Into the woods, and back.

Our campsite

Fast forward a little bit and Monse, my housemate, has left to go home to Mexico. We spent a week saying goodbye with asados, parties, dinners and finally a weekend camping. After much research and debate we settled on a place that isn't too far from Valparaiso. A friend of Monse's from her photography class is a volunteer with an organization called Chinchemen that is an environmental conservancy group, similar to Saratoga P.L.A.N and Five Rivers in upstate New York.
http://chinchimen.org/

So we crammed into a car, bought more supplies than necessary and headed off to the woods. This place is so heart-achingly beautiful that I don't feel like words exist to describe it.
The coast

It was so nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city for two days and breathe fresh air while sitting next to the ocean. This place is made of rolling green hills that end in cliffs, which lead down to the ocean. There are beaches made of pebbles, with caves tucked back in the cliffs. We were lucky enough to see two 'nutrias' or sea otters, playing in the waves and eating lunch. We also got to see a Peruvian Booby, which was pretty cool. The organization has a deal with local farmers, who take care of the land, but can also use it for their livestock or agriculture. Consequently, I woke up to the sound of cows mooing a mere five feet from our tent. Life is good.

Sea vegetation

After our return to Valpo I spent a few days trying to get more interviews set up. I have had little success with this, but have sent out lots of emails and met more people that it all looks very promising. My SIP research has sort of fallen into a rhythm of one week of interviews, one week of planning, etc. To be fair I was also pretty distracted this week with a visit from an old friend. Someone I haven't seen in 6 years. I just want you to picture that for a second, I still had braces the last time we saw each other. I met my friend Nico at Spanish Camp about 6 years ago and we've kept in touch ever since. He's currently living in Buenos Aires and decided to come to Chile for winter vacation. It was really awesome to see him, and try to cram a lifetime of Valpo into three days. I think we successfully hit all the highlights and then some.
Last lunch for Monse

We went to a pena (the traditional Chilean party) so that Nico could see what it's like, got lost in the cerros, had an asado, drank Chilean wine, went to the market, cleaned the house (guests are treated very differently in this country...), stopped by my host family's house, and caught up on the last 6 years. It's funny how time flies by, but it also seems like nothing has changed.

The weather finally gave out after a few days of sun, and the rain has settled in again. I can't complain. It's a good excuse for me to sit in my bed and recover from my cold.
Nico and Me at la casa de la china

Also, I feel like no matter how hard things get here, I am content. More than that, I'm pretty consistently happy to be where I am, and I think that's a very good thing (don't worry I'm still coming back to the states).
House updates:

We have rats. However, Sambo is enjoying killing them so I think we'll be okay. At least he now has a way to channel his energy.
Sambo realizing his full potential by climbing up the bulletin board to the ceiling

On Monday a guy from France is moving into Joaco's old room. He is a giant, blonde man, who I think will be an interesting addition to the house.
We all miss Monse.
I successfully made lemon bars. I decided to make them for two reasons, we needed dessert and we are out of gas for the estufa, so I used the oven to heat up the kitchen while we all crammed in there and watched a movie. If that's not multi-tasking I don't know what is.

Quote of the week: "It's a process"

Housemates writing on GIANT Chilean flag for the march
Casa central shut down in support of protest

Process as defined by Merriam-Webster : a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result 'the process of growth'

Over the last few weeks I've been here undergoing my own series of processes including re-learning the language, learning how to efficiently dress myself for indoors and outdoors, learning that a SIP is an incredibly vague something that everyone talks about but nobody really knows what it is. I've also been privy to witness a national movement here in Chile for free education, which can be summed up only as 'It's a process'. And as with all processes things are going slowly, with short bursts of productivity here and there. (How do you think my adviser will feel about that explanation?)

To further distract you from my failure as a researcher I will fill you in on the education movement instead. (Although to be fair this movement did help me decide to focus on the education part of child welfare policy, thus eliminating one of a billion potential things to focus on) Basically, the students started the movement and now others have joined, which I think will help contribute to the legitimacy of the cause. Giant flag makes an appearance in the march

They are asking the government to nationalize the copper industry, and use the profit to pay for education. About 2/3 of the copper industry is internationally owned, and Allende's nationalization of copper in the 70s was a success (which was not what I had previously thought, but seems to be the general opinion here). From people I've talked to there is some skepticism to whether or not this will work. Some believe that Chile doesn't have the capacity to manage it's own copper industry, while others believe the amount of money they will make would seriously bolster the economy. In the 70s when there was Giant puppet tries to play with giant flag

a vote on the nationalization of copper it was 100% unanimous (redundant?) and that is the only time that has ever happened in Chile (or the world for that matter). Recently some copper miners went on strike to support the movement. The cost of 5 years of university (the average time to complete a carerra, major) is about 10,000 US dollars. I literally laughed out loud the first time I heard that. That is legitimately a 1/4 of what the average US student pays per year for a private college. My housemates nearly had a heart attack when I told them how much I pay, with scholarships. However, it is important to keep in mind that the average annual salary here is about 7000 US dollars and not so long ago education was free for everyone. I think that is what really caused the movement to get going, if it was free, then why not again? why not now?

Currently there is a march every Thursday here in Valpo (and I believe around the country), and I most certainly did not participate in the most recent one. Nor did I carry a giant Chilean flag down the streets with my housemates. I definitely didn't set foot in that march, ever, because if I had I would tell you that it was one of the most inspiring moments of my life and it felt incredible to watch thousands of people, of all ages fighting for something they want. I would tell you that the US hasn't seen something like this since the Tea Party (not the political party, the actual event). I would tell you that I don't know if they will get everything they are asking for, but you can't say they aren't trying their best and giving everything they got to this cause. That's what I would tell you if I had gone to the march. Which I didn't.Lorena cooking the awesome asado on our sidewalk

I recently spent the day with my host cousin Carlos in his apartment, talking about life and my thesis. He was really helpful in narrowing down my ideas and telling me things I needed to clarify or further investigate. I have two interviews this week. Hopefully. I was supposed to have one this morning, but in Chilean style I waited 1.5 hours to be told to come back on Thursday. I was thinking about how Cory would die in this country, nobody sticks to a schedule and don't even think about showing up on time.

Other goings on:
Chile was tragically eliminated from the Copa America. It was a sad day here.
I had an asado with my housemates and friends on the sidewalk in front of our house.
My body has adjusted to the 'stay up late, sleep late' schedule quite easily.
I went to a cueca bar on Saturday (the Chilean equivalent of a line-dancing country bar), and pitifully attempted to dance cueca, convinced a guy I was from Russia and was rejected by an old man after he saw how poorly I danced cueca. I had a great time though.
Made friends with the vegetable vendor at the bottom of the hill.
Found a micro that takes me from downtown Vina directly to my house, win!
Ate Bravissimo today with Rachel and Alejandro.
Commandeered the estufa, heater, while my housemates were gone, so I can't see my breath in my room anymore.
Had many, many serious conversations with friends and housemates about politics, the environment and which cat video on youtube was funnier.
Continued my musical education with Violeta Parra:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW3IgDs-NnA
Was told I couldn't leave the house because it was sprinkling outside. Chileans don't do rain.

While we don't have central heating, the middle of winter is still sunny and warm during the day. Rachel and Alejandro at my favorite sea-lion site.

Overall, I would say the 'processes' are going pretty well down here.

It's a small world after all...

A Chilean couple watching the soccer game

I guess Disney got it right, the world seems insurmountable sometimes, but then you have those small world moments that make you feel right at home. One of the many I had recently was during my second 4th of July asado when I was sitting next to an American who looked vaguely familiar. He turned and said to me 'This is going to sound so weird, but did we meet on a plane in Peru?' I totally freaked out, because we had! Back in January on our flight from Cusco to Lima we met a kid named Ryan who was heading to Vina del Mar to study that semester. He's from Connecticut and goes to Columbia, and I was so excited to meet someone who was headed to place I am so fond of. Lo and behold five months later I find myself eating choripan, celebrating America's birthday with the same kid, completely unaware. We all ended up going to a bar afterward to watch the Chile vs. Mexico game. Chile won (as previously mentioned) so of course the whole city Danika, Breann, Pablo and Diane at the asado (please note paper flags)
Pablo learning how to throw a softball

exploded. The next day I went to another asado with my friend Diane. We brought an American football and a softball and gloves so that it was a 'true American experience'. Diane kindly taught me how to throw a football and her boyfriend Pablo how to throw a softball, over all another great celebration. Although, after three asados and two days of eating sopaipillas in between meals I was about ready to swear off food for a little while.
So you might be wondering how's the SIP going? Well, slowly. I'm too busy enjoying everything else for the moment, but am plugging away reading articles and translating documents. I have also found myself surrounded by helpful people who also work in psychology and social work and have put me in contact with people to interview as well as search engines for articles. I quite literally hugged all of them out of sheer joy. As with all research projects everything is changing every time I read something, but it is slowly coming together. My plan today was to start calling people to set up interviews, and was scolded by my housemate Jorge for not doing so. Frankly, I'm terrified of the phone, so tomorrow I'll hit the streets instead to track down people.
This past weekend I had the best time being reunited with friends and not sleeping, and eating more, and more, and more...Friday night I met up with some Chilean friends I made literally the night before I was leaving for Torres del Paine. It was so great to see them, catch up, watch the game and hang out. Per usual I probably only understood 70% of everything that was going on since we were a group of about ten in a bar with live music, nonetheless I had the best time. I assured my friend Allan that the face he interpreted as boredom was my 'concentration face'.

Saturday morning with a herculean effort I got myself on a bus to Santiago to meet up with Allyson to During one of my 'I must leave the house today' walks

go to her host sibling's joint birthday party. Renato just turned 3 and Leonore is now 1. Per usual Allyson and I made a spectacle of ourselves covered in streamers and party hats that nobody else was using, not even the kids. And her abuela guilted me into eating more than my stomach could possibly ever handle. Afterward we headed out to meet up with Rachel! She was here last semester with me staying with my host aunt's family. Her pololo's birthday had been the past week, so we went out to the bar for a grown up birthday party. Not that I'm complaining about the children's birthday party, I got party favors and everything. Sunday I headed back to Valpo and had a most interesting bus ride. When we were about twenty minutes outside of Valpo this guy who was sitting across the aisle from me leaned over and said 'Hablas espanol? Do you speak Spanish?' and I of course said 'Si. Yes.' He then immediately started in on me about how the USA pretty much caused the golpe militar in 1973, as well as interfering a lot in other Latin American countries. And after lecturing me (and moving into the seat next to me) asked me 'How do you sleep at night knowing this stuff?' First of all, I was so floored by all of these events I didn't really answer with as much grace as I wish I had. I was so caught off guard, I've never had this happen to me before. Secondly, I was really annoyed that this stranger was treating me like an idiot, as if I had no idea about the US history in Latin America. I started off by saying 'Mira, no soy mi pais. Look, I'm not my country. Y no siempre apoyo a esas cosas. And I don't always support these things. y esa intervencion en Latina America era ante de mi epoca. An the US intervention in Latin America was before my time.' And he said 'Well these things are still going on, what do you have to say about that?' Fortunately at this point the bus had arrived and I simply got up and left. Let me explain that he wasn't being overly aggressive, I did not feel threatened, mostly just upset. When I got home, after dinner with Lorena's parents which was SO GOOD, I asked Jorge and Monse what they really, truly thought about the United States (Jorge is from Chile and Monse is from Mexico). I could see from both of their reactions that they had a lot to say, but felt nervous because I am Norte Americana. However, with some cajoling I got them to be really honest with me, and it was as enlightening for me as I think it was for them. Basically, they don't think highly of the United States, and with our history with their countries it's not hard to see why. However, a lot of the information that they have access to about US politics is pretty skewed and focuses on conspiracy theories. I'm not discounting what they're saying entirely, because on a lot of accounts they are right, we, as Americans, have a lot of work to do to better ourselves and international relations. However, some things After much wondering about how to take the garbage out I discovered that you simply hang it from a lamp post outside my window...

like the Twin Towers being a government conspiracy to declare war on Iraq I found to be a little ridiculous. So we ended up talking for 4 hours about the US and what I thought, what they thought and at the end of it Jorge told me he was really glad we had talked about things since I had (somehow) managed to clarify some things for him and curb his anger towards the United States a little. In a way that was the most gratifying thing anyone has ever told me. I mean, learning about other people's countries and cultures is the point of going abroad, right? It also felt awesome to be able to for the most part carry on an intelligent conversation in Spanish for so long. Beginning of a lot of future conversations.
Protests are continuing here in Chile, but CIEE students are still coming. It was really hard to explain why a student movement against tuition costs in the States wouldn't work to a group of students in Chile who protest all the time. However, it got me thinking, well why not? Could we as students achieve lower tuition if we tried? Something to think about. As you can imagine with all of the conversations about education going on right now my SIP is starting to focus more on that area of child welfare.
Sending love overseas.

Pretty self explanatory

Happy 4th of July!

During a walk through the cerros

I am writing to you from my bed, wearing multiple layers and watching my breath steam and thinking about how last year I was on the beach enjoying the sunshine and watching fireworks...I am however happy and achieved the American dream of eating more than my stomach can hold and drinking lots of beer in celebration of our country's birthday. I went to two asados today with lots of gringos and a few Chileans and while we ate mostly Chilean food, it was a nice way to hold onto some American traditions.

This past week I've been attempting to start working on my thesis and am slowly realizing that I quite literally have no idea what I'm doing despite the months of preparation my school tried to give me. While we talked about proposals and interview guides nobody ever really told me what a SIP (Senior Individualized Project) is, or how to even write one. So now 5 days and many conversations later I am beginning to form an idea of what I have to do. My Chilean friends and family have taken pity on the stupid gringa and are helping me out with finding sources, interviews and developing my hypothesis. I am forever grateful for the wonderful people I have met here and have immensely enjoyed being reunited with them. This weekend I had lunch with Dan's host family, the wholeeeeee family, and then spent the rest of the afternoon with my family. I wandered through the cerros and enjoyed the sunshine.

Sambito, the house cat.

The paro, strike, continues and I have been talking to people about their opinions on it and what really is going on. It turns out that in addition to free education they are asking the government to nationalize the copper mines and kick out the foreigners (from the copper industry). My understanding is they believe that this will allow for free education to be a possibility. Most of the people I have talked to don't think that the protests are going to amount to anything, the government is pretty un-yielding, in addition to thinking that this isn't the solution. There have to be fundamental changes in order for it to work, as well as the support of parents (who are actually paying the bill). Right now some carreras, majors, are voting on whether or not to stop the paro in order to be able to finish the first semester and continue on to the second, we'll see what happens.

I went to a bar tonight to watch the soccer game, Chile vs. Mexico. It was really fun, and the game took place in San Juan, Argentina, which is where my Argentine host family lives. And Chile won! All in all a very nice 4th of July.Cerros