Firstly, shout out to all the Vandy kids who are starting classes today.. GOOD LUCK!!!
Not a whole lot going on south of the equator right now . . . it's always surprising to me how quickly something new becomes normal. And it's so helpful now to have a routine (as much as I can say that I have a routine . . . my classes yesterday and this morning were canceled. We shall see what happens tomorrow...).
Where to begin? Oh, I know...
JUEGOS MAPUCHES
Last Thursday, we had our first real Juegos Mapuches class. Well, apparently it was the week before, but all of the gringos thought it was canceled so none of us showed. Bueno!
So we get to class (finally... after having it been moved to a different location across the lake, and after harassing/being harassed by some crazy guys who worked at the stadium), and our profe is holding a huge bundle of sticks that resemble field hockey sticks. We end up playing this game called palin, which really is essentially field hockey, only the "field" is a lot narrower and much, much longer (normally 12 meters wide by 200 long, but we played on a wider and shorter field). Each team has 5 to 15 players, who line up face to face with the other team along the length of the field. And then... craziness ensues.
Our profe thought it would be HILARIOUS if all of the intercambios (exchange students) were on the same team. We had four teams, so ours sat the first game out and watched. But once we took the campo (field).... it was GAME. OVER. It was just a group of about 11 or 12 girls, but I cannot even begin to explain how intense we were! We ended up playing two games in a row (losing the first, dominating the second), and yours truly scored THREE goals! I think I peaked...
Anyway, I've learned that the Mapuche conflict is really something that you don't bring up in casual conversation. Kind of like how in the US you wouldn't randomly start criticizing settlers for the way they treated Natives at the dinner table. But it's different to me, because it's a current event (and it's a new topic to me..). I'm sure I've offended many people with my interests....
More info on the current land dispute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche#Recent_history
More info on current events: http://www.mapuche.nl/english/santiagotimes090812.html
Happy reading!
Worst part of this class? Vandy won't give us credit! The way I'm dealing with it? Pshh.. taking it anyway!
CEDULA DE IDENTIDAD
On Thursday morning, I went with my friend Sarah to get our cédulas de identidad (Chilean ID cards). I had lost my rough draft/paper copy (kind of like how you get a paper permit before a license?), so I was expecting a tough, beaurocratic nightmare where I'd have to start the process all over again... BUT NO! Bless Chile and it's relaxed ways. The lady looked at me, looked at my passport (because nobody understands my name here...) and gave me my card! It's beautiful. And it has my thumbprint on the back. I can't wait until I have to bring my ID somewhere in the US and I can say, "Oh, I'm so sorry! It seems that I only have my Chilean ID with me...."
It's a real plastic ID too. Good job, Chile!EL CONGRESO NACIONAL
On Friday, CIEE took us en una clase en terreno (field trip) to El Congeso Nacional. Being the history/politics nerd that I am, I was in seventh heaven, even though it was 9 in the morning. It's interesting to me that the Congreso Nacional (which would be like our US Capital Building) is in Valpo even though the Capital is Santiago. But when after Pinochet's coup, he decided to "decentralize," and did so by moving the congress to Valpo. But Valpo is in the same region as Santiago (Chile is divided into 15 regions), and is only about an hour and a half away. So now it seems like it's more of an inconvenience than true decentralization. And I mean, it was a symbolic decentralization anyway.... it's not like the government itself was any less centralized. Go figure. Military dictatorships confuse me.
But Chile has a really interesting political system. It's a presidential representative democratic republic, very similar to the US. The difference lies mainly in the number of political parties and in the power the legislative branch has. Chile has about 12 political parties (six of which are represented in Congress), and most of them are left-leaning. During presidential and other important elections, parties on each side will form alliances in order to nominate one representative. Also, if a law is passed through the Senate, and goes to the president for approval, and she vetoes it, that's the end of that law. It can be re-sent for approval, but only if substantial changes are made. A marked difference from the power that our legislative branch has...
So below is a slideshow of about nine pictures. I definitely forgot my camera that day, so I stole the prettiest ones I could find of other peoples. :) ALSO! On the slideshow itself, in the lower left hand corner, the second button to the right is a small callout/dialogue box. If you click that, it will display all the comments that I've put on my pictures! Hopefully that will explain some of these things a bit better
LAS DUNAS
Saturday, I went with three friends to las dunas (sand dunes) in Concon. But do not be fooled by the word "dune." A much better description would be sand MOUNTAIN. Honestly, these are the coolest structures in the world. From the top, you can see the tip of Valparaiso, the shores of Vina and Renaca, all the way around to the tip of Concon on the other side of the bay. Absolutely breathtaking, and once again, my pictures do it no justice. Again, pictures with comments are below! (And seriously, read the comments on these. It explains my clumsiness...)
Yesterday, I met with someone at CIEE about working with 13-15 year olds in an English program... not sure if the schedules will match, but I'm crossing my fingers and really hoping it works out!! And also, I went with one friend to a CODEFF meeting. CODEFF is a nonprofit that works to preserve Chile's biodiversity. Think about how long Chile is... the driest desert in the north, the lush middle, and then the icy south. It's the most biodiverse country in the world (from what I've heard...), so it makes sense that it needs protecting. BONUS: Volunteering with this nonprofit ensures fun field trips! And in general, it's really interesting to me to see how nonprofits function in other countries. All of the nonprofits I've worked with (I'm thinking mostly CASTLES here, not gonna lie) are so lucky in comparison. It's striking to me that a 40 year old organization with ample legislative power is still struggling so much to make ends meet.
My posts are always so long. Many apologizes!
Love,
C
Hat Trick? That's my little sister right there!!
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