A Birthday

Hi everyone!

I have always celebrate my birthday with friends and my family, eating and drinking something. This year (my 23rd birthday) was something different, as I had to be in Santiago I couldn't celebrate with all my family and my friends in Coquimbo, so my girlfriend invited me to Ramen Kintaro a japanese restaurant in Bellas Artes (Santiago), it is a very nice restaurant with a beautiful japanese style decoration. The attention was very nice, and the food was delicious, we ate edamames (immature soybeans), spicy vegan miso and vegan miso (ramen) also we ate a vegan kare raisu curry. Later we went to walk to the Parque Forestal and we went back to the house to watch movies and rest from the long day.

A one-on-one Conversation

Hello classmates!

Today I'm going to talk about a writer I would like to have a conversation. His name is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien better known as J. R. R. Tolkien. He was a British writer, poet and philologist, he is known for writing about Middle-earth, his most notorious works have occurred here, such as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and his Lengendarium.

I first heard of J. R. R. Tolkien few years ago when I saw the movies produced by Peter Jackson based on the work of Tolkien. I would like to ask to J. R. R. about the process of creating his works, his inspirations and how he was influenced by WW.

I think he is a very intersting person because he was able to create a high fantasy world and many languages and grammar.

Hello classmates

Today I will write about the Shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) this bird is very particular, it has relatively recently colonised Chile his arrival in the country is uncertain. One hyphotesis is that they arrived from Argentina as a pet and escaped from captivity. 

Like most other cowbirds, it is an obligate brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nest of many other bird species, obviously it is very dangerous for native birds because they are displaced and their population is reduced. 

Another feature of these birds is that they have sexual dimorphism, the female is gray with brown tones and the male is completely black with iridescent purple-blue goss. It is very common to confuse it with the Austral blackbird (Curaeus curaeus) but this one is bigger and its vocalization is very different. Both can be observed in San Borja Park!

Shiny cowbird (male)

Shiny cowbird (female)

   

How to differentiate Shiny cowbird and Austral blackbird

Parasitized species by Shiny cowbird in Chile

[THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS]

Hello classmates

Today i'm going to write about a villain I like too much. He is Gus Fring from Breaking Bad, the first time I watched the serie was in the summer of 2018 for recomendations of friends. 

Gus Fring is a drug kingpin and boss of the Albuquerque mafia. The character is native of Chile and emigrate to Mexico in 80's during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He is very methodical, calmness and quiet, these characteristic make him a perfect sociopath. He is also founder of "Los Pollos Hermanos" a fast food restaurant chain (that works like money loundering), he is a very respected businessman for the help he provides to the community.

The work developed by the actor Giancarlo Esposito was amazing, he embodies perfectly the hate and rage that feels Gus for the murder of his best friend Max, event that marks his personality throughout the series.

For me is one of the best antagonist ever.

A Beach

Hello!

The truth is that I don't go to the beach very often, despite I'm from Coquimbo. It isn't that I dont like the beach, but always when I have time to go to my house it is usually on holidays, when the beaches are infested with tourists, and to continue seeing the face of "santiaguinos" I prefer stay at my house. When I go I try to go in winter or very early in the morning to avoid people. I don't usually bathe in the sea, I prefer to look for things on the seashore, I call them treasures, anything can be: a strange shell, bird feathers, claws or shells of crabs, rocks, whatever you imagine. Something that I like to do is also go to the urban wetlands that are located on the coasts of the beaches of Coquimbo and La Serena, the Culebrón Wetland in Changa Beach and the wetland of the mouth of the Elqui River, at the north of the La Serena lighthouse. It is a very intersting walk, many birds can be observed.

A Family Meal

Hello everyone!

Like many families my parents got divorced, but it was no reason to stop seeing us as a family. Every Sunday we went to lunch at my dad's house with my mother, my brothers and occasionally my sisters. One Sunday in 2007 or 2008, I don't remember well, my dad was waiting for us with a soup as a starter plate, when we sat at the table I remember seeing ants floating in the soup but nobody paid attention to me, they said it was oregano, dill or some other spice . Of course I didn't drink it, at that time I didn't want to feel spicy taste of ants in my mouth (yes, they are spicy). It will have been 10 minutes when my mom says "the soup has ants" and everyone starts looking more closely at the soup and the ants floating in it. Laughter abounded. Obviously it was no reason not to drink the soup. I remember hearing them say it was delicious.

An Artist

                                                                                             Hello!

Today I'm going to write about Alvaro Peña-Rojas. Is a chilean musician known as "the first punk of Chile" he is vegetarian since 70's and lead a drug free lifestyle (a style of life known as straight edge in the hardcore punk scene). Alvaro Peña after the coup d'état of 1973, settled in London where he met Joe Strummer. That's when they form the band called The 101'ers with Simon Cassell and Patrick Nother. The style of Peña is fantastic, he plays the piano very well and their songs are full of humor, sarcasm and poetry. Alvaro influenced Joe Strummer with ideas on political issues, where they will be portrayed in the album Sandinista! of The Clash especially with the song Washington Bullets. The first time I listened his songs was some years ago when I was browsing on YouTube, the album "Drinkin' my own sperm" blew my head.

Here is the album, listen to it or die.

A walk you would like to do again

Hello!

Today im going to write about the walk I did in the national park Fray Jorge.

The national park Fray Jorge lies approximately 30 km to the west of Ovalle in the Coquimbo Region. It lies in the Cordillera de Talinay, which is part of the Coastal Range. On the south, the park is bordered by the Limarí River.

The park covers an area of 100 km², but the forests cover only 4% of its surface. The national park is known for having the Valdivian temperate rain forests. The Camanchaca (coastal fogs) hangs on the mountain-slopes and moistens subtropical vegetation, allowing the hydrophilic forests to survive despite being surrounded by semiarid zone with average annual rainfall of approximately 100 mm. Is a relic forest, survivor of the last glacial period.

When I was 9 or 10 years old I did this walk for first time, and I repeated it when I was 17, but only by the authorized trails. The first time, I went to a site called "Solón" is a site was isn't open to public, so I went with a group of biologists and a forestkeeper, was amazing. I saw very big trees typical of the Valdivian forest in Coquimbo Region! like Canelos, Olivillos, Arrayanes, also I saw Copihues. I enjoyed it a lot, the walk up the Coastal Range it was beautiful. Obviously I would love to go back and climb to the "Solón" again to see the beautiful landscape and the Camanchaca hugging the mountains.

A photograph

Hi everyone!

I really hate appear in photos, for this reason was very difficult found one, but here is. I'm not sure when the photo was taken (I think it was taken in 2001 or 2002 when I had five or six years old) but i'm quite sure it was taken in Santiago when my older sister was still living here. My memory is terrible, so I don't remember much about my life in the time the photo was taken, but something that I do remember is when my niece Valentina (with a bread in his hand) and my nephew Vicente (sitting on a tricycle) they went to Coquimbo in summer vacations. We went to the beach to fly 'volantines' we could stay for hours. Ignacia (my other niece, who is sitting on a ride-on) she was also there. Although I don't like photos, but this one is very nice, shows our childhood filled with happiness.

A Job

Hi,

Today I will write about a job that I'd like to do. I want to have my own restaurant, and cook in it. I don't want to have a big restaurant, I'd like to have something rather small that specializes in stews (also knowin as curry in the western world) of the South and East of Asia (India, Japan and China). To know the classic preparation, I must travel, study, taste and be very dedicated. Cooking and getting the right flavors, making sure that each spices is balanced, isn't easy  but with dedication I think I can do it. I think I can be good in this job because I like cooking a lot.  

You can see many recipes in these YouTube channels. They are also a great inspiration!

A TV programme

Hi everyone!

Im going to write about a TV programme I watched as child and that I still see on YouTube. The show is called 31 minutos. It's a show about puppets that represent ironic imitations of chilean television programs and famous celebrities of the jet set. Obviously, when I was a child I didn't understand completely the references, but the songs and the journalistic notes I liked a lot. One that I remember and its make me laugh a lot is the note about the Comando Pro Liberacion De Los Compañeros Peluches (CPLLDLCP) they are a guerrilla faction who are trying to save puppets trapped in a claw crane. The TV programme ran from 2003 until 2005 and a new season started in 2014. I enjoyed it a lot for his songs, such as Bailen Sin Censar, Rin Raja, Me cortaron mal el pelo or Diente Blanco, no te vayas to name a few. The green notes by Juan Carlos Bodoque made me want to study geography.

A Holiday

about 10 years ago I went to Chiloé with my family, the first stop it was in San Fernando where we got to rest after traveling from Coquimbo, I don't remember too much about this stop. However a stop that I enjoy a lot was in Valdivia we were just for the semana valdiviana, it is the week of celebration of city anniversary. In the noche valdiviana  I remember seeing ships decorated like allegorical cars, they sailed the Calle-Calle river and a lot of people throwing confetti. Another stop that I enjoyed too much was in Curacautín, the landscapes here were beautiful. I remember going to the "Termas el Manazar" It's very relaxing, I recommend it! In Curacautín during the night we could see fireflies and listen the song of the toads. To get to Chiloé, it was necessary to cross the Canal de Chacao on a ferry, it was very nice. In Chiloé we rested the remaining days of holidays in a house surrounded by native trees. Also we visited Ancud, Castro and Chonchi (for what I remember), but what I can't forget was the Pulmay that we ate, it was delicious.

A Hobby

Well, I don't have much hobbies, but actually I really like to take photos to birds, is very beautiful watch his colours and listen his songs. I don't take photos a long time ago (only about two or three months), so i'm not very good haha. I usually take photos in parks, wetlands, hills, beach, even in the city! Did you know that we can find 46 species of birds in Santiago? there is more than just House sparrows and Rock pigeons, you just need to take your eyes off the smartphone! 

If you want to take photos you need a camera, I use a bridge camera is very nice because isn't expensive compared with a reflex camera and the image quality isn't bad, also it have a powerful zoom perfect for birdwatching. Sometimes I had to spend many hours to have a good photo, the birds are extremely skittish.

Rock pigeon

Common diuca finch

Red-gartered coot

                                                                                                       

Burrowing owl

   Neotropic cormorant