Education del corazon

A few days ago the staff of SIT took us all out to a "welcome" dinner. I order a salad--which turned out to be a months serving of vegetables---an entire avocado sliced, an entire carrot shredded, a few vegetables I wasn't familiar with...it could have been an appetizer for a group of 5.

Anyway...I got to sit next to Roberto and Rossana, staff members of SIT, and talk to them. I asked them all the questions (well, some of) that I had been curious about since I arrived. I had heard on the airplane that people don't like talking about Pinochet and I should wait for them to bring it up to talk about. That's definitely not the case with my host family or the staff. Rossana shared her stories of hearing pots and pans in the streets to protest Pinochet and her mom, quickly closing the blinds and telling us (her and her siblings) to go to sleep. Roberto, who is older, remembers protesting and witnessing numerous acts of violence, including a number of murders.

Other topics of conversation included:
-The U.S. Social Forum: Roberto got very excited.
-Some differences between Chile and Argentina's education system: 49% of Chile's schools are private (it's one of largest number of private schools...larger than U.S., Europe, and other schools in Latin America). He describe Argentina's schools with a greater emphasis on art, music, and media. I used the term "la education del corazon" (thanks dad and Grace) and his eyes lit up. It was a phrase he liked a lot.
-How Pinera (the President-elect of Chile) got elected
-Obama. Rossana seemed more okay with him than did Roberto. Roberto said that a black president, a women president, a particular identity of a president doesn't change the world. A social movement does.

All in all, the courses and people I am going to be exposed to throughout this program is going to be incredible.