Palín

This week we had our first practical class for Mapuche Games, which took place on the university pitch in Viña del Mar. There, we were introduced to the game of Palín.

Palín is one of the games played by the Mapuche in order to settle disputes between tribes. It is widely regarded as one of the pillars of Mapuche culture and much of the terminology used in class is in Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche. The sport is similar to hockey and shinty and is played with a stick called a ‘weño’ and a ball called a ‘palí’. Teams normally consist of about fifteen players each side and both teams try to take the palí to the other end in order to score a ‘tripay’. The pitch is rectangular and is called a ‘palíwe’.

Unlike most sports such as hockey and shinty, in palín, players begin the match facing each other horizontally in a line across the pitch. A player’s opposite number is called ‘kon’ and they are supposed to be mindful of their opposite number’s family. The game begins when the two captains (always the players in the middle of the line) come out and touch palís four times to the count of ‘kiñe, epu, güla, meli’ (one, two, three, four in Mapudungun) and compete for the palí, much like a bully-off in hockey or a face-off in ice hockey.

Due to the small size of the university pitch, the number of players on each team was seven and we had to take turns to play as the class is quite large. The game could be quite competitive and games frequently turned into a maul of players all swinging their weños trying to get the palí. Due to some of the viciousness, I believe it would be banned in the UK due to health and safety reasons! I was in a team of seven alongside Holly and Charlotte, my classmates from Heriot-Watt. We played very well as a team and eventually won our game 2-0.

The lesson was a fantastic introduction to the game of Palín and I look forward to our next class next Tuesday with the great excitment. We all said to each other at the end that it was like nothing we have ever done before and that it was great to try something new and learn about a completely new culture.

Mari Mari!

(Photo credits go to Holly)

First Week of Classes

After weeks of waiting and trying to kill time, the classes finally began last Monday. Unlike previous first days back, I felt ready for the start of classes.

My current programme consists of six subjects (known as ‘ramos’ in Chilean Spanish). They are Spanish Language, Development of Interpreting and Translation Abilities, Translation Technology, Professional Aspects of Translation and Interpreting, Mapuche Games and Grammar for Foreigners which started three weeks ago. Classes in Chile last an hour and a half as opposed to an hour in Scotland, and the day starts at 08:15. I have three classes that start at 08:15, which requires a six o’clock alarm and a few cups of yerba maté in order to warm and wake up!

On Monday, my day started at 08:15 with the first class being Spanish Language. The speed of the Spanish instruction was daunting and linguistic jargon was frequently used. However, when I read over the sheet after class, I realised that it was not actually that dissimilar to the textual analyses I have done in Scotland, albeit in Spanish.

Later that afternoon, I had my first class of Translation Technology. Although on the first day the only activity we did was the popular ice-breaker, ‘two truths and a lie’, we had our first assignment on the Friday. We had to edit a translated document to fit certain formats, including font and size and editing the colour to a specific number of the colour wheel. I found it rather like completing a model kit in Spanish!

My two other 08:15 starts are both Development of Translation and Interpreting Abilities. The classes involved summarising articles in the other language and some quickfire interpreting practice of single words. However, the most exciting and bizarre thing that happened was on Wednesday when as I looked up, I saw a dog lying under a desk in the classroom, something not seen at Heriot-Watt I can assure you! However, I do not blame the dog as it was perishing outside at the time!

Professional Aspects of Interpreting and Translating was taken by one of the most memorable lecturers/teachers I have ever encountered. He had tattoos up and down his arm and came into the class listening to punk rock on his Classic iPod. He was hilarious however as when someone asked what language the classes and coursework would be in, he responded by saying Swahili, which gave me fits of the giggles for the rest of the day. However, the whole class was stunned when he told us he had subtitled two episodes of Game of Thrones!

My favourite class however was Mapuche Games, the Mapuche being the native people in Chile before the Spanish arrived. Instead of fighting each other, the Mapuche would play sports to settle disputes and the class teaches us the sports played by the Mapuche and other aspects of the Mapuche Culture. The class involved our lecturer whom I presume to be in his seventies, telling us how to play the game. He sort of reminded me of a grandfather in many respects and brought back memories of my Papa teaching me how to play Golf when I was younger.

In general, it has been a fulfilling, but busy week. One thing I do like is that the Chilean students are quite happy come up and speak to us. It is often the case in many countries that home and exchange students do not mix but this is not the case in Chile. As there are virtually no other exchange students on our course expect the three of us from Heriot-Watt, it definitely makes me feel at home.

Everton de Viña vs Huachipato

On Saturday, I decided to go to Mall Marina and buy a ticket for my first Chilean football match between local team Everton de Viña and Huachipato, who play near Concepcion, the third largest city in Chile. I was quite nervous as it was the first football match outside of Scotland and England that I had ever been to in person.

I initially arrived at the wrong part of the ground due to the taxi driver dropping me off at the wrong gate. When I go through the gate, I realised that by mistake, I was in the section with Everton’s Ultras, Los del Cerro! However, a helpful steward let me through the barrier into my section which ran along the side of the pitch.

The story of the match was surprising as although Everton were bottom of the league and Huachipato in mid-table, Everton for the majority of the match were by far the better side. They played a very nice style of football, playing both long balls mixed with some fluid passing and tiki-taka. Despite their dominance, Everton were unable to convert their chances, the closest being a chip over the Huachipato goalkeeper which ricocheted off the upright. Huachipato also had their chances and would have scored had it not been for a brilliant goal-line clearance by an Everton defender. With both sides missing key opportunities, the match ended in a 0-0 draw. The game was a feisty affair however as both sides finished the game with ten men.

The atmosphere was unlike anything I have ever witnessed before. The noise coming from the end occupied by Los del Cerro was incredible. They had banners, flags, trumpets and samba drums and the singing was constant. I noticed that the atmosphere got louder as the game went on, particularly at the end when the fourth official allotted five minutes of added time at the end of the second half. The songs started by Los del Cerro eventually spilled over into other parts of the ground and there were several moments when the whole stadium was a wall of noise. The passion displayed by the fans was immense and they do not hold back on voicing their opinions. Every decision that went against Everton would cue a tirade of passionate outbursts directed at the officials and any set-piece taken by Huachipato goalkeeper which took a while to complete was met with a chorus of whistles.

Everton’s stadium, Estadio Sausalito, was refurbished for the 2015 Copa América and is therefore quite modern, with good seating and facilities. The stadium stands on the opposite side to the Sausalito Lagoon, facing the Translation and Interpreting Faculty at the PUCV Viña Campus. This meant that the surroundings were vaguely familiar, though it did take me a while to figure out exactly how to get out of the ground! At half-time, fans dash to the food and drink kiosk for a cup of tea/coffee and a packet of biscuits. Others bought sandwiches that were packaged in the same way that those in Marks & Spencer are in the UK. Getting served however is almost identical to trying to buy a drink in a bar/nightclub. It requires a fair amount of jockeying and force as queuing is non-existent!

All in all, it was a terrific, pulsating and fascinating experience. I hope to go again to watch another great game of football.

¡Vamos el Oro y Cielo!

The Lord’s Day

I write this on Saturday but many of you may be reading this on Sunday which for Christians across Chile and the world, is the day reserved for rest and worship.

In Scotland, I have been to three types of church services, Church of Scotland, the largest church in Scotland, Episcopalian and Free Presbyterian, all of which are Protestant denominations. My family is traditionally Church of Scotland but nowadays, I tend to call myself Christian only, thus not identifying with a particular denomination and I will happily attend any church no matter the denomination.

However in Chile, over 70% of the population follow the Roman Catholic Church and thus there are differences between churches in Chile and in Scotland. The first main difference between churches in Scotland and Chile is the decoration. In Scotland, churches have stained glass and maybe one or two crosses inside, but there are no statues or ornate paintings. However in Chile, there are many statues, mostly of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and the saints. Many light candles as offerings and pray towards them.

There are also many differences in worship. In Scotland, services normally consist of hymns, prayers and some sermons or readings. When you enter the church, you are often given an order of service or a hymn book with the pages of the hymns being shown at the front. In Chile however, it is liturgical whereby people know the songs they are singing for each mass. Most of the singing in the Chilean churches is antiphonal, whereby either the Priest or a Cantor begins and the congregation responds. to some extent, it reminded me of a Free Presbyterian services, apart from the fact that the Catholic Church in Chile has an organ whilst musical instruments are not used in Free Church services. Many of the prayers in Chile are done kneeling whilst this does not happen in Scottish churches.

I expected there to be obvious differences, but what I realised is that we have more commonalities than differences. This occurred to me when at mass last Sunday, the priest gave a sermon on The Feeding of the Five Thousand, when Christ managed to feed five thousand people from five loaves of bread and two fishes. The priest was trying to convey the message of sharing and being thankful. The Feeding of the Five Thousand is one of the most well-known Bible stories in Scotland and similar sermons would be given at churches in Scotland. As it was a Catholic mass, I expected there to be some Latin either written or spoken but there was none and the whole service was conducted in the local language, as is the practice in churches in Scotland. Many of the prayers and content of the hymns were also similar and the Lord’s Prayer was also said. This made me feel both happy and sad at the same time, the latter due to the amount of conflict that has existed between Catholics and Protestants for centuries, from the start of the Reformation triggered by Luther’s 95 Theses to sectarian divisions that have arisen in Scotland, most notably in Glasgow.

Having seen Scottish Protestant services and Chilean Roman Catholic masses, two countries on opposite ends of the globe with different interpretations of Christianity, I realise that we must focus on what unites us, not divides us. Only then can we make the world a better place to live.

Sunsets, Neruda and the First Class of the Semester

This week I had my first class at PUCV. The class was called ‘Gramatica para Los Extranjeros’ (Grammar for Foreigners). Despite the majority of the class being Americans, for me, it turned into Spanish grammar for foreigners combined with French spoken practice as there were quite a few French students in the class. I heard quite a few accents from the Breton accent to the accent of the Paris Banlieues (French for Suburbs). What struck me about the class is that the majority of the students when speaking Spanish preferred to speak in the accent they would use for their native language. This is perhaps a big difference from foreign language teaching at Heriot-Watt University compared to other universities across the world.

I cannot tell you how amazing watching the sunsets here are. Although I had previously attached a picture of the sun setting on the beach, the sunset Holly and I witnessed at the weekend was simply incredible. The sun was deep-red colour and the sunset so quickly you could see the sun literally moving beyond the horizon. I wish I had a video to capture it, but I believe it would not do it justice.

Holly and I watched the sunset with over an ice-cream each. In Scotland, you normally have to choose between a cone or a cup but in Chile, a cone with ice cream tipped upside down into a cup is normal and as many politicians on the ‘No’ side of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum said, ‘The best of both worlds’. I had two flavours not found often in Scotland, chocolate orange and mascarpone. Although to many mascarpone ice cream seems bizarre, it was actually very nice and reminded me of when in China when I tried Taro flavoured ice-cream (Taro being a tropical plant and root vegetable) and I ended up having it everytime we stopped for ice-cream in China after that.

I also went with Charlotte to see the former residence of one of Chile’s most famous icons, Pablo Neruda. I watched a Chilean film about Neruda before I arrived so I was curious to find out more about him. Being both a poet and diplomat, Neruda was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 1971 and has served as a diplomat representing Chile in Argentina, Spain and Mexico. Neruda’s house is located high up the hills of Valparaiso, which has some incredible views over the Valpo area and the Pacific Ocean. (A picture of the view has been attached in this blog) However, the house is very thin and one can feel claustrophobic quite easily! Neruda was quite a collector, collecting items such as antique maps, paintings, including one of Thomas Cochrane mentioned in the previous blog, bottles of whisky and wine. He died of heart failure however in 1973, shortly after receiving cancer treatment. However, this coincided with the 1973 Coup d’État, when Augusto Pinochet and the military junta seized power and many suspect he was assassinated on Pinochet’s orders due to Neruda’s influence and communist views.

I end the blog with a passage from one of Pablo Neruda’s most famous poems, Muere Lentamente (‘Die Slowly’, in English):

He who does not travel, who does not read,
who does not listen to music,
who does not find grace in himself,
she who does not find grace in herself,
dies slowly.

Will you send back a letter from Chile?

Although perhaps not known for it in some parts of the world, Chile is a country where immigrants have made huge contributions, from the foundation of Protestant and Orthodox churches in Chilean cities to the creation of businesses and prominence in government and the military. For example, Chile’s founding father and first president, Bernardo O’Higgins, was descended from a long line of Irish nobles. German immigrants have also made a huge impact in Chile, with a number of German pubs and restaurants available in both Viña and Valpo. One of Chile’s most popular beers, Kunstmann, was started up by a family of German Chileans. Immigrants have also contributed to football in Chile. Clubs started by immigrants include Unión Española, Audax Italiano, Palestino and Viña’s local football team, Everton, named after the club from Merseyside by a group of English immigrants. What I did not appreciate however is how much immigrants from my own country, Scotland, had contributed to Chile.

The idea to find out about the Scottish diaspora in Chile came about in two ways. Firstly, whilst taking an Uber from Viña to Valpo, I heard the song ‘Closer’ by Travis, a Scottish band, come on the radio. Secondly, during a visit to the university gym, an Irish dancer was practising, with the music she was dancing to being almost identical to the folk music in Scotland. When I spoke to her afterwards and told her I was from Scotland, her eyes lit up and she told me she was able to do some Scottish Highland dancing routines as well as Irish.

History had always been one of my favourite subjects at school. One of the topics we studied for Intermediate 2 History (the equivalent of GCSE or 10th Grade) was emigration from Scotland to other parts of the world. Most of the countries we were taught about were countries in the Anglosphere such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Therefore when I found out that Scots had had a large presence in Chile, a Spanish-speaking country on the other side of the world, I was most intrigued.

Thomas Cochrane was probably the most famous Scot to have made his mark on Chile. Born near Hamilton, he became an admiral in the Royal Navy. However, he left Britain in disgrace after committing fraud and sailed to Chile, arriving in Valparaiso in 1818 with his wife and children. Chile at the time was preparing its navy to fight Spain for in order to obtain Chile’s independence. Cochrane became a naturalized citizen by decree from President O’Higgins and given the rank of Vice Admiral. He ended his service to Chile in 1822, after which he served in the Brazilian Navy before returning to the Royal Navy in Britain.

One day, whilst walking down Avenida Libertad, one of the main streets in Viña, I noticed a BMW garage by the name of ‘Williamson-Balfour’. I remarked to my myself that it was a very Anglophone surname for a Chilean car dealership. Curious, I googled the name ‘Williamson-Balfour’ when I got back to my room and found that Williamson-Balfour was a wool company that although transported wool from Chile to England and the United States, was owned by two Scots, Stephen Williamson and Alexander Balfour. However, the Chilean Government eventually revoked their license to sheep farm on Easter Island. Today, however, Williamson-Balfour is a car dealership company, selling BMW and Rolls-Royce cars.

To the north of Viña, lies the town of Reñaca. Like Viña, it is a resort town, but much smaller. Reñaca is home to one of the most prestigious schools in the Valparaiso Region, The Mackay School. The all-boys school was founded in 1857 as the Valparaiso Artizan School by Scotsman Peter Mackay. The school was originally based in Cerro Alegre, Valparaiso and was established in order to educate the sons of Scottish immigrants who had come to work in the factories and railways. In 1871, the school started accepting non-English speak students. To this day, the school is a Spanish-English bilingual school. The Mackay School plays host to an annual Rugby Sevens tournament, which is held in Viña del Mar every January.

Finally, I cannot write about Scots in Chile without mentioning Alexander Selkirk. Selkirk spent five years marooned on an uninhabited island known to the Spanish as ‘Más a Tierra’ (‘Closer to land’ in English) off the coast of Chile. He survived on turnips, peppers, cabbage, goat meat and goats’ milk. He was eventually rescued in 1709, after which he returned home and spoke of his adventures. His stories were used as the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, one of the classics of English literature. To honour this, the Chilean Government renamed Más a Tierra ‘Isla Robinson Crusoe’ (Robinson Crusoe Island) in 1966.

With the impact of Scots on Chile’s past and present, I feel I have made a fantastic choice by choosing to study abroad in Chile and it has made me feel at home. It has also given me increased pride in my Scottish identity despite the fact I am thousands of miles away from Scotland’s shores. I hope that more Scots will discover and learn more about Scottish contributions in Chile and across South America as a whole.

The Tale of Two Cities

As I said in the previous blog, I am living in Viña del Mar, but the university is called the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso. The two cities run into each other seamlessly but are both very different from each other. On the one hand, Valpo is a port city dating back to the 19th century. It is known for its murals and bohemian architecture, particularly up in the Cerros (Spanish for hills). Holly, Charlotte and I got to see this when we did a free walking tour of Valpo. Along the way, we got to take one of trolley bus which has been in use since the 1960’s and one of the funiculars, built in the 19th century. Valpo as has some of the best nightlife in Chile with our guide saying that one can buy a round of four pints of beer for under $1500 CLP (£1.50/$2 USD)

However, it has a lot of faded grandeur, particularly in El Plan (the flat section of the city), having once been the second biggest Pacific on the Americas Pacific coast. Many parts of Valpo whilst safe in daylight, are not safe at night. When trying to find a comparison, I often describe it as Rio de Janeiro without the beaches or a Latin American Liverpool.

On the other hand, Viña del Mar is a resort city, often being regarded as one of the best places in Chile to live, despite being more expensive than Valpo. With the bulk of the city being flat and due to the streets being numbered and gridded, Viña often feels like a coastal city in either Florida or California, Miami being a notable example. However, the layout of the city means it is a lot easier to find your bearings in comparison to the winding alleyways and pathways of Valpo. Viña also has better facilities than Valpo, with a wide variety of supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants and banks. Transport by micro or metro is also at hand for people going to Valpo or Reñaca up the coast.

Viña’s main attraction is the beaches, which are particularly popular in the summer months when tourists from both Argentina and other parts of Chile flock to the city. Even in winter, the beaches are filled with families during the day and in the evening, Viñamarinos head to the beach after work and studies to play football and volleyball and take in the gorgeous sunsets. Along the promenade, there is a market where one can buy artisan goods and souvenirs, including alpaca woolens which are a bonus as Chilean homes do not have central heating! Alongside, there are stalls selling fresh juice, churros and empanadas.

Empanadas are a staple for Chileans and a popular snack or ‘once’ (meal taken by Chileans at around 11am). Although they are sold in shopping malls and in bakeries, the most popular place to buy them is from little stalls or newsagents. The stalls and newsagents have mini portable ovens which they use to cook the empanadas and they are very inexpensive, charging $1000 CLP (£1/$1.55 USD). They are available both baked and fried with baked being more popular most likely due to health reasons. Popular fillings include, Pino (mince with boiled egg and olives), Napolitana (Tomato, Mozzarella and tomato sauce) and Pollo con Queso (Chicken with cheese).

¡Hasta luego de Chile!

¡He llegado en Chile!

On the 16th of July, my friend Charlotte and I caught the red-eye flight from London Heathrow to Santiago de Chile, arriving bleary-eyed on the morning of the 17th.

After a two and a half hour taxi journey, I arrived in the coastal resort city of Viña del Mar, where my hostel was. It was there I got my first shock, the Chilean accent, known for being notoriously difficult, right enough, it was. But I have surprised myself by how quickly I have been able to adapt, although you often have to ask to repeat.

Chileans also use quite a bit of slang, not commonly taught at Spanish classes in the UK. A notable example would be the use of the word ‘Acá’ and ‘Allá’ for here and there. In Spain meanwhile, these are never used so I was a bit confused at first.

Another interesting word is ‘micro’, the cheap and fast but erratically driven buses that are the main way to get around the Valparaiso area. On the three-lane road that connects Viña and Valpo, buses drive well over the 50kph speed limit, cutting up, tailgating and peeping cars who dared to coast in the left-hand lane. When going around the corners, I often think of the Knight Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bus drivers are also the masters of counting fares whilst driving and changing gears at the same time, I still have no idea how they do it! When getting on the bus, everyone dreads being the last one on as the bus starts moving the second the last person is on the steps, with the doors wide open. Despite all the hair-raising shenanigans, I love them.

The university that I, along with my classmates Holly and Charlotte are studying at is the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso (or PUCV for short). It could not be more different from Heriot-Watt, being an old building of Spanish colonial architecture. Inside the university, there are two outdoor courtyards which are lovely when the sun is out. (but slippery and hazardous when it rains!) The university also has a beautiful chapel. Outside the building, there are stands waiting to pounce on peckish students for their custom, usually selling empanadas or fresh fruit and vegetables. There is also a café at one of the university courtyards which do brilliant mochas and completos, Chilean hotdogs with mayonnaise, avocado/guacamole and ketchup.

However due to some students strikes which are pretty common in Chile, the start of classes has been delayed until the 20th of August. Some of the guys at the gym told me this was due to feminist protestors. This means that I will have plenty of time before classes start explore the Valparaiso area and beyond.

¡Hasta luego de Chile!