Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
We planned activities for our students to learn about and experience the culture of Chileans. We also planned opportunities for our students to provide service back to the communities we were visiting. While these very small actions would not be considered equivalent to other groups doing service learning, our students did come to realize the importance of giving and receiving.
Santiago
While in Santiago, our group of students spent a morning at a sports club structured to offer activities to school children who are on break. Specifically, we worked with a tennis club to encourage the children to be active.
Drake students were partnered with children to offer encouragement and partnership for some drills. After training for some time we shared candies with the children and staff.
Viña del Mar
During our days on the Chilean coast we arranged time to help spruce up a foster home. Among other things, we weeded and cleaned up their yards, planted and watered flowers, scraped and repainted fixtures.
Not only was this appreciated by the foster home’s staff, it brought us closer together as a group. We are not all skilled in all the jobs available for the cleanup, but we all pitched in, we helped each other, and we realized that a collaborative effort could make a difference for others.
While these activities aren’t of the breadth and depth needed to qualify for service learning, they created pause for us to contemplate the opportunities we have and the many and varied ways we can give back to others.
Viña del Mar is just south of Valparaiso and is the less commercial ocean locale of the two. Natural areas of rocky coast (quite similar to Big Sur ) are interspersed with powdery beaches. Opposite the coastal paths, the towns are growing noticeably, with apartment buildings reaching for the sky.
Further south from Viña del Mar is the lovely natural area of Reñaca. We saw sea lions, pelicans, terns, gulls and other birds enjoying the cliffs at Reñaca.
Even among rugged cliffs and fascinating geological formations, we still find flowers growing and blooming.
I find this coastal area is a metaphor for the people of Chile. Rugged and tough, but in a beautiful way, fascinating in its natural beauty, and surprising in sharing powdery small beaches hidden in the curves of the coast. Chileans are authentic, hard working, collaborative, and sincere. It’s been my honor to spend two weeks in Chile.
Valparaiso Chile is famous for its open air art galleries, Museo a Cielo Abierto. I have noticed many more artistic works than three years ago; people are expressive with visual communication. I will post here just a very small display of the many works we saw.
There are hills and curves and vistas all around Valparaiso. Climbing stairs, riding elevators and funiculars, walking and walking, you see art not only in the murals painted by artists, but in nature.
Here are a few of the vistas which show Valparaiso’s proximity to the ocean.
We read about the Chilean wine industry, and reserved a day to tour a vineyard and learn about the business. Thanks to a very knowledgeable guide, we were able to learn much more. If you have an opportunity, I highly recommend a tour and lunch at Kingston Family Vineyard in Casablanca Chile.
The Kingston Family is in their 5th generation of building businesses in Chile, having come from Michigan originally. Our group was grateful for the opportunity to spend several hours at the vineyard and learn about grape crops, wine production and sales, and other businesses they own, such as Soprole dairy products, which is run by the Chilean portion of the family.
Our group was fortunate to enjoy their new tasting room, as well as experiencing a most delightful lunch prepared by a talented chef.
Look closely at this photo. You will notice the wine pairings with a cheese or sweet treat. Look closer and you will see each person at the table doing exactly what I was doing, taking a photo of their service. This is 2019.
Thanks to our great guide, on fellowship for his gap year following college graduation, who taught us all about the business of wine, including the growing of grapes, grape destemming (machine at left), wine packing and shipping (represented by the cartons behind him), and much more.
A business climate gives us indications of the strength of an economy. A residential area gives us indications of the values of its citizens.
While this is not a depth and breadth look at where Santiago people live, I’m including different types of housing we saw in our daily treks.
A heartbeat of Santiago is its transportation options. It is quite common to see people riding bicycles – to work, to make deliveries, for general transport. Typically they wear helmets and reflective garb. Many streets and avenues feature protected bike lanes.
Santiago is growing upwards to the sky.
There are many more inhabitants, and construction of new high rise apartment buildings is visible in several regions of the city.
There are also free-standing homes and homes-turned-business. The style variety is very broad and designs suit all tastes.
Even in the congested “downtown” there is respect for green spaces. Trees are plentiful, parks are well maintained, flowers are beautiful, and inhabitants can enjoy nature even while sharing it with millions of others.
Just a quick note that we experienced an earthquake last night. It registered at 6.7 about 200 KM away, so it was fairly mild near us. There have been numerous aftershocks, also.
We faculty and students are all OK.
We didn’t want our readers to worry about us.
We have been busy exploring, absorbing, learning, and enjoying life in Santiago. Here are some photos to help explain what we’ve been doing.
This view of Avenida Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins show the Chilean flag and the busy traffic, two things we have come to expect to see daily. The flag includes the same colors as the flag of the USA, and we see it displayed by many businesses.
Our fantastic group of students has been a pleasure to travel with. We are together much of the day, and we’ve traveled, learned and relaxed together. It’s a cohesive group, and we are all enjoying each others’ company. We represent CBPA, SJMC, A&S, and CPHS.
SJMC students gathered for a photo at our partner university, Universidad de los Andes (UANDES). On the right you can see some of the Andes mountains, and on the left lies the city of Santiago in the valley.
Sophia, on the far right, has become a hero. She was in a restaurant when she spotted a choking woman giving the universal signal for choking, while the panicked family watched. Sophia successfully performed the Heimlich Maneuver on the woman. This won’t make the news, but we are grateful that Sophia took action and helped save this woman.
One of our special activities included time in Cajon del Maipo in the Andes. We spent Saturday at a beautiful natural locale, Cascada de las Animas and appreciated the beauty of nature by relaxing, trekking, and zip lining.
This Children’s Art Museum (Museo Artequin) kept us fascinated for a long while. The building itself was constructed in 1889 by parts shipped from France. This is a place for people to learn about famous artists and their artwork, in addition to learning about techniques and themes. The current main exhibit is Light and Shadows.
Santiago is the capital and largest city of Chile. Currently, its population numbers more than 18 million inhabitants, having tripled since the 1950s. As with any city this size, there are varieties of neighborhoods and districts.
Here are some city vistas. These photos were taken from the observation deck of Costanera Center, the tallest building in South America.
Here you can see the Andes Mountains in the background; they are the natural border to Santiago.
The Costanera Center is the second tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, at 900 feet (300 meters). The tower opened in 2012 and includes a six-level mall, offices, and Sky Costanera, the observation decks.
Palacio de La Moneda is the seat of Chilean government. Akin to the U.S. Capitol building, La Moneda is where the President (currently Sebastián Piñera) and other government officials gather to do their work.
La Moneda was destroyed on September 11, 1973 when forces supporting Augusto Pinochet attacked the city to overthrow the government of Salvador Allende, who won the 1970 presidential election. The coup succeeded in giving power to the Allende regime until 1990 when the famous “NO” vote forced Pinochet to step down as president. Numerous attempts to bring Pinochet to trial over human rights violations were thwarted, and he died in 2006 without ever standing trial.
La Moneda has been rebuilt and refurbished, and is fully functioning as a place of government and history.
There are many green spaces for Santiago residents to relax and appreciate nature.
We will see more of this in a future post.
We arrived in Santiago to find the temperature was in the mid-80s. It’s short sleeve weather! And yes, by the way, palm trees definitely thrive here in January.
During our afternoon walk to Costanera Center, we encountered a drone store. Sure, they sell other things, but that drone outside the door made a definite impact on us. Inside the mall, one of our students was ready to try something different: Inca Cola Zero. She first learned of this beverage during a travel seminar in Peru. We’re all eager to try this and many other food and beverage items.
It’s time to rest up, finish unpacking, and get ready for our touring day tomorrow.
JTerm Chile 2019 