A tree house ... ♪♪♪

I’d like to say I had never even thought of an ideal home, and so it was somewhat entertaining to think on how would I like to have one. The house of my dreams is going to be located in southern Chile, in a rural area with plenty of trees and vegetables, and a native, huge forest, also accompanied by a lake or something like it.

 Its size should be exactly like my family needs, and for our home not to be cold, it needs light, it has to be simple and very, very lovely. It would be my permanent home for the last years of my life, and for vacations too. I would like to be immersed into a neighborhood, with neighbors (obviously), sharing activities and love with them.

As for the architectural details of our home: I would like it to be wooden, with great windows so that natural lights gets in, or during a rainy day we can see it from our warm commodities. Its decoration should be as rustic as possible, with the least technology, an antiquity-like touch should be primary there, with a huge fireplace, an earth oven outside. In short, nature should be its main protagonist. The ‘luxury’ I’d like to have, are two wood-made jacuzzis, barrel-shaped, one outside and one inside home.

This house would be special for me, because it would be an ideal resting place, a place for inspiration, contact with nature, as it would be a perfect place to share moments with my family.

Wandering… to learn

In the near future, I’d like to visit the historical, architectonic, cultural and human heritage of places like Cuba, Vietnam, Venezuela, Switzerland, Greece, Nordic countries like Finland. I would like to know the South American and African reality, by visiting as many countries as I can.

All of these trips will have more than a touristic goal, I will make them for learning. These are countries with internal processes that are worthy to be praised, and to be imitated.

I would like to visit Cuba, Vietnam and Venezuela because these are some of the few Socialist countries that have survived the extermination, felonies and intervention of the Capitalist empire, and the world corporativism, so I can know their people’s realities, their manner to make politics, and the hard battle and resistance they’ve made to insist on their ideologies after so many years. In the case of Switzerland and the Nordic countries (Finland, specifically) I’d like to visit it because of its participative and direct democracy, and their effective social policies in the area of education, respectively. Greece, because it was the birth place of the Western civilization, and of the politics as a concept. Finally, South American and African countries to meet common problems of the third world, potentially rich countries, living as poor ones.

I’d preferably do these trips on plane, and once getting into such countries, I’d like to move inside on the public transport, the one used by most people, I’d like to pass unobserved and get “wet” from their culture, I can’t just not take a bike, too, to run across their towns and settlements.

I would do these trips with friends, with similar thoughts, and others with my family. I would like to be in each country for a month. The possibility of residing permanently in one of these places is, at the moment, ruled out, as I feel I have the compromise of contributing to my country and its reality. It’s a must, almost biological.

“My words have no bitterness, but disappointment”

Among some of the things I hate, and somewhat hurt me is the Chilean political class, because, even though there are some other social problems Chile suffers, I relieve this is the “greater problem”, as it derives into the other issues.

Since the military dictatorship, passing through the transition to democracy, and until now, I believe that Chilean politicians are way different to those we had back, befote the 1970s. Their convictions, principles and ideologies, proper of those years mutated in their economical convenience, their eager to be famous, looking for power. There are few exceptions, to the point of being invisible.

It’s not surprising how, as time passes, some conflicts of interests of our deputies and senators have arisen, they succumb to the poweful, but hateful lobby. Where’s representation? It’s only the interest of a few over the collective interest. It’s a congress that responds to similar thoughts of those which conspirated and ended with the project of president José Manuel Balmaceda.

It’s sad that, the only affected by this, is the whole Chilean society, victim of unattention and the forgetfulness of our representatives, who spread ignorance and the low civic participation. The society is immersed into an useless inertia, as they secure a system and paradigms that have only benefited them. They have condemned the country to an eternal inequality, privatization and economic dependence.

Solution? I believe the solution is us, the young people, we have got to take on the work of revitalizing the Chilean politics, unpriced because of the disasterful administration of the current political class. I share, and firmly believe we have got to socialize politics, and politicize social issues, for us to advance progressively for the supressing of our representation system, to struggle for a participative democracy and a constituent assembly.

My Career is in Gear

MAURICIO RAUL HUMBERTO OLAVARRIA GAMBI

Mauricio Olavarría Gambi, University of Santiago de Chile professor, Ph.D. in Public Policies of the Maryland University at Collage Park, USA, Master in Internacional Studies of the University of Chile, Graduate in the Sciences of Developing of the ILADES and Public Administrator of the University of Chile.

He has been in charge of several directive offices at universities, and has been a consultant to the World Bank, American Development Bank and the Pan American Health Organization.

His investigations, works and teaching work is concentrated on public policies, poverty, inequity, and criminality. He is also the author of five books and 20 papers published in international indexed academic journals.

Of his contributions, his most significant investigations are:

-          

       2008-2009   DICYT    Poverty, Inequity and Politics. Domeyko Program. University of Chile.

-          2008    CONACE Ministry of the Interior.    Nacional study of economical, social and human costs of drugs in Chile, during 2006

I took knowledge of him alter reading some of his works when I made a research while I was at my first year at university. Later, one of my teachers mentioned he worked at the University as the guide professor of doctoral thesises, and a member of thesis commitees.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

This picture it represents a lot for me, because they are my parents, they're who have endeavored for that nothing i miss and make me happy.

This picture is special because it was taken for me when i was a little boy and i didn't know how used a camera, but my mother told me that it was worthy of a great photographer, it made me feel so happy. now i think she maybe exaggerated.

I took this photo during a New Year's Eve celebration at our home in Curicó, I don't exactly recall the year it was taken because I was too little, I only knew I had talent to take photographs, mommy told me.

It is one of my favorite ones, and it would be the most favorite one had my little sister Emilia appeared on it, but at the moment it was taken, she was not born yet. Currently, I have this photo here in Santiago, where I study, I keep it close to me, and when I look at it, I just cannot stop thinking how much I owe to my parents.

Salvador Allende: the biography. By Mario Amoros

 I decided to read this book, because I saw an interview of its author on TV. I realized that it was a serious work, that took 18 years of investigation by the journalist and historian Mario Amoros.

The book tells us about the biography of the chilean politician Salvador Allende Gossens. Also, reviews his political career, where show us unknown details about his work. Those pages contain his childhood anecdotes, his work as doctor, militant, senator, minister and president.

Like this book becase I like Allende.  A chilean who means an example in my life. A person who represented the dream of an entire generation who fought for their ideals consecuently. Because he worried about the shortcomings of Chile in 1970. Because he worked for equate inequality, break with the foreign abomination and looking for gives Chile its own wings, motivating a real patriotism.

Without a doubt, I recomend this book because I feel that history, ideals and thoughts of Allende, seem darkened with the irruption of the putsch. However, a lot of aspects of his political and social thought are unknown, and this book contributes to have a more responsible debate at the moment to talk about our history as chileans and the protagonism of Allende in that history.

Since now I call you to read this book, because in my contingent, economics and social conversations and reflections, Allende is always present. I try to dignify and recognize his work as politician in my reflections. If there is someone that shares my world vision, I call him/her to read this book or try to know and investigate a little more of this unfinished dream of Allende.

The bold technology

Is very difficult for me to choose one thing that I like, because actually has many thing in the world very interesting right now, but my most favorite piece of technology it's my cellphone, this is amazing.

My father give me this when i finished my first year of university, in first time i think i dont deserve but my father insist to take him. I use my cellphone all the time, this has many apps for many things and that make me things easier and i have fun with that, i use my cellphone to talk with my friends and be in touch with them, i play with him and i take pictures to landscape, my city, family moments and also to my friends, all the pictures i upload to facebook to share with my friends.

I cant imagine my life right now without my cellphone because this is unconditional in my day for day