Women in Chile

I've been working at the "Institute of the Woman" for three weeks now. I spend my Tuesdays and Thursdays doing various activities. Some of it is grunt work, which would be boring in the US but here it's fairly intellectually stimulating as it's all in a different language. The other week I also helped out at a leadership workshop for impoverished middle school age kids who have government scholarships to help them stay in school.

Things I have learned about women and Chile:

• Until 1994 it was legal to abuse your spouse as it was considered a private matter.
• Divorce was only legalized in 2004 in chile.
• A woman's income and the number of children she has DIRECTLY correlate to her level of education. I saw this pattern while putting survey information into a database.
• The Chilean government provides scholarship to poor children if they stay in school so they won't have to drop and get a job.

Things Chile has learned about me:

• I am royal. Quinn, when pronounced by a Spanish speaker is pronounced Queen. In Spanish, Queen is said reina. I am now referred to in the office as Reinita, or little Queen.
• I am looking for a husband. My first week at work I was wrapping up the novel American Wife and they all asked if I was studying.

Bueno Bye from her royal highness!

Globalization

There are a number of people on either side of the globalization debate. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, it's here to stay. Here is a recap of things that occurred last night during dinner with my family:

• We listened to the Rhianna song, Umbrella
• We then discussed the incident with Chris Brown and how he essentially got away unscathed
• We listened to a song by a Spanish artist
• During this song my host dad pondered aloud as to where Ricky Martin was now a days
• We talked about Facebook
• A disappointed Panchi said she wasn't friends with her dad on Facebook because he hadn't accepted her friend request yet.
• Panchi and I discussed the value of the Facebook game Farmville.
• We all took napkins and competed in an origami competition, which my host mom won with her swan
• We wrapped up dinner with a serious conversation of why Chip and Dale are the best Disney characters

Bueno Bye!

Halfway there

Today marks the halfway point of my time here. I could be super eloquent and discuss my feelings, BUT I have a quiz tomorrow. Instead I'll change my blog layout, leave you with a song that's stuck in my head, and a share a befitting quote.

The song, "First Person" by Jenny Owen Youngs (She toured with Jukebox the Ghost this past summer.)

The quote:

“We breathe in our first language and swim in our second." ~Adam Gopnik

For now I'll just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

Bueno Bye!

Mendoza, Argentina

This past weekend we all headed to Mendoza, Argentina to enjoy the fruits of a three day weekend. Friday, after classes we hopped on a bus and were off.

Tara demonstrating the joy of our "semi cama" bus seats:

We got to customs around 2 AM and wizzed through the process in just under an hour. We've just been cleared to enter Argentina:

We arrived around 5 AM. Then checked into the hostel, but waited in the lobby as our rooms weren't ready yet. We spent the time to figure out our plans for the weekend. We dropped our things off in our rooms and went on a bike tour of vineyards:

There was even a wine making museum at one of them (watch out Nick!):

Giant barrels filled with aging wine:

Climbing!

One of the wineries also made delicious liquors that we were able to sample. There was one that was chocolate mint. I'm not sure I've ever tasted anything more delicious. It was photo worthy:

The second day was a little slower. We decided to do a package deal and go rafting, horseback riding, and repelling.

We began with horseback riding. My horse's name was Pequeño (little):

You know, just riding through the foothills of the Andes:

Me and Caitlin in our wetsuits before rafting. For fear of losing the camera, there are no actual pictures of us rafting:

The repelling! Needless to say, I didn't tell my mom about this before it happened.

Our final day in Mendoza was spent sleeping in a bit and then some homework in a park until we hopped on the bus. The drive through the Andes was breathtaking:

But because it was the end of a holiday weekend, we were stuck in customs for 4 hours. This did mean that we got to watch a beautiful sunset:

Unfortunately, it also meant there was time for homework:

With that lovely image,

Bueno Bye!

Rain of Hamburgers!

Continuing the regression, I fear my current age may be 7.

Yesterday was Cine al Mil. Which means every movie theater in Chile was showing movies for mil (1,000) pesos. This translates the the rather steep price of $1.80. After my internship I ran to pick up tickets for a movie that directly translates to "Rain of Hamburgers." In the US it's the kids' movie entitled, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." A large number of movies released in Chile are in English just with Spanish subtitles. We were surprised when the whole thing was in Spanish. Luckily it's a children's movie so we could understand it all. It was a really cute, funny movie!

We were the oldest people in the theater without children of our own. Before leaving my 8 year old host sister begged me to take her with her. I couldn't because it was a school night, but I think I gained major cool points for going to see such a "hip" movie... at least with Panchi, probably not as much with Nacha, my 19 year old host sister.

Summation: I saw Rain of Hamburgers, laughed hysterically, understood the spanish, and have the heart of a 7 year old.

Bueno Bye!

High School

We've all regressed quite a bit since coming to Santiago. University Diego Portales feels a little like a high school. Don't get me wrong, the classes are definitely intense, but the overall feel is far more Bayside. In Chile people live at home through college until they get married in order to save money. This means that students go to campus and then return home at night to eat a home cooked meal.... just like high school. This means that the cafeteria is really a lot more like a lunch room, even with the socially classified tables... we noticed this today while sitting at the Gringo table. As exchange students, we don't have cars so it's public transportation or a ride from family. We sit on our computers chatting with each other to avoid homework, like we did in high school.

I fear this regression is getting worse. We have an hour of free time between classes on Fridays because our day starts with a 2 1/2 hour block. During our reprieve this past Friday...

We decided we were ready to play:

Naturally I beat everyone to the see saws:

The cool side of the see saws:

Our counterbalances:

One Year

Today marks the anniversary of Aunt Donna's death. She was a truly amazing, warm, loving woman. This is one day that I really wish I could be with family. My thoughts are with all of you today.

The song that I can't seem to get out of my head:

We remember how you loved us to your death,

And still we celebrate for you are with us here.

And we believe that we will see you when you come,

in your glory, Lord.

We remember, we celebrate, we believe.