Yesterday's Earthquake

I know it's been a while, but I decided yesterday's event warranted a special post. If you haven't yet heard, Chile got rocked by a major earthquake early yesterday morning - a 8.8 on the Richter scale to be exact. It hit on the coast in the mid-southern area; the closest major city is Concepción, and the epicenter is about 200 miles southwest of Santiago. There's been continuing aftershocks across Chile and Argentina, also of pretty sizable magnitudes. For more info, check out coverage on CNN and BBC.

What's most concerning about the aftermath, after the sizable dead and missing count is the rise of looting happening in heavily-hit areas. With resources being interrupted, groceries and gasoline can be difficult to procure, and law enforcement has been called in to many locations. For some really powerful shots of the devastation, check out this photo collection.

During this time, our thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected by this major natural disaster, and we wish all the best for both those individuals and the nation as a whole as the recovery process begins.

A mis queridos allá, estoy pensando en ustedes, y enviándoles toda mi esperanza y simpatía. ¡Cuídense mucho, y k tengan fuerza en este momento de gran dificultad!

Reflejo: Fútbol

Por supuesto, el partido de fútbol es una gran parte de la cultura de los paises latinos (en realidad, en casi todos los paises del mundo menos los EE.UU.), y creo que mi experiencia no habría sido completa sin asistir un partido en vivo.

Tenía muy buena suerte porque la Copa Mundial va a ocurrir el próximo año, entonces había unos partidos emocionantes cuando estaba allá. El que mis amigos y yo asistimos fue el partido contra el equipo de Bolivia. Aunque nosotros no somos el equipo más fuerte de America del Sur (aunque el mejor, sí po), somos bien fuertes, y el equipo de Bolivia es débil; entonces no estábamos preocupados de como nos pasara el partido. Al final, tuvimos razón y ganamos 4-0.

Aunque el resultado nos importaba mucho, lo que voy a recordar es la experiencia. Me pasó super bien y me disfruté mucho. En estos partidos, el ambiente es fantástico porque a dentro del estadio (en este caso el Estadio Nacional de Chile) hay 67.000 hinchas del equipo, y todos están allá para apoyar a los jugadores, emocionantes y gritando y prestando atención todo el tiempo.

Creo que los alirones, o las canciones, eran mi parte favorita, porque todos saben las palabras y las gritan con mucha fuerza y pasión. Lo más popular es "¡CHI CHI CHI, LE LE LE, Viva Chile!" y también se usa "Vamos, vamos chilenos, esta noche, tenemos que ganar" (Supongo que otros países y equipos lo usan también.) Mis amigos y yo continuábamos a usar el primero durante el resto de semestre a menudo y al azar. El otro alirón que se usaba mucho durante el partido era uno para burlarse de Bolivia - "No tiene mar (x3)" No sé quien empezó a usar este hecho como un insulto en los partidos de fútbol, pero me tinca muy bien porque Bolivia es el único país del continente sin costa, y Chile tiene lo más.

Gracias a este semestre y especialmente este partido, voy a ser hincha de Chile por el resto de mi vida. Nuestro próximo partido es este sábado, y espero que podamos ganar y asegurarnos de una posición el la Copa Mundial en 2010. ¡CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE VIVA CHILE!

What do you want to hear about?

As I go through these reflections, I'm writing on topics that were interesting to me, or that I think people who haven't traveled to Chile and/or South America would be interested in. If you have a suggestion, or something you're curious about, let me know and I'll write a response on it.

Reflections: La Católica vs. La Chile

If you remember from an early post about classes, our program offers us the opportunity at 2 different top Chilean universities. They are:

La Universidad Católica: a private, Catholic university, similar to Georgetown and structured more like US colleges in general, and attracts the top students in Chile, but is expensive, so the student body is pretty wealthy

La Universidad de Chile: a public university, 2nd only to La Catolica, still not cheap but known to attract a more liberal/hippie student body, especially in the humanities and liberal arts, and not all that well organized

I took 2 classes at each (3 at La Chile if you count belly dancing) and I'm so glad I did because they offered me a vastly different experience. Neither was better than the other, although many of my fellow abroad students only took classes at La Catolica because they got their course schedule out sooner and in a clearer manner. Neither is the "correct" or "real" Chilean experience, because they offer a glimpse at different parts of society that make up the people of Santiago.

At each school and each course, I made friends with other students; they were friendly and helpful and patient when I had various questions about the working of things. However, it did become obvious throughout the semester that the stereotypes of each student body were basically true. My La Católica classmates were wealthier, more conservative, and interested in a future that will enable them to continue the lifestyle they live now. My La Chile classmates were far more liberal, interested in reform/fighting the man in the academic environment and never hesitated to approve going on strike to prove their point.

Throughout the semester it was interesting hearing different perspectives on everything including career choice, Chilean society, politics, education reform, the treatment of the Mapuche people (indigenous people of Chile), and more. While I was more partial to the views expressed by the students at La Chile, I'm really glad I experienced all viewpoints and could see things from different perspectives.

If you have a chance for a similar, multi-facted experience, take it! It will only enrich the experience and add more dimensions than any part could on its own.

Reflections: Host Family Life

In the first 48 hours our group arrived in Chile before we met our host families, they were all we could talk about. Everyone was excited and nervous and anxious, myself included. I can say now though that living with a family was a great experience, and I'm glad CIEE makes it mandatory for everyone in our program.

On just an immersion level, living with a Chilean family is very effective. It really forces you to use Spanish, and to learn to express yourself, especially in situations where you may not have the vocab or grammatical structures to say what you want and have to figure out how to work around those difficulties. In terms of day-to-day issues, it would have been really difficult to do things like figure out how to navigate public transportation or how to get cold medicine without having a family to ask.

Additionally, living with a family taught me a lot about Chilean culture first hand. I got to eat home-made food every day, and tried traditional foods like empanadas, humitas, pastel de choclo (a corn dish), cazuela de ave (a chicken soup dish), and others, especially some interesting seafood, some of which doesn't even have an English translation, including mussels, oysters, cochayuyo (a rubbery seaweed), and locos (type of sea snail). I got to go to the weekend market and experience first hand why all the produce is so fresh and delicious. I got to meet family friends and learn even more about everyday Chilean life.

Most of all, my family took care of me. Of course it was a little awkward in the beginning, but I felt like I really fit in and was part of the family. My host mom, Margarita, put me at ease right away, always asked about my day, and was ready with food or ideas whenever I asked (and even sometimes when I didn't). My host dad, Pancho, didn't say much but was always ready to give me his opinion on things, tell me to take care of myself and behave when I went out at night, and give me a hard time the next morning. My host sister, Paula (age 26), is absolutely adorable, and it was really fun having a sister for the first time. We helped each other with homework (she was taking a post-grad class) and would chat about clothes, and she was always there to help out if my mom wasn't around.

I still keep in touch with my mom and sister - my mom even sent me a happy birthday email 2 months after the end of the program! I like knowing that they made a big impression on me, and vice versa. I can't wait to go back there and see them again one day!

Todavía tengo mucho que decir!

¡Ay! Me fui de Santiago hace dos meses, pero ya pienso sobre mi hogar chileno cada día. Tengo bastante pensamientos sobre mi experiencia que ya necesito escribir, recordar, y compartir. Les prometo que vengan.

That wasn't the end!

Wow. It's been 2 months since I left Chile, and more than that since my last post. As you may expect, the end of the semester there was awfully busy with final exams and papers, arrangements to go home, tying up loose ends in Santiago and saying my good-byes (sniff!).

Coming home was a whirlwind of readjustment, reconnecting with friends and family, and getting hit with reverse culture shock.

I'll be adding some new posts in the next couple days, including some final thoughts and more pictures of my travels. For now though let me say I had an AMAZING semester, met some truly fantastic people, and already am trying to figure out when I can go back.