University life

I have class four days a week. Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays must I brave the sardine can metro rush. The hot, humid air rises to meet you as you descend the stairs into the station, and the only respite is the breeze pushed through by incoming trains. I´m told it´s worse in the winter. It´s a 40 minute trip in total, given that I have to change train lines. I´m consistently impressed with the cleanliness and general comfort of the metro system, but it is rather shocking to be squashed into the train - I don´t even need to walk into the train car, the crowd will carry me in.

Mornings are chilly here, quite pleasant compared to the incessant sun of the afternoons.

My courses:
-Intercultural Communication between Asia and Latin America: A course taught in English, which is rather unfortunate given I would like to learn the subject matter in Spanish. The 20 students are mostly from the Engineering department, and are taking the class mainly to practice their language skills. It is nevertheless interesting to see how the material is taught, and how the students respond to it. The course is apparently attractive to international students - there are 5 in attendance. The department head who approved my registration in the course was clearly miffed by this, lamenting that courses specially designed to practice english language were being filled up by foreigners. I´m not sure why she´s surprised, however, given the subject of the course. I believe it´s the first time this topic has been covered at the Católica; I´m not sure about other universities.

- Culture and Latin American Society: We haven´t really gotten started with this one yet. The professor, like most other professors I´ve seen teaching here, goes off onto frequent eloquent and mostly irrelevant tangents.

-Chilean Culture for foreigners: the class starts next Monday.

- Armed Conflict and the Politics of Humanitarian Work: This course is taught by likely one of Católica´s best professors. The course is fast paced, (I hear that some of the other foreigners have trouble keeping up,) and to my mind, very interesting. You might be surprised to know that almost 98% of our numerous readings are in English. (In fact I´ve become exceedingly grateful that I study international relations in the US, as opposed to in another nonEnglish-speaking country. Almost all of the material in the field is in English, and the variety of courses one can take (At AU) in specific areas, such as humanitarian work, peace studies, environment and war, etc, is unparalleled here. In any case, I will return to the States able to carry on an extensive conversation about the definition of conflict and the nuances of conducting humanitarian efforts.

Other tidbits:
-Printing!! I have no printer at my residence, and so I must resort to printing at the U. There are computing centers, (at which I have currently usurped a station,) and to print one must bring paper. First you select and send your document to be printed. Then you study greek history, or teach yourself Latin, while you wait in line. The printer itself is under the strict and unwavering control of an attendant, to whom you must pass your paper when you are given the priviledge, and then you "unlock" your document from another computer so that it prints immediately onto your personal white paper (which by this point is creased from living in your backpack). As you can see, it is a highly efficient system. In fact, I have never ever seen printers or copiers for free use in Chile - they are always attended by an intermediary attendant. You yourself, as an unworthy being, cannot occupy the printer or copier, lest the machine takes a disliking to you and breaks a cartridge.

-Obtaining readings for classes: In contrast to the US, where students are expected to shell out impressive sums of money to spend 5 months of exclusive time with a shiny new textbook, Chile has developed a different system. Chilean students are simply not expected to have the resources to buy books. (There is also a 20% tax on books here, if I´m not mistaken.) So instead the professor sends the course material to one of many small copy officies scattered around the university campus: "fotocopiadoras." Students go to these officies and pay around 20 pesos a page for the copies of the readings. I still haven´t figured out whether or not this system operates in blatant or just mild disregard for copyright law. But it´s quite useful given the structural difficulties in printing. The fotocopiadoras, are, however, also a good place to begin learning Latin.


On an unrelated note, I´ve recently realized that being vegetarian in Chile means that you´re trying to lose weight. (As if cutting down on protein would be a good or effective way to lose weight.) So my receipts for veggie food (which rather resemble rabbit food at the university, since I settle for a salad with tomatoes, corn, peas, a hardboiled egg, and some fresh cheese, and some rice) all read "Low Calorie."

I´ve additionally worked out my schedule so that I can practice soccer several times a week. I don´t have any fields near me, so I´m obliged to metro down to the University to play, but the gym changing rooms and showers make this easier. I´m continually met with surprise: You play soccer!?!?! But you´re a girl! I considered trying out for the team here, but I wasn´t willing to have soccer take over my life in Chile. The team requires a commitment of 3 hours four days a week, including Friday evening. So for now I simply kick the ball around on my own, and needless to say, juggle a lot. It´s highly unlikely that I´ll find other girls to scrimmage or practice with, but maybe I´ll eventually be invited into a pichanga.