After
the whirlwind of grabbing luggage, going through customs and immigration, and
finding my group of fellow abroad students at the airport in Santiago, Chile,
my study abroad experience began. Since this was my first experience outside the
US, even my first airplane ride, I knew the next several months would involve
new experiences, foods, education systems, family structures, and cultural
practices. I had the expectation that Santiago would immediately feel different
from the US, but on the surface, it looks and operates just like any other big
city in the US: tall buildings, traffic, and typical US fast-food chains
popping up around every block. The first few weeks felt like I was just speaking
Spanish all day in the US.
I
think a lot of this has to do with the way the country has progressed since the
20-year dictatorship that started on September 11th, 1973. Augusto
Pinochet, with help from the US government, organized a coup against Salvador
Allende’s left-wing administration to prevent the county from “falling into
communism.” Aftershocks of the dictatorship are still felt today: the
government has not offered apologies to families of the more than 3,000 “desaparecidos” (the
disappeared) or to the 30,000 victims of torture, leaving a large chunk of
society without closure. Most government officials who instigated the human
rights violations have not been brought to justice and some still work in their
departments. The rapid economic growth that accompanied the adoption of
westernized economic policies caused huge divisions between socioeconomic
classes. While Chile is often referred to as “Latin America’s success story”, the
“success” is really only felt by the upper classes. I live in the wealthier
part of Santiago and when I travel around and see different parts of the city,
it is very clear to me that not all of Chile benefits from what Pinochet began.
So
with a little more time and some knowledge about the country’s history and
current issues, I started recognizing some differences between Chile and the US.
While the divisions between social classes also exist in the US, in Chile the
different classes barely interact with each other. I had the opportunity to
attend a diverse high school and a college with a strong dedication to ensuring
that those with limited resources can still receive a quality education. Coming
to Chile, and seeing how the education system perpetuates the
socioeconomic divisions, I realize even more how unique of an experience I
have. Another difference appears in family structures. I would not necessarily
say that family is more important here than in the US; Chileans express their
love for each other in actions and words more so than back home. Interestingly,
this cultural difference becomes apparent in healthcare. In my seminar about Chile’s
healthcare system, we visited the Clínica Familia, a type of hospice care that
attends to the spiritual and physical well being of terminally ill patients. It
is the only clinic of its kind in the Santiago area and not very well known. A
Chilean family will usually take care of its terminally ill members at home,
but sometimes the family does not have the resources so the clinic will step in.
In the US, hospice care is fairly well known and is used a lot more often than
in Chile. It’s fascinating seeing how different cultural norms create unique systems.
In
the middle of September, I had the opportunity to travel to Bolivia and
volunteer with a small community called Chirimoyas. Established around 3 years
ago from a chunk of land previously owned by one landowner, the community is
working on making the land viable for crop production and developing the
community into a safe, healthy, and prosperous town for its members. In the
middle of the jungle close to the Brazilian border, I could slow down
completely and really look at myself from an outside perspective. These people
had no running water during our stay (the motor in the well was broken), the
children ran around barefoot playing soccer on hard, rocky ground, a little
girl told me she wanted my skin color because she thought hers was ugly, and
some the houses didn’t have walls to block the winds. This made me feel guilty
knowing that these people will work so hard to receive one small percentage of
the opportunities I have received through my sheer luck of being born in the
US.
Yes,
this experience made me grateful for the basic material goods I have in
Santiago and Grinnell, but it also helped me prioritize my life differently. Coming
from Grinnell, with the atmosphere entirely driven by how much you need to read
and how high you can get your grades before finals, study abroad has provided a
fresh start and a new perspective. There is no better way to develop awareness
about other ways of life than to actually live them, something no amount of
studying or reading can substitute.