Learning, growing, all day long!

During the first two weeks of the program, we all had class everyday to learn about Chilean culture and society, history, Chilean Spanish, literature, movies, politics, indigenous cultures, the environment and contamination, human rights, music, and food. The class, Chile Contemporaneo was very informative. We had different professors each day and went on many "mini viajes" throughout Santiago.

We visited:
*El Palacio de La Moneda

This is where the president, Michelle Bachelet, and others in her administration work. It is very rare to get a tour of the inside.

* El Museo Historico Nacional y Plaza de Armas
*La Red de Monitoreo de Calidad de Aire (The monitoring network of air quality)
*El Parque por la paz--Villa Grimaldi

This was a torture site during the Pinochet regime. Our guide/professor for the day was a survivor of the torture and disregard for human rights. It was quite an emotional day and unbelieveable some of the descriptions he shared with us.

*Cementario General

Over 5 million people are buried here--founders of Santiago, presidents, upper, middle, and lower class.


We also experienced:
*Orientation in the Universidad de Chile

We watched folkloric dance and the national dance of Chile, la cueca

*Orientation at the Universidad Catolica
*Watched the Chilean movie, Machuca
*Ate dinner at a chilean restaurant and listened to folkloric music

*Gave oral group presenations about various topics

Apart from the program, my friends and I explored Santiago in these first two weeks. We did lots of shopping at local stores and artisan malls. We visited one of the three houses of the famous Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda. We saw Santiago from above by climbing Cerro San Cristobal where there also is located a large statue of the Virgin Mary. We experienced a fish market, some discotecas, cafes, plazas, family gatherings and church. Santiago is so full of new things.