chao chao. manu chao.

Por fin! The infamous "music scene" hit Conce! Manu Chao concert November 23rd.

Mi amiga Laura (a fellow WorldTeach volunteer and Wisconsinite) introduced me to Manu Chao on our trip to Peru in July. I fell in love with his sweet beats and different languages and now listen to it all the time.

Last week, we heard a rumor that Manu Chao was coming to C

once. Turns out, the rumor is true! We are all SO excited for this. After almost 10 months of living here, I've determined that the "lots of concerts and live music and great night life" description of Concepción, Chile is false. Unless you consider reggaton blaring from dark, creepy nightclubs "great night life."

Nevertheless, this is not my typical Monday night event :) holla.

This morning I ran another 10k. This one was hosted by DiarioSur, one of the local newspapers.

I felt really good throughout the whole race and (I know this sounds weird) actually tried to push myself a bit. Throughout this year of running/racing, I've gotten used to just arriving and running. Not really thinking about it beforehand, not eating anything special to prepare. I just go.

But today I decided to run a bit faster. Turns out, I ran 8:30s and finished in 52:30. And so continues my increasing obsession with running. I really, really like it. I think it's the camaraderie of completing a goal with other people. Woo! sports! I like seeing all the different people that show up and how everyone cheers each other on, working towards "la meta" (finish line). And the random t-shirts, medals, water bottles and other free stuff doesn't hurt!

Two more weeks of classes! Hallelujah

cotton candy cloud.

typical monday evening

I spent the evening making signs about "permission, obligation and prohibition."

"You can recycle this item."

"You aren't allowed to push the button!"

It may be the effect of white board markers but I decided to take a few pics of "mi pieza." My room has evolved over the past 9 months from a bed and small dresser into my own haven. It's been "Jennerized." haha. Honestly, I spend a TON of time here. Not as much as the winter, but still plenty. I find when I'm away from my house for long periods of time, (class all day, weekend trips, even just a few hours!) I crave my room. It's the one space here that is solely mine.

It's my office, my bedroom, a library, internet café, mini movie theater, karaoke bar, a yoga studio, even my kitchen sometimes!

Oh heey-ayyy! (I'm telling you, it was the strong markers..)

Office, closet combo

There's a lot to be said for space when one is living in a foreign country. When I'm out and about, personal space is not what most Americans are used to. I cram my legs into a seat on the bus next to everyday José, I push my way to the front of the line to buy a snack at Duoc, I perch next to the treadmill waiting for it to his 29:59 and then pounce.

If nothing else, I've learned to be pushy in public! A foot of space between you and the person in front of you at the grocery store is an open invitation to let granny and her whole family go ahead of you. Lingering patiently a comfortable 5 feet from the treadmill means you will never actually work out.

After a day- or 9 months- of fighting for space, I appreciate my square more than anything!

Ok, last but not least, I have two new books to add to my list. I finished Mudbound last week. It's a really quick read. But still left me thinking after I put it down. It's a story of two families in rural Mississippi in the late 1940s, early 1950s. One family is black, the other is white. They also both have sons that fought in WWII. When both sons arrive back in town, they are met with the sad reality of unchanged perspectives regarding race. The boys connect on a different level, far away from the harsh farm land of Mississippi. Their friendship is complicated by enduring prejudice and hate. I won't give away the end, but as the book says, "they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale and find redemption where they least expect it."

The other, My Invented Country, is by the Chilean author Isabelle Allende. (Niece of Salvadore Allende, the president who was murdered Sept. 11th, 1973 by the military coup led by Pinochet). I'm flying through the book because it's like reading about my day to day life. Every few pages, I say to myself "yes!" and "exactly!" She writes about Chilean culture, food, dress, politics, daily life, classism, sexism etc. It's like Allende crawled into my brain and made sense of all the random thoughts I've had while observing this country. Because I'm living the words on the page, I find this book fantastic! Not sure everyone would, but I'd still recommend it. Fantastic insight into the people of Chile. (With a feminist, socialist, expatriate bias). Allende is one of few outspoken Chilean female writers and lives in California.

Good night!

punto c l

**I started this having no idea where it would go, and it turned out to be a wordy meandering around the subject of technology and culture. If you get through it all, gracias!**

I find I have a hard time organizing my thoughts lately regarding the blog. Blog, what a funny word. I had no idea how huge blogs are now in the US. Everyone blogs. I find it oddly fascinating that people voluntarily share the inner-workings of life with the masses. Documenting daily eating habits, the latest sale, whether or not Janie has a cough, weight-loss tips "to live by," and on and on. The possibilities are endless. The fact that we can sit in front of a screen all. day. long. reading about the lives of people we won't ever meet is mind-boggling. Clearly, this is a two-way street. The bloggers have to keep up his or her end of the bargain by constantly updating, "blogging," and the readers have to read, post comments and share the blog with friends to keep it going. It's a new, virtual form of cultural capital. What if the Internet crashes all of a sudden? How would we interact? Where would we start?

This wave of instant information and constant, incessant connection to anyone in the world has not yet arrived to Chile. For this, I am thankful. I realize that in a few years when I come back to visit, Chileans will be tweeting (probably very passé by then in the US) and blogging but for now it's nice to live among the technology of yesteryear--or the early 2000s. Technology is something that evolves at warp speed and countries like Chile try to keep up but they always fall just a bit short. CD walkmans are still popular. And Windows 4.0 I, for one, opine that that's a good thing.

That being said, every boy in my house has a computer, the majority of my students have laptops and I heard on CNN Chile that a higher percentage of Chileans than Americans own cell phones. The cell phone in Chile isn't used for lengthy conversations, per sé, but instead quick snippets of dialogue that more or less consists of the same script:

"Where are you? When will you be home? Did you buy bread? Ya. Ok. Bueno. Listo. Chao. Besito." (all in the span of 20-30 seconds depending on the last few "chaos" and "ya pos."

I'm convinced Chilean mothers somehow funded the campaign aimed at young people in order to have unlimited surveillance on their children. And no, Chileans can not screen their calls. If mom is calling, they answer. Not answering is not an option. Even at 4am on a Saturday night.

Don't get me wrong. I am extremely grateful for technology being thousands of miles away from home. From day one, I've have good, reliable internet in my room. It's helped me with lesson planning, staying in touch, and helped me pass many rainy Sunday afternoons. Yet, I rarely interact at length with anyone in my host family because of computers. The boys are always playing video games. Except for onces, they are all squirreled away in their rooms, playing various bang bang shoot 'em up games. I think this is the pitfall of technology. It takes away, and in fact numbs us, to simple face-to-face interactions. The fact that I can be better friends with a fellow blogger than my own Chilean housemates is slightly disturbing.

Yes, the internet is an incredible tool and probably the most significant innovation (cultural/social/economic/political) of the late 20th/21st century, but what is it leading to? Seems to me, it's only getting bigger. More connection in little to no time. I look out the window each day on the bus and see stark differences between modernity (Mall, iphone billboards) and tradition (horse and buggies, door-to-door fish vendors on bikes with steam whistles) sitting side by side. In Chile, as in most other Latin American countries I've visited, people glorify the former and brush off the latter as "lower class" and "de campo" (country, hick).

In America, it's impossible to define our culture into distinct categories. We have no state religion, sport, dance, food etc. In Chile, it's Catholicism, soccer, la cueca, and a plethora of various forms of fried dough and meat. Not to mention the wine. There is definitely something to be said for that and I think it leads to more national pride and unity. When asked general questions about the US, I get frustrated and always find myself saying, "it depends." "I can only speak for Minnesota or Colorado." And this is only half true. I know nothing about the culture of Mississippi, Idaho or New Hampshire. For this, I believe exists the possibility of travel. Getting to know other places, people, customs, languages. Yet with the internet, will it soon be possible to do all of this without leaving what I know as home? I hope not. That is far too easy.

In the end, I suppose it's about balance. Like most things in life. With that said, I'm signing off and going out to see a bit more of Chile on this Saturday afternoon. Chao!