My camera is officially dead. Big bummer, soon soon soon i will a.) fix it b.) steal pics from friends c.) get another camera so that i can continue to show you all my life here.

Last entry I began the rant about social inequity in Chile. I believe I left off explaining the failure of the goverment to support social services. Poverty in Chile is not as glaringly depressing as say in Bolivia or Peru, but the cost of living here is higher too. When I try to sort out for example the education system, I get stuck. On one hand it is so obvious that the old system of decentralization and state-subsidized private schools had failed to adequately provide opportunities for everyone. On the other had, the amount that is needed to bring public schools even close to the quality of private schools is immense! Chile lacks an entire few generations of well trained teachers and the schools have had decades to slowly crumble. I recently began my volunteer work in a public school and it was hard to see the reality of it all. The schools lack so many resources, including teachers. Most classes have up to 45 kids in one class!

Another issue on my mind. I was surprised to learn this weekend that many of the other gringos in my program do not like chile at all. Their complaints conisist mainly of how mondern chile is and how they feel it lacks culture. Now, at first I too felt overwhelmed by the amount of modernity, commsumerism here, but in NO WAY does that signify a lack of cultural identity. These particular students perhaps are not reaching out to chileans, making friends, exploring chile. I don´t know what it is. But their sentiments really surprised me.