Chao Chile

I'm currently sitting at Dunkin' Donuts in the Arturo Merino Benitez Airport of Santiago (SCL) waiting for my flight back home to California. I first boarded the plane for Chile on January 1st at 6 am in the morning and wrote my first entry for this blog shortly after. It only seems fitting that I finish the piece up now, during my last little bit of time in the country.

From studying in Santiago and sampling the Chilean delights to collaborating with indigenous weavers and exploring the country's extremes, I feel truly grateful for this amazing experience. Over the past 7 months, I have been touched by the generosity of countless people, and it is thanks to them I have had this wonderful opportunity. Thank you for letting me into your lives and sharing- whether feeding me, housing me, giving me directions, being patient with my Spanish, teaching me how to make a fire, showing me around the best spots in town, introducing me to friends... the genuine kindness and warmth I have been treated with while visiting is impressive.

Although I am physically leaving Chile now, the conversations and interactions I have shared with people here have touched me forever and impacted my perspective in big ways. To name a few themes, there's the thrill of learning another language to connect with others, the independence granted by exploring the city of Santiago, the beauty of being completely accepted by another family, the tranquilidad and simplicity of the South, and the Mapuche weaver's connection with nature. It is hard to tell exactly how these ideas will impact me in the future, but I am sure they will manifest themselves in significant ways.

Thank you.

El Centro y el Paro

I have spent the past few days in the heart of Santiago, and the current student paro, or strike, is unavoidable. As pictured in my previous entry from Antofagasta, schools are locked up across the country since students are demanding more rights. Mainly, students are upset because Chileans have high taxes for schools in comparison with other countries, yet their public school system is not very good. Instead, one must belong to the higher classes to afford better, private schools.

Over the past 2 months, the majority of college (and some lower-level) classes have been cancelled. Professors are still receiving pay, and students are still paying- but neither have been showing up. In turn, there have been rumors that Chileans will fall 1 year behind in school. Whether or not, this will actually happen, I am unsure. However, it is clear that this is a big deal- the news is covered with segments on student rallies, protests, and debates, and the Chilean President Piñera has been put under much pressure.

In order to learn about more about the matter, I visited the campus of University of Chile with a friend who goes there. Upon entry, I was required to turn in my student I.D. so that security knows who is on grounds. It was a Thursday, and several talks were scheduled for the evening- I sat in on one hosted by a group of teachers and the national reforms they are seeking.

Next door, there was a peña, or showcase of guitar folkloric music that featured other students. Many of these songs are politically-charged and reminiscent of the times during which Pinochet ruled Chile under a dictatorship. Just outside, is La Moneda, the Presidential Palace, and an iconic government building where Chilean students are protesting by running around it for hours on end. This is just one of countless efforts being made to provoke change.

Outside Universidad de Chile in Downtown Santiago

"all of society is fighting, all for free education"

About 5 blocks away, lies the Plaza de Armas- bordered with important government buildings and filled with locals playing chess. When strolling around, I found the contrast between the atmosphere here and the University striking, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the juxtaposition.

Visitas en el Campo

Start-Up Chile sent a photographer down to Southern Chile for a weekend to do a segment on VOZ. The visit ended up being quite fun since it gave us a change to visit some of the artisans we collaborate with in the campo, or farmland.

As always, their generosity was humbling- first we stopped by one artisan's house for a breakfast of fresh eggs. After, she showed us around the house, including her loom and introduced to the animals- pigs, puppies, cows, & hens. Even though the animals roam freely, they all come running to her when she calls out since she feeds them.

Next, we stopped by another weaver's house for a lunch of cazuela (chicken and vegetable soup), sopaipillas (fried bread), and semolina (a pudding-like dessert). I particularly enjoyed listening to this artisan as she explained a variety of natural plant-dye recipes to us and pulled out sacks of gorgeous color samples. One surprising color was a pale pink and is made from walnut shells.

We had got a bit lost on the way to this second artisan's house so by the time we arrived our photographer only had time to drop us off and leave to catch his flight up to Santiago. In turn, we were left without a ride back to Labranza (about an hour away). Normally, public transportation buses run a few times a day between the two regions, but since it was Winter vacation and many people either stay at home or are on vacation- the system is unreliable and no trips were planned for the day. With a bit of luck, we were able to find cell phone reception and convince a friend from Labranza to make a special trip out to the campo to pick us up!

In addition, the final video for Start-Up Chile turned out great! Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0pkjjAm1AE

Teñidos Naturales, Natural Dyes

The dye pictured below comes from this moss!

Farm-Fresh Eggs!

Trigo, Wheat

The basket is used to clean the wheat, by tossing and shaking it for a few minutes as pictured below.

Natural Gray Wool

El Telar, Loom

Filming

El Copihue, the National Flower

Clase de Tejer

I recently had my last weaving class, where I learned how to make the dibujo (symbol) for the Estrella Mapuche (Mapuche Star) using natural white wool and wool dyed with aromo, a native tree.

I ran out of time during my class to finish the entire prenda (piece) so I am planning on finishing it up back in the United States. One of the beautiful things about Mapuche weaving it's simplicity- you only need 4 sticks to create the loom. That said, I simply slipped the weaving off the upper and lower sticks and folded it up into my suitcase.

See the steps of creating the Estrella Mapuche below:

Creating the Urdiembre/Base

La Cadena

literally "the chain," la cadena is the horizontal white piece of wool that holds the piece together at its start

Dibujando, Creating the Symbol (literally "Drawing")

Done!

San Pedro de Atacama

After giving a talk at the Univsersity of Antofagasta, we decided to make the most of our time up north and visit the San Pedro de Atacama Desert, about 4.5 hours inland. Filled with tourists, shopping, and lots of good restaurants- the area reminded me a lot of Patagonia in the South when I visited to go backpacking in Torres del Paine.

Popular sites and activities include visits to hot springs, geysers, horseback riding, salt lagoons, archeological tours, and hikes out to gorgeous look-out point such as Valle de La Luna, Valle de la Muerte, y Valle del Arcoiris.

Although most locals were complaining about the colder weather since it is Winter, I personally loved it- in comparison with the wet and cold climate in Temuco, San Pedro de Atacama was very warm and I enjoyed getting the chance to walk around in short sleeves again!

Volcanoes on the Horizon

the view from our hostel

One striking feature of San Pedro de Atacama was the layout of the city- as reflected above, the majority of streets are walled-in by stores, hostels, and restaurants alike.

Sights around the Central Plaza

Valle de La Luna

Named for it's similar appearance to the moon's surface, this famous destination is run and protected by the Asociación Indígina (Indigenous Association) and located about 19 km outside of town. It features a variety of gorgeous dunes, caves, salt mines, and panoramic views.

Salty Rocks!

large salt deposits can be found quite easily while walking around areas like Valle de la Luna

Las Tres Marías

The Colors of San Pedro

One of the my favorite parts of visiting the desert was sunset- over a period of half an hour or so the colors of the gorgeous landscape change drastically. Here are some pictures taken from Valle de La Luna and Tebinquiche.