Hello All,
Spring has arrived in earnest here, and the temperature is a delightful 28C (83F). I dont envy those of you who are donning sweaters and jackets. I have an interview at the National Congress in Valparaiso on Wednesday, and I'm going to see if I can manage a trip to the beach while I'm there. The Pacific is calling me.
The past weekend was a long one because my dad's birthday is already a national holiday here. They call it Dia de los Muertos, but I know whats really being celebrated with all the references to supreme Evil. A couple friends and I took the opportunity to head over the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina. The ride through the mountains was really amazing, and I got some great views of Aconcagua, South America's tallest mountain.
Mendoza itself was also a lot of fun. It is a very pretty city with lots of trees lining the streets and quaint little cafés (a very Argentine thing) everywhere. Argentina is also a fairly inexpensive country because their economy crashed about seven years ago when they stopped pegging their currency to the dollar. Mendoza in particular is popular with Chilean tourists because of the low prices and proximity.
The Argentine pampas are some of the best cattle-grazing country in the world, which translates into delicious, cheap steaks and lots of leather products. I had steak whenever possible, and it was fantastic. It also helps that Mendoza is right in the middle of Argentine wine country, and the local cabernet sauvignon complemented the beef perfectly. (Actually I know very little about wine, but always wanted to say something like that.)
Our main activity, other than eating well and walking around the city, was a bike tour of the wine country. We went from vineyard to vineyard touring and tasting. We happened on this little restaurant on our way and ended up eating amazing spinach stuffed pasta and sampling gourmet spreads, the restaurant's specialty. Afterwards, we walked through their gardens whilst sipping a splendid malbec. The bike ride back was a bit of an adventure after the days activities, but it only added to the experience.
Our bus ride back was also an event. Remember how Mendoza is popular with Chilean tourists? Well over 100 buses made the trip back on Sunday, which translated to a 6 hour wait at the overwhelmed customs point. The silver lining was that customs is in the middle of a high Andean valley, and we got to walk around outside for awhile and managed to climb up to a waterfall. In the end, our bus left at 1:30 in the afternoon and pulled into the Santiago terminal at 1:45 in the morning. Long day.
Unfortunately, I also forgot my camera in Santiago. I'm going to get pictures from a friend, but I probably won't post them for another few days, maybe not until the end of the week. I miss all of you tremendously and while I am excited for my remaining month here, I also can't wait to be home.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Hello All,
Sorry for the longer than normal time between blog posts, things have gotten a little busier here. I am now in my last few weeks of the first phase of the program. Our classes are wrapping up and everyone is preparing for their upcoming independent study project. The ISP is a month-long project on a theme and in a location of our choice. Basically, all of November will be spent doing interviews and research, and then writing, the ISP paper. I am about 90% sure that I will be studying different ways that Chile and Bolivia can cooperate on energy policy for my ISP. Basically, Bolivia has a lot of natural gas that Chile really needs, but because of certain historical grievances, Bolivia will not export the gas to Chile. Bolivia could also use a gas pipeline to the Chilean port cities to export its gas to other lucrative markets, like California, but Chile wont let Bolivia build the pipeline unless they export gas to Chile. What I want to do is talk to politicians and energy experts about different solutions to this problem and what kind measures, political or otherwise, it would take to achieve a mutually beneficial resolution. The paper is supposed to be primarily based on interviews, so hopefully my developing Spanish will be up to it.
The other really cool thing that has happened since I last posted was a fantastic trip that our group took to northern Chile. The purpose of the trip was to study the copper mining industry, as copper is Chile’s most important export product. Chile has over a third of the world’s copper reserves, and with copper demand for building projects in China and India driving up the price at the moment, it is an extremely lucrative business for Chile. While the gigantic copper mines in the middle of the barren Atacama desert were very cool, the highlight of the trip was the time we spent in the small oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama.
San Pedro de Atacama looks much the same as has for a hundred years, with dirt streets and adobe buildings. However, its location in an area of unique natural wonders has turned it into an international tourist destination. On the edge of the Andes but still located in the driest desert on earth, San Pedro also sits on area of intense geothermal activity. While there, I mountain biked through the desert to a couple of hot spring fed, turquoise-colored lagoons. The top foot-and-a-half of water was pretty cold, but below that the water got warmer to the point that I couldn’t extend my feet all the way down or they would have been scalded. We also took a day trip from San Pedro into Bolivia to visit some gorgeous green lakes tucked between active volcanoes, at an altitude of about 15,000 feet. The only creatures we saw in the super-salty lakes were small, pink flamingos, which I was surprised to learn are native to the area.
The other two memorable moments from the trip were a sunset and a sunrise. The sunset was in the Valley of the Moon, a spectacular desert canyon that looks like another planet, hence the name. The rock outcrops amid the sand dunes have been carved into alien shapes by years of wind and erosion. Just a gorgeous place to watch a sunset. The sunrise was in a little bowl valley in the Andes that also happens to be the world’s highest geyser field, El Tatio. Just the sound of the hundreds of geysers hissing and spitting and bubbling with steam and water made the trip worth it. The first rays of sunshine filtering through the mist made the trip unforgettable. We also had a chance to bathe in a hot spring in the middle of the geyser field, an excellent way to combat the sub-freezing temperatures of the early morning. To top it off, on the way back we drove through pristine Andean valleys filled with llamas, alpaca, deer, flamingos, chinchillas and other animals I have never heard of.
All together, a pretty sweet trip. You can see photos (over 200) by clicking on the links in the following post.
Sorry for the longer than normal time between blog posts, things have gotten a little busier here. I am now in my last few weeks of the first phase of the program. Our classes are wrapping up and everyone is preparing for their upcoming independent study project. The ISP is a month-long project on a theme and in a location of our choice. Basically, all of November will be spent doing interviews and research, and then writing, the ISP paper. I am about 90% sure that I will be studying different ways that Chile and Bolivia can cooperate on energy policy for my ISP. Basically, Bolivia has a lot of natural gas that Chile really needs, but because of certain historical grievances, Bolivia will not export the gas to Chile. Bolivia could also use a gas pipeline to the Chilean port cities to export its gas to other lucrative markets, like California, but Chile wont let Bolivia build the pipeline unless they export gas to Chile. What I want to do is talk to politicians and energy experts about different solutions to this problem and what kind measures, political or otherwise, it would take to achieve a mutually beneficial resolution. The paper is supposed to be primarily based on interviews, so hopefully my developing Spanish will be up to it.
The other really cool thing that has happened since I last posted was a fantastic trip that our group took to northern Chile. The purpose of the trip was to study the copper mining industry, as copper is Chile’s most important export product. Chile has over a third of the world’s copper reserves, and with copper demand for building projects in China and India driving up the price at the moment, it is an extremely lucrative business for Chile. While the gigantic copper mines in the middle of the barren Atacama desert were very cool, the highlight of the trip was the time we spent in the small oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama.
San Pedro de Atacama looks much the same as has for a hundred years, with dirt streets and adobe buildings. However, its location in an area of unique natural wonders has turned it into an international tourist destination. On the edge of the Andes but still located in the driest desert on earth, San Pedro also sits on area of intense geothermal activity. While there, I mountain biked through the desert to a couple of hot spring fed, turquoise-colored lagoons. The top foot-and-a-half of water was pretty cold, but below that the water got warmer to the point that I couldn’t extend my feet all the way down or they would have been scalded. We also took a day trip from San Pedro into Bolivia to visit some gorgeous green lakes tucked between active volcanoes, at an altitude of about 15,000 feet. The only creatures we saw in the super-salty lakes were small, pink flamingos, which I was surprised to learn are native to the area.
The other two memorable moments from the trip were a sunset and a sunrise. The sunset was in the Valley of the Moon, a spectacular desert canyon that looks like another planet, hence the name. The rock outcrops amid the sand dunes have been carved into alien shapes by years of wind and erosion. Just a gorgeous place to watch a sunset. The sunrise was in a little bowl valley in the Andes that also happens to be the world’s highest geyser field, El Tatio. Just the sound of the hundreds of geysers hissing and spitting and bubbling with steam and water made the trip worth it. The first rays of sunshine filtering through the mist made the trip unforgettable. We also had a chance to bathe in a hot spring in the middle of the geyser field, an excellent way to combat the sub-freezing temperatures of the early morning. To top it off, on the way back we drove through pristine Andean valleys filled with llamas, alpaca, deer, flamingos, chinchillas and other animals I have never heard of.
All together, a pretty sweet trip. You can see photos (over 200) by clicking on the links in the following post.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Pictures from my trip to Northern Chile
Hello All,
Here are some pictures from my recent trip up to the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. Simply fantastic experience that I will write more about when I have a little more time. There are over 200 pictures in these four albums, all are good but I would especially suggest the second album (Sunset at the Valley of the Moon!) and the third album (Sunrise over Andean geysers!) if you are pressed for time.
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033778&l=1e8ee&id=3004624
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033782&l=447ef&id=3004624
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033784&l=b2976&id=3004624
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033785&l=76f75&id=3004624
Here are some pictures from my recent trip up to the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. Simply fantastic experience that I will write more about when I have a little more time. There are over 200 pictures in these four albums, all are good but I would especially suggest the second album (Sunset at the Valley of the Moon!) and the third album (Sunrise over Andean geysers!) if you are pressed for time.
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033778&l=1e8ee&id=3004624
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033782&l=447ef&id=3004624
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033784&l=b2976&id=3004624
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033785&l=76f75&id=3004624
Monday, October 1, 2007
Picture links
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033180&l=d1704&id=3004624
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033179&l=69646&id=3004624
Please let me know if you cant see these for any reason. You shouldn't need to have Facebook.
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033179&l=69646&id=3004624
Please let me know if you cant see these for any reason. You shouldn't need to have Facebook.
Life in the Valley
Howdy All,
I spent the past week on a fantastic excursion to several cities in the mid-south of Chile. If you haven't looked at a map of Chile yet, first of all, shame on you, second of all, it is a very, very, long country. Our group spent time in and around Concepcion, Chile's second largest city, which is roughly 6 hours south of Santiago and nowhere near the bottom of Chile. The entire area is dominated by huge forests of pine and eucalyptus trees, neither of which are native to Chile. Why, you might ask, do they cover millions of acres of hills and valleys in the area? The reason is that Chile is one of the world's principle exporters of wood and celulose. During our visit, we toured a huge celulose plant run by Arauco, a Chilean transnational corporation, where the trees are processed into large sheets of celulose, which is then exported to other countries where it ismade into paper. I was astounded at the size and technical sophistication of the celulose plant. Chile has been cultivating a forestry industry since the 70s and has planted vast forests of fast growing trees that it harvests and then replants.
Just outside Concepcion is the city of Lota, former center of the region's previous important industry, coal mining. We toured an old coal mine (restored for tourists, of course) called Chifron del Diablo. As you might imagine, coal mining around the turn of last century involved a certain amount of risk. If the gas explosions or cave-ins didn't get you, you could look forward to dying of the black lung in your early 40s.
The unquestionable highlight of the trip, however, was the four days we spent in the Valley of Elikura with the indigenous Mapuche people. The Valley is a secluded strip of fertile land surrounded on three sides by steep hills and on the fourth by a huge, pristine lake. A small stream flows through the valley and the Mapuche have farmed the land on either side for over 500 years. I stayed with a middle-aged Mapuche women named Rosa, her parents and her 22 year-old nephew. Every day her father farms the land from dawn until dusk, growing potatoes, peppers, lettuce, wheat or fruit, depending on the season. His wife takes the sheep out to graze and feeds the chickens. Rosa knits the sheeps wool into clothing and other handicrafts that she sells out of the house or at fairs in other towns. The food I ate, almost exclusively produced in the Valley, was some of the best that I have had during my trip thus far.
The Mapuche, like indigenous peoples around the world, have been pushed off almost all of the land they once owned. They actually hold the record for longest sustained resistance to European conquerers of any Native American peoples, having fought first the Spanish and then the army of independent Chile consistently for over 300 years. After being slowly pushed southwards during that time, they lost much of their remaining lands to the forestry industry during Chile's military dictatorship. The return of democracy came with a promise from the elected government to return some lands, a promise that still goes unfulfilled. Most of the hills surrounding the Valley are covered with forest industry planted Pine and Eucalyptus. Unfortunately, these non-native trees suck up water that used to flow into the valley and sustain Mapuche crops.
Even more disconcerting is the future of the Mapuche culture and community. The Valley has few young people, most having moved to the cities to find work. Rosa's nephew was in the army for awhile and is now a temporary laborer for, you guessed it, the forestry industry. I am pretty sure he wont continue farming his family's dwindling parcel of land as his ancestors have done for centuries. He doesn't speak the Mapuche language, either.
My stay with the Mapuche family in their gorgeous valley is something I will never forgot. It was extremely interesting to study how the Mapuche have adapted over time and how they plan to maintain their identity in a changing world. New government funding for infrastucture development and education offers some hope. The prospect of increasing tourism does as well. Part of me wishes that Rosa and her relatives could remain in their valley forever, unchanged and unbothered. Sadly, it is 500 years to late for such hopes and I can only wish that the future will be better for the Mapuche.
I took tons of pictures during my trip and will try again to post some on the blog site. I will post all of them on Facebook and post the link as soon as I am done.
Love and miss all of you,
Daniel
I spent the past week on a fantastic excursion to several cities in the mid-south of Chile. If you haven't looked at a map of Chile yet, first of all, shame on you, second of all, it is a very, very, long country. Our group spent time in and around Concepcion, Chile's second largest city, which is roughly 6 hours south of Santiago and nowhere near the bottom of Chile. The entire area is dominated by huge forests of pine and eucalyptus trees, neither of which are native to Chile. Why, you might ask, do they cover millions of acres of hills and valleys in the area? The reason is that Chile is one of the world's principle exporters of wood and celulose. During our visit, we toured a huge celulose plant run by Arauco, a Chilean transnational corporation, where the trees are processed into large sheets of celulose, which is then exported to other countries where it ismade into paper. I was astounded at the size and technical sophistication of the celulose plant. Chile has been cultivating a forestry industry since the 70s and has planted vast forests of fast growing trees that it harvests and then replants.
Just outside Concepcion is the city of Lota, former center of the region's previous important industry, coal mining. We toured an old coal mine (restored for tourists, of course) called Chifron del Diablo. As you might imagine, coal mining around the turn of last century involved a certain amount of risk. If the gas explosions or cave-ins didn't get you, you could look forward to dying of the black lung in your early 40s.
The unquestionable highlight of the trip, however, was the four days we spent in the Valley of Elikura with the indigenous Mapuche people. The Valley is a secluded strip of fertile land surrounded on three sides by steep hills and on the fourth by a huge, pristine lake. A small stream flows through the valley and the Mapuche have farmed the land on either side for over 500 years. I stayed with a middle-aged Mapuche women named Rosa, her parents and her 22 year-old nephew. Every day her father farms the land from dawn until dusk, growing potatoes, peppers, lettuce, wheat or fruit, depending on the season. His wife takes the sheep out to graze and feeds the chickens. Rosa knits the sheeps wool into clothing and other handicrafts that she sells out of the house or at fairs in other towns. The food I ate, almost exclusively produced in the Valley, was some of the best that I have had during my trip thus far.
The Mapuche, like indigenous peoples around the world, have been pushed off almost all of the land they once owned. They actually hold the record for longest sustained resistance to European conquerers of any Native American peoples, having fought first the Spanish and then the army of independent Chile consistently for over 300 years. After being slowly pushed southwards during that time, they lost much of their remaining lands to the forestry industry during Chile's military dictatorship. The return of democracy came with a promise from the elected government to return some lands, a promise that still goes unfulfilled. Most of the hills surrounding the Valley are covered with forest industry planted Pine and Eucalyptus. Unfortunately, these non-native trees suck up water that used to flow into the valley and sustain Mapuche crops.
Even more disconcerting is the future of the Mapuche culture and community. The Valley has few young people, most having moved to the cities to find work. Rosa's nephew was in the army for awhile and is now a temporary laborer for, you guessed it, the forestry industry. I am pretty sure he wont continue farming his family's dwindling parcel of land as his ancestors have done for centuries. He doesn't speak the Mapuche language, either.
My stay with the Mapuche family in their gorgeous valley is something I will never forgot. It was extremely interesting to study how the Mapuche have adapted over time and how they plan to maintain their identity in a changing world. New government funding for infrastucture development and education offers some hope. The prospect of increasing tourism does as well. Part of me wishes that Rosa and her relatives could remain in their valley forever, unchanged and unbothered. Sadly, it is 500 years to late for such hopes and I can only wish that the future will be better for the Mapuche.
I took tons of pictures during my trip and will try again to post some on the blog site. I will post all of them on Facebook and post the link as soon as I am done.
Love and miss all of you,
Daniel
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pictures
I am having trouble posting pictures to the blog page right now. I have a bunch of new pictures, but as of now you will need to click the link below the post (or copy and paste it into your browser) in order to see them.
Back from Vacation
Hello All,
I am writing on this second to last official day of winter (gotta love the Southern Hemisphere!) having just returned from a five day vacation. Last Friday, our group traveled to the Chilean wine country near the towns of Curicó and Lontué in Chile's Central Valley. We visited two vineyards, Viña Requingua and Viña Correa Albano. The wine country was picturesquely beautiful with pristine fields fading into rugged hills on the horizon. We saw the large vats in which the wine is fermented (I learned the difference between making red and white wine - the skin is left on during fermentation to make red) and the climate controlled barrel cellar where the reserve wine is aged. Most all of the wine produced at the two vineyards is exported around the world. Viña Requingua exports to Europe, South America and the U.S. If you ever see the Puerto Viejo brand, I visited the vineyard where it was made. Viña Correa Albano exports mostly to China. It was amazing how technology dependent the winerys were with their automated bottling machines and computer monitored fermentation tanks. This is a very recent phenomenon in Chile and a sign of the modernization of Chile's export economy.
The wine country excursion was just a day trip (about 3 hours each way) and when I returned home it was back on the road with my family. As I mentioned before, Sept 18 is Chile's Independence Day, called the Fiestas Patrias. Since it fell on a Tuesday, the government, in one of its most popular decisions ever, decided to give everyone Monday and Wednesday off, as well. My host family and I spent the vacation at the house of a family friend in the coastal resort of Viña del Mar. The house was really nice and a constant stream of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends came and went throughout the course of our trip. The constant conversation was great for practicing my Spanish. I played a lot of small sided soccer games with my brothers and various family and friends, ate delicious grilled meats and drank fine Chilean wine. One of the soccer games took place on the beach itself. After playing in the heat with my host brothers, some friends and their Norwegian exchange student, the Norwegian decided that he was going to go swimming in the frigid ocean. He was from Norway, after all. Not to be outdone, I decided to go in as well, to the horror of my host mother. It was cold, but not as bad as I expected. Nevertheless, I decided I would save the extended swim for later in the year. The night of the 18th we went to a Fonda, which is a traditional Chilean carnival consisting of tons of booths that all contain the exact same things: grilled meat, pisco (Chilean brandy), chicha (a sort of Chilean cider) and dancing. A fantastic experience all together.
My brothers and I came back yesterday on the bus, while my mother is staying in Viña until Saturday when the owners come back. We men are therefore fending for ourselves and doing a pretty good job, although I had to stop my one brother from microwaving metal last night. On Sunday, my group leaves for a week to visit the southern city of Concepción and spend some time in an indegenous Mapuche village. I will post again upon my return. Until then, enjoy the pictures on the blog as well as this Facebook album.
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032546&l=be871&id=300462
I am writing on this second to last official day of winter (gotta love the Southern Hemisphere!) having just returned from a five day vacation. Last Friday, our group traveled to the Chilean wine country near the towns of Curicó and Lontué in Chile's Central Valley. We visited two vineyards, Viña Requingua and Viña Correa Albano. The wine country was picturesquely beautiful with pristine fields fading into rugged hills on the horizon. We saw the large vats in which the wine is fermented (I learned the difference between making red and white wine - the skin is left on during fermentation to make red) and the climate controlled barrel cellar where the reserve wine is aged. Most all of the wine produced at the two vineyards is exported around the world. Viña Requingua exports to Europe, South America and the U.S. If you ever see the Puerto Viejo brand, I visited the vineyard where it was made. Viña Correa Albano exports mostly to China. It was amazing how technology dependent the winerys were with their automated bottling machines and computer monitored fermentation tanks. This is a very recent phenomenon in Chile and a sign of the modernization of Chile's export economy.
The wine country excursion was just a day trip (about 3 hours each way) and when I returned home it was back on the road with my family. As I mentioned before, Sept 18 is Chile's Independence Day, called the Fiestas Patrias. Since it fell on a Tuesday, the government, in one of its most popular decisions ever, decided to give everyone Monday and Wednesday off, as well. My host family and I spent the vacation at the house of a family friend in the coastal resort of Viña del Mar. The house was really nice and a constant stream of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends came and went throughout the course of our trip. The constant conversation was great for practicing my Spanish. I played a lot of small sided soccer games with my brothers and various family and friends, ate delicious grilled meats and drank fine Chilean wine. One of the soccer games took place on the beach itself. After playing in the heat with my host brothers, some friends and their Norwegian exchange student, the Norwegian decided that he was going to go swimming in the frigid ocean. He was from Norway, after all. Not to be outdone, I decided to go in as well, to the horror of my host mother. It was cold, but not as bad as I expected. Nevertheless, I decided I would save the extended swim for later in the year. The night of the 18th we went to a Fonda, which is a traditional Chilean carnival consisting of tons of booths that all contain the exact same things: grilled meat, pisco (Chilean brandy), chicha (a sort of Chilean cider) and dancing. A fantastic experience all together.
My brothers and I came back yesterday on the bus, while my mother is staying in Viña until Saturday when the owners come back. We men are therefore fending for ourselves and doing a pretty good job, although I had to stop my one brother from microwaving metal last night. On Sunday, my group leaves for a week to visit the southern city of Concepción and spend some time in an indegenous Mapuche village. I will post again upon my return. Until then, enjoy the pictures on the blog as well as this Facebook album.
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032546&l=be871&id=300462
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
11 de Septiembre
Hello Everyone,
September 11th is a date that everyone now knows around the world, but in Chile it has had special importance since 1973. That was the year that the democratically elected Socialist government of Salvador Allende was deposed in a military coup. The resulting dictatorship, led by General Agusto Pinochet, ruled Chile for almost 20 years and commited numerous human rights abuses. The anniversary is usually marked by street protests in Santiago. Although many people are still upset about the lack of persecution of military and police leaders after the return of democracy, the protesters are mostly students and other young people who are protesting the social ills of the moment, or simply looking for trouble.
A couple friends and I went down to La Alameda, Santiago's main thoroughfare, to watch the demonstrations. The atmosphere was fairly calm, although the Chilean riot police, the Carabineros, were out in force. The wore full body armor and many were on horseback. There were also large armored vehicles mounted with water cannons. South American protests have a tendency to get violent and many protesters wore masks and carried lemons to suck on if they were tear-gassed, a common anti-riot tactic. All was calm in the day time, and I got a few pictures of of the scene. I posted a few on the blog and more (including some from a hike I took later in the afternoon) can be found by following the link below. The protests did turn violent during the night in several poorer Santiago neighborhoods. Rioters set up barricades, lit bonfires, destroyed property and threw molotov cocktails at riot police. One Carabinero was shot and killed and over 200 were arrested.
As I mentioned before, these protests really had nothing to do with the coup, other than pro-leftist leanings among many of the rioters. Most are simply impoverished young people looking for trouble. It is interesting to look at this form of political expression as a result of Chile's neo-liberal economic program, which has helped the country grow economically but also increased the gap between rich and poor and forced many rural peoples to move to Santiago to find jobs. These urban poor see the current government as controled by America and the West, and as a "new dictatorship" because of its continuation of economic policies begun during the Pinochet regime. Their heroes are Allende and Che Guevarra, and they believe that free market economics have failed the Chilean people. On the other side are the Chilean middle and upper classes, many of whom believe that Pinochet, despite his brutality, was the best thing that ever happened to the country. Among the more well-to-do youth, a sort of political apathy has set in, as they are more concerned with making money and buying the lastest Western gadgets or clothes than with continuing the ideological battles of the past.
The coming weekend is an exciting one. On Friday, my group is going to visit the Chilean wine country and tour a few vineyards. Then, I am going to go with my host family to the coast to celebrate the Fiestas Patrias, which last until Wednesday. I should have lots of pictures to share with you guys. Speaking of, here are the ones I took yesterday.
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032118&l=f44bc&id=3004624
Once again, I love and miss all of you.
Daniel
September 11th is a date that everyone now knows around the world, but in Chile it has had special importance since 1973. That was the year that the democratically elected Socialist government of Salvador Allende was deposed in a military coup. The resulting dictatorship, led by General Agusto Pinochet, ruled Chile for almost 20 years and commited numerous human rights abuses. The anniversary is usually marked by street protests in Santiago. Although many people are still upset about the lack of persecution of military and police leaders after the return of democracy, the protesters are mostly students and other young people who are protesting the social ills of the moment, or simply looking for trouble.
A couple friends and I went down to La Alameda, Santiago's main thoroughfare, to watch the demonstrations. The atmosphere was fairly calm, although the Chilean riot police, the Carabineros, were out in force. The wore full body armor and many were on horseback. There were also large armored vehicles mounted with water cannons. South American protests have a tendency to get violent and many protesters wore masks and carried lemons to suck on if they were tear-gassed, a common anti-riot tactic. All was calm in the day time, and I got a few pictures of of the scene. I posted a few on the blog and more (including some from a hike I took later in the afternoon) can be found by following the link below. The protests did turn violent during the night in several poorer Santiago neighborhoods. Rioters set up barricades, lit bonfires, destroyed property and threw molotov cocktails at riot police. One Carabinero was shot and killed and over 200 were arrested.
As I mentioned before, these protests really had nothing to do with the coup, other than pro-leftist leanings among many of the rioters. Most are simply impoverished young people looking for trouble. It is interesting to look at this form of political expression as a result of Chile's neo-liberal economic program, which has helped the country grow economically but also increased the gap between rich and poor and forced many rural peoples to move to Santiago to find jobs. These urban poor see the current government as controled by America and the West, and as a "new dictatorship" because of its continuation of economic policies begun during the Pinochet regime. Their heroes are Allende and Che Guevarra, and they believe that free market economics have failed the Chilean people. On the other side are the Chilean middle and upper classes, many of whom believe that Pinochet, despite his brutality, was the best thing that ever happened to the country. Among the more well-to-do youth, a sort of political apathy has set in, as they are more concerned with making money and buying the lastest Western gadgets or clothes than with continuing the ideological battles of the past.
The coming weekend is an exciting one. On Friday, my group is going to visit the Chilean wine country and tour a few vineyards. Then, I am going to go with my host family to the coast to celebrate the Fiestas Patrias, which last until Wednesday. I should have lots of pictures to share with you guys. Speaking of, here are the ones I took yesterday.
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032118&l=f44bc&id=3004624
Once again, I love and miss all of you.
Daniel
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Just back from the coast
Hello All,
Today our group took the hour and a half bus ride from Santiago to the Pacific coast. The ride itself is beautiful as you cross "La Cordiera," a series of rugged hills that separate Chile's central valley from the coast. We began the day at Isla Negra, the seaside former home of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda. The house was amazing. Neruda collected strange and interesting things from around the world and jammed them into his small bungalow perched atop a steep hill overlooking the ocean. Inside the house we saw everything from model ships in bottles to giant beetles and moths (dead and mounted) to a carving of the Polynesian demon god of hunger and cold to asorted ornate pipes and wine glasses to a life size wooden carving of a horse just outside Pablo's bathroom.
Our next stop was the seaside villeage of Concon, where we ate lunch at a local restaurant. As has been the case several times during my stay thus far, I had no idea what the food I ordered was acutally going to be. This time I was faily certain it was seafood, and indeed it turned out to be a kind of soup with mussels, oysters, fish, shrimp and possibly scallops in it. And it was pretty good. After lunch we drove up the coast through Renaca and into Viña del Mar, the prinicple seaside resort in Chile. In Viña, we visited the Quinto Vegara, a palacial residence built by a rich Spanish colonist that has since been turned into a park. Viña seems like a fun place, especially during the summer, and fortunately I am going to have the opportunity to spend more time there next weekend when I will go with my host family to celebrate the "Fiestas Patrias," which are essentially the Chilean July 4th holidays.
From Viña we drove around the point and into Valparaiso, Chile's largest port city. Valparaiso is a fascinating city, built on a series of steep hills surrounding a natural bay, similar to San Francisco. We stopped briefly to ride one of the city's many gondolas up to a hill overlooking the harbor. From Valpo it was back to Santiago and the end of our whirlwind day trip. I am excited to spend more time in the coastal cities, from what I was today, there is plenty of exciting things to see and do.
My day to day life is going splendidly, as well. I am quickly becoming a master of Santiago's massive bus/subway transit system. It is extremely convient, as it goes everywhere and all one needs is a plastic "Bip" card that one presses against a sensor upon entering a metro station or boarding a bus. The Bip card is charged with money and deducts automatically when used. Chileans are forever complaining about how crowded the buses and subways are, but after living in Houston I find the system delightful.
Classes are also going well. Our usual schedule is a lecture in the morning at the University of Chile (in Spanish by a Chilean professor) and three hours of Spanish classes in the afternoon. I find that I can understand the lecturers fairly well, as they talk slowly and write key points on the board. Understanding my host mom and brothers is a different story, as they talk extremely fast and often use slang. I usually have to make them repeat things more slowly at least once. My family is simply amazing and goes out of their way to make me comfortable. I have a great time just talking to my host brothers, or losing to them in FIFA 07 on Xbox 360. I promise that I am trying to be a helpful and easy guest.
I also enjoy spending time with the other kids in the program. We are a very eclectic group from colleges big and small across the country. The North Carolina connected contingent is rather large, however, as we have a Duke student from Chicago, a UNC Robertson scholar from Conneticut, a Winston-Salem native that attends U of Richmond and a Davidson student from Georgia, plus myself. All of us enjoy exploring eveything Santiago has to offer, although we are pretty conspicuous when all 21 of us go out together.
Thats all for now, I love and miss all of you. I have posted a few pictures on the blog site, but more can be found at
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031931&l=5a8c7&id=3004624
Until next time,
Daniel
P.S. Mom and Dad, I would love to work out a time to call you guys through Skype, an internet telephone service. Its free computer to computer, but I think I can pay a few dollars and download Skype Pro, which would allow me to call the house phone from my computer, which solves the problem of our home computer not being microphone equiped. I'm going to look into this further, like, tomorrow, so I'll be in touch about the possiblity soon.
Today our group took the hour and a half bus ride from Santiago to the Pacific coast. The ride itself is beautiful as you cross "La Cordiera," a series of rugged hills that separate Chile's central valley from the coast. We began the day at Isla Negra, the seaside former home of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda. The house was amazing. Neruda collected strange and interesting things from around the world and jammed them into his small bungalow perched atop a steep hill overlooking the ocean. Inside the house we saw everything from model ships in bottles to giant beetles and moths (dead and mounted) to a carving of the Polynesian demon god of hunger and cold to asorted ornate pipes and wine glasses to a life size wooden carving of a horse just outside Pablo's bathroom.
Our next stop was the seaside villeage of Concon, where we ate lunch at a local restaurant. As has been the case several times during my stay thus far, I had no idea what the food I ordered was acutally going to be. This time I was faily certain it was seafood, and indeed it turned out to be a kind of soup with mussels, oysters, fish, shrimp and possibly scallops in it. And it was pretty good. After lunch we drove up the coast through Renaca and into Viña del Mar, the prinicple seaside resort in Chile. In Viña, we visited the Quinto Vegara, a palacial residence built by a rich Spanish colonist that has since been turned into a park. Viña seems like a fun place, especially during the summer, and fortunately I am going to have the opportunity to spend more time there next weekend when I will go with my host family to celebrate the "Fiestas Patrias," which are essentially the Chilean July 4th holidays.
From Viña we drove around the point and into Valparaiso, Chile's largest port city. Valparaiso is a fascinating city, built on a series of steep hills surrounding a natural bay, similar to San Francisco. We stopped briefly to ride one of the city's many gondolas up to a hill overlooking the harbor. From Valpo it was back to Santiago and the end of our whirlwind day trip. I am excited to spend more time in the coastal cities, from what I was today, there is plenty of exciting things to see and do.
My day to day life is going splendidly, as well. I am quickly becoming a master of Santiago's massive bus/subway transit system. It is extremely convient, as it goes everywhere and all one needs is a plastic "Bip" card that one presses against a sensor upon entering a metro station or boarding a bus. The Bip card is charged with money and deducts automatically when used. Chileans are forever complaining about how crowded the buses and subways are, but after living in Houston I find the system delightful.
Classes are also going well. Our usual schedule is a lecture in the morning at the University of Chile (in Spanish by a Chilean professor) and three hours of Spanish classes in the afternoon. I find that I can understand the lecturers fairly well, as they talk slowly and write key points on the board. Understanding my host mom and brothers is a different story, as they talk extremely fast and often use slang. I usually have to make them repeat things more slowly at least once. My family is simply amazing and goes out of their way to make me comfortable. I have a great time just talking to my host brothers, or losing to them in FIFA 07 on Xbox 360. I promise that I am trying to be a helpful and easy guest.
I also enjoy spending time with the other kids in the program. We are a very eclectic group from colleges big and small across the country. The North Carolina connected contingent is rather large, however, as we have a Duke student from Chicago, a UNC Robertson scholar from Conneticut, a Winston-Salem native that attends U of Richmond and a Davidson student from Georgia, plus myself. All of us enjoy exploring eveything Santiago has to offer, although we are pretty conspicuous when all 21 of us go out together.
Thats all for now, I love and miss all of you. I have posted a few pictures on the blog site, but more can be found at
http://rice.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031931&l=5a8c7&id=3004624
Until next time,
Daniel
P.S. Mom and Dad, I would love to work out a time to call you guys through Skype, an internet telephone service. Its free computer to computer, but I think I can pay a few dollars and download Skype Pro, which would allow me to call the house phone from my computer, which solves the problem of our home computer not being microphone equiped. I'm going to look into this further, like, tomorrow, so I'll be in touch about the possiblity soon.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
So I got this blog...
Here it is, my attempt at blog. Unfortunately I spent all my free time figuring out how to set this up, so I wont write a full update yet. In the mean time, enjoy a few more pictures.
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