La Feria en el Día Feriado

So this isn`t going to be a post about any wild and crazy travels. But, if you are in for hearing about how a Chilean family may spend a day off in the middle of the week, read on!...

On Wednesday, randomly in the middle of the week, we had a "día feriado" or a holiday off from school, to commemorate a saint. I was just about to lay back and be a bum that morning when our maid, Paula, knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to come to "la feria" with her, Ignacio(her son), and Isabel(my host mom). "Well ok," I said...so I was dressed and out the door within 10 minutes. By the way, "feria" signifies  a farmers market.But this farmers market was far far far from the one I have experienced in Irvine, with the OC families and UCI students strolling casually, sampling fancy hummus and olive oils, stocking up on organic fruits and veggies. This was insanity. Everything you could imagine was laid out on sheets and tarps. Clothing, shoes,cameras, plumbing parts,bike parts,toys,pots,pans,shampoo,cleaning supplies,toilet paper,costumes,books,parakeets,chickens,hamsters,dried pasta, wallets...the random list goes on. It was like Santiago`s Room of Requirement.For non-Harry Potter fans out there, it`s basically a magic room where everything that went lost in the wizard school ended up in one room..or in this case three blocks of a street in Santiago. And man my host mom knew her way around there.She went from stall to stall quickly scrutinizing items, asking how much they cost, what they cost in the store normally, and so on...it was pretty amazing. They found some table tapestry, a winter jacket(for the equivalent of about 2 bucks!),and a handful of other things in record time. I didn´t get anything,because I was just taking everything in. Now that I know what to expect, I want to come back sometime and see what I can find!  

After the random items section, we made our way into the fruits and veggies section. Another difference from SoCal farmer`s markets is that people don`t get food samples here.They know what they want, grab it, pay and quickly move through the flow of people onto their next target. There isn`t the whole experience of standing there for 5 minutes, savoring 3 different types of apples while the vendor woos you with phrases such as "These are perfectly in season/these come especially from.../can you taste the mix of blah blah" Instead it`s PALTA! PALTA BARATA AQUI! (AVOCADO!!CHEAP AVOCADO HERE!). The closest youll get to a sample is a piece of whatever theyre selling sliced in half and laid on the display.

If you had to ask me what kind of farmer`s market I enjoy more, I may have to pick this one! The atmosphere was definitely more exciting, but I suppose to everyday feria goers it`s normal and perhaps irritating. 

After the farmers market, we went home and I got to help prepare a huge lunch for some friends and family that came over. We had this pasta-esque dish with garbanzo beans, with a sautued chorizo and onion mix laid on top, another pasta dish with grilled veggies, bread(of course), salad, and wine. Oh and to top it off, there were three different types of desserts! The best was this rolled cake, with peanut butter in the middle, drizzled with chocolate and crushed walnuts. Everything tasted amazing and I'm getting hungry just writing this! But I was also full for the rest of the afternoon until late morning the next day! This is not normally how much Chileans eat at lunch by the way. It must have just been special,because we had company and it was a holiday.
So maybe this post seems out of the blue, but to me it seems like a special experience. Just  goes to show I never exactly know what's coming my way when I wake up everyday here!

Chilenismo(because I haven't written one in forever!)-piropos:cat calls.
It seems every Chile blog I've looked at written by women has some input on the "piropos." So I'll add my two cents.Yes men here are more verbal and prone to staring, but it's generally harmless. Most "piropos"are mildly flattering and  are not crude/offensive in nature. But if they're coming from a middle aged/old man...ehhh no thank you. So, I tend to just wear an indifferent expression when I'm riding the bus/metro and walk with purpose, so I don't appear like I'm "pajareando"(wandering aimlessly-another Chilenismo!) It's my indirect way of saying "Don't mess." There was only one occasion where I  was out with friends and had to use my words. I gently told him "Déjanos en paz por favor(Leave us alone please)" and he literally held up the peace sign and walked in the other direction. He wasn't looking to cause trouble, he was just looking for a dramatic reaction. That's all I really wanted to say on that subject because to me "piropos" are just part of the culture and only seem like a big deal if you make them a big deal.

Chile Becomes Eclectic

So I gave this post the following title, because I´ve had some interesting,fun, and even normal experiences the  past few days that don´t really mesh together.And yes this is actually a spin-off of NPR's  "Morning Becomes Eclectic" title, for those who probably were wondering(*hem hem* Dad) But despite the lack of coherency I´d like to share them!

Let´s start with the interesting. Yesterday (August 8th) there was a big secondary school march which is just a piece of the puzzle in the lengthy history of student protests here. For lack of a well formulated, knowledgble explanation(guilty as charged-I need to read up a bit more) here´s the post from the email they sent us as a heads up.

"The Assembly of Secondary Students (ACES) and the National High School Student
Coordination (CONES) have called for protests in Santiago, Chile Aug. 8. Some ACES
leaders have called for students to radicalize their march tactics and occupy schools. Santiago's city government rejected a march permit that the student groups requested, but the groups vowed to march as planned.... The Aug. 8 protests are intended to call attention to the fact that a solution has
still not yet been reached between student protesters and the government. Students and their supporters have demanded free universal education; Chile's higher education system is one of the most expensive in Latin America. "

Before coming I did know that a lot of this had to do with more accesible education, but I still don´t understand the agenda of each organization.To be honest,I wasn´t aware there were multiple organizations. But anyway, I didn´t go near the areas where they told us not to go, so I assumed I wouldn´t see any action. I did see some of the aftermath on the way to school in the afternoon, which included three or four charred buses, shattered glass, and hoards of carabineros(police officers) patrolling the street with those clear shields. A Chilean girl  on my bus and I just looked at each other  like "woah" and ended up buddying up after we discovered we were both heading to the same campus. When I got off the bus, I could have sworn there were traces of tear gas in the air, because my eyes were watering as I was walking to my metro stop.  Before anyone of my loyal readers freak out(a.k.a my family) I just want to point out that this was well after the crowds dispersed. It was even rumored that a couple of the buses were in transit, so there were no passengers. It was just crazy to live in a moment of history and have a Chilean to tag along with and give me a bit more insight.

Later on in the evening the only evidence that there was a march earlier in the day was that the buses weren´t running as regularly. That made it a little difficult when I had to get across town to a friend´s apartment. But it worked out with the help of two middle aged Chilean women who practically escorted me to my friend's front door,like I had never used public transportation in my life.It was more sweet than annoying though, because I knew they just wanted to look out for me after the march and what not.

So now, the fun. The reason I went to my friend´s place is because a group of EAPers met up there before we headed to Miércoles Po! I mentioned it in an earlier post, but "po" is a shortened version of "pues(well)" used for emphasis. So I suppose the "po" just emphasises the fact that there is a carrete(Chilean word for party) on a Wednesday. It´s  actually a well-organized event that is thrown at a new venue each week and targeted towards extranjeros (foreigners). And extranjeros there were! But there were also a nice splash of Chileans in the mix. It was really fun, but I was so tired today since I had to get up for class about 3 hours later. Luckily we´re in la semana universitaria(kind of like welcome week here)so classes haven´t been getting too intense yet . I just have a lot of reading for each class. Which brings me to....
The normal:a lot of days here are normal... in a sense. What I mean is that a lot of the stuff I´m generally doing here day-to-day is what I would be doing my junior year in the states, like going to class and dreading mountains of reading. But now that I´m in Chile, every routine is a fresh experience. Yes I have a mountain of reading, but it´s also in Spanish. Also, I just scored an internship...yes! It´s with a national association that works for the rights of indigenous and rural women in Chile.So yes I would be seeking out an internship at Irvine, but not one like this! So far I know I will be learning a lot about their cause, and eventually helping them get ready to put together a sort of statement they bring to national congress each year, outlining the struggles/needs of indigenous and rural women in each region of Chile. I feel like I´m reallyyy far from that though and I have a lot to learn! My supervisor is a really sweet, down to earth older woman. After she was an hour late to the interview(in the Chilean fashion) she greeted me with a big hug and an apology. The interview was super relaxed too, because EAP students have worked with this organization in the past.

So that´s what I got for my second week of the semester.On Saturday, we have a   trip to Villa Grimaldi, a place used for torture in the dictatorship, so it will be sad but eye opening I hope. On a lighter note, I heard a funny reference in my swim class yesterday similar to one in the states. We were doing relay races that involved putting our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us, which eventually involved a swim train, leap frog, and a handful of other crazy races. But anyways, one of the people on my team told everyone to stretch their arms out "como colegio! como colegio!" Colegio is like junior high/high school equivalent. Which means he meant have your arms stretched out like you would in those awkward slow dances in junior high or "como colegio!" I don't know if he was specifically referring to a school dance, but the message basically carried the same meaning. It's funny how references among young adults cross borders. Chao for now!

"Sobreviviendo" the First Week

Whew! Well I got through my first week of fall semester at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, or "La Católica" for short. The system of classes is interesting here. They have a system called "modulos" from 1 to 8.So module 1 is 8:30-9:50, 2 is 10:00-11:50, and so on. Luckily, the earliest class I have is modulo 3, at 11:30. That way, I can beat most of the morning rush hour. It's absolutely insane to travel on the micros(buses) and metro during this time. I heard that at some points it's close to 6 people per square foot. I can believe it! This has just taught me to abandon any need for personal space at times.Also, I could definitely go on about the complex workings of Santiago's public transportation that are not always spelled out, but somehow known by a majority of the population. But I'd rather focus on the classes I'm taking, which have pretty translatable titles...

• Political Processes in Latin America: My polisci class, with my gringo profe(the slang for profesor).So yeah, he is actually from the United States and went to Berkeley, but he also lived in Argentina for quite a while. His Spanish is really good, but of course there are hints in his accent and overall pattern of speaking that signal he is not a native speaker. 

• Formation and Development of Latin American Culture:A sociology class that already seems really . One of the topics we discussed was what the symbol of the Virgin Guadalupe(the image of the Virgin Mary always on those glass candles) means to Latin American culture. Our professor's voice is a little affected,like he hangs on every important phrase, but that also means he speaks pretty clearly. So I don't mind! 

• Mexico: History and Culture-At first I thought, "why would I come to Chile to take a class on Mexico?" But when I checked out the class(we had a "shopping" period on Tuesday), the subject material caught my interest. Every couple weeks, we have a different professor teaching a different topic on Mexico. It will be anything from music to U.S.-Mexico relations, which will be interesting to study outside of my homeland. Plus, we get to go to plays as a class...hurray for field trips!

Oh, and I also decided to sign up for a swim class. It's cool, because I'm the only extranjera(foreigner) with all the Chilean students, and I can get a work out in a few days a week. We've been doing conditioning instead of swimming, which didn't work out so well the first day when I brought my bathing suit instead of running clothes! So Friday was my first day of being prepared for this class. 

After my first week at a Chilean university, there were a few factors that stood out to me that I want to point out...

First, there is a phenomenon of prices dropping majorly the moment you step out of the school gates, which I've mostly noticed with food and photocopying. For example a sandwich in a "casino" (dining hall, strange name right?) here runs close to 1,000-1,500 pesos, sometimes more. But you step out the gate and there's a man selling sandwiches outside the metro for 800 pesos.I went to a barbecue they had for study abroad students,and a Chilean student handed me a business card for a group of women who rotate every week to have students in their house for homemade lunches at a pretty low price.  However, I'm fortunate that I pack a lunch to bring, courtesy of my Chilean family. Then there's the photocopying...no one buys books here. Everyone gets the syllabus and just prints out the "lecturas" or readings they need for the class. You can do it on campus, but on the tour we had a Chilean student pointed outside the gates for cheaper photocopying. Literally people have photocopying centers set up in their house, and all you have to do is bring your class syllabus. For example, I told them I have sociology with Valenzuela, and they have the "lecturas" for each course in a folder. It's a strange, but amazingly efficient and cheap system. No more 100 dollar books I get 30 bucks back for! 

Then, there's the class sizes . All of my lectures here are the size of most of my discussion sections in Irvine. And speaking of discussion sections...well some classes don't have them, and the ones that do don't seem to matter at all. I asked a professor if they're mandatory and before I could really get the question out  he simply responded "Ahhh no importa, no importa..." ( Nahhh, it doesn't matter). There are also not multiple time slots for discussions.  So that means two of my classes have discussion sections at the same time, but nobody stopped me from signing up...I guess I'll be switching off each week which one I go to. 

Finally, I want to make a commentary on Chilean students. The people who complain that Chileans don't talk to foreigners are the people who don't talk to them first. 90% of the time, Chileans just will not talk to you first. But once you ask them a question, they are more than willing to open up a bit more.I asked a classmate something about the class reading, and it ended up with her asking where I was from, what I studied, do I like Chile, etc. And she even drew me a map to the cheapest photocopy place near campus.So as long as you make the first move, fellow Chilean students can be a big help. They're just use to having their life in Santiago. Many of them grow up in Santiago, stay at home in Santiago when they go to school, and keep the same friendships they've had for a long time. I was explaining freshmen dorms to a girl in my swim class, and the concept struck her as strange and interesting. Basically, I don't take it personally if they don't go out of their way to make foreign friends. But I will think about this when I come back to Irvine, and try to chat with foreign students. 

It feels good to start getting into the swing of things here, but this week knocked me out! Yesterday I finally got to sit and relax all day like a bum and watch the Olympics. They air them a lot less here. In the U.S. I feel like I can't get away from them, and here I actually have to flip some channels to find them!Then today I went and checked out the Museum of National History, which is free on Sundays, and the Mercado Central. The museum was interesting,but kind of small and the market was full of fish stalls and seafood restaurants. I wanted to whip out my camera to snap some photos of the whole octopuses they were selling, but I had to get away from the terrible fish smells and the yells of "Hello beautiful! What are you looking for? Have you eaten lunch? Great prices! etc.etc." Oh well, all part of the experience! Chile also celebrated "Día del Niño" today, which gave the city a slightly adorable vibe. I was waiting at a bus stop with a mother and her little daughter, and a woman dressed as little red riding hood with a car full of balloons stepped out of the car, handed one to the girl with a bag of candies saying "Feliz Día del niño!" Then the little girl proceeded to hand me a "Negrita"( a type of chocolate coated Nestle candy here) with a smile.Qué tiernooo!(How cuteee!) Even the street venders were laying out toys to sell and offering face painting. And there was a llama chilling on the street for kids to take pics with outside the zoo. But there was a group of protestors wearing animal costumes protesting the zoo at the same time. I've never been, but I guess some people think the animals in there are not treated well...They were a stark contrast to the joyful flocks of kids.  
So that's that with my first week of the semester. Tomorrow I have an interview for a potential internship,so I'll write an update on how that goes! Chao mis amigos lindos!

For those who have already read this post, I wanted to add another update to it...To those who haven't it's like it has always been here! I wanted to mention how on Sunday I was standing by a crafts fair when a white guy walked up to me and asked "trabajas aquí?" (do you work here). "No...soy extranjera(foreign)" He thought I was some Chilean shop owner?! "Where are you from?" I asked and he responded "America." "We're in America..." I thought but instead I said "Oh United States?" "Well uh yeah..." he responded. It just goes to show how "America" has become the natural term for us United Statesians to call our country, even though there is an entire continent below us called South America. I told my host mom about this and she said "Yeah he says he is American, so what are we indians(in this context she meant native people)?" It just shows how important it is to consider that a simple description can be offensive in other places.I agree with my host mom. We seem to have a claim to the term American in the U.S. which is a bit marginalizing to the South American continent. From now on, I can't imagine not describing myself as North American or from the United States. I just thought this experience was pretty eye opening and showed the power that words can hold!