Okay, so I had a great intro written here, four times, but I think that because of my mistakes because of the differences with the Chilean keyboard, which made me write a "greater than" sign and a bunch of other mistakes, but the key is the "greater than" signs made it all disappear!!!!!! GAHHHHHHH! So besides the fact that it made it all go away, it was funny trying to type.
(Later...)
So here is what I wrote then:
Trying to log into the computer was another story (typing difficulties were the first): they gave me a paper at the beginning of my program here with a username, passwords, etc, but apparently those are just for the university portal on their website. To use the computers it asks you for your user name, which is apparently supposed to be your "RUT" or "carnet" ID number. Everyone in Chile as a "carnet" which is their national identification card. When we went to register our visas, we next went to apply for a carnet, but you have to go back to get it in 15 days so I don´t have it yet (yay - I found something that will work as an apostrophe). When I use my VISA or credit card, my passport number usually suffices (you are supposed to write your "RUT" underneath your signature). However, it didn´t work so the computer guy had to call to get me a super long number to use for now.
Oh, by the way, when I went and applied for the "carnet" last Thursday, they took our picture, requested our signature, fingerprints, and asked for my mom and dad´s first names. When I gave them my signature (complete with the swirl, tulip, and star), the lady told me to do it again without the stars and such, but when I assured her that I sign it like that in the US, she said it was fine then. I had forgotten about how serious other countries consider signatures to be. But the way that I think of it, my signature is more forgery-proof than others because if you didn´t know me or my signature, it would be obvious that it was not mine.
Anywho, back to the present moment. This morning´s interview at the Academia Diplomática was rather dissapointing. I don´t know what I was expecting, but if I did get the internship, which I don´t know yet if they would offer it to me, I would just be in the library doing research the whole time. Which would be cool because I would get to publish it in their Journal, but other than that it would just be me and the stacks of books two days a week. It might be a little more than that, but it doesn´t quite sound like what I´m looking for. Bummer. The building was really beautiful though! With white pillars, fancy moldings, and red carpets everywhere. But I´d rather interact with people more, I think. (They did say that they have quite an extensive International Relations library in their basement, that might have been fun to get a glimpse of, but....) They showed us (there were three of us in one interview) the paper of a past AU student, a Meaghan Freeley or something like that, and the paper she had co-authored (she had to leave before she could finish it).
So anywho, my 3:30 pm interview sounds more promising. Hopefully it will have more opportunities for me to interact with people. Oh, the other event of the day is that today was the new student welcome fair in the Falcultad de Communicaciones. I went there in the morning and then again, after the interview. There were SO many people! I don´t know if they were all new students or not, but the place was jam-packed! I received three tickets from the Exchange Student table: one for "un snack," one for "un drink," and the other for "un regalo" (gift). I stood in a line for a while only to realize that it was the super-slow-moving food and drink line and so went to get my gift - a beautiful red Universidad Diego Portales thermos. I´m happy with it. =) I had to go to the interview after that, but afterwards I was able to redeem my tickets for a tiny (half) can of Ginger Ale and my hotdog (I declined the guacamole and just requested the ketchup and chopped tomato). They also had a live band playing - student maybe- that was really good! Their English wasn´t bad either. I wish I´d had my camera, but ah, well.
A few blog posts ago (I think in the one where I went to Plaza de Armas) I described the paint-splattered, raggedy clothed college student-aged beggars. As it turns out, they probably were freshmen. Apparently, they don´t have fraternaties here but everyone has a facultad (school) which carries out the freshman hazing. There are a bunch of these frosh beggars on the street corners around the neighborhood that has the facultad´s in it, and last week we saw a line of blindfolded students all tied to a rope (by their waists). I´m pretty sure they were freshmen, too. Fortunately, nothing like that happens to the exchange students. Oh, and another pair of freshman beggers that we saw had chalk (I think) all over them, ripped clothing, and purple teeth! No idea how this all works, but I sure would like to know. I´ll have to ask around and see where this happens to them, when, why, and how.
The second interview went MUCH better! It was at the Fundación América Solidaria and as soon as I walked in, I knew that this place was different than the others - more relaxed and fun (like Portland!). As I was sitting, waiting, one woman who works there walked through barefoot, while the woman we were supposed to be interviewing with walked past with a toothbrush in her mouth. =) So the Fundación sends professionals (people 23 yrs old and up) to countries of poverty in Latin America for a year or six months to try to help the people. They send teachers, doctors, ... all different kinds of people. Currently they have 38 people working in 10 (?) different countries.
There are about 10 people in total in the office, which is in a beautiful, interestingly designed, old building with wood railings and creaky, wood floors. I will be assisting the volunteer coordinator to do presentations about the organization, help with interviews, and call people. So it will be a bit of a challenge for me (presenting and talking on the phone in Spanish), but it will be good practice. I will get reimbursed for my travel and food expenses, and for bringing my laptop, as they requested that I bring it every day. Another AU student, Emma, will also be working there. She will be assisting the Materials/Finances guy to research how much money the teams of volunteers will need (so how much rice, and medicine will be in each country, etc), and what the volunteers will need to get visas.
We will start next Tuesday and will work every Tuesday and Thursday. The place is really close to the University so I won't get lost getting there. =) They said that, unlike many other interns in Chile, we will be considered members of the staff and will have our own responsibilities. They also said though, that they work together a lot and that they have a lot of fun and play around while they're doing their work. =) To prove this, they introduced us to the wood "man" (a wood cutout of a short person with a cowboy hat, some leis around his neck, and a marker smiley face). I forgot what his name was. So it will be nice to work with such fun, relaxed people. Yay!
Well, I have a ton of work to do (I didn't do much of it this weekend) so I'd better go. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Oh! That must've been why I had so much trouble with the two paragraphs of this post - it was the Leprechauns!
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