Poblacion

Today the bus came to pick us up from the hostel(Hostelling International btw....it's really clean actually and has wireless so that's good enough for me). We went to a NGO in Nunoa where I will be living. more about host family later. The NGO is called ECO and they work with the urban poor. We had two speakers who spoke for sooooo long. Okay we all fall asleep a lot. But today I wish I didn't fall asleep b/c it was so obvious since we were sitting in a circle in front of the speakers. Sighs. We were warned to dress in layers, and thank gosh, b/c houses dont have central heating here. It was interesting to hear about the social inequality here in Chile, the huge gap b/t the poor and rich. How the rich leave near the mountains in Las Condes, where some of the other students are even living, and the center of the city.
We then went to the poblaciones, called emergencia and la legua. We got out of the bus in the latter one.
So a poblacion is where the poorer people live. I guess I should do some more reserach before spitting incorrect info out, but it's mostly shacks, low rise homes, shantytowns as Prof Winn described it. He also told us many times to be safe, aware, walk through it like u would in a US ghetto...I instantly thought of Harlem, but this one wasn't as urbanized. It reminded me more of the countryside in China.. it wasn't super busy or anything. But apparently there is a LOT of drug trafficking, and kids get invovled. We met people who work the ECO organization there(same name??) also people from La Red Legua which works with kids too talked to us.
Some of the other students were saying how it was inappropriate for us to just go through the place and not help. To walk through for just a little bit as if we were visiting a zoo. One said she has respect for the people there, so she didn't think it was right.
Well to share with the people who are not in Chile. This place was way off the map, there was no Central Santiago in sight. None of the skyscrapers and such, no Metro, no really anything. So I really doubt that any of us would ever travel here on our own, especially since there is no convenient public transportatoin and b/c of the high crime. And we did get to meet some people. So I still think that it was good that we visited. And we had been talking about the poor population ALL day. So if you want to do something, then do something! We're being offered internships here for a reason. At least we came out and saw it, I'm sure there are some Santiago-ans who don't care and would never step foot here. Just like how in Chinatown, no one really knows the issues, im sure its own inhabitants dont know much about the history. I appreciate those who go on the walking tours who are wiling to learn.
My host family btw is supposed to be a mom and her 30 year old son. B/c kids stay with their families until they get married here. I had an argument with my brother about this and why kids stay with their families, and he said that it wasn't true, and it is, in China too, it's a cultural thing. Well my host brother also has a baby.. in the house. So that should be interesting. Loud crying baby at night? And does the wife live with them too?
I mostly have a lot of thoughts that I won't share yet. I'm just really confused...Blah.
Hopefully we eat somewhere tonight, god last night no one went out to eat dinner everyone went to the grocery store and I just had peanuts and strawberry wafers and yogurt....
Ciao.

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