Today I have officially been in Chile for two months although it frequently seems like I just got off the plane. School has been in session for the past three weeks or so and I have three classes for the semester. My classes include a Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral poetry class (with a professor who is Neruda's number one fan), an environmental economics/natural resource management class and the Education Abroad Program history/politics/culture/many other random themes of Chile class with the rest of the University of California students. The Neruda/Mistral class is often referred to as the Ultimate Gringo class because it is completely filled with extranjeros (foreigners) from the United States. In addition, I also have an internship at a place called Chileambiente, an environmental corporation based in Santiago. For the next two or three months, I will be doing a research project about how solar energy from the Atacama Desert in the North could be used instead of hydroelectric power derived from damming parts of Patagonia. One of Chileambiente's main goals is to keep Patagonia sin represas or without businesses.
Other fun life in Santiago facts:
Entertainment on the TransSantiago buses is provided by numerous musicians who ride buses around the city singing and playing their guitars and then collect their pesos from fans.
Student protests are frequent at the Universidad de Chile. Last week at the facultad de humanidades y filosofia, the police force used tear gas to squash a student protest against the killing of 24 year old Mapuche by police. The student population is very politically active and student protests are very common at the Universidad de Chile.
My new nickname here in Chile is Ellie. I gave up introducing myself as Liz because Ellie is much easier for Chileans to pronounce.
Chileans do not like to eat their tomatoes with skin so all the salads with tomatoes have the skins taken off the tomatoes.
One of my friends from UCLA found a capoeira class at one of the local Santiago gyms and so we have been going every week to the class. Capoeira is a form of Brazilian street dance fighting with a lot of gymnastics incorporated into the class. From capoeira, I learned that I have no coordination and now know why my parents never enrolled me in ballet or jazz or any other form of dance class. Smart people.
Words of the day: angustia=stress/anxiety, desayuno=breakfast, almuerzo=lunch, cena=dinner
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Hi Ellie!!!!
ReplyDeleteCute new name. Should we call you that when you return to the states? I'll be sure to put "Ellie" in the xmas gift exchange :)
Tear gas, huh! Wait until Lynners reads that - she'll be freaking out and telling me "don't tell Grandma because she'll worry". Even though I'm pretty sure my mom is a bigger worrier!
I LOL re: your coordination! My parents missed the boat on that and enrolled Heather in ballet and tap. Poor thing was always on the wrong foot and heading in the wrong direction. Sicily seems to take after her mother - good thing H pulled her from that dancing class she was taking ... it was almost painful to watch!!!
Do you think you'll contact my college friend? A trip to the United Nations building (isn't that what he said?) would be cool. And, you can brag to Alexis that you got to meet him - he's a total hottie :)
Your internship sounds serious! Wow. Perhaps you'll be the one to fix the altamont pass years from now ... and it'll be renamed ELLIE PASS :)