Thursday July 19, 2007

Thursday, July 19, 2007
11:30 pm

Wow, what a day. We started out with a lecture about Chilean art and literature and the effects of the dictatorship on Chilean art. Basically, the extreme censorship coupled with fear in the people forced many artists to find new ways of expressing their emotions. There was a lot of subversive art, but as our professor said, the military leaders are necessarily thinkers and they didn’t understand the metaphors behind the art. So the artists got away with it! We also learned about Chile as the “Pais de poetas” or “Country of Poets”. The tutor of our discussion group made a great point when he said that perhaps the reason Chileans are such great poets is because they couldn’t express themselves verbally for so long that they developed very deep interior personal emotions and thoughts. And poetry, especially in the Spanish language, is a great way to express these emotions. I also learned that apparently the average Chilean only uses about 700 different words in their everyday language as opposed to in Argentina where they average about 2000 different words. I guess it makes it easier for me to master the Chilean language. But then the tutor went on to say that Chileans are known for mumbling and dropping random constants in their words because for so long they were afraid that people (spys) would overhear their conversations and report them to the dictator government. So they learned to speak so that no one could understand them. Lets just say that definitely master that!

After lunch we went on a huge tour of the western part of Santiago Central. We saw Cerro Santa Lucia, a castle on a hill in the middle of the city (literally), el Palacio de Bellas Artes, Parque Forestal, Plaza Italia, Bella Vista, and the two highlights: the home of Pablo Neruda and Cerro San Cristobal.

La Chascona, as Neruda’s house in the neighborhood of Bella Vista is known, was absolutely incredible. He built it to model a ship, with low ceilings, arched doors, porthole windows, the works. Also, since it was built on a hill, there are many different levels, stairways, and secret passages. You just have to see it to believe it (the pictures absolutely don’t do it justice). Also, he was an obsessive collector of almost everything: cups, dolls, porcelin, paintings, trinkets, vases, glass eggs, Russian dolls, African carvings, you name it, he collected it. We got to walk around pretty much the entire house and touch almost everything. It was much more open and accessible than any house/museum I had ever visited. We even walked on the original fur rugs on the living room floor.

El Cerro de San Cristobal is a hill (mini mountain) on the North side of the city. On the top of the hill is a huge statue of the Virgin Mary. We took a fenacular to the top of the mini mountain and from there you could see almost the entire city of Santiago. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and the smog was pretty bad, so you couldn’t see as much. Our tutor told us if you come back on a weekend after it has rained so there is less smog, you can see for miles.

After the hike around the city, I went home for a quick dinner then headed out to meet up with everyone to watch the Chile vs. Argentine soccer game. I found out that it is actually Chile’s sub-20 team playing in the quarter finals of the Sub-20 World Cup in Toronto, Canada. Unfortunately Chile got some crappy calls by the ref including 2 red cards and ridiculous fouls and Chile lost 3-0. You wouldn’t believe the emotion the Chileans had while watching these 18, 19, and 20 year old boys play. The only thing I could compare it to was watching the Chiefs lose to the Cots during the second round of the Play Offs year after year. I was really hoping Chile would win, not just so they would win, but also to see the celebrations in the streets after the game. Supposedly it is a sight to see. Hopefully Chile will win later.

Alright, its midnight and I’m sleepy. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get some internet, but we’ll see. I can’t believe I’ve only been here a week. I love you all and miss you like crazy.