The Kelefors

by Dylan Kelemen

Santiago has a subway and bus system just like a lot of other big cities around the world. But, the Santiago metro/bus system is huge. You can go from the farthest northern part of the city to the farthest southern part of the city on one metro train, or travel to other towns by bus.

There are currently five active metro lines covering 64 miles of track and including 108 stops, and they are building Line #6. Almost everywhere I go, I see multiple buses and each bus stop often has five or six bus lines that run through it.

Tons of people use the metro system, crowding buses and trains everywhere. The metro line alone has 2.4 million riders per day. In the eastern most part of the city where I have soccer practice on Tuesday and Thursday, buses fill up so much that you wouldn’t think that any more people could fit. But people eager to get to their destination are aggressive and keep pushing.

The metro system is super fast and reliable, getting you where you need to go at almost any time of day. Interestingly, the fare is dependent on the time you travel. The cost is higher during rush hours (6:00am to 8:00am, and 5:30pm to 8:00pm).

In our neighborhood, we have a small metro stop that is a 5-minute walk from our house. There are also buses running along the big streets going into the city center where you can catch the metro at various larger stops. We mostly choose to walk, bike, or take public transit instead of paying for a cab because the taxis cost more than the fare and they get tangled up in traffic during rush hour. I’m lucky to have a school bus that is door-to-door. But some kids have to take a bus to the metro, and then another bus just to get to a school bus stop.

Tomorrow is our first day of school . . . and more on that next week from Adela.

Thoughts on getting around from Adela: One thing I noticed immediately at the metro station was how crowded it was. People pushing eachother, trying to get to the door, it’s a mad house. It’s the same with the buses. One time I was trying to get on the bus every one was pushing and pulling. The woman next to us said, “They are like animals!” and I have to say, “She has a point.”

Thoughts on getting around from Jeannette: Adela, Dylan and I left the house during the pre-dawn rush hour to get them to Santiago College for Day Two of their evaluations. We walked from our apartment three blocks to catch a crowded bus 14-blocks to the metro line. One stop east and directions from a few people got us to the the first and only stop in Providencia of the express bus to Lo Barnechea (where the school is located). So far so good. But it was a bit of a mad house at the stop once the next bus arrived as men and women jockeyed for a seat to avoid standing for the 30-minute ride. As I considered how best to ensure the children and I could safely board the bus I caught a woman’s eye and asked if people were always so aggressive. She nodded in disgust and replied, “They are animals!” The ride turned out to be fine, albeit crowded. The same woman chatted with me along the ride and made sure we wouldn’t miss our stop. When I thanked her for her friendliness and help she remarked, “A kind gesture never costs a thing.” So true. Later that day we took a different bus back to Providencia. We weren’t traveling during rush hour and were glad to have seats. And we enjoyed the talent of two guitarists who boarded the bus to earn some cash entertaining riders with really great jams from various artists, Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd among them. When authorities boarded the bus to check that everyone had paid their fare the vibe completely changed. It was hard to track everyone’s comments — Chileans speak fast and cut off lots of word endings — but most folks voiced their annoyance that the fare check imposed a delay half a block from where most of them (and we) would disembark. Others defended the musicians from hopping on the bus without paying a fare because they were simply working to earn a living. And some defended the officials who were also only just doing their job. I’d venture to say that nearly everyone but us commented in one way or another. People were not at all shy voicing their opinions — though I couldn’t really gauge how peoples’ comments rated on the civility meter. Between the physical contest boarding our outbound bus and the verbal ping-pong on our inbound bus, we definitely got some insights into the Chilean commuting experience. And it made signing up for the private school bus service for the kids an easy and straight-forward choice.

Thoughts on getting around from Matt: We don’t have a car and we probably won’t need one. That, I think, is a good thing.

 

by Matt Kelemen

On the day after the Copa América final, I was driving. Returning a car to a friend and navigating the streets of a still-unfamiliar city. All was quiet, as most Santiagiños recovered at home from a night of revelry and emotional release. On the radio, two sports jocks discussed the victory. Not the armchair quarterbacking you often hear on AM radio in the States, with callers offering fervent opinions about the coach’s decision to put in the lefty to face a hot hitter or whether the point guard should have hit the open three rather than making that extra pass. Rather, they were discussing the perceived significance of La Roja’s first win of a major tournament… and boy was it ever significant. Chileans needed this, they said, as a salve to so many wounds inflicted on the people of this long strip of land at the bottom of the world. If it’s not an earthquake, it’s a volcano erupting. If it’s not an eruption, it’s political corruption and broken promises to reform the schools (their words, not mine). But now, all that was washed away in a moment of national pride. Eleven men in red shirts had outlasted eleven men in sky blue and white shirts. Alexis Sanchez planted the winning penalty past a helpless Argentinean keeper, wheeled off toward the corner flag, and stripped off his shirt to start a long and cathartic celebration of a whole country.

As a loyal fan of a few sports teams, I get it. I remember feeling utter joy when the Orioles won the World Series when I was thirteen years old, or when the US national team beat Ghana in the last World Cup. It’s what real Warriors fans must have felt when their team broke a 40-year streak without a championship. Or Red Sox fans celebrating a World Series victory after so much heartbreak. Curses broken. Ignominious records wiped out. The title of “longest-time-without-a-win” handed off to some other unfortunate group of fans.

But this had a different quality to it (or perhaps a just a different magnitude). A perceived sense of possibility, a wondering about “now that we’ve done this, what else can we do? Have we turned some kind of corner? Can we bottle this euphoria and optimism and use it to attack our social and economic malaise?” Absurd, right? After all, it’s just a game. And you can look at a number of ways in which the tournament was stacked in Chile’s favor: Brazil’s best player sent off in dubious circumstances. Chile’s talisman given leniency by a judge after drunkenly wrecking his sports car in the middle of the tournament! No small number of home-cooked refereeing decisions.

Not to mention that all of those other problems persist. The economy is stuttering. Both the Bachelet government and opposition political parties have been hit with corruption scandals that have weakened their ability to lead. And, most interesting to me, an ambitious education reform agenda is facing serious and organized opposition. It is beyond absurd to think that success on the soccer pitch will in any way translate into progress on these fronts.

Yet, it’s intriguing to think about how such an event can affect collective psychology. From what I’ve learned so far, there is a deep-seated cautiousness, even pessimism, among Chileans. It is central to their identity, known as “Chilenidad.” So, here they were, on sports radio, in newspaper features, in casual conversation, talking about the match lifting sprits and creating new possibilities. One Sunday article pictured a young boy wearing the national team jersey and asked in bold letters, “What will it be like to have a generation that knows about winning?”

We are now a month into our time in Chile, and a month away from that special night when Chile won the Copa América. As we go forward, I’ll be looking for other hints of optimism about the future. But I won’t be holding my breath for any fundamental changes to Chilenidad… at least not until the next major fútbol tournament.

Dylan’s thoughts on Chilenidad: I saw my first sub-12 game between Católica and Magallanes. The field was tucked away off a dirt road with no name. Parents and teammates were cheering on their team from the sidelines in the freezing cold. The kids and the parents constantly yell at the ref, hoping to get their way on EVERY call. The game was different from my soccer experiences in the US. It was more physical, goals were celebrated excessively, and the whole game was faster.

Jeannette’s thoughts on Chilenidad: This past week confirmed for me that bureaucracy is a pillar of Chilenidad. When we went to a notary last week to get our lease agreement signed and stamped, the office was PACKED with people lined up to get various documents notarized: car sales, apartment rentals, house purchases, employment offers, business contracts . . . the list goes on. Curiously though, despite our wait, all our official documents, our fees, and the help of our property manager, we never actually SAW the notary – he or she signed and stamped our documents and we merrily went on our way.

Adela’s thoughts on Chilenidad: Chileans are kind. Chileans are funny. They welcome you into their homes and say, “Mi casa es tu casa.” I visited a couple of schools. In one interview, where it was just me and no one else from my family, I was talking to the interviewer and we laughed together, we smiled together, we asked questions about each other, and I didn’t have to hold anything back from her. I knew that I could trust her. You don’t get very many of those sensations when you first meet somebody, but for me, I felt so many things like that in just this past month. I hope that Chile and Chileans never change.

by Jeannette LaFors

We’ve been in Santiago for just over three weeks, and lots of things have helped me to get oriented in our new environment. But thus far two anchoring experiences have shed light on profound influences on the Chilean psyche for me.

The Andes: The Andes mountain range – La Cordillera – is a stunning topographical feature of the Chilean landscape, and no one in Chile lives very far from from it. There are over 35 peaks above 6000 meters (~19,700 feet) in Chile, and there have been more than ten eruptions in the past 20 years among the 123 active volcanoes. You can’t escape the fact that Chile holds a significant share of real estate on the Ring of Fire.

The four of us ventured 70km out of the city on our second weekend in Santiago to enjoy the fresh air of the mountains. We headed southeast toward San Jose de Maipo and the valley where the River Maipo flows through, and drove up a super curvy road to Lagunillas, a modest ski center with a rustic feel.

Adela and I returned to the Cajón de Maipo area with a guide a week later to further explore the mountains for a two-day trekking/snow-shoeing trip. We stayed one night at the welcoming Refugio Lo Valdez, built in 1932 by the Club Alemán Andino. On our first day of hiking we approached Cerro San Jose – a volcano 5856 meters above sea level and dormant since 1960. The sky was a brilliant and blazing blue, and our only company was a little bird who ecstatically joined us for lunch.

On our second day we trekked in the Chilean national park known as Monumento Natural El Morado where we enjoyed more spectacular views featuring El Morado (4647 meters) and the San Francisco glacier. Our fabulous guide, Miguel Infante Garcia, pointed out the amazing geographic features, helped us learn to read snow patterns, shared his maté with us, and even accompanied Adela on his small electric piano while she sang Adele’s “Someone Like You.”

So many themes emerged from this experience. One, it underscored how much many Chileans take pride in their county’s natural beauty and strive to preserve it. At the same time, they are working at odds with others who are not reliable stewards of the land. I couldn’t help feeling so infinitesimally small when I looked out among the majestic peaks; but I also considered what an enormous impact we humans have had on the land as I observed truckload after truckload leave the area with mined resources.

La Memoria: This week we went as a family to the Museo de La Memoria y Los Derechos Humanos, the national museum dedicated to documenting the systematic human rights violations in Chile between 1973 and 1990 and to preventing future violations. When Matt and I visited Santiago 15 years ago, we visited Villa Grimandi, a property taken over by Pinochet’s secret police to become a detention center where nearly 5,000 political prisoners (including Chile’s current president Michelle Bachelet) were tortured and over 200 were killed. It is now a peace park and memorial.

The museum brings to light a terrifying time in Chile’s history. And as much as it is about the darkness of those times, it is also about the people who stood up to the injustices and eventually returned Chile to democratic rule. To Matt’s and my surprise, however, the museum was virtually silent on the U.S. role in supporting the coup. Despite that critique, it was, as expected, an unforgettable experience – una experiencia inolvidable – and a critical reminder that most Chileans we meet have been directly impacted by these historical events in one way or another.

The juxtaposition of these two experiences causes me reflect that though our time on this earth is but a blip; it is a blip where we humans wield both massive destructive and (re)constructive power. It is clear that we must instill in present and future generations a compelling and enduring value of protecting the dignity and rights of our fellow human beings while we also safeguard the earth from damaging and unsustainable practices. And while I feel I have gained some insights into the Chilean national experience by meditating on lessons learned from both the Andes and La Memoria, I know that I have much to learn.

Matt’s thoughts on understanding Chile: I think a lot about dualities here. Tradition and modernity. Pride and modesty. Haves and have-nots. Choking smog and stunning natural beauty. A president who was a prisoner.

Adela’s thoughts on understanding Chile: One thing I noticed about Chile is how many abused and stray dogs there are. I always feel sorry for them and wonder if they will ever find a home. I am glad I see so many people that have donated doggie vests and doggie sweaters. I just hope one day they will find a home.

Dylan’s thoughts on understanding Chile: Chileans are very passionate people. And after I went to a soccer game, it really sank in. The fans cheered on their team even when they were losing. It was like the fans’ chanting picked the players up and gave them energy.