After spending my first few weeks of classes wondering whether school actually involves any real work in Chile, I've discovered that all assignments simply fall on the same weeks throughout the semester. I am, unfortunately, in the midst of one such time period. Whether it involves writing essays, reading seemingly endless articles on South American politics, or hunting for obscure comunal demographics for internship, work has consumed nearly all of my spare time. Finding time to sleep proves difficult; setting aside enough time to blog has been nearly impossible, which resulted in the long gap between entries. Anyways, as my work load has slowly diminished, I've finally returned blogging after an amazing, albeit hectic, week of homework, exploring, and just enjoying my time in Santiago.
In addition to spending a considerable amount of time in class, at my internship, or studying, I still found a few spare moments to explore more of Santiago last Friday. We arrived in Santiago nearly three months ago; yet, I often feel as if I only "know" a few small sections of the city. Thus, eager for any excuse to investigate some of the outlying areas, I decided to write my next Revista Revolver (a small English-language publication in Chile) article on Santiago's numerous parks. Rather than focusing on those downtown, I decided to visit some in other comunas including Recoleta.
I consequently decided to abandon my school work on Friday and explore the parks in Recoleta. While I enjoyed the parks immensely, the highlight of the trip definately occured when we stumbled upon a farmers' market during the trek between parks. Numerous stalls overflowed with ripe fruits and vegetables. Not only did they smell and taste absolutely delicious, but the produce was insanely cheap. Almost too cheap. It feels soemwhat wrong to buy apples for roughly 10 cents per pound when upwards of 20% of rural Chileans live beneath the poverty line. Regardless, I bought some delicious fruit. They wouldn't sell it, after all, if they were not making a profit.
While I only planned to spend the day researching for my article, I actually visited another park Friday night. A few of the Gringos and many of our Chilean friends went to Parque Quinta Normal for the Universidad de Chile's annual toxifonda. Basically, its a gigantic dance party complete with some live entertainment underneath the stars. Que divertido! Que lindo!
Although I obviously stayed out relatively late on Friday night, I eagerly jumped out of bed Saturday morning in order to travel to El Teniente, the largest subterranean copper mine in the world. After a long busride through the Colchagua Valley, we ascended into the Cordillera and arrived at the mine. Before entering, we had to dress in mining gear as a safety precaution. Amusing, but, in retrospect, probably a bit unnecessary as we only had the opportunity to explore very limited parts of El Teniente.
The tour itself consequently only lasted a few hours. We explored the control rooms, some shafts, a device that crushes rock, and a room with some other gems found deep within the mountain before lunching in the mine's cafeteria. The food obviously failed to meet the usual standards for fare on Tufts trips, although the experience may have negated its less than excellant taste. While eating, the comparison between the mine and a prison became incredibly apparent. Not only did everyone wear an orange jumpsuit, but locking doors forced all to stay within their designated area of the mine. All arrive on designated company buses and leave aboard the same vehicles after the bells end the workday. Order obviously appears tantamount.
However, El Teniente is obviously not a prison. Its 5,000 employees chose to work within its confines each day. It may even be a desirable place to work. Regardless, the obsessive organization made it appear almost exploitative. Could it change its operations to allow for more freedoms or a more enjoyable work environment without sacrificing output and earnings?
Although the mine arguably usurps its workers rights today (I don't know enough to make any conclusions; so, we'll just make observations), the situation has definately improved from early eras. When it first opened slightly more than a century ago, all employees lived in the adjoining company town, Sewell. They needed to adhere to company rules and buy from the company store. Today, the mountainside town is merely a tourist site...which we explored after visiting the mine. Not only did we wander through the colorful buildings, but our guide told us some old town lore. Quite amusing.
Obviously this town flourished numerous decades into the past...but still within my Chilean great-grandmother's lifetime. The mine is about 100 years and we celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday. She's the first person I've ever met whose reached such an old age, but I'm thinking it may become increasingly common as doctors can cure so many more ailments these days.
Once again, the following week overflowed with classes, homework, and tango lessons. Que divertido!
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