Of Fortunes and Misfortunes

On Monday, after a run with Sigrid and a trip to Jumbo, I went with Gabriel, Sebastian, and their friend Nono to pick up Sebastian's gringa girlfriend, Carrie. Nono is from Antofagasta, in the north, and so they wanted to take him on a tour of the city, so he could take pictures of all the great views.

We began by going up Cerro Alegre, where I had already been with the ISA group on Friday, to get some great views of the city and the port. After taking photos, we continued on up the hills by car. It is well known that the further you go up the hills, the poorer the neighborhoods get. For a while, it felt like a bizarre "ride" of some sort. We passed by the shacks that sat on the hills, the kids playing soccer on a dirt field with sticks as goal posts, and all the trash and dilapidated structures. You don't walk around up here - I was told it was too dangerous. We didn't get out until their was a noticeable change in the buildings - safer ground.

Lizette, the ISA director in Valparaiso, keeps telling us that these areas are the "real" Chile, and that we cannot leave them out of our experience here. According to the CIA Factbook, 7.8% of Chileans are unemployed and 18.2% live below the poverty line, compared with 4.8% and 12% of Americans, respectively. Although Chile's rates are only slightly higher, to what extent have we seen American poverty? We, the ISA students, should all realize that we are living in middle class families, but how many of us actually leave the sphere of the middle class in the U.S. more than just to pass through a neighborhood? I feel privileged to have worked at My Sister's Place homeless shelter in Baltimore and with Habitat Camp and the kids from D.C. and the shelter in Prince George's County, but I would not have done these things with out the initiatives of others. You can always view that other part of society through a window and imagine what it is like and what those people are like. Sure, you will think you have an idea but in my experience, viewing them is never the same as hearing and reflecting on their experiences. Will the ISA students simply view other, more uncomfortable parts of Chile through a window or will they get involved? Will I?


(looking down on Valparaiso from a hill)


(a paseo on the nicer part of a cerro, or hill)


(we happened by the only Lutheran church in all Valparaiso... left over from the Germans)