Who Knew Broken Underwear Could Taste So Good?

1) Sideways picture of standard Chilean cigarette carton. What makes you want to smoke more...these teeth or the American cowboy?
2) "Bigger," the neighborhood giant grocery store, is the view I wake up to every morning...forever reminding me that bigger is better.
3) Manola, ballerina star. See previous entry for a written rave review of her performance.


Aware that I'm much better at writing silly anecdotes (see entries 1-4) than explaining the details of my program, I have decided to dedicate this entry to those of you who don't quite understand where I am, what I'm doing, or why Chilean cigarette packages make you want to quit smoking (I don't smoke, but if I did, I would quite after seeing those gnarly teeth).

Alright. It all began on a sun-drenched December day, when my mom (TravelAgent superstar, awarded Most Likely to Successfully Find Everything You Need on the Internet), aware of the fact that I was too unconcerned for my future to actually look into study-abroad programs, asked me where I wanted to study. Looking at a map of South America, I noticed there was only one country skinnier than my wiry 135 pound frame, so naturally, I told her Chile. "But mom," I said. "Don't worry, I'll look into it." After indeed not looking into it, my mom saved my future by finding a supersweet year-long program in Valdivia, Chile, through Middlebury University in Vermont.

The Middlebury program has a couple of unique elements. First is the language pledge, a document we sign promising to speak only Spanish while here, even among our fellow gringos. The language pledge is one of my favorite things about the program, and has helped bring my Spanish to a new level (From, "What the heck did you just say?" to "I understood the first word, but after that, What the heck did you just say?"). And it's sort of a symbolic thing too, an intention to fully immerse yourself in a place and a culture, to speak the language, learn all the mysterious phrases special to Chilean spanish. Definitely interesting to form friendships, especially with North Americans, while only speaking Spanish. But in all seriousness, I feel a gazillion times more comfortable in Spanish, and I credit it to simply speaking Spanish, all the time, even in the shower (not a program requirement, but fun to sing "Cantando en la lluvia" in a shower).

My program also sets you up with an internship catered to your interests. Mine is in the Ministry of Agriculture, a regional government office which oversees other government agriculture offices involved in forest management and research, health and safety, and aid to small and medium agricultural producers. Indeed, pretty strange to be "working for the Man" when I felt like I was working somewhat against him last year, but it's nice to see the other side of the coin. So for the 15 hours I spend in the Ministry of Agriculture office every week, I get dressed up in a nice shirt and slacks, but because I forgot to bring 1) nice shoes and 2) a belt from the States, I wear hiking shoes and show up beltless. Fortunately, my good wit and charm make these classy items unnecessary.

My time in the office has been interesting. I mentioned in an earlier post that I made out with the president of Chile (okay, so we cheek to cheek kissed, but they're pretty much the same thing, right?), but I've also been doing things with people who aren't the president of Chile. Rural women appear to be an up and coming theme here in Chile, especially in a country where women didn't receive the vote until the 1950's, and where agriculture remains such a huge part of the economy (there's a good chance your next apple or avocado says Chile on it...) Many rural women's groups are forming, and part of my internship is to attend meetings with them and people in my office, who give them advice on how to take advantage of resources around them, good agricultural practices, etc. The rural women have been exceptionally nice...a couple of them brought some homecooked fried sweet things to one of the meetings (they are called "calzones rotos" which literally means "broken underwear." the only reason i can think of for the name is that eating too much of them would result in broken, or at least badly damaged, underwear). Admitedly, it's frustrating at times during these meetings, as I would love to participate and understand everything being said, but with the language barrier it is often difficult. But with or without language, one can see the spirit and determination, and it's a cool feeling to see how animated and determined many of them are to improve their lives and equalize the playing field.

Besides time spent in meetings, eating fried things, I've spent a lot of time in the office. I've had little experience with offices in America, but so far the stereotype holds up-Chilean offices are cooler. The people in my office are always joking and laughing, are friends with each other, and create a really happy office environment. Erica the accountant told me one day, "You have to work, so you might as well do it with a smile on your face!" The office is also open and cubicle-less, which adds to the communal environment. My time there so far has shown me that I really don't want to work in an office, but that you can transform any place into a happy one.

The last element of my program is a home-stay. I'm staying at a pension, which is like a long-term hostal. There are 3 Chilean students, Jorge the Engineer, Allison and I from our program, Senora Carmen the all-around awesome Nana, and Jacqui and Manola, the mom and daughter team who own the house. Unfortunately for me, the tv is a constant fixture in the house, but besides that, it's really awesome here. Meals sometimes turn into 1-2 hour long engagements, where we discuss everything from funny Manola stories of the day to english and spanish phrases (I'm happy to report I've finally learned the translation for "Better safe than sorry": "Juan Seguro vivio muchos anos." literally, John Safe lived many years.") We also recently formed a weekly indoor soccer game with all the guys of the house, which promises to have us hobbling around most of the week (Chileans take their indoor soccer seriously!).

That's about it for program specifics. I'll be finalizing my class schedule this week, but I think I'll be taking "Campus Sustainability" "Ethnographic Documentaries" (film class) and "Economic and Social History of Chile."

Here's a nice parting quote from someone named Ben Sweetland:

We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own. "

Peace!

Love,
Ryan