Equality, Tolerance, and Human Rights for all People Despite Their Sexual Orientation

In a country where gays are too often discriminated against, it was beautiful to see thousands of people march in favor of same sex marriage laws on June 25^th in Santiago’s central square. It was wonderful to see so many people allowed to express their sexuality openly, in an environment free from judgment and violence. I can only hope that the unprecedented turnout will have a positive impact on the movement, even if it’s a slow process. If Argentina and Mexico city (and NY!) have legalized gay marriage, then there is no reason why Santiago shouldn't follow in their footsteps.

More info

More info x 2

Good God Dam(n): HidroAysén

The Chilean government claims that the country will run out of energy, if they don’t follow through with a 3.2 billion dollar dam project called HidroAysén (5 dams on 2 rivers) in Patagonia. Aside from HidroAysén, protestors believe that there are a lot of better options (e.g. solar, wind, geyser and geothermal power, etc) and that if the project goes through then one of the last untouched, pristine, and fragile landscapes will be destroyed. Anecdotal research has led me to believe that no one in Chile wants the dam to be built. Citizens, conservationists, and scientists contest the government's claim; they believe that the motivations of the people in power are greed and consumerism (what a surprise?!). In addition they are worried that the project would "flood a large part of a region dominated by national parks and reserves"

As a result in recent weeks, there have been hundreds of protests and thousands of protesters (that vary greatly in not only age but also class and background) fighting back in and around Santiago. Since in the US people are generally apathetic, unorganized and/or their voices are too often squelched, watching the people unite under a common cause has been awe inspiring. The relentless acts of conscientious protest have taken place on the streets, are rampant on FaceBook and can be spotted on defiled government money. None of the public outcry has gone unnoticed and that is even more inspiring.

To my surprise four days ago, the project was suspended. The fight is far from over and it's likely to be a very long and difficult road. However, this fight (along with recent events in Egypt and across the world) has renewed my faith in grassroots moment and proven to me that dissent is not futile!

In a world where corporations are seizing more and more power and the gap between the rich and poor is growing at an alarming rate, it's essential that we remember that "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" (Thomas Jefferson).

For more information, here are some links:

NPR offers A glimpse at the situation

A comprehensive article in the NY times

BBC's article on the current situation

I Was Walking Far From Home

On the first day of Winter, I present to you some of the things I see on my daily walk. When words fail, pictures never do so click on them for a better view and let your imagination run wild. I'm going to try and think of more blog topics of interest and if I come up short, then I'll keep a picture blog.

My students

The mountains are a spectacular view and backdrop after the rain. There are so many power lines and when the torrential winter downpours start, they are likely to fall and cause power outages...

A mumbling vegetable man that sells the cheapest tastiest fruit. I think he is missing some teeth.

Glass used as barbed wire and walls filled with graffiti.

"Cafe el diablo" --A strip club with coffee in Chilean suburbia.

I walk by this extremely fluffy, chill chow on the daily. I think the vegetable man owns him.

Hanging trash bags

Gas trucks

The hostel in front of my house. A huge yellow wall and the black gate I use.

I live with 4 shih-tzus that bring lots of laughs.

The colorful living room inside my little house. On the right is the gas heater and TV. Tile floors and a wall of windows leads to very cold days.

The smog blanket that unfortunately doesn't keep anyone warm and usually hides the mountains.

A flute playing human statue that sits in the open air market that is on my way to work.

This song says it all

Cambia lo superficial, cambia también lo profundo, cambia el modo de pensar, cambia todo en este mundo, y así como todo cambia, que yo cambie no es extraño...

Fakesgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving this past Saturday at my house. In case you are wondering, they don't have Thanksgiving in Chile. Indians, land, pilgrims, give it a thought. However, it's Fall here, feels like Thanksgiving weather, and we've been missing a lot of things from home, so "Fakesgiving" in June seemed like the perfect fix.

Emotional Landscapes

Three months into this adventure and I have begun to experience culture shock. Even though I had read about it in books, shockingly (insert sarcasm) it’s nothing like I imagined. But before you get worried, you need to know that I revel in these emotions. Though they are difficult to describe with clarity, I’ll attempt in vain.

The days feel both endless and numbered. I simultaneously feel like I’ve been here for 1 day and 1 year. I oscillate between extreme homesickness and mania… I’ll offer up similes to better illustrate the feelings: Sometimes, I feel like I’m unshod and pushing a boulder up a giant hill on a freezing cold, pitch dark night in a smog filled city; other times, I feel like I’m riding a bicycle down a hill in the warm glow of sunset’s colorful array at twighlight, and it’s a Spring day after the rain. I would choose intense emotions to numbness any day of the week. Because, It not only means that I am actually living and not merely standing in the standby lane but it also (hopefully) means I am learning. Every day a myriad of questions about life are surfacing, swirling, and swimming through my head. I absolutely love the constant mental bombardment, even though [Sister] Socrates always answers with more questions.

Since my thoughts are unorganized, I’ll offer a non-sequitur. It’s nearly impossible to worry like I did in the US about the minutiae and the unwritten future here, so I just don’t. Last week I looked at my house (in the US) on Google Maps and had a visceral emotional response. I had forgotten all the feelings of association. I became ecstatic with the realization that I had forgotten some of my Pavlovian responses. I could elaborate on the Pavlovian responses that I am unlearning, but I think I’ll keep at least some thoughts private for now. I am learning to let go and to trust in the universe. I know deep within my core that everything will be okay … With this thought comes an overwhelming feeling of peace, and it washes over me from head to toe. The peace that I am learning to live with is a completely new companion, and I have to say it’s way better than I imagined.

“Belief in the truth commences with the doubting of all those ‘truths’ we once believed.”

Buck up, Little Soldier

I had reservations about using a Gas heater for a number of reasons, but I was repeatedly told that they are completely safe, if used properly. So I wrote off my paranoia, and I let my guard down. Sitting in front of my brand new heater in my extraordinarily cold house quickly became a favorite activity. Needless to say, when my new heater and new giant gas tank ( that was 4 times the size of the previous one and was intended to last an entire month) exploded in front of me on Tuesday morning, I was more than shocked. (Weirdly enough during the moment that I was forced to face my own mortality, I was listening to “When I’m gone” a fitting song about dying by Eminem. That tank exploded and in the background, I heard him repeatedly rap “And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn- Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice./Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling/And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel my pain/Just smile back”)

'This would be a cautionary tale, if there was an explanation for the malfunction, but I still don’t have one. The fact that I didn’t get burned is a miracle of some sort but the reason it happened is still a mystery.

David was sleeping and the sound of the explosion woke him up. He ran out of our bedroom, took one look at me and I knew… This situation was very serious. He was wide-eyed; his pupils were nearly dilated. David and I have traveled around the sun 5 times together, and in five years we’ve been through A LOT, but normally I calm him or he calms me but not this time. This isn’t mere hyperbole, the seconds turned to minutes. You really don’t know how you will react to an emergency until it happens.

We didn’t talk about the impending doom, because it was just understood. He nervously asked, “What should I do?” Then I retorted, “Get water,” as I opened the window furthest from the burning gas tank. It was not only blocking the exit door but was also burning right next to the wall. Instantly I realized there were burglar bars on the window. I was sure the painting on the wall was about to catch fire; I was certain that the already burning gas tank was going to explode at any second, and I didn’t have a single thought about my material belongings. Within a second, I decided to open a different window. I struggled with the hard to open, old, stuck window as I nervously glanced at the tank. Moments later, I jumped out the window in Bruce Willis style, and David, who was half naked, ran past the tank while emptying a coffee pot of water on it. The water did nothing to the fueled fire, but we both safely exited the house.

Luckily our landlord’s husband was nearby, because otherwise the house would have caught fire. He was able to move the tank. He burned his hands a little but that seems like a small price to pay. He then dosed the fire for 10 minutes with a nearby hose that neither one of us knew existed.

After the aforementioned event, I rushed to my morning class. Arriving 10 minutes late, I was on the verge of tears and feeling more homesick than I have been in the past 3 months. I taught in an inner city school and learned how to act like bloody fights between rival gang members didn’t faze me. I’ve played poker my whole life and have developed a poker face: I have convinced people that I had 4 aces in my hand when I had nothing, because I learned how to believe my own lie. So right after I was traumatized, I taught with the best poker face I could muster while desperately trying to forget that I just had a near death experience. I needed a hug and for someone to say “it’s all going to be okay” but I had neither, so I just breathed. Life continued/continues on like nothing happened, as it always will. However, I’m left with a lot of information to process.

“As for those things
That act as markers in your life
But in between you can't remember
And these silly things I like to dwell on”