A day to remember

A day I remember was my last day at school. Every time I think in that day, I feel happy because it was a great day. I was with my classmates and the teacher said: “Ok guys, that´s all, the classes are over”. We immediately started to celebrate, and a couple of students went out to the classroom and rang the bell, after that, all of us went out to the room and began running around the school, knocking the windows and making a lot of noise. And finally, we gathered on the central field and sang for the last time the school anthem. When we finished that, all the younger students who were looking us started to clap.

After that, we took a bus and we went to a big place with swimming pool and a soccer field, we were the entire day hanging out, it was pretty fun. At the end of the day, I wrote some messages on my friends´s t-shirts, and they did the same in mine, that moment was nice and sad at the same time, because I knew that probably I wouldn’t see many of my classmates in the future.

My experience using the blog

In the first class, when the teacher told us we have to write a blog every Monday, I didn't like very much the idea, because I'm not a big fan of writing. But now, on second thougths, my conclusion is this exercise is very good.

I feel I've improved a lot, the first time I wrote a post, it took me about 1 hour and a half, and now I can do it in less than an hour.

The reasons why I think this exercise is excellent are: 

- It helps with the spelling, because sometimes you can say a word but you don't know how to spell it right.

- It's a good feedback, because you have to think in English, write what you are thinking and then you read it, so it's a good way to reinforce your knowledge.

- It's a different exercise that makes you use your imagination, because most of the activities are based on answering questions, so you have to answer exactly what they are asking.

In the future I'd like to write about sports, especially soccer and basketball, because those are my favorite sports and I practice them, I'd also like to write about education and public health in Chile, because those are interesting topics and everyone has different ideas about that.

I just can say thank you miss for your teaching, you have been a great teacher and I've learnt a lot among these three months.

My favorite subject

My favorite subject at university was biochemistry, I had this course when I was in second year, and I really liked it.

This was a theoretical subject, we didn't do any experiment, but it was still a very good course.

I had this subject divided in two semesters, in the first one we studied the general concepts about biochemistry, for example, the processes of celular breathing, photosynthesis, and all the processes that happen in the human body.

In the second semester we studied the biochemistry related to our specific area, the oral cavity, so we saw the processes of food degradation, beginning of cavities, the saliva functions, all related to our profession.

I think I enjoyed this subject because I could understand the different processes that take place inside me, and I learned the reasons why the things happen, that is much better than just learning something because you memorize it.

Another point is I had excellent teachers in this course. I get motivated when I have good teachers, and I try to do my best.

My favorite photograph

I can't say this is my favorite photograph, because I had never thought about it, but when I had to choose one photo, I decided for this one.

This photo was taken after the earthquake on February 27, in a little town called Pelluhue, located in the 7° region, and it was taken by a photographer called Roberto Candia, a guy who works for AP agency.

I'm not the only one who likes this image, this is one of the best photos of the earthqueake, and it was shown all around the world.

I think this photo represents how our country was left after the big tragedy, many towns, especially those who were close to the beach, were completely devastated for the earthquake and the tsunami. It also represents the hope, because that guy holds the Chilean flag to show that our country is still alive and we are going to overcome this difficult situation.

I like this photo very much, because it makes me feel we are a small but very united country, but it's a pity that this feeling only appears when our country suffers any dramatic event, and not every day.

Election day

In the next presidential elections I´m going to vote, even though I don´t like any candidate, probably I’ll leave my vote blank, but I think everyone should vote and express their opinion. I have watched a lot of publicity about the candidates, I have also watched the debates among them and the conclusion for me is simple, it doesn´t make any difference who wins.

I´m against the electoral campaigns for three reasons, the first one is the big amount of money they spend doing the publicity, the same money they could use in many other things that our country needs (poverty, education, public health, etc.). The second reason is the inequality that exists, because a few candidates can afford the electoral campaigns and the rest of them can´t do it, and the third reason is the simple fact that I hate all the posters hanging around the city, it looks awful and it´s kind of dangerous because some of them block the view of the people who are driving a car.

I think the most important qualities a person must have if he wants to be a president are: honesty, charisma, and don’t make too many promises.     

Being a politician is not an easy job, because there will always be people against your thoughts, making critics just for the fact they are in the opposite wing, that’s why I have never considered becoming a politician.

Now we just must wait and see what happens on November 17^th , because after all the campaigns, I hope the people can vote informed. 

My favorite movie is...

When someone asks me: what is your favorite movie?, I don´t have to think it, I immediately say The Lord of The Ring The return of the king. This film is the third part of the trilogy based on the books written by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have watched this movie about 5 o 6 times, even though it lasts more than 3 hours.

I like the whole trilogy, but the third one is amazing. This movie shows the end of the long story about some characters, called the Hobbits. who have to destroy a powerful ring. Besides that, there are a lot of other characters who help the hobbits in their difficult mission. The story takes place in an unreal world, where elps, dragons, dwarves, wizards, a liitle guys called the hobbits and humans exist

My favorite part of the movie is the big battle between the good ones and their enemies. It is about 45 minutes of pure action, with excellent scenes, very good effects and a lot of fight. The only thing I don´t like about this movie is the end of this big battle I was talking about, because after a lot of fight, the hobbits and their friends were almost defeated, but an army of ghosts appear and solve the situation in a couple of minutes, this is the only part I would change.

The most important characters are played by: Elijah Wood (the main hobbit), Ian McKellen (the wizard), Orlando Bloom (the elf), and Vigo Mortensen, and argentinian who acts as Aragorn, a human who finally becomes the king of the middle earth.

This movie was directed by Peter Jackson, and in the 2004 got 11 Oscar awards, incluiding the Oscar for the best film of the year.

My favorite piece of technology is my cellphone

I´m not a big fan of technology, but I have to confess there is one thing that I really like, the cellphone.

I have always had a cellphone, since I was a kid. My first one was pretty big and heavy, but I loved it. Then my father bought me a cellphone with camera and I couldn´t stop taking pictures.

A couple of years ago, I got my first smartphone. When I started to know how to use it, I realized I could do many things with it. Nowadays my cellphone is an important tool for me and I use it everyday. The reasons I like my smartphone are: I can check my e-mail anywhere, I can chat with my friends and my girlfriend, I can go to internet and look for whatever I want and if I´m bored I can also play games or watch a video on youtube.

I can´t say my life would be empty without my cellphone, but if I lost it I'd be very sad and probably I would feel disconnected to the world.

I admire a teacher I had

I have had many teachers that I respect, but one of them is a guy who I really admire. His name is Rodolfo Miralles. He is a dentist who has dedicated his whole life to the investigation and teaching. I can not talk about his personal life because I don´t really know it.

He was my teacher in second year of university, and he was in charge of the physiology class. The first time I listened to him, I realized he was a great teacher. He combines the knowledge and the passion for teaching, that's why I think he is an excellent professional.

Besides that, he is also a great invesigator. He has a lot of publications and has worked with very important dentists along his career.

A couple of years ago, he was recognized as the best teacher of the year of Universidad de Chile. I was pretty happy for him because he deserved it.

A great day with my favourite band

I still remember that day when my good friend Felipe called me and told me: hey Toshiro, guess what? Red Hot Chilli Peppers are coming to Chile. I got really excited because that is my favourite band. Immediately I looked for the place where I could buy the tickets and I went.

3 weeks before the concert I downloaded the new album and learnt all the songs, so I was very prepared for the big day.

Finally the day came, it was a warm day in September 2011. The concert took place on Estadio Monumental. I went with Felipe and 4 others friends, we arrived very early because we wanted to get a good spot on the field. We had searched the play list, so we knew exactly what songs they were going to play.

The concert lasted 2 hours, and I can only say.... It was amazing! The band did a great presentation, excellent sound, and they made a good selection of their songs.

After the show I was very tired, but I felt a nice feeling because I could see my favourite band in a live concert.

The most famous song they have is called Can't stop, and this is the video:

Autobiography

 Hello, my name is Toshiro Yamada Torres, I'm 24 years old, I was born in Rancagua, but I lived in Rengo, which is a little town close to Rancagua. I used to go to an elementary school near my house,  and there I made a lot of good friends who are still my friends at the present. I did the secondary school in the same place I did the elementary. Then my parents decided to send me to a different school, so I did the high school in Rancagua. I had a great time there, I met a lot of nice people, and I got a good education.

My father´s name is Manuel, he is very kind and he is really hilarious, my mother´s name is Margarita, she is friendly and an excellent mom. They are both businesspeople, and they have 2 commercial stores in downtown of Rengo. My sister is called Naomi, she is 19 years old, and she is studying medicine.

Currently I live in Santiago, I study odontology at Universidad de Chile, I am in the last year of my career, I just have to finish my thesis and I can get my degree.

I have a lot of hobbies, one of them is sleeping, I really like sleeping. I also like watching TV show, my favourite ones are Friends and Prison Breaks, they are so good.

Another hobbie is playing basketball, I played it since I was in high school. Lately I have been working out a lot at the gym. What I really like is hanging out with my girlfriend and my friends, and spend some time with my family.

My father´s parents are Japanese, that is why I have a Japanese name, but my mother´s parents are Chilean so I am half Japanese and half Chilean.