a thought with some pictures

I have been explaining the educational system/riot in Chile lately to a lot of people here in the States. 

The question keeps coming up, is education a right or a privilege? 

A popular area has been, that of the economy (but seriously, who isn't talking about the economy?) 

Does this life really owe you anything? 

Interesting question. 

But why do we have a government in the first place if they don't do anything for us? 

Should a country in so much debt dish out money they don't have for poor children to go to school? 

I am sure you have your own opinion on this subject. 

And if you don't, I think it would be really cool if you formulated one. 

But hey, all I can really do is talk about my opinion, so here it goes. 

Education is a right. 

The Convention prohibits any ‘discrimination’ or any 

distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference,  “based on race, 

color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national 

or social origin, economic condition or birth”. (UNESCO) 

Everyone should be given the opportunity to emancipate themselves from ignorance. 

This poster is a beautiful representation of how Literacy impacts every facet of life. 

An educated society is a stronger society. 

Education is a prime determinant of a person's ability to earn a living 

and the generations that follow that person.  

A well educated population raises the overall standard of living

education is love, 

rach 

Basic Portuguese Lesson

I miss learning, yes I only finished my semester maybe 2 weeks ago, but I miss learning. Education nerd problems. 

And if that is not enough, you are probably thinking, Rachael, I thought you spoke Spanish... Well I do. Now comes the confession...

I miss Chile so much I am avoiding talking about it. 

I never thought that would happen, and I am sure it will wear off quickly, but it is strange to feel so passionately about something that you get choked up when you hear Spanish. This is really material for another blog post so I will gloss over that as of right now and welcome you into my new passion.

Learning Portuguese! 

or maybe French!

or American Sign Language!

or Italian!

but for now... Portuguese! (I have commitment issues. I am working on it) 

So why Portuguese? 

listen to her!! 

1. The language is beautiful
2. The music is beautiful
3. The people are beautiful (duh)
4. My high school friend studied abroad there and introduced me to everything about it
5. They are really nice (met some Brazilian guys in Argentina) 
6. I love the colors of their flag
7. Carnival 
8. Céu (the musician, also the word for sky) 
9. Have you seen pictures from all over the country?
10. I don't need a reason!! 

Eu- me
like you just ate something nasty, eww
Vosê- you
vo say 
Voses- plural you (lots of yous!)
vo say s
Nós- us/we
nau ss, nau like the beginning of nautilus 
Oi- Hi
oye! or if you speak Spanish, hoy, same pronunciation 

Mini Conversation:
Tudo Bem- How are you?
bem obrigado/a- fine, thank you
e voce- and you?

até breve,
raquel

reflections: education

I didn't just come here to travel, or eat or play at the beach or climb rocks or stand on top of mountains, I came here to learn. And not just Spanish, but about culture, politics, history, nature and myself. 

These are a few snap shots of my notebook for my culture class, probably the manifestation of my growth can be found in this book. There are a lot of pictures, charts and rants, and hey, what better way to learn? 

This page is one of many pages about the politics of Chile. The lemon that I drew represents the tear gas that is always present at student protest/riots. People suck on lemons and use them to cover their nose so that they don't pass out when they are trying to run away. I was never directly in the thick of a student protest but something I learned from these conversations is the importance of not taking education for granted. 

As a current student, future student, currentish teacher, and future teacher, I've worked my way around many types of school systems and while I can directly understand the fight in Chile for free education, it will be hard returning to my private university without feeling like a total cop out. 

A little bit of a history lesson above. Learning about the aftermath of Pinochet after he fled the country. History is so important to understanding a culture and just when I am going to leave this country, I finally started not only understanding the history, but finding my voice and deciding my opinions. 

One the one side, I have grades from 4medio's presentations and then good ol' Che makes an appearance. Some Bob Dylan poetry... 

So what lesson did I learn from this page. I learned that I have strong personality that shines through to my view points. I think I learned that I need to be a bit more gracious when I offer my opinion. I never try to push my opinion onto others, but I bet it comes off that way sometimes. I am just passionate okay!! OKAY?!! But in all honesty, working alongside Meghan for our grading our kids has helped with my compromising skills, talking about politics always gets heated, but I have learned better ways to go about it, and the Bob Dylan, well, he is just awesome. 

El Ojo Silva was a selection from our literature in culture class. I learned a lot about people's work ethic during these assignments and even thought I didn't do this in the moment, in retrospect, I have learned that you shouldn't let other people's lazy behavior effect your attitude/participation/mojo/attitude (worth mentioning a second time!) Not only did the other people in my class never read the assignments, they rarely participated in the classroom discussions (and that counts as part of the grade for the presenter) Attitude is everything! It's not what you said, but how you said it. Right mom? :)

I learn better when there is art involved, regardless of the form. When my notes are full of designs or font changes, it doesn't show my lack of interest, quite the contrary. I like looking back into my artwork, because there I can really remember what I was thinking on the subject. 

And it is also fun finding quotes in your notebook like the one highlighted, "welcome to this episode of snarky comments in the corner."

But the biggest think I have learned over my educational journey is that I am in transit, en camino, en ruta, still on my path to somewhere else. Who know where I will end up. Maybe I will open up Carabeaner, my coffee shop rock wall, and not have anything to do with education in my title, but even if that happens or if I get my own classroom, educations exists far beyond the school system. 

What have you learned today?

rach

getting there.

 a lot of travelers/adventurers like to talk about the journey. the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step, its not the destination that matters, but how you get there, etc.

so why is that all everyone talks about? you know people only want to see the pictures of the beautiful destinations. I will return and people will ask, how was Chile? and my answer will be, I can't even begin to describe... so I will just show them pictures. there is no harm in this, actually, I love doing just that, but what I will always remember most, like all the other travelers around me, is the journey of how I got from place to place. I will always love picture endings (take my last blog post as an example) but this post is devoted to middle stuff.

so imagine you are cloud watching, harmlessly watching the shapes and forms go by. what a simple, enjoyable pass time. but imagine, something else catches your eye. the blue between. that piece of forgotten blue sky that you missed because you were concentrating on the clouds. that is traveling. you take something simple, like walking up a mountain path and you find it takes your thoughts far past placing one foot after the other. watching is a big part of hiking. the above pictures were candids of the watching process.

sometimes you have a very easy task set in front of you, something you have done for years, and for some reason, your mind has a hiccup and you psych yourself out.  

but then you remember to breathe, and the easy things, become easy again. 

traveling is a lot about teamwork and choosing a traveling partner is a big decision. sometimes its the right one, sometimes it's not the right one. sometimes its okay for the other person, but not right for you. but working together is inevitable. one could argue that living ones life is full of teamwork and it is nice to escape that once in a while. then we introduce the solo traveler. 

on my many trips, i often meet the solo traveler. these people usually end up being my favorites of the bunch because I idolize them. I have never long time solo traveled. Soloing in a mental game that comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. I am feeling a solo trip coming up in future, I believe it is time, the traveling gods have given me the okay. 

and then sometimes it feels like you are doing all the work. not a solo travel, but these are the times you wish you were soloing. these moments are the lowest of the low for me. I love to work together, I love to help out, but a major downfall of my personality is positive affirmation. i have no solution for this, i am still searching and growing. 

then there are the times when other people do everything for you. you just sit back and enjoy the beauty of generous people. these moments refresh you and inspire you to do the same to others in the end, maybe i just answered my question from above. I am pretty sure selfless love is the answer to all. 

 sometimes we even get lost. or we often get lost. 

but we just remember that, no matter where you go, there you are. 

get out there, 

rach

Temblores y Testimonies

This is all I've got folks, 

Rach <3

a poem and a song

where we need to be

A dry red wine and no change in time

Crooked necks and no regrets

Mate te and clothes from yesterday

Dusty stones, two different homes

A field of corn, a child born

Primitive land and weathered hands

Trees in a line, scarce road signs

A glimpse of sunshine, lost sense of time

Feet asleep from a bus ticket cheap

Hand crafted fair, tourists whom stair

A mountain stretch, but here’s the catch

We are who we are when we travel far

go forth and love, 

rach

We don't need no education... what a lie for this generation

So Pinochet started a revolt in the education system in Chile when he decided to flood the streets with military force, some dead bodies and a whole lot of hatred. 

I know what you are thinking, ANOTHER post about education, let alone Chilean education. And now Pinochet? This girl posts about Pinochet almost as much as that Bourdain guy... But hey, this is my life right now and if Chile has taught me anything (which is the understatement of the century because Chile has taught me everything) it is that education is not just a stagnant building you attended as a child; education is alive and changing and thriving and being shut down and attacked and destroyed. THAT is why I am writing about education, again. 

So back to Pinochet, in the late 70s and early 80s education in Chile was dramatically reformed in the ways of laws, prices, scholarships and loans. Allende (previous ELECTED president) was trying to create an equality in the social classes and the education system. Pinochet with the help of the Chicago Boys, further divided the rich from the poor and the 17 year dictatorship is now responsible for the division in the school system and lack of publicly funded education. Pinochet's education system has never been dismantled. 

Here come the student riots, and who can blame them? The teachers in public schools are not great, students are forced to work in dark classrooms in buildings that don't have heat, using out of date books, that is to say if they attend school at all. In the Education Medias (high school) a popular form of protest is not to attend school because then the schools do not receive money because public schools are run on attendance basis. That means, no funding for electricity, building rent and most importantly, teacher's salary. 

So where is the government? How can they just sit by and let all these teachers not get paid, and the students not getting their education? (Education Media is required by law) Well, the government sees it like this:

 "what the student's are doing is anti-democratic" 

"free education is not fair, just or a viable solution"

"education is a privilege, not a right" 

All of these quotes were pulled from the documentary, Fault Lines: Chile Rising. The interviews given by the students in this video are such an inspiration to the shift in education and quite frankly, make the government look, well, unintelligent. 

Take for example, Camila Vallejo, the leader of the Chilean student movement. What Camila has done for this country is astonishing and just goes to show that in the case of education, don't ever let schooling interfere with your education. 

This post is just highlighting a few key points to the ongoing battle of education in Chile. 

Also, I must add that I am watching the debates from the States and well... education is also a hot topic. Hmm... maybe I will blog about that some time, but not now. 

All I know is, I cannot wait to be a teacher. Time for change.

education,
Rachael

anything but bored at the border.

Setting: In the aduana, the frontera (border) between Argentina and Chile.  23rd of September 2012.

Plot: Police and agriculture monitors are about to check the passengers' bags as they return to Chile from Mendoza, Argentina

Characters: Rachael (me), Meghan, various Police members

Scene 1:

Rachael: (just waking up) Where are we going?

Meghan: To check our bags I guess. The Chilean border is always more strict than Argentina's.

(Meghan runs her bag through, no problem and is slowly waiting for me)

Rachael: (to the officer) Do I put my bag here? I don't have luggage below the bus, just my backpack.

Evidence #1 me and my trusty backpack hiking through La Cordillera and Mt. Aconcagua

(Officer 1 takes bag and runs it through the scanner and the panel signals that everything in my bag is fine)

Officer1: Are you carrying any fruits, vegetables or animal products with you?

Rachael: No, I am not. No type of food what-so-ever.

Officer1: I am going to have to hand check your bag.

Rachael: (Confused because they didn't find anything) Sure.

(Officer1 proceeds to pull out all of my dirty mountain clothes, notebooks and every scrap of paper in my hiking backpack... in public, in front of everyone from the bus)

Rachael: Todo esta bien? Is everything alright?

Officer1: Si... wait here a minuet.

(As I am waiting, I see the officer take Meghan into a back room for about 15 minuets. Meghan leaves and rolls her eyes at me, but she is looking a little flustered)

Officer1: You can go in now.

Scene 2:

(I enter the room, closed door, blackened windows and see two ladies, one from SAG (Agriculture monitors) and one Carabinero from Chile)

Rachael: Hi, what can I do for you?

Officer2: Please show me your identification (takes my Chilean ID and my passport and then looks through every card, bill and piece of paper in my wallet)

Officer3: Rachael, why are you going to Chile?

Rachael: I live there, I am studying abroad in Valparaiso.

Evidence #2 Hanging out in my hometown of Valparaiso

Now reader, you must use your imagination to picture the next 10 minuets. I am being berated with interrogation questions from "Where do you live in Valparaiso" (down to the street and house number) Who I live with, what school I attend in the States, what my major is, if I plan on traveling after I graduate, what I was doing in Mendoza, which mountains I climbed, did I talk to locals while I was there, what my parents names are, who I am traveling with, how long have I known her... 

Evidence #3 here I am with Mt Aconcagua because I went to Argentina for the mountains

(Suddenly, in the middle of me answering a question about Meghan and I going to school together...)

Officer2: Have you ever smoked marijuana? Have you tried cocaine? Heroine? LSD?

Rachael:... NO.

Officer2: Are you carrying any drug paraphernalia with you across the border such as (starts listing words for drug paraphernalia that I don't understand)

Rachael: I don't know what those things are (thinking to myself, because this isn't my first language and I am not a drug dealer...)

Officer2: (in a very, very slow, monotone voice) Do...   you...   speak...   Spanish?

HOLD ON. I haven't spoken a word of English since I left the bus to go into security, even when waiting, Meghan and I were speaking Spanish. The whole interrogation was in Spanish. That question from Officer2 was uncalled for.

Rachael: (face getting red with frustration, plus I already am sun-burnt from the mountains) Of course I do and I obviously don't have any drugs or paraphernalia with me.

Evidence #4 mountain sunshine toasting our happy little faces, hence, the red face.

Officer3: It's not obvious to us.

Rachael: But you checked all of my stuff...

Officer2: We need to check it again.

Rachael: ...Okay.
(Officer2 dismantles every single thing in my backpack. Those with favorite hiking bags know that everything has its own special place and also knows that you can fit a lot of stuff in those pockets)

Officer2: (throws everything into the main pocket of my bag, and stuffs everything in there[probably because it smelled so rank]) Okay, you are good.

Rachael: ...So you didn't find anything.

Officer2: You can go now.

Rachael: (Hugging my backpack to me like a long lost friend) Chao.

So maybe it had to do with my XL Frida Kahlo tshirt, ripped leggings, wool headband and hiking socks.

Maybe we were the most sketchy looking gringas (there were a lot on our bus).

Maybe it was a routine check... awful specific for that.

Maybe we looked like Marijuanistas.

Maybe we smelled bad.

But all that matters is that we finally made it across the border to our home, safe and sound.

Oh and how could I forget: the worse the experience the better the story.

-Rach

All things happy

I hope everyone in the world is happy. I am happy. Let me show you why I am happy.
That's right weones y weonas... THE HAPPY LIST

If you are new to this blog or new to the concept of the Happy List, why let me explain: I was introduced to the happy list by a friend who was introduced by a friend who got it from his friend from his other friend and she got is from some guy named Adam. There is a little facebook group (one of the only reasons I check my facebook) that is the hub for all things happy. The description is simple:

All those who participate and want to share the healing properties of the happy list, a daily practice invlolving the recording of fifteen things that make you happy and shareing with freinds! Introduced to me by adam drummer the true creator of the happy list.

Here is an older post of my happy list. And with out further ado... here is my September edition.

1.) Singing 'Buenos Dias' with Mina (our cook/maid) during breakfast that welcomes the day
2.) Baking sweet apple pie 'squintchy' muffin tops at 11:30pm
3.) "Siempre me quedara, la voz suave del mar..."
4.) Hippie Cerros and pizza plans
5.) Belting Bob Dylan and screamin' them harmonies
6.) The feeling of walking on steamy tile after getting a much needed shower.
7.) Receiving back massages as an apology for telling sarcastic jokes in a foreign language
8.) Teaching precious Chilean teenage boys English
9.) Mountains, mountains, mountains
10.) Conducting an orchestra during dope presentations while drinking yerba tea
11.) That's the way it goes, traveling on
12.) Let's see the sea because ocean dog does what ocean dog wants
13.) Lemongrass warming tea
14.) Living here, not there or there, but here, now
15.) The following pictures...

Panda dance? 

share the road!!

super long syntax problems. 

just trying to write a poem with sancho poncho. 

 lots of lub,
rach

Irony of fate

Yesterday was September 11th. I bet you knew that. At least everyone in Chile and the States didn't forget. It didn't come as a surprise to me that we were going to watch a documentary in my culture class. Shout out to my favorite Dylan who would have been excited with me, because I don't know many people who actually enjoy documentaries.

Regardless of the harsh living conditions of the Chilean public during the democratically elected socialist regime of Allende, there was absoutly no reason for the military force to enter in and eliminate 3.000 people because they stood in Patriotic support of their beloved country. If there is anything students from the States can take home with them (myself is certainly included) is the brand of nationalism that is not blind and forced, but a true and pure respect for each other, allowing destruction to place hand in hand a communist rebel and a democracy washed extremist. How can violence every be the answer to suffering? Chile learned as a country that they are stronger than their government and that ideas (in this case, art and photographs) are bulletproof.

Some fast facts about the documentary:
La ciudad de los fotografos is about the riots that broke out in the early 80s in opposition to the government oppression, a back-lash to the coup in 73 that eventually led to the downfall of Agustus Pinochet's dictatorship.
Filmed in 2006, the main hero/fotografo is Luis Navarro and most of the documentation is done by his son.
Here is a video summary with English subtitles!! Watch it if you hate reading! Or just watch it anyway.

In 1987, the reality set in that Pinochet was responsible for all the civilian deaths and the surge of support he had during his overthrow were starting to step back and realize the transparency of this man as he was showing no remorse what-so-ever for the death and destruction of his own country. If anything, he was proud of the number of disappeared citizens. 

With that being said, in came a rag-tag group of fotographers, it didn't matter exactly what they did as their profession (take notes people in the States) as long as they had a reason for doing what they do (and that reason not being salary) Something had vanished with the country of Chile, along with the disappeared citizen, and it was the job of the fotographers to capture exactly what that was. 

when someone has to be shot-- let's make sure it is done the right way.

The violence of the riots was well know by the fotografos but they took on the responsibility to capture the injustice to make the information indisputable. The military back-lash was varied, the best of the worst outcomes was forced removal of film strips from the camera, the normal of the worst outcomes was hospitalized injuries from police beatings, and the worst of the worst outcomes was death. 

"no wonder they were after us..." these fotografos were relentless. 

"we were unaware of repercussion. if we had to be there -- we were there"

Not only did the photographs capture the military injustice, but also the heartbreak of the citizen who lost their family and loved ones. The majority of the Chileans interviewed told tear-causing testimonies of their hard working sons who has no political affiliation what so ever. Women chained themselves to the gates of government buildings with pictures of their loved ones, the victims, pinned to their chests. 

One woman retold the story of what happened to her sons who were part of a mining community of hard workers, as far removed from the government as possible in el campo de Chile. She did not hold back the information that her children were hung by their necks in a warehouse, found with grass shoved into their mouths and barbed wire piercing through their lips and wrapped around their head, like animals. (Where was PETA? they were founded in 1980 right? Or were they too concerned with animal rights to focus on human rights?) 

"you start to feel that a part of you is missing too"

To watch the facial expressions of my profe, a Chilean man, who is from the generation of the 80s riots, fill with tears during the documentary and not make one sarcastic joke or pun (this is my Jack Black from School of Rock profe, mind you) was a pure sign of the magnitude of this historical day. His reaction to the violence of many years ago gave the class a feeling of strength and pride that has emerged from the ashes of this country.  Setptember 11th is so close to September 18th (Chilean Independence Day) and the "irony of fate" as said in the documentary, reveals that what happened to this country was not the fault of a nation of loyal citizens, but a select group of people, who used a political affiliation as a vessel to cause destruction in a faceless, blameless way. 

Experiencing two September 11ths had given way to a day full of contemplation and such brash comparisons of the violence and injustice experienced by two nations in very different ways. But most important, we should realize the blame in misunderstanding and in violence. Let us remember those who were brave and truly embodied what it is to be a selfless human in the midst of a world history that is singed with dark instances of lifeless destruction. 

peace, 

rach

my thoughts were so loud, I couldn't hear my mouth

To be afloat in another country can lead to confusion and the inability to absorb all that you want to get out of a travel experience. I think goals are very important to help align and balance your life.  

studying and living in another country has been my dream since I was a little girl, making hand-drawn maps to Saudi Arabia and to my grandma's house. Going into this experience, I had a certain idea as to what I would want to accomplish and I just decided to make a short list of the first few thoughts that came to my head when I thought of goals for my semester in Chile. 

photos for thought, 

rach