September 29: I'm All Shook Up (?)

Word of the Day: hacinamiento- overcrowding

So good news! The internship situation appears to be figured out! Tufts in Chile can be very efficient sometimes. I will, assuming my interview tomorrow goes well, be working with El Trampolin, an organization that works in Villa San Luis, Maipu, pretty much completely on the other side of the city in a poor area that suffers from many structural issues such as lack of adequate housing, education, green spaces, transport that have given rise to a whole host of other problems such as gangs, unemployment, etc.
This is something of a shallow concern, but I have not totally figured out what to wear: it's not a totally safe area, at least from the description on the website so I need to not draw attention to myself. Normally this means I'd throw on my most Chilean pair of jeans (think fading and patches) and some converses but I also figure I should try and look somewhat professional and capable. Hopefully this can be achieved. I also am not totally sure what I'll be working on/with, but at the very least it will be eye opening experience. I've gotten a bit too comfortable in my upper class barrio alto life here and I'm definitely overdue for a shakeup. While the commute there is going to be a least a hour, this will also give me a bit more of a reality check of what it's really like to get around Santiago for a lot of people.

Speaking of being comfortable in my wonderful life, I had a great time this morning at the gorgeous "cafe literaria" (literary cafe) essentially a municipality run café/library hybrid in a park in Providencia this morning. Sat and read about conditions in Chilean prisons for my human rights class in a leather chair with lovely sunlight streaming in and park views. I am a lucky son of a gun. Especially because I am not incarcerated in Chile without adequate blanketing and protection from the outdoors, as was the contention of the 2006 (?) case that I was reading about. Then, I sat outside in the sun and ate my lunch and was wished "MUY buen provecho" by several slightly creepy guys on bicycles. It was kind of cute actually, and better than being called "princesa" yet again. Oh, darn, I forgot to take off my crown before I left the house! For all my complaining about it, I actually don't mind the catcalling anymore and pretty much just find it entertaining: it's hard not to.

One minor complaint: I think I am imagining earthquakes. Or rather mini tremors. There were definitely at least 2 or 3 baby tremors today. But after them, I kept feeling all shook up as if they were going on pretty much constantly, which I'm fairly certain is not true.

Speaking of things that are shaken up, no major strikes I've run into recently, but the Mapuche hunger strike situation here has gotten quite out of hand. By which I mean that there are a lot of protests going on in the South which are running into confrontations, sometimes quite violent, with the police. There were a lot of police trucks and horses out in the streets today and I wonder if this was related. Attempts at negotiating a settlement have failed so far, I believe, because the Mapuche contigent was dissastified with the government's offer. It's really hard for me to get actual news on the situation and demands since the news and my host parents have a pretty dismissive viewpoint on the legitimacy of what is wanted.

September 23: The Teeny Tiny Terremoto

Word of the Day: temblor- small earthshaking, without any damage

My first seismic experience occurred during law class today. I thought someone was shaking the back of my chair really hard, which seemed odd since the law students are so serious, but then I noticed the power point projection shaking. After a minute or two of nervous laughter, class resumed, no big deal. Just mother nature reminding us she's there.

Speaking of nature, Santiago has become absurdly beautiful of late, with spring busting out of every corner. Bright flowers are all over the place.

In other news, I finally got around to checking out the thrift store section of Santiago, centered on this one street called Bandera that runs up from the Plaza de Armas. It was AWESOME. Like Patronato, except cheaper and more funky. I'm starting to understand where all the hipsters shop... Certainly nothing eco-friendly like recycling- I felt bad about how many new things I've been purchasing of late, especially after a friend showed me a mini-documentary, "The Story of Stuff" http://www.storyofstuff.com/ yesterday. It reminded me that just because I'm not vegetarian anymore doesn't mean I should let all my environmentally focused habits go to hell, especially since the US is responsibly for disproportionately more environmental damage, especially when you consider how our product chains that may orginate elsewhere end up creating goods that are by and large consumed in the developed world.

I also my first two Chilean tests this week. Kind of hard for different reasons. My law exam was reasonable, but the essay format taxed me a bit since I hadn't written anything formal in any language in a couple of months.
The second was a quiz for "Globalization and Copper" which was short, but hard because it asked slightly ridiculous things, such as the exact number that the money supply had increased relative to how much it is actually backed. It was nice to have a taste of what examinations here are like though.