Session 6: My favourite animal

Hi!

This time, I will talk about one of my favourites animals: The Meerkat or Suricate.
In the first place, the meerkat is a small mammal that lives in Kalahari Desert in Botswana, South Africa.
One characteristics of this animal is that it lives in groups, a meerkat clan often contains about 20 individuals. Besides, it can live 12 or 14 years.
Regarding its anatomy, the meerkat has a long slender body, long and thin tail that it uses them to balance when standing upright.
For be a burrowing animal, it has curved claw to digging burrows or digging for prey.
The coat is usually fawn with gray or brown with a silver tint.
Respecting its habits, it is insectivore, but sometimes eat lizards, scorpion (the meerkat is partially immune to scorpion venom), spiders, plants, and more.
One interesting habit is that while others meerkats foraging or playing, one “sentry” on guard watching for predators. If appear a predator, the “sentry” gives a warning bark (it makes barks with specific meanings, like the approach of snakes and birds of prey) and other members will run and hide in one of the many burrows in the ground. This “sentry” is changed after one hour.
Taking everything into account, I thing that it is a very interesting animal for its behavior, for example the “sentry” because it is a particular characteristic that have not many animals and chiefly the capacity to make different sounds with different meanings, that the meerkats live in group is interesting too for how they organized to the various activities that they must to do. Furthermore, I love this animal because it is so cute and tender! :) and it is sympathetic too. I remember I met it in the movie “The Lion King”, I was fanatic of that movie. After, I saw many documentaries of the meerkats in “Animal planet”, but was 2 years ago, in Buenos Aires Zoo when I saw the meerkats in person. They were very small and so cute!.
To sum up, in my opinion this animal has many characteristics like group very interesting to the study and to know how this animals fight every day to survive.

Session 5: Santiago

Hello People! :)

Today, I will talk about our city, Santiago. I think that this city has many places with its different characteristics that make each place something different.
To begin, a locale very visited for the foreigner is La Moneda, the government palace. This is one of the institution more old of Chile and its name must to that before of be a government palace, this locale was the place where it made the money. Moreover, this locale is in the center of Santiago and to arrive is very easy. Hence, I think that it’s a place to know about the history of this city and watch its constructions and gardens.
Secondly, the San Cristobal hill is a beautiful place to visit, because the people can make sport, go to the swimming pool Tupahue (only in summer), take a walk for the trails, take a walk in teleferico (cars supported by cables and these supported by towers. The cars make this strip in the hill) and more. Besides, the people can see Santiago from the hilltop and see the Virgen María monument, led in parts by donkeys to the hilltop in 1908, because is very large (14 meters of height and 36,600 kg of weight).
Thirdly, Plaza de Armas is a place that many people visit, because it’s a place with many history, like La Moneda. In the colonia times, Plaza de Armas was the place where the town make many activities, like a party. However, this place changed with the time for the changes that the city has. But the people make different acts today, like pictures, people sing, dance and there are painters too. Moreover, for its ubication is very easy arrive.
Another place to visit is The Dominican Village is a stead of crafts. There are stores with differents types of crafts and differents materials too, for example, glass, iron, leather, ceramics, wood. Furthermore, there are places to eat and enjoy a good food.
And to the kids, there are places with animals to see.
Finally, a nice locale, Cajón del Maipo. This place is in the around of Santiago and is so beautiful. Here, the people can find different things to make, for instance, rides to horses, rafting in the Maipo river, paragliding, canopy, go to the snow in winter (the landscape is very, very beautiful!), take a walk, rent cabins, camping, restaurants. In my opinion, this is a good place for the foreigner for the all activities that one can do.
On the whole, I believe that Santiago have places very interesting to visit and know about the history of this city or places to make and enjoy different activities, for everyone.