La Cultura Popular - The Popular Culture

One of the great things about visiting a new place, let alone a new country, is to explore and find the things that make that place unique and special.  I believe that is the case for most everywhere we go, in that you have to look for the special things that any place has to offer, and if you do, you are sure to find it and have a deeper connection to the people and places to which you travel.

In Chile, especially here in Santiago, there is such a rich and wonderful culture that spans generations, from the Native peoples to the Conquistadors and on to the modern day.  The people in Chile are incredibly cool and sophisticated and have a wonderful popular culture that is unique and inherently progressive. Chile is poised to be not only a leader in South America, but throughout the world, and the vibe on the streets is sophisticated and cutting edge, it reminds of of places I have visited that I consider some of my favorites, San Francisco, Vancouver BC and of course, New York. But Santiago has a buzz that is unique, one that combines the historic with the modern, one that combines the classic with the popular.

One fun example is the comic Condorito, which is a lot of fun to read and enjoy.  I was told about it by my friend Juan and my other good friend, Claudio, bought me my first issue. Now, I am hooked, and I just bought another on the street today.  Condorito is a lot like Mad magazine, with its dry and purposeful sense of humor, hip and cool, cutting edge, but very relatable in its issues and text.  I am also using it as a language tool, since it is in Spanish and the dialogues offer a lot of slang and regional euphemisms, ideas and words I hope to use and amaze my friends (I'm still trying to grow out of my cultural adolescence).

The popular culture (la cultura popular) is something I certainly enjoy and need in my life, and I think that the time in Santiago will help me to appreciate both the culture here in Chile, but also to take that appreciation to the every place I go, especially back in El Paso.

El Día Laboral - The Workday

Work is part of life and for some, it is a four letter word, while for others, it is something to do in order to pay the bills, feed that family and provide comfort.  For still others, it is a source of compulsion, a measure of self worth, or a means to an end. I am not adverse to hard work and have changed my attitude towards work as I have gotten older.  I certainly enjoy my work now, and try and look for opportunities to change, learn and problem solve in my work everyday.  I do enjoy my time off, but now it seems like work has taken center stage in my life, and I am OK with that. As my Father-in-law said to me once, "Without work, there would be no leisure time. Work defines leisure time as leisure time is when you are not working".  

Here in Santiago, I am involved now in my work, and have set out to work in a new location in a new country in a new time zone in a new language.  It is fresh and new, exciting and intimidating, a welcomed change from the routine.  There are a number of marketed differences for me at this time, such as I walk to work, I don't have a car, and I use public transportation a lot.  I look at new sites each and everyday, even street signs become something exotic and interesting as I walk to work. The people are different and my wonderful colleagues at UMCE are knowledgeable, intelligent and stimulating.

Yet, in some ways, work is work, in that I have to get up around 6 AM and have some quiet time, make it to the gym at 7 AM to workout, then shower, eat breakfast and head into the office. At the office, I get behind a computer and work on tasks that resemble the work I do at UTEP (albeit now in Spanish primarily), such as designing evaluation instruments, planning classroom curriculum, working with students, meeting with colleagues, updating Web sites and sending emails.  After the day is over, I head out from the office and head home, where I will find my wonderful wife Sarah, and we will have dinner and talk about our days as we have for almost 20 years.

The point to all of this, well I guess it is that no matter where you are, there are some routines, some self-imposed and others imposed upon you. Yet, it is important to remember that it is not the product of your work that is important, it is the process of your work and the interactions you have each and everyday.

Los Requisitos - The Requirements

There are a lot of requirements that we all must deal with in our lives, such as getting a license and passing a class in order to get a permit to drive a car legally, or taking the dreaded standardized tests in order to be placed into a university or graduate program. Many are considered rites of passage, while others are taken by one's own election, a choice one makes in order to improve, change or somehow enrich your own opportunities. At times, it can feel like it is just "another way the Man is trying to keep a brother down" which is a way of saying that these requirements are the government’s way of limiting us and infringing on our civil liberties and human rights.

Yet, this is not really the fault of requirements and in some ways, without requirements or standards; there would be no way of measuring change or marking levels within life. As a person who is growing from infancy into adolescence (as a Chilean) and trying to quickly become an adult (difficult for all who know me, even as an American), there are a number of requirements that I have had to experience and in fact, pass with flying colors in order to even have the opportunity to live and work here in Santiago for 5 months this year. I will give you a relative and chronological account my process to date.

Primarily, I had to work to get a scholarship from Fulbright in order to have the means and the right to live and work in Chile. That meant I had to apply for the scholarship which took almost 6 months of planning and preparation and follow the requirements of the proposal perfectly in order to even be considered. Once chosen as a potential candidate by group that administers the Fulbright awards in the US, I had to pass the requirements of Fulbright Chile and the Administration at UMCE, and then I had to be nominated (pass more requirements) by the US Fulbright Commission.

Yet, it goes on. After that, I had to pass the medical requirements (actually, both Sarah and I had to pass these medical requirements), which included physical examination, vaccinations, blood tests and other assorted medical procedures I do not really care to list or relive. Then, we both had to secure a temporary Visa by passing the requirements of the Chilean Consulate, which required still more paperwork and ultimately a visit to Houston, Texas to meet with the staff in person in order to receive the right (and meet the requirements) of being allowed to even enter Chile and be prepared to work and live there for up to 6 months.

Now, upon entering Chile some 2 weeks ago, the next steps included getting the temporary Visa registered with the Police, which required a visit downtown to the police station (yes, I am still free), and passing the requirements to get another form, which was needed to get the final (I believe) requirement which is the Identification Card (Cedula de Identificación) which is needed by all citizens and foreigners alike. We accomplished this early this week and currently have a temporary card that will be replaced by a slick glossy ID card in about 2 weeks.

So, some 18 months after I had the great idea (really upon suggestion from our good friends Dave and Nora) to come and live and work in Chile, I have passed the requirements and am now here legally, albeit for only a short time. All in all, the experience will span 2 years, but I think the process is well worth it, and hopefully through this experience, I can help guide others who desire to spend time pursuing their own dreams, whatever they may be.

La Importancia de Familia - The Importance of Family

Sundays are always a special day for me and when I am in El Paso, Sarah and I start our day at church and then try and take some time to visit or have lunch out with friends. We started this family "tradition" while we were living in Santa Fe and we would go and pick up Sarah's Mom and head to church together and have lunch out with family as well. It was something a bit different for me growing up, as in my house Sunday often meant (at least for my Dad) a chance to play 36 holes of golf and then catch up with a little of the same on TV. For me, it probably meant football and a big breakfast, but not really pushing to make a connection with friends and family before embarking on the week to come.

Here in Santiago, it seems that Sundays are also an important day for spending time with friends and family as well. For example, yesterday Sarah and I went to the home of our friends Juan and Taty (and were also joined by Taty's daughter, Tamara) for a traditional Sunday lunch (el almuerzo). Here in Chile, lunch is by far the biggest meal of the day and is served between 1-3 PM and is a great time to take an extended break and catch up with friends and colleagues. On Sunday (domingo), this is even more important and is often a time when families converge and share this meal and catch up in person. We had a wonderful lunch of artichokes, fish, beans, broccoli and salad, as well as fresh fruit for dessert. Yet, we also had time to connect and discuss as friends (like family - como familia) and to pause and enjoy the moment in a real and uninterrupted manner. We also had a short outing to see the statue of the Virgen which sits atop the National Park Mount Saint Christopher - El Parque Metropolitana Cerro San Cristobal. It was a breathtaking site to behold and offered awesome views of the whole of Santiago, which is an incredibly huge city.

Yet, although we have embarked on new ground here in Santiago, we are still able to connect to our own friends and family back home in the US. For example, we were able to "attend" church services at our local church (Calvary Chapel Sun City) in El Paso, by being connected to the Internet and listening to the pastor's sermon online. We did have to listen to last week's message and will be 1 week behind our congregation, but we are getting the message right in our home in Santiago. We also hope to visit local churches and share this time with friends here in Chile, as well as broaden our own cultural and spiritual understandings.

As well, for example, over the past 2 years, my brother, Gordon and I made a pact to talk once a week on Sundays and catch up on everything going on in each other's lives. We have kept to that diligently over the past 2 years and haven't missed a beat even with me being in Santiago. I have used Skype to call him over the phone each week to the tune of about 2 cents a minute. Sarah and I have also started video conferencing via Skype with her parents and we get to talk and see each other weekly, something we were unable to do in the recent past. Yesterday, we also got to see and talk with Sarah's sister Liz, who was visiting her parents for the week.

So, the opportunity to stay connected really seems to be being facilitated here in Santiago and the example of our friends who open up their homes time and time again is a practical example of the type of person I hope to be from here on out.

Una Prueba en el Metro - A Test on the Subway

It was hard to get up today, as the days seemed to catch up with me as the alarm went off early. For some reason, the effort that you exert in a foreign country is not directly related to the amount of time you are awake and moving around. It seems that you expend extra energy thinking, sitting, reading, watching, talking, laughing, doing anything at any time in any place.  Yet, we also seem to be fitting more into the Chilean pace of things, starting off easy, making the most of each moment and keeping in the mix.  

After getting ready, Sarah and I went to try and get our ID cards, which are required for everyone here in Chile, both native (nativo) and foreigner (extranjero) alike.  After getting in the line, we were called in and it turned out that my document registering my VISA here in Santiago, which I had done yesterday at the Police station was wrong. The spelled my name "Wiliam" instead of "William". Well with one letter off, like trying to find an address on a Web site, nothing was able to work. From there, our only option was to turn our attention back downtown and see if we could get help and fix this error.

After a brief stop at UMCE, where we met with Claudio and Taty, we embarked for the Metro via Taxi.  At this point, Sarah and I were entering new ground, not being lead around by hand or by car or on foot, but really trying to solve a problem of our own using our own resources and wits.  We made it to the Subway station (the Metro) and found our way to purchase cards (BIP cards) and made our way onto the line. We set our sites on downtown, which required making connections on other lines and transferring, just like adults do in the real world. 

We emerged downtown and made it (by ourselves) back to the police station, got a number (by ourselves) and waited until called. Once inside, we made our case for the needed change (in Spanish) and were finished with the correction in hand in only a few moments.  We felt like winners!  Anyway, we made it back to the Metro, went to another part of town (Provindencia) and looked for the location of a Spanish class that Sarah is thinking of taking. We even found it (without asking anyone) and went inside and talked with the staff (in Spanish) about the course costs and schedule.  After a brief victory lunch, we made it back to the Metro, made a transfer to another line, got off and emerged on the street, and took a bus (we did inquire as to the correct line, we are not all grown up yet) and made it back to the plaza in Nunoa.  

We high fived each other on the plaza and made our way for our little apartment in high spirits.  Along the way, we rode on 4 of the 5 subway lines, made it all over the city and back via Metro, bus and walking.  All in all, we seemed to have emerged from our infancy and have entered full fledged adolescence in Santiago, if we can only avoid the pitfalls of changing hormones and acne... Yet, I am encouraged that we are making a plan, making decisions and relying on each other, and hopefully, becoming real world adults here in Santiago.

Un Viaje en la Ciudad - A Trip in the City

This morning, we made our way out of our apartment early in order to embark on a trip around the city to try and accomplish a few more tasks associated with being here in Santiago. Specifically, Sarah and I had to have our temporary visas registered with the Investigative Police as well as to attend a meeting with the staff of Fulbright Chile.  Our mentor and great friend, Claudio, picked us up early and had our destinations marked on searches he had done previously on Map City (www.mapcity.com - a great resource for S. America - like Mapquest in the US).

Our first stop took us to the downtown area (Independecia) where we had to head to the offices of the Investigative Police in order to register our Visas. The biggest task was finding a parking space, like an big city, parking is at a premium and is very difficult to find close to anything. After some hunting, we ended up parking in a lot in El Parque de Los Reyes, a place I had been back in November, as this is where the biggest skatepark (concrete) in Santiago is located.  Yet, today was not a skateboarding day (unfortunately) but a day of business. 

Anyway, we went into the office and I had to purchase a ticket and pay $800 Pesos (less than $2.00 US) and then wait in line a bit more. It was funny because the guy int he window had no idea what I was talking about, but when I mentioned VISA, he took my money, nodded "OK" and gave me a receipt and a number.  We waited in earnest for our time to go into an office, and I was sure we were on the brink of a bureaucratic nightmare. Yet, once we went into an office and sat at a desk in a cubicle, the nice woman working there just took us through the process and within 10 minutes we were done.  I have to admit, almost all of my dealings with the process of coming into Chile have come very smoothly and I think this is a great testimony to the materials that I have received from Fulbright as well as the help of our close friends here in Santiago.

Well, after that we made it to the Fulbright Chile offices, again finding parking, and then taking the Metro a short distance to another part of town in the area of Provedencia.  The staff at Fulbright Chile made us all feel very welcomed and we had a nice meeting with the Director, Denise Saint-Jean.  We also spent some time with Marica and Mariana, who have been invaluable in the preparation and implementation of my program here at UMCE.  After that, we got back in the car and made our way back to Nunoa and had a nice lunch before making our way back to our apartment.  Along the way, we traveled throughout the city and viewed a number of sites including from downtown to here in our neighborhood including the Plaza de Armas, Cerro Santa Lucia, Biblioteca Nacional, Unversidad de Chile, and the Iglesia San Francisco among others. We whetted our appetites for excursions to come and plan to use this as a view out of our neighborhood and a peak into the sites, sounds and locations within Santiago.

¿Que´ Hora Es? - What Time Is It?

The concept of time is really a uniquely human construction in that we do not simply mark the day and the night as my beloved dogs, Judah and Brodie do, but we segment the time of the day and night with clocks that in many ways regiment our lives. Don't get me wrong, I am not bashing a schedule, in fact I am quite a creature of a routine, and the clock and calendar and their markings of time are constant mechanisms that help to create structure and order in our daily lives.

Currently, I don't have a watch or a cell phone, but I do have a small alarm clock in the apartment (thanks to Taty) so that I can awake on time and not be late to work at the university. I don't have a clock on the wall or on the microwave, or on any other device except the thermostat in the apartment. Of course, I have a clock on my computer, but it is not always on and running all day and night. In my house in El Paso, I have so many devices with clocks such as phones, ovens, grandfather clock, bedroom alarm clock, guest bedroom alarm clock and more that I spend hours changing them back and forth during daylight savings time and such.

Yet, the concept of time between cultures in something quite different, and I often joke about this with friends in El Paso, when we talk about "gringo time" (always early for everything) or "mexican time" (coming an hour or more later than scheduled). In reality, both concepts of time are valid and uniquely cultural. Here in Chile, there is a mixture of both concepts, that we are on time for meetings and classes, but also that we take our time and enjoy our time together without always looking at the watch or clock. In some ways, this attitude really allows you to live in the moment and to be fully cognizant and participatory with the people with whom you are interacting and to really gain from the moment in which you are engaged.

I guess my point is that time should be savored and not always measured, and it is the quality of the interaction, not the length, that really makes for a meaningful event and hence, a meaningful existence. I think this can best be understood in an experience I had early this week while in  Viña del Mar. After the meeting, my colleagues Claudio, Juan and Carlos stated that we needed to take a little time to visit the coast, since we were right there and to walk down the boardwalk and feel the ocean breeze and mist. In doing so, we didn't look at the clock, but peered into the scenery as the sun set off the coast. It was wonderful moment in a beautiful setting that both marked time, but more importantly, impacted me as an experience to enjoy. There is a lot to learn here in Chile, but most of all, there is a need to slow down and enjoy each moment as unique.

Mi Primera Viaje - My First Trip

Yesterday, I went with my colleagues Juan, Claudio and Carlos to a science education meeting in the town of Viña del Mar, a beautiful area on the coast adjacent to the city of Valparaíso. We had to get up early and get going by 6:30 AM, a real test for me in Santiago, as I am still struggling with the time change, the season change (it is winter here and gets dark early at night and is still dark in the early morning), as well as the language change.

Anyway, we had a nice 90 minute drive to the coast, passing through beautiful valleys and areas including many vineyards as well as the areas of Curacaví  and Casablanca. I had been on this road when Sarah and I were here back in November of 2007, but like most things at that time, it seemed more like a dream than a reality. At least now, I am beginning to emerge with some familiarity at least in scenary, and also, I must admit, in faces of friends.

The meeting went well and was all about a program of science education call ECBI that uses hands-on modules in schools to explore scientific concepts with students. The methods were clear and the presentations very well done, and I believe I understood a lot. It is still quite an immersion experience, but at least the knowledge that was being presented was something that I have great experience with as an educator, if I can only figure our how to speak about it better (mucho mejor).

On the return trip, coming out of the lovely valleys we entered the city of Santiago, and the pace and sites radically changed. There was a smell of smoke, some of the pollution that comes out and sticks around during the winter inversion. There was also a lot of traffic, a not so subtle reminder that this is a huge city and a booming metropolis. After making it back to Ñuñoa, I caught up with Sarah who had her own unique immersional day and we traded stories and laughs along with our friends for a fun day of travel and learning.

La Mesa de Los Niños - The Kid's Table

Sometimes I feel very sophisticated and mature, and then I travel to another country and realize that I am truly a babe lost in the woods.  With our relocation to Santiago, Chile this past week, I have had the opportunity to feel completely incompetent and utterly dependent on others - the real adults - as I take up a place at the kid's table on the side.

For example, we went to the bank this week to pay rent, and it was almost as if it happened for the first time in a magical way. Somehow, we were able to withdraw enough money to cover our first month's rent and successfully deposit it into our landlord's account. Of course, we had to be driven there by our friend Claudio and seemingly held by the hand as we tried to accomplish this adult task. At one time, I even had the bank president trying to assist me, but luckily Sarah, being more of an adult that me, had figured out this modern thing we call finances and big bank business.

It gets worse before it gets better, I mean I tried to remove a light bulb, a task I do effortlessly at home, but was somehow unsure if it went left or right here in South America.  Or, trying to make change at the feria, looking helplessly into the coins in my hand until some kind adult reached into my palm and took the correct amount from me.  I almost waited to be patted on the head, but I settled for a paternal smile from the vendor.

I am sure it will get easier, and there have been moments where we both have achieved adult success, albeit fleeting and for only a few precious moments.  In some ways, it is kind of fun to experience it all brand new and it does provide a valuable perspective on working with others who may be new to a location or country themselves.  I believe this is part of the learning process, the transformation to becoming more fluid in habits and language here in Santiago, and I look forward to moving to the adult's table, but always having the memory and experience of growth as a child.

La Feria - Farmer's Market

This morning we went to a local feria or Farmer's Market where there were so many choices of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Our friends Claudio and Selma took us there and said that it is a small market, and that there are many that happen all around Santiago on both Saturdays and Wednesdays each week.  The market seemed quite big to me, and there was really everything you might want to get, fresh fruits such as apples, pears, bananas and lemons, as well as all kinds of vegetables including carrots, broccoli, peppers and onions. They even had fresh fish and lots of seafood, including oysters and mussels, although we didn't get any at this time today.

The sun is also peaking through the clouds today and with it comes a hint of the warmth of spring that will soon follow.  The evenings are a bit cool but quite enjoyable, a welcomed change from the heat and relative humidity of El Paso during this time of year.  We can see the Andes with their snow covered peaks from the balcony of our apartment, and we feel very blessed to have such wonderful people here to watch out for us at every turn. We truly thank God for bringing Juan, Taty, Claudio and Selma into our lives.

Mi Barrio Nuevo - My New Neighborhood

We are living in an area of the city called Ñuñoa which is a really nice and wonderful part of Santiago.  It is a new word that is difficult for foreigners to pronounce, and each time I say Ñuñoa, most of the locals, including our friends and colleagues smile or even laugh out loud.  I guess it is like hearing someone mispronounce "California" or "Minnesota".

We have an apartment blocks from the university, it's almost like living in Kern at UTEP, in that you are able to walk to work if needed and there are a lot of things to do nearby. We have yet to really explore the entire area, right now we are trying to find paths to the supermarket, shops, and the university and get all the directions down correctly.

Even though it is winter here in santiago, the temperatures are quite moderate. It gets up to about 60 degrees F in the day but down to about 35 degrees F at night right now.  It has also had times of rain and clouds, as well haze, which the locals attribute to pollution during the inversion at this time of year. It would be similar to the effect I have experienced in Salt Lake City and Denver in the winter in the US.

We are hoping to explore more of the area of Ñuñoa today and tonight. There are a number of really interesting local spots that are all around the large and beautiful plaza that sits in the center of this area.  Sarah and I have also taken it upon ourselves to try and experience something uniquely Chilean in culture in an immersional sense, such as going to see some local music, see a play or going to hear an orchestra.  We are planning to find such an event for this weekend and set out to infuse this into our lives here in Chile but also as a habit of mind and body for the future as well.

Mis Pensamientos - My Thoughts

After a year and a half of planning and preparation for our trip to Santiago de Chile, my wife, Sarah and I have arrived safe and sound in this wonderful cosmopolitan city.  I am currently an assistant professor in the Teacher Education Department at the University of Texas at El Paso, where I specialize in science education, technology integration and curriculum development.

I am here as part of the Fulbright Scholars program, and will be working during the upcoming semester as a professor in residence at la Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencia de la Educación  (UMCE).  I will be teaching seminars in my focus areas, which include action science, problem-based learning, constructivism, technology use, distance learning and curriculum development.  I will also be conducting a research project here in Santiago with the faculty and students at UMCE in the use of technology in the teaching and learning of science.

This will be my ongoing thoughts - mis pensamientos - that I will put down in order to chronicle my journey for my friends, family and colleagues.  My hope is that this will be a great learning experience for both Sarah and myself and that I will be able to share this experience as a motivational and educational opportunity for others to follow.