una reflexión

Do you ever have those days where you can't stop thinking about how blessed you are? I hope you do, because this life is beautiful.  It can be hard at times, and it can really hurt.  But I hope you take a moment every once in a while to just try to fathom how lucky you are.

Today is one of those days.  I have a lot of gracious moments here in Chile.  I have dealt with some pretty serious anxiety and homesickness, especially this month.  My moods have swung severely at times, and some nights I would actually get pretty panicky, but I think I'm getting better.  I feel like I am.

I had to stop and look myself in the eye and say, Meghan, how can you fall apart like this?  You're living the opportunity that very few people get.  You are so fortunate, to study what you like while immersed in this culture and the language you love so much.  Look at this beautiful city, the landscapes that surround it, I said to myself.  So with the help of my own pep talks, some great friends, my family, Tony, and church, I think I can say it's gotten better.

I can say, however, that besides improving my Spanish incalculably and showing me a culture that I may not have discovered otherwise, my study abroad experience has changed me as a person.  It has proved to me that being homesick doesn't mean you're weak.  It has shown me that independence isn't what I thought it was.  It has taught me to be a master of public transportation.  It has challenged my timidity.  It has shown me that my relationship can handle anything.  It has revealed to me how much I love my family.  Basically, everything that I took for granted, it said:  put on these lens, and look.  Look at yourself differently.  Grow.

I already am looking forward to very specific things that I plan to do when I get back to the States: spend more quality time with my family (maybe even watch a football game with them), ride my bike, brew tea everyday, make gingerbread cookies, learn how to prepare sushi...  However, I have my experience in Chile to thank how I've changed.  And despite my troubles, I know I have changed for the better.  Maybe changed isn't the right word.  I have been enhanced.  I'm not a different person; I'm simply a better version of myself.  At least, I think so.

My own mini education revolution

 

We're getting closer to November, so that means it's time for Spring Registration.  For most students, it's a stressful time, but I like to think of it as full of promise.  It's that time of satisfyingly checking off requirements, preparing for a new semester to learn new things, and see what kind of liberal arts concoction can be made.  It's a time of thinking, what days will I be able to eat lunch?  When will I have to wake up on Friday mornings?

I think my last semester at Westminster was the most starkly "liberal arts" semester I've had so far:  I took Spanish, Forensic Science, Chorus, Math, and Sociology of Deviance.  My classes were all over the board.  I'm excited to start my next semester, too.  I've got it all mapped out, and every single class sounds like it's right up my alley:  Spanish Capstone, Latin American History to 1825, Cultural Anthropology, New Testament, Spanish 411, Special Education Field Experience, and Scuba.  (Okay, maybe Scuba isn't exactly my cup of tea, but I'm excited to breath under water, plus it'll  be the only class I'll ever be able to take with Tony.)  This coming semester shows my combination of interests:  Spanish, culture, education.  It shows the promise of me adding a second major (Intercultural Studies - how cool!!! But it's not official yet).  It shows so much potential....

But there's one itty bitty problem.  The credit total is 23.  Westminster College charges an overload fee for any number of credits over 19.  That's right, I want to take four extra credits.  So I thought, hey, maybe I could spare a few bucks for the perfect semester - I couldn't imagine dropping any of those classes off my registration!  So I shot an email to the Registar's office asking how much the overload fee was, exactly.  This was the response:

Meghan,

Anything over 19 semester hours costs $970 per semester hour.  Courses that are exempt from the overload policy include Physical Education, Music lessons and ensembles.  I can be more specific if you list the courses you plan to take.

Am I reading this correctly??? Almost a grand... PER CREDIT?!  That means I would have to pay $970 per four credits.  Oh, wait, scuba is a P.E. course, so it's only $970 times 3 credits.  Well, that's only $2,910.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? (Plus, one thing I've never understood is that Field Experience credits are counted toward overload.  FX is simply two weeks of observation/some lesson planning in January before the semester starts.  BEFORE THE SEMESTER STARTS.  How in the world will those two credits affect the rest of my semester at college?  Oh, that's right. They won't.)  Anyway... This was my honest response to the dear lady in charge of registration in the Registrar's office:

May I ask, why Westminster College has such a policy? I honestly can't understand why students are charged hundreds of dollars to take a few extra credits, when they aren't being properly challenged by the amount of credits that they are allowed to take.  $970 per credit, I'm pointing out in all sincerity, seems like a typo.  Is it? 

I'd really like to understand this policy because Westminster College is an educational institution.  Shouldn't its number one priority be to educate its students and provide proper academic challenges to those who are able and eager to learn?  To me, it truly seems like more of a business than a university.

Please help me to understand this concept,
Meghan Blumer

Well, instead of answering any of my questions (except by reaffirming that the amount I had read was indeed correct), she merely asked me to redirect my questions to the President's Cabinet (now we're getting fancy), because that's easier than explaining to me why my university sees the "Titan" student body more as clients than learners.

So, I did redirect my question.  I looked up the emails of the three men to whom she referred me, and I sent them this email:

To the President's Cabinet:

I was redirected to ask my financial question to your cabinet when I asked June Pierce in the Registrar's office about the overload fee.  The following was the original email that I had sent to her.  I'm having trouble understanding the concept of the "Overload" fee and why it exists at all.  I understand that excessive credits sometimes cause students' GPAs to fall, but from the perspective of a student who sincerely can handle the challenge, I ask you: why should we be punished for academic ambition and the desire to learn?

"May I ask, why Westminster College has such a policy? I honestly can't understand why students are charged hundreds of dollars to take a few extra credits, when they aren't being properly challenged by the amount of credits that they are allowed to take.  $970 per credit, I'm pointing out in all sincerity, seems like a typo.  Is it? 

I'd really like to understand this policy because Westminster College is an educational institution.  Shouldn't its number one priority be to educate its students and provide proper academic challenges to those who are able and eager to learn?  To me, it truly seems like more of a business than a university."

I send this email with absolute intent to understand the workings of this policy that inhibits my registration every semester at Westminster College.  Is there any way to avoid the fee?  I'm in college to learn, but I can't comprehend why a student can't take an extra class if he or she isn't being challenged, unless that student pays hundreds (essentially thousands, if it's more than one credit more) to do so.

Please help me to understand this concept,
Meghan Blumer

I'm fired up about it now.  Especially because I've got friends who are in the same boat as me, and they literally cannot afford to pay such a fee.  So it comes down to paying $970 per credit over 19, or adding another semester on entirely, and graduating late.  Or in my case, I'd simply like to take another class.  And why shouldn't I?

I thank Chile for showing me that instead of just complaining about injustice in education, do something about it.  Well, I'm not there to march or protest, but I sure as heck can send a good email.  In my opinion, anyway.

ViVa

This past weekend was definitely one to remember!  On Friday, I spent time with Kris, Peyton and Rachael.  We watched Kris get his ear pierced, got some delicious ice cream, and later went to youth group for the first time.  It was a really nice evening at the church.

On Saturday I got up very early for a long, tiring day of adventure.  I fried an egg, and ate yogurt and banana for breakfast, and I packed two ham and cheese sandwiches, a banana, an apple, granola, and two water bottles.  My friends Sage and Nerea and I took the metro 30 minutes north to Limache and then took a bus another twenty minutes to a town called Olmue, where we entered La Campana National Park.  We got there at 11AM and didn't leave til 7 in the evening. 

We hiked up the mountain, taking breaks for water, snacks, and breath.  Around 2 in the afternoon, we reached the 5km mark and got to dig into our lunches.  We continued up another half kilometer to "La Placa de Darwin," where Charles Darwin did some of his theorizing about evolution, many years ago.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to climb to the top because we had gotten to the park too late, but we plan to go back because the view from the top is supposed to be incredible. 

Mountain tops peeking up through the clouds

On the walk down, Sage almost stepped right onto this creeper.  These spiders are harmless, though they look otherwise.  I was really creeped out, but I thought it was pretty cool, too.  I've only seen creatures like this before on National Geographic! (Tony, don't watch this video!!!)

I don't think I've ever done something so physically strenuous before!  The hike up was really hard; my heart was pounding, my legs were screaming, my lungs were struggling.  But even when we meandered down the mountain, the pressure on my knees was hard to bear!  I loved our day at the mountain, but I was so happy when I got to sit back down on the metro.

When I got home, I had a sushi and wine party waiting for me.  It was my mama's nephew's birthday, but after a bit of celebration, I was ready to snooze.  It was such an exhausting day.

Sunday was the festival called Mil Tambores (1000 drums) in Valpo.  People go and paint their bodies (some were completely nude, but I stuck with just painting my face).  All the colors of the people and the parade made the bright, sunny Sunday even more beautiful.  It was a great day to celebrate with friends and enjoy the culture of this country, though all the walking the day after my hike did me in a little bit!

Chilena women wearing brightly colored skirts dance in the parade

Friends!  Rachael, Brandon, myself, and Kris

Chao a septiembre, me pinto con la primavera

This post is for my mama (the REAL one!) because she has been so curious to see more about this project that I helped with last weekend, called "Semilla de color" - Seed of Color.  This group is organized by an awesomely artistic and down-to-earth Chilean woman named Myriam who happens to be a mother of a fellow ISA student.  The purpose of the group is to keep Valpo beautiful and colorful by painting the would-be grey stairways and walls and sidewalks that make up a city made of mostly cement.  It's a great outlet for those of us who aren't particularly artistically inclined because we get to make something fun and  beautiful as a group, but it doesn't take much skill.

I went to help this group on the last day of September, and it was a beautifully sunny day (I got a little bit burnt, but what else is new).  We painted an 'escalera' or staircase in Cerro Monjas, one of the 42 cerros (or large hills) that give this city its famous texture and character.  The escaleras that are found all around this port city make me laugh because the city is literally built upon so many hills that steep sidewalks will finally give way into stairways.  I'm so used to flat walkways, but the angle of the roads and sidewalks here are so dang steep, they build staircases right into the walks.

Myriam adding the final touches to our masterpiece

We painted the fronts of the steps cream-sicle colored and added an excerpt of a poem by Pablo Neruda (the most famous poet from Chile, among the most famous of South America).  This way, pedestrians who climb the escalera can enjoy the color and read the poetic words written by Neruda on their way up.  We painted the hand-rail in different bright colors, too.  Isn't this just so much nicer than grey everywhere? :)

If you want to see more cool stuff that this volunteer group does to keep Valpo pretty, check out their Facebook.  It was a fun way to pass the morning, especially because some locals tagged along to provide us with live music!  A few Chileans around my age hauled their ukes and guitars and strummed along as we painted, and we all sang together.  What a great way to bid September good-bye and welcome the primavera!

the right to be educated

The Chilean people have a history, muy fuerte.  They are a very determined, conscientious people.  Very aware of their past, their present, their future.  Still healing from the wounds left by the military government through the 70s and 80s, it has taken a couple decades to readjust.  But they haven't given up the fight for their rights.  Students in high school and in university are known for their strong political opinions. They ask for free quality education because the society is so unequal socioeconomically; only the wealthy have the chance to pursue an education.

Even general education is unfairly divided.  In Chile, children are mandated to attend school from age five to age seventeen.  However, many families are at a great disadvantage because public education is extremely low quality.  Public school is 100% free to attend because it is funded by the government, but the funds are so inadequate, the quality of education is abysmal.  Families who can afford to sent their children to private school do so.  However, private education is incredibly expensive (up to $1000 USD per month).  Middle and low class parents can't afford to send their kids to such schools, even though they give the best education.

There is a third option, in between public and private.  It's called 'subvencionada' (or subsidized).  The government gives some amount of funding to this type of school, but parents also pay the rest to send their children.  I work at this type of school - right in the middle.  The students there are lucky their parents can afford their education - though it's not the best of the best, it's better than public school.  Students in public school basically have no hope for university after graduating from their general studies.  Not only is it out of question financially, but their education upon graduating high school is so very limited, they've got no option.  Also, the college entrance exam (kind of like the SAT in the States), called the PSU, costs about $60 USD, which is a luxury poor families can't afford, especially because they can guess their kid won't score well on it, since their high school education was meager.

In Chile, social mobility is at a stand-still.  The distribution of wealth is one of the most skewed in the world.  The five richest families in the entire country (one of these families is that of the President) have the majority of the wealth of the nation.  Now, I'm no communist, but something about that just doesn't sound right.  This cycle keeps repeating:  A poor family sends their daughter to public school because they can't afford any better.  Upon graduating, she works as a cashier at the supermarket, because she's got no chance at higher education.  When she has kids, they'll go to public school too...

Maybe a more equal wealth distribution is too extreme for a capitalist nation.  But that's not the solution that I think is necessary.  To break this inescapable cycle, education must improve.  The government needs to share more with the public schools.  The apartheid of education must come to an end, for the sake of the greater majority of the children in this beautiful nation.