English language challenge

I didn't have English as a subject when I studied Environmental Chemistry, and I had French in school. At first, I didn't have complications. Then, I start to read papers... in English... and I felt the horror: I didn't understand anything!! For example, it took me months to discover that "ground state" was "estado fundamental" and not "estado tierra". And that's so basic!! 😢

I was scared and I generated a revulsion towards English. That delayed my understanding of the language:

Films? I watched them with Spanish subtitles.

Music? I listen principally German bands.

Games? I always looked for translations.

It was difficult, but finally I understood papers. And when I improved my English, I noticed another problem: I only knew technical English 😟

Later, when I did my Master in Chemical Sciences (June 2015 - March 2016), the curriculum required basic English, and I took "English I" and "English II" with the first year undergraduated students. I feel like the grandfather of the course, but I took the teachings seriously and I learned a lot.

Now, during my PhD in Chemistry, I take another English course with greater complexity, and finally I don't feel any kind of fear or revulsion towards this language. The most useful tool for me was speaking and listening with a decent grammatical basis that I could improve using blogs. In fact, blogs can help you to improve your redaction and transmission of ideas too. I can think of a slogan: Turn yout flow of consciousness into a source of conviction using blogs 😜

Currently, I need to improve a lot my speaking. But now, I watch films with English subtitles or without subtitles, and my ears are more adapted to the pronunciation. In addition, I have a better vocabulary, especially in non-academics topics. So I can practice my speaking with myself while I improve my listening.

And that's how a horror story can become a "love" story 😅

Changes in my study programme

I studied Environmental Chemistry and now I’m a student of PhD in Chemistry. Although both career are related with chemistry, the environmental component make a great difference, both in methodology and in thinking and implications of the work and objectives involved in doing science. In this sense, “PhD in Chemistry, mention in Environmental Chemistry” is a complicated and sometimes contradictory sciences area. I will describe some changes that could be made to my carrer based on this area.

1. Curriculum: Environmental Chemistry imply the application of Chemistry in social aspects of our lives, using our knowledge with an holistic approach, linking different areas inside and outside the laboratory. So, I would add some elective subject about philosophical and historical aspects of Chemistry and their impacts on society, and other elective subject about transdisciplinary work and interaction among different scientifics (e.g. biologists, physicists, chemists, engineers, sociologists, lawyers, etc)
2. Workload and length of studies: The first semester, PhD in Chemistry have two obligatory subjects (Advanced Physical Chemistry and the choice between Advanced Organic Chemistry or Advanced Inorganic Chemistry), and then one should take at least three elective courses in the whole four years. So, at first the workload is very stressful and then is very relaxed, leaving time for the thesis. I think the length of studies is correct, but maybe they could divide the obligatory subjetcs in two semesters the first year and include obligatory subjetcs depending on the mention of each student.
3. Faculty facilities: I don't have any problem with the faculty facilities. Thesis are made in different laboratories, according to selected mention and teacher. So, a good option is to include a committee in charge of ensuring the correct realization of the thesis with appropriate reagents and laboral conditions.
4. Use of technology: This is complex. Each mention requires different equipment and materials, including cutting-edge technology to ensure a publication. In this context, the university could improve their links with foreign universities making teamwork with they and improving the skills of chilean students through foreign courses. A good option is incorporate at least one stay abroad for free.
5. Teaching methods: Variety of teachers imply a variety of teaching methods. In addition, different mentions and generational gap influence this aspect. In Environmental Chemistry, a good choice is the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as student-centered approach to create a sense of social responsibility and connect with open-ended problems, typical in environmental sciences.

Summer holidays

For these summer holidays, I would like to visit San Luis Potosí again, and maybe travel to other cities in Mexico. I went there last October, and I made friends with whom I can’t speak in person (only computer and phone). They have invited me to stay there and go through different places, I only need some money to travel by plane.

We have a lot of issues in mind, including food, tourism and drink 😜

Regarding food, I would like to go to different food stalls that have the best food of Mexico, according to my friends. In the hotel and Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, I ate enchiladas huastecas, enchiladas potosinas, chilaquiles, pozole, tamales, mole poblano, among others.

But I only ate churros with cajeta and nieve (ice cream) with rompope and cajeta flavor in food stalls, and I need more!!

Regarding tourism, I would like to visit “Museo Laberinto de las Ciencias y las Artes”, Tangamanga Park and “Sótano de las Golondrinas”, but I think the weather could be against me, because when it is summer in Chile, it is winter in Mexico, so I would be careful.

There is a mixture between tourism and drink: “Ruta del Mezcal”, a tour of mezcal factories in San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas. But, if I would prefer to behave, I would have a coffee in specialty coffee shops.

Finally, I want to connect the tourism, drink and relaxed conversations going to a bar and talk about our lives, likes, ideas and passions drinking mezcal, and then go out and walk the streets at night.

Sports in our lives

Sports are a socially complex theme. On the one hand, there are people who despise it and don't see its positive effects on health, don't enjoy practicing them or even don't understand the government's attempts to encourage sport while promote the consumption of fast food. On the other hand, there are those who overestimate sports and convert them into a kind of religion, even killing people from an opposing team.

In Chile, the diffusion of positive effects of sports is strongly conditioned to personal views on the practice of sports. In fact, in the sports section of the news, sports and football are usually understood as synonyms, which gives an added value to footballers who sometimes come to feel like Gods and overvalue their contribution to the country or they believe they are above the law.

So... Where is the middle point? What is the healthy vision?

We should do sports or physical activity understanding its physical and psychological benefits and its connection with a good diet and a good sleep schedule. In addition, we should know that each person is different, so we need to organize healthy routines according to our personal tastes and habits.

My parents don't like sports, so I had a non-sporting childhood. Then, in school I hated the competitiveness of sports, and Physical Education was my worst subject ever. Finally, I met the basketball in a proffesional context watching the NBA. I quickly fall in love with the point guard position (PG). The PG is the primary desicion-maker in offense, he have the best view of game and many times he is considered as a "Game-maker" by his teammates. The best part is that when he wins, everyone wins. As a spectator, most people look at who scores the most points, but the PG is the one who gives the assists to other players, so each point is a double victory for him.

I think that each sport requires different skills to be done. If you only want to enjoy it, you don't need skills, you need a good company with people that respect the game of others. But in a competitive contex, you need to practise a lot!! Personally, I love much more the role of the coach: see others play, help detect failures of the rival team and create new plays.

Postgradute Studies

I became an Environmental Chemist in March 2014, but before that date I knew I would never stop to learn. Actually, I believe that our mental and personal growth depends on the acceptance that there is always new knowledge to learn, as I show in this scheme:

In this sense, I always feel the need to learn more about my specialty to do better research and deliver an effective teaching, so I would do a course of "Environmental Chemistry and Sustainability" or "Biogeochemistry".

I would include this subjects, ordered by general topics:

• In Chemistry:
• Analytical Chemistry.
• Theoretical Chemistry.
• Quantum Chemistry.
• Statistical Thermodynamics.
• Theory of Measurements and Errors.
• Chemical Education.
• In Environmental Chemistry:
• Green Chemistry.
• Earth Sciences (focused on Environmental Fate of Chemicals in Soils)
• Environmental Modeling and Software.
• Environmental Pollution, Management, Remediation, Prevention and Control.
• In Philosophy and History:
• Environmental History (focused on relationship among science, nature, economy and religion)
• Philosophy of Statistics, Technology, Modeling and Chaos.
• History and Philosophy of Environmental Sciences.
• Environmental Law and Governance (focused on relationship between science and politics)
• In other personal interests and holistic topics:
• Science Communication.
• Latin American Philosophy (focused on Philosophy of Liberation)
• Chemistry in pre-Hispanic or pre-Columbian cultures.

Obviously, I can't take all this subjects in only one postgraduate program, and Chile doesn't have this topics with the focus that I want. Then, I would study abroad and I will participate in several conferences, where learning is rewarding in itself.

In addition, if I could study abroad, I'd do a full-time course, because I need to give exclusive dedication to research and publications while I study (sadly, nowadays "publish or perish" is the basis of a good resume in natural science) Later, when I has already built a career path, I will contribute in a concrete way with applications of chemistry in socio-environmental conflicts and sustainable education.

My future job

I really love what I do. But my story is just beginning. In fact, it fits in a small measuring flask:

I started my undergraduate studies

in Environmental 

Chemistry in 2009,

 and since 2011 I’m 

convinced to devote

 myself to scientific 

research. That year 

I discovered my love

 for Physical Chemistry

and now I know how to

 mix it with Environmental Sciences,

Chaotic systems, Uncerntainty and Philosophy

 of Theories, Models and Representations in Sciences

 (yes, it may sound strange at first, but they are intimately 

connected). In addition, my experiences in the “Universidad 

Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación” gave me new visions

 about the great job of teachers, and how to transmit my knowledge

 to the next generations of scientists.

The work of  Environmental Chemists involve outdoor work (e.g. 

sampling under field conditions, participation in conferences) and

 indoor work (e.g. theoretical and experimental procedures), so I

 will travel a lot in and out of Chile.

I don’t think about salary, because I think if I love

 my job, I will do it well and I will motivate other

 people to work in the same, with their own

approaches and interests. 

At present, I’m a Master of Chemical Sciences, and I’m studying a PhD in Chemistry. In the future, I hope to use my knowledge to improve the social conditions of people in vulnerability situations, maybe focused on environmental racism and contributions to local knowledge and interest (e.g. Chemistry in prehispanic civilizations)

Music

I enjoy all kinds of music, depending on my mood and thoughts. In this sense, I classify music according to rhythm, vocals, lyrics, focus and interaction among the previous aspects.

Some of my favorites music genres are Rap (e.g. Nach), Classical (e.g. Satie and Chopin), Rock (e.g. El Cuarteto de Nos), Symphonic metal (e.g. Therion), Bossanova (e.g. Coralie Clement), Folk (e.g. Blackmore’s Night), Accoustic (e.g. Billie Marten), among others, but most of my favorite groups belong to the electronic music, with lots of different styles. So, I made a tree with my favorite genres and their derivations, within the electronic style, I hope to order them in this way.

I chose two genres that explain my most common mood, passions and interests:

Neue Deutsche Todeskunst: A German genre from the early 1990s. It's about philosophical topics, such as existencialism, nihilism and pessimism, with nostalgia, longing, acceptance or sometimes despair. When I feel the pointless of our existence in a metaphysical approach, or the implicit futility in our daily acts and desires, I used to hear this genre to feel company with this feelings. Some good bands are Das Ich, Lacrimosa, Stillste Stund, Endraum, and Goethes Erben.

Future Pop: Funded by VNV Nation, is an energetic genre that speaks to us about the disappointing Modern Age, and how man turned against himself through misuse of science and technology. However, this songs have a hopeful meaning, calling for cooperation instead of competitiveness, and the correct use of knowledge considering our emotionality. New groups in this genre give new focuses, I recommend listening VNV Nation, the first and the best (personal opinion 😜)

If you are interested in listening some electronic group, and not just dancing, please feel free to use my tree of electronic music.