Self Evaluation of my academic year (2009)

The society has taught us to do the correct things since we’re children, what we had to do to be successful, imposing it like the aim of our life. If you ask me, they never ask us if we wanted to do it, rather they supposed that we were good practitioner of the good habits and that we did have the same point of view about their definition of “the correct”. They never ask us if be successful was something that we wanted to be. Into these implying was emphasize the most important to achieve the mentioned: obtain good qualifications in the school to get in the university to study “something”, whatever for obtain a title, that outside would be valued in more that ourselves. This was a thing that shocked me when I were in the school; follow letter by letter what the society dictated to me, I felt that I was falling slowly in their trap. Having said that, for the purposes of this essay, there will be analyzed my academic and personal life for explain where I was in the world.
And I arrived to the university the next year, against my will in part, but motivated for the curiosity overall. Although I always felt that my destiny was help the non-human animals, I was resisting to what I believed an invisible hand that was opposed to that I was thinking by myself and that it was going to end hitting me with a whip for that I produced. Is for this reason too that my intention were taking me a year before get in the university, to the reflection about I don’t know what and to mature maybe. However, mi PSU were better of what I thought and my parents made pressure for that I joined in the career to what I responded when people asked me what I wanted to study, without knowing any other date about it, just knowing what I wanted and knew more than good: go to Africa, study dance and save to the elephants from the men, come back to Chile and leave the streets without dogs.
Still wishing this, I was feeling small, lowest in a world that demanded to me to assume a responsibility that I didn’t feel disposed to take. The most motivating thing to pack with seventeen years was living alone or far from my home, getting out from my bubble where I was for twelve years to really meet the youth that were not educated inside my bubble and see if the veterinary medicine really liked me to study and dedicate my life on it. So I arrived to the big city to my cousin’s flat without meeting her and, for the horror of my eyes, she was everything what I didn’t want to be in my life. In my cousin was traducing what I thought that the invisible hand made to the people; it stressed them with their jobs and it didn’t give them time to think in other thing.
At the same time, the university was like a parallel universe, the people who I met here are very good friends in the present and they were who helped to distract me about what passed by my mind when I were alone. Despite of my little experience in the study of more than a day, I passed all my classes from the first semester, even though it wasn’t my first priority. In fact, I preferred were with my friends the weekend when I traveled to Viña, and it was every weekend of the semester. I tried to study in the week for travel weekends, study in the day and go out in the night. By the same, my semester was too short and my notes were not the best, but I don’t feel regretful about my acts, in fact, it was the better therapy for the bad moments. On the contrary, my second semester was very different, I changed from house, to my felicity, with another cousin, and she’s one of the most admirable and kind person that I meet. And although the second semester was more stressful in academics responsibilities, I had better grades and there were not a torture live in Santiago.
Feeling that I left many subjects out of this essay, these was in summary my academic year, with a lot of reflections to me and growth. It was impossible to me separated my personal experience from the academic, due from some form, the grades were how I could see the bad that I were the first semester and that It wasn’t for my fault and it wasn’t weakness the lowest efficiency that I felt that I had despite the time that we had to study. Also, I could see that I have been in love of the career from the beginning or, for the contrary, I wouldn’t resist the first month living here, and; that I’m giving the first steps to arrive to Africa and carry out what is my personal aim: change the society respect their vision about the non-human animals, help to the last one and confirm that the successful doesn’t exist. It isn’t value obtain a title for that the job consume your life, and I won´t leave that the society squash me of this form. My aim is just be happy giving the best of me for that the things change and I know that it doesn’t gives to me a profession, it gives to me the experiences of the life, like the big experience of my 2009 year.

CHALLENGES IN YOUR DISCIPLINE

Before being admitted into the university, I thought that the veterinary medicine career, my discipline, had fewer approaches. Nevertheless, when I entered to study, I expanded my concept of the career. By this I mean there are a lot of areas to practise beside the minor clinic or the production of mayor animals, like investigation, veterinary epidemiology, parasitology, etc. To my mind all this subjects makes from this discipline an important participant in diverse areas, like technology, social matters and education. It changed my point of view from the veterinary medicine, now I see it like a very complete career, because I can focus this for help humans too.

In the case of technology, I feel that it improves while there are economic interests. Take, for example, when people are interested in operated their pets, we can find advances in veterinary surgery staffs. Otherwise for complicated diseases owners prefer the euthanasia before pay for complicated treatments, the opposite happens in human medicine. In another example, we can find anti-rabies and anti-parasitic vaccines, because they’re dangerous zoonotic diseases that can infect humans, increasing the demand of a solution. But, we don’t find the same efficiency for the Feline Distemper, who is a virus that hasn’t a direct medication for it elimination; we just find a complementary treatment. The same happens in investigation, it’s slow and sometimes primitive because veterinaries don’t have the appropriate technology to work…the prices are too high, etc. With these examples I’m referring that in veterinary the technologies advances are poorly if we contrast with the human medicine, however they can improve with a better inversion and interest in meet the development of the non-human animals. So this is the challenge, mainly improve the advances in investigation’s technology to offer effective treatments and increase projects to investigate Chilean species.
In social matters, the development of this discipline covers many areas. In the city always has exist the conflict with the abandoned dogs, they haven’t owners and attack or bite people, increase the dogs’ population and have contagious infections. The veterinary medicine has the tools to do a population control realizing sterilizations, to eliminate parasites and virus. Also, our faculty and university has volunteer works in summer and operatives in the year, where students go to rural places for help families that hasn’t the resources for control the health of their cattle and domestic animals. In my view, it’s an important social role especially in the last point, due this discipline improve the life quality of the cattle and the family, who lives from these animals. The challenge is to get the better tools (medicaments, transport, etc) to do the work in the best conditions.
To continue with the last area, the education is actively participating in this discipline. Rural families learn how to care their animals and themselves, especially when they receive the information with respect and affect. The veterinary, apart of treat with cows, dogs, cats and horses, has to deal with the owners and try of educate them about the cares from their animals. The universities should prepare their students for these situations, to have a good tact with the persons and teach about the importance of educate them about the animals.
These are in my view, the most important challenges in my discipline. Although the veterinary medicine had advanced a lot, in my opinion it continues being devalued. Maybe if we beat these challenges, people will be more conscious of our work, improving the image of this discipline.

Large blue butterfly flying high again

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/06/large-blue-butterfly-conservation-endangered

Our generation has grown up with the development of the climate change’s conflict. We are the people who have been receptive to the information about the consequences of it, like the threatened species or, directly, the extinct species. While we observe a huge biodiversity in wildlife, there are also species reducing their number in response to our acts.
In southern England habits the rare Large Blue Butterfly. Its special feature is where they past the winter before the transformation to butterfly. The large blue caterpillar uses like strategy to survive the ants’ nest, located in the underground, where the larvae feed on ant grubs. After this period, in June, the caterpillar is a butterfly. However, this specie was extinct in 1979 and reintroduced in 2000 successfully, being a number increase of 22% in 2008.
The article focuses in the reintroduction of this specie to the Collard Hill (near Glastonbury, England) and in the expected increase of their population for the somerset this month, becoming a record. The butterflies have been helped for survive in there thanks to ecologists from the Oxford University, who promoted the care of grassland with cattle Dartmoor Ponies. Plus the good weather expected for the spring (remember that it is when Chile is in winter) and the help from National Trust organization, the future of this specie seems encouraging.
Even though the future of the Large Blue Butterfly is in some part insure, there are other butterflies species in danger like the small tortoiseshell, the small copper and the wall brown. For that motive they are making an online tot up for compile information from the observed species.


I found important the diffusion of the aim of this article for motive people. Spread this initiatives, with species from Chile for example, could be useful for people know what species are endangered, how recognize and help them. I love this area from veterinary, if I have to choose a specialization, I might say conservation. I hope that this motive you too, it is a great topic!

My favourite animal

Since I started to watch TV series related with animals (Animal Planet, National Geographic, Discovery Channel...), I did focus my attention in the programs who showed the animals sanctuary or refuge. One day, I saw one of this progams about elephants sanctuary in Africa and I loved it. Since that, I consider the elephants like a wonderful and an interesting animal that we must to help and take care.
The aim of this text will be explain you more deeply the elephant's characteristics and, with it, why I made this choice. To me it's very simple, but maybe you are thinking that the elephants are huge mosters with four legs that will kill you if it can. Having say that, I start this kind of ode to the elephants.
This gray animal is a mammal who lives in Africa and Asia, in fact we can find two species: the African and the Asian Elephant. The former belong to the genus Loxodonta and the latter to the genus Elephas. We can difference them, in the following pictures, by their ears and size, among other things; African elephants are biggest than African in relate with the ears and size. They both are herbivores species and live between 50 to 70 years, having a period of gestation of 22 months, the most larger of the animals. A thing that is incredible, in my point of view, is that they have irrigates ears that function like a corporal temperature controller, as can be seen when it's hot, they move their ears like a mechanism to down their temperature and maintain it constant.

Unfortunately, the elephants are threatened species, because they are poaching for different uses. Despite the fact that these animals can perfectly squash a person, they can't hide or run quickly from a gun. Furthermore, as we saw before, they have a longest gestation period, difficulting the job of leave descendents. These conflict has reduced their numbers to 400 to 500 hundred by the end of the century.
Like human, is our responsability repair the mistakes that commit our specie. I want to go to Africa and help them, save the last African elephants in the world working in a sanctuary or in a refuge. I'm not too far, I'm already giving my first step studying veterinary medicine. We can't lost this specie like we are doing with the Polar Bears and many others species. This is the reason, in a few words, for that I chose the elephants and why I'm studying this career.

What to do in Santiago?

If you are a tourist and you don't know where to go in the capital city, read it!
There I tell you about five places where you can go and don't get boring this season in Santiago of Chile:

1. Fantasilandia.

I chose it because I went with my sister and we passed a great time. If you enjoy feeling the adrenaline in your body, this is your place. And now there is a new game called "Raptor", It's a roller coaster and you feel like fliying, because your legs are hanging and you don't see the structure of the roller coaster.

2. Estación Mapocho.

It's a cultural center, but it was build to be a trains station between 1905 and 1912. There always are art exhibitions and events, like concerts and parties. This is a beautiful place, I love the roof and the architecture, it has a library where you can study in peace and you can find many information about events, theatre, dance, music, etcetera.

3. HBH!.

It's a restaurant located in Irarrázabal with Macul street. You can eat and drink the speciality: artisan bear, with differents flavours, it's delicious, my fauvorite is with palm syrup. From Monday to thursday they have Happy Hour and if you buy one blond bear they give you one more. You can go with your friends, but I advice you don't eat there; the food is expensive and it hasn't any special thing, just prove the bear and enjoy it!

4. Street market Bio-Bio.

If you are valiant and you are looking for sheaper clothes, music, socks, books, notebooks, radios...and a very big etcetera, the street market Bio Bio is your way. You must to be careful, it's dangerous, so if you don't look like a chilean, please don't go. It isn't safe because there are black markets, but you can find anything and the prices are wonderful! Really, I didn't believe it at least I saw it. You should go with a comfortable footwear, because you have streets and streets of hawking, it never ends.

5. La Piojera.

I haven't been there yet, but I know that I must to go someday. If you want to meet the tipical chilean food and the "Guachaca" culture in action, La Piojera is the place where you have a relationship with Chile. You should prove sopaipillas with pebre, humitas, the Earthquake ("Terremoto") and a good wine, with fruits or maybe a hot wine. You could dance cueca too and practice your spanish with the people.


These are the places that I met and remember like "important parades" in Santiago, because they are interesting, sheaper or just fun. I want to meet other places, like the Santa Lucía and San Critóbal hills, the MAC and Bellas Artes, maybe they are better references for a tourist, but I never have been there. I hope that you like it and that have a good stay in Santiago.
Enjoy!

Death Penalty

“A death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and some other capital crimes (serious crimes, especially murder, which are punishable by death).
The death penalty, or capital punishment, may be prescribed by Congress or any state legislature for murder and other capital crimes (…)”

From my point of view, the death penalty is a medioeval measure from solution the problems about crimes. I don’t agree with the subjectivity that has this punishment, I read a little bit about the death penalty in internet and I found relevant the “arbitrariness” in this, especially in what it concerns to the racial disparities.
“Approximately 2% of known murderers are sentenced to death” in the United States, within 79% killed white people. It’s curious, because just the 50% of murders or crimes were made against them (we can see it in the graph). By this I mean or I feel that the sentences take more importance when the crimes involve white people. I believe in equality before the law and in the human rights, so I’m not in favor of the death penalty, this kind of “eye for eye” doesn’t like me in absolute.
It is sometimes argued that bad people deserve the death and killing them is the only solution. That’s a fallacy, I reckon that the guilty can change if he/she wants and the government can help giving support, of course with a good implementation and control in case that he/she wouldn´t have a recuperation. We can’t decide when people must die, in the world are other crimes that don’t involve blood and they are killing quietly to many people, like the medical experiments in Africa.

Blue -> Abolished for all crimes.
Green -> Abolished for crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war).
Orange -> Abolished in practice.
Red -> Legal form of punishment for certain offenses.

In this map, we can appreciate what countries have the death penalty like a solution. I am unconvinced about that, this is a practice with many years, and the murders continue. To be honest, I don’t think that the crimes are a thing that we can stop, it’s relate with the personality of the person and in many times this is out of our control, although the society influence in the thinking. For that, I believe in the rehabilitation of some people. The jail is a place that can function like punish instead of killing, that's a good social pact.

The country I would like to visit...

Honestly, I'd like to travel around all the world, but I'm going to say Peru, because I want to go this year with two friends, specifically to Machu Picchu. It always has called my attention, maybe for the Incas ancient culture and the architecture.
Also, I'd like to know the current culture of Peru...It's important, I think, to relate with the people when you are in a new place, specially if you are from another country. I'd like to go to the Titicaca lake, and stay some days in Bolivia too. I'd like to visit the towns who are near and buy souvenirs :D
I wanna go like a tourist, but It would be interesting, in the future, go there and work like a veterinary, teaching about the care of the alpaca's cattle, working with them and controling it. I never thought it before now, It would be like a "Altoandino proyect" in Peru...
If I go this year, I wanna have fun, meet new people from Peru and from another country. In summer, there are a lot of tourist, so I can talk with foreigner persons and, why no, practice my english too.
My complication is the transport, It's espensive: in a bus the trip is too long and in an airplane it's more expensive. For that, I want to save money, but It's difficult, so I hope that my parents could give me some money and I want to work in December.
This is my plan. I have to do this travel someday and appreciate the landscape, the ruins that in the past were a big civilization. And this is just one of all the countries that I want to know!