The Typical

I wake up at different times depending on the day. The last two weeks I've been getting a ride with a professor to school, and she has to be at the school at 8am. But class doesn't start until 10am or 11am, so if I don't ride with her I can get up later. My mom always has breakfast ready on the table in the kitchen, which always consists of bread with butter and jam. Sometimes I grab a piece of fruit if I'm feeling especially ravenous.

If I don't ride to school with my professor I take a colectivo. A colectivo is a taxi that operates like a bus; that is, it has a specific route that it follows throughout the day. They are a little more expensive than the buses. This is because they often have a more direct route because they don't service as many people as a bus does.

The colectivo drivers are very aware of their surroundings. They are constantly honking their horn or flashing their lights to attract the attention of potential fares. Every time they pass someone who is standing on the street they check their mirrors to make sure that person wasn't looking for a ride. One time I was half a block from the colectivo I take when it turned down the street in front of me. It's not a big deal because there are probably half a dozen cars running the same route at any given time. If I miss one, the next one will be a short time in coming. But this driver saw me, stopped, and waited for me without me even hailing it. I don't know if the driver recognized me or if he was just gambling on the chance that I needed a ride. The drivers here are good at their jobs.

I usually arrive at school with a few minutes to kill. This always turns out to be a good time to make plans with friends to go to lunch or play sports after class. Then our group has class for a couple of hours straight. As we exit the building after class some mix of our Chilean friends can always be found waiting for us. They know our schedule better than we do. Most people at this point head home for lunch, which is a big deal in Chile.

I had lunch at a family friend's house two weekends ago. We started off with barbequed sausages wrapped in bread. There was salsa and some kind of salmon dressing that could also be spread on the bread. For drinks they had wine, Coke, water, and two kinds of juice. While we sat eating and drinking the host grilled up a huge piece of steak and pork. Once these were cooked we went inside for the main course. In addition to the meat they offered potatoes, lima beans, asparagus, and a salad. Everyone had wine with this part of the meal. After that they brought out two icecream cakes with rasberry sauce. They poured so much rasberry sauce on my plate I thought I was going to puke. My dad ate a bowl of the rasberry sauce straight up. Next we had coffee with chocolate sweets. After that I was offered a glass of whisky, which of course I accepted. We continued to sit at the table as some people had second helpings of icecream cake and coffee.

After the lunch hour (or three hours) on Tuesday and Thursday we have one additional class in the afternoon. Other then that our days free in the afternoon. Some days I hang out at school, others I just go home and read. Lots of people in our group brought books to read so we've all been sharing them. I've read Dances With Wolves and Running With Scissors since I've been here, and I'm working on Gulliver's Travels right now.

During the week I study at night, but we don't have class on Friday so Thursday night we usually go out to one of the many fine pubs in Chillan. Friday and Saturday nights are frequently spent at the Bronco, a local discoteca, though most of us have grown disillusioned with the place since the novelty wore off. Someone in our group usually ends up there every weekend, however.

The last week has been interesting because the students went on strike last Wednesday. They call it "En Toma" here (in take-over). Basically the students occupy the campus and don't allow the professors on-site to teach. As a consequence our group has had our classes moved to local schools around Chillan. On Monday and Wednesdays we have class at a school downtown, and Tuesdays and Thursdays we have class at a school near my house. Classes have also shifted from being in the morning to starting at five in the evening because the schools are obviously filled with young children until then.

The students are striking because they want a freeze in tuition rates, which were set to increase this year. This sort of thing is common in Chile, and the students almost always get what they want I'm told. But until they resolve the situation with the education leaders they don't have class. No one knows how long it will last, but history seems to say 3-4 weeks. So for the remainder of my time in Chile I may not attend class at the University I came to study at.

After classes I now come home and eat "once" (Spanish word for eleven), which is like a mini-dinner. And we eat it around 8 o'clock in the evening, so I don't know where the term once came from and neither does anyone I've asked. Once consists of bread, meat, cheese, and palta (avacado), with tea or coffee.

I'm hoping to take more pictures of the strike (I've put a few up already). Earlier this week there was a protest downtown and several of our friends got arrested. I wish I'd been there to see that! With any luck I'll get to witness some other shenanigans before the strike has ended.