Month 1
to whom this may concern,
My first month in Chile and Concepción has come to an end. Gone are the awkwardnesses of trying to adjust to a new family, a new university, and a new country and with these important steps out of the way, i can focus on other priorities in this upcoming month, my second of three.
This week was finals week, I had History of Spanish, Morphology, Syntax, and Writing finals. My other classes included Taller 2 (workshop), and Apoyo Linquistico (Linguistic Help), but those do not require tests. All in all it was a good month. The classes were a mixture of helpfulness and boringness. and the system of the whole program reminds me a bit of High School. I am hanging out with a group of friends that total more than 3, I don´t do my homework until the night before (and sometimes during class) and classes themselves are challenging only in the fact that they are in a different language, but the material is nothing to stress out about.
All of my buddies are traveling to Valpariso as I type this, I decided to opt out to do some serious catching up on worthy things that make me happy. Amoung them are this letter, any other e-mails that i´ve been meaning to write and haven´t, beginning a book that i´ve been wanting to read for a long time, watching a movie or two, exploring Concepción without feeling rushed, and bonding with my Chilean Family and a couple of friends.
The truth is, I am just as busy here as I am back in the states. I really didn´t think that it was going to be that way but unfortunately it is. Not that it is nearly as bad as anything in the U.S., but time, or lack thereof, is still time, and in either case it is not going to stop for me unless I make plans to enjoy it instead of rushing through it.
One of the things that I have been doing is taking salsa lessons. They are offered by the school and they occur every tuesday and thursday night. They aren´t very good, and they are halfway done, but they are somewhat useful in learning how to distinguish what salsa music sounds like and what salsa dancing looks like when two very talented people dance to it. The two instructors basically dance like the crazy latin lovers that they are, and then expect us to be able to copy them. instantly. they do repeat said moves three or four more times, but anything more that that needs to be requested from them personally during our ´free time´, which is basically 90% of the class. It is at this time that the majority of the class fumbles around, some with extraordinary grace (mostly coming from the chileans), some with various levels of accuracy and enjoyment, and some with frustrating and disappointing results. I have fallen into all three of these examples, one for each time that i´ve gone.
Another class that i am taking is an african drumming class. It is quite extraordinary, and i am enjoying it immensely. In fact, there has been a lot of music in my life since coming to Chile, and that is definitely something that i am most thankful for. I have only been to this class twice with my second class being tonight. it is held every thursday right before and a little bit into the salsa lessons. It is very small, and the intimacy is a big factor of why the class is so great, and also why the salsa classes are so bad. We have very close, one-on-one contact with the professor, and we learn by constant repetition, done in a slow manner. This is crucial in trying to learn something new, especially if it is something that involves the body and muscles. In a lot of ways i feel as though i have a natural skill for it, i find it easy to learn the steps and can hold a beat, but on the other hand i can be completely out of it and can make noise that isn´t anything close to being music or rhythm. There is a fine balance between learning drum beats or dance steps consciously and then letting your unconscious take over. The later is usually were the ´talent´comes in, when i am staring off into space i can easily keep the beat going or i can let it loose on the dance floor, but when i think about the steps and try to do it in the perfectionist setting that i force myself to do anything in, often the only thing that is produced is a lot of frustration and anger. Such was the case on tuesday night, i couldn`t even do the simplest of steps because my mind was working too much. or just working period.
But music is definitely in the foreground of my life. So far I´ve gone to three concerts, two shows, and have been introduced to an abundance of new and familiar but never heard music. One of the first shows was Yein Fonda in Santiago which was a great introduction to latin music. Even though I had only heard of one band prior to arriving, I left with a great impression of what was to come in the near future. Then came all of the music from my friend Lyndsay´s iTunes. Silvio Rodriquez, Carla Bruni, Victor Jara, Violetta Parra, Los Jaives, Los Prisoneros, Los Tres and Los Bunkers, just to name a few. After the new arrival of latin music on my iPod, I went to a jazz concert in the city. To be honest, i´ve never really given jazz a chance in my life time other than the vince gulardi trio and the occasional Miles Davis. I was always under the impression that it was all the same. Well, as far as i know, jazz is principally composed of a combination of certain instruments, the major ones being the stand up bass, a xylophone, drums, guitar and piano, but hearing this stuff live is a whole other story. Listening to this concert, my first, was inspiring. My mind got wrapped up in my life and all aspects of it, my past, present and future were drifting in and out of thought. Everything was in the foreground at one point. Past relationships, all of my friends, my future son and next stage in life, my mother, you name it, i thought it. And then there were the moments when i was just wrapped up in the music, it is an amazing aphrodisiac. Needless to say, i left feeling unbelievably happy, calm, refreshed, and satiated. Last thursday (ditching salsa class, a decision i don´t regret, but which did spawn the seed of my unbelievable frustration and anxiety the following time i had it) I went to my african drumming instructors concert. It was called latino night, and it was a combination of many types of music from all across latin america. It even included jazz (!) and once again i left feeling very fulfilled. My last concert happened to be last night. It was a recital of my favorite instrument, the cello, and of the piano. Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Brams were played. I was quite happy when the experience was over. The best part about all of this is that the last two mentioned concerts were free, and the only other one i payed for was only 3 dollars (1500 pesos). There is nowhere in all of the united states where one can listen to similar music for just as cheap or for free. In fact, i find it incredibly discouraging how the united states lacks culture and any attempted to promote it can only be offered for people who have the time and resources for it. It is very refreshing to note that most museums in england were free, as are most cultural events here. they fucking have a museum AND a library at the major mall here. Now commerce and culture together? pretty amazing if you ask me.
Every tuesday we had a test for the history of spanish. every monday night was spent studying for that test. On tuedays, after class, a movie was viewed. (so far Sexo con Amor and Boogie Nights) and wednesday nights we would do take home quizzes for our morfologia and sintaxis classes. Thursdays would be preceded with some socializing as would the weekends. So far I have frequented the Rock Star Bar, a grungy hole in the wall establishment that serves cheap beer that isn´t very good but has some excellent music, particularly music from the 80´s. I also went to a bar called Refugio with the friends, watched a couple of live bands play (their ambiance and lack of talent reminded me too much of random shows i would venture out to see in berkeley and san francisco). I´ve also gone to Bar 592, a posh ´alternative´style plays that place rock and electronica music. Pretty much every other place is a club that plays reggaeton music (latins version of hip-hop, rap, skanky dancing gone wild-type of thing). I´ve had a share of that too, primarily because my chilean brother likes that sort of thing. I didn´t include the many bars (pubs, as i so remember calling them in london) that we have randomly gone to, or go on a semi-regular basis such as pablo nerudas, sur, breakmarket, etc. With all of the aforementioned places, it sounds like i am a belligerent drunkard on any given day or night but rest assured, i am not. The drinking culture here is similar but a little less than the drinking culture in the u.k., it is a normal occurrence to go out and drink a couple of beers along with a good conversation. People don`t get ´wasted´, and the only time they are truly drunk is on the weekends, where they go all out and say up until 5 or 6 in the morning.
And how have a spent my weekends? The first weekend i met my family on a sunday and started orientation the following day, the second weekend i went to santiago with my friends to celebrate Chile´s independence day, and also to turn in my laptop, which malfunctioned two days after apple claimed to have fixed it. (another hassle and reason why it has been so difficult for me to make any sort of long e-mail or account of my time spent here.)
The third weekend was spent sleeping and attending a victor jara festival in san pablo, a suburb of concepción on the other side of the river.
Fourth weekend the friends and i had a private tour of new government buildings that are being constructed and of the old train station, which contains a famous mural of the history of conception.
Last weekend was an amazing trip to Lebu, Cañete, and another excellent place south of here called tilúja. (the details of which will be explained in another letter/entry).
And the circle wraps around again and ends where it started. I spend quite some time with my friends that i have made here, but mostly school and some couple of extracurriculars has everyone occupied for the most part. Next month will definitely be harder, as the reading progresses along with everything else and because i am taking one more class outside of the norm. Scheduled for this following month are a class on the mapuche, the native people of chile who remarkably after all of these centuries are still around with their culture in high numbers, unlike any other native tribe in the world, two theater classes, one focusing on latin american theater and the other on pre-columbian theater, and two classes involving the learning of this language, a lexicon class and the minimization of spanish. I look forward to it, but this will only make me just as busy, if not more than how i have been this month.
I suppose this is where this letter comes to an end, for now to say the least. I look forward to hearing about the lives of whoever might be reading this, as e-mails are not very plentiful to the person who goes abroad for the most part.
Until next time,
-robert.
My first month in Chile and Concepción has come to an end. Gone are the awkwardnesses of trying to adjust to a new family, a new university, and a new country and with these important steps out of the way, i can focus on other priorities in this upcoming month, my second of three.
This week was finals week, I had History of Spanish, Morphology, Syntax, and Writing finals. My other classes included Taller 2 (workshop), and Apoyo Linquistico (Linguistic Help), but those do not require tests. All in all it was a good month. The classes were a mixture of helpfulness and boringness. and the system of the whole program reminds me a bit of High School. I am hanging out with a group of friends that total more than 3, I don´t do my homework until the night before (and sometimes during class) and classes themselves are challenging only in the fact that they are in a different language, but the material is nothing to stress out about.
All of my buddies are traveling to Valpariso as I type this, I decided to opt out to do some serious catching up on worthy things that make me happy. Amoung them are this letter, any other e-mails that i´ve been meaning to write and haven´t, beginning a book that i´ve been wanting to read for a long time, watching a movie or two, exploring Concepción without feeling rushed, and bonding with my Chilean Family and a couple of friends.
The truth is, I am just as busy here as I am back in the states. I really didn´t think that it was going to be that way but unfortunately it is. Not that it is nearly as bad as anything in the U.S., but time, or lack thereof, is still time, and in either case it is not going to stop for me unless I make plans to enjoy it instead of rushing through it.
One of the things that I have been doing is taking salsa lessons. They are offered by the school and they occur every tuesday and thursday night. They aren´t very good, and they are halfway done, but they are somewhat useful in learning how to distinguish what salsa music sounds like and what salsa dancing looks like when two very talented people dance to it. The two instructors basically dance like the crazy latin lovers that they are, and then expect us to be able to copy them. instantly. they do repeat said moves three or four more times, but anything more that that needs to be requested from them personally during our ´free time´, which is basically 90% of the class. It is at this time that the majority of the class fumbles around, some with extraordinary grace (mostly coming from the chileans), some with various levels of accuracy and enjoyment, and some with frustrating and disappointing results. I have fallen into all three of these examples, one for each time that i´ve gone.
Another class that i am taking is an african drumming class. It is quite extraordinary, and i am enjoying it immensely. In fact, there has been a lot of music in my life since coming to Chile, and that is definitely something that i am most thankful for. I have only been to this class twice with my second class being tonight. it is held every thursday right before and a little bit into the salsa lessons. It is very small, and the intimacy is a big factor of why the class is so great, and also why the salsa classes are so bad. We have very close, one-on-one contact with the professor, and we learn by constant repetition, done in a slow manner. This is crucial in trying to learn something new, especially if it is something that involves the body and muscles. In a lot of ways i feel as though i have a natural skill for it, i find it easy to learn the steps and can hold a beat, but on the other hand i can be completely out of it and can make noise that isn´t anything close to being music or rhythm. There is a fine balance between learning drum beats or dance steps consciously and then letting your unconscious take over. The later is usually were the ´talent´comes in, when i am staring off into space i can easily keep the beat going or i can let it loose on the dance floor, but when i think about the steps and try to do it in the perfectionist setting that i force myself to do anything in, often the only thing that is produced is a lot of frustration and anger. Such was the case on tuesday night, i couldn`t even do the simplest of steps because my mind was working too much. or just working period.
But music is definitely in the foreground of my life. So far I´ve gone to three concerts, two shows, and have been introduced to an abundance of new and familiar but never heard music. One of the first shows was Yein Fonda in Santiago which was a great introduction to latin music. Even though I had only heard of one band prior to arriving, I left with a great impression of what was to come in the near future. Then came all of the music from my friend Lyndsay´s iTunes. Silvio Rodriquez, Carla Bruni, Victor Jara, Violetta Parra, Los Jaives, Los Prisoneros, Los Tres and Los Bunkers, just to name a few. After the new arrival of latin music on my iPod, I went to a jazz concert in the city. To be honest, i´ve never really given jazz a chance in my life time other than the vince gulardi trio and the occasional Miles Davis. I was always under the impression that it was all the same. Well, as far as i know, jazz is principally composed of a combination of certain instruments, the major ones being the stand up bass, a xylophone, drums, guitar and piano, but hearing this stuff live is a whole other story. Listening to this concert, my first, was inspiring. My mind got wrapped up in my life and all aspects of it, my past, present and future were drifting in and out of thought. Everything was in the foreground at one point. Past relationships, all of my friends, my future son and next stage in life, my mother, you name it, i thought it. And then there were the moments when i was just wrapped up in the music, it is an amazing aphrodisiac. Needless to say, i left feeling unbelievably happy, calm, refreshed, and satiated. Last thursday (ditching salsa class, a decision i don´t regret, but which did spawn the seed of my unbelievable frustration and anxiety the following time i had it) I went to my african drumming instructors concert. It was called latino night, and it was a combination of many types of music from all across latin america. It even included jazz (!) and once again i left feeling very fulfilled. My last concert happened to be last night. It was a recital of my favorite instrument, the cello, and of the piano. Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Brams were played. I was quite happy when the experience was over. The best part about all of this is that the last two mentioned concerts were free, and the only other one i payed for was only 3 dollars (1500 pesos). There is nowhere in all of the united states where one can listen to similar music for just as cheap or for free. In fact, i find it incredibly discouraging how the united states lacks culture and any attempted to promote it can only be offered for people who have the time and resources for it. It is very refreshing to note that most museums in england were free, as are most cultural events here. they fucking have a museum AND a library at the major mall here. Now commerce and culture together? pretty amazing if you ask me.
Every tuesday we had a test for the history of spanish. every monday night was spent studying for that test. On tuedays, after class, a movie was viewed. (so far Sexo con Amor and Boogie Nights) and wednesday nights we would do take home quizzes for our morfologia and sintaxis classes. Thursdays would be preceded with some socializing as would the weekends. So far I have frequented the Rock Star Bar, a grungy hole in the wall establishment that serves cheap beer that isn´t very good but has some excellent music, particularly music from the 80´s. I also went to a bar called Refugio with the friends, watched a couple of live bands play (their ambiance and lack of talent reminded me too much of random shows i would venture out to see in berkeley and san francisco). I´ve also gone to Bar 592, a posh ´alternative´style plays that place rock and electronica music. Pretty much every other place is a club that plays reggaeton music (latins version of hip-hop, rap, skanky dancing gone wild-type of thing). I´ve had a share of that too, primarily because my chilean brother likes that sort of thing. I didn´t include the many bars (pubs, as i so remember calling them in london) that we have randomly gone to, or go on a semi-regular basis such as pablo nerudas, sur, breakmarket, etc. With all of the aforementioned places, it sounds like i am a belligerent drunkard on any given day or night but rest assured, i am not. The drinking culture here is similar but a little less than the drinking culture in the u.k., it is a normal occurrence to go out and drink a couple of beers along with a good conversation. People don`t get ´wasted´, and the only time they are truly drunk is on the weekends, where they go all out and say up until 5 or 6 in the morning.
And how have a spent my weekends? The first weekend i met my family on a sunday and started orientation the following day, the second weekend i went to santiago with my friends to celebrate Chile´s independence day, and also to turn in my laptop, which malfunctioned two days after apple claimed to have fixed it. (another hassle and reason why it has been so difficult for me to make any sort of long e-mail or account of my time spent here.)
The third weekend was spent sleeping and attending a victor jara festival in san pablo, a suburb of concepción on the other side of the river.
Fourth weekend the friends and i had a private tour of new government buildings that are being constructed and of the old train station, which contains a famous mural of the history of conception.
Last weekend was an amazing trip to Lebu, Cañete, and another excellent place south of here called tilúja. (the details of which will be explained in another letter/entry).
And the circle wraps around again and ends where it started. I spend quite some time with my friends that i have made here, but mostly school and some couple of extracurriculars has everyone occupied for the most part. Next month will definitely be harder, as the reading progresses along with everything else and because i am taking one more class outside of the norm. Scheduled for this following month are a class on the mapuche, the native people of chile who remarkably after all of these centuries are still around with their culture in high numbers, unlike any other native tribe in the world, two theater classes, one focusing on latin american theater and the other on pre-columbian theater, and two classes involving the learning of this language, a lexicon class and the minimization of spanish. I look forward to it, but this will only make me just as busy, if not more than how i have been this month.
I suppose this is where this letter comes to an end, for now to say the least. I look forward to hearing about the lives of whoever might be reading this, as e-mails are not very plentiful to the person who goes abroad for the most part.
Until next time,
-robert.