing radically from a culture to another, and with that , my willings of keep learning keeps growing day after day.

The first term is over!

As the second term is nearly starting, I thought that talking a little bit about the first term of the year will be a kind of exercise of memory of what happened in the first part of 2009.

As the year was starting, the thought that always had in my mind was that my first experience of studying at the University it would come soon. The change from my little school to such a big University was an expectation that I had since I left school last December. However, when I started in this new place, I quickly accustomed and really felts like home.

The subjects began, I meet all the teachers and learn all kind of new things, from introductions of Anthropology and Psychology, to the most hated subjet of all time, Social History of Chile…Nevertheless it was a very interesting subject, the exigency of the teacher was unbilibable, he treats us like we where completely genious! This subject was quite a challenge during all the fist term, but luckly I managed to pass it.

Also, I had to choose one sport as an extra subject, so that, I took Pilates, a sport created by Joseph Pilates long time ago. This sport improves the flexibility, strength and balance; but also helped me to relax and forget -for at least two hours- all the others assignments.

This was my academic situation, but in my personal and family life things and changes happened also. My family and I moved out to another flat in May. In ours working lifes, my mother change of work, my sister started working on a colsunting of art, and I started working in a store. Also, I went to encamp with some of my new friends in March, and went to the beach in the winter break with some of my school friends... If I continue telling the things that I did the last term, I wouldn´t stop in a long time; but the most important thing is that the first term was a very important, interesting and most of all, a very positive and unforgetable one.

First stop... Thailand!

As I promised you, I’m back; today I want to share with you the country that I've always dreamed of... Thailand.
This Asian country has always catch my attention, everything about it from the exotic food and the people, to the paradisiacal islands with white sand and turquoise water are the kind of elements that makes this place a place that I have always wanted to visit; characteristics that creates a perfect setting to stay forever.
Besides the elements that I recently mentioned, the information that I know about Thailand is limited, maybe the distance and the very different culture turn this country into a completely unknown place to me, but that same mystery is what makes me desire of going over there more day after day.
If my dream came true, and I could go there, my first stop would be the main city, Bangkok, and I would try to blend in with the locals; eating and staying in non touristic places. Then, I would love to go to an island like Phuket, and enjoy all the natural beauties of the island, staying in a small wooden house near the water and going to the beach every day, without any kind of worries or duties.
If I could travel to this dreamed place, I’d like to stay for at least six months, and work in different places that could help me understanding this amazing country from the inside.

Welcome to my mind!

In my first comment ever in this blog, I'll like to start talking a little bit about me.
In first place, my name is Paloma Valdés (as you can see in the title of this blog), I'm eighteen years old and currently I'm studiyng my first year of Psychology in the University of Chili.
Also, since June, I'm working in a jeweler's shop in Bellavista, a very typical neighbourhood full of places for entertaiment.
As hobbies, I like to cook different kind of dishes, but my favourite hobby without any doubt is SLEEP!!
Enough of talking about me, I hope that as the time passes, you'll be able to know me a lot more... don´t change me!