Today was an early morning. We woke up at 6:45, ate breakfast, then headed to the metro. I met half the group of students and Elsa at 8 am in the metro to head to the Policia Internacional to register our visas. We finished early and had 2 hours free time, so a group of us took the metro to Bella Artes, a cool part of town in Santiago Central. A kid in the group, Collin, knew some kids staying in a hostel nearby, so we went and check it out. It was the first hostel I’ve ever been in, and it was surprisingly nice. Anyway, I finally got to go to an internet café to check email and give the pathetic update on my blog. I walked to the place we are having class for the next 2 weeks alone. Along the way, I realized 1) I love being in a beautiful city where you can walk and use public transportation and 2) I like being alone sometimes.
Today was the first day of our class Chile Contemporeano. We hit the ground running with a 1.5 hour lecture about the transition from dictatorship under Pinochet to democracy. Our director Mauricio gave it and I followed relatively well. I got the main ideas, missed a lot details, and paid attention as well as I could. We then met with our groups and tutors to discuss the lecture, then had 1.5 hours for lunch. After lunch our tutors took us on mini tour of interesting things to see in Santiago Central. Its amazing to think that I am about a 7 minute walk away from some of the most important historical sites of the 20th century. La Moneda, the Chilean equivalent of our white house is in the heart of the city surrounded by governemtn and military buildings. Underneath the plaza out front is a cultural center with expositions from around the world. (Everything underneath the plaza, about the size of 2 football fields, happens to be a nuclear fallout shelter built by Pinochet). There are still bullet holes in many of the buildings surrounding La Moneda, remnants of the coupe, backed (led?) by the US military to remove the Socialist, (Legitimately, democratically elected) Allende from office in 1973. The head of the military of
I learned a lot about this historic yet incredibly recent event and was able to ask Olga about it at dinner. Olga was 30 at the time and told me she remembers vividly the fear and anxiety in the city. Not surprisingly, one of the first things she told me was that you couldn’t go shopping and you could only eat what was in the house. When I asked her about the murders and kidnappings, she told me that her 21 year old nephew was shot by the police during a protest. It still amazes me to think that she lived what I am studying in a classroom. I’m now lying in my bed (the warmest place in the apartment) in my pajamas, with my electric blanket, listening to my ipod. I’ve been updating for almost 2 hours now. Its really weird to be in bed at 7:30 at night, but its dark outside and I’m tired, so it seemed natural. I have a feeling once school starts my nights will be more active and I’m enjoying the rest and sleep while I can have it.
Reflections of my almost one week in
- My family, my friends, Trevor
- Being able to express myself well
- Knowing what people around me are saying
- Easy asscess to the Internet
- Soft water
- Warm showers, and showering everyday
- Central heating
- Exercise
- Always having something to say
- Always knowing everyone else’s business
- Checking my email/facebook 3+ times a day
- Thinking that everyone has or should have all the luxuries we have in the
- Driving
p.s. I haven’t showered in 2.5 days and I’m totally cool with that. You try showering with lukewarm water when its only about 45 degrees in the house. Yeah, then you’ll be ok with not showering too.
Sayings I’ve learned from Olga:
“¿Cuando estoy con Dios, quien puede ser contra mi?”
“Me doy todo mi día, todo me vida a Ti”
“Si el Señor te llama, te da los medios”
“En mi relación con mi prójimo, descubro quien soy.”
“¿Estoy viviendo como en esclavo o un hijo?”
1 comment:
what do those things you've learned from Olga mean? Mom
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