So, this is how it works now!

This is an amazing article, for all the folks out there trying to find a job... The lesson to be learn is, "don't relax, don't give up" and "self teaching is still very valuable"

The Internship: Not the Movie - NYTimes.com

And I will make it!!

Today, I felt a little bit closer to my dreams. This is the NY city office of Google, I will work hard to make it here. Today I got inspired.

Getting ready for finals!

Just an image of my evenings, when I am getting ready for finals. Thanks khan academy!

What being is being an international student for me...

This is a little speech I wrote for my communication class. I tried to tide what really means to be an international student, with some stories of my life.

I hope you enjoy it!

In the United States 723,277 students might share similar stories. In

average 6% of the students in our school, are currently in my situation. Today I

am going to tell you three stories, the first one is about the unknown, it recalls the

first time I interacted with an American. My second story is about failure, and how

it feels to lose everything you have, when the decision does not depend on you.

My last story is about accomplishment. Is about the moment when I decided to

become an international student.

There are many stories that we keep to ourselves, sometimes because

we want to fit in this society or just because it seems too personal to make a

public disclosure. In any case, the wall is always there. My idea is to show you

that being an international student is more than speaking a different language

or looking different. Being an international student is a hard challenge, a very

welcome challenge.

Take one second and think about what being an international student

means? Is it hard? Is it fun? Do you miss your family? And what about your

friends?

11 years ago I was leaving in Santiago, capital of Chile, a small

country at the end of South America. As many child in the 90’s, I liked airplanes, I

use to build plastic models and hang them on the ceiling of my room. I use to ride

my bike to the nearest air force base and to see airplanes landing. My dad used to

take me to a big air show, it was every other year in Santiago, very close to our

home. During that time my dad used to drive a taxi, he worked as driver for a

Chilean newspaper, so he always got VIP press passes for the air show. My

favorite part was to see the airplanes flying really low over our heads, but there

was one particular situation that I remember until today. I walked with my dad to

one of the tables in the American showroom, and between the crowds, a very tall

blonde man, with blue eyes, wearing an air force uniform called me to stand in.

My shyness kicked up for a second and stopped me to react, but I jumped in. He

showed me a model of an F-117 saying words that I didn't understand. He picked

a pin from his jacket and gave it to me; it was a shiny American flag with golden

edges. For a minute I felt the center of the attention, everybody seemed to be

looking at us and I remember I try to mumble the word thank you. This was the

first time I interacted with the American culture. After that experience, I got

almost obsessed with becoming a pilot, I studied hard and keep on the news of

aerospace magazine for years, until one day my passion just disappeared.

This story was about things that I didn't know, situations that I was not

prepared to confront. Things that I enjoyed and wasn't afraid of try. I am 27 years

old now, I still keep thinking about that little metallic flag, and I wonder if there is

a connection with this event and rest of the story that led me here.

My second story talks about failure, and how I thought everything was

lost a couple of years ago. Contrary to what some of you might believe, getting

a visa to enter in the United States is not as easy as it seems. the process alone,

can take over 3 months of interviews, filling up forms, background checks, and

paying big amounts of money just to be able to apply. This is not so bad, when

you have nothing to lose. In the worst case your visa will be denied and your

money wasted.

But what happen when you put everything on the

table and your dreams depends on that visa?

The second time I came to the US, in a work and travel program, I met one

of the most important persons in my life, my girlfriend. This completely changed

the meaning of getting a visa. Now it means to do anything for the person I love,

and by anything I mean leaving everything behind. My plans changed drastically,

I was on my last year in college and I just wanted to graduate, get my visa and

come back to the person I love. Eventually everything worked out, I managed to

get a visa, a job and an extension, this time in Massachusetts, the closest to my

girlfriend that I had ever been before. Everything seems to be working great. Her

family accepted me and liked me as much as I liked them. As a matter of fact they

adopted me for a couple of months. All this wonderful time got to an abrupt end

when I received a letter from one of my employers, saying that my visa wasn't

going to be extended due to economic reasons. This was one of the hardest

processes that I have ever been through. After finally having an opportunity to

reach my dreams, everything seems to fall down. I had no other option than pack

my dreams and I go back to Chile. That winter my girlfriend went to visit me. It

was the second time she visited me in Chile and we knew that this was more than

just a mere relationship. We were willing to do anything to be together. I asked

my mother and my girlfriend’s family for advice, regarding our distance situation.

And a week later, I quitted my job in Chile and I applied for a new visa.

Up today, my girlfriend and her family are my greatest emotional support in

the United States. They became my american family.

My story tells how failure is always around us. No matter how hard we try

to avoid it, there will always been situations when we will fall. It is up to us to

overcome these crises and fight for the things that really matter.

My last story is about accomplishment, and it is being written in this

precise moment, I am talking about becoming an international student. Therefore,

every moment since I decided to take this great opportunity that life is giving me.

The first time I walked in to our campus I remember I had the same smile

on my face than when I looked at my little flag in the air show. I can't tell you what

the end of this story will be, but I can tell you that I am going to do my best to

make this one a story of accomplishment.

So, what being an international student means? For me, it means be able of

leaving everything you know and you love to reach personal develop. It means to

not be afraid of failure, and when it happens, stand up and fight it back, without

giving up until you leave everything on the arena.

Being an international student means discovering, I am learning to realize

when I reach my goals in the moment, and not 11 years later.

It means to be able of share and not judge. It means to come short when

my classmates give an example of their childhood, and I didn't live that reality.

Being an international student is missing your love ones but at the same

time, it means to be able of feel the energy of knowing how proud they are.

Being an international student means to become a traveler, in time and

space, and realize that I can reach for those stories of my past and use them to

overcome the problems of today.

For me being an international student is being gifted with a second flag

with golden edges.

Thank you.

Looking for the perfect summer bycicle

Lately, I have been doing some research to buy a new bike. I lost my bumblebee when I move from Nantucket. Why is so expensive to transport bikes...
However while looking for the best deal in bikes I made some cons and pros and I decided that I want something lighter than my last GMC DENALI from Walmart (I miss you Bumblebee).
And here is what happened; I found the best comment to make the right choice. I was looking for a light weight bike that does't rip my wallet off. This is what I found in one of the Yahoo answers forums;

"Consider that total weight counts only from the perspective of the mass that needs to be accelerated on starting, and the mass that must be raised in going up a hill, and that even 3-4 lbs extra is a very small penalty vs the total weight of bike and rider (typically 180-200 lbs or so). It's a lot cheaper to take 3-4 pounds off the rider than to pay $hundreds > $thousands for a lighter bike/components." (Thanks agb90spruce)

It really motivated me to start riding my bike again... and It is very true, It is much cheaper and healthier to loose weight than spend all my lunch money in a top of the line bike. Lets be real, I am a student, where do you think my money come from. more expensive stuff = less quality food.

I hope you enjoy this short post. and join me riding anytime.

Internet freedom

check the link to my first publication in the electronic version of my college's news paper, The Stinger.

This article started as an essay for my writing class. The original name of the essay was Net neutrality, if you are familiar with the term, you can imagine that is a very controversial topic. Not a lot of people in my school manage this term and most, if not, all of them are internet users. Net neutrality is a term that compile all the "freedom" that we enjoy in the web. The bad news are, that it can be in danger... If you want to read more about this topic follow the link. Enjoy !!!

http://www.uwstinger.com/?p=13479