Anyways, in regards to my above statement-I mean that in the sense that the professors have an idea about something (in the novel, etc) and that is the ONLY correct response. Which is rather frustrating coming from Berkeley where professors regularly encourage you to come up with your own ideas...just make sure you have evidence to back up what your saying. Not so much the case here; like I said it's more like high school where the professors "spoon feed" you the answers and then expect you to regurgitate them on the test--not exactly the kind of test that I enjoy taking, but so be it.
It's really interesting to me that the classroom is structured that way here because OBVIOUSLY the students are more than capable of thinking on their own and taking control--just look at all the political protests that are happening right now (I think they're finally getting some coverage in the States...?) I guess in some ways Chile can be more "conformist" than the US--in the sense that they have more a collectivistic culture...but in some ways the US is WAAAAYYY more conformist than Chile. Again, look at the student protests. As university fees in California rise and rise and rise we make half-assed attempts at protest that are only supported by a minimal amount of the general public and have very little force (comparatively) from the student body and last one, two days maximum and then are broken up and it's "life as normal" in the university. In Chile, there has been NO SCHOOL since at least May for many universities and high school because the students (and about 80% of the general population, according to polls) want to change the way the education system works here and are actually willing to put the time and effort necessary in to make that happen and make their voice heard.
Aside from being frustrated from that standpoint about classes I am enjoying my classes and life in general. We have been in school for two whole months now which is really hard to believe. I don't know where the last two months have gone (hence, the lack of updating my blog...though to my credit I do THINK about updating it on a regular basis, it just always gets pushed to the back of my priority list.)
Anyways, I am taking 4 classes: Ensayo Chileno e Hispanamericano, Vargas Llosa, Novelista, Literatura Brasileña, y Cultura y Sociedad Latinoamericana...3 literature classes and 1 psych class. They're all interesting and it's fun to learn about things from a different standpoint (I feel like being politically correct is not as much of an issue here...) example from my Brazilian Lit class. We were reading literature from the colonial period of Brazil...letters from the Portuguese who are in Brazil writing back to Portugal...so of course what do they write about? What appears strange and different them (I think that's true about anyone when you travel, it's always the "different" that stands out), including the funeral rituals of the indigenous people. So, we start talking about funerals in Brazil, and Chile, and Latin America in general where when someone dies it's a big deal and they tend to have very elaborate funerals including parades through the cemetary, honoring the deceased, etc. I'm sure everyone knows about Day of the Dead...death is not as much of "the end of your life" in Latin America as the "beginning of the spiritual life." So, we're talking about all these rituals and ceremonies that they have, and my professors goes, "yeah, they don't do that in Europe or the United States, it's much more taboo when someone dies, and they don't honor the body as much." One of my classmates turns around, looks at me with wide eyes and says (not in these exact words, but basically with this tone) "You just dump the body in the ground?!" I'm pretty sure I laughed when he said that, but I was just like "No, we have a funeral and reception and things, it's just that the ceremony isn't as elaborate and we don't have like a specific day (like Día de los Muertos) to go visit the graves." Anyways, it was kind of funny, but also kind of shocking to think what kind of views people have about my culture.
What else...I have a lot of anecdotes and stories, but it would take all day to write them all. Another thing about being here is that I feel like I"m in a constant state of learning. Every day I learn something new (and not in the sense of in my classes, or like it is Berkeley, where obviously I'm constantly learning too), but in the sense I'm always discovering new things about the culture, language, city, people, whatever. It's really exhilarating and makes feel like I'm a kid again sometimes (like where everything is just new and wonderful), but it can be exhausting and the same time. And I'm not just talking about the language, because that's a given. But on that note, I feel like my Spanish is improving (I would hope so seeing as I've been living in Spanish speaking places for 4 months now...) but I still can't think of how to say things sometimes or how to express myself correctly which can be extremely frustrating--but it also means that I'm constantly learning new words and phrases.
Well, that's a brief update of my life. I've now had the chance to visit Mendoza, Argentina, Pomaire (pottery town), Sewell (mining town), and Valparaíso (ocean town)...all of which have been really fun and different from on another.
Oh yes, one more brief thing. Fiestas Patrias was weekend before last and it was SO FUN. Fiestas Patrias is like Chile's 4th of July (the 18 of September is their independence day) but it's a WAY bigger deal here. The whole country goes all out...everything is red, white and blue, there are flags EVERYWHERE (apparently there's a law that you have to hang a flag for the 18), but if even taxis and cars have little car flags. It's basically 4 days of partying, eating, drinking, going to fondas (very similar to county fairs), hanging out with friends and family. The famous drink of the weekend is called Chicha and it's a really sweet drink...basically everyone drinks it because it's "the drink" of Fiestas Patrias...I"m not really sure how to describe the taste of it, I guess kind of like really sweet wine. Food includes...meat, meat and more meat...empanadas, kabobs, choripan all made on the barbecue... It's really yummy, but not so healthy (it's basically like their Thanksgiving and everyone ends up gaining like 10 pounds). The fondas remind me a lot of county fairs...the best ones are on the outskirts of the city or out in the country. They have lots of carnival games and rides (like Ferris Wheels!) and of course dancing (cueca...the national dance of Chile) and food and drinks. One other thing that the weekend is famous for is flying kites. But they're kites made out of crepe paper, so the tear really easily, and you have to use some special technique to keep them up in the sky. It's not just run with it behind you and hope it catches the wind like I did when I was a kid. No, theres a whole, pull the string in this direction when the tip of the kite is pointing in that direction...it's actually kind of hard, but it was fun :) And there's just open filed full of hundreds of people flying kites. Apparently some people try to have competitions where they try and cut the string of other peoples kites (kind of like in Kite Runner), but others just go just to enjoy flying the kite.
Well, I will try and post pictures on Facebook soon to accompany all the things that have been happening...and I will TRY and keep updated more often (although no absolute promises ;)
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