Chickens and Tigers and Bears

Thursday our Chilean culture class went next door to the engineering school to learn how to dance the Cueca, the traditional Chilean dance sure to show up during next week’s festivities.  The Cueca imitates the mating ritual of that supreme bird, the chicken, with fluttering and stomping and twirling. Handkerchiefs are essential to get the flirtation right; women hold it delicately between their fingers and use it like a fan in front of their face or over their shoulder or on their head, men grab it and swing it round and round. It really is a game that the women play; maybe they’ll let the men get close, maybe not. It’s not as suave and sensual as the tango, but I think I like flirting chickens better.

Here's a video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTK9T9KMv5c

Friday I went to small group for the first time, and my Chinese friend came to youth group – it was the first time she’d ever seen a church. I think we made an ok impression. She’s coming again, at any rate. So that was fun to introduce her to something so important to me.

Yesterday Emily and I celebrated her birthday with Mexican food and trip to the zoo. We can report that Chilean Mexican food is pretty good, and that Quilpue actually has a pretty good collection of critters. I got us a little lost on the way to the zoo, but we asked around and found our way. We had prepared for a cold and rainy day, so when the sun came out we were sweating up and down the hills in our big fuzzy sweaters.  We also had our first hitchhiking experience; a lady saw us trudging along in our sweaters towards the zoo (the only thing in that direction) and offered us a lift with her and her friend. Since we were in a small town, at 2 in the afternoon, with two of us who knew where we wanted to go, and two rich-looking ladies in a nice car, I figured we were pretty safe. They chatted us up for the 5 minutes or so we had, and told us all about what critters we should expect to see and where. It just underscored what I’ve already been noticing – everyone here is super duper friendly when you need directions or information. I’ve never had anyone be gruff with me or refuse to talk to me, even with my pathetic Spanish.

We tromped all around the simple zoo, admiring the native species as well as the lions and gazelles. Chickens and cats wandered at liberty throughout the zoo, and the enclosures were surrounded with picnic benches and gardens. It felt a little like a collection from the 1800’s, and I couldn’t get the idea of Tourism and Coloniality from Ecolit class out of my head. Emily loves animals, and it was really fun to watch her chat up the geese or admonish the monkey who bonked into a metal sign and scared us half to death.

We walked back to town and bought ice cream to cool off. And at that moment I realized that I had lost my metro card, somewhere in the zoo. We went back, after hours, and the zoo keeper let us wander all over the dirt paths to see if it would turn up. We never did find it, but we did get to go the zoo twice, once for free and after hours, and we did walk off our icecream. Plus, I wasn’t much of a fan of my photo on my old card, so now I have a chance to redo it. And wouldn’t it be fun to imagine that the monkeys are going to go have a day out in Valpo with my card?

September

September is here! This is pretty exciting, since September is when stuff starts happening in Chile. The supermarkets are full of paraphernalia for Independence Day, the metros and collectivos are sporting red white and blue streamers, and everyone is starting to emerge to see the sun and make travel plans for the week’s vacation mid-month. Plus, ya know, spring and stuff.

I have made three new major acquisitions to my weekly routine: Zumba, volunteering, and a small group at church. I haven’t had the chance to actually go to small group as yet, so let’s talk about the other two. Zumba here seems a bit more intense than the version I’d seen at GU, maybe because of the teacher, but maybe also because it’s Latin America. No sé. Either way, the room is jam-packed with 40 or so people (finding a spot is a little competitive), and yelling is involved. Today I’m going with a Chinese friend, should be fun.

As for volunteering, my Gender teacher heard another girl and me talking about bothering the volunteer coordinator for information and volunteered to show us a day center literally a stone’s throw from the university that needs volunteers. Accordingly we marched over the next day to find them, and were shown a snug little building that offers showers, laundry, a kitchen, and workshops for homeless people by a very friendly and smiley volunteer coordinator. I went to work yesterday morning with another friend; it was surprisingly exhausting work to simply socialize with various participants in our wobbly Spanish. I talked with the director, and I think I am committed to leading a 2 hour improv theater workshop next week. In Spanish. I’m slightly terrified. It will be a challenge, but hopefully in a good way.

Yesterday in written Spanish class we talked about Chilean stereotypes. The stereotypical Chilean (especially in comparison with their neighbors) is serious, responsible, cold, formal, and really a drag at a party. Chileans actually like this image, according to a study, because their country has rules and things actually work like they’re supposed to. I also learned that Chile is environmentally much like an island, since the Andes, Patagonia, the Pacific, and the Atacama desert surround it. Thus the lack of terrifyingly poisonous animals or devastating diseases. Definitely not your stereotypical Latin American country. Also, bland food and cold temperatures. Very very not Mexico.

I have discovered two English words that have been adopted here with their pronunciation intact: Pie and Colgate. Only the ignorant call it Peeay or Colgahtay. I asked what a lemon pie was called and was told Lemon Pie. Got that one down.

Tourist Duties: Casa Blanca y Isla Negra

Well, I finally feel like I’m back at school: the calendar has filled up and the homework is piling on.

But that doesn’t mean that my duties as a foreigner can be ignored either. That means visiting. Today our program coordinator, Carolina, Emanuel (her bf), and Joel (our classy driver who makes me think of Higgins from Agatha Christie’s Poirot) took us to Casa Blanca, a famous wine valley about half an hour from Valpo. The first vineyard was up on a hill, so despite the clouds we had a nice view of the rows of grape vines. We had a good explanation of the harvest, fermentation, and storing of the wine (did you know good wine barrels made of French Oak coast 1,000 bucks a pop? Empty? And you can only use them 3 times? I was impressed). Then we moved onto the tasting, where we learned how to change and access the flavors of the wine by smelling, swirling, and taking in air as we drank. We tried a sauvignon blanc, a pinot noir, and a sauvignon cabernet (French is finally useful for something). I guess the cabernet is the most Chilean, but Emily and I both liked the blanc best. And now I feel ready to serve a dinner party, since I know at least 3 kinds of good wine and what kind of food they go with. Classy education.

We visited another vineyard briefly to do the same sans tasting (I think Carolina was testing stuff out to get a feel for future visits). The main building had a neat wooden and terracotta roof, and we stared a little bit at the Brazilean tourists before heading to Quisco for lunch and more adventures.

The beach town of Quisco is home to many restaurants with many seafood options. We enjoyed Abalone and clams before our main dishes. For me, I tried a crab casserole. Heavy, but quite good. With some coffee to round everything off we were ready to hit the main attraction of Quisco: Isla Negra, the home of Pablo Neruda.

As the Poetry Foundation says, Pablo Neruda is probably the most internationally famous poet that North Americans forget about. Probably because he was a communist. He also has a house in Valpo, but Isla Negra, where he spent his last days, is the more famous of the two. The stone walls of the house are the real deal, made of non-standard rocks with occasional additions of mosaics or glass bottles, and the interior is covered in beautiful wood paneling and furniture. And then there’s his collections. Whether it’s the mermaids from the prows of ships, funny-shaped bottles, shoes, hats, butterflies, Brazilian masks, or seashells, intriguing objects filled up the beautiful rooms overlooking the sea. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but take a look on Google Images, it’s worth seeing. Outside we ogled the view and saw Neruda and his wife’s graves. Very cool.

On our way home we stopped to see what used to be the world’s largest swimming pool. Which, ironically, is next to the ocean…oh mankind.

The drive back through the countryside was also beautiful, what with the sunset and the high dose of urban living we have been receiving. Hills, cows, horses, trees, flowers…did my heart good.

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!