My Right
I voted this morning! I went to the embassy before class and dropped off my absentee ballot- it was a quick and easy way to exercise my right and am happy that I did it. Now I just have to wait and hope that my candidate (if you are a frequent reader of this blog you should know which one I voted for) wins the majority and that the electoral representatives of California vote for him too.
PLEASE VOTE ON ELECTION DAY! MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
Rotary, Rotary, Rotary
Just finished with a Rotary meeting this afternoon with my host club at the Union Club downtown. Right now, I am working on a translation of a project proposal for a different Rotary club whose meeting I have to go to tonight. In this meeting, we will be smoothing out the wrinkles for the Halloween fundraising party that we are planning for Friday night. So much to do and so little time...
Hahaha- one of my friends here told me that my life in Chile is purely "reuniones". I think he is right because bascially whatever meeting, appointment, lunch date whether it be for business or pleasure, study group, etc is called a "reunion". And if I am not in one, then I am in the middle of planning one. Needless to say, my planner is never full because I don´t use it. I don´t really know how I actually keep track of things....
Just like every Friday night....
After the Rotary meeting on Friday night, we tried to go out for Karaoke but the place was completely packed. Since we were a group of more than ten people, deciding where to go turned into a big production. Finally, we ended up at my apartment- the same place we have gone EVERY Friday night for the past two months. Don`t get me wrong- I am not complaining at all because that means that I don`t have to worry about how I am getting home. But that does mean that I have to stay up until the last person has left- which often times means after sunrise.
In my house around 3:30 am- I`m grabbing my ear because my friend Deyanira accidentally hit my new piercing (!) and it hurt. By the way- that is water in my hand. I swear.
Spanish Class
For those of you who don´t speak Spanish- here is a quick lesson for you. The first phrase (which makes absolutely no sense in English) is a guide to how to pronounce the Spanish phrase in parenthesis.
Kiss sea ram most dose tea kill as (quisieramos dos tequilas).
We would like two tequilas.
Much as grass see as (muchas gracias).
Thanks a lot.
Web ohs cone chore is so (huevos con chorizo).
Eggs with ground beef.
Free hall it toes cone chill lack kill less (frijolitos con chilaquiles).
Beans with chilaquiles (Mexican food).
Bad Business, Good Business
I haven´t been a very good blogger in the past week. But I am still alive. Just tired. I wish I had more time in general to write about everything that I do here, but if I spent the whole day writing then I wouldn`t be doing anything. So tidbits will have to do.
Good Business
This past week we had two meetings to organize the Halloween party that we are throwing as a fundraiser for kids with metabolic disorders. The meeting place- recently opened Dublin´s Pub in Providencia. It´s a pretty kick back place but there was nothing special about it- until the waiter gave us a free pitcher of beer. I was astounded and it wasn´t because drinks were on the house- it was the point that ANYTHING was on the house. If they would have given us peanuts I would have been just as surprised because giving things free to customers is not a practiced habit here in Chile. As a matter of fact, that was the first time for everyone at the table, and that included two Chileans, born and bred in this cigarette of a country.
Before our free gift
Bad Business
My fellow Rotarian Scholar Peter had his bike stolen two days ago from the local grocery store, which should have been next to impossible considering that there were two security guards less than twenty yards from where his bike was locked up in the bike rack. Unfortunately, security guards here don´t seem to take their job too seriously. Peter has filed a complaint against the grocery store and specifically the guards but I don´t know what will come of that. The guards said that it wasn´t their job to take care of his bike because their job is to take care of the store`s property and possessions, not those of its customers. My thoughts are that the store couldn´t have those things without its customers, so why not take care of them too?
Building a roof for Chile
This past weekend, I traveled with the organization Un Techo Para Chile (A Shelter for Chile) and a group of 250 young people to small town about an hour outside of Santiago in order to build one-room houses (well, by our terms, they would be called emergency shetlers...practically large tool sheds) for very low income families. It was similar to the same project that I did last semester with students from my university (there is a link to pictures on the right-hand side of this page).
The starting point
It was an amazing experience- my group of eight people built a house in the rural area of this small town, San Francisco de Mostazal. Previously, there were seven people (three generations) living in a very small, two-bedroom, one bathroom/kitchen house- the structure that we built was to give the daughter, her husband, and their son some privacy and their own place to live (although it was built right behind her mother´s house). When we finished constructing, we played cards (I taught them "Speed") and I gave them a small geography lesson of the locations of Reno and San Bernardino with an atlas that they happened to have in the house.
This weekend was a perfect demonstration of the differences in living standards that exists in Chile- it was interesting because although the family was not the poorest that I had met in Chile (they had a TV and DVD player!), they were still definitely in a state of poverty that doesn´t really exist in the States- the parents didn`t read or write nor do they have a contract for their work in the agricultural fields, which means that work is relatively unstable. Hygeiene seems next to impossible given that the kitchen and the bathroom were the same room in a house pieced together with concrete, wood, brick, and mud- living conditions that are 360 degrees different than that of their neighbors whose house was very modern with a landscaped lawn and sprinklers. And just down the way was the house of the person who owned all of the property. It was practically a castle with a guest house, horse stable, and a small man-made lake.
But that seems to be Chile`s great problem- staggering poverty next to astonishing wealth- a problem that desperately needs to be addressed if Chile wants to develop as a country.
The final product
My "Pololo" (Boyfriend)
This is my "boyfriend"- an orange and black bug about the size of a nickel called a "pololo" which is, coincidentally, the same word used for "boyfriend" here in Chile.
my "pololo"
Asking for support
Today I went to a Rotary club meeting to ask for financial support from the Rotarians for the Rotaract conference that is being organized for Chileans, Ecuadorians, Bolivians, and Peruvians. I was expecting a lot more support, considering that this is THE club in Chile (I mean presidents of large corporations, media analysts, public officials, etc) but we didn´t get much- about 50.000 (or about $80.00) from a club with 150 members present... Bummer. But I guess that some help is better than no help, right?
Me with the Rotaract club members afterwards inside the Club de la Unión (Union Club where the meetings are held)...
"Diarios de Motocicleta" as a test
Oscar-winning Gael Garcia Bernal with two Chilean actresses from "Diarios"
This is a copy of a letter that I sent to the local tv station and newspaper today-
Televisión Nacional de Chile
Avenida Bellavista 0990
Comuna de Providencia,
Santiago
Estimado señor o señora,
En enero pasado, dos semanas antes de venir a estudiar a Chile, vi la película “Diarios de Motocicleta” de Gael Garcia Bernal cuando se presentó por primera vez en el Festival de Sundance en EE.UU. En ese entonces, yo era una norteamericana que no tenía idea de lo que aquí me esperaba, pero esta película me llenó de deseos de estar acá y conocer el país que la pantalla grande me mostraba. De hecho, este film me inspiró a construir una página web con mi diario personal de mis experiencias que he tenido aquí en Chile como una embajadora de buena voluntad del Rotary Club, como mujer y estudiante extranjera (www.diariosdiarios.blogspot.com).
Ayer tuve la suerte de ver “Diarios” por segunda vez con la presencia del actor principal- pero eso no era lo más importante sino el estar en la misma sala y compartir con los chilenos una muestra realmente sensacional de parte de su identidad e historia- dos cosas que van más allá del acento y modismos superficiales del idioma como yo misma dije anoche a TVN cuando me pidieron la opinión de la obra. Más que eso, es una buena demostración de la rica cultura chilena que existe a lo largo del país, de la hospitalidad de la gente que comparte un poco de lo que tenga sin importar de donde seas para que estés cómoda, hasta la geografía extraordinaria que ahora tengo el placer conocer.
Anoche disfruté la película mucho mejor que al no haber conocido la cultura, el idioma, ni a la gente de Chile, lloré al reconocer situaciones apremiantes de muchos de ellos, y aplaudí con entusiasmo las ideas humanitarias y profundas de que se trata en general. Y cuando salí del teatro agradecí, como los chilenos deben, de tener la oportunidad de conocer un parte del mundo tan linda e increíble como es Chile. Por último, me di cuenta de que después de llevar ocho meses acá, y al igual que la sucedió a Ernesto Guevara después de su viaje en motocicleta, yo también soy una persona diferente de lo que era antes, y está película era la prueba de eso.
Then I closed the letter with cordialities and contact information. I wonder if I will get a response?
Basically, the letter says that I enjoyed the movie "Diarios Motocicleta" when I first saw it at its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival two weeks before coming to Chile and it is what actually inspired me to keep this journal online in order to share my experiences with you. And although at that time seeing parts of Chile and its culture in the movie made me more excited to come, I didn´t really understand nor realize what was waiting for me.
But after eight months of waiting, I was able to see the movie again. But this time, it wasn´t important that I was there with the movie star (again) because what really mattered was being able to be in the same theater with Chileans while they watched their own land and culture projected onto the big screen.
Afterwards, the local TV station asked me for an interview and my opinion of it. I told them I liked it the first time but even more the second time because I was able to understand more- the jokes, the coloquialisms, etc. But it meant a lot more to me than that (which is why I decided to write the letter) because the movie demonstrates so much more than the superficial accent- it shows a rich, hospitable culture filled with accomodating people in a homeland whose beauty can hardly be described.
I said that the second time around, I cried, laughed, and applauded at the times when I wasn´t able to at the first showing because this time I really GOT it...I recognized the places, the food, the landscape, the attitude, the plight, and many of the diverse things that make up the Chilean culture. After seeing this movie for the second time, I realized that I share a trait that Ernesto "Che" Guevara noticed after his motorcycle trip- that I am a different person than I was before.
Fall Back, Spring Forward
This morning at 10 I had a Reiki class (originating from Japan, Reiki deals with energy, chakras, and healing) in the south of Santiago. I wasn´t in a rush because I knew that it would really start at about 10:15 or 10:30, so I took my time drinking my tea and eating my oatmeal. When I left my apartment, my cell phone said it was about 10 til 10- I was right on time since it was going to take me about 25 minutes to arrive.
When I got to the metro I noticed that the clock in the station said 11. I was a bit confused so I checked my cellphone again and it assured me that it was only 10. But when I reached my final destination, the clock in that station read 11:21. I thought I was going crazy so I asked someone what time it was- they said 10:20.
I shrugged it off, figuring that something was up with the clocks in the metro and walked quickly to class. Upon arrival, they had to catch me up to speed on some of the history of Reiki because I had missed a bit of the introduction- but I wasn´t too late...
Not until the end of class when some asked what time it was and I said 3:45 at the same time as someone else said 4:45 was I told what was going on. Apparently, last night the time changed and everyone was supposed to push their clocks forward. And everyone did....except for me and the guy in the metro. Oops. :-) But then that meant that the class started REALLY late- at 11:15 instead of 10:00 like it was supposed to! But I guess that is kind of normal because even when the hour isn´t changing, the Latin American clocks always run late anyways...
Rotaract
Last night, I went to my first Rotaract club meeting. (Rotaract is a service club that is a division of Rotary for 20 somethings- there are 4 clubs in Santiago.) I had a great time at the meeting- it was informal yet they were getting business taken care of. Right now, they are putting the final touches on the Latin American Rotaract conference that is going to take place here in Chile at the end of the month. I am really excited about it because there will be Rotaract members coming in from Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, and Colombia. It should be a great experience. I am just disappointed that I hadn´t gone to one of their meetings a lot earlier in the year...
International Student Welcoming
This is a picture of a Mapuche (native culture of Chile) dedication and blessing ceremony that was performed on Thursday in the city´s main park. It was a very powerful, serious ceremony performed in Mapudangui, their native language. The approximately five minute offering performed by the Machi (the religious, doctor, psychologist figure) consisted of asking permission for being in the park in general, permission for the foreign students to pass into Chile with God´s (named Mari Mari and an energy identified with the sun) blessing as well, and thanks for the energy that she gives to us. The offering in general was to give back to Mari Mari a little bit of what is given to us in order to show appreciation. (Along the same line- a custom of theirs is to pour a little bit of whatever they are drinking out into the earth before partaking. And that includes when they are eating in restaurants...I asked. They will literally take their cup of juice or wine or whatever and go outside to poor some of it our before drinking any of it.)
The whole event was put on by the municipality of Santiago in order to welcome foreign students and invite them to get to know the culture of Santiago and Chile a bit better- it also consisted in live music and an exhibition of traditional Chilean dances, inlcuding from Chile´s polynesian Easter Island, as well as a BBQ on the hill with a spectacular view of Santiago.
Additionally, there was a tree planting ceremony between the Mapuches and two foreign students- one of whom was my roomate Hector! It was so neat- he is very lucky to be have been able to leave such a mark here in Santiago.
The Business School`s 80th Year Celebration
Wednesday night I went to a dinner celebration of the 80th anniversary of the founding of my university´s business school. It was probably one of the best dinners that I have had in Chile, not to mention a great live band with dancing until 4am. Needless to say, not many people showed up the next day for class. My business ethics class, which starts at 3pm, was practically empty. Not even the profesor was there- the TA was teaching the class.
Deyanira (classmate), Me, Hector (roomate) toasting with pisco sours
A few questions...
I was reading a book about political theory and moral philosophy (Walzer) and needed a break, so I came to check my email. In my inbox, I found a forward from a friend of mine from Mexico and thought it pertinent to share a few of the (maybe rhetorical) questions that were in it...
-Why is a person that handles your money called a 'Broker'?
-If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
-Why is it that when someone tells you that there are over a
billion stars in the universe, you believe them, but if there is
a 'wet paint' sign somewhere, you have to touch it to make sure?
- If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from
morons?
The first and last questions made me laugh because they are applicable to two of my classes (Business Ethics and International Political Ethics, respectively, but both deal especially with morality as a main issue).
But I don`t want to leave you confused, so here is a definition of morality from dictionary.com for ya (according to that site, the roots of morality are Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mrlis, from ms, mr-, custom and
NOT from morons)...
morality- the quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct; a system of ideas of right and wrong conduct: religious morality; virtuous conduct: the doctrines or rules of moral duties, or the duties of people in their social character; ethics
"I am bold to think that morality is capable of demonstration. " --Locke
Making a Mark
At the Centennial Celebration of Rotary today, I learned that for the first time in history, a woman will be governor of a Rotary district in Chile- her term begins in a year. She will spend this next year preparing, like all future governors do, and then take over next August for the year 2005-2006. Now, if only all the clubs would agree to integrate women in general....
Rotary Scholars at the Centennial Celebration
Week Wrap-Up
I don´t know what happened to this week. Heck, I don´t know what happened to September. But they both finished WAY too quickly. If the time keeps on passing like this, I will be back in Reno way too soon.
Wednesday was my roomates birthday- that morning at 12:05 I gave him a bottle of tequila (that we later put to use on Thursday night to celebrate). Wednesday evening, I made a good Mexican feast of avocado salad, beans, rice, chicken, and arroz con leche (rice pudding) that we enjoyed with the good company of a few friends.
Yesterday, the Rotary Scholars had a meeting with the new district governor in order to talk about the time that remains for us and his next year. He was very impressed with the newsletter that I designed and was written by everyone about our experiences here so far.
Last night, I went to the meeting of the currently forming young Rotary club. I am helping them with their project of providing treatment for children with metabolic disorders and we have a lot of work to do...
Tonight, we are going out to Valparaíso, a city on the coast, in order to meet two Rotary Scholars that are studying out there. Sunday, there is a centenial celebration for Rotary that is being hosted by the oldest Rotary club in Chile. It should be nice.
But before anything fun, I need to do some research for my political ethics class. So, I´m off to the books (well, I guess not literally since all of my research can be done online...).
