The beauty, poetry, and love that exist here are countered by the corruption and lack of government enforcement.
The feelings of frustration, stress, and fear that wash over me are balanced by the romance, excitement, and progress that occur everyday.
The anxiety due to my increasing, but lack of, Spanish knowledge, is equalized by my growth in everyday comprehension and communication.
As it is with everywhere in the world, there are some places in Chile that are breathtaking, while other places are simply shocking.
Today (Saturday Jan, 21) I took a bike tour of a vineyard. There were Australians, Lithuanians, Canadians, other United States citizens, and French citizens. An entire day filled with …show more content…
Unfortunately, the reality of this country does not always consist of beautiful vineyards and wonderful experiences.
I tend to see things with rose-colored glasses. While this blog is primarily a memory log for myself and to keep my family up to date on my existence while here I find it necessary to share the reality of Chile.
Chile is a country of art and magic. However, life here isn't just beautiful murals, beaches, and poetry.
I love Chile.
The good and the bad have been beneficial to myself, and my growth in everyway.
In essence though, as I learn more with each passing day I cannot ignore the reality of this country. We are all a part of this earth. Each country, and the citizens of the world, needs to do better job in playing a role in the betterment of our planets health and well-being.
One thing I am becoming more knowledgeable about is how truly valuable, applicable, and amazing education really is.
Here, in Chile, there is a lack of education regarding the environment and its health. As a result of this, the environmental degradation is obvious and it is huge …show more content…
Every Thursday at 12 noon a practice siren is signaled just in case a natural disaster occurs and people need to beware of what to anticipate. Due to the common frequency of earthquakes, many of the sidewalks are uneven, broken, or simply unusable. With not enough money in the federal budget to fix these problems it is often left unattended and poses a safety hazard.
Without doubt the government and politics play a large role in this. With nearly everything being privately owned; the buses, the schools, even some of the cities, there are little to no regulations on many of the public access departments.
Furthermore, the oppression of Pinochet's rule not only created beautiful murals along the streets, but also loads of graffiti and vandalism.
The largest issue in Chile is in the development of women's rights.
Abortion is very illegal. Catcalls, whistles, booty smacks, and misogynistic behavior are common and often ignored as everyday normal behavior. And women are still expected to be the housekeepers, cooks, child bearers, and this day in age, even expected to hold jobs and contributes to the household