Razón o Fuerza

Hello everyone!

Once again, I’m writing my weekly post on my assigned day. Today is Saturday, August 4^th, 2012 and I am in Los Angeles, CA. Yes, DukeEngage Chile 2012 is over.

I just want to take some time and thank every single person that made this amazing trip possible. From the day I met Antonio, to the day I had my Skype interview with Marlen, to the day I met with my group for the first time at Antonio’s house, to the day I arrived in Santiago, this trip was something I had anticipated for a long time. I had 2 of the most amazing months of my life: I learned from others and from myself, I developed more character, I gained experience from my work at Acción Emprendedora, I found a path to follow for the rest of my life, and I even earned the title as “El intern más enamoradizo de AE.”

I am very nostalgic right now. Certainly I miss saying, “Tonight I’ll go ‘carretear’ in Bellavista,” or “Tomorrow I’ll go eat lunch with my office at ‘El Guatón’.” I miss Chile. I find it incredible that 48 hours ago I was still eating avocado and mayo on my churrasco, and I could buy Super 8s in the street. I still find it hard to get used to buying with US Dollars again… American money is kinda boring if you think about it. I mean, Chilean pesos are so colorful and fun to look at.

I’ll stop ranting here, but I want to thank Antonio Arce and Marlen Jorquera for being the most outstanding DukeEngage program directors. I want to thank Yanina Soto for being the most hospitable, caring, wise and humble host mom I could ever ask for. Thanks to Acción Emprendedora for allowing me to work there. Thanks to Uncle Bill and Aunt Melinda Gates for funding DukeEngage. They’re already paying my Duke education and now this amazing program! What else can I ask from them now? THANK YOU, CHILE. Thanks for your beauty, thanks for your people, thanks for being the coziest place in the coldest region of the world.  

Hasta la próxima, y que la Razón siempre sea sobre la Fuerza.  

missing you

Chicos

Los extraño!!!!!!!

I wonder why….

bc you were part of my family!!!

nos vemos en USA!!!!!

El Movimiento Estudiantil

This past Wednesday we had one of our most important charlas (discussions) with some of the leaders of the student movement. After work we met with Noam Titelman, Emilia Malig, and Francisco Fuenzalida, three of the leaders of the Student Federation within Universidad Católica. While all of our previous charlas and tertulias have been interesting, I have to say I was probably most excited for this one because the student protests were one of the first things to get me interested in Duke Engage Chile.

From what I understand one of the main problems with the Chilean education system is that it is highly biased towards wealthier students who can afford good private secondary schools, prepare well for the college entrance exams, and then gain admission to the top universities. Poor students on the other hand have to go to public secondary schools where they do not have sufficient training or resources and then cannot get into better schools, and those that do still can’t pay for them. As a result, one of the main goals of the student movement is to criminalize profit in education (technically it is illegal but there a lots of loopholes), and obtain better funding for public schools and universities

On one hand, I thought it would be kind of hard for me to sympathize with the student leaders when a lot of students in the U.S., myself included, are paying a lot for a good education and will probably come out with massive student loans. However, while the situation in Chile is a lot more complicated than it seems, stemming from a larger problem of massive income inequality, one of the things I found most shocking about our charla was how normal the students were. I’m not sure why, but in my head I had an image of the student leaders as very cold and serious, probably a lot older than myself. Instead, I found students a lot like the students from Duke, cracking jokes and having a good time discussing their ideas and goals. It was honestly really impressive and even inspiring to see students just like us, not just talking about the problems in their country but actually doing something about it. While it seems like they still have a long ways to go towards reaching their goals, I have no doubt that in the end the student movement will create a great change in the Chilean education system.

Skiing and La Isla Negra

It’s hard to believe how fast these two months have gone!  It seems like just yesterday we were moving in with our host families and getting to know Santiago.  We’ve certainly been taking advantage of the time we’ve had so far, so here are a few updates from the past week.

Skiing at Valle Nevado

Last Saturday I went skiing with Justine and Nicky at Valle Nevado.  We woke up really early and took the metro over to Ski Total, a Chilean company that offers ski and snowboard rentals as well as daily transportation to various ski resorts.  We were some of the first people there, so renting all of our equipment went very smoothly, and before we knew it we were in a van heading up the steep, narrow road to the mountains.  The ride was only about an hour and a half, and as soon as we got up there we went right to the slopes.  The terrain at Valle was great, and while there hadn’t been a heavy snowfall in a while, the trails were well groomed and in great condition.  I hadn’t skied in almost two years, but I was relieved that it came right back to me!  By midday, all three of us were heading down the double-blacks in the “experts only” territory with no problems.

A panorama of the slopes of Valle Nevado. (It’s a huge photo, so it may take a while to load)

The biggest difference between Chilean and American skiing is the lack of trees.  All the skiable mountains in Chile are at a pretty high altitude (10,000 – 12,000 ft.) and way above the tree line.  That makes for wide open views of all the mountains, and endless skiable terrain when there is fresh powder.  If you were wondering/laughing about our crazy ski suits, there is actually a reason for them!  Since none of us brought heavy ski jackets or pants with us to Chile, we would have had to rent them at Ski Total for a pretty steep price.  Instead, we found a street in Santiago by La Plaza de Armas with dozens of secondhand clothing stores.  What makes Chilean thrift stores so funny is that they are almost like a time capsule to the 80′s.  We all got incredibly bright and colorful ski suits for under $15!  We definitely got a couple strange looks while wearing them on the metro, but overall it was a great idea!

Take a look at the rest of the skiing photos under Places We’ve Been – Valle Nevado

La Isla Negra & Pomaire

Well, when I started this post I was planning on writing all about our trip last Sunday to La Isla Negra and the town of Pomaire, but it seems like Kerianne has already covered in in her latest post. So I’ll just share some of my photos from the trip!  See both galleries under Places We’ve Been – La Isla Negra & Pomaire

The view of the ocean from Neruda’s bedroom

One thing I will mention about La Isla Negra is the striking resemblance it had with the beaches of California. The combination of the rocky beaches, the fog, and familiar trees reminded me of past trips to the American Pacific Ocean!

Adventures on Foot

It´s crazy to think that I´m already planning out my last few days in Chile! In the past few days, I think our attentions have turned to making final visits and phone calls before we turn in our projects, scheduling despedidas, hitting up Santiago´s best tourist spots one last time, and grabbing those perfect gifts for our families in the U.S. and in Chile. For me, I know it´ll be hard to leave the relaxed pace and the emphasis on family. If you haven´t caught on, Elizabeth is ALL ABOUT keeping the family in touch. I´ve been exploring downtown a bit more, like today I went to a national history museum in Plaza de Armas. Also, I´ve recently met a lot more foreigners in Chile, like the AE interns – twice this week, I was out and about in downtown and randomly ran into friends! I keep thinking about how much my life probably overlaps with strangers, like riding the same metro together every day, how that makes a big city like this really a small world.

Last weekend, I had two busy days – Saturday in Valparaiso and Sunday with the Dukies in Isla Negra and Pomaire. Valparaiso was really fun, and we basically just walked all over for hours. It´s really Bohemian, and I liked how basically everywhere in the city has a view since the whole city is tiered on a hill facing the water. We ate super fresh seafood for lunch at the fish market, and for dinner we shared chorrillano, a Chilean classic of French fries with meat, fried eggs, and cheese piled on top. Yep, my arteries are probably shot right now. I knew Sunday would be interesting when I woke up by accidentally dropping my phone off a bunk bed (where I slept with Maca) and then proceeding to kind of fall of the bed and land on Alexi´s head, who barely budged from his sleeping bag on the floor. Since I went to Valpo with Poka´s cousins, there ended up being 7 people in the house and only a bunk and a twin bed, so I think I lucked out.

I then headed south to Isla Negra, home of poet Pablo Neruda. Walking there reminded me a bit of the back roads to the beach in Cape Cod, except it was super foggy. The house was incredible, with several wings and interesting décor. Literally every piece in Pablo Neruda´s home has a story behind it, and most were selected to add to the boat-like feel. We then got lunch and went to Pomaire, an artisanal town with super cheap pottery. It was mad crowded but fun to stroll through all the booths and shops, kind of like a place where our microentrepreneurs probably aspire to work, because Chileans flock here on weekends so the products practically sell themselves.

Hector’s voiceover debut!

I made this video for a micro entrepreneur that is working with AE. Check out Hector’s awesome voiceover. Thanks to Marlen’s husband Enzo, it sounds super professional!

Finding Life in a Cemetery

Today was not a typical day: I spent the day at the General Cemetery of Santiago.  You would say, “Well, of course Hector would spend the day at the cemetery! Haha”… Well, the thing is, I enjoy remembering and drowning myself in memories to reflect, learn from the past, take advantage of the present and assure a successful future.

Enough of me! I visited the cemetery because I wanted to offer a sincere and respectful salute to my host mom’s family and a few of the most emblematic figures of Chile: President Salvador Allende, 1951 Nobel Prize Laureate Gabriela Mistral and some others.

First of all, I went to a secluded area of the cemetery. Pretty much all gravestones were in German, English or Hebrew. This area of the cemetery was selected for “The Dissidents,” or all of the Protestants in Santiago. That is the area where I found my host mom’s family. Although I did not meet them, I felt some type of connection with them… Maybe it was the fact that I am Protestant like them? Or perhaps the fact that we share the same political beliefs? I don’t know. There’s no way I will ever know why I felt pleased to be there.

My trip continued as I decided to look for President Salvador Allende’s tomb. It took me about an hour to do so, but when I saw it, I had an immediate reaction. There I was, by the tomb of one of the most symbolic men for the cause of equality in Latin America. There I was, by the tomb of a man that was shamefully assassinated by the Chilean Armed Forces and the CIA, authorized by U.S. President Richard Nixon. There I was, by the tomb of a man whose words make me feel Chilean, “Trabajadores de mi Patria: Creo en Chile y su destino.” Shortly after those words emanated from Allende’s mouth, the presidential palace was bombarded. He died with humility, honor and patriotism. He died, and then Chile died along with him for the next 17 years.

To add more symbolism to my trip to the cemetery, I visited the 1951 Nobel Prize Laureate Gabriela Mistral. This eccentric, serious but wise woman became Chile’s first Nobel Prize receiver, followed by Pablo Neruda in 1971. Also, it is important to notice that she is the only woman to have received a Nobel Prize for Literature. For me, she is the “Iron Woman of World Literature.”

After that I looked for Victor Jara’s and Violeta Parra’s tombs but I wasn’t able to find them. Too bad. Despite of that, I am satisfied with my Saturday. One small thing I would like to share is a poem I wrote (in Spanish) as I sat next to Salvador Allende’s tomb.

“A Salvador,” July 21, 2012; Santiago de Chile

A Salvador:

Un amigo y compañero de destino latinoamericano.

A Salvador:

Emblema de razón, que aún perdido volverá a la vida.

El pueblo sufrido pidió al viento un fresco aliento para el futuro.

El corazón chileno latió al lado izquierdo, estremeciendo al mundo.

El enemigo empezó a batir el mar azul que se tornó obscuro.

Se apagó el volcán de esperanza por el invierno inmundo.

Y por medio de las gafas de equidad pasó la manta negra de dureza.

Sobre La Moneda voló Satán moliendo al pueblo y espolvoreándolo.

El inicuo Zorro rió al sentir que pudo menos la razón sobre la fuerza.

Se fue la poderosa luz, y llegó el tormento a Chile, masacrándolo.

A Salvador:

Tu fuiste el pastor de los que aman la simple alegría.

A Salvador:

Patriarca de todos los que por soñar, en tinieblas lloramos.