Charlas.Galletas. Two words that easily sum up our past few days. Although there isn't a lot of events to discuss, we have had the opportunity to hear several interesting speakers including a Chilean Naval General, the editor of a prominent newspaper ( The Clinic), and a couple sociologists. Most interestingly, we had the opportunity to hear Mario Toral speak in his studio. This Chilean artist, who painted the murals found at the University of Chile Metro Stop, explained many of the images found within this mural and showed us mamy of his other pieces. While the mural is stunning, I definately preferred his series of sketches intertwining images from two great tragedies that occured on September 11 - the coup orchastrated by Pinochet and the terrorist attacks of 2001. The two events occured several decades apart, but his sketches definatley relate the events. On another note, something about his work reminded me of Shepard Fairey. Perhaps it is only the political overtones, but something seemed to relate their work.
Fortunately, we weren't cooped up in lectures the entire time. We also attended our University of Chile orientation on Tuesday. Not only did they give us a sweet backpack, but they also included a performance by a talented Chilean dance group. More importantly, they also explained how to register for classes online. Seems like it should be a relatively simple process, but the university has yet to reveal when most classes actually meet. Wouldn't be too big of an issue if classes didn't start on Monday. Oh well...not a big deal. Just a little frusterating.
The frusteration continuedon Wednesday when on a trip around the city to register our visas. Think it was easy? Nope. After we waited in line forever...with only telenovelas for entertainment...we were told that our copies of our passports and visa were too dark. Thus, we had to recopy and go again. Significantly later, most of us "passed" but a few still had problems since others had either misspelled their name or stamped their passports too lightly. Frusterating but also somewhat amusing (well, for me since I "passed" and don't have to return at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning). The day brightened though, when we subsequently visited Mario Toral and heard from the editor of the clinic. However, the highlight of the day definately proved to be a reunion with my TA from Spanish 21. While she was studying abroad at Tufts, she helped with Spanish discussion sections. She has since returned to Santiago, discovered that several of her former students are studying here, and decided to contact us for dinner. We may have struggled to speak in Spanish for an entire meal, but the experience unquestionably gave us much needed practice before moving in with our host families. And, more importantly, it was a very good time.
Thursday...more charlas of course. But we also enjoyed a guided tour of La Moneda. While the president no longer lives in the building, President Bachelet does work there and we all hoped for a sighting. No luck. We did, however, have the opportunity to see the insides of the stunning facility. After our tour, Professor Winn discussed his experiences during the coup...which include the title of the entry. Apparently a Chilean, a nationality notorious for their understatements, actually described the 1973 coup as a "problemita."
And, as usual, I'll end my post with some more pictures. I promise I'll try to be up-to-date soon.
Los Dominicos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristyChile/LosDominicos#
Cerro Santa Lucia:http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristyChile/CerroSantaLucia#
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