A Continuacion

Vilches:

On Monday morning we departed for Vilches, a campo town relatively nearby.  Vilches in pretty much in the foothills of the Andes, but we could still see the snowy peaks rising above the green hills.  Fortunately for me, Ted and Maruja's family is mainly vegetarian, so we got to enjoy lots of healthy dishes made from fresh vegetables.  

Our time with Ted and Maruja was, for me, a time of rest, discernment, and discovery.  We watched documentaries about La Vida Campesina (the life of people in the country - i.e. farmers) and Victor Jara, who was a folk singer brutally tortured and assassinated in the 1973 coup.  I was able to ask a million questions about the dictatorship, Chilean culture, life as a Maryknoll missioner, ecofeminist theology, gardening, alternative approaches to healing, etc.

I learned that big corporations came in and paid the poor and indigenous peoples who had worked the land for generations a small sum for their land.  The corporations ejected the people from their land, destroyed the native crops, and planted pine and cypress trees.  The pine trees, which are not native to the region, deplete the soil to the point that it takes over a hundred years to regenerate.  In a twisted irony, the very people who had worked that land before are now working for a pittance for those corporations, as there are no other opportunities.  Essentially, they are forced to contribute to the destruction of the land that used to be their heritage, the land that holds all of their memories and the memories of their ancestors, in order to survive.

The community in Vilches is connected to communities in Santiago and to our community at the Casa Ursulina, and all together there is a great emphasis on the exploration of ecofeminism and different approaches to healing and building community.  After talking with Maruja, Andrea and I determined that one of our projects at the Casa will be to work in the little greenhouse we have here. The greenhouse has kind of fallen into a state of disrepair, but we have plans to plant vegetables and herbs that we can eat at the Casa.  We had been thinking about doing that anyways, but after my time in Vilches I feel even more inspired to  carry that out, as I'm thinking about ecospirituality and ecofeminism.  I'm reminded of how important it is to me to be in tune with these cycles and rhythms of life, and how I felt in Nicaragua on the island of Ometepe.  

I believe that the sacred nature and heritage of women has been buried and erased over the years in so many ways.  I know that I carry that sacred history and heritage within me, and it's something that I've always wanted to access and explore more.  Maybe here in Chile I will learn how I can live my life in that pattern, in communion with the earth and the connectedness of all living beings.  I would like to find ways of connecting with that divine nature and energy, and I have so many ways right at my fingertips here!  Rhythm, art, dance, planting, harvesting, cooking, natural healing, energy work, etc.  There is such mystery and miracle in all of this, and I want to be a part of that.  I want to find what is inside myself and bring it into the light.

In talking with Maruja about my desire to delve deeper into the sacred and divine feminine, she told me that the Vilches community offers a workshop of the four feminine archetypes, and part of what they do is look at the divine feminine throughout histories and cultures and myths.  This sounds SO exciting and perfect!  

We met with the other Maryknoll missioners on our last morning in Vilches, and I was struck again at what a great opportunity it is for me to be here.  They are starting a women's center there that will be a retreat space for women who are suffering from different forms of violence and abuse.  Sarah, one of the missioners, wants to start some art therapy there.  Judy, another missioner, is very active in learning more about the divine feminine and uncovering women's lost history.  Talking with them was such a great meeting of our passions!  It was so inspiring and rejuvenating to have some of my strongest beliefs and goals recognized and reciprocated.  We all plan on staying in touch so that we can collaborate throughout the year.

In Vilches we took advantage of the nice weather and amazing location.  We walked down to a beautiful river in the middle of the foothills and saw the adjacent campground.  If anyone wants to come down to Chile and go camping, let me know!  There we saw the lovely spiders that are in my other blog:)

We also hiked up into the mountains, passing through budding trees, appreciating the signs of spring all around us.  We saw these gigantic woodpeckers - they are the size of crows and pure black except for their heads, which are a brilliant scarlet red.  We also saw a young eagle soaring and swallows darting through the air.  Sitting in front of all this majesty, we discussed culture shock, our lives, our backgrounds.  

During one dinner we talked about what Chile was like during the dictatorship.  I asked how it would compare to Nicaragua, since I'm more familiar with that, and they made the point that there was never any armed resistance in Chile - there was only one power, and more than anything it was a psychological war.  Maruja remembers peeking out the curtain after curfew and seeing long lines of military trucks pass by filled with people - soon to be the disappeared.  After hearing her and Ted talk, it's not surprising that people don't really discuss those times.  With Pinochet dead only recently, people have still been wary of sharing their feelings and experiences.  I wonder what will come to light about those years as people become more comfortable opening up.  

viajando en el campo

Last night Andrea and I got back from our trip to the campo (country).  From Friday through Monday morning we were in San Dionisio visiting a family Andrea stayed with for a week when she was in Chile before.  From Monday through Friday we stayed in Vilches with Ted and Maruja, to Maryknoll lay missioners who are closely connected with our program at Casa Ursulina.

San Dionisio:

The family has a small farm where they have chickens, ducks, milk cows, horses, bees, and of course the requisite cats and dogs.  We stayed with Pedro and Alicia and Pedro's grown children.  It was amazing and beautiful how welcoming the family was - they were so excited to see Andrea again, and they gladly accepted me into their life.  When we arrived Alicia was sick and staying with her family up the road, so Pedro was in charge of feeding us.  He had set up a little grate over a fire and cooked us ribs from the pig they had recently slaughtered, and longaniza (a kind of sausage that Chillan is famous for) that we had brought as a gift.  

As you may know, I haven't eaten red meat or pork in over 3 years....

I thought about my main reasons for not eating meat: generally the animals are fed with grains and hormones to make them grow faster, which is an unnatural and unhealthy process.  It takes approximately 8 lbs of grain to obtain 1lb of meat, and all of that grain could be going to feed human beings...  I thought of the negative impact meat production has on the environment as well as poverty and hunger throughout the world....  And then I looked around and realized that the ribs I was being presented with had come from a pig that this family had raised, hormone free and grass-fed, on their own property.  I knew that Pedro was offering us, his guests, the best he had.  I wanted to share in the celebration and spirit that the food was being offered.  SO, I ate 2 ribs and a slice of longaniza.  

It actually was really fun to sit outside on tree stumps in the dark, warmed by the coals of the fire, watching the stars flood the sky, sharing companionship and food right off the grill.

The next morning, we ate pork steak for breakfast!  And more sausage for lunch!  Oh dear, my poor body just couldn't take it anymore.  The rest of the weekend I found ways to beg off of eating meat, but it wasn't easy.  I realized that meat, even if it's locally grown and grass-fed, is no longer something that is even appetizing to me, and is no longer something that my body can digest.

But don't worry, there was more to the weekend than meat!  I watched Pedro kill a chicken, and I watched as they cut the body open.  That may sound morbid, but it was actually really stunning.  As they opened the body, these two goldenrod globes slipped out, followed by a full membranous oval.  Out of this membrane glided a fully formed egg!  It was such a surprise!

We spent so much time sitting outside and taking in our surroundings.  The Andes mountains lined the horizon, and the blue of the sky highlighted their snowy caps.  All of the flowers and trees were in bloom, and the soil was a rich coffee brown.  

Our second night in San Dionisio, we went to visit Alicia's family for their independence day celebration. Her family is very musical, so after a GIGANTIC asado (bbq) involving pig, cow, and goat meat (which I was thankfully able to avoid despite much protest from the entire family), everyone broke out their guitars and accordion.  Those who didn't have instruments used forks, hands, and voices.  It was such an amazing experience to share in their passion and companionship as they sang folk songs, protest songs, and dance songs (MORE CUECA!) as the sun went down and the sky began to twinkle with the light of the milky way and distant galaxies.  While others danced, I stood under the stars and talked with one of Alicia's relatives about constellations, other worlds, politics, social justice, etc etc etc.

Isn't it fascinating to think that I am seeing a whole different sky!  

Me "dancing" Cueca

Happy Independence Day! - Chile style

Today, September 18, is Chilean Independence Day.  You've never seen patriotism until you've been in Chile.  Everyone is so proud to come from this country, and there is an actual law stating that you have to display the Chilean flag today and tomorrow!

There have been numerous events and parties leading up to today that will carry over through the weekend.  

Last Friday we went to El Libertador, the school where Kristy and Caryn teach English, for their celebrations.  The event was held outdoors in their recess area, and everyone was seated around the edges in a square.  In the middle of this square were 6 chairs, and we volunteers randomly had to sit there with the 2 school directors!  As we had been planning on leaving early, we were a bit taken aback at being spontaneously made the guests of honor.  Of course we stayed for the whole thing, and were treated to lots of music and cueca dancing. And yes, I did take the video that's in my last blog!  The two little kids who won the cueca contest performed a few songs for us, and then each member of the pair chose a partner from the audience.  The girl chose the school director, and the boy chose me!  Believe me, I have no idea how to dance cueca, but I tried my best and everyone got a good laugh.

Saturday the Casa had its annual fundraising party, and we spent a couple of days getting ready for the event.  All of the women who participate at the house were obligated to help, and so the house was full of women making empanadas, hanging up decorations, and preparing all of the other traditional foods.  Hundreds of people came to the party, where we had live music and dancing and lots and lots of wine.  

This entire week has been vacation time here at the Casa, and Andrea and I have been taking advantage of that in many ways.  It's been good to sleep in and go for long walks, but we also took a trip to a little coastal town where we visited a botanic garden and went to the beach.  Amazingly enough, we did not get lost at all!!!  We had to find multiple buses and walk a lot, and I for one am very proud of us!  

We'll be attempting to match that success tomorrow when we depart to the country to visit a family that Andrea stayed with when she was here before.  We'll be in a little town outside of Linares from Friday until Monday, and from there we'll go straight to the town of Vilches, where we will stay until next Friday.  Ted and Maruja, two Maryknoll missioners who until recently had an organic farm, live there.  We'll be meeting and visiting them in order to learn more about Chilean history and culture.  So keep your fingers crossed that we make it!  It's times like these when having a cell phone would be helpful.... At least Andrea loves looking at maps, so between the two of us we should be able to work it out.  

Other than that, it's just been a lot of partying!  And Chileans know how to party!  The fundraiser at the Casa went until 3:30, and last night we went to another party and got home again around 3:30.  TOnight I will be going to - you guessed it - another party!  This one is expected to last until tomorrow afternoon, but Andrea and I will have to leave earlier if we want to get any sleep before we take off tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to another night of fried carbohydrates, booze, and dancing the night away:)

Cueca at the neighborhood school

all things holy

I'm always amazed to look down and see my legs when I'm getting ready to take a shower.  I'm always so covered up in layers that I guess I forget I have an actual body sometimes.

I just got out of a particularly spectacular shower - I think I found the exact centimeter to which I have to turn the knob to get a sprinkle of hot water!  My last shower ended abruptly when all of the electricity went out.  I was stuck in the dark with increasingly frigid water.  That was my fault, because I forgot to turn off my space heater before I started the shower.

Life has been so busy here!  Andrea and I are learning how to weave, and we're visiting all of the classes that the house offers.  Kristy and Caryn, the volunteers who have been here for the last year, teach English to 1-4 graders at the school by here, and we've basically been following them to everything they do.  Today we went to the cooking class, and tomorrow we'll either go to weaving or peluqueria (hairdressing).  It's really incredible how affectionate everyone is!  When saying hello and goodbye it's customary to hug and kiss everyone, so you really have to be generous with your personal space!

I had some challenging moments today, and of course they involved our beloved Padre Hector, the priest.  All 6 of us (volunteers + sisters) were invited to lunch at his house.  The lunch was actually really good, apart from the fact that I had to eat meat.  He made a big deal out of serving us, and made it clear that we should spread the word that he, the man, had served all of us women our meal. He asked what we had studied at school, so of course when I said Women's Studies we all got into a discussion of feminism.  He believes that women should be treated with the same dignity as men and have opportunities, but that women and men have different roles that should be adhered to.  Ay dios mio I was so frustrated b/c 1) I don't speak the language well enough to really get into it, 2) I don't know if doing so would be culturally appropriate,  3) I don't want to be alienating people at this early stage, and 4) (a big one) I don't know who and what will be my safe zone here, where I can fully be myself and express everything that I believe without holding back.

On a more positive "holy" note, yesterday we went to the danza circular class.  I tried to look this up online so I could find a website that would help me explain this to people, but none that I found did it justice.  I am attempting to add a decent link here, but I'm not sure how blogs work so we'll see if it's there:)

Danza circular (circle dance) is basically what it sounds like: people form a circle and do various dances to different music from all around the world.  The dances can be meditative or playful or prayerful, but really it was an incredible experience.  I felt so in tune with the women around me, with myself, and with the earth.  I felt that as we moved, our rhythm carried us, and who knows what energy we were creating.  Our collective energy carried our feet, guided our path and pattern.  The dances were  a way of praying and celebrating through movement and community.  As I let myself sink deeper and deeper into the movements and rhythms, releasing my sense of ... self-consciousness... plane of existence.... I don't really know how to put it..., I felt how ancient, how sacred,  our dance was.  It opened me.

my address! send me letters!

Hello all, I finally have my mailing address!

Julia Matson

Casilla 1091

Chillan, Chile

Easy, right?

Today is September 1, the unofficial ending of winter and beginning of spring.  Here in Chillan they have a tradition where all of the elderly people congregate in the plaza to celebrate the fact that they have survived another winter.  The idea is that if they made it through August, they will make it another year!  They have live music, dancing, empanadas, drinks, etc.  I of course did not go, since I'm not old enough, but it still sounded fun.

Also, I've noticed a lingering smell of burning trash around the neighborhood....  I always hated that smell in Nicaragua, but now it helps make me feel more at home!