Three days down, the rest of the semester to go!

Last Wednesday, I had my first day of work at the Universidad de Chile Faculty of Economy and Business (Facultad de Economía y Negocios -- FEN).  I liked it so went back to have a second and third day Thursday and Friday.  It was fun. The End.

Just kidding!  It's not the end. It's the beginning!  And I am immensely content and excited about it.  From my first day on the job I have felt nothing but friendliness.  I have been included and welcomed heartily by everyone from my supervisor, Stephanie (the Head of the International Relations office), to the director of my office and the director of Student Affairs on campus, all the way to the students, tech people and other staff peoples.  I have a university email with an email signature that looks spiffy and includes the university logo (took forever and a day for the tech guy and I to do), my desk arrived on Friday, my phone is in the building, and my computer is a week and a half to its arrival.  AND I will get my own, bilingual, fanciful business cards!!!!!  (I've never had official work-related, personalized business cards before). And I can join the staff four days a week Zumba class after work for only $10-ish US dollars a month.  HAPPINESS!!!! 

And the best part is that I am included, valued by my supervisor and coworkers, treated as an equal and the directors mentioned above both told me they were very happy to have me working here.  YAY!  I feel like I'm dreaming and am tickled with joy.  But details:

I work with Stephanie, the Head of the International Relations office, and Soledad, the Outgoing Student Exchange Coordinator (she works with Chilean students that want to study abroad).  My technical position name is the Incoming Student Exchange Coordinator so I will eventually be in charge of assisting and welcoming the students coming from around the world to study at FEN.  The three of us semi-share two assistants who are Chilean students here at the university.  Jaime is amazingly talented in everythin and most often works with Stephanie and I, and Nacho (short for Ignacio) is also wonderfully helpful and usually works with Soledad (although he is going abroad in September to France).  María (can't remember the second part of her name) is replacing Nacho for the semester and seems really nice but I don't know her all that well yet (she's also just learning the ropes herself).

Once the office-space finishes being re-organized (they are giving us cubicle walls to separate departments), I will have my desk next to Soledad's facing Stephanie's walled office with the two assistant desks behind us.  I promise pictures when that happens as currently without my computer and with the existing random assortment of desks it is not too impressive nor clear on the organization.  We are located on the second floor of building Z, which is called this because it is actually built in the shape of a "z" on its side, and are located in the middle, diagonal portion of the Z.  

The campus itself is fairly small, made of up our building, the main Hall, building Placa, and the Tower which is like the administrative building (a CRAZY architect built it as it has a confusing zig-zag of stairs and half-floors going up the center of it).  We are located next to the Faculty of Architecture and are over the fence from the Universidad de Chile Student Association that is the seat of government for the student protest leaders.  Needless to say, when there are protests, all but one of the campus gates are closed for that reason. :D  Fortunately, the campus is about a 7 minute walk from the metro Universidad Catolica, which is where I got off when I was working at the travel company so my one hour-ish commute has not changed much (except that now I go south instead of north from the metro exit).

So far my three days have been fairly administrative and training as the semester has yet to begin.  However, our 108 students have already begun to arrive from their more than 17 different originating countries.  This semester we will have at least 29 students from France, 24 students from Germany, 13 from the US, 10 from Holland, 6 students from Colombia, 4 each from Spain and Denmark, 3 students each from Finland and México, and 1 to 2 students each from Sweden, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Vietnam, Israel, Belgium, Argentina, and India. 

This upcoming Wednesday is the Exchange Student Orientation so really this week all the fun and craziness begins!  This is the biggest group of students that the school has ever had so it will be exciting!  I will be assisting Stephanie with preparations for orientation day and then in attending the loooong line of students waiting to meet with us to add or drop classes or ask questions.  During the rest of the semester I will: answer student questions, welcome whatever international visitors come to the school, send off transcripts from last semester, plan semester activities (welcome and good-bye party, etc), accept applications and prepare for next semester, and assist to plan and chaperone the occasional educational trip. 

Every summer and occasionally during the year, groups of students and their professors will come to the school for an educational field trip or intense semester.  Most of these consist of classes in the mornings with special tours and talks in the afternoons.  These outings are what our office gets to chaperone.  Last Friday, for example, I was invited to join Soledad in chaperoning the trip to the Chile central bank (Banco Central de Chile) to learn about Chile's financial system and walk through the beautiful historic building.  I can tell that in this job I will quickly get back up to par on economics and business related topics. :D

Last small but important technicality/detail is that my visa papers are yet to be entered into the system at the office of Extranjeria.  But tomorrow is the last day of the time-frame they said it would take so I plan on calling to inquire tomorrow afternoon.  As soon I have my the document that confirms my visa papers are processing, I can negotiate and sign a contract. And when my visa finally comes and I am able to renew my national ID card, they will be able to pay me (which hopefully will be in not too long).  Will let you all know when I get news.

So that's the latest from Santiago de Chile!  I hope you all have a wonderful week and that you enjoy your warm temperatures. We can see our breath inside the house so by that I mean it's cold here. But not below zero, thankfully.  We did have hail the other day though!  Big hugs to you all!

Love, Kaia (^_^)

P.S. For more info and visuals, feel free to check out the university website in English: http://fen.uchile.cl/index_eng.html, and the Office of International Relations website: http://international.fen.uchile.cl/ (this is to be improved as the semester progresses).

My first day! And Race/Classism in Chile

Greetings from chilly Chile!  I have wonderful news: After a week and a half of being sick with a stubborn cold I am not only feeling better but will have my first day of work on Wednesday, July 17th! 

I still have yet to hear from the immigration office that my paperwork has been added to the system (aka it hasn't yet), but I should hear from them by the 22nd, I hope.  In the meantime, my supervisor Stephanie has requested I start work at 10 am on Wednesday to begin a week-long training before the 100 or so new exchange students arrive on the 24th.  I am super excited!  Stephanie already sent me my university email to activate which proves that it was not all a dream and that I am legitimately working at the Faculty of Econ and Business of University of Chile!  SOOO excited.  She's even ordered a PC for my desk.  And a chair, I imagine. :p

In other news we spent yesterday in Valparaíso.  The idea was to finally go scuba diving (bad weather cancelled it last time), but unfortunately transportation was against us and one bus, the metro, and two buses left us almost 2 hours late.  Grrrr.  Ah, well.  Next Saturday we hope to make it work.  Despite the downer of not scuba diving and arriving embarrassingly late, we did have a fun day walking along the coastal road, tidepooling, admiring the giant waves smashing against rocks, noticing the different eating habits of sea birds and visiting the Chilean naval wharf.  We even got to tour the deck of one of the frigates(?), and managed to get a close-up view of the famous sailing ship, the Esmeralda, which was named after the ships of the same names that played important roles in Chile's independence and the Battle of Iquique with Peru. 

Immersion in the world of the Navy also gave me the opportunity to witness first-hand the extent of Chilean racism and classism.  Luck would have it that we decided to visit the wharf on the day a new group of naval officers were to sail off on their tour of duty (we think for maybe a week?).  En route to the other ships, we walked past all the families who were of an obviously higher economic status and with mostly European-like physical characteristics who were there to send off their sons and daughters in the navy.  This means that there was nobody that was as dark-skinned as Antonio nor from a middle-class or poor family. 

Here in Chile, even the military and police force are classist.  Antonio himself pointed out that no police institution or military leadership academy accepted his applications to all eligible positions.  And pilot schools are terribly expensive, as well, leaving pilots suspiciously white and upper-classed.  A sad reality for such a big population of Chile. 

Antonio told me quietly, as we walked through the crowd that, "You won't find anyone from poor families in those smart uniforms on the top deck.  If there are people like that, they'll be the ones down below deck, or the ones painting the ship and doing maintenance."  He has told me on other occasions how no one would hire someone who looked like him as a bank teller or promoter.  And all because just like the US and other countries, Chile has been brainwashed into thinking that pasty, see-through, blotchy, blemish-highlighting, burn-easy, lighter-colored skin is the image of beauty.  Sad, as I feel completely the opposite (I guess you shouldn't be surprised since I did fall for a handsome darker-skinned Chilean.)

Obviously, given the recent judicial news in the US, we, too, have a long way to go before we can be color blind in our thoughts, actions, reactions, statements and politics.  Chile and the US will need to do a lot more to amplify the definition of beauty and celebrate and embrace the differences that make each of us so special. 

But like in the US, the only way for this to happen in Chile is for people to actually talk about it:  

    -  It is rare to find an advertisement or commercial with a darker-skinned model. In fact, my US friend was asked to be a model in an ad in the paper and in a music video in the mountains.  She is dark-haired, but tall, light-skinned and blue-eyed.  (Some reacted to this news with "We can't even find Chilean models for our own commercials?!  We have to go find US people for that, too?!")

    -  One thing that bothered Antonio about my Chilean host family (remember that though of darker skin they were a military family), was that they claimed they were from the middle class even though they had a daily nanny/housemaid.  They are not the only ones who live in the Chilean economic bubble-- oblivious or easily forgetful of the other reality of so many other families in the same city. 

    -  The "conflict" in the Araucania region between the Mapuche (the biggest group of native inhabitants in south-central Chile) and the Chilean government has yet to be addressed and resolved in a non-violent manner.  Police and Mapuche extremists are both a bit too "gun"-ho on the violence, if you get my drift.  On our train ride from Temuco back to Santiago there were Police escorts on either side of the track through this region and past the burned train cars from a few days before.  And all this despite the fact that Mapuche culture promotes peace and a hard-working life ethic.

    -  Photos are still requested on job applications and last names will get you just about anywhere (if you have the right one, that is).  In DC, when chatting with a Chilean politician and mentioning my boyfriend's last name, Painemilla, the Chilean responded, "Oh, I have some Mapuche friends/colleagues," or something similar. 

And this goes both up the socioeconomic scale as well as down: It's hard for Antonio to be motivated to meet the families of my students or friends, and form a friendship with them, when they are from a different economic class. It's hard for him not to loose patience with their complaints or comments which seem trivial or naive in comparison to those from people in our neighborhood who are confronted with a harsher reality. 

All of this proves that there needs to be dialogue on both sides, prejudices discarded, and opportunities created to bridge the gap that exists socially as well as economically. 

Just some food for thought from one of South America's strongest economies and countries.  I will keep you all posted about how my first few days of work go!  Big hugs to all! 

I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to think compassionately of others outside your box, your world, whatever that may be.  We are all human in the end, with the same needs, wants, and the capacity to love and be loved!  And that is really all that matters. 

I suspect that as I get further immersed into Chilean culture I will have more interesting insights to share, but I promise to try to make them shorter. :p  Apologies for the long email!

Love, Kaia (^_^)

• 
  

I GOT IT!!! (Originally written June 27th)

Today I had my interview and ... it went REALLY well.  So well, in fact that ... they offered me the position at the end of it!!!!  I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!  My position title is "Incoming Student Exchange Coordinator" in the "Nexo Internacional" (International Relations "Link") office at the Faculty of Economy and Business (Facultad de Economía y Negocio or FEN) at University of Chile (Universidad de Chile).  This means that I will be working 8:30/9am -5:30/6pm (with one hr lunch) at what is basically the study abroad office with the incoming exchange students.  My duties will include answering the questions of potential and accepted exchange students from outside of Chile, to assisting them enroll in classes, planning and organizing their welcome/orientation, events during the semester, going away party and any problems that pop up throughout the semester.  And to help with any other international delegations that arrive, etc, etc. 

Stephanie told me that 100 students are to arrive July 24th and that we even have some students from the American University Business School and Israel! 

I am SUPER excited.  My supervisor, Stephanie, is British and then the other woman in our office is Chilean and works with the outgoing Chilean study abroad students. 

Thank you so much, everyone, for you good luck wishes and messages, and for believing in me!  I can still hardly believe I will be working at one of Chile's best, if not THE best, university!!!  (Btw, it's a public university -- double cool!!!!). 

Regarding when I start... that depends on my visa.  I am technically, on the street-wise, illegal as my national ID card has expired as of the 20th of this month.  BUT in the system, they have registered and are processing my application for "Permanent Residency."  They received it via snail mail the 17th, so in 30-45 days after that date, I should hear from them.  I'm going to see tomorrow if I can get a better idea of how things are going.  If I get denied for some reason, the most likely is that they will give me another one-year Temporary Visa.  The good thing is that Stephanie told me that they would be willing to wait for me to be able to work for them, even if it's not until August (hopefully not!).  Fingers crossed, they'll figure out a way for me to work legally for them beforehand. 

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!  Will let you all know the start date and more details as they come to me. Btw, I will be paid way more than I was ever offered at any other job up to this date.  YES!  Dream job -- CHECK!  Dream of having own apartment some day... CLOSER!!!

Hugs to all!

Love, a super excited and happy, over the moon, KAIA (^_^)