29th August
Spent this weekend with Diego and Daniela in SANTIAGO.
Daniela likes to run and keep fit so she ran / walked to a place called CERRO SAN CRISTBOL. Diego and I took the car. This is a hill that is kind of like Mt Eden / One Tree Point or even Parihaka at home. It has lots of walks going up and down the hill. There are a few exceptions to what we know. At the bottom you enter in through a gate. Pedestrians, cyclists are free, cars have to pay entry. Near the top is a church as well as an open air church. The hillside has seating and a covered in altar. If you were attending mass you would look down on the altar and out across Santiago. As you reach the summit there is an area that has candles. Here people make prayers to Mary and burn candles to send their prayers to the heaven. Once a prayer is answered, people will return and write thank you notes for their miracle and post them on the walls behind the candle burning area. At the top of this hill is a huge statue of Mary Mother of God labeled the immaculate conception.
We spent lunch at a place called BELLA VISTA. This is an area with lots of shops and eateries. It is quite touristy. At night they have live bands playing and it is always packed regardless of the night of the week. I saw some artwork that I liked and have taken some photos. They are made from a combination of stone and steel or iron welded together. I have also taken a photo of the menu we ate from.
When we returned from eating at Bella Vista we had to pay for our parking ticket and I couldn’t resist this Spanish talking car park ticket dispenser
Sunday, August 29, 2010
27th August
I went to school today and interviewed students about some of the wallwisher questions. Here are their answers.
DAILY ROUTINE
1. What is a typical day like in Chilean culture? (San Ignacio)
School starts at 8am and goes till 4:15pm. School lunch is from 2 – 3pm. Students bring their own school lunch. Some play sports afterwards. At this school they play basketball. Some go to a school after school which prepares them for exams. This ‘exam school’ goes from 5 – 8pm. This is for extra help in a chosen subject(s). When students arrive home, they study for the next day because they have a lot of tests. Students at San Ignacio are tested every 15 days in every subject. They must study 12 subjects and most are compulsory. It is not typical to eat dinner, however they do have onces (a small meal about 5pm). Most students go to bed about 11pm or 12pm. They spend time watching television, on the computer or study.
FREE TIME ACTIVITIES
1. How do they spend their free time?
Computing, parties, hanging out / going out with friends, dancing - the most popular dance is reggaton (half the class dance this way), watching movies, listening to music,.
The most popular music is Reggaton. A famous singer now is ‘Daddy Yankee’
Other styles of music that are popular are Rock Pop, Latin urban music mostly from Puerto Rico
Movies currently on at Chilean theatres are – Twilight Series, Inception – Science Fiction, Toy Story 3, Shrek
2. Do kids have gaming stations like PS3 or X Box 360?
Some, 11 out of 17 students asked did have some kind of gaming station.
SPORTS
1. What sports do they play in Chile?
Soccer, Tennis, basketball is popular at San Ignacio. They have a basketball court as their only playground.
The Mapuche play a sport like hockey Chueca.
CHUECA OR PALIN
The CHUECA is a Mapuche game. There is a ritual celebration accompanied by prayers, dances and feasting meant to fortify both individual and communal relationships. It can be played between two friendly communities or sometimes to settle differences between antagonistic tribes, thus avoiding the armed conflict. It is played between two teams with odd number of players per side up, this can be between 20 – 30 players. The goal of each team is to carry the ball, placed in the middle of a hole., to their own team until they take it out from the line, marked on both sides.... They get a point when the ball goes through the line on their side. The game is over after six or four lines, and they can play a whole afternoon. The ball may be carried or hit with the crooked or Palin [sic ] in any direction. Both genders play this game. After the game, they sit down to drink chicha. Sometimes during these meetings, they come to agreements for uprising, because they call for other Indiands from the whole Earth, and at night, they talk and agree on rebelions. Thus governors sometimes forbid this game and these meetings for the damages experienced. In its history , it has suffered ups and downs, has been banned by governments and the Church in 1626 , 1648 , 1688 , 1744 and 1763 with severe punishment for offenders (9). but yet it still remains.
In the nineteenth century Chueca was recognized as the national game of Chile ( 7). It was next to the language and religion of the three pillars of the Mapuche culture and this is why it has lasted until today. It was and is the most important sports game of the Mapuche culture and at the same time the most important game of South Indian.
http://www.bariloche.com.ar/museo/MAPUING.HTM
http://www.deportesmapuches.cl/
2. How much do things cost?
Sports are offered in schools as part of Physical Education only. Students cannot play a sport and represent the school because the schools don’t have teams. Students must join a club to play a sport and travel to get there. Some sports are expensive such as tennis.
3. Do they play field hockey?
Yes. Not that popular.
I went to school today and interviewed students about some of the wallwisher questions. Here are their answers.
DAILY ROUTINE
1. What is a typical day like in Chilean culture? (San Ignacio)
School starts at 8am and goes till 4:15pm. School lunch is from 2 – 3pm. Students bring their own school lunch. Some play sports afterwards. At this school they play basketball. Some go to a school after school which prepares them for exams. This ‘exam school’ goes from 5 – 8pm. This is for extra help in a chosen subject(s). When students arrive home, they study for the next day because they have a lot of tests. Students at San Ignacio are tested every 15 days in every subject. They must study 12 subjects and most are compulsory. It is not typical to eat dinner, however they do have onces (a small meal about 5pm). Most students go to bed about 11pm or 12pm. They spend time watching television, on the computer or study.
FREE TIME ACTIVITIES
1. How do they spend their free time?
Computing, parties, hanging out / going out with friends, dancing - the most popular dance is reggaton (half the class dance this way), watching movies, listening to music,.
The most popular music is Reggaton. A famous singer now is ‘Daddy Yankee’
Other styles of music that are popular are Rock Pop, Latin urban music mostly from Puerto Rico
Movies currently on at Chilean theatres are – Twilight Series, Inception – Science Fiction, Toy Story 3, Shrek
2. Do kids have gaming stations like PS3 or X Box 360?
Some, 11 out of 17 students asked did have some kind of gaming station.
SPORTS
1. What sports do they play in Chile?
Soccer, Tennis, basketball is popular at San Ignacio. They have a basketball court as their only playground.
The Mapuche play a sport like hockey Chueca.
CHUECA OR PALIN
The CHUECA is a Mapuche game. There is a ritual celebration accompanied by prayers, dances and feasting meant to fortify both individual and communal relationships. It can be played between two friendly communities or sometimes to settle differences between antagonistic tribes, thus avoiding the armed conflict. It is played between two teams with odd number of players per side up, this can be between 20 – 30 players. The goal of each team is to carry the ball, placed in the middle of a hole., to their own team until they take it out from the line, marked on both sides.... They get a point when the ball goes through the line on their side. The game is over after six or four lines, and they can play a whole afternoon. The ball may be carried or hit with the crooked or Palin [sic ] in any direction. Both genders play this game. After the game, they sit down to drink chicha. Sometimes during these meetings, they come to agreements for uprising, because they call for other Indiands from the whole Earth, and at night, they talk and agree on rebelions. Thus governors sometimes forbid this game and these meetings for the damages experienced. In its history , it has suffered ups and downs, has been banned by governments and the Church in 1626 , 1648 , 1688 , 1744 and 1763 with severe punishment for offenders (9). but yet it still remains.
In the nineteenth century Chueca was recognized as the national game of Chile ( 7). It was next to the language and religion of the three pillars of the Mapuche culture and this is why it has lasted until today. It was and is the most important sports game of the Mapuche culture and at the same time the most important game of South Indian.
http://www.bariloche.com.ar/museo/MAPUING.HTM
http://www.deportesmapuches.cl/
2. How much do things cost?
Sports are offered in schools as part of Physical Education only. Students cannot play a sport and represent the school because the schools don’t have teams. Students must join a club to play a sport and travel to get there. Some sports are expensive such as tennis.
3. Do they play field hockey?
Yes. Not that popular.
26th August 2010
LANGUAGE
I feel good today. I got asked by two different sets of native Chileans (complete strangers to me) questions that I understood and could answer.
I think the first asked me if this train went to Vina del Mar. Yes it did.
The second definitely asked me if it was this train or that train that was going to Vina Del Mar and I was able to say this one! Yeah! I know that this is basic but I did it
CULTURE / THINGS I AM GETTING USED TO
I am at the point now when I get on a train I sit on the passenger’s side without having to make a conscious effort to do this. I now also naturally walk on the right side of the pavement. Before I was an inconvience to everyone, it was a bit like a fish swimming upstream against the flow of traffic.
SAN IGNACIO / UNIFORM
When I first came to this school, in some classes I saw boys wearing blazers – I thought they were prefects. I just had a discussion with the students and they said they have the choice of what uniform they want to wear. 3 boys in the class have a blazer. Some have a PE uniform. They are not doing PE today, but they like it, so they wear it. Some have a red jacket, some blazers, some a grey jersey. Some have dress pants other sweatpants. Some have sneakers others black shoes.
SCHOOL / TEACHERS / TESTING
The teachers at schools here seem to be a lot more relaxed. However in terms of testing it is definitely more frequent than NZ. At San Ignacio it is school policy to test students every 15 days. This is a huge workload for the teachers and the students – especially if it is in every subject.
FOOD
I am told ConCon is well known for seafood.
Yesterday I had a meal that I would never have eaten before and it was great! Both my host parents are great cooks and very creative with food. We ate rolled pancakes and inside were spinach, garlic, onion and cream. Draped over the top was white sauce. As a side dish we had potatoes. It is making my mouth water just thinking of this.
I have also tried cheese empandas. The closest I could explain this is like a samosa. It is a pastry circle that has cheese inside. It is then folded in half and the edges folded over and pressed down. Most empanadas have meat but I am vegetarian so not willing to try this for myself. I have gone back and posted photos of a bread shop and amongst these slides you can see empanadas. (7th August)
LANGUAGE
I feel good today. I got asked by two different sets of native Chileans (complete strangers to me) questions that I understood and could answer.
I think the first asked me if this train went to Vina del Mar. Yes it did.
The second definitely asked me if it was this train or that train that was going to Vina Del Mar and I was able to say this one! Yeah! I know that this is basic but I did it
CULTURE / THINGS I AM GETTING USED TO
I am at the point now when I get on a train I sit on the passenger’s side without having to make a conscious effort to do this. I now also naturally walk on the right side of the pavement. Before I was an inconvience to everyone, it was a bit like a fish swimming upstream against the flow of traffic.
SAN IGNACIO / UNIFORM
When I first came to this school, in some classes I saw boys wearing blazers – I thought they were prefects. I just had a discussion with the students and they said they have the choice of what uniform they want to wear. 3 boys in the class have a blazer. Some have a PE uniform. They are not doing PE today, but they like it, so they wear it. Some have a red jacket, some blazers, some a grey jersey. Some have dress pants other sweatpants. Some have sneakers others black shoes.
SCHOOL / TEACHERS / TESTING
The teachers at schools here seem to be a lot more relaxed. However in terms of testing it is definitely more frequent than NZ. At San Ignacio it is school policy to test students every 15 days. This is a huge workload for the teachers and the students – especially if it is in every subject.
FOOD
I am told ConCon is well known for seafood.
Yesterday I had a meal that I would never have eaten before and it was great! Both my host parents are great cooks and very creative with food. We ate rolled pancakes and inside were spinach, garlic, onion and cream. Draped over the top was white sauce. As a side dish we had potatoes. It is making my mouth water just thinking of this.
I have also tried cheese empandas. The closest I could explain this is like a samosa. It is a pastry circle that has cheese inside. It is then folded in half and the edges folded over and pressed down. Most empanadas have meat but I am vegetarian so not willing to try this for myself. I have gone back and posted photos of a bread shop and amongst these slides you can see empanadas. (7th August)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
24th August 2010
Answering some more questions from the wall wisher site:
1. Who discovered Chile?
2. When was Chile discovered?
Prior to arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile.
Spanish conquest and colony
The first European to sight Chilean territory was Ferdinand Magellan, who crossed the Strait of Magellan on November 1, 1520. However, the title of discoverer of Chile is usually assigned to Diego de Almagro. Almagro was Francisco Pizarro’s partner, and he received the Southern area.(Nueva Toledo). He organized an expedition that brought him to central Chile in 1537, but he found little of value to compare with the gold and silver of the Incas in Peru. Left with the impression that the inhabitants of the area were poor, he returned to Peru, later to die in a Civil War.
After this initial excursion there was little interest from colonial authorities in further exploring modern-day Chile. However, Pedro de Valdivia, captain of the army, realizing the potential for expanding the Spanish empire southward, asked Pizarro's permission to invade and conquer the southern lands. With a couple of hundred men, he subdued the local inhabitants and founded the city of Santiago de Nueva Extremadura, now Santiago de Chile, on February 12, 1541[9]
Although Valdivia found little gold in Chile he could see the agricultural richness of the land. He continued his explorations of the region west of the Andes and founded over a dozen towns and established the first encomiendas. The greatest resistance to Spanish rule came from the Mapuche culture, who opposed European conquest and colonization until the 1880s; this resistance is known as the Arauco War. Valdivia died at the Battle of Tucapel, defeated by Lautaro, a young Mapuche toqui (war chief), but the European conquest was well underway. The Spaniards never subjugated the Mapuche territories; various attempts at conquest, both by military and peaceful means, failed. The Great Uprising of 1598 swept all Spanish presence south of the Bío-Bío River except Chiloé (and Valdivia which was decades later reestablished as a fort), and the great river became the frontier line between Mapuche lands and the Spanish realm. North of that line cities grew up slowly, and Chilean lands eventually became an important source of food for the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Valdivia became the first governor of the Captaincy General of Chile. In that post, he obeyed the viceroy of Peru and, through him, the King of Spain and his bureaucracy. Responsible to the governor, town councils known as Cabildo administered local municipalities, the most important of which was Santiago, which was the seat of a Royal Appeals Court (Spanish: Real Audiencia) from 1609 until the end of colonial rule.
Chile was the least wealthy realm of the Spanish Crown for most of its colonial history. Only in the 18th century did a steady economic and demographic growth begin, an effect of the reforms by Spain's Bourbon dynasty and a more stable situation along the frontier.
Chile declared its independence from Spain on February 12, 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879–83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its current northern territory. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche were completely subjugated.[6] Although relatively free of the coups and arbitrary governments that blighted South America, Chile endured a 17-year military dictatorship (1973–1990) that left more than 3,000 people dead or missing.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chile
Timeline of Chilean history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
15th - 16th - 17th - 18th - 19th - 20th - 21st
[edit] 15th century
Year Date Event
The Inca Emperor Túpac Yupanqui reached Itata River, where he met Mapuche resistance in the Battle of the Maule. All of Chile north of Maule River remains under the Inca Empire.
1492
Christopher Columbus discovers America, and claims it to the Kingdom of Castile.
[edit] 16th century
Year Date Event
1510
Vasco Ñúñez de Balboa founds Santa María la Antigua del Darién in Panamá, the first Spanish settlement in South America.
1513
Ñuñez de Balboa discovers the Southern Sea (Pacific Ocean).
1520
Ferdinand Magellan is passing through the Straits of Magellan, and becomes the first European to describe Patagonia.
1532
Francisco Pizarro arrives to Peru from Panamá. He begins the Conquest of the Inca Empire and captures and kills Emperor Atahualpa during the Battle of Cajamarca.
1536
Diego de Almagro arrives to Chile from Peru, passing over the Andes to the valley of Copiapó, and explores the central region of Chile as far as what will later become Santiago de Chile. An expedition sent southwards ends in the Battle of Reynogüelén with native Mapuches, which is considered to be the first battle of the Arauco War.
1541
Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago de Chile. In the following years, he (and others sent by him) founded La Serena and Concepción.
1546
Uprising of Michimalonco, Mapuche chief: Santiago destroyed. Mapuche military leader Lautaro is captured by the Spanish.
1552
Founding of Valdivia. Lautaro, after six years of imprisonment by the Spanish, escape and teaches his people military strategy, including riding horses.
1553
Mapuche uprising under Lautaro. Pedro de Valdivia is killed in the Disaster of Tucapel.
1557
Death of Lautaro, Caupolicán assumes as toqui (wartime chief).
1558
Caupolicán is captured and executed by impalement.
1564
Concepción is unsuccessfully sieged by native Mapuches.
1565
A Real Audiencia is established in Concepción. The Audiencia is abolished in 1575.
1567
Chiloé Archipelago is claimed by Spain. Castro is founded on the main island and becomes the southernmost European settlement by the time of founding.
1574
Spanish captain Juan Fernández discovers the Juan Fernández Islands.
1575
The 1575 Valdivia earthquake occurs. As in the 1960 Valdivia earthquake the Riñihue Lake dams.
1578
Francis Drake attacks the coasts of Chile, La Serena and other cities are plundered.
1583
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founds the settlement Rey Don Felipe in the Strait of Magellan. In 1587 the settlement is in ruins.
1598
"Disaster of Curalaba". Governor Martín García Óñez de Loyola killed in a Mapuche ambush.
1599
The Real Situado, an annual payment from Potosí to Chile, is established.
[edit] 17th century
Year Date Event
1602
General uprising of the Mapuches under Pelantaro. All cities south of the Bío-Bío River are demolished, in what is now called Destruction of the Seven Cities.
1604
A fort established in 1602 at the ruins of Valdivia is abandoned.
1608
Jesuits arrive to Chiloé.
1612
Beginning of the Defensive War phase (promoted by Luis de Valdivia) in the Arauco War.
1619
A second smallpox epidemy affects the indigenous population of Chile. The epidemy last until 1623.
1639
The alcabala is reestablished after it had been suspended since the Disaster of Curalaba in 1598.
1643
Dutch occupation of Valdivia.
1645
Repopulation of Valdivia and construction of the Valdivian Fort System, Valdivia becomes part of Viceroyalty of Peru.
1647
Santiago is struck by an earthquake.
1655
A general insurrection moves for some years the frontier between the Spaniards and the mapuches from the Bío-Bío River north to the Maule River.
1664
The Viceroalty of Peru estimates 30,000 to 42,000 Spaniards to have died in Chile of witch the halft would have died by the direct consequences of the Arauco War.
1667
Governor Francisco de Meneses is destituted after accusations of immorality against him.
1672
The jesuits established in Chiloé Island founds a mission in the Nahuel Huapi Lake that last until 1717.
1680
Bartholomew Sharp destroy and pillages La Serena .
1681
By royal decree, the Atacama desert is declared to be the border between the Captain-Generalship of Chile and the Viceroyalty of Peru.
1687
Chilean wheat exports to Peru increase since Peru is affected by a major earthquake and plague.
[edit] 18th century
Year Date Event
1709
Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, is rescued from the Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago.
1712
A Huilliche rebellion occurs in Chiloé Archipelago.
1722 April 5,1722
On 5 April that year Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is discovered by Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen.
1723
After 30 years of peace the War of Arauco continues with a mapuche uprising.
1740
Valdivia is reincorpored to the Captaincy General of Chile.
1749
A fort and prison is established in Robinson Crusoe Island of Juan Fernández Archipelago.[1]
1751
1751 Concepción earthquake affects all of Chile between Concepción and Talca.
1767
The Spanish empire exiles all Jesuits. Ancud is founded. Chiloé becomes part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.
1770
A expedition from Perú claims Easter Island for Spain.
1771
The Fransiscan order assumes the religious functions of the Jesuits in Chiloé.
1776
The territories of Tucumán, previously governed as part of Chile, become part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. (See History of Argentina.)
1778
Direct commerce between Chile and Spain is allowed.
1789
Start of the French Revolution, which affected Europe and the Americas with its ideals.
1792
A Huilliche rebellion occurs in the surroundings of Río Bueno.
1793
The parliaments of Negrete and Las Canoas between Spanish and native Mapuche and Huilliche are celebrated. The native chiefs accepts the Spanish king as their de jure king, but their own independence is also confirmed.
1796
Osorno is officially re-populated after that works begun in 1792. The city had previously been destroyed by the indigenous mapuche in 1602.
[edit] 19th century
Year Date Event
1808
Francisco Antonio García Carrasco, unpopular Governor of Chile. Spanish king Ferdinand VII is imprisoned by Napoleon during his invasion of Spain.
1810
Imitating the juntista movement of the rest of Latin America, the criollos (people of Spanish ancestry, but not born in Spain) of Santiago de Chile proclaim a governing Junta.
1811
Tired of being circumvented by political intrigues, José Miguel Carrera takes power by military means and initiates a dictatorship.
1812
Hostilities begin between the moderados, led by Bernardo O'Higgins, and the exaltados, led by Carrera. Carrera institutes the first Chilean national symbols (flag, coat of arms, and national anthem), and Fray Camilo Henríquez begins to publish the Aurora de Chile, the first Chilean newspaper. The Chilean Constitution of 1812 comes into effect. Founding of the Logia Lautaro.
1813
The Spanish send military expeditions (under Antonio Pareja and Gabino Gaínza) from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In the ensuing battles O'Higgins rises to be seen as a figure of great stature, overshadowing the continually less popular Carrera, who ultimately resigns. Francisco de la Lastra becomes Supreme Director.
1814
The "Disaster of Rancagua". Mariano Osorio, in command of a third Spanish expedition, defeats O'Higgins (October 1 – 2). Osorio reconquers Santiago for Spain. Exodus of Chilean patriots to Mendoza, Argentina, where they receive the support of José de San Martín. Those patriots who remain in Chile are captured by the Spaniards are deported to the Juan Fernandez Islands. Osorio is confirmed Governor of Chile by the Viceroy Fernando de Abascal of Peru. The talaveras, under the command of San Bruno, install a regime of terror extending to those merely suspected of sympathy for the Chilean cause.
1815
Guerrilla resistance against the Spanish begins, led by Manuel Rodríguez Erdoiza, and other spies such as Justo Estay. Increasing enmity between Osorio and Abascal leads Abascal to replace Osorio with Casimiro Marcó del Pont.
1817
Battle of Chacabuco. O'Higgins defeats Rafael Maroto, reconquering Santiago. Captain San Bruno, hated chief of the talaveras, is captured and — less than 24 hours later — executed by firing squad. O'Higgins becomes dictator.
1818
O'Higgins signs the Chilean Declaration of Independence (February 12). Shortly afterwards, in the Battle of Maipú, a new military expedition led by Mariano Osorio is defeated, and Chile definitively obtains independence (April 5). The rivalry between O'Higgins and Manuel Rodríguez ends with the ambush and assassination of the latter in Tiltil. The brothers Juan José and Luis Carrera are shot in Argentina, probably on the orders of O'Higgins or the Logia Lautaro.
1820
Valdivia is captured by Lord Thomas Cochrane who commands the chilean navy.
1821
José Miguel Carrera arrested as a montonero (mounted rebel/bandit) in Argentina, and executed in Mendoza.
1822
Military expedition to Peru. San Martín undertakes a prudent military campaign, enters Lima, but sees the impossibility of crushing the last Spanish redoubts, a job that is left for Simón Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre.
The Chilean Constitution of 1822 comes into effect.
1823
Ramón Freire leads a military expedition from Concepción to Santiago and forces O'Higgins to resign. He goes into exile in Peru, where he dies in 1842. Freire assumes power.
1825
Taking advantage of the unsurveyed border, and ignoring the royal decree of 1681 and the principal uti possidetis, Simón Bolívar grants the port of Cobija to Bolivia. This gives Bolivia an outlet to the sea between Chile and Peru, which it will retain until the War of the Pacific.
1826
Freire incorporates Chiloé, the last area under Spanish control, into Chile. Later he resigns, initiating an interregnum know as The Anarchy. First attempt in Chile of federal (as against centralized) government, led by the first president of Chile Manuel Blanco Encalada, and the federalist José Miguel Infante.
1828
Francisco Antonio Pinto assumes power after the resignation of Encalada and his predecessors. Chilean Constitution of 1828.
1829
Chilean Civil War of 1829. After several battles, Joaquín Prieto defeats Ramón Freire in the Battle of Lircay.
1830
Diego Portales begins to remodel Chilean institutionality, converting it into an authoritarian republic.
1831
José Joaquín Prieto becomes president of Chile. He will serve two consecutive five-year terms. With him, the so-called decenios (decade-long reigns) begin, which continue until 1871. This 30-year Conservative Party hegemony is sometimes referred to as the Authoritarian Republic.
1832
Discovery of mineral deposits in Chañarcillo, and the beginning of the rise of silver in what was then el Norte Chico and now constitutes the Atacama and Coquimbo regions of Chile). The mining fortunes constitute an important source of power in the following decades.
1833
Chilean Constitution of 1833. "Portalian" — that is, inspired by Diego Portales — definitively fixed Chilean institutions.
1835
On February 20, southern Chile was affected by the worst earthquake in the area in several decades, event witnessed by Charles Darwin.[2]
1836
Mariano Egaña declares the war on the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation.
1837
Diego Portales is assassinated by mutinous soldiers in Quillota. A Chilean military expedition debarks in Perú, beginning the War of the Confederation.
1839
Battle of Yungay and defeat of the Confederation.
1840
The Vatican acknowledges the Independence of Chile
1841
Manuel Bulnes, victorious marshal of the Battle of Yungay, elected president of Chile.
1842
Important intellectual movement registered this year. A great number of teachers, thinkers, professors, and wise men arrive to the country and establish societies.
1843
University of Chile founded. It will become on of the country's two most prestigious university. along with the Catholic University of Chile, which was founded years later. Fort Bulnes established, the first Chilean presence on the Strait of Magellan.
1844
Spain recognizes the Independence of Chile
1848
Founding of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan
1851
José María de la Cruz revolts in the southern provinces of Chile. Bulnes crushes the revolutionary attempt and signs the treaty of Purapel with the revolutionaries. Manuel Montt becomes the third of the decenal presidents.
1856
The Dispute of Sacristán ("Cuestión del Sacristán"). An apparently trivial question of ecclesiastical discipline divides the Conservative Party into secular and ultra-Catholic factions, which lays the ground for their political defeat in the elections of 1861.
1857
The Civil Code of Chile comes into effect; it will become a model for Latin American legal codes down to the present day.
1859
Chilean Revolution of 1859. Pedro León Gallo, radical revolutionary of Copiapó, and others are defeated by the government forces. However, as a consequence, Antonio Varas renounces to his candidature.
1861
José Joaquín Pérez of the Liberal Party elected president. His party will retain power until the Chilean Revolution of 1891.
1863
A French adventurer proclaims himself Orélie Antoine I, King of Araucanía. After a short time he is arrested by the Chileans and deported, but the incident meant the end of the Chilean preoccupation with occupying the remaining Mapuche, before some other power could do so and divide Chile in two. This intensification of activity is known as the Pacification of Araucanía.
1866
Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia at war with Spain. The port of Valparaíso is bombed by the Spanish. A treaty of limits (borders) of 1866 is signed with Bolivia.
1871
A constitutional reform prohibits re-election, resulting in the end of the decenios. Governments of five years duration persist until 1925, except for the premature death of Pedro Montt in 1910.
1874
Another treaty of limits is signed with Bolivia due to political tensions.
1879
In defense of the interests of the Chilean industrial oligarchy, Chilean soldiers occupy the Bolivian port of Antofagasta, precipitating the War of the Pacific against Peru and Bolivia. The Chilean cause is adopted by the general populace after the death of Captain Arturo Prat in the Naval battle of Iquique. The same day, May 21, Captain Carlos Condell sinks the powerful Independencia, which together with the capture of the Huáscar in the Naval battle of Angamos, eliminates Peruvian sea power and permits the Chileans to land troops at will along the coast throughout the military theater of operations.
1881
Chilean troops occupy and sack Lima, capital of Peru. The war will continue another three years, with the Peruvians retreating to the Sierra and successfully defending their mountainous redoubts. Argentina takes advantage of the military situation to impose upon Chile a settlement of their border disputes, granting all of oriental Patagonia to Argentina. The Mapuches also take advantage, with an armed rising against the increasing Chilean occupation of their territories, but are finally and definitively defeated for the first time in three centuries of combat.
1883
Law of Civil Matrimony adopted. This secularization was fiercely resisted by the Roman Catholic Church. The Treaty of Ancón is signed with Perú to end the war. The "Pacification of Araucanía" is considered finished, and with that according to some historians also the War of Arauco.
1884
War of the Pacific ends, allowing mining of saltpeter in the regions conquered from Peru and Bolivia, leading to great national prosperity for Chile. Treaty called "Pacto de Tregua".
1888
Policarpo Toro leads a naval expedition to annex Easter Island. The Catholic University of Chile is privately founded.
1890
The Malleco Viaduct is opened and railway traffic expands further south during the next decades.
1891
Chilean Revolution of 1891. The constitutional president José Manuel Balmaceda is overthrown by troops favorable to the National Congress. The beginning of "Parliamentarism" under which the Chilean oligarchy governed on its own behalf.
1895
Easter Island is rented to Compañía Explotadora de Isla de Pascua.
[edit] 20th century
Year Date Event
1904
"Meat" Massacre in Santiago. The workers revolt against the central government due to an increase in the price of meat and the general soaring costs of living. The government responds sending the army. Two days of riots continue, where hundreds of civilians are killed on street fighting.
1907
Massacre of the Escuela Santa María de Iquique; soldiers fire on saltpeter workers and their unarmed associates. It will be years before the workers, terrorized by the brutal repression, resume the struggle for their rights.
1910
The centenary of independence is darkened by the death of President Pedro Montt, the only president between 1831 and 1925 who failed to complete his term of office.
1914
1 November 1914 Britain is defeated by Germany at the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile
1920
Arturo Alessandri Palma elected president, indicating a rise to power by the Chilean middle class.
1924
Chile's first income tax levied.
1925
After intense political agitation the Chilean Constitution of 1925 is adopted, only slightly less authoritarian than that of 1833. The Impuesto Global Complementario, a graduated income tax, is introduced.
1927
Amidst great political instability, and by way of a bloodless coup, Carlos Ibáñez del Campo takes the presidency. He will govern as dictator, taking Benito Mussolini as his model, until 1931. Also in 1927, the corps of carabineros — militarized police — is founded.
1929
The economic crash of 1929 strikes Chile with more force than any other country on earth.
1931
The deep economic crisis obliges Ibáñez del Campo to step down. A series of civilian governments and military juntas follows, some of which last no more than a few days.
1932
The period of political anarchy ends with the return to power of Arturo Alessandri Palma.
1938
Massacre of Seguro Obrero.
1939
The Radical Party gains power, which they will keep until 1952.
1940
Pedro Aguirre Cerda, president of the nation, establishes internationally the first Chilean claims in Antarctica.
1945
Gabriela Mistral receives the Nobel Prize for Literature.
1946
Gabriel González Videla becomes president, backed by a broad alliance of parties, including the Radicals and Communists. Once in power, he acceded to pressure from the United States and promulgates the Law of Defense of Democracy, also known as the Ley Maldita ("accursed law"), which outlawed his former allies the Communists, some of whom were placed in concentration camps in Pisagua. Poet Pablo Neruda hounded into exile.
1952
Carlos Ibáñez del Campo returns to the presidency, this time via the ballot box, ending the era of the Radical Party. His emblem is the broom, with which he proposed (fruitlessly) to sweep away the Radicals' legacy of corruption.
1958
Argentine forces destroy a Chilean Lighthouse during the Snipe incident
1960
The Great Chilean Earthquake, with its epicenter near Valdivia, is the most intense earthquake ever recorded, rating a 9.5
1964
Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva becomes president, proclaiming the so-called "Revolution in Liberty".
1970
Salvador Allende elected president; his leftist orientation greatly displeases the government of the United States. See 1970 Chilean presidential election.
1971
Poet Pablo Neruda receives Nobel Prize for Literature.
1973
The Armed Forces, carabineros, and others stage a coup, overthrowing Allende, who dies in the course of the coup. Augusto Pinochet establishes himself as the head of a military junta. The subsequent repression of leftists and other opponents of the military regime results in approximately 130,000 arrests and at least 3,000 dead or "disappeared" over the next three years. See Chilean coup of 1973.
1976
The machinations of the United States oblige President Ferdinand Marcos, to cancel a scheduled visit by President Pinochet to the Philippines.
1977
Beagle conflict: The binding Beagle Channel Arbitration award the Picton, Nueva and Lennox islands to Chile
1978
Beagle conflict: Argentine began to challenge the Chilean commitment to defend the territory and started the Operation Soberania
1980
The military government promulgates the Chilean Constitution of 1980, which is adopted by plebiscite. Economic policy begins to be significantly influenced by the ideas of the Chicago School and of Neoliberalism.
1982
Support for British Forces in the Falkland War
1984
Beagle conflict: Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina signed
1988
Pinochet loses the plebiscite foreseen by the constitution, which brings about, by agreement of all, elections the following year.
1990
Patricio Aylwin takes office as President. Transition to democracy begins.
1991
Mount Hudson erupts.
1994
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle is elected President.
1998
During a visit to London for medical reasons, Augusto Pinochet is arrested in accord with the orders of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, beginning an international struggle between his supporters and detractors. He returns to Chile the following year, and the charges against him are later thrown out on the basis of his ostensibly deteriorated mental state. Chile suffers greatly from the world economic crisis, resulting in years of inflation and unemployment.
2000
In the second round of voting, in a tight contest with right wing candidate Joaquín Lavín, Ricardo Lagos Escobar is elected President.
[edit] 21st century
Year Date Event
2002
A general census is performed all over the country.
2004
The Chilean Supreme Court declares that Pinochet is mentally competent to stand trial.
2005
The Pinochet trial continues. The presidential election of December 11 puts Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera into a second round.
2006
In the second round of the presidential election the socialist leader Michelle Bachelet emerges the winner. 790,000 students adhere to the 2006 student protests in Chile. Death of Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (10 December 2006)
2007
Los Ríos Region and Arica-Parinacota Region are created.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Chilean_history
Answering some more questions from the wall wisher site:
1. Who discovered Chile?
2. When was Chile discovered?
Prior to arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile.
Spanish conquest and colony
The first European to sight Chilean territory was Ferdinand Magellan, who crossed the Strait of Magellan on November 1, 1520. However, the title of discoverer of Chile is usually assigned to Diego de Almagro. Almagro was Francisco Pizarro’s partner, and he received the Southern area.(Nueva Toledo). He organized an expedition that brought him to central Chile in 1537, but he found little of value to compare with the gold and silver of the Incas in Peru. Left with the impression that the inhabitants of the area were poor, he returned to Peru, later to die in a Civil War.
After this initial excursion there was little interest from colonial authorities in further exploring modern-day Chile. However, Pedro de Valdivia, captain of the army, realizing the potential for expanding the Spanish empire southward, asked Pizarro's permission to invade and conquer the southern lands. With a couple of hundred men, he subdued the local inhabitants and founded the city of Santiago de Nueva Extremadura, now Santiago de Chile, on February 12, 1541[9]
Although Valdivia found little gold in Chile he could see the agricultural richness of the land. He continued his explorations of the region west of the Andes and founded over a dozen towns and established the first encomiendas. The greatest resistance to Spanish rule came from the Mapuche culture, who opposed European conquest and colonization until the 1880s; this resistance is known as the Arauco War. Valdivia died at the Battle of Tucapel, defeated by Lautaro, a young Mapuche toqui (war chief), but the European conquest was well underway. The Spaniards never subjugated the Mapuche territories; various attempts at conquest, both by military and peaceful means, failed. The Great Uprising of 1598 swept all Spanish presence south of the Bío-Bío River except Chiloé (and Valdivia which was decades later reestablished as a fort), and the great river became the frontier line between Mapuche lands and the Spanish realm. North of that line cities grew up slowly, and Chilean lands eventually became an important source of food for the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Valdivia became the first governor of the Captaincy General of Chile. In that post, he obeyed the viceroy of Peru and, through him, the King of Spain and his bureaucracy. Responsible to the governor, town councils known as Cabildo administered local municipalities, the most important of which was Santiago, which was the seat of a Royal Appeals Court (Spanish: Real Audiencia) from 1609 until the end of colonial rule.
Chile was the least wealthy realm of the Spanish Crown for most of its colonial history. Only in the 18th century did a steady economic and demographic growth begin, an effect of the reforms by Spain's Bourbon dynasty and a more stable situation along the frontier.
Chile declared its independence from Spain on February 12, 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879–83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its current northern territory. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche were completely subjugated.[6] Although relatively free of the coups and arbitrary governments that blighted South America, Chile endured a 17-year military dictatorship (1973–1990) that left more than 3,000 people dead or missing.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chile
Timeline of Chilean history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
15th - 16th - 17th - 18th - 19th - 20th - 21st
[edit] 15th century
Year Date Event
The Inca Emperor Túpac Yupanqui reached Itata River, where he met Mapuche resistance in the Battle of the Maule. All of Chile north of Maule River remains under the Inca Empire.
1492
Christopher Columbus discovers America, and claims it to the Kingdom of Castile.
[edit] 16th century
Year Date Event
1510
Vasco Ñúñez de Balboa founds Santa María la Antigua del Darién in Panamá, the first Spanish settlement in South America.
1513
Ñuñez de Balboa discovers the Southern Sea (Pacific Ocean).
1520
Ferdinand Magellan is passing through the Straits of Magellan, and becomes the first European to describe Patagonia.
1532
Francisco Pizarro arrives to Peru from Panamá. He begins the Conquest of the Inca Empire and captures and kills Emperor Atahualpa during the Battle of Cajamarca.
1536
Diego de Almagro arrives to Chile from Peru, passing over the Andes to the valley of Copiapó, and explores the central region of Chile as far as what will later become Santiago de Chile. An expedition sent southwards ends in the Battle of Reynogüelén with native Mapuches, which is considered to be the first battle of the Arauco War.
1541
Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago de Chile. In the following years, he (and others sent by him) founded La Serena and Concepción.
1546
Uprising of Michimalonco, Mapuche chief: Santiago destroyed. Mapuche military leader Lautaro is captured by the Spanish.
1552
Founding of Valdivia. Lautaro, after six years of imprisonment by the Spanish, escape and teaches his people military strategy, including riding horses.
1553
Mapuche uprising under Lautaro. Pedro de Valdivia is killed in the Disaster of Tucapel.
1557
Death of Lautaro, Caupolicán assumes as toqui (wartime chief).
1558
Caupolicán is captured and executed by impalement.
1564
Concepción is unsuccessfully sieged by native Mapuches.
1565
A Real Audiencia is established in Concepción. The Audiencia is abolished in 1575.
1567
Chiloé Archipelago is claimed by Spain. Castro is founded on the main island and becomes the southernmost European settlement by the time of founding.
1574
Spanish captain Juan Fernández discovers the Juan Fernández Islands.
1575
The 1575 Valdivia earthquake occurs. As in the 1960 Valdivia earthquake the Riñihue Lake dams.
1578
Francis Drake attacks the coasts of Chile, La Serena and other cities are plundered.
1583
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founds the settlement Rey Don Felipe in the Strait of Magellan. In 1587 the settlement is in ruins.
1598
"Disaster of Curalaba". Governor Martín García Óñez de Loyola killed in a Mapuche ambush.
1599
The Real Situado, an annual payment from Potosí to Chile, is established.
[edit] 17th century
Year Date Event
1602
General uprising of the Mapuches under Pelantaro. All cities south of the Bío-Bío River are demolished, in what is now called Destruction of the Seven Cities.
1604
A fort established in 1602 at the ruins of Valdivia is abandoned.
1608
Jesuits arrive to Chiloé.
1612
Beginning of the Defensive War phase (promoted by Luis de Valdivia) in the Arauco War.
1619
A second smallpox epidemy affects the indigenous population of Chile. The epidemy last until 1623.
1639
The alcabala is reestablished after it had been suspended since the Disaster of Curalaba in 1598.
1643
Dutch occupation of Valdivia.
1645
Repopulation of Valdivia and construction of the Valdivian Fort System, Valdivia becomes part of Viceroyalty of Peru.
1647
Santiago is struck by an earthquake.
1655
A general insurrection moves for some years the frontier between the Spaniards and the mapuches from the Bío-Bío River north to the Maule River.
1664
The Viceroalty of Peru estimates 30,000 to 42,000 Spaniards to have died in Chile of witch the halft would have died by the direct consequences of the Arauco War.
1667
Governor Francisco de Meneses is destituted after accusations of immorality against him.
1672
The jesuits established in Chiloé Island founds a mission in the Nahuel Huapi Lake that last until 1717.
1680
Bartholomew Sharp destroy and pillages La Serena .
1681
By royal decree, the Atacama desert is declared to be the border between the Captain-Generalship of Chile and the Viceroyalty of Peru.
1687
Chilean wheat exports to Peru increase since Peru is affected by a major earthquake and plague.
[edit] 18th century
Year Date Event
1709
Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, is rescued from the Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago.
1712
A Huilliche rebellion occurs in Chiloé Archipelago.
1722 April 5,1722
On 5 April that year Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is discovered by Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen.
1723
After 30 years of peace the War of Arauco continues with a mapuche uprising.
1740
Valdivia is reincorpored to the Captaincy General of Chile.
1749
A fort and prison is established in Robinson Crusoe Island of Juan Fernández Archipelago.[1]
1751
1751 Concepción earthquake affects all of Chile between Concepción and Talca.
1767
The Spanish empire exiles all Jesuits. Ancud is founded. Chiloé becomes part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.
1770
A expedition from Perú claims Easter Island for Spain.
1771
The Fransiscan order assumes the religious functions of the Jesuits in Chiloé.
1776
The territories of Tucumán, previously governed as part of Chile, become part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. (See History of Argentina.)
1778
Direct commerce between Chile and Spain is allowed.
1789
Start of the French Revolution, which affected Europe and the Americas with its ideals.
1792
A Huilliche rebellion occurs in the surroundings of Río Bueno.
1793
The parliaments of Negrete and Las Canoas between Spanish and native Mapuche and Huilliche are celebrated. The native chiefs accepts the Spanish king as their de jure king, but their own independence is also confirmed.
1796
Osorno is officially re-populated after that works begun in 1792. The city had previously been destroyed by the indigenous mapuche in 1602.
[edit] 19th century
Year Date Event
1808
Francisco Antonio García Carrasco, unpopular Governor of Chile. Spanish king Ferdinand VII is imprisoned by Napoleon during his invasion of Spain.
1810
Imitating the juntista movement of the rest of Latin America, the criollos (people of Spanish ancestry, but not born in Spain) of Santiago de Chile proclaim a governing Junta.
1811
Tired of being circumvented by political intrigues, José Miguel Carrera takes power by military means and initiates a dictatorship.
1812
Hostilities begin between the moderados, led by Bernardo O'Higgins, and the exaltados, led by Carrera. Carrera institutes the first Chilean national symbols (flag, coat of arms, and national anthem), and Fray Camilo Henríquez begins to publish the Aurora de Chile, the first Chilean newspaper. The Chilean Constitution of 1812 comes into effect. Founding of the Logia Lautaro.
1813
The Spanish send military expeditions (under Antonio Pareja and Gabino Gaínza) from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In the ensuing battles O'Higgins rises to be seen as a figure of great stature, overshadowing the continually less popular Carrera, who ultimately resigns. Francisco de la Lastra becomes Supreme Director.
1814
The "Disaster of Rancagua". Mariano Osorio, in command of a third Spanish expedition, defeats O'Higgins (October 1 – 2). Osorio reconquers Santiago for Spain. Exodus of Chilean patriots to Mendoza, Argentina, where they receive the support of José de San Martín. Those patriots who remain in Chile are captured by the Spaniards are deported to the Juan Fernandez Islands. Osorio is confirmed Governor of Chile by the Viceroy Fernando de Abascal of Peru. The talaveras, under the command of San Bruno, install a regime of terror extending to those merely suspected of sympathy for the Chilean cause.
1815
Guerrilla resistance against the Spanish begins, led by Manuel Rodríguez Erdoiza, and other spies such as Justo Estay. Increasing enmity between Osorio and Abascal leads Abascal to replace Osorio with Casimiro Marcó del Pont.
1817
Battle of Chacabuco. O'Higgins defeats Rafael Maroto, reconquering Santiago. Captain San Bruno, hated chief of the talaveras, is captured and — less than 24 hours later — executed by firing squad. O'Higgins becomes dictator.
1818
O'Higgins signs the Chilean Declaration of Independence (February 12). Shortly afterwards, in the Battle of Maipú, a new military expedition led by Mariano Osorio is defeated, and Chile definitively obtains independence (April 5). The rivalry between O'Higgins and Manuel Rodríguez ends with the ambush and assassination of the latter in Tiltil. The brothers Juan José and Luis Carrera are shot in Argentina, probably on the orders of O'Higgins or the Logia Lautaro.
1820
Valdivia is captured by Lord Thomas Cochrane who commands the chilean navy.
1821
José Miguel Carrera arrested as a montonero (mounted rebel/bandit) in Argentina, and executed in Mendoza.
1822
Military expedition to Peru. San Martín undertakes a prudent military campaign, enters Lima, but sees the impossibility of crushing the last Spanish redoubts, a job that is left for Simón Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre.
The Chilean Constitution of 1822 comes into effect.
1823
Ramón Freire leads a military expedition from Concepción to Santiago and forces O'Higgins to resign. He goes into exile in Peru, where he dies in 1842. Freire assumes power.
1825
Taking advantage of the unsurveyed border, and ignoring the royal decree of 1681 and the principal uti possidetis, Simón Bolívar grants the port of Cobija to Bolivia. This gives Bolivia an outlet to the sea between Chile and Peru, which it will retain until the War of the Pacific.
1826
Freire incorporates Chiloé, the last area under Spanish control, into Chile. Later he resigns, initiating an interregnum know as The Anarchy. First attempt in Chile of federal (as against centralized) government, led by the first president of Chile Manuel Blanco Encalada, and the federalist José Miguel Infante.
1828
Francisco Antonio Pinto assumes power after the resignation of Encalada and his predecessors. Chilean Constitution of 1828.
1829
Chilean Civil War of 1829. After several battles, Joaquín Prieto defeats Ramón Freire in the Battle of Lircay.
1830
Diego Portales begins to remodel Chilean institutionality, converting it into an authoritarian republic.
1831
José Joaquín Prieto becomes president of Chile. He will serve two consecutive five-year terms. With him, the so-called decenios (decade-long reigns) begin, which continue until 1871. This 30-year Conservative Party hegemony is sometimes referred to as the Authoritarian Republic.
1832
Discovery of mineral deposits in Chañarcillo, and the beginning of the rise of silver in what was then el Norte Chico and now constitutes the Atacama and Coquimbo regions of Chile). The mining fortunes constitute an important source of power in the following decades.
1833
Chilean Constitution of 1833. "Portalian" — that is, inspired by Diego Portales — definitively fixed Chilean institutions.
1835
On February 20, southern Chile was affected by the worst earthquake in the area in several decades, event witnessed by Charles Darwin.[2]
1836
Mariano Egaña declares the war on the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation.
1837
Diego Portales is assassinated by mutinous soldiers in Quillota. A Chilean military expedition debarks in Perú, beginning the War of the Confederation.
1839
Battle of Yungay and defeat of the Confederation.
1840
The Vatican acknowledges the Independence of Chile
1841
Manuel Bulnes, victorious marshal of the Battle of Yungay, elected president of Chile.
1842
Important intellectual movement registered this year. A great number of teachers, thinkers, professors, and wise men arrive to the country and establish societies.
1843
University of Chile founded. It will become on of the country's two most prestigious university. along with the Catholic University of Chile, which was founded years later. Fort Bulnes established, the first Chilean presence on the Strait of Magellan.
1844
Spain recognizes the Independence of Chile
1848
Founding of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan
1851
José María de la Cruz revolts in the southern provinces of Chile. Bulnes crushes the revolutionary attempt and signs the treaty of Purapel with the revolutionaries. Manuel Montt becomes the third of the decenal presidents.
1856
The Dispute of Sacristán ("Cuestión del Sacristán"). An apparently trivial question of ecclesiastical discipline divides the Conservative Party into secular and ultra-Catholic factions, which lays the ground for their political defeat in the elections of 1861.
1857
The Civil Code of Chile comes into effect; it will become a model for Latin American legal codes down to the present day.
1859
Chilean Revolution of 1859. Pedro León Gallo, radical revolutionary of Copiapó, and others are defeated by the government forces. However, as a consequence, Antonio Varas renounces to his candidature.
1861
José Joaquín Pérez of the Liberal Party elected president. His party will retain power until the Chilean Revolution of 1891.
1863
A French adventurer proclaims himself Orélie Antoine I, King of Araucanía. After a short time he is arrested by the Chileans and deported, but the incident meant the end of the Chilean preoccupation with occupying the remaining Mapuche, before some other power could do so and divide Chile in two. This intensification of activity is known as the Pacification of Araucanía.
1866
Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia at war with Spain. The port of Valparaíso is bombed by the Spanish. A treaty of limits (borders) of 1866 is signed with Bolivia.
1871
A constitutional reform prohibits re-election, resulting in the end of the decenios. Governments of five years duration persist until 1925, except for the premature death of Pedro Montt in 1910.
1874
Another treaty of limits is signed with Bolivia due to political tensions.
1879
In defense of the interests of the Chilean industrial oligarchy, Chilean soldiers occupy the Bolivian port of Antofagasta, precipitating the War of the Pacific against Peru and Bolivia. The Chilean cause is adopted by the general populace after the death of Captain Arturo Prat in the Naval battle of Iquique. The same day, May 21, Captain Carlos Condell sinks the powerful Independencia, which together with the capture of the Huáscar in the Naval battle of Angamos, eliminates Peruvian sea power and permits the Chileans to land troops at will along the coast throughout the military theater of operations.
1881
Chilean troops occupy and sack Lima, capital of Peru. The war will continue another three years, with the Peruvians retreating to the Sierra and successfully defending their mountainous redoubts. Argentina takes advantage of the military situation to impose upon Chile a settlement of their border disputes, granting all of oriental Patagonia to Argentina. The Mapuches also take advantage, with an armed rising against the increasing Chilean occupation of their territories, but are finally and definitively defeated for the first time in three centuries of combat.
1883
Law of Civil Matrimony adopted. This secularization was fiercely resisted by the Roman Catholic Church. The Treaty of Ancón is signed with Perú to end the war. The "Pacification of Araucanía" is considered finished, and with that according to some historians also the War of Arauco.
1884
War of the Pacific ends, allowing mining of saltpeter in the regions conquered from Peru and Bolivia, leading to great national prosperity for Chile. Treaty called "Pacto de Tregua".
1888
Policarpo Toro leads a naval expedition to annex Easter Island. The Catholic University of Chile is privately founded.
1890
The Malleco Viaduct is opened and railway traffic expands further south during the next decades.
1891
Chilean Revolution of 1891. The constitutional president José Manuel Balmaceda is overthrown by troops favorable to the National Congress. The beginning of "Parliamentarism" under which the Chilean oligarchy governed on its own behalf.
1895
Easter Island is rented to Compañía Explotadora de Isla de Pascua.
[edit] 20th century
Year Date Event
1904
"Meat" Massacre in Santiago. The workers revolt against the central government due to an increase in the price of meat and the general soaring costs of living. The government responds sending the army. Two days of riots continue, where hundreds of civilians are killed on street fighting.
1907
Massacre of the Escuela Santa María de Iquique; soldiers fire on saltpeter workers and their unarmed associates. It will be years before the workers, terrorized by the brutal repression, resume the struggle for their rights.
1910
The centenary of independence is darkened by the death of President Pedro Montt, the only president between 1831 and 1925 who failed to complete his term of office.
1914
1 November 1914 Britain is defeated by Germany at the Battle of Coronel, off the coast of Chile
1920
Arturo Alessandri Palma elected president, indicating a rise to power by the Chilean middle class.
1924
Chile's first income tax levied.
1925
After intense political agitation the Chilean Constitution of 1925 is adopted, only slightly less authoritarian than that of 1833. The Impuesto Global Complementario, a graduated income tax, is introduced.
1927
Amidst great political instability, and by way of a bloodless coup, Carlos Ibáñez del Campo takes the presidency. He will govern as dictator, taking Benito Mussolini as his model, until 1931. Also in 1927, the corps of carabineros — militarized police — is founded.
1929
The economic crash of 1929 strikes Chile with more force than any other country on earth.
1931
The deep economic crisis obliges Ibáñez del Campo to step down. A series of civilian governments and military juntas follows, some of which last no more than a few days.
1932
The period of political anarchy ends with the return to power of Arturo Alessandri Palma.
1938
Massacre of Seguro Obrero.
1939
The Radical Party gains power, which they will keep until 1952.
1940
Pedro Aguirre Cerda, president of the nation, establishes internationally the first Chilean claims in Antarctica.
1945
Gabriela Mistral receives the Nobel Prize for Literature.
1946
Gabriel González Videla becomes president, backed by a broad alliance of parties, including the Radicals and Communists. Once in power, he acceded to pressure from the United States and promulgates the Law of Defense of Democracy, also known as the Ley Maldita ("accursed law"), which outlawed his former allies the Communists, some of whom were placed in concentration camps in Pisagua. Poet Pablo Neruda hounded into exile.
1952
Carlos Ibáñez del Campo returns to the presidency, this time via the ballot box, ending the era of the Radical Party. His emblem is the broom, with which he proposed (fruitlessly) to sweep away the Radicals' legacy of corruption.
1958
Argentine forces destroy a Chilean Lighthouse during the Snipe incident
1960
The Great Chilean Earthquake, with its epicenter near Valdivia, is the most intense earthquake ever recorded, rating a 9.5
1964
Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva becomes president, proclaiming the so-called "Revolution in Liberty".
1970
Salvador Allende elected president; his leftist orientation greatly displeases the government of the United States. See 1970 Chilean presidential election.
1971
Poet Pablo Neruda receives Nobel Prize for Literature.
1973
The Armed Forces, carabineros, and others stage a coup, overthrowing Allende, who dies in the course of the coup. Augusto Pinochet establishes himself as the head of a military junta. The subsequent repression of leftists and other opponents of the military regime results in approximately 130,000 arrests and at least 3,000 dead or "disappeared" over the next three years. See Chilean coup of 1973.
1976
The machinations of the United States oblige President Ferdinand Marcos, to cancel a scheduled visit by President Pinochet to the Philippines.
1977
Beagle conflict: The binding Beagle Channel Arbitration award the Picton, Nueva and Lennox islands to Chile
1978
Beagle conflict: Argentine began to challenge the Chilean commitment to defend the territory and started the Operation Soberania
1980
The military government promulgates the Chilean Constitution of 1980, which is adopted by plebiscite. Economic policy begins to be significantly influenced by the ideas of the Chicago School and of Neoliberalism.
1982
Support for British Forces in the Falkland War
1984
Beagle conflict: Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina signed
1988
Pinochet loses the plebiscite foreseen by the constitution, which brings about, by agreement of all, elections the following year.
1990
Patricio Aylwin takes office as President. Transition to democracy begins.
1991
Mount Hudson erupts.
1994
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle is elected President.
1998
During a visit to London for medical reasons, Augusto Pinochet is arrested in accord with the orders of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, beginning an international struggle between his supporters and detractors. He returns to Chile the following year, and the charges against him are later thrown out on the basis of his ostensibly deteriorated mental state. Chile suffers greatly from the world economic crisis, resulting in years of inflation and unemployment.
2000
In the second round of voting, in a tight contest with right wing candidate Joaquín Lavín, Ricardo Lagos Escobar is elected President.
[edit] 21st century
Year Date Event
2002
A general census is performed all over the country.
2004
The Chilean Supreme Court declares that Pinochet is mentally competent to stand trial.
2005
The Pinochet trial continues. The presidential election of December 11 puts Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera into a second round.
2006
In the second round of the presidential election the socialist leader Michelle Bachelet emerges the winner. 790,000 students adhere to the 2006 student protests in Chile. Death of Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (10 December 2006)
2007
Los Ríos Region and Arica-Parinacota Region are created.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Chilean_history
Monday, August 23, 2010
23rd August 2010
WEATHER
Some people on my wallwisher site wanted to know these questions about the weather:
WEATHER
1. How hot is it over there?
2. What is the highest temperature Chile can reach in the summer?
3. Is it more hot than cold?
I hope that this answers your questions
The climate of Chile is made up of a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale, extending across 38 degrees in latitude, making generalisations difficult. Chile within its borders hosts at least seven major climatic subtypes, ranging from desert in the north, to alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and southeast, humid subtropical in Easter Island, Oceanic in the south and mediterranean climate in central Chile. There are four seasons in most of the country: summer (December to February), autumn (March to May), winter (June to August), and spring (September to November).
Mediterranean
The climate of Central Chile is of temperate Mediterranean type, with the amount of rainfall increasing considerably and progressively from north to south. In the Santiago area, the average monthly temperatures are about 19.5 °C in the summer months of January and February and 7.5 °C in the winter months of June and July. The average monthly rainfall is no more than a trace in January and February and 69.7 millimeters in June and July. By contrast, in Concepción the average monthly temperatures are somewhat lower in the summer at 17.6 °C but higher in the winter at 9.3 °C, and the amount of rain is much greater. In the summer, Concepción receives an average of twenty millimeters of rain per month; in June and July, the city is pounded by an average of 253 millimeters per month. The numerous rivers greatly increase their flow as a result of the winter rains and the spring melting of the Andean snows, and they contract considerably in the summer. The combination of abundant snow in the Andes and relatively moderate winter temperatures creates excellent conditions for Alpine skiing. Areas around of Bío-Bío River, historically called La Frontera corresponds to southern limit of the mediterranean climate, with typical mediterranean fruits such as avocado, citrus, olives and grapes being cultivated north of it and oat, wheat, apples and potatoes to the south.
Temperate oceanic
The maritime influence of some southern Andean valleys makes them prone to snow falls in winter such as in Curarrehue in the picture.
In Zona Sur and the northern part of Zona Austral the climate is Temperate oceanic. Here the Andean Cordillera intercepts moist westerly winds along the Pacific coast during winter and summer months; these winds cool as they ascend the mountains, creating heavy rainfall on the mountains' west-facing slopes. The northward-flowing oceanic Humboldt Current creates humid and foggy conditions near the coast. The tree line is at about 2,400 m in the northern part of the ecoregion (35° S), and descends to 1,000 m in the south of the Valdivian region. In the summer average temperature can climb to 16.5°C (62°F), while during winter the temperature can drop below 7°C (45°F).[6]
Subpolar oceanic
The seasonal temperature in Zona Austral is greatly moderated by its proximity to the ocean and is known for stable constant temperatures, only small variability with season. The heaviest rainfalls goes between April and May and snow season goes all through Chilean winter (June till September), although the average temperature does not descend below the 1°C in coastal areas[7].
Pan de Azúcar National Park in Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is the driest non-Arctic place on Earth, and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by the Chilean Coast Range. The average rainfall in the Chilean region of Antofagasta is just 1 mm per year. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971.[4] It is so arid that mountains that reach as high as 6,885 metres (22,590 feet) are completely free of glaciers. Studies by a group of British scientists have suggested that some river beds have been dry for 120,000 years.
Some locations in the Atacama do receive a marine fog known locally as the Camanchaca, providing sufficient moisture for hypolithic algae, lichens and even some cacti. But in the region that is in the "fog shadow" of the high coastal crest-line, which averages 3,000 m height for about 100 km south of Antofagasta, the soil has been compared to that of Mars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Chile
In Valparaiso where I live, It hardly rains. I have been here for three weeks now and it has only rained once or twice at most. In the mornings when I wake it is foggy sometimes but this clears by mid morning and it can turn out to be a very beautiful day. Sometimes the nights are cold enough to turn on the heater ‘estufa’
Valparaiso, Chile
Elevation: 40 meters Latitude: 33 01S Longitude: 071 39W
Average Temperature Years on Record: 30
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 14 17 17 16 15 13 11 11 12 12 14 15 16
Average High Temperature Years on Record: 30
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 18 22 22 21 19 17 15 15 16 16 18 20 21
Average Low Temperature Years on Record: 30
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 10 13 13 12 11 10 8 8 8 8 10 11 12
Highest Recorded Temperature Years on Record: 31
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 34 32 34 31 30 27 24 27 27 28 32 32 32
Lowest Recorded Temperature Years on Record: 27
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C --- 7 6 7 3 3 --- 2 3 2 2 6 7
Average Rainfall (Precipitation) Years on Record: 41
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
cm 50 --- --- --- 1 10 14 9 7 3 1 --- ---
Average Number of Rainy Days Years on Record: 41
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 38 --- --- 1 1 6 10 6 5 2 1 --- 1
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=85558&refer=&units=metric
WEATHER
Some people on my wallwisher site wanted to know these questions about the weather:
WEATHER
1. How hot is it over there?
2. What is the highest temperature Chile can reach in the summer?
3. Is it more hot than cold?
I hope that this answers your questions
The climate of Chile is made up of a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale, extending across 38 degrees in latitude, making generalisations difficult. Chile within its borders hosts at least seven major climatic subtypes, ranging from desert in the north, to alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and southeast, humid subtropical in Easter Island, Oceanic in the south and mediterranean climate in central Chile. There are four seasons in most of the country: summer (December to February), autumn (March to May), winter (June to August), and spring (September to November).
Mediterranean
The climate of Central Chile is of temperate Mediterranean type, with the amount of rainfall increasing considerably and progressively from north to south. In the Santiago area, the average monthly temperatures are about 19.5 °C in the summer months of January and February and 7.5 °C in the winter months of June and July. The average monthly rainfall is no more than a trace in January and February and 69.7 millimeters in June and July. By contrast, in Concepción the average monthly temperatures are somewhat lower in the summer at 17.6 °C but higher in the winter at 9.3 °C, and the amount of rain is much greater. In the summer, Concepción receives an average of twenty millimeters of rain per month; in June and July, the city is pounded by an average of 253 millimeters per month. The numerous rivers greatly increase their flow as a result of the winter rains and the spring melting of the Andean snows, and they contract considerably in the summer. The combination of abundant snow in the Andes and relatively moderate winter temperatures creates excellent conditions for Alpine skiing. Areas around of Bío-Bío River, historically called La Frontera corresponds to southern limit of the mediterranean climate, with typical mediterranean fruits such as avocado, citrus, olives and grapes being cultivated north of it and oat, wheat, apples and potatoes to the south.
Temperate oceanic
The maritime influence of some southern Andean valleys makes them prone to snow falls in winter such as in Curarrehue in the picture.
In Zona Sur and the northern part of Zona Austral the climate is Temperate oceanic. Here the Andean Cordillera intercepts moist westerly winds along the Pacific coast during winter and summer months; these winds cool as they ascend the mountains, creating heavy rainfall on the mountains' west-facing slopes. The northward-flowing oceanic Humboldt Current creates humid and foggy conditions near the coast. The tree line is at about 2,400 m in the northern part of the ecoregion (35° S), and descends to 1,000 m in the south of the Valdivian region. In the summer average temperature can climb to 16.5°C (62°F), while during winter the temperature can drop below 7°C (45°F).[6]
Subpolar oceanic
The seasonal temperature in Zona Austral is greatly moderated by its proximity to the ocean and is known for stable constant temperatures, only small variability with season. The heaviest rainfalls goes between April and May and snow season goes all through Chilean winter (June till September), although the average temperature does not descend below the 1°C in coastal areas[7].
Pan de Azúcar National Park in Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is the driest non-Arctic place on Earth, and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by the Chilean Coast Range. The average rainfall in the Chilean region of Antofagasta is just 1 mm per year. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971.[4] It is so arid that mountains that reach as high as 6,885 metres (22,590 feet) are completely free of glaciers. Studies by a group of British scientists have suggested that some river beds have been dry for 120,000 years.
Some locations in the Atacama do receive a marine fog known locally as the Camanchaca, providing sufficient moisture for hypolithic algae, lichens and even some cacti. But in the region that is in the "fog shadow" of the high coastal crest-line, which averages 3,000 m height for about 100 km south of Antofagasta, the soil has been compared to that of Mars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Chile
In Valparaiso where I live, It hardly rains. I have been here for three weeks now and it has only rained once or twice at most. In the mornings when I wake it is foggy sometimes but this clears by mid morning and it can turn out to be a very beautiful day. Sometimes the nights are cold enough to turn on the heater ‘estufa’
Valparaiso, Chile
Elevation: 40 meters Latitude: 33 01S Longitude: 071 39W
Average Temperature Years on Record: 30
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 14 17 17 16 15 13 11 11 12 12 14 15 16
Average High Temperature Years on Record: 30
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 18 22 22 21 19 17 15 15 16 16 18 20 21
Average Low Temperature Years on Record: 30
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 10 13 13 12 11 10 8 8 8 8 10 11 12
Highest Recorded Temperature Years on Record: 31
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C 34 32 34 31 30 27 24 27 27 28 32 32 32
Lowest Recorded Temperature Years on Record: 27
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°C --- 7 6 7 3 3 --- 2 3 2 2 6 7
Average Rainfall (Precipitation) Years on Record: 41
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
cm 50 --- --- --- 1 10 14 9 7 3 1 --- ---
Average Number of Rainy Days Years on Record: 41
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 38 --- --- 1 1 6 10 6 5 2 1 --- 1
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=85558&refer=&units=metric
Friday, August 20, 2010
20th of August
I thought that I was going to run out of topics to write about, but I always have so much to say or experience on a daily basis. I am now a quarter of the way through my language immersion experience. I have been looking at my wall wisher questions again and realized that I am getting caught up in what I find interesting, and not directly answering the questions that you the students want to know. This will be my last indulgence and then I will try to tighten things up a little and be more direct.
SCHOOL
It’s a real defining moment of realizing how good you have it in NZ, when you walk into a school Library and see that you have more books at home than an entire school library. Schools here are under resourced. San Ignacio had only two book cases worth of books and this was a real shock to my system. They had a set of dictionaries but only enough for one class. I have not seen the other school’s library but I will ask. San Ignacio has one room set up with a data projector and one computer room to service the entire school. Students attend classes and afterwards go to another school to prepare them for University exams. They return home and spend time doing homework before they finally make it to bed.
http://www.sanignaciovina.cl/
Until 2003 the Colegio San Ignacio worked as a private school. From 2004 onwards it is recognized as subsidized private school with shared financing , which the education authority determines through Exempt Resolution No. 1481/2004 . This means that it charges students a fee to attend and it is also paid by the government. El Colegio San Ignacio de Viña del Mar, is aided with shared financing basis and attends three modalities of the educational system : Preschool Education Basic and General Education, Humanistic Science Education Media
1 .- The school is defined as a lay -Catholic , therefore has a Christian vision of man.
2 .- humanist scientist , works with the plans and programs of the Ministry of Education, and is defined as an establishment for the transition to higher education , responsibility assigned to parents and guardians , so that levels of demand on students are high to meet the targets.
3 .- It is respectful of the diversity of its students and strengthens national and family values , promoting healthy living within the school.
http://www.colegiosaintdominic.cl
WEALTH
One of the main differences between Chile and NZ is that in Chile, a teacher’s salary is not enough to afford to buy a house. Again this was a real shock to me. Diego and Daniela took me for a drive today to see the wealthy houses in Santiago. These are owned by managers or directors of companies. Most have electric fences surrounding them and look like forts. I have included some pictures and a short clip.
CLASSES OF SOCIETY / SOCIAL STRUCTURE
The sharpest distinctions between Chileans lie in classes. Chile’s early economy was based on agriculture and mining, and produced a society that was highly stratified on agriculture and mining. Chile still has social classes within its society today. As an example: Valparaiso is a Navy base. There are probably about 200 people out on the streets. I’m not sure of statistics, but this is what I have been told. People who join the navy are given a steady income. They are offered Army houses or accommodation with good facilities in a compound and health care. However, if you are poor, you will never rise to the rank of an officer or above. Regardless of your age your job is to cater to the needs of the officers. You do all the work but you may not go out on training missions. The people who are officers are born into that class, only they have the opportunities to become Captains etc. The first weekend I was in Valparaiso, I heard lots of ships horns blowing. It was deafening. The ‘Armada’ had been out on a training mission of about 4 – 5 months out at sea. It had travelled all the way down to Auckland believe it or not as one of the ports it stayed in. The ships is the harbor ALL salute the ‘Armada’ by blowing their horns as a sign of respect.
Maids Most middle class families and above have maids at their house. Depending on how wealthy you are, maids could come from once a week to clean or cook, to being a full time maid Monday – Sunday. If they are lucky they will get Sunday afternoon off after they have finished serving the family lunch. Some include looking after children and being a nanny ‘emleadas’. They are available at almost any hour if needed. My family are different – they used to have the maid eat meals with them, but most expect the maid to eat elsewhere after the family has been served. Most maids come from a poor or low income neighbourhood. This may be their only opportunity to earn money and their labour is relatively cheap. They leave their children with relatives, or use neighbourhood day care centres.
Families – Fathers I don’t see this in my house, I think they are quite liberal, this is only what I have been told. My host father and host mother are both great cooks. They both like to do this as it allows them to be creative. I am told that male roles are very strong. The father is the head of the house, the main earner. He is waited on first and has the last say in how things work. Inside the house it is the woman’s domain.
Some of the JOBS for the lower income earners that I have seen are people jumping on and off buses to sell goods like drinks or snacks. Young people in their teens or twenties performing tricks at the lights such as cheerleading rountines, acrobatics, juggling, washing car windows etc. These could be University students…. Older people walking amongst cars washing windows or selling snacks or appliances. A lot of people act as parking attendants whether they are allowed to not I don’t know. They help cars back in and out of tight places, or reverse into the traffic or help buses negotiate around tight street corners. You are expected to give them a tip for this service. People shinning shoes in the middle of the mall or street is common. Some people sell goods on the streets in small stalls they have set up. It is illegal to sell things on certain days. If they are caught they are fined. However they can’t live off one day’s pay so they sell what they can whenever they can. Today while having lunch, the door bell rang and a women was standing outside with a basket full of herbs that she was selling. It is constantly around you. Chile does not have the dole, so from what I have seen so far, people are supportive and help out and use these services as they can see the people struggling to live.
BUSES
In Japan they have an expression that buses ‘run’ as in sprout legs and go for it. It is an expression that I have never really realized the meaning of till I came to Chile. My first ride in a bus left me feeling sick and light headed. I had been warned, but it is always different being told and then experiencing it. Give me the train any day!
Buses, like most transport over here does not have a schedule. They are allocated a route and that is the one that they follow for the entire day. It made me wonder if they benefit from going around the route as many times as possible as the first driver I had, had his foot constantly planted to the floor on the , it literally ‘ran’ the whole way. They do not have bus stops. You stand on the side of the road and raise your hand to halt a bus. However, don’t expect it to stop completely unless there is a really long line of people wanting to get on. The bus driver will receive the fare, give you the correct change and pull into the traffic all in one continuous movement. This gives me a new meaning on using cellphones while driving in NZ – if only they could see the multi-tasking going on here. Sellers will hop on at various locations with produce. Bus drivers I have seen make no comment about the sellers getting on and off and they pay no fare. The last time I was on the bus a clown jumped on for a few stops and the produce man had the door opened for him and leapt out of the moving bus which was not going slow. Although to be truthful, I was watching the speedometer the whole way and it never moved off 20km so I am not sure how fast it was going. I know it must have been going faster than that! You hang on for dear life as it goes around corners. The roads vary in quality. Some of the traditional roads are cobblestones, some concrete, some tarseal and others a mixture of some or all three. To get off the bus you walk the rocky road to the front and request the driver to stop. I did hear the buzzer ring (it is continuously held down here) but I couldn’t find one. Just be warned if you ask the driver to stop – hold on, because they do so immediately! Riding the bus is a real experience not to be traded for anything
I thought that I was going to run out of topics to write about, but I always have so much to say or experience on a daily basis. I am now a quarter of the way through my language immersion experience. I have been looking at my wall wisher questions again and realized that I am getting caught up in what I find interesting, and not directly answering the questions that you the students want to know. This will be my last indulgence and then I will try to tighten things up a little and be more direct.
SCHOOL
It’s a real defining moment of realizing how good you have it in NZ, when you walk into a school Library and see that you have more books at home than an entire school library. Schools here are under resourced. San Ignacio had only two book cases worth of books and this was a real shock to my system. They had a set of dictionaries but only enough for one class. I have not seen the other school’s library but I will ask. San Ignacio has one room set up with a data projector and one computer room to service the entire school. Students attend classes and afterwards go to another school to prepare them for University exams. They return home and spend time doing homework before they finally make it to bed.
http://www.sanignaciovina.cl/
Until 2003 the Colegio San Ignacio worked as a private school. From 2004 onwards it is recognized as subsidized private school with shared financing , which the education authority determines through Exempt Resolution No. 1481/2004 . This means that it charges students a fee to attend and it is also paid by the government. El Colegio San Ignacio de Viña del Mar, is aided with shared financing basis and attends three modalities of the educational system : Preschool Education Basic and General Education, Humanistic Science Education Media
1 .- The school is defined as a lay -Catholic , therefore has a Christian vision of man.
2 .- humanist scientist , works with the plans and programs of the Ministry of Education, and is defined as an establishment for the transition to higher education , responsibility assigned to parents and guardians , so that levels of demand on students are high to meet the targets.
3 .- It is respectful of the diversity of its students and strengthens national and family values , promoting healthy living within the school.
http://www.colegiosaintdominic.cl
WEALTH
One of the main differences between Chile and NZ is that in Chile, a teacher’s salary is not enough to afford to buy a house. Again this was a real shock to me. Diego and Daniela took me for a drive today to see the wealthy houses in Santiago. These are owned by managers or directors of companies. Most have electric fences surrounding them and look like forts. I have included some pictures and a short clip.
CLASSES OF SOCIETY / SOCIAL STRUCTURE
The sharpest distinctions between Chileans lie in classes. Chile’s early economy was based on agriculture and mining, and produced a society that was highly stratified on agriculture and mining. Chile still has social classes within its society today. As an example: Valparaiso is a Navy base. There are probably about 200 people out on the streets. I’m not sure of statistics, but this is what I have been told. People who join the navy are given a steady income. They are offered Army houses or accommodation with good facilities in a compound and health care. However, if you are poor, you will never rise to the rank of an officer or above. Regardless of your age your job is to cater to the needs of the officers. You do all the work but you may not go out on training missions. The people who are officers are born into that class, only they have the opportunities to become Captains etc. The first weekend I was in Valparaiso, I heard lots of ships horns blowing. It was deafening. The ‘Armada’ had been out on a training mission of about 4 – 5 months out at sea. It had travelled all the way down to Auckland believe it or not as one of the ports it stayed in. The ships is the harbor ALL salute the ‘Armada’ by blowing their horns as a sign of respect.
Maids Most middle class families and above have maids at their house. Depending on how wealthy you are, maids could come from once a week to clean or cook, to being a full time maid Monday – Sunday. If they are lucky they will get Sunday afternoon off after they have finished serving the family lunch. Some include looking after children and being a nanny ‘emleadas’. They are available at almost any hour if needed. My family are different – they used to have the maid eat meals with them, but most expect the maid to eat elsewhere after the family has been served. Most maids come from a poor or low income neighbourhood. This may be their only opportunity to earn money and their labour is relatively cheap. They leave their children with relatives, or use neighbourhood day care centres.
Families – Fathers I don’t see this in my house, I think they are quite liberal, this is only what I have been told. My host father and host mother are both great cooks. They both like to do this as it allows them to be creative. I am told that male roles are very strong. The father is the head of the house, the main earner. He is waited on first and has the last say in how things work. Inside the house it is the woman’s domain.
Some of the JOBS for the lower income earners that I have seen are people jumping on and off buses to sell goods like drinks or snacks. Young people in their teens or twenties performing tricks at the lights such as cheerleading rountines, acrobatics, juggling, washing car windows etc. These could be University students…. Older people walking amongst cars washing windows or selling snacks or appliances. A lot of people act as parking attendants whether they are allowed to not I don’t know. They help cars back in and out of tight places, or reverse into the traffic or help buses negotiate around tight street corners. You are expected to give them a tip for this service. People shinning shoes in the middle of the mall or street is common. Some people sell goods on the streets in small stalls they have set up. It is illegal to sell things on certain days. If they are caught they are fined. However they can’t live off one day’s pay so they sell what they can whenever they can. Today while having lunch, the door bell rang and a women was standing outside with a basket full of herbs that she was selling. It is constantly around you. Chile does not have the dole, so from what I have seen so far, people are supportive and help out and use these services as they can see the people struggling to live.
BUSES
In Japan they have an expression that buses ‘run’ as in sprout legs and go for it. It is an expression that I have never really realized the meaning of till I came to Chile. My first ride in a bus left me feeling sick and light headed. I had been warned, but it is always different being told and then experiencing it. Give me the train any day!
Buses, like most transport over here does not have a schedule. They are allocated a route and that is the one that they follow for the entire day. It made me wonder if they benefit from going around the route as many times as possible as the first driver I had, had his foot constantly planted to the floor on the , it literally ‘ran’ the whole way. They do not have bus stops. You stand on the side of the road and raise your hand to halt a bus. However, don’t expect it to stop completely unless there is a really long line of people wanting to get on. The bus driver will receive the fare, give you the correct change and pull into the traffic all in one continuous movement. This gives me a new meaning on using cellphones while driving in NZ – if only they could see the multi-tasking going on here. Sellers will hop on at various locations with produce. Bus drivers I have seen make no comment about the sellers getting on and off and they pay no fare. The last time I was on the bus a clown jumped on for a few stops and the produce man had the door opened for him and leapt out of the moving bus which was not going slow. Although to be truthful, I was watching the speedometer the whole way and it never moved off 20km so I am not sure how fast it was going. I know it must have been going faster than that! You hang on for dear life as it goes around corners. The roads vary in quality. Some of the traditional roads are cobblestones, some concrete, some tarseal and others a mixture of some or all three. To get off the bus you walk the rocky road to the front and request the driver to stop. I did hear the buzzer ring (it is continuously held down here) but I couldn’t find one. Just be warned if you ask the driver to stop – hold on, because they do so immediately! Riding the bus is a real experience not to be traded for anything
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
19th August 2010
ENVIRONMENT
Yesterday in class we studied the environment.
Chile suffers badly from air pollution. I would like to say that New Zealand is clean and green but one of our biggest cities Christchurch suffers from the same situation. Here are a selection of reports I sourced that I have melded together about Pollution.
SANTIAGO
Santiago, Chile is among the worst smog cities in the world. The five million inhabitants of Santiago, Chile are exposed to high levels of air pollution during a significant portion of the year.
Santiago basks in one of the most spectacular settings of any city in the world. Located in central Chile, the city sits in the middle of a valley and is surrounded by two mountain ranges: the Andes Mountains and the Cordillera de la Costa. Because of Santiago's unique geographic location and weather patterns, further exacerbated in winter when wind and rainfall levels are at their seasonal lowest, ventilation and dispersion of air pollutants within the valley are restricted. Often times rain and/or wind (both rare for Santiago's climate) are the only solution to smoggy air thus explaining why Santiago, with emission levels similar to those in other cities, suffers from such high atmospheric pollution levels. One of the articles described students in art class as drawing ‘their horizons a murky gray’
Chile's smog problem began with the industrialism of the 70's that has continued through to the current decade. At the present moment, it shows no signs of improvement as the major sources of emissions go largely unregulated. As Chile is the world's largest producer of copper, industrial emissions in Santiago primarily arise from the mining sector and smelter operations. The process of mining contributes a considerable amount of pollutants to both the air and water; chief pollutants include sulfur dioxide, arsenic and suspended particulate matter. As you would be able to see, the levels of smog in La Dehesa, Las Condes, Vitacura and more affluent neighborhoods is typically less than Santiago Centro or Pudahuel, or El Bosque barrios, where all the factories are and poor people.
Some other causes of pollutants are an increasing rate of automobile use and wood-burning stoves. In 1997, Santiago and Chicago signed a Memorandum of Understanding under the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities program as "Sister Cities," whereby Chile agreed to implement a $1.2-million subsidy for the deployment of a fleet of natural gas buses.
During the winter the government issues smog alert warnings based on the number, per cubic meter, of particles with a diameter of 10 microns. Up to 100 PM-10 is considered "Good". Above that is "bad," until 300, which is "pre-emergency" and 500 is "emergency" smog. In comparison US cities that hit 50 or 60 microns declare a state of emergency. In Chile pre-emergency smog alert levels trigger the removal of more polluting cars from the streets. When the air quality is in pre-emergency or emergency state, children, senior citizens and people with respiratory problems are advised to avoid trips to downtown Santiago whenever possible. The Health Ministry may cancel physical education classes and recommend that children avoid outdoor activity during critical periods.
http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/AtmCorros/mapChile.htm
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/chile/santiago
http://c.hileno.com/2007/05/ranking-santiago-chile-smog-levels-and.html
http://www.chipsites.com/ww/health-information-chile.html
TEMUCA
Unlike Santiago which suffers from pollution created by industry, Temuca suffers from pollution created by private users.
Firewood use in the world's poorest regions has been recognized as a contributor to local air pollution; however, it supplies 20 percent of the country's energy, according to local residents and officials. "There's an important part of the population that doesn't have much purchasing power, those who live practically day to day," Pantoja said. "For them, it's difficult to get quality firewood. We yearn to establish a social supply center for certified firewood, but for this we need the support of more institutions. We can't do it alone." "I have just enough for water, light, cooking, and buying the things I need," said Ahumada, who lives on about US$266 per month. "CONAMA has promised for two years to help out, but there is no help at all."
In Coyhaique, the city that recently ranked the worst in particulate air pollution, 97 percent of residents burn firewood. Firewood in Chile is four times cheaper than paraffin, five times cheaper than natural gas, and seven times cheaper than electricity. Most homes are not equipped for other types of heating systems and are poorly insulated.
Apart from municipal efforts to promote more sustainable burning methods, no official policies regulate the use of firewood. "In Chile, firewood actually isn't recognized as a fuel [by the government] despite being the second largest source of energy in the country," said Rony Pantoja, regional technical secretary of the National Firewood Certification System (SNCL), a partnership formed in 2005 between firewood dealers and the government. "There are no policies that modernize and make sustainable [firewood] use.... It gives the impression that this issue doesn't interest [the national government in] Santiago."
SNCL's goal is not to impose binding firewood standards on anyone, but to encourage sellers and consumers to be more aware of the issues and to demand higher quality wood, Pantoja said. He hopes one day to establish a Certified Firewood Supply Center that would help improve poor residents' access to quality firewood.
The Chilean Senate Committee on Mines and Energy met with SNCL in May to discuss addressing firewood management issues. The partnership with SNCL encourages firewood dealers to sell drier wood, which lessens the release of harmful particulates into the air. For a nominal fee of 200 Chilean pesos (35 U.S. cents), sellers receive an official label that they can display to indicate their firewood's quality. By comparison, a cubic meter of wood costs 15,000-22,000 pesos.
Yet local, regional, and state governments have failed to cooperate widely, Pantoja said. As a result, less than 3 percent of publicly purchased wood, including that used in schools, government offices, and even local health agencies, was certified by SNCL, El Mecurio reported in 2008. A year later, the share has risen to 34 percent, Pantoja said.
Temuco violated Chilean air pollution laws on 34 days, three times the number of days as in 2004.It has a population of 300,000 and has the fourth most polluted air in the country. On winter nights, Carmen Ahumada who lives in Temuco, is unable to see across the street to her neighbor's house. Visibility in Temuco, Chile, can be as low as five meters at times, she said.
Like Santiago, cold weather conditions, especially at night, trap urban air pollution near the ground, cloaking Chile's urban areas in thick smog. The problem worsens during the winter, when lower temperatures and poor home insulation ratchet up the amount of firewood burned.
The regional decontamination plan issued by Chile's National Commission of the Environment (CONAMA) allotted 30 million pesos (US$53,250) to help with improving fuel quality, replacing heating technology, and beefing up home insulation. These funds, however, will be dispersed in projects taking place only over the next 10 years.
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6157
CHRISTCHURCH
Eighty percent of Christchurch’s winter air pollution comes from wood or coal burners and open fires. Only 10 percent comes from vehicles and 10 percent from industry.
The older and less efficient a fire is, the greater the quantity of emitted dangerous fine particulate emissions (known as PM10). On cold, still winter nights, these particles can form into choking, brown smog.
For up to 50 days each winter, the level of PM10 particles in the air in Christchurch exceeds Ministry for the Environment guidelines.
Research indicates each year this pollution is responsible for:
• serious health problems for several thousand people, such as respiratory and cardiac illness (causing them to take time off work, which affects the local economy)
• the premature deaths of more than 150 people due to respiratory or cardiac illness
• higher health costs for everyone, due to heavier demand on the health system
• a damaging effect on the public image of Christchurch.
•
In Christchurch, because there are hills close by, a layer of warmer air, known as an inversion layer, traps the smog down at street level. This directly affects the people who live there. Although the problem is at its worst in the evening, the smog is often clearly visible the next morning.
http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Enviro-imprints/Looking-closer/Air-pollution-in-Christchurch
ENVIRONMENT
Yesterday in class we studied the environment.
Chile suffers badly from air pollution. I would like to say that New Zealand is clean and green but one of our biggest cities Christchurch suffers from the same situation. Here are a selection of reports I sourced that I have melded together about Pollution.
SANTIAGO
Santiago, Chile is among the worst smog cities in the world. The five million inhabitants of Santiago, Chile are exposed to high levels of air pollution during a significant portion of the year.
Santiago basks in one of the most spectacular settings of any city in the world. Located in central Chile, the city sits in the middle of a valley and is surrounded by two mountain ranges: the Andes Mountains and the Cordillera de la Costa. Because of Santiago's unique geographic location and weather patterns, further exacerbated in winter when wind and rainfall levels are at their seasonal lowest, ventilation and dispersion of air pollutants within the valley are restricted. Often times rain and/or wind (both rare for Santiago's climate) are the only solution to smoggy air thus explaining why Santiago, with emission levels similar to those in other cities, suffers from such high atmospheric pollution levels. One of the articles described students in art class as drawing ‘their horizons a murky gray’
Chile's smog problem began with the industrialism of the 70's that has continued through to the current decade. At the present moment, it shows no signs of improvement as the major sources of emissions go largely unregulated. As Chile is the world's largest producer of copper, industrial emissions in Santiago primarily arise from the mining sector and smelter operations. The process of mining contributes a considerable amount of pollutants to both the air and water; chief pollutants include sulfur dioxide, arsenic and suspended particulate matter. As you would be able to see, the levels of smog in La Dehesa, Las Condes, Vitacura and more affluent neighborhoods is typically less than Santiago Centro or Pudahuel, or El Bosque barrios, where all the factories are and poor people.
Some other causes of pollutants are an increasing rate of automobile use and wood-burning stoves. In 1997, Santiago and Chicago signed a Memorandum of Understanding under the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities program as "Sister Cities," whereby Chile agreed to implement a $1.2-million subsidy for the deployment of a fleet of natural gas buses.
During the winter the government issues smog alert warnings based on the number, per cubic meter, of particles with a diameter of 10 microns. Up to 100 PM-10 is considered "Good". Above that is "bad," until 300, which is "pre-emergency" and 500 is "emergency" smog. In comparison US cities that hit 50 or 60 microns declare a state of emergency. In Chile pre-emergency smog alert levels trigger the removal of more polluting cars from the streets. When the air quality is in pre-emergency or emergency state, children, senior citizens and people with respiratory problems are advised to avoid trips to downtown Santiago whenever possible. The Health Ministry may cancel physical education classes and recommend that children avoid outdoor activity during critical periods.
http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/AtmCorros/mapChile.htm
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/chile/santiago
http://c.hileno.com/2007/05/ranking-santiago-chile-smog-levels-and.html
http://www.chipsites.com/ww/health-information-chile.html
TEMUCA
Unlike Santiago which suffers from pollution created by industry, Temuca suffers from pollution created by private users.
Firewood use in the world's poorest regions has been recognized as a contributor to local air pollution; however, it supplies 20 percent of the country's energy, according to local residents and officials. "There's an important part of the population that doesn't have much purchasing power, those who live practically day to day," Pantoja said. "For them, it's difficult to get quality firewood. We yearn to establish a social supply center for certified firewood, but for this we need the support of more institutions. We can't do it alone." "I have just enough for water, light, cooking, and buying the things I need," said Ahumada, who lives on about US$266 per month. "CONAMA has promised for two years to help out, but there is no help at all."
In Coyhaique, the city that recently ranked the worst in particulate air pollution, 97 percent of residents burn firewood. Firewood in Chile is four times cheaper than paraffin, five times cheaper than natural gas, and seven times cheaper than electricity. Most homes are not equipped for other types of heating systems and are poorly insulated.
Apart from municipal efforts to promote more sustainable burning methods, no official policies regulate the use of firewood. "In Chile, firewood actually isn't recognized as a fuel [by the government] despite being the second largest source of energy in the country," said Rony Pantoja, regional technical secretary of the National Firewood Certification System (SNCL), a partnership formed in 2005 between firewood dealers and the government. "There are no policies that modernize and make sustainable [firewood] use.... It gives the impression that this issue doesn't interest [the national government in] Santiago."
SNCL's goal is not to impose binding firewood standards on anyone, but to encourage sellers and consumers to be more aware of the issues and to demand higher quality wood, Pantoja said. He hopes one day to establish a Certified Firewood Supply Center that would help improve poor residents' access to quality firewood.
The Chilean Senate Committee on Mines and Energy met with SNCL in May to discuss addressing firewood management issues. The partnership with SNCL encourages firewood dealers to sell drier wood, which lessens the release of harmful particulates into the air. For a nominal fee of 200 Chilean pesos (35 U.S. cents), sellers receive an official label that they can display to indicate their firewood's quality. By comparison, a cubic meter of wood costs 15,000-22,000 pesos.
Yet local, regional, and state governments have failed to cooperate widely, Pantoja said. As a result, less than 3 percent of publicly purchased wood, including that used in schools, government offices, and even local health agencies, was certified by SNCL, El Mecurio reported in 2008. A year later, the share has risen to 34 percent, Pantoja said.
Temuco violated Chilean air pollution laws on 34 days, three times the number of days as in 2004.It has a population of 300,000 and has the fourth most polluted air in the country. On winter nights, Carmen Ahumada who lives in Temuco, is unable to see across the street to her neighbor's house. Visibility in Temuco, Chile, can be as low as five meters at times, she said.
Like Santiago, cold weather conditions, especially at night, trap urban air pollution near the ground, cloaking Chile's urban areas in thick smog. The problem worsens during the winter, when lower temperatures and poor home insulation ratchet up the amount of firewood burned.
The regional decontamination plan issued by Chile's National Commission of the Environment (CONAMA) allotted 30 million pesos (US$53,250) to help with improving fuel quality, replacing heating technology, and beefing up home insulation. These funds, however, will be dispersed in projects taking place only over the next 10 years.
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6157
CHRISTCHURCH
Eighty percent of Christchurch’s winter air pollution comes from wood or coal burners and open fires. Only 10 percent comes from vehicles and 10 percent from industry.
The older and less efficient a fire is, the greater the quantity of emitted dangerous fine particulate emissions (known as PM10). On cold, still winter nights, these particles can form into choking, brown smog.
For up to 50 days each winter, the level of PM10 particles in the air in Christchurch exceeds Ministry for the Environment guidelines.
Research indicates each year this pollution is responsible for:
• serious health problems for several thousand people, such as respiratory and cardiac illness (causing them to take time off work, which affects the local economy)
• the premature deaths of more than 150 people due to respiratory or cardiac illness
• higher health costs for everyone, due to heavier demand on the health system
• a damaging effect on the public image of Christchurch.
•
In Christchurch, because there are hills close by, a layer of warmer air, known as an inversion layer, traps the smog down at street level. This directly affects the people who live there. Although the problem is at its worst in the evening, the smog is often clearly visible the next morning.
http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Enviro-imprints/Looking-closer/Air-pollution-in-Christchurch
Monday, August 16, 2010
LA FERIA (9th August 2010)
Just looked at my blog and I can see that I have added this at the end of the blog but not written about it.
All the farmers come from around the country and bring their families. About 7000 workers / sellers etc attend every Monday and Wednesday. In the market one of the free services they offer are people to carry your bags. They wear green and yellow vests which say ‘Feria Marga Marga Ayudante’ People at the La Feria when they saw me taking photos of the produce wanted to be included in the photos also so you’ll see some of the sellers in the photos too. Italianos are zucchini. Chile has massive pumpkins on sale. I couldn’t not take a photo of one man cutting it into parts to sell. I tried to take as many signs as possible that included the fruit name in Spanish. Some will also tell you the brand such as hass so be prepared when viewing these. Some words that are either spelt the same or look the same are Brocoli - Coliflor Garlic is sold in heads e.g. ‘cabeza de ajos’ cloves are talked about as the teeth of the head ‘diente de ajo’. I am told that Lucumas and ovallinos are a typical fruit of Chile but I am not sure what they taste like. You’ll see some in the photos I’ve taken. Just like at home other produce is sold as well such as jams etc
When we left the marked men were waiting around the entrance to direct traffic in and out of the car park onto the busy street. They expect a tip for this service.
Just looked at my blog and I can see that I have added this at the end of the blog but not written about it.
All the farmers come from around the country and bring their families. About 7000 workers / sellers etc attend every Monday and Wednesday. In the market one of the free services they offer are people to carry your bags. They wear green and yellow vests which say ‘Feria Marga Marga Ayudante’ People at the La Feria when they saw me taking photos of the produce wanted to be included in the photos also so you’ll see some of the sellers in the photos too. Italianos are zucchini. Chile has massive pumpkins on sale. I couldn’t not take a photo of one man cutting it into parts to sell. I tried to take as many signs as possible that included the fruit name in Spanish. Some will also tell you the brand such as hass so be prepared when viewing these. Some words that are either spelt the same or look the same are Brocoli - Coliflor Garlic is sold in heads e.g. ‘cabeza de ajos’ cloves are talked about as the teeth of the head ‘diente de ajo’. I am told that Lucumas and ovallinos are a typical fruit of Chile but I am not sure what they taste like. You’ll see some in the photos I’ve taken. Just like at home other produce is sold as well such as jams etc
When we left the marked men were waiting around the entrance to direct traffic in and out of the car park onto the busy street. They expect a tip for this service.
16 August 2010
Spent the weekend at Daniela’s and Diego’s apartment in Santiago so lots to write about!
LONG DISTANCE COACH
I’m in the long distance bus from Santiago to Valparaiso now as I type this. We took the metro to get here. When we arrived at the terminal it was full of people trying to get a bus. When reading the bus sign on the TV Salida means departure, Destino – Destination, Empress – Company /Carrier, Anden – Platform. In our case it reads Atrasada – meaning late. It is Sunday evening and buses leave about every 10 – 15 minutes from about 7am till midnight. The terminal hosts a variety of companies such as Condor Bus, Tur Bus (the one I am on now), Pullman Bus etc. Basically they pull into the terminal, stop long enough to load the bus which took about 5 minutes and took off again. On another bus, one lady had obviously decided to grab something from somewhere and the bus left without her. She was chasing after it with her handbag and a few rude gestures and expressions. I may not understand a lot of Spanish but body language sure can tell a lot! I didn’t hang around long enough to see the outcome of that, as I didn’t want to miss mine. The coach was full. It was pretty fancy. It had a door which shut the driver off from the other passengers. It had a toilet at the back and something else I’m not quite sure of. Once the bus started, a man was acting as a steward and walking up and down the aisles selling drinks. He then returned asking if people wanted a pillow or blanket. Of course I did just to see what he would say. Two men returned and started at the front of the bus asking people for their ticket and where they would disembark. Diego had told me the terminal so that was what was written down in the second mans book along with my seat number. The lights then went out and the two TVs on the bus switched on. It was two and a half men. It always seems strange to be in another country and have so much American English input. I wonder where you get the headphones from if you want to watch. I guess it doesn’t matter as most of the people around me are going to sleep. I haven[t even quite finished entry about the bus and Metro and before you know it the lights turn on and the two men are up and down the aisle letting passengers know that their stop is the next. One helped me get down my bags and carried it to the door for me. Impressive service!
METRO
In Santiago you buy a ‘Bip’ card which will allow you access to all forms of transport the city has to offer such as the buses, Metro etc. Private things like horse and carriage rides are separate. Like the train, you swipe the ‘Bip” card over the yellow hand and walk through the turn around. There are three different tariffs for your travel depending on the time of day you use the Metro. Punta is peak hour, Valle for Saturdays, Sundays and festivals and Bajo is basically off peak hours as written in the sign. The symbols for the Metro system are 3 red triangles. One of the main differences apart from it being underground is that the trains have tires not rims of wheels on tracks like overland trains. Sometimes these tires do get a puncture and go flat. There are 5 main lines all colour coded, but if you look closely at the photos I could not find number 3. It is a real efficient system I am told it has only broken down once last year due to the earthquake, they had no power so the trains could not run. The lines and everything else was okay it was only the electricity that was the problem. If it rains then the system still continues it does not flood like it did in England when I was there and alternative transport frequently had to be found. The only problem they did have was when the buses were privatized they had issues with matching the frequency of the metro with the volume of the people arriving in rushes as they were not used to it, It took about 3 weeks to a month to sort out. They do not employ people to push you onto the train in peak hour traffic. However there are signs that ask people to move along the platform to allow other people onto the platform. Also to wait at the side for people to get off before you enter. At peak times the trains flow about every 2 minutes. People will wait for the next train rather than push their way onto a packed train as they know the next one may not be as full. The metro is clean! No rubbish and no graffiti. I have not seen any cleaners but am told because it is such a good service people respect the company and look after it. The company that owns the metro is the government. One of the signs I took a photo of said that when you pass someone pass on the right. This takes a bit of getting used to.
It is really close to the apartment where Diego and Daniela live which makes life real easy for them.
APARTMENT
Daniela and Diego are surrounded by office buildings and apartment buildings. Their building is 18 storey’s high. Each floor has a total of 10 apartments so this makes for a lot of people in one area. It has both one bedroom and two bedroom flats. The one bedroom flat could be anywhere from 32 square meters up to 42 square meters in total coverage. Each apartment contains a toilet and shower, however there could be different combinations of the e.g. toilet shower separate, toilet and shower in same room. They have a dining room, a bedroom, a walk in wardrobe, a kitchen and a lounge. The apartment that they are in is near the centre of the city and has really good facilities that are not typical of all apartment buildings. They have a laundry room. This has washers, dryers, a folding shelf and a washing powder dispenser.
Other facilities include rubbish and recycling. On each level is a chute that goes all the way down to the basement. The only stuff you are allowed to put down this shute are small plastic bags full of rubbish. This may not include bottles, paper or other things to be recycled. They have rooms for the utilities people so they can check the power, read the meters for hot / cold water and gas. One cupboard in the hallway housed a whole lot of taps. These belonged to the individual rooms as written above so if there was a water leak or something similar the water to the Apartment could be turned off and the problem fixed. They also had a cupboard for fire extinguishers and hoses as well as exit stairwells in case of an emergency. Some of the benefits of being in this Apartment are that each Apartment has their own Storage Room ‘Bodegas’ in the basement so they can put any overflow in here of furniture or goods. They also have two rooms which can be rented out for birthdays, parties or meetings. A guard sits at the entrance 24hours and checks people who enter and exit. The guard asks for ID before anyone is allowed up. Residents receive a phone call to ask if they are expecting this person and arrangements made to either send them up to the room or ask the visitor to wait downstairs. The apartment has a small swimming pool and an area to ‘hangout’. It also has a small gym residents can use. There is an internet room also. Internet is provided as part of your rent for the apartment. However it is not hooked up to each individual apartment, you must go to a room and take your own laptop to access this facility. You’ll see one picture of a room that has table’s chairs and a modem only – this is it. This apartment also has a couple of levels which is used as parking for residents. Each apartment is allowed one car park. They also have about 40 parks outside that are available for visitors. Residents are not allowed to park in these. They must request permission if a visitor is staying for more than five hours from the building association. In certain circumstances they can request to use the car park themselves but it is only allowed to be for one night. If they are caught with using the visitor’s car park they are fined $50 a night on top of their rent for this infringement.
LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT 2 WEEK MARK with my family (Diego / Daniela)
1. Has my pronunciation improved?
A little. Z has changed now say gracias.San Ignacio. Need to pronounce the c. Also when say Alejandro must pronounce the ja as ha
2. How well can you understand what I say?
Barely. Get the meaning but may not be accurate. Sometimes good Si. Here in Chile Si sounds like Se even though they write Si. This is the Chilean accent.
3. Is my use of the language idiomatic? (use of formulaic expressions) etc
You use Yapo which is the contraction of ya pues meaning (come on - It is an order)
Si po (yes indeed) No po (of course not)
Unable to use formulaic expressions
4. Do you have any other comments about my use of Spanish?
Use sentences more rather than random words.
Try to speak more Spanish. It doesn’t matter if not saying the correct words otherwise will not learn.
Spent the weekend at Daniela’s and Diego’s apartment in Santiago so lots to write about!
LONG DISTANCE COACH
I’m in the long distance bus from Santiago to Valparaiso now as I type this. We took the metro to get here. When we arrived at the terminal it was full of people trying to get a bus. When reading the bus sign on the TV Salida means departure, Destino – Destination, Empress – Company /Carrier, Anden – Platform. In our case it reads Atrasada – meaning late. It is Sunday evening and buses leave about every 10 – 15 minutes from about 7am till midnight. The terminal hosts a variety of companies such as Condor Bus, Tur Bus (the one I am on now), Pullman Bus etc. Basically they pull into the terminal, stop long enough to load the bus which took about 5 minutes and took off again. On another bus, one lady had obviously decided to grab something from somewhere and the bus left without her. She was chasing after it with her handbag and a few rude gestures and expressions. I may not understand a lot of Spanish but body language sure can tell a lot! I didn’t hang around long enough to see the outcome of that, as I didn’t want to miss mine. The coach was full. It was pretty fancy. It had a door which shut the driver off from the other passengers. It had a toilet at the back and something else I’m not quite sure of. Once the bus started, a man was acting as a steward and walking up and down the aisles selling drinks. He then returned asking if people wanted a pillow or blanket. Of course I did just to see what he would say. Two men returned and started at the front of the bus asking people for their ticket and where they would disembark. Diego had told me the terminal so that was what was written down in the second mans book along with my seat number. The lights then went out and the two TVs on the bus switched on. It was two and a half men. It always seems strange to be in another country and have so much American English input. I wonder where you get the headphones from if you want to watch. I guess it doesn’t matter as most of the people around me are going to sleep. I haven[t even quite finished entry about the bus and Metro and before you know it the lights turn on and the two men are up and down the aisle letting passengers know that their stop is the next. One helped me get down my bags and carried it to the door for me. Impressive service!
METRO
In Santiago you buy a ‘Bip’ card which will allow you access to all forms of transport the city has to offer such as the buses, Metro etc. Private things like horse and carriage rides are separate. Like the train, you swipe the ‘Bip” card over the yellow hand and walk through the turn around. There are three different tariffs for your travel depending on the time of day you use the Metro. Punta is peak hour, Valle for Saturdays, Sundays and festivals and Bajo is basically off peak hours as written in the sign. The symbols for the Metro system are 3 red triangles. One of the main differences apart from it being underground is that the trains have tires not rims of wheels on tracks like overland trains. Sometimes these tires do get a puncture and go flat. There are 5 main lines all colour coded, but if you look closely at the photos I could not find number 3. It is a real efficient system I am told it has only broken down once last year due to the earthquake, they had no power so the trains could not run. The lines and everything else was okay it was only the electricity that was the problem. If it rains then the system still continues it does not flood like it did in England when I was there and alternative transport frequently had to be found. The only problem they did have was when the buses were privatized they had issues with matching the frequency of the metro with the volume of the people arriving in rushes as they were not used to it, It took about 3 weeks to a month to sort out. They do not employ people to push you onto the train in peak hour traffic. However there are signs that ask people to move along the platform to allow other people onto the platform. Also to wait at the side for people to get off before you enter. At peak times the trains flow about every 2 minutes. People will wait for the next train rather than push their way onto a packed train as they know the next one may not be as full. The metro is clean! No rubbish and no graffiti. I have not seen any cleaners but am told because it is such a good service people respect the company and look after it. The company that owns the metro is the government. One of the signs I took a photo of said that when you pass someone pass on the right. This takes a bit of getting used to.
It is really close to the apartment where Diego and Daniela live which makes life real easy for them.
APARTMENT
Daniela and Diego are surrounded by office buildings and apartment buildings. Their building is 18 storey’s high. Each floor has a total of 10 apartments so this makes for a lot of people in one area. It has both one bedroom and two bedroom flats. The one bedroom flat could be anywhere from 32 square meters up to 42 square meters in total coverage. Each apartment contains a toilet and shower, however there could be different combinations of the e.g. toilet shower separate, toilet and shower in same room. They have a dining room, a bedroom, a walk in wardrobe, a kitchen and a lounge. The apartment that they are in is near the centre of the city and has really good facilities that are not typical of all apartment buildings. They have a laundry room. This has washers, dryers, a folding shelf and a washing powder dispenser.
Other facilities include rubbish and recycling. On each level is a chute that goes all the way down to the basement. The only stuff you are allowed to put down this shute are small plastic bags full of rubbish. This may not include bottles, paper or other things to be recycled. They have rooms for the utilities people so they can check the power, read the meters for hot / cold water and gas. One cupboard in the hallway housed a whole lot of taps. These belonged to the individual rooms as written above so if there was a water leak or something similar the water to the Apartment could be turned off and the problem fixed. They also had a cupboard for fire extinguishers and hoses as well as exit stairwells in case of an emergency. Some of the benefits of being in this Apartment are that each Apartment has their own Storage Room ‘Bodegas’ in the basement so they can put any overflow in here of furniture or goods. They also have two rooms which can be rented out for birthdays, parties or meetings. A guard sits at the entrance 24hours and checks people who enter and exit. The guard asks for ID before anyone is allowed up. Residents receive a phone call to ask if they are expecting this person and arrangements made to either send them up to the room or ask the visitor to wait downstairs. The apartment has a small swimming pool and an area to ‘hangout’. It also has a small gym residents can use. There is an internet room also. Internet is provided as part of your rent for the apartment. However it is not hooked up to each individual apartment, you must go to a room and take your own laptop to access this facility. You’ll see one picture of a room that has table’s chairs and a modem only – this is it. This apartment also has a couple of levels which is used as parking for residents. Each apartment is allowed one car park. They also have about 40 parks outside that are available for visitors. Residents are not allowed to park in these. They must request permission if a visitor is staying for more than five hours from the building association. In certain circumstances they can request to use the car park themselves but it is only allowed to be for one night. If they are caught with using the visitor’s car park they are fined $50 a night on top of their rent for this infringement.
LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT 2 WEEK MARK with my family (Diego / Daniela)
1. Has my pronunciation improved?
A little. Z has changed now say gracias.San Ignacio. Need to pronounce the c. Also when say Alejandro must pronounce the ja as ha
2. How well can you understand what I say?
Barely. Get the meaning but may not be accurate. Sometimes good Si. Here in Chile Si sounds like Se even though they write Si. This is the Chilean accent.
3. Is my use of the language idiomatic? (use of formulaic expressions) etc
You use Yapo which is the contraction of ya pues meaning (come on - It is an order)
Si po (yes indeed) No po (of course not)
Unable to use formulaic expressions
4. Do you have any other comments about my use of Spanish?
Use sentences more rather than random words.
Try to speak more Spanish. It doesn’t matter if not saying the correct words otherwise will not learn.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
14 August 2010
Firstly I would like to thank Diego for being my wonderful computer technician and turning around my short film as I filmed it in portait not landscape formatting. Thank you bro :-)Then showing me how to embed the images into the blog so you don't have to now hunt to the bottom of the page to find my images. I can't believe that I am downloading onto youtube! The technology I'm learning out of necessity is great!
This is a short film I took on Thursday of a musician playing the accordion in the tren on the way to Valparaiso. I was returning home in the afternoon. It must have been the time of day for it because on one of the trains going the opposite direction a man was playing 'hard out' on his guitar and his friend was singing. The muscians work each of the carriages. They play a couple of songs, ask for any requests, then walk the carriage getting tips. The lady I saw tip gave 100 pesos so I did the same.
Riding the train is easy. First you need to purchase a card at the Boleteria. You then load this card with the amount of money that your travel will cost, or you can charge it with extra money for future journeys. They don't have a train timetable, it just leaves every 6 minutes on a week day and 12 minutes in the weekend. In Valparaiso there is only one track that goes to and from Vina so you can't get lost. The minimum charge is $300. Once you have the card you scan it inside the blue shield of the entrance gate. There are alot of things you are not allowed to bring on the train like bicycles, dogs, skateboards, or enter under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Also in the stations they have a receptacle for used mobile phones. If you no longer need yours you can deposit it here and it will be recycled. Some of the money goes towards a charity.
Firstly I would like to thank Diego for being my wonderful computer technician and turning around my short film as I filmed it in portait not landscape formatting. Thank you bro :-)Then showing me how to embed the images into the blog so you don't have to now hunt to the bottom of the page to find my images. I can't believe that I am downloading onto youtube! The technology I'm learning out of necessity is great!
This is a short film I took on Thursday of a musician playing the accordion in the tren on the way to Valparaiso. I was returning home in the afternoon. It must have been the time of day for it because on one of the trains going the opposite direction a man was playing 'hard out' on his guitar and his friend was singing. The muscians work each of the carriages. They play a couple of songs, ask for any requests, then walk the carriage getting tips. The lady I saw tip gave 100 pesos so I did the same.
Riding the train is easy. First you need to purchase a card at the Boleteria. You then load this card with the amount of money that your travel will cost, or you can charge it with extra money for future journeys. They don't have a train timetable, it just leaves every 6 minutes on a week day and 12 minutes in the weekend. In Valparaiso there is only one track that goes to and from Vina so you can't get lost. The minimum charge is $300. Once you have the card you scan it inside the blue shield of the entrance gate. There are alot of things you are not allowed to bring on the train like bicycles, dogs, skateboards, or enter under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Also in the stations they have a receptacle for used mobile phones. If you no longer need yours you can deposit it here and it will be recycled. Some of the money goes towards a charity.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Ascensor de Valparaiso
This is the trip I took in the ascensor at the bottom of the hill near my house...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
12th August 2010
TRAIN / JOBS / MUSIC
Valparaiso is the town of universities. The problem they have here, is that there is such a status of having a degree that everyone wants one. Most people believe that you will not earn good money unless you have some backing of a qualification. This means that the country lacks trades people. They are not paid a lot so people do not select these jobs as a career option.
Valparaiso and Vina have about three music schools between them at a university level. It is not uncommon to be in town and see people walking around with guitars or carrying musical instruments of some kind. I love it J
Today when I got on the train, a student was playing an accordion to the passengers. He was doing this in expectation of tips. I have a short clip on my camera I am hoping to download for you to see.
ASCENSOR
Used the as censor today. Valparaiso is a lot like Wellington. It has lots of hills and Mountains. Even though it is miles away I can see the Andes Mountains out my bedroom window. Just like Wellington they have a cable car that ascends the hill the ‘as censor’ It has two carriages that work on a cable system, as one ascends the other descends. It is really old and made of wood. You can see through the gaps in the floor boards the ground beneath you as you go up – basically grass and rocks. My family has a book of movies and there was a movie called ‘Valparaiso mi amor’ made in 1969 that uses the cable car. It hasn’t changed from the pictures in the book since then, except maybe for a new paint job but I wouldn’t know as they are in black and white. You pay $300 once you have completed your journey at the booth at the top. Outside is a rotunda overlooking the city and an array of small stores selling products. Unfortunately this is not the summit of the hill, I still have to climb a little way walking up the streets before I can return to my house.
SAN IGNACIO
I attend San Ignacio every Tuesday and Thursday. Today was a kind of second introduction to the school. I spent the day with another ‘Profesora’ I visited classes, spoke about NZ and observed. The level of English at this school is really quite good. The students were able to ask me things like: Who are your descendants? What is your favourite…? What did you notice that was different about Chile from NZ? What are the native animals? What animals are dangerous? Who is the Prime Minister? What is a mythical creature of NZ? I had to draw a picture of this on the whiteboard. They understood explanations such as indigenous, the origins of NZ names, a very brief explanation of Waitangi Day … The students today were aged between 15 – 18 years old.
Things that I noticed about the classrooms: Most of them were small for the amount of students. None of them had a TV, a DVD player or computer. Some of the lower classrooms had bars across the windows. This served two purposes. One was to stop thieves, the other to stop balls from breaking the windows as this classroom faced the one and only basketball court. I have only seen 2 computers in the staffroom for the entire staff. One of the teachers I am observing has her own personal computer, I am not sure of the other. The teachers move classrooms, the students stay in the same one. They have double periods of the same class, so lessons last 45 x 2 = 1 ½ hrs. The timetable looks like this: Not sure how the lunch works, but will find out.
8:00am – 8:45am
Double lesson
8:45am – 9:30am
RECREO
9:45am – 10:30am
Double lesson
10:30am – 11:15am
RECREO
11:30am – 12:15pm
Double lesson
12:15pm – 13:00pm
RECREO
13:15pm – 14:00pm
Single lesson
14:00pm – 14:45pm
14:45pm – 15:30pm
Double lesson
15:30pm – 16:15pm
Between classes the classroom remains open for the students use. The teachers carry a book with them about each class. E.g. 3MED. Once the class is over, they write what they have done with the class in the book and then leave it on the table for the next teacher to collect. This gives an overall image of what the class has learnt.
LANGUAGE
Yesterday was very frustrating for me. I have difficulty with Spanish verb conjugations. I reached saturation point trying to cope with daily life. I need sentences to be short and precise. i need only one version to be given to me as I get lost when alternative ways of saying things are said. I lost count of how many times I didn’t understand what was being said to me. Sometimes you feel like finding a corner and just hiding. This of course is not the best way to learn a language, so you get out there and know that things will improve even if it is slow.
BUYING AN ERASER
I decided after school today that I would go to a supermarket. So when I got off the train I found the local tourism office – which I think was really a travel agent, grabbed a map, got told that it was three blocks away and started walking. On the way to the supermarket which I never found, I spotted this stationery shop. It had lots of see through counters with glue sticks and pens, books and all other kinds of writing utensils in it. So up I walked to the counter. I didn’t know the word for glue stick, but luckily enough it was next to the lady serving me so I pointed and got the idea across. Next, I wanted an eraser and my mind went blank. I asked for a ‘lapiz correcto’ Lapiz in Chile does not mean pencil it means pen and or pencil, so I got shown correction fluid as an answer. I looked all around and guess what, no pencils on display. So I tried again ‘Es no duro’ it’s not hard. The lady had no idea what I was on about. And then, I spotted a pencil with a rubber on top. So I said the blue pen please, she passed me over the whole display lol I pointed to the top of the pencil which had a rubber and she got it – great I thought that’s it! But not quite, she directed me over to a window where I had to pay. The lady wrote down the amount on paper, I paid and got a stamped receipt and then I got directed to another counter. Here, another lady was bagging my goods. I had to show the lady my stamped receipt before I could pick them up. I’m not sure which was the most surprising, not knowing the alternative word for pencil in Chilean or passing through three people to buy an eraser.
Diego says:
LAPIZ has an accent above the A and means a pencil. Or you could say ‘lapiz grafito’ – this would be a graphic pencil.
‘Un lapiz pasta’ means pen with ink. They use the word pasta because the ink is not runny it is thick.
A calligraphy pen is ‘pluma’ – this originates from the olden times when people used to use feathers to write.
3 POSITIVES
1. People say my Spanish is improving. I think that I am making more of an effort. The language itself is not necessarily improving just the quantity of what I say
2. I can make myself understood through body language
3. I am enjoying visiting San Ignacio
TRAIN / JOBS / MUSIC
Valparaiso is the town of universities. The problem they have here, is that there is such a status of having a degree that everyone wants one. Most people believe that you will not earn good money unless you have some backing of a qualification. This means that the country lacks trades people. They are not paid a lot so people do not select these jobs as a career option.
Valparaiso and Vina have about three music schools between them at a university level. It is not uncommon to be in town and see people walking around with guitars or carrying musical instruments of some kind. I love it J
Today when I got on the train, a student was playing an accordion to the passengers. He was doing this in expectation of tips. I have a short clip on my camera I am hoping to download for you to see.
ASCENSOR
Used the as censor today. Valparaiso is a lot like Wellington. It has lots of hills and Mountains. Even though it is miles away I can see the Andes Mountains out my bedroom window. Just like Wellington they have a cable car that ascends the hill the ‘as censor’ It has two carriages that work on a cable system, as one ascends the other descends. It is really old and made of wood. You can see through the gaps in the floor boards the ground beneath you as you go up – basically grass and rocks. My family has a book of movies and there was a movie called ‘Valparaiso mi amor’ made in 1969 that uses the cable car. It hasn’t changed from the pictures in the book since then, except maybe for a new paint job but I wouldn’t know as they are in black and white. You pay $300 once you have completed your journey at the booth at the top. Outside is a rotunda overlooking the city and an array of small stores selling products. Unfortunately this is not the summit of the hill, I still have to climb a little way walking up the streets before I can return to my house.
SAN IGNACIO
I attend San Ignacio every Tuesday and Thursday. Today was a kind of second introduction to the school. I spent the day with another ‘Profesora’ I visited classes, spoke about NZ and observed. The level of English at this school is really quite good. The students were able to ask me things like: Who are your descendants? What is your favourite…? What did you notice that was different about Chile from NZ? What are the native animals? What animals are dangerous? Who is the Prime Minister? What is a mythical creature of NZ? I had to draw a picture of this on the whiteboard. They understood explanations such as indigenous, the origins of NZ names, a very brief explanation of Waitangi Day … The students today were aged between 15 – 18 years old.
Things that I noticed about the classrooms: Most of them were small for the amount of students. None of them had a TV, a DVD player or computer. Some of the lower classrooms had bars across the windows. This served two purposes. One was to stop thieves, the other to stop balls from breaking the windows as this classroom faced the one and only basketball court. I have only seen 2 computers in the staffroom for the entire staff. One of the teachers I am observing has her own personal computer, I am not sure of the other. The teachers move classrooms, the students stay in the same one. They have double periods of the same class, so lessons last 45 x 2 = 1 ½ hrs. The timetable looks like this: Not sure how the lunch works, but will find out.
8:00am – 8:45am
Double lesson
8:45am – 9:30am
RECREO
9:45am – 10:30am
Double lesson
10:30am – 11:15am
RECREO
11:30am – 12:15pm
Double lesson
12:15pm – 13:00pm
RECREO
13:15pm – 14:00pm
Single lesson
14:00pm – 14:45pm
14:45pm – 15:30pm
Double lesson
15:30pm – 16:15pm
Between classes the classroom remains open for the students use. The teachers carry a book with them about each class. E.g. 3MED. Once the class is over, they write what they have done with the class in the book and then leave it on the table for the next teacher to collect. This gives an overall image of what the class has learnt.
LANGUAGE
Yesterday was very frustrating for me. I have difficulty with Spanish verb conjugations. I reached saturation point trying to cope with daily life. I need sentences to be short and precise. i need only one version to be given to me as I get lost when alternative ways of saying things are said. I lost count of how many times I didn’t understand what was being said to me. Sometimes you feel like finding a corner and just hiding. This of course is not the best way to learn a language, so you get out there and know that things will improve even if it is slow.
BUYING AN ERASER
I decided after school today that I would go to a supermarket. So when I got off the train I found the local tourism office – which I think was really a travel agent, grabbed a map, got told that it was three blocks away and started walking. On the way to the supermarket which I never found, I spotted this stationery shop. It had lots of see through counters with glue sticks and pens, books and all other kinds of writing utensils in it. So up I walked to the counter. I didn’t know the word for glue stick, but luckily enough it was next to the lady serving me so I pointed and got the idea across. Next, I wanted an eraser and my mind went blank. I asked for a ‘lapiz correcto’ Lapiz in Chile does not mean pencil it means pen and or pencil, so I got shown correction fluid as an answer. I looked all around and guess what, no pencils on display. So I tried again ‘Es no duro’ it’s not hard. The lady had no idea what I was on about. And then, I spotted a pencil with a rubber on top. So I said the blue pen please, she passed me over the whole display lol I pointed to the top of the pencil which had a rubber and she got it – great I thought that’s it! But not quite, she directed me over to a window where I had to pay. The lady wrote down the amount on paper, I paid and got a stamped receipt and then I got directed to another counter. Here, another lady was bagging my goods. I had to show the lady my stamped receipt before I could pick them up. I’m not sure which was the most surprising, not knowing the alternative word for pencil in Chilean or passing through three people to buy an eraser.
Diego says:
LAPIZ has an accent above the A and means a pencil. Or you could say ‘lapiz grafito’ – this would be a graphic pencil.
‘Un lapiz pasta’ means pen with ink. They use the word pasta because the ink is not runny it is thick.
A calligraphy pen is ‘pluma’ – this originates from the olden times when people used to use feathers to write.
3 POSITIVES
1. People say my Spanish is improving. I think that I am making more of an effort. The language itself is not necessarily improving just the quantity of what I say
2. I can make myself understood through body language
3. I am enjoying visiting San Ignacio
Sunday, August 8, 2010
8th August 2010
Still getting used to blogging so found this info on the net:
Children’s Day
Chile
In Chile, Children's Day Día del Niño is celebrated on August 8. It retains none of the international flavor as a day to recognize the needs of or rights of children, but is observed merely as a commercial holiday dedicated to buying toys for children (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Children's Day (Día del Niño) - friend or foe?
In my attempt to understand the concept of Children's Day (Día del Niño) which seems to be a big deal in many Latin American countries, I took to the Internet. I found out that Children's Day is an idea adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954. The main message of this day is to recognize children, pay homage to their importance in society, and endorses their well being. Politically speaking, the idea of Children's Day was enforced to promote the rights of all children around the world.The Declaration of Rights of a Child, simply put:1. All children have the right to what follows, no matter what their race, color sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, or where they were born or who they were born to.2. You have the special right to grow up and to develop physically and spiritually in a healthy and normal way, free and with dignity.3. You have a right to a name and to be a member of a country.4. You have a right to special care and protection and to good food, housing and medical services.5. You have the right to special care if handicapped in any way.6. You have the right to love and understanding, preferably from parents and family, but from the government where these cannot help.7. You have the right to go to school for free, to play, and to have an equal chance to develop yourself and to learn to be responsible and useful. Your parents have special responsibilities for your education and guidance.8. You have the right always to be among the first to get help.9. You have the right to be protected against cruel acts or exploitation, e.g. you shall not be obliged to do work which hinders your development both physically and mentally. You should not work before a minimum age and never when that would hinder your health, and your moral and physical development.10. You should be taught peace, understanding, tolerance and friendship among all people.I completely and totally agree with these rights granted to all children around the world and further, would personally work vehemently to always ensure that children are protected from any and all types of harm. In addition, I agree with the general mission of the UN's General Assembly's purpose behind promoting a Children's Day: "a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children."Truly it's a great principle, great mission, aims to teach great values and promotes the fraternity among children and the safekeeping of all children. What could be wrong with Children's Day?? I'll tell you: the retailers and their aim to make you feel like guilty if you don't go out and get your kids presents they've come to expect. These retailers, and their marketing strategy, aim to make you out as the best parent/uncle/grandparent/cousin/friend/what-have-you if you buy the child the latest and greatest gadget "available only at XYZ store" and for a "limited time." The underlying message here is that if you don't go out and buy said toy or gadget, you're plain wicked for not appreciating kids and how important they are to society.Oh but the retailers aren't at fault, really. Society believes the hype as we believe the hype about Christmas and birthdays and Valentine's Day. If you were to encounter someone who say, never celebrated birthdays or gave gifts on someone's birthday, I'm sure we'd all conclude the guy/woman is a nut and carry on our merry way. In this case, I'm the nut because in the States, I don't recall ever celebrating - or even hearing about - Children's Day. As I got older and began to work in the children's entertainment industry, from revenue generating level, I welcomed Children's Day in other territories as a prime time to make some "holiday" cash by selling our goods and helping my bottom line. See? Even I succumbed to the hype surrounding Children's Day; only it was from the worst angle possible! Using their desires to generate income for a business purpose. Ugly, to say the least.From a more objective perspective one thing is decidedly clear: based on the advertisements I see on TV and in print, it appears that the Chilean retailers don't embrace the true nature of Children's Day. Perhaps they don't because the consumer goes out and buys what's necessary because it's what has always occurred and what's expected. I certainly get the retailer side of things and the fact that it's all based on the general public's actions and needs. I wonder if I'll even see some kind of organized activity that truly embraces the nature of Children's Day as the UN General Assembly had hoped: promoting fraternity and understanding between children.
http://chileangringa.blogspot.com/2010/08/childrens-day-dia-del-nino-friend-or.html
Kids Day: Save up to 35% buying online
Kids Day Big money for retailers
Among the best selling products online are video game consoles, digital cameras and cellular phones.
It is the most important day for retailers after Christmas. Purchases for Children’s Day, on 8 August, are generating huge sales for traditional retail stores as well as online buying platforms, which is gaining favor with more buyers.
That’s because buying online can bring in savings of up to 35% off retail store prices, according to a survey by Chilean company MercadoLibre.com.
The survey shows that a boys junior bicycle can be bought for an average price of CLP$ 57,990 in traditional retail stores, and CLP$ 45,000 online, a 29% savings (CLP$ 12,990).
Another example is a Sony Play station games console which can purchased for CLP$ 174,990 in a retail store, can be purchased online for CLP$ 129,990 a 35% savings (CLP $ 45,000), according to the survey.
The site also ranks its top online purchases with PSP consoles in first place, followed by mini remote controlled helicopters
Online retail giant MercadoLibre Chile
(CLP$12,900), the Nintendo Wii system (CLP$165,000); digital cameras(CLP$59,900) and children’s cell phones (CLP$50,000).
Constanza Abdala, of MercadoLibre Chile states that “according to the demand that we see, parents are spending on average between CLP$ 12,900 and CLP$ 165,000, though many parents are finding options of $ 7,000
http://www.ilovechile.cl/2010/08/01/kids-day-save-up-to-35-buying-online/10243
Still getting used to blogging so found this info on the net:
Children’s Day
Chile
In Chile, Children's Day Día del Niño is celebrated on August 8. It retains none of the international flavor as a day to recognize the needs of or rights of children, but is observed merely as a commercial holiday dedicated to buying toys for children (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Children's Day (Día del Niño) - friend or foe?
In my attempt to understand the concept of Children's Day (Día del Niño) which seems to be a big deal in many Latin American countries, I took to the Internet. I found out that Children's Day is an idea adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954. The main message of this day is to recognize children, pay homage to their importance in society, and endorses their well being. Politically speaking, the idea of Children's Day was enforced to promote the rights of all children around the world.The Declaration of Rights of a Child, simply put:1. All children have the right to what follows, no matter what their race, color sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, or where they were born or who they were born to.2. You have the special right to grow up and to develop physically and spiritually in a healthy and normal way, free and with dignity.3. You have a right to a name and to be a member of a country.4. You have a right to special care and protection and to good food, housing and medical services.5. You have the right to special care if handicapped in any way.6. You have the right to love and understanding, preferably from parents and family, but from the government where these cannot help.7. You have the right to go to school for free, to play, and to have an equal chance to develop yourself and to learn to be responsible and useful. Your parents have special responsibilities for your education and guidance.8. You have the right always to be among the first to get help.9. You have the right to be protected against cruel acts or exploitation, e.g. you shall not be obliged to do work which hinders your development both physically and mentally. You should not work before a minimum age and never when that would hinder your health, and your moral and physical development.10. You should be taught peace, understanding, tolerance and friendship among all people.I completely and totally agree with these rights granted to all children around the world and further, would personally work vehemently to always ensure that children are protected from any and all types of harm. In addition, I agree with the general mission of the UN's General Assembly's purpose behind promoting a Children's Day: "a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children."Truly it's a great principle, great mission, aims to teach great values and promotes the fraternity among children and the safekeeping of all children. What could be wrong with Children's Day?? I'll tell you: the retailers and their aim to make you feel like guilty if you don't go out and get your kids presents they've come to expect. These retailers, and their marketing strategy, aim to make you out as the best parent/uncle/grandparent/cousin/friend/what-have-you if you buy the child the latest and greatest gadget "available only at XYZ store" and for a "limited time." The underlying message here is that if you don't go out and buy said toy or gadget, you're plain wicked for not appreciating kids and how important they are to society.Oh but the retailers aren't at fault, really. Society believes the hype as we believe the hype about Christmas and birthdays and Valentine's Day. If you were to encounter someone who say, never celebrated birthdays or gave gifts on someone's birthday, I'm sure we'd all conclude the guy/woman is a nut and carry on our merry way. In this case, I'm the nut because in the States, I don't recall ever celebrating - or even hearing about - Children's Day. As I got older and began to work in the children's entertainment industry, from revenue generating level, I welcomed Children's Day in other territories as a prime time to make some "holiday" cash by selling our goods and helping my bottom line. See? Even I succumbed to the hype surrounding Children's Day; only it was from the worst angle possible! Using their desires to generate income for a business purpose. Ugly, to say the least.From a more objective perspective one thing is decidedly clear: based on the advertisements I see on TV and in print, it appears that the Chilean retailers don't embrace the true nature of Children's Day. Perhaps they don't because the consumer goes out and buys what's necessary because it's what has always occurred and what's expected. I certainly get the retailer side of things and the fact that it's all based on the general public's actions and needs. I wonder if I'll even see some kind of organized activity that truly embraces the nature of Children's Day as the UN General Assembly had hoped: promoting fraternity and understanding between children.
http://chileangringa.blogspot.com/2010/08/childrens-day-dia-del-nino-friend-or.html
Kids Day: Save up to 35% buying online
Kids Day Big money for retailers
Among the best selling products online are video game consoles, digital cameras and cellular phones.
It is the most important day for retailers after Christmas. Purchases for Children’s Day, on 8 August, are generating huge sales for traditional retail stores as well as online buying platforms, which is gaining favor with more buyers.
That’s because buying online can bring in savings of up to 35% off retail store prices, according to a survey by Chilean company MercadoLibre.com.
The survey shows that a boys junior bicycle can be bought for an average price of CLP$ 57,990 in traditional retail stores, and CLP$ 45,000 online, a 29% savings (CLP$ 12,990).
Another example is a Sony Play station games console which can purchased for CLP$ 174,990 in a retail store, can be purchased online for CLP$ 129,990 a 35% savings (CLP $ 45,000), according to the survey.
The site also ranks its top online purchases with PSP consoles in first place, followed by mini remote controlled helicopters
Online retail giant MercadoLibre Chile
(CLP$12,900), the Nintendo Wii system (CLP$165,000); digital cameras(CLP$59,900) and children’s cell phones (CLP$50,000).
Constanza Abdala, of MercadoLibre Chile states that “according to the demand that we see, parents are spending on average between CLP$ 12,900 and CLP$ 165,000, though many parents are finding options of $ 7,000
http://www.ilovechile.cl/2010/08/01/kids-day-save-up-to-35-buying-online/10243
Friday, August 6, 2010
7th August 2010
MISUNDERSTANDINGS / FUNNY HAPPENINGS
Silly things that I am doing are: I still walk around to the driver’s side of the car as it is the opposite away around. Diego teases me that I want to drive but I don’t. I still get confused going around corners and tense up at intersections.
The other day I asked Ana what her brother’s wife did as a job. She tried to explain to me by saying things like, she is not a doctor, and she does not work at the hospital. You pay money every month and then at the end of the year. You use it when you cut your face or chop off your hand. You ride in an ambulance, health ….. All of this was at an intersection in the car with dramatic gestures (no one was behind us). Can you guess what it was? Health insurance. I checked with Ajo and I was right! Big celebrations at that lunch table lol
I was told that we were going to meet the people at the school the next day. When that day arrived I was told that we were going out. I got mixed up between the two ideas and asked if I needed to change clothes. Ana said ‘if you want to’, so I assumed that we were going to school. Ana said that she would wait downstairs for me so I got dressed in work clothes. Ana rang the school to ask them to tell me that the lady would come here, to the house in the afternoon. We were going for a drive around the town. We were not going to school. So I was basically dressed ‘muy chic’ for a ride around the town lol Oh well things happen J
Cemetery
We took a drive around the town yesterday. Their cemetery is close to the sea. I asked why, as it was a beautiful view and would be expensive land. Ana said that the cemetery used to be inland but as the town grew, it got pushed further and further out. The cemetery is very expansive. The first thing I saw was rows of what looked like apartment buildings. These housed the cremated bodies in drawers. In each drawer were a total of 8 persons ashes. They had flowers and other gifts around them and chairs that people who visited could use to sit. Various types of people would use these cremation boxes / drawers when they passed away. In another part of the cemetery were ‘Bovedas’ These were like miniature houses. They would hold the family ashes for generations and were used by wealthy established families. Following this were ‘tumbas’ or what we could call tombs. They were generally made out of stone and were ornately decorated. These were for middle class or wealthy families. Graves that were in the earth and had picket fences with a cross were for the poor families. I will attach photos.
SCHOOL
Went to San Ignacio this morning and met the principle and the English teacher. First impressions: All schools that I have been to so far have a security guard at the entrance. You must be let into the school. They don’t do a bag check, you don’t have to walk through x-ray machines or anything like that. At San Dominic’s, parents collect the students at lunch and take them home for a meal. Students school bags were like airport bags with the handles and wheels. Students have to study about 12 subjects and the amount of books they carry is large so the bags are heavy. This is why many use backpacks with handles and wheels. Both playgrounds were small. San Ignacio has a basketball court and a small outside area. I am told they roster their lunch time so they aren’t all crowded around together at the same time in a small area. I have only visited these schools for a short time so this is truly my first impression. Both schools seemed pleased to have me and were very welcoming.
TOILETS
I went to a mall with Diego today. I need to use the facilities and went to use the toilets. There was a lady sitting in the entrance. I had to pay $150 and was given a wad of toilet paper. Inside were baskets beside the toilet to put the used paper.
FOOD / PANADERIA
Diego and I took a walk to the hot bread shop up the road at about 7pm. Some shops were just opening for the evening. The bread shop was packed with everyone buying bread. Diego said that it is like this in the morning and in the afternoon. He usually goes to the shop around 5:30pm as it is when the bread comes out of the oven. The type of bread they have is very different to home. My favourite bread is sweet and square. The closest we would have to this is bagel dough. Chile is apparently one of the largest consumers of bread in the world. Traditionally Chileans have bread with every meal, in this respect my family is not traditional they have salad with most meals as bread can cause you to gain weight.
MISUNDERSTANDINGS / FUNNY HAPPENINGS
Silly things that I am doing are: I still walk around to the driver’s side of the car as it is the opposite away around. Diego teases me that I want to drive but I don’t. I still get confused going around corners and tense up at intersections.
The other day I asked Ana what her brother’s wife did as a job. She tried to explain to me by saying things like, she is not a doctor, and she does not work at the hospital. You pay money every month and then at the end of the year. You use it when you cut your face or chop off your hand. You ride in an ambulance, health ….. All of this was at an intersection in the car with dramatic gestures (no one was behind us). Can you guess what it was? Health insurance. I checked with Ajo and I was right! Big celebrations at that lunch table lol
I was told that we were going to meet the people at the school the next day. When that day arrived I was told that we were going out. I got mixed up between the two ideas and asked if I needed to change clothes. Ana said ‘if you want to’, so I assumed that we were going to school. Ana said that she would wait downstairs for me so I got dressed in work clothes. Ana rang the school to ask them to tell me that the lady would come here, to the house in the afternoon. We were going for a drive around the town. We were not going to school. So I was basically dressed ‘muy chic’ for a ride around the town lol Oh well things happen J
Cemetery
We took a drive around the town yesterday. Their cemetery is close to the sea. I asked why, as it was a beautiful view and would be expensive land. Ana said that the cemetery used to be inland but as the town grew, it got pushed further and further out. The cemetery is very expansive. The first thing I saw was rows of what looked like apartment buildings. These housed the cremated bodies in drawers. In each drawer were a total of 8 persons ashes. They had flowers and other gifts around them and chairs that people who visited could use to sit. Various types of people would use these cremation boxes / drawers when they passed away. In another part of the cemetery were ‘Bovedas’ These were like miniature houses. They would hold the family ashes for generations and were used by wealthy established families. Following this were ‘tumbas’ or what we could call tombs. They were generally made out of stone and were ornately decorated. These were for middle class or wealthy families. Graves that were in the earth and had picket fences with a cross were for the poor families. I will attach photos.
SCHOOL
Went to San Ignacio this morning and met the principle and the English teacher. First impressions: All schools that I have been to so far have a security guard at the entrance. You must be let into the school. They don’t do a bag check, you don’t have to walk through x-ray machines or anything like that. At San Dominic’s, parents collect the students at lunch and take them home for a meal. Students school bags were like airport bags with the handles and wheels. Students have to study about 12 subjects and the amount of books they carry is large so the bags are heavy. This is why many use backpacks with handles and wheels. Both playgrounds were small. San Ignacio has a basketball court and a small outside area. I am told they roster their lunch time so they aren’t all crowded around together at the same time in a small area. I have only visited these schools for a short time so this is truly my first impression. Both schools seemed pleased to have me and were very welcoming.
TOILETS
I went to a mall with Diego today. I need to use the facilities and went to use the toilets. There was a lady sitting in the entrance. I had to pay $150 and was given a wad of toilet paper. Inside were baskets beside the toilet to put the used paper.
FOOD / PANADERIA
Diego and I took a walk to the hot bread shop up the road at about 7pm. Some shops were just opening for the evening. The bread shop was packed with everyone buying bread. Diego said that it is like this in the morning and in the afternoon. He usually goes to the shop around 5:30pm as it is when the bread comes out of the oven. The type of bread they have is very different to home. My favourite bread is sweet and square. The closest we would have to this is bagel dough. Chile is apparently one of the largest consumers of bread in the world. Traditionally Chileans have bread with every meal, in this respect my family is not traditional they have salad with most meals as bread can cause you to gain weight.
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