10: ideal job

Well, My ideal job must be the most relaxed job in the world. Because personally I suffer so much when I am under pressure, so if I am stressed all the time I will have a very unhappy life. Also it shouldn’t be routines at all. The monotonous things bored me; that's why i have decide to work with people, becuse we are more unpredictable than machines and and animals.
In a very dreamer way, I think I could work lie a kind of tourist guide in jamaica. I said “Kind” because I don’t like the conventional idea of the tourist guides. IT is so mechanical, and directed at people with a lot of money, the high classes. Also it is usually very regulated by the Statemnt and because that reason their speech is very repetitive. And I said Jamaica because it seems to be a place where the time doesn’t exist. Is only you, the beach, the sun and meeting new people all the time because my job, witch it is no hard for me talking to strangers, even I love meeting new people and other realities, then if a attend people from all around the world I also could develop my anthropological in some way.
So, I would have some cabins not posh at all, rather rustic, complemented with a bar near the beach, surrounded by palm trees and some sun lounger where people (and me of course!) could satisfied their thirst in a very relaxed way, listening relaxed music, in a relaxed place.

9: my favorite subject

I think that my favorite subject this semester is anthropology III, with Andrés Aedo. It is about materialistic anthropology and it has been a very convincing and complete subject and the development of the teacher in class, his dynamic, is very good, so interesting always. A really good teacher.
I must say that at the beginning of this semester I wasn’t very sure about anthropology; I meant, I liked it, but I didn’t now if this career, this science (I doubted if it was a science) had a future for me; because I was always interested in sociology before entering college, and anthropology sometimes is so relative and uncertain that I was thinking about moving. But then, with this subject I became interested in anthropology again. I discovered the cultural materialism and other fields of this science thanks to my teacher and his subject; I realize that anthropology is a science even more interesting than sociology. Therefore, I can say that I had learned a lot this semester and I opened my eyes and spirit to the social anthropology.

Do schools kill creativity?

I think this is true. Of course that schools kill, in different grades, the creativity, which depend of the kind of school: most competitive schools will be more aggressive with non-conventional behavior or the creative initiative. Anyway, in general way, every school has a basic principle: Teaching. And this mean to insert in the little heads of children the conventional structure of society that every citizen must put in practice into the civic life.
I think that the educational system is very mechanical, so this make impossible to exploit the creativity of children. They must behave according the behavior patterns of the mechanized world in a mechanized system. Although there are some subjects that allows to get out of the limits that are impose, like art class, music class, literature; in the most important subjects -or the subjects that our society consider more important, like the scientific subjects, is very difficult to act for yourself, because schools teach you the method to get your answer; you replay information; so if you didn’t memorize very well you’re wrong. Is very hard to find the opportunity for creativity in schools today, especially in the competitive world that we live today; where the knowledge is given by the method, not by the own initiative, the creative initiative.

7: Future

My future... It’s little hard for me trying to think about my ideal future, cause usually I don’t think about it. I am that kind of person who have not idea what is going to do even on weekend. Anyway, if I am studying anthropology is because I must have an idea of what I would like to do in the future. That I'd like to be professional devoted to solve social problems, or something like that. But before that of course I must finish this career and then have a kind of specialization in the area of social anthropology(like a post degree, master program, PhD, whatever) ideally in another country, Like Spain or Germany. But in the second case I should be learning german and I don’t feel I want to do that (It’s enough with English class!) May be if I like Europe could stay living there. May be I return and start working to affor a nice house or department near the beach, like Valparaiso because I love that city, and what I'm sure is whenever I could I will leave Santiago.

6: The best in my area

Hi! Before I start talking about who I think is the best anthropologist I want to make it clear that I don’t feel I have the authority to differentiate between better or worse anthropologist. I think I need much more knowledge in my area to say ”Hey! This is the best anthropologist in the world!”. Anyway until now, I guess that is Marvin Harris (1927-2001) who most convinces me. He was a north American anthropologist who highly influenced the development of cultural materialism, which in my opinion, is the most concrete and complete anthropologic theory. He takes the essential elements from others authors and anthropological theories and create such a perfect way to respond the hole problems and incongruities about cultures, society and people in general. His definition of Anthropology (and it method) is the approach this science need to be renowned with the quality it deserves. For example, in one of his books -"Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches”- he explains some characters of some cultures which have no sense from our point of view (western thought), but he shows the usefulness of these seemingly incoherent actions according environmental, social, political situation and others factors you can watch in their specific reality.

photograph

There is a picture that I took on my summer vacation of the last year, I mean, in february of 2008 that i like very much. This photo was taken (by me) upward to my feet with the sky and some clouds as background. And I liked it a lot cause when I see that picture I recalled the moment when I took it, how I felt then, so it give me such a big sensation of peace and calmness. Becuse when I took that picture I was lyied down over the sand, under the soon, in front of a beautiful lake, surrounded by trhees and nature, far away from the noise of the city and the disagreeable people; thinking in nothing, just enyoing the peaceful and the sky of that day. Because the sky you can see in the picture is dreamelike, with a lot of clouds in diferents forms you imagine and create diferents objects, concepts, wathever. And my feet give you the idea to be there. like you were that person who's under that beautiful sky.

website

The career-related website most I visit is wikipedia I gess. it is an online encyclopedia that maybe it isn't a very "anthropological" web site, but I like it -and I use it very much- because it have information about everything! You can get, at least, a general idea about anything you're trying to understand, becuse not everything is very complete and when this happend the encyclopedia offer you other links where you cand deal with the idea in depth. Also you can prove the fidelity of the information because any user of this website is abble to discuse the information and wikipedia force you to share the sources when you write an article. For doubts, also the website show you the historial of discussion about the article. the most part of information in Wikipedia is very good explained, very synthetic and fast. Wikipedia is the faster and reliable source to get some information about concepts you don't understand very well or you ignore at all. have a look! --> www.wikipedia.org

I almost forgot! another adventage of wikipedia is it global character: you can find this website in ten diferents languages! amazing, isn't it?