Antropología Aplicada

This is fantastic. I had a 3.5 hour anthropology class yesterday which began by discussing the current problem with the Mapuche population in Chile.

Basically, there is a lot of disconnect between the gobierno and the mapuche, while meanwhile there is also a lot of disconnect within the mapuche population itself. What I mean by this is that there are many mapuche who self-identify as being mapuche first, chileans second. There are others that think of themselves as solely chileans. There are others that think of themselves as solely mapuche. Thus, the problem is that there is a sovereign population living within another country feeling like they aren't getting the rights they deserve since it was their land first (mapuche literally means "hombres de la tierra").

The bigger problem is, the mapuche have never been a people with a centralized government. For this reason, it is incredible that they were able to control such a vast area of land and be largely successful economically. And for this same reason, the attempt to colonize the population was essentially a failure because the Spanish were unable to simply cut down their center of power (there wasn't one).

Anyway...the mapuche problem seems to be largely a solution-less problem because: 1) the mapuche have no consensus regarding what they want, 2) the mapuche have no centralized "government" to speak for them, and 3) the Chilean government doesn't know how or doesn't want to meet their "demands." After all, the mapuche are chilean citizens, right?

It's largely an identity issue.

Well, after my class, I saw this video and it really hit home how big of a deal this is. The video is comical, but it deals with a really huge issue. Essentially, the senator from the araucanian region (where many mapuche live) accuses the gobierno of stealing land from the mapuche:



Kind of makes you re-appreciate the value of anthropology, no? It's not just a study of where people come from, but where they're going.

Chile, chile lindo!

So...I don't really have any great stories as of late, but I do have some fun observations to share:

• Copyright laws mean nothing in Chile. Because books are so expensive, you don't buy any for your classes. Instead, you wait in line for an hour at the fotocopiadora to make a 450 page book into a pretty, bound photocopy :)
• Smoking is more or less a built-in part of life here. My teachers give us breaks in longer classes so they can go out in smoke. And alongside the highlighters at the fotocopiadora they sell cigarette lighters.
• They LOVE Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts here. Seriously, almost every movie has either one or the other, which I guess is good since I really like them both!
• The Simpsons and Family Guy (Padre de la Familia) are very popular here. Almost more than in the states! The funniest part is that a lot of the jokes don't quite translate from English to Spanish, so you start hearing some really strange things...
• Like the jokes, many of the movies have completely different titles in Spanish. Ex: Two Weeks Notice -> Amor a segunda vista. Closer -> Llevados por el deseo.
• Bus drivers are either really friendly or super mean. Mean ones don't stop for little old ladies trying to get to the stop in time. Or they just skip your stop entirely because they're in a hurry. But, if they're nice, they'll let you know when they get to your stop and call you "mi amor" when they speak to you.
• Doctor's notes (like copyright laws) mean nothing. If you miss a class, the profe probably didn't even notice. Unless they take attendence. And even then, they probably don't care.
• Leftovers last forever. You will eat for dinner what you didn't eat for lunch. And it will reappear a week later. Good thing I like the food...;)
• There's a futbol game on every hour of every day (or night).
• Everyone believes in horoscopes. And reincarnation. Quite strange coming from such a catholic society...
• The men (or should I say boys) are much more forward. The second question someone will ask you, after "Cómo te llamas?" is generally "Do you have a boyfriend?" And I've been asked for my number on the metro more than once.
  

Choices, choices.

Well, it has definitely been a week of choices.

First choice: right now. Every night before going to bed I turn on the TV to see if there's something that I might actually enjoy falling asleep to. Usually there isn't. But right now I can choose between: House, Scrubs, Must Love Dogs, Erin Brockovich, Brokeback Mountain (which in Spanish they translated into "Secret of the Mountain" hahaha), and Grease.

Now granted, these aren't on everybody's list of Top 10 things to watch on TV, but they are all solid options. Now, would it kill the channels to spread them out a little so I am entertained for more than one night?

Next choice: Do I go to Cajon del Maipu with my familia or sleep in? Normally, an easy choice for the former, but as I went to bed at 6:30am after returning from the birthday of my hermana's dentist friend, the choice was a little bit more difficult. I did, fortunately, choose the former.

More choices:... I have had more important choices to make this week. Such as, what classes to take. I believe I have finally decided. I'm taking two classes in the Anthropology department at La Chile. The first is about Mapuche Culture. It's a lot of reading and pretty hard, but I feel like I'll get a lot out of it so it will be worth it in the end. The second is called "Esthetics and Culture of North America." It sounds complicated, but really it's an anthropological look at American film. Que suerte! Especially since most of them are "classic" American movies that I haven't seen. Even better, the professors of both my classes are really nice. I think it helps that I'm the only gringa in the class. They probably feel bad for me. On the other hand, it's a great chance for me to meet some Chilean students.

My other two classes I don't find nearly as exciting. They are both literature, and more lecture than discussion. On the other hand, I think they'll be good. I even talked in one of them today. To analyze some poetry. I never realized how hard it was to catch hidden meanings in a different language...

Even more choices...ah yes! Which bus to take. A lot more complicated than you think when during rush hour some of the streets turn into one-ways. That means you have to go to a different stop to take the bus you normally get. And although you may only need 30 minutes to get from home to class (30 minutes!! it used to take me 5...) you never know if the bus will come right away or 20 minutes later. So it's best to leave at least 15 minutes earlier than you intended.

That being said, nothing starts on time in Chile. And they have recreos or breaks during the class, or at least during my Anthro classes because they are 3.5 hours long. It dawned on me today that the professors probably need these breaks as much as the students so they can smoke a cigarette.

Along with all these "important" choices, I've had some pretty fun cultural experiences of late.

1. Political "Assemblies" on Campus:
I walked into the Ciencias Sociales building on Tuesday to find out that there was some assembly going on. It's Anti-imperialism week at la Chile, so they were having an assembly about the "Cuban 5" arrested in 2001. I don't even remember hearing about this beforehand. But la Chile is a pretty liberal, leftist institution and is definitely anti-imperialist. And to think we have things like "Engineering Week" at Wash U... Anyway, it kind of turned in to a U.S.A.-bashing session, although I feel like really they're probably right and the U.S.A. wrongly imprisoned these five people. On the other hand, I had a gut-feeling of wanting to defend America. Or at least know ALL the facts, instead of just the "Viva Cuba" side.

2. Fútbol:
Today, one of Chile's 3 top professional fútbol teams, Colo-Colo, played against the non-professional Rapanui team in Easter Island. It was sooo fun to watch, albeit on TV. It's the first time a team has ever traveled there to play. Athough they lost 0-4, it was really cool to see all the Rapanui fans out supporting their team. And my padre thought it was so cool to see a team made up of "normal" people, meaning one was a teacher, one was an engineer, etc. Ah fútbol. Siempre uniting us.

Well, I think I have actually decided on Secreto de la Montaña (which I actually can't believe they're allowed to play in Chile considering the predominant and very negative sentiment toward homosexuals here).

Buenas noches!