valparaíso

Since my classes have been sparse the last couple weeks it seemed like a great time to take advantage of the break in the homework for a weekend trip.  Though I am growing to love Santiago it is very grey, the ugly buildings and the winter sky were starting to get to me as I was beginning to feel claustrophobic in this urban setting.  This is my first time living in a big city and while the towering Andes put me in my place this Aquarius needed to be reunited with the Pacific Ocean, where I feel most at home.  Growing up on the California coast sparked my love for the Pacific and when I crossed it in nine days on Semester at Sea my entrancement with the world’s largest, roughest ocean was only heightened.  These factors drew me to Valparaíso this weekend, a city about halfway down Chile’s 4,270 mile coastline.  It only took an hour and a half by bus to get from the base of the Andes in Santiago to Valparaíso; I was curious to see the terrain in between but staying awake during a bus ride proved to be a bit too ambitious for me. 

Upon our arrival my friends and I stumbled upon Hostel Bellavista where we decided to stay because it had a homey feel and was close to downtown as well as the ocean.  We explored a bit and ate at a restaurant recommended to us by Pancho, my Chilean roommate.  It was a local’s spot that seemed to be a place for people to meet up at after work; the tables were full of businessmen winding down on a Friday evening with liters of beer and huge platters of meat.  It was very Chilean and is always nice to be the only gringos in a given place.  Afterwards we experienced the Valparaíso nightlife, which is much more wild than I had anticipated but with the help of some friendly locals we were able to find some fun (and free) places to go.    

       

The next morning was a bit slow.  We enjoyed our free hostel breakfast, which luckily went from 10:30 to noon (they know their clientele), while hanging out with our new Belgian friends who were also staying there and they were able to recommend some things for us to do.  Valparaíso is a very hilly city, each cerro being a different neighborhood.  Valparaíso is also known for their elevators that take you up the side of each cerro, they are a nice alternative to hiking up each hill.  We roamed around until finding Cerro Alegre (happy hill) where I was blown away by the incredible street art and colorful buildings; it was so refreshing after seeing only grey Santiago buildings for the past month and a half, not to mention the backdrop was the beautiful Pacific Ocean!  At the top of another cerro my friends and I enjoyed delicious hot chocolate in the quirky Color Café while enjoying the view and playing a few heated games of Uno.  It was great to see the big blue ocean but seemed a shame that every view was obstructed by a big, poorly placed, building; I tried not to let it get to me.  Because we were still exhausted from the night before it was best to have a mellow night so after some people watching downtown we decided to head back to the hostel for tea and reading. 

After another breakfast with Belgians we packed up our things and headed out for the day.  We ran across another student march (you can’t go far in Chile without finding yourself in the middle of a political demonstration) and then found the local Sunday flea market.  It was so big; people were selling anything you could imagine:  food, clothes, household goods, even all sorts of pets from turtles to bunnies and even ducks!  I picked up The Call of the Wild in Spanish and I’m looking forward to starting it.  From there we found a specific elevator recommended to us by an old Chilean man the day before, Ascensor Polanco, and it took us through a brick tunnel and up to the top of a beautiful cerro overlooking the whole city; it was a great way to end our excursion. 

After walking back down to sea-level I bartered my last 500 pesos for a delicious empanada and we got back onto the bus to Santiago.  I again slept the whole way but when we returned to Santiago and got on the metro headed to the green line I experienced a bizarre sentiment.  It occurred to me that this huge grey city was comforting and when I stepped off the metro at the Parque Bustamante station I felt as though I was home.  While I was looking forward to an escape from this city it was very nice to be back in my neighborhood where the enormous cordillera welcomed me and the familiarity of Santiago made me feel delightfully rooted.  

view from the hostel

beautiful street art

ascensor!

city at sunset

panorama from cerro polanco

en paro

After two weeks of my school being en paro, or on strike, tomorrow I will return to my classes at the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile.  It was a big deal that the students at my university voted for this strike in the first place as it is a private university with a wealthier student body; they already have access to a quality education and have therefore been less involved in the fight against the unfair education system.  Students are supposed to vote weekly on whether or not to stay en paro but a letter from the president of my university this week insisted that teachers resume classes or they will lose their jobs.  This is very different from the other universities who have been on strike much longer as the votes of the students are being respected.  It seems quite sad that though the students are trying to help fellow Chileans, the school is not allowing them to do so.  I am actually looking forward to getting back to class, I have way too much free time on my hands which has been great for playing and exploring but I expect once I am in a classroom I will learn even more Spanish and meet even more Chilean friends.  It will be interesting to see how many students actually show up tomorrow!   

a banner at my school, it reads "nobody has ever asked permission to change history"

education reform

Public education in Chile is still run by the same system set up by Gen. Pinochet during his dictatorship from 1973-1990, which makes public education very expensive and difficult to attain.  Students here feel as though their education should be free, or at least cheaper, and accessible to everyone regardless of financial status.  They are so fed up with the system that students in Chile have started doing something about it and for the past few months have been striking, marching, and protesting for an education reform.  Even the high school students have taken over their schools; many are en toma, which means that the students are occupying the school not allowing even professors or administrators to enter.  These protests and strikes will continue until their requests are met, students have written a list of demands and refuse to back down until the things they require are attained.  As of now, Chile spends about 4.4% of their GDP on education while the UN recommends that nations devote a minimum of 7%.  Not to mention that their neighbor to the east, Argentina, offers free education to all citizens and even students from outside of the country while their economy is smaller and less stable than that of Chile. 

The students here are truly inspiring and witnessing this movement has been an aspect of this trip I could have never expected.  It is annoying to not be able to leave a metro stop because the teargas is so heavy in the air, if the station is even open at all, or having to maneuver your way through a big crowd of people on your way to somewhere else in the city, but one must respect all the effort these students are putting into this highly important cause.  While the protests often start peacefully, some escalate into an all-out battle between the students and the police, or carabinieros.  You do not have to hang around long to see teargas and sticky water be sprayed on the chanting crowd, immediately followed by hordes of students throwing whatever they can get their hands on at the carabinieros and their armored cars.  I had been afraid of these protests, as I could not even leave my apartment on Thursday because of the heavy burn of teargas in the air and carabinieros hiding behind every tree, waiting to catch a protester off guard, but last week my curiosity won me over and I decided to see what these manifestacions are all about. 

I was a little late to arrive and only found the manifestacion because I followed a large group of carabinieros who I figured were headed in the same direction.  There were tens of them lined up, shields ready, creating a barricade with armored cars and more officers on horses, as if preparing for battle.  I turned around and realized I was standing right in between them and the mob of protesters, not the best place for a gringa who faces deportation if caught at a march, especially considering the wide range of blunt objects that would no doubt soon be thrown in the direction of the carabinieros.  Before I could even get myself out of this frightening situation I saw numerous armored cars come from side streets and position themselves between myself and the demonstrators.  Without hesitation the police cars began spewing this horrible sticky water and loads of teargas, or guanaco, on the once peaceful crowd.  The only counter to the guanaco is to bite on a lemon and put a scarf over your face, though this helps it is far from cancelling out the sting in your eyes, nose, throat, and skin.  The students do not take lightly to this kind of treatment and fight back with whatever they can find, throwing rocks, street signs, and what is left of burnt benches.  It is always easy to tell where a march has recently taken place as there is debris everywhere, the surrounding area is still wet from the water cannons, lingering tear gas still stings in your nose, and carabinieros are roaming around. 

Not all the marches end this way.  In fact, I went to another that was completely opposite just two days before.  This was a Sunday, the march was intended for families and there was actually a permit for an authorized location.  The crowd of people was the biggest I have seen all congregating to exercise their right to protest.  People of all ages were in attendance, not just students but children and adults, even elderly folks.  It made me realize that this is not just an effort for those in school, but a nationwide struggle for equality.  I began speculating why people who are not actually students have an interest in this cause.  For a nation so fresh out of a dictatorship, the adults of Chile are not used to having a say in their government so their right to protest is something they actually take advantage of.  This long march ended with a concert and comedian in the park, followed by a drum circle and dance party for those who didn’t mind the rain. 

Seeing the Chilean public work so hard for this cause makes me feel as though we Californians are either lazy or just don’t realize the power of the public.  Each student of the CSU system is paying $1,200 more this year; we have seen a fee increase every year for the last ten years and a 16% increase in tuition in the past two years alone!!  This is happening while classes are being cut, making it nearly impossible to get the ones needed for graduation.  Faculty see their work load increase with class sizes bigger than ever before while being paid less, that’s if they get to keep their jobs.  Meanwhile, the chancellors of the public system are driving luxury vehicles and taking European rendezvous on their $250,000 a year salaries while us students fund their lifestyles and don’t question it.  The Chilean effort is to stop the running of public education like a business, a lesson that we Californians could afford to take.

sticky water on the crowd

"education is a right not a privilege"

granny and the carabinieros

the aftermath

a month in chile

Today is my one month anniversary of arriving in Chile!  While time has flown I also feel as though I have been gone for far longer because I have learned and seen so much in the last four weeks.  I look forward to the next twelve months, as my language skills will improve I will be able to learn even more and connect with more people.  Most foreign students I have met are only able to stay for a semester, I feel very lucky to be enrolled in a yearlong program as my time here is already passing so quickly!

Apparently it is normal in Chile for teachers not to show up the first week of school, I only ended up having one class this entire week!  It is so bizarre and while I thought by now I would be bogged down with homework and the stresses of school, I am still relaxing and enjoying easing into this semester.

first week of school

Tomorrow I begin my first official day at Pontifica Universidad Cathólica de Chile.  Though I have been nervous about starting real classes I have not lost sight of why I am here, so am excited to start learning more each day and meeting the friends with whom I will share this year-long journey.  Though today, Monday, August 1^st, is actually the first day of classes; the schedule I have arranged has me only attending class Tuesday through Thursday.  Class selection here is very different than I am used to at Sonoma State University.  The first week students are allowed to attend any class that they are interested in and then register after this “shopping period”; securing that it is a course worth taking.  This seems like a good system and works only because there are actually enough classes for all of the students, rather than at SSU where we are all scrambling to fill the limited number of seats.  Starting tomorrow I will take a mandatory Chilean Culture and Spanish grammar class plus two electives.  I will be choosing between Culture and Society in Latin America, History of Mexico, and Politics of Latin America in the 20^th century.  These classes will be taught entirely in Spanish, which is where the real challenge lies, I am a decent communicator in person but understanding lectures with college level vocabulary will certainly be a struggle.  Not to mention that Chileans speak quickly and with a very strong accent, this can make an entire sentence sound like one long word. 

The university I will be attending is a private, catholic school and one of the top ranked universities in Latin America.  Expectations here are much higher than at my home university and I am concerned  about the workload which other students have described as heavily based on outside reading, it will be quite an endeavor to piece together large amounts of scholarly material with my basic (but improving) Spanish.  While nervous about the semester ahead, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to attend such a prestigious university and look forward to all the knowledge I will gain from such a well versed faculty and student body.