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La Primera Semana

By rmattiola

My week started with environment shock and ended with culture shock. The desert was intimidating. My flight from Santiago to Arica followed the coastline so we landed over a beach. I wondered when the sand would turn to grass, or some other sort of coastal vegetation but it never did. Sand was everywhere. Our bus ride back was a little quiet considering we were a group of teenagers excited to meet each other. Everyone was taking in the surroundings. I noticed, amongst all the emptiness, a few industrial centers and a single field of corn growing miraculously in the sand. Having never spent any of my adult life in a desert, I was surprised by the vastness. This shook me a little, even though I knew all along I would be staying in the most arid desert in the world. The locals say it never rains here, and they are pretty correct, considering the average rainfall in Arica is .03 inches. I felt 3 or 4 drops of rain when I went on a run along the beach. Maybe this will be it for the semester.

Rosalie 2/27-1Pictured: The Atacama Desert

The city is lively enough, but it only has one movie theatre with one room. I found this endearing. Historically, it was a viceroyalty of Peru for many years and still has many Peruvian influences. For example, in the city’s cathedral (which is closer in size to a church) is a replica of an important church in Peru. But the design is exactly the same; the cathedral of Arica has rain-spouts encased in the face of stone lions even though it never rains here. The original cathedral was destroyed in an earthquake. We’ve been debriefed in the safety procedures for tremblores and terremotos, which happen frequently because the whole coast of Chile rests on a fault line and is therefore the most seismically active country in the world. It is also the longest and most narrow county in the world.

Our group went on many short tours during our orientation week. I noticed that many of the stores, houses and plazas were wrapped in bougainvillea and hibiscus flowers. On our way to a market I watched two burly men carry fresh fish right thru the front door of a restaurant. Unfortunately, I have yet to eat fish. We’re warned about the ceviche, which our gringo stomachs might not be able to handle. Apparently, the fish is expensive here and many people prefer to eat meat. In the small market, I exchanged glances with a happy old man sitting in a little shop with walls covered in old keys. I’d like to get to know this key man.

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Pictured: el morro, and the presencias tutelares

Probably the most exciting parts of orientation were the meet-and-greet with jóvenes (directly translates to youths), the “drop-off”, and the tour of the sculptures on top of el morro (the famous hill in Arica) and in the desert. Both the Cristo de la Concordancia on el morro and the presencias tutelares (guardians) in the desert were impressive works of art. The drop-off was exactly as it sounds: we were dropped off at the casino and assigned locations to find our way to and questions to ask the locals. I was lucky enough to be assigned to the biggest beach in Arica, La Playa Chinchurro, which is the discovery site of the oldest mummies in the world, los chinchurros. I spoke to locals about surfing, beach sports, chilenismos (words only used in Chile) and the infamous river that carries dirty water from the highlands to this beautiful beach in the summer. Chileans not only speak comically fast, but also with words that only have significance in Chile. Many chilenismos are based on indigenous words from the Aymara and Mapuche groups.

Chilenismo of the week: bakán: cool, awesome

The people are quirky here. For example, a lime is called un limón (direct translation: lemon). They simply have yellow lemons and green lemons. They go out to carretes (parties) or dance clubs at 1am and leave at 5am and then relax at a friend’s house (called the “after” pronounced in a Chilean accent) and repeat this day after day. If asked when los jóvenes sleep, they answer, “Never!”

Even though the city is developed enough, I think there is a huge homeless population that camp in the desert, on beaches and in some plazas. There’s also a large population of street dogs, all of which I’ve met are harmless. A black pup ran with me along a beach and watched the surfers with me one morning.

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Pictured: a street dog posing for a photo

Understanding and speaking Spanish has been stressful, but when I am able to understand, I notice that they formulate beautiful sentences. For example, when we visited Los Tutelares in the desert, our tour guide explained the impressive display of stars and said, “El cielo es muy limpia acá”, which translated to “the sky is very clean here”. I thought that was just lovely.

Next week, I’ll tell you more about the climate, the culture, my family, and my classes. Now, I’m off to explore the city a pie (by foot) with some other students.

¡Hasta luego!