In a world of his own

In a world of its own, made in its own image, where demons fly, looking like the angels of light. Whispering thoughts, instilling fear, wrath, apathy, individualism, greed, and all sorts of evil feelings. 

Corporations have taken control of our world; a place which used to be ours, a shared Eden. A paradise lost. Love for money has replaced mercy; egotism has taken place, at all levels of society. Everybody has fallen short of glory. 

We are hopeless, loveless, and lack dignity. We settle for nothing, fight for nothing, and prefer to dig into nihilism. We deserve extinction unless, perhaps, a miracle occurs; a rebellion, a theoretical rebirth...an awakening. 

LIVING IN A SOCIAL AWAKENING

Chile is not the same country anymore. At least our perceptions and definitions of being Chilean have mutated. Now, our country is constantly evolving, changing. Uncertainty is the only certain thing in actuality. But at the same time, this situation displays great opportunities to build a brighter future. Chileans are optimistic, even when it doesn't seem to be like that. We've survived earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, etc. Diverse natural disasters have beaten our nation throughout the years. And here we are.

Nowadays, we are currently experiencing what people call "a social awakening" or "outbreak". On October 18th 2019, a new kind of earthquake hit the nation. But this time, its epicenter was in the hearts and minds of millions of Chilean citizens, who got sick of 30 (and more) years of injustice, inequality and horrible living conditions for most of the population in this long and narrow land. A blissful copy of Eden, as our national anthem says. How ironic.

Poor salaries for more than 70% of the lower socioeconomic class; awful situations in the health system, including long lines, lack of resources and minimum conditions for public hospitals, etc. A privatized retirement system with precarious pensions for retired workers and elderly people, together with a very backward public educational system, also deprived of resources and infrastructure. All of these elements have outpoured a sort of public anger which is still flowing from within us.

All of these social disadvantages previouly mentioned, have led people to create chaos in the streets, riots and destruction of public and private property; together with this, the civil disobedience has made the current government to show its ugliest face; supressing civil rights, demonstrations, and protests with the worst methods: killing citizens, hurting and mutilating political activists, arresting demonstrators, beating up and abusing the Chilean people everywhere, making President Piñera the worst president in the history of our country; an unworhty clown, a ridiculous laughing stock, quite similar (or even worse than) to a banana republic leader and third world dictator. Pity on Chileans. Pity on us.

Chastiefol: The sacred spear

Chastiefol came from work as a pollen collector, a job which he performed since ages, as a member of the lowest caste of fairies. For 3000 thousand years, he had been doing the same old routine, day after day. But one day, everything changed forever. The fairies heard a loud and hideous noise from the ground, from the sky and from the sea. Simultaneously, huge and horredous creatures emerged from breaches everywhere.

In minutes, the fairy kingdom was turned into ground zero. As a collector, he was not allowed to engage in battle with enemies. He should find shelter in the mountains, as every other fairy of his class. But, he was different. Inside, somehow, he knew he had to do something. Ignoring protocols and advice, he grabbed a wooden spear (which he had deviced years ago, to train himself, though he was a "pariah" or "harijan") and ran into the battlefield. 

He was killed immediatly. After he passed away, he woke up in the spirit world. His essense was intact, but his physical body had been disintegrated by the invaders. While trying to assimilate this new reality and status, a peculiar blaze appeared. This blaze turn into a glorious personage. Chastiefol asked who was this. "Here, I am no one, and Everything. I am one with the Everything, and the "All" is in me. But for you, to understand, I was the Fairy Queen in the world from which you just went out of". Wasn't that just a legend? asked Chasti.

"Not at all, my dear collector" claimed the Queen. I had lived for eons in your former world, but I was killed in the last Holy War, 10.000 years ago. "I see" mumbled Chastie. I have seen your feelings and perceived your intentions Chastie. I have never seen so much bravery in your kind. That is why I want to reward your efforts. But the question is: Would you accept this gift? Coming from a Queen like you, why should I reject it? answered Chastie. After a while (because he perceived the event as recent), Chastiefol woke up and felt kind of strange. He tried to walk, but he couldn't. But he could see everything around him. Moreover, he sensed an enourmous source of power around him. Something peaceful, gentle but tremendously powerful. 

5000 years later, the fairy king came to see Chastiefol. "Dear Sacred Tree, I need your power and a piece of your magical and fantastic wood" asked the king. The demons again are trying to invade our beautiful kingdom. We need your holy protection as usual. "This time, I perceive the enemy is more terrible than previous occassions" said Chastiefol. I will help you with one condition. I will fight your wars myself hereafter. I want to be in the battlefield again. You will name your weapon as myself. So, this is the story of a collector fairy, who became a sacred tree, and then a weapon: The Chastiefol Spear. His desire to defend the fairy kingdom was granted. The greatest spiritual weapon ever made in the world, even before humans came to exist. 

The end?

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN ENGLISH??

Chile gets top grades in subjects such as economics and politics, yet when it comes to English - one of the keys for success and even survival in international markets - its report card reads ‘more effort needed’. The problem starts in schools. In 2004, a diagnostic test carried out by the Education Ministry, in conjunction with the UK’s Cambridge University, found that only a tiny fraction of Chilean school leavers had a more than basic command of English. But why do so few people speak English in a country that boasts a large network of free trade agreements and close economic and political ties with countries like the United States, Canada and Great Britain? 

The answer is a lack of interest, a shortage of qualified teachers and too few opportunities for students to practice English, suggests Sergio Bitar who, as Chile’s education minister from 2003 to 2005, led efforts to promote English at all levels of education. “People don’t see English as something that is necessary in their own lives... we have to make more of an effort to generate the conviction that learning English will lead to a better life,” he says. At the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, regional English language officer Joelle Uzarski - who is also responsible for Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - echoes this view. “I don’t see parents and employees calling out for English like they do in Uruguay or Brazil,” she says. This is particularly hard to explain, she adds, given that “the English proficiency level in Chile is by far the lowest of the countries I work in.”


Tourists in Chile often express surprise at the inability of most taxi drivers, waiters and shop assistants to speak even a few words of English. Indeed, for a country striving to attract more tourists, the fact that less than 2% of working adults speak a moderate level of English is worrying. And it is also threatening the country’s ability to attract investment. Foreign companies drawn to Chile by its economic and political stability find they have to teach their employees English or look elsewhere. “We’re losing opportunities… there are foreign companies that come here looking for professionals but have to leave because they can’t find employees with English-speaking skills,” says Michael Grasty, chair of AmCham’s education committee. 

As president of the Chilean operation of U.S.-based software company Oracle, Grasty has experienced this problem at first hand. Oracle, which is setting up a sales center to provide technical support to customers back in the U.S., needs 400 engineers who speak English, but has only found 25. The lack of English speakers is hindering the diversification of Chile’s natural resource-based economy, says Grasty. “We need to reinvent ourselves to be competitive in the services industry, but one of our big handicaps is that we don’t speak English.”

Is it possible to have a bilingual or even a multilingual country by 2020?

We've had a big deal of English and Spanish influences in our country for many years (and I'm not talking about the yankees yet). What about our aborigins? Have we ever learnt something from them? Have we studied their culture, religion and language? Many of our fellow citizens have amerindian blood running in their veins. Have we paid respect to this, any time in the past? Have we honored them or repaired any offense commited unto them in the past? I think we still have much to do about this issue. In my personal opinion, they are not fully integrated or at least respected as what they really are: Citizens of this beautiful land and actually, the ones who fought from the beggining against the cruelty and ignorance of the Spanish conquerors, thirsty of gold, honor and souls. Their abuses were unspeakable against our Amerindians. Yet, we speak Spanish as our mother and first tongue, but we don't have Mapuzugun or Aymara as second language. Why not? We've been thinking about English as a foreign language for Chile but, what about the rest of the languages spoken in our country? Nobody cares about that, as usual.