The Way of El Campo

I love the outdoors. There’s something peaceful about leaving behind civilization, technology, and mass transit. After spending two weeks timing the Transantiago subway, dodging dog poop, navigating traffic, and feeling isolated by buildings and houses lining street after street, I was ready for a weekend in the countryside. I even expected Marlen’s family’s farm to be much more rustic. When she said that the bathroom was outside, I was expecting an outhouse with questionable electricity. Instead, Los Robles struck a balance between wild tranquility and comfort.

I even felt more at ease in Talca. As much as I’ve enjoyed Santiago as a city, I’ve had difficulty characterizing it. I love the color of the houses and graffiti on various barrios. However, I’ve struggled to find a personifiable culture among the bricks, wood, and metal. In other words, what’s at the core of Chilean culture outside of the offering of a large city? Upon leaving the train station at Talca, I commented on how I liked the charm and authenticity of the smaller city. It felt different. It certainly wasn’t a city you’d find in the U.S., nor did its architecture feel like a historical European city. While there are thousands of cities like Talca all over the world and dozens in Chile, it still felt unique. The bus depot was full of tired looking people. Their faces showed the wear of a harder life. The wandering clown that entertained us briefly on our mini bus felt like an individual with a story to tell. I think it’s hard to see individuality in large, developed cities. Everyone always seems hurried. With nearly seven million people in Santiago, you aren’t likely to run into someone again.

Life in the campo can’t feel any more different than life in Santiago. Elana, thanks to an energetic horse, was able to talk to Raúl, the caballero for a while. She talked to him about life in the campo. Apparently, Raúl grew up in Los Robles and moved to Santiago. He moved back to el campo because he didn’t like life in Santiago. People stole. There was pollution. According to Raúl, none of these problems exist in el campo. People are friendly. If you need something, your neighbors are there to help you in el campo. Few people steal.

The views from el campo were incredible. We were fortunate that the skies were clear, especially on Sunday. We could see the snow-capped peaks of the pre-cordillera. The air was fresh and crisp. The scene was a far cry from Santiago. Horseback was a great way to see the landscape, although it was a bit stressful at times listening to Raúl’s rapid Spanish using words that I don’t even know in English. The experience reminded me a bit of my art history class in Spain. I struggled to understand the Spanish because I didn’t know the words in English. Additionally, I milked, well attempted to milk a cow for the first time. I was glad that I volunteered since the experience was not something that I would usually do, nor would I have the chance again for a long time.

As a group, we had a lot of good discussions. We all had a great chance to get to know Marlen better. She really has made our time in Chile great.

The Long Trek to Santiago

That was a long trip. I woke up 4:15 on Friday and headed to the airport. I managed to score a last minute upgrade to New York, which helped reduce the pain of that 5-hour flight. In New York, I met up with Liz and Elana. We were lucky that our eleven our flight to Chile was nearly empty. Everyone had at least one to three seats to himself. I’ve never had a long flight that was so empty! I watched The Watchmen, which concluded when we were over Cuba. It was neat to look down and see the lights throughout Cuba, hoping some day I’ll be able to visit. I managed to sleep for probably five decent hours before breakfast. LAN Airlines is great. They have new cabins and the most comfortable seats out of any airline I’ve flown. They also have a great inflight entertainment system that eases the tedium of a long flight.

I was disappointed that the flight into Santiago was still dark. I could barely make out the silhouette of the Andes. I could also notice the smog in the air because it was clear out, yet the safety beacons on the wing reflected off a layer of pollution.

When we arrived at the Santiago Airport, we had to pay a $131 reciprocity fee. Since the U.S. charges other countries’ citizens several hundred dollars to enter, other countries now apply a similar charge to Americans. Elana and Liz tried to pay in cash, but the man would not accept the bills. They had to be absolutely perfect. Eventually, everyone paid with a credit card. After we picked up our bags, the girls immediately got taken advantage of. Airport staff offered to push the carts they had their bags on. We literally went 15 feet, and they wanted a tip. If I had realized that they weren’t waiting for us, I would’ve known what was going on. I really hate when people take advantage of you at an airport. First impressions are so important and negative impressions lead to mistrust.

Marlen and Antonio greeted us in a mixture of Spanish and English. My exhausted brain struggled. The ride to the hotel was short. The air felt cold and crisp, like camping. At our hotel, ChilHotel, I took a three-hour nap and struggled to find the energy to manage a shower. I finally felt clean, rested, and ready to explore Santiago this afternoon!

A Brief Introduction to Chile

Overview:
The Republic of Chile, as it is formally known, is home to nearly seventeen million residents. Nearly seven million people live in the greater Santiago metropolitan area. Santiago is also the capital of Chile, although Valparaíso, located fifty miles away on the coast houses the national congress. Chile is somewhat unique in it’s geography. Its coastline stretches over 2,880 miles, but Chile is only 265 miles at its widest point. Because of the sheer length of the country, Chile’s geography, climate, and natural resources vary. The Atacama Desert in the north is one of the driest places on the planet. It is also where the newest James Bond film Quantum of Solace was filmed. In the south, numerous glaciers create a stunning landscape.

History and Politics:
Migrating Native Americans settled in Chile at least 10,000 years ago. In the 1500s, Spanish conquistadores conquered Chile in search of silver and gold. Ultimately, agriculture became an important stable of Spanish Chile. Chile finally declared independence in September of 1810, but a decade long struggle with Spain and various political parties ensued.

After the Chilean Civil War in 1891, Chile established a parliamentary style democracy. The 20th century saw the rise and fall of many politicians and general political instability. The rise of Marxism after the Russian Revolution and the threat of Communism after World War II led to a continuous effort by the United States and CIA operatives to undermine communism and socialism. In 1970, Salvador Allende, head of Chile’s Socialist Party, Unidad Popular (Popular Unity), was elected President of Chile. He aimed to advance workers’ interest and pursued agricultural reform to help Chile’s lower class. Richard Nixon’s administration organized secret operations to destabilize Allende’s government. A military coup by General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende on September 11, 1973. Allende reportedly committed suicide.

General Pinochet’s regime was marked by numerous human rights violations, especially in the years immediately following the coup. Thousands of Chileans “disappeared” during General Pinochet’s reign as he moved Chile toward a free market economy and controlled inflation, which previously was as high as 300% per year. Finally, in 1990, General Pinochet replaced by Patricio Aylwin after Pinochet was denied another term in a 1988 plebiscite. Nonetheless, General Pinochet remained “Senator for Life.” During the 1990s and even until now, Chile dealt with reconciling the human rights violations committed by General Pinochet and his regime with moving forward.
Michelle Bachelet is currently President of Chile. This center-left politician became the first female to lead Chile when she was elected in 2006.

Economy:
Copper is one of Chile’s most important exports. In fact, Chile is responsible for over one third of the world's copper production The GDP per capita taking into account purchasing power parity is $14,510. The U.S. is Chile’s most important trading partner. A free trade agreement between the two countries came into effect in 2004. As a result of conservative government spending and prudent saving practices, Chile has weathered the current global economic crisis fairly well. Chile has the most successful economy of any Latin American country.

A recent Wall Street Journal article outlines Chile’s success: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124337806443856111.html

Even with Chile’s economic success, especially compared to other Latin American countries, poverty and inequality continue to be a problem. According to Government polls, poverty levels fell from 46% in 1987 to 14% in 2006. However, critics argue that poverty rates are much higher, possibly as high as 29% when using more developed yardsticks.

Demographics:
Spanish is the official language of Chile, although Chilean Spanish is quite different than that of neighboring Spanish-speaking countries. Nearly 95% of the population is white when mestizos with predominantly white (castizos) ancestry are included). The Mapuche are the largest indigenous group at over 4% of the population. In a 2002 census, 70 percent of the population identified as Roman Catholic and 15% as evangelical.

Sports:
Chile’s most popular sport is fútbol (soccer), while rodeo is the country’s national sport. Basketball has also grown in popularity.

Famous People:
Pablo Neruda, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, is Chile’s most famous poet.

¡Bienvenidos!

¡Hola Todos!

Thank you for taking time to check out my DukeEngage Chile blog. My name is Grant. I’m a rising senior at Duke University, double majoring in Public Policy and Spanish, with a minor in Economics. I was born and raised in beautiful Portland, Oregon. I spent the fall semester of 2008 living with a host family and studying in Madrid, Spain through the Duke in Madrid program. After traveling to 21 countries on five continents and living with three host families in Spain and Costa Rica, I want a summer experience that will challenge my Spanish skills, my ability to perform service work to help others using a combination of my academic knowledge with my personal experiences, and to fully integrate into a foreign country.

For two months, I, along with five other Duke students and Antonio, our trip leader and senior program coordinator for the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, will participate in the DukeEngage Chile summer program. DukeEngage’s mission is clearly and concisely articulate in its motto: “Challenge yourself. Change your world.” Started in 2007 thanks to a generous donation by Bill and Melinda Gates, DukeEngage enables both individual and group service projects throughout the United States and the World.

DukeEngage Chile is in its second year. The six of us will live with host families in three comunas in Santiago: Santiago Centro, Providencía, and Ñuñoa. For me, this will mark my fourth experience living with a Spanish-speaking host family. Nonetheless, every experience is certainly unique and challenging.

We will work as interns for the non-profit, Acción Emprendedora, which translated means “enterprising” or “entrepreneurial action.” AE, founded in 2003, is dedicated to the development of the small businesses sector in areas of high social impact through a process of training, technical assistance, and support in the obtainment of financing. Ultimately, AE seeks to help individuals overcome poverty through entrepreneurship. As interns, we will work on various projects to assist AE in its mission. While we are still unsure which projects we will undertake, possible projects include organizing the annual alumni celebration, researching the effectiveness of AE classes by gathering data from micro-enterprises, or developing a database of practice problems or scenarios for the classes. Last year, Engage interns worked on a project to develop a new curriculum and support for female entrepreneurs.

In addition to working with AE, we will participate in tertulias or tutorials with accomplished and famous Chilean artists, writers, and politicians. We will also be matched up with Chilean college students to learn more about life in Santiago. Finally, we will have time on weekends for excursions around Chile, Argentina, and potentially Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

As the blogging correspondent for DukeEngage Chile, I hope to share a blend of informative knowledge about Chilean culture, history, and politics, Acción Emprendedora, and alleviating poverty, as well as my colleagues and my personal experiences from our service.

¡Hasta luego!