laudry list2

what i've learned so far.

family- it's been hard at times to face to face with the reality of family interconnectedness down here. people are far more willing to accept one another for who they really are just because they are family... nada ma'... many gringos have noticed this and commented on it. someone put it pretty aptly... (summarizing) families here just accept individuals for who they really are rather than trying to judge, criticize and control individual members on (what i believe to be) a rather subconscious level.

language- it's been interesting to see that, the more i am invested and aware of the culture and language, the more i can understand my student's comprehension errors. why they say "especial" instead of "special" or when they use "inclusive" when it entirely doesn't make any sense.

sexism- over 60% of women in chile report abuse. there are also skyrocketing numbers of women with std infections/aids due to husbands having sex with other men (msm).

great deals- the pricing/ sale system works according to the chilean system down here. things are priced the best during the season in which the item is popular as contrasted with the system in the US where things are more inexpensive outside of the season. chilean mentality correlates best to in-the-moment thinking and gringos are notorious for planning ahead.

gringo style space- really enjoying the gringo-style space i am able to obtain at starbucks. i know it sounds bad but at least at starbucks you can be guaranteed someone isn't going to find a reason to bump up against you. the furniture is big enough to keep strangers at bay.

walking with chileans- still a problem, i'm not going to lie. i can't stand it. but at least i've found a method for combating the problem. step one, show no fear. at a distance of about 15 feet away, the chilean will look up at you to see if you are going to waiver in your stance. you merely look around, relaxed and composed. step two, DO NOT look to move anywhere but straight ahead. though this is not necessary the chilean will languish with you until the last moment, where you will brush up against one another, in a very unnecessary fashion (yes i know) but at least this will keep you from doing a ridiculous back and forth dance two feet from each other that will make you want to scream. scott's heard they know we're foreign by the way we walk.

more similarities between chile and the us- despite capitalism, there are many similarities between chile and the us. both are isolated countries, limited in their second language abilities. both are rather (on the whole) ignorant of international news/major events/issues. many people in both countries have little desire to leave, on any kind of permanent basis, their home country.

generally speaking chileans are great people. they're honest, helpful, and though not outgoing, they are very friendly. i've really enjoyed my time here, enjoyed the people i've met and the experiences i've had. duoc definitely wasn't my gig but i enjoyed the ability to hold a student visa and not to have to leave the country for a year. i can't wait to travel and i apologize for my lack of blogging as of late. it's been hard to pull together.

hopefully next time you hear from us we'll be in the south of chile, still having access to all these delicious avocados.

fleites- kid killers

i saw this scary ass kid the other day... because i don't have a picture i'll have to draw one... picture this... no more than 14 years old, walking stridently down the avenue with a large plastic bag with goods slung over his shoulder (goods he had stolen). dirty face, he was smoking a cigarette like james dean, he had dirty short fingernails, dark and fearless eyes. as he walked by me, he sent a huge smacking kiss my way (disgusting, sucking, suckling kind of kiss that dudes here tend to think is hot to send towards the lad-ies). anyway, the natural reaction for me is to flip them off (yes folks, even here), but this kid was different. i kind of feared for my life with just the thought of reacting to him. there was something very eerie about it. like he would have whipped out his knife if i had reacted to him at all. there is some sort of ancient, hardened-ness to the kids here who are accustomed to the "ways of the world." in their face is a sort of "try me, i'm not scared of shit, i've seen death."

anyway, 30 seconds later i thought all the better of my decision as i remembered that two weeks earlier two kids got arrested (temporarily) for assaulting and killing a vendor for the equivalent of 8 US dollars. the carabineros arrested him and kept them several hours but then had to release them back in the streets, completely free, as there exist no laws to prosecute them (because of their ages) to the extent of their crimes.

which of course, entices several questions... is every society better off with a juvenile system? does it really reduce recidivism rates?? is the US juvenile system just the first step to inducting young adults into an already enormously large prison population? what do you think?

protests in the us

a while ago i was listening to a broadcast about the protests from the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. if you see the videos/pictures from this thing you will be amazed at the militarized presence that was in attendance there. for the first time the US military used their LRAD (sound cannon) on US soil. this thing emits a sound above 300 decibels and previously had been used in the iraq war. and for what? sure it seems like the protest was chaotic, people everywhere, yelling, screaming but the military presence crushed protesters like they did in the gop/dem nat'l conventions.

i've seen people throw rocks, launch sticks, glass bottles and whatever else down here. every year the public sector strikes, demanding a percentage increase to their wages. and when one person protests, everyone else starts. one day i saw public workers, santa isabel (a grocery store) workers and some other unidentified, yet organized, group (all within a block of each other). point is... the protest spirit is alive and in full-effect here... as it is NOT in the USA.

the carabineros definitely quell protests as they become loud or out of control but i've also seen the police get their asses kicked by fleites. i couldn't imagine what US police would do to someone who was legitimately throwing serious blows in their direction. in chile, people join the protests on their lunch break, informally. others, fully invested and organized go for the whole day. those striking, of course, aren't working at all. is it fair to say protests are open and available to chileans on a scale they aren't to americans?

there are examples from both that disprove my points (US protestors who become violent, carabineros who apply excessive force when it is hardly called for) but the main feeling remains. the culture surrounding protest in chile is much more the in-thing and certainly less-militarized. the fact we have gotten to the point where we're using sound cannons really highlights the fact that not only does the US government STILL subdue the masses but is now literally saying, shut up! we don't want to hear you speak. don't you think?

jazzy jazz

we love nuñoa's jazz club. and in general i have rediscovered that i love jazz. i don't know if it was those louis armstrong tapes from college or what but i really enjoy the beats, the vibes, everything... there's like a 20 minute video that needs to be edited and we don't have time for that now :) so i'll just give you some pics...

mcdonalds drive-thru in chile

scott was walking up to where the cars would be ordering at a drive-thru.

in reality, this was inside next to a mall (but more like in the parking garage)





check out the fries, they are so tiny.

soccer in the park

saturday in the park.... you bring the steak, ill bring the hot dogs.... and we won't eat them.

a couple of people got nailed in the face during pichanga but everyone survived.

it was a fun game. caitlin and i decided to set up a legitimate team photo.

femicida

can you imagine? an ad campaign sponsored by the government to help combat domestic violence?? many attribute president michele bachelet with actually addressing the issue. will it continue with the election of frei, piñera or whoever else? well see... round 1 of elections are today.

xenophobia?

last weekend was rather bizarre. it started on friday morning with a drunken man in our building telling us that "gringos are destroying latin america," followed by scott being surrounded and intimidated a day later by a bunch of chilenos practically poking him, saying "gringo, gringo." lastly, as a bunch of us "gringos" were enjoying a delicious breakfast at an australian joint, a british couple very audibly was mocking our accents. "ahh americans, i hate their accents" (something to that effect). i know brits are just like top notch linguists but i think my accent is quite fine. in fact, it is not uncommon to have people guess i'm from somewhere other than the states... nice huh? (we are loud as hell though, can't deny that one)

there's a lot to be said for a general dislike and distrust of white foreigners but to assume people have no differing opinions from their governments is wrong. (of course, all this is too much for a rebuttal with a drunk man at 12pm)... it's definitely popular to not like estadounidenses (USA-ians/Americans) if you are not from the 50-state union but sometimes it's a little much.

south america has historically been fucked by specifically the united states but to my knowledge, chile, a lot less so. i wouldn't have said this before i moved down here. before i came i would have said, well the US helped put allende out on the street. now, i'm not so sure. surely the US covertly/overtly supported the overthrow but i think the military's upheaval was a long time coming. many people were scared about what allende planned to do with the presidency. he was too socialist, didn't provide enough incentive for the working-class and many say, he was just all wrong. furthermore, chile has been able to stand on its own pretty well against the US. ricardo lagos (former chilean president) told the US to stuff it when asked for troop support in iraq. Chile is the only south american country to hold a trade agreement with the united states. they also export almost half of the world's supply of cobre (copper).

many people we spoke with about the incident merely referred to the drunken man with a wave of the hand and a "ahh weon" (indicating the man was just an asshole). i'm not trying to give the impression that these actions have been some kind of trend or anything, chileans in general are tremendously welcoming and thoughtful.

interestingly though... in many ways, ignorant, close-minded chileans are the same as close-minded americans in the united states. mostly. they're scared and feel threatened by foreigners... in their minds, peruvians are taking their jobs in the same way americans think mexicans are robbing them of jobs. there's also a similarity in the amount of news that americans and chileans, respectively, receive about the rest of the world. alida recently traveled to peru and said how in peru she read about chilean news, it was ubiquitous, but in chile she was hard-pressed to find any information about peru. this one-sided view is the same in the US regarding other countries. hell! we're lucky to get actual information on the national level in the US that's devoid of hyperbole and emotion.

if you want to talk about american culture permeating chile then don't eat at mcdonalds and don't watch hollywood films... if you want to talk about US policies affecting small countries, be glad you don't live in bolivia and if you want to have a discourse about the people's struggle against their governments worldwide, i'm all ears.

chici-tito

don't let the size fool you, delicious...

interview

so about a month ago, i was on the side of a busy thoroughfare in santiago, waiting for a friend when two men (one with a microphone and one with a tv camera) approached me and thrust the microphone into my face. caught completely off-guard, i knew this was my moment of truth. how fluent was i going to sound in the next 5 seconds? the pressure was on... and generally with language and me, when the pressure is on i rarely perform very well. this time i nailed it!

side note- anonymous chileans, i would say in general, don't have too much tolerance for people who don't speak the language. if a chilean stops to ask you, a gringo, for directions (which does happen sometimes) and you stumble initially, they are more inclined to kind of walk away rather than repeat the question and give you another chance. additionally, they tend to correct your language pretty regularly, even if their critique is not requested.

all i remember hearing in those first two seconds after recognizing the microphone was "viste" and "ayer". if these 9 months have done anything for my spanish, it has been my listening comprehension that has vastly improved (or at least using key words to fill in my understanding of the greater whole). in order to buy myself time to figure out what the hell they were talking about, i tried to use what i heard to complete the puzzle. to start, i knew i hadn't seen anything notable yesterday and responded "no". when asked why, i said i had worked a lot the day before. then he gave me the key i needed! he asked me if i follow politics. i said, "chilean politics?" he said yes... ahhh yes! the guys were doing a street poll of last night's political debate for the presidential election coming up on dec. 13.

well i told him no, not really all i knew was there was an election and two major candidates, frei and piñera. he then said, semi-inquisitively, "you're chilean?" WOW! i couldn't believe it. no i said! do i look chilean? and he, perhaps embarrassed by his question, said well no, you aren't. i was so surprised. most times, people will randomly start shouting any english they know at me, no one thinks i'm chilean here. i've joked i want to use the very small amount of french or whatever i have to use that instead, and throw them off of thinking i'm from the states or england or whatever.

so the brief conversation concluded. i was sure to ask him what the taped interview was for. he responded.. a certain local television station... i could've been on tv! i never watched so i really don't know but i highly doubt it. i didn't have anything inspiring to add. i then watched as the crew moved quickly away from me onto their next target. and judging by body language, i would say no one was thrilled about being interviewed...

in the days that followed i talked to a few other people about what happened that night. apparently frei (comparable to a US democrat) took a rather ideal opportunity to discuss change and strategy (yes, presidential debates outside the US are not like reality tv shows- scripted and fake) and squandered it when he accused piñera of insider trading of LAN's stock (something he has already been cleared of, after paying a fine). in fact, the lady in this video outright accuses frei of "planting a polemic" into the evening and many say he ruined the debate. ruined the debate? that's the stuff debates thrive on in the US. they're rife with misinformation and outright lies. remember sarah palin's claims? anyway, apparently people who watched the debate said that frei looked embarassed for the remainder of the evening.

we'll see what happens here as they elect a new president. apparently their system is designed to have two elections, one run-off and one final one in january. many are saying the country will swing closer to the right and elect piñera but he'll have a tough time in january as the uber liberals who voted for the third-party candidate in december will have no choice but to vote for frei after their candidate is eliminated.