1 Mes

1 month down, 3 to go. It’s crazy how fast this exchange is passing in comparison with Belgium. I will finish the weekend of Thanksgiving – seems soon.

I’m feeling more and more settled in here, but there is still so much I need to explore –there’s a lot to do in Valparaiso. I’ve been rather timid about it, as it’s seen as the big dangerous city around here, but I’m gonna grab some amigos and get serious about seeing the museums and hills and trying some local drinks and dishes. I’m also feeling more comfortable about being out at night here. Chile has lower violent crime rates than the US, so if anything you will get robbed or pickpocketed. That doesn’t scare me nearly as much as rape and murder, so I’m feeling more confident in the streets. One thing that I can’t seem to settle with is the dog population; I’m not the only gringa having nightmares. There’s something psychologically unsettling to see domestic animals everywhere as free agents possibly in bad shape or willing to rip up your shopping bags instead of belonging to someone and being safe friends. There are safe dogs as well, but the majority are loose and unwanted. Plus the creepy howling at night. That’s the stuff of Hound of the Baskervilles.

Saturday Emily and I went on our first Arcadia-organized trip, to Santiago. It felt a little awkward to be the only two students in a mini van with a driver and tour guide, but we had fun. We saw the Cathedral, the National Museum, Plaza de Armas, Cerro St. Cristobal (with a huge statue of Mary overlooking the city), Cerro St. Lucia, and the Mercado Central.

I really enjoyed the Cathedral, naturally, and the museum was a snapshot of Chilean history- we needed a lot more reading time in there to understand much of anything. There have been a lot of successive governments here. This year, Sept. 11, will be 40 years since the coup. My family is expecting big protests in Valpo.

Both of the cerros were beautiful, and we got a good view of the enormous city. Unfortunately the clouds were out so we couldn’t see the nearby Andes, but the skyscrapers were pretty extensive.

In Mercado Central we had salmon with mashed potatoes (good Chilean food). The guide told us that all salmon here is farmed. Oh dear. For dessert we had Mote con Huesillo, which is a dried peach soaked in sugar water with cooked  wheat in a glass. A little hard to eat politely, but quite good. Afterwards we went to a famous bar, La Piojera, just to look around. It was worth it – think old west saloon with crowds of young people holding terramotos, (earthquakes) another typical mixed drink that comes in all sorts of pastel colors.

A few bits of wisdom I have gathered:

Here novio/a = Fiancé and pololo/a = boy or girlfriend. An important difference.

I have found that I like the infamous Pisco Sour cocktail served here (Pisco, which is basically vodka made out of grapes, plus lemon juice and egg whites) but it is much too strong to drink quickly. Good thing I had friends with me to taste it and finish it off.

I was explaining to my host mom that Spokane has the poorest school district in the state, and that there’s a lot of poverty in Spokane. She worriedly asked how the people live, if they had land or something to farm on, or what…and then I realized that we were thinking about two very different kinds of poverty. I meant that poverty = working at WalMart your entire life, getting food stamps, and maybe living in the streets, while she meant poverty=starving to death, living in the streets, and receiving not a scrap of help from the government. The definition of poverty in the US is not the same as in the rest of the world.

My mom in Alaska just finished up her SLP degree and has had a couple job offers. My Chilean mom thinks it is cool, like most people, but for her it is even extraordinary – older people cannot get jobs here. Companies know that they will have to pay pensions and a higher salary to older people with more experience, so they will hire young people instead. There are no laws to stop this, or anything like that. So basically older people can’t work again if they stop.

Right now I’m researching La Quintrala, one of the worst women in Chile’s history, as a possible topic for a history paper. Catalina de los Rios y Lisperguer was a landowner in Santiago during the 1600’s who probably killed around 40 different people during her lifetime, including her father and many slaves. She never was condemned thanks to an influential family, but she’s quite the legend around here. She may have repented after an apparition of the Cristo de Mayo, but it’s not clear how she actually thought and bad women are still called quintralas after her. There’s been a movie and even an opera based on her, and I guess she shows up in Chilean literature a lot. I may have to get my Spanish up to snuff just so I can read about her.

Miscellany

I did some more money snooping, and my family is only gettng about 3 grand per semester (from me). So. That would mean 12 grand a year for them. I kinda suspect that there is more money coming from somewhere else then. Either that or we are living more cheaply than I realize.

I realized that I have been meaning to write about dogs, in Europe and here. In Europe a pure bred pet seems to be an opportunity to parade wealth in the streets; mutts aren't usually strutting alongside a well-dressed person. I don't even know if there are that many mutts going for walkies at all. Here in Chile, the difference is even more stark - if it's a purebred, it probably has an owner, unlike most of the pups living in the streets. I think a lot of the street dogs get fed or even given a blanket by people, but those people don't actually claim the dog or pay any vet bills. It's an interesting but perfectly logical status indicator.

For my history class we read up on the idea of Latin America, and how basically Latin America was so named in order to align the new creole ruling class and their new governments with the modernity of the French enlightenment. Makes sense, and as I look around I keep seeing more and more signs of Europe here. Whether it's the clothing, the transport, the electrical outlets, or the food, a lot of things feel euro to me. Definitely distinct, but more euro than USA American.

Also. Pigeons are here as well. Not that many, but they are here along with McDonald's and Coca Cola. I think Alaska might be the only place without pigeons that comes to mind...

Money, Metro, Movies

 -Mollie educated me a bit this week and solved the mystery of 'where the heck does my family's income come from?' in one fell blow: the average annual salary here is 18,000 US dollars, and since I am staying here a semester and probably paying about 5 grand for room and board, and there are two students living here (I don't know how much Stephanie pays) that would make 20 grand a year if my family hosts 2 students for 2 semesters each. Not shabby. My socks are blown off by the idea that by cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry for someone (as well as welcoming and fussing a bit like a good mom should) Chileans can make a quite decent living. I imagine this makes the market for obtaining foreign renters rather competitive.

-I realized I have not described the metro here. It's extremely simple, only one line, so thus only two options as to the direction you want to go. The trains arrive every 15 minutes at most (there are more during rush hours) and are very calm, clean, and orderly next to the micros. There are also usually musicians on the metro, and unlike their european counterparts they seem clean, respectful, and decently fed. In the dense areas the metro is underground, but it runs along the beach in the sunshine as well, so you can see the sunset or the sea lions while you zip along.

-Speaking of beaches, I have gone several times since I last wrote. The water is CHILLY ( I'm so punny) but a few people do surf with wetsuits and kids dash out bravely to splash around for a while. There are pelicans as well as gulls. Pelicans are HUGE. I haven't seen one up close yet, but they are impressive even from afar. There's an artesian fair here in Vina on the weekends, we just had time to browse Saturday but Mollie and I intend to return to loot the place. Lots of cheap and cool stuff. There was also sand art that I intend to investigate and photograph. The reason we didn't have time to do all of that was that Mollie had a soccer game. The field is a lot smaller than what GU has, and those ladies are BIG and bloodthirsty. They all may have had little kids watching with dad or grandma on the sidelines, but they were quite serious about the winning thing. It had been a long time since I'd seen a soccer game, so that was fun. And I got to see Mollie play.

In film class we have watched two more films so far: La Cienaga (the Swamp) and Madeinusa. They're both definitely well done, but not necessarily something to watch for fun. But...both super interesting, and I'm getting a better and better taste of Latin America as we go. We are also watching La Nana in my Chilean culture class (again, for me). It seems to be a classic here.

Important Questions

So I think I have left  several important questions unanswered about Chile.

1.     How’s the food?

      The food, as Fr. Maher would say, “bears an unfortunate resemblance to English cuisine.” In other words, everything is pretty bland, and if it’s not bland it’s salty. French immigrants (I heard…I’m skeptical) are the ones who impressed upon Chileans the importance of bread for every meal, but the influence seems to have stopped there. All the Chileans I have heard from insist that Chileans eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, but I honestly am not impressed by their greenery consumption. Markets here are full of fresh produce, and every household is stocked with avacadoes and such, but las verduras don’t usually make an appearance for breakfast or dinner, and shine briefly in a minor feature at lunch. Cabbage, lentils, beans, boiled eggs, and hotdogs all seem to be staples in my house.

            That said, there are perks to eating in Chile. The fruit and vegetables are really good compared to Alaskan fare, and the plethora of bread is high quality. Pastries are super cheap here, you can get a donut or manjar-covered cookie for around 50 cents. Street vendors also sell raisins, peanuts, and all kinds of candies for small prices. My written Spanish class took a field trip to a local market, where I bought some raisins for the first time – they were the best raisins I have ever eaten. Fresh, chewy, huge golden delights….This may prove dangerous to my waistline…

2.     What do people wear?

Fashion feels like a less-preppy Europe. People are more willing to wear bright lipstick or colorful pants, but leather and darker jackets are still a staple. A lot of people wear American sweatshirts (the thrift stores seem to be full of gringo student cast-offs) and clothing can be more beat-up or casual without being looked down upon. So it’s a scruffier Europe – none of the American glitz and plethora of accessories and new things.

3.     Sports?

One Word: Futbol. Aka soccer. Yesterday THE game was on between Chile and Iraq; Chile creamed Iraq 1 to 6, but despite the easy win the university cafeteria was packed with students glued to the tv above the microwaves. A classmate and I used the microwaves, and had more fun watching the crowd watching the tv than actually watching the game. Chile scored, everyone let out a yell and then immediately went back to the serious business of staring xrays through the tv. This was not the superbowl, this was not an appropriate moment to speak or distract from THE GAME. We ate lunch outside.

And 4. what did you do yesterday? 

Yesterday a group of kids from the church had a surprise birthday party for one of us adopted gringos. We gathered at an apartment, arranged our little potluck contributions (I’m glad they have this tradition here, Europe is missing out), put on crazy hats, and lay in wait for Stephen to be lured to the spot. He was pretty wide-eyed when we all yelled ‘sorpresa’ and gave him a hat too. Conni made ‘pulpas’ or squid, as part of the buffet. Pulpas, in this case, are hotdogs cut into sections and then each section is cut crossways part way through, making the sausage into a squid shape. As it cooks the cross-cut sections curl upwards, so they really do look like little squid. To eat them you dunk them in cheese or eat them plain. Kinda fun. After munching on the grand assortment of junk food, we had fun playing charades (with easy Spanish vocab words…they went easy on us) and then we played mafia. It was so good to laugh and be a part of a group. And we didn't have to worry about getting home too early because today is a holiday for the Assumption of the Virgin. Yay Catholicism!

Literal and Metaphorical Explosions

Today a gas station exploded in downtown Viña. As far as I know no one has died, but some people are wounded. I was in Valpo, but my host mom and sister heard the explosion all the way at the house – it must have been pretty powerful. If no one dies it will be a miracle, the station was at a busy intersection.

Today in Gendered History of Latin America (not sure how to shorten this name…our professor is calling it LAW for Latin American Women, but it’s technically gendered history, which is not feminist history?) we discussed an article detailing the categories of barbarism drawn up by Bartolommeo de Las Casas to make the argument of a racial definition of Latin America. This in itself was rather interesting, since Las Casas is usually held up as the exception to the Spanish exploitation and discrimination.  One of his categories, the 2^nd type of ‘barbarian,’ indicated that the people in question had no ‘literal locution’, that is, no Latin, alphabet, or written literature. As the student in charge of leading a discussion, I thought this provoked some interesting questions. I also unintentionally hit a trigger point for our professor. I expressed some disappointment with American history in general because of a lack of written records for much of the continents’ human history; she told me to be careful of negating the value of oral tradition and listed many examples of pictographs and extensive mathematical accomplishments in Mesoamerica. Her points are valid, I certainly don’t want to suggest that indigenous Americans were not complex or intelligent, but I still have questions about this gap between written and other history. Am I simply seeing a gap between oral culture and literate culture (insert Walter J. Ong’s work here) and exhibiting my bias as a literate person? Is it like the gap between the oral culture of the poor and literate culture of the affluent in the US, magnified by a language barrier and lack of cultural similarities?  Or is there an actual difference in specificity and quantity of information between written and oral histories? How does history as modern, scientific, and very literate discipline fit in here?

The Bible might be an example of either of these problems – many of the discrepancies and hazy details are blamed on oral transmission for centuries, but it is because of the strength of these oral accounts that the Bible exists as it is at all. Myth contains truth, oral tradition certainly has value, and archeology can put a lot of pieces together – but from a modern historians’ perspective, written, contemporary texts seem more direct and specific sources, even if their content is mythological. In the Bible’s case, the question of orality (and the large and complex backstory of written codifications to contend with) doesn't particularly bother me because my purpose with the Bible is not to construct a history of the Palestine region and its people ; I am concerned with a completely other form of communication. The Bible also can be used for historical study, but usually in conjunction with other written records and evidence. For a historian trying to construct a comprehensive understanding of a past people, isn’t it easier to study China or Europe, where written records exist alongside oral, mathematical, artistic, and archeological history than to study ancient America, where only the latter forms of evidence exist? The destruction of much of indigenous American culture, people, and language doesn't make this problem any clearer. I am afraid of spouting racist or culturally insensitive views, but so far I can’t come to the conclusion that all other forms of information can entirely make up for a lack of a written language as a source for historical study. To cut to the chase: can I have a preference for written sources with any logical basis, or am I simply upset about not having one type of historical source that is traditionally relied upon in the literate world? If I hold to the former am I agreeing with Las Casas' distinction between a type of 'barbarism' and 'civilization'?  I think I need to read more about Walter J. Ong, SJ. This man might have answers. For now my head and view of history is exploding. If anyone has something to say I'd appreciate some conversation on the topic.

Video on Valpo

Here's a short video that gives you a good taste of Valparaiso. Think of the skeletons as a representing the past of the city as the principal port of the Pacific.

Why?

Every day I wake up, revel in the warmth of my bed, and then about the same time I realize how frigid the air outside my nest is, the thought hits me: “I am in South America…what the *#$! am I doing here?!?!” Honestly, I can’t really answer completely, and neither have I been able to shake the feeling that I really am in that unpredictable, unstable, untamed continent where people lose eyes and legs and pick up parasites and don’t come back from. And then I have to calm myself down, since that’s exaggerated and too simple. I think. There is also a large difference between, say, Mexico City and Viña del Mar.

 Even so, Chile is the most dangerous place I have ever lived. Rome was a bit rough around the edges as well, but Italy did not have a military government/dictatorship a mere 40 years ago, nor does money get checked for legitimacy if it’s more than 10 bucks. It’s one thing to know about countries that openly shoot people for disagreeing with the government and quite another to find yourself inside of one. My host mom, who leans left, would say that police shootings still happen to Mapuche Indians, even though the Chilean carabineros are one of the most trustworthy police forces in South America. It doesn’t help that all the adults in charge of me reiterate often that it is important not to carry more than 10 $ in cash and to say goodbye my host mom says ‘be careful’. (Chilean mamas are notorious for fussing, however). It is also incredibly dirty. Having more dogs than people in a city takes a toll on the environs, and the public trashcans vie with the street for popularity. The roads here have also seen better days, since Valpo had quite a setback after the Panama Canal was built. I like that everything functional is used until it is simply not functional anymore, rather than being replaced when something new or more aesthetic is available, but it also makes for a more disheveled appearance in the cities. That said, I am having a hard time judging how dangerous the real Valpo and Viña are – am I haunted by the bogeymen of stereotypes from a pampered society or am I a dumb gringa that needs to stay on her toes? Probably both. For now, maintaining a constant level of vigilance is my MO outside the house.

 What AM I doing here? I could be safely snuggled up in Gonzaga U taking classes with people like me, learning from excellent professors, eating normal food, and spending time with my loved ones. BUT I am finding a whole different way of looking at the world, and I am finding that seeing the places Europe and the US has exploited for centuries and continues to exploit is a lot harder on my conscience than reading a history book. I am seeing a whole new people that survive in this crazy place and think it’s normal. There’s some Spanish bookshelves growing in my brain as well, but I think the most valuable thing I’m going to do here is overturn the bookshelves about history and culture and rearrange and rewrite some of the books. Those are my reasons for now; I think others will be forthcoming.

Tidbits

Both China and Chile have Kids’ Day, just like Mothers’ or Fathers’ Day. Presents are involved.

 80 percent of cars are stick shift, mostly because automatic transmissions cost more to replace

No one resents giving change like they do in Italy. How refreshing.

 Tipping 10% is customary.

 From what I can tell, expensive backpacks are what make gringo students really stick out, besides the pasty whiteness.

Chileans are the masters of Tupperware – in all the families I’ve heard about, there are simply cupboards and cupboards of Tupperware and the fridges are packed. ¡Vive los restos!

 Argentineans are even touchier than Chilenos, apparently. Grown men kissing each other hello is a recent development here, but quite old in Argentina. Argentineans also respect their elderly more, according to my host mom.Chileans are still pretty touchy.

 7 million people= population of Chile, and the majority is concentrated in Santiago

No one is shy about kissing quite passionately in public, and no one else seems embarrassed when a couple, young or old, starts making out in the street.

 A high tax on books = land of photocopies. It’s great, I didn’t have to buy a single text book!

Homeschooling is illegal here. That makes me quite the rebel, I guess.

 They have the same sirens here as in the US - none of the European wailing, they've got screaming sirens.

 I am having big people problems here. I bonk my head in the kitchen on all the cupboards, on the stove hood, and on the shelves. I'm the same height or taller than a lot of the men here, and I'm kinda huge for a woman. This, plus not speaking well and being cold, has led to me hunching my shoulders more than I ever have in my life. I'm going to be a hunchback when I come home.

 Red lipstick is popular here. Looks good with dark complexions, but I think I'm going to get into the groove despite my pasty whiteness.

Weekend Snippets

Things I have jumped dramatically at: micro horns and my noise-making stuffed cat keychain. Yes, I’m a legal adult. Things I recognize: The route to town, my bus stop, and graffiti on micros. Hey old friend! Things I found: A thrift store!!!! That’s enough for an entire category. Friday I cooked lunch for my family: meatloaf, baked potatoes, deviled eggs, broccoli, and apples with cheese. I was planning on making Split Seconds for dessert, but it turns out that I bought two enormous sticks of shortening instead of butter. Only in Argentina does ‘manteca’ mean ‘mantequilla’. So instead I made peach cobbler, which turned out fine despite my lack of baking powder. Just a bit gooier than usual. I was also happy that everything I made was exotic for them – apples and cheese really fascinated them. Apples and fruit is more for dessert, I guess. Gabriela and Fernanda ate everything up though, and insisted that it was good. Friday night we went out to eat with Gonzalo, to Concon. We drove along the coast just as the sun was setting – the clouds turned pink and the cliffs glowed. We went to a place known for its fried empanadas (very typical Chilean dish, baked or fried – it’s kinda like a much better hotpocket). The empanadas were quite tasty, and I discovered that each empanada filling has a different shaped shell so that they can be told apart. Pretty nifty.

Saturday I met up with the other half of my program, Emily, to wander around Viña. We checked out Quinta Vergara, a beautiful big garden near the center of town. It was rather chilly and gray, but we had fun looking at various blooms and trees. A Mr. Vergara founded Viña and fought in the Pacific War, and his palace is now a museum. It’s under renovation at the moment, but we took a good look at the outside of the place.

Saturday night I watched tv with Fernanda. It seems like a lot of programs here are dubbed from English. It must be so frustrating to never have the natural cadence of the language match the acting. I think it makes it a little harder to understand too, but it’s worth working at. So far I have seen a couple crime shows, Princess Diaries, ads for Despicable Me 2, and a film about Baltimore Firefighters that was sad. Fernanda is quite sweet, and we exclaim together over some things, and if I miss an important piece of the plot she doesn't mind filling me in. Sunday I went to church, which was again very much like Newcomm. They had a kids’ skit, which was pretty good and definitely cute. The youth in the church are very welcoming, and this week I’m planning on going to youth group – I think this church is going to be my social salvation. At night I went with Mollie and a couple friends from church to check out the port in Valpo. The sunset was beautiful, and I love all the colors of the boats and buildings. We went up an acensor too, to look down on the city. Afterwards we went back to Viña and went to a fancy little café for something to drink. It reminded me of Vho – spendy with mediocre food. But it was warm and pretty and the waiter was fun. I tried Leche con Plàtano, basically a thin smoothie with milk and banana. It was quite good. Today I’m off to classes. Let’s go talk about the earth and learn to write some Spanish!

1 Semana

I have now lived a grand total of one week in Chile, and attended class for a full week. It’s also a new month. How shocking, even though it seemed like this traveling everywhere thing is eternal, it really does obey the laws of passing time! School: So far I like all my professors. My Chilean Spanish teacher is a tad crazy and I like it (he’s a lot like Todd Marshall, if any GU people read this). That’s to say, he rejects the orthodox idea that formal language is more important than the informal, and if we’re not going to use it here, it’s not worth our time. In Contemporary Latin American Film we watched La Nana, (The Maid) a recent Chilean film. I liked it, and I’m excited to talk about it next week. I have this class for 3 hours Wednesday morning, and I’m glad we’ll be watching films instead of doing calculus; I have 4.5 hours of classes afterwards. There’s some French students in my classes, and I try not to smirk too much when they get out their little rulers and make every single written letter perfect and in different colors…just like the Belgians. I scribble as per usual. I’ve been chatting and learning with and from my host mom, Gabriela, all this week. We’ve had some pretty interesting conversations, and now I understand a few things about Chilean life. For example, heating is super expensive here because the government uses the high fees to subsidize heating for people in the colder, southern regions. People here pay 2,000 pesos, people in the south pay 150 pesos. That explains the frigid interiors here. I also know now that –po is randomly added onto words here and that Chileans eat their s’s. for instance, gracias sounds like gracia. The student protests are still going strong down here. They have several goals, including free tuition, but the most important is that the government renew the scholarships that they recently failed to renew. These vecas are the main source of scholarships for the students in Chile, and the government didn’t renew the usual number of payments this year. Thus, in this second semester of the year, there’s not too many people at the many universities in Viña and Valpo. Gabriela wondered why Americans don’t protest for lowe education costs. The reason I gave was that we are not united enough to do so. Every university is under different powers, what with the State schools and private schools, and then residency changes price again. We just ask the Federal Government for more debt and don’t think about anything past the immediate need. I don’t know if that reason is complete, but that’s what I came up with. In Argentina Universities are prestigious and free. You just have to pass an entrance exam. I’ll probably be a bit more grumbly when I see my next bill from Gonzaga. Another good moment I had with Gabriela: she made sopapillas pasadas, or sopapillas with the wonderful honey stuff that’s typical of Chile. Plus cloves and orange peel. It’s delicious, of course. She was explaining to me that the portable furnace was heavy, or pesada, and I immediately connected the new word with the name of the desert. Made sense, heavy sopapillas. Well, that’s true, but not the same word. We had a good laugh. Another fun fact about desert: Manjar, or dulce de leche, is the staple of Chilean desserts. They use it to hold cakes together, they smoosh cookies together, they drizzle it over pastries. ¡Que rica!