someone I admire

Well, this post is about someone I would have liked to meet, but it's going to be more about someone I admire, and even tthough he died even before I was born, is someone I've always found interesting as an historical character, and I would like to talk a little about him.

Clotario Blest Riffo was a chilean union leader, who was very important in the fight for worker's rights during the 20th century. He is better known as the founder of the CUT (Unitary Central of Workers) and the ANEF (National Association of Public Employees). I admire him for many reasons, besides everything he achieved and created, I admire his commitment and persistence with the cause. He went to jail many times during his life, but nevertheless he kept taking the streets and fighting for what he thought was the right thing. I also like about him that he was a christian who, instead of keeping out of trouble and under the protection of the church, decided to be there with the people, fighting as equals, and I, as a christian too, I've always had a huge admiration for that kind consequence in religious people.

Some other facts about him is that he was in the seminary for many years, studying to be a priest, and he studied at the same time with Alberto Hurtado. Also, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980, but he didn't won.

Well, this is just a little tribute for someone I think was very important for chilean history, especially for the history of the people, and even though I guess he wasn't perfect, I think in many aspects he was, and still is, a role model.

This is a photo of Clotario Blest, "don Clota", with his characteristic beard, which he told he was not going to cut until the dictatorship was over.

election day

The year I turned 18 was the year of the last presidential elections, and since the registration was automatic I didn't had to think it too much, I voted for a candidate i thought was not-so-bad (I was wrong) and it wasn't very trascendental for me. It's been almost 4 years and I've learnt a lot about politics. I don't know if this year I am going to vote, and I don't think it means I am irresponsible or something like that, it's just that I lost a little faith in the "institutional democratic methods", and I honestly believe no voting is also a political choice. About electoral campaigns, I think that in general they're very unclear, and most of the time include ambiguous and unattainable promises, or populist promises that don't solve the real problems. Maybe it's a little naive, but for me a candidate should be, first of all, honest about her/his intentions, but also touch the root of the problems, and not trying to reach for a temporary solution that in the end is going to be worse. I think we all should be politically informed and organize with the people around us, but getting involved in politics, for me, doesn't mean necessarily running for a political position, or something like that. I think and important part of politics is people knowing what is happening around them, and organizing themselves to do something about it, and if that eventually leads to someone I trust running for a seat in the congress or in the city hall, I would happily vote for him/her. Currently in my district the mayoress is Cathy Barriga, a woman who was very popular among people because of her appeareances on TV shows, and she is very close to one of the most conservatives and far right parties in Chile, so I think there's a lot of work ahead. Meanwhile, maybe I will keep leaving my ballot null.

best concert ever

When I was younger, since I didn't have much money, I wasn't much of a concert person. I used to go to musics festivals and events where you could see many musicians (usually Chilean artists) in the same place for a reasonable price. But my first real concert was back in 2014 when 30 seconds to Mars came to the country. It wasn't the first time they were here, but the other time was in the Lollapalooza festival, in 2011 (which at the moment I wasn't able to afford). That was my absolute favorite band when I was in my early teens, but at that moment (I was 18 in 2014) I wasn't a huge fan anymore,.But I had worked that summer, many of my school friends were going and I thought, why not?  It was more for the nostalgia, but also, Jared Leto, the singer, is still one of my favorite artists, and my biggest celebrity crush. (♡) The concert was in the Movistar Arena, and we had to wait for many hours, but it was all worth it! The show was amazing, I had a blast! And I sang every single song! For me it was like a "throwback" to my awkward 13 year old self. I was hoarse for like a week straight from so much singing and screaming like a groupie! haha  And I don't regret a single day!

 A picture of Jared Leto during the Love Lust Faith + Dreams tour, the one that brought them to Chile.

a country I would like to visit

Since I was little I have always had a thing for "weird" or "unique" languages, so when I heard about this tiny country that was Iceland I felt very curious. I have heard of it before, but when I saw them in the UEFA Euro last year (which they have never been until 2016) I did some research and fell in love with this island. I like about them that being such a little country they have such a high quality of life standard (like almost every nordic country), and they have places ( with unpronounciable names) that when you see in pictures same like they were taken out of a cold paradise, like the Eyjafjallajökull glacier that covers an active volcano. I am also very curious about the islandic people, especially since it is a place that it's so distant from my country, and from my Latin American culture. In Iceland, I would like to visit the capital city, Rejkiavik, meet people and explore the city and its architecture; then I would like to see Iceland's gorgeous landscapes. I don't know if it's a place I would like to live permanently, since I like it here, but I don't throw away any possibility!, and maybe I would like to live there for a while, or at least enough time to know some of the beautiful things that this country has to give. 😊

Panorama of Rejkiavik

Welcome!

Hello!
My name is Paula Leyton, i'm 21 years old and i study psychology. I think I have a pretty good level of english: I can easily understand when I read, and in my opinion I can generally communicate with people who speaks the language, but I still struggle sometimes when listening to conversations (mostly from people with strong "native" accents) and I still get kind of embarrased and feel a little awkward when I have to talk in english, because I get nervous. I expect from this class to practice my english, since it's a "learning space" and therefore a safe space to make some mistakes. :)

I hope we have a great time 💕