All day today we were at the university learning about Chilean culture from a former student guide named José. He was very thorough in his description of different components of the culture and kept the lessons fun and interesting.
To start the morning, we were given a quick overview of the history of Chile. With the exception of the first leader of Chile, Bernard O'Higgins, and the dictatorship of Pinochet from 1973 to 1989, Chile has had a democratic system of government. They are currently on their way to becoming a developed country, and based on the current growth rate will achieve this goal by 2025. Because Chile is in the process of becoming a developed nation, it seems like it would be a great time for both business people and engineers to come to Chile. From what the lecturers have said, it appears that Chile is starting to try to increase the technological innovation in the country, so engineers will likely be in high demand during this period. Paired with the history lesson was an introduction to Chilean poets, specifically Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral. We learned that in addition to being an author, Pablo Neruda was involved in politics and brought people to Chile from other countries with Project Winnipeg.
Next, we learned about the regions of Chile and tourism in the country. When learning about the country before coming here, there were many sources that mentioned the large amount of diversity in the country. Until this lecture, though, it didn't really occur to me how different they actually are. Chile is divided into fifteen regions with the fifteenth located in Antarctica. The climates range from desert in the north to cold in the south, and the cultures vary between regions. Based on the pictures in the presentation, it seems that there are many beautiful nature sites to visit throughout Chile. For example, San Pedro de Atacama, located in the second region from the north, is an area with geysers and a salt lake; Torres del Paine, located in the southernmost region, is a grouping of three "towers" which can be hiked around in six days. It seems a shame that people do not always realize how diverse this country is and all of the hidden gems here. When Chile becomes a developed country, I hope more people will want to travel here to see the country especially outside the Santiago and Valparaiso area.
The last morning lecture was mostly about Chilean art. There are not many art museums in the country, but the indigenous groups all have very distinct crafts that the Chileans recognize as art. In addition, several artists including Roberto Matta and Nemesio Antúnez have pieces in the MOMA in New York.
After lunch, our discussions continued with a presentation on Chilean society. There are many subtle differences between the culture of the United States and that of Chile that are important to know. One of the most interesting to me is that Chileans have a difficult time saying no. When visiting or working here, this would be an important detail to remember to avoid offending Chileans by being too pushy in negotiations or too direct when telling them no. There is a new program in the country to try to increase research and development and entrepreneurship in the country called Start-Up Chile. From what I understand, the program is trying to increase global connections by having foreigners work in Chile for awhile and then maintaining their business connections if they leave to work somewhere else. It sounded like an interesting concept, and I hope it works for them.
Near the end of the day, José discussed natural disasters, particularly earthquakes and tsunamis, and gave us tips on how to stay safe if one occurs during our visit, since they are relatively common here.
To conclude the day, we learned about Chilean music and dance. Just as there are many regional cultures, there are also many regional musical styles which seemed to be largely influenced by the indigenous groups in the area. Of course there are also other styles of music that are popular in the country, but the ones focused on during the presentation were the more traditional styles.
After the lectures were over today, we rode the city bus back to Viña del Mar. This was not our first time on the city buses, but they deserve a mention. The drivers of the city buses in Viña del Mar and Valparaiso are paid a commission for the tickets they sell. Consequently, they pack as many people as possible on the bus and drive quickly between stops in order to try to sell as many tickets as possible. Whenever our group rides the bus most of us are standing as close to one another as possible and holding on tightly to try to avoid falling which is often a very difficult task. When the bus approaches a stop, they open the doors before stopping and several times we have been afraid of falling out the back door. We have ridden the bus enough now that we are starting to adapt to the insanity, but every time is definitely an adventure.
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