Pre-trip thoughts

I can't believe that I'm actually going to be on a plane headed to Chile in about 48 hours.  This is an official description of the class and what I will be doing.  Basically it is 3 weeks in Chile.  The first week will be spent in Santiago learning about the recent history of oppression in the country and visiting museums, historic places, and attending some events of Santiago a Mil-a HUGE international theater festival.  The next week we will be in Valparaiso running a summer camp for an elementary school.   We will also be doing some sort of community service project for the school.  In the past they did things like make a fenced garden and remodel a room to make into a library.  The third week will be spent in Pucon.  Pucon is a city on a lake that is overlooked by an active volcano.  At this time we'll be able to relax on the beach as well as go hiking, horseback riding, rafting, and lots of other outdoorsy things.

The coursework for the class include a variety of short stories, poems, articles, and movies about the  1 coup that occurred in Chile in the 1970s.  This period of time was the height of the Red Scare.  President Salvador Allende was a member of the Socialist Party of Chile.  The United States wanted to protect the world from the spread of Communism.  President Nixon allocated $10 million dollars for the CIA to put a stop to Allende's power and unseat him.  On September 11, 1973 the Chilean military staged a coup.  Allende gave a very passionate last word's speech that was broadcast over the radio.  He then killed himself.  After that Gerneral Augusto Pinochet took control.  The junta terrorized the country.  People thought to be organizing were sent into torture camps.  Thousands of people disappeared.  The idea of working together was so hated that group projects were banned in schools.  Pinochet was the ruler until 1990 and the country was brought back to democracy.  In 2006 Michelle Bachelet became the first female president of Chile.  She was a member of the Socialist party.  When she was a child, she and her parents were put in a torture camp.  Her father died but Michelle and her mother made it out and were exiled to Australia and later Germany.  She is now head of the UN Women.  Clearly Chile has a very interesting and tumultuous history.

I am so excited for every one of these cities.

In Santiago we will get a chance see Chile's history in person.  Until a few weeks ago I had no idea about the coup or the torture camps or any of the atrocities that went down in the last forty years.  We will be visiting the places that I'm reading about such as Villa Grimaldi, a torture center which is now a park for peace to honor the people that were tortured and killed there.  It is one thing to read about those things but to actually see it in person and speak with people who's families were affected by it will be a very moving experience.

As most people that know me know, I am a Special Education major.  I love working with kids.  I am so excited to run the summer camp in Valparaiso.  I will be interesting to see how the education system is different in a different country.  There will probably even be kids with disabilities (diagnosed or undiagnosed) and I'll be able to see what, if any, accommodations are available.  In my group I am the only education major.  Maybe I will be able to bring a few converts home!  We were told to bring a few presents for our new amigos.  I got them a velcro ball game, silly bands, a big glittery bouncy ball, and punch balloons! 

 

I can't wait for Pucon.  I love the outdoors and exploring what the earth itself has to offer.  There are so many things that I want to do here.  This is supposed to be our time to just relax and hang out on the beach but I have a feeling I will be all over the place going out on different excursions.  There are hot springs and hikes and volcanic caves that I want to see.  I want to climb to the top of the volcano so bad.

With all that said, and as excited as I am for this trip, I am SO not ready.  I have so much to pack, so much to read, an assignment to complete, the whole boarding pass thing, call the bank to tell them that someone in Chile didn't steal my credit card, pick up a prescription, and so much more.
Most of my Christmas gifts from my parents were everyday items miniaturized.  Mini toothpaste.  Mini shampoo bottle.  Mini bottle of Tums.

I also got money!  Chilean money!  Chilean money is a lot more fun than American money.

 Note that $10,000 Chilean Pesos is unfortunately not equal to $10,000 American Dollars.  The exchange rate is about $1 USD= $462 Chilean Pesos.  I think that means that when I get lunch it will cost about $7,000.

My flight leaves late Sunday afternoon and arrives Monday morning (Santiago is two hours ahead of Washington DC).  But basically I'm gonna be on a plane for close to 15 hours.  I am excited to get to know the people in my group.  As far as I know we are all taking the same group flight.  Everyone seems pretty nice and I think we'll all get along.  I'm also excited to meet locals and improve my Spanish.  Over the summer I spent a week in Ecuador and I met some great people who I still keep in contact with.  I was actually hoping to visit them until I realized that telling someone to visit you in Santiago from Guayaquil Ecuador is like pretty much like telling someone in Seattle to stop-by DC for the afternoon.  Either way, I hope to meet a lot of people and new friends and learn as much about the culture and history as possible!