Image: A picture of the ocean taken by me in Santiago, Chile.
On our trip to Chile we traveled to Santiago and Valparaiso. We met incredible people, visited amazing museums, and lived life changing experiences. I was extremely grateful that I had done so much reading and researching on Chile’s history and important figures in the world of art and poetry. My favorite museums were the Museo Violeta Parra and the Museo de Arte Precolombino. After doing an arpillera project in class, I gained a small understanding of the amount of time and effort and meaning that goes into making them and both museums had amazing sections of textiles that were insanely complicated and detailed. I could have sat in the textile section of the Precolombino museum for hours appreciating all of it. The art wasn’t the only gorgeous part of Chile though. The entire time I was there we were surrounded by the Andes Mountains, like they were a distant barrier around the city. As well as seeing and appreciating, I did a lot of listening and learning. I was lucky enough to go with my class to listen to Manolo Paredes, who shared his story about his time in captivity during Pinochet’s dictatorship. It was a surreal moment to talk to somebody who had lived through something so unbelievably horrific, and gave me a much graver and heavier understanding of the dictatorship. My next favorite person we were fortunate enough to meet was Hector Hernandez. We attended a poetry workshop where Hector guided us through some exercises that focused on our creativity and personal thoughts. It was a very fun and educational experience. We spent our last days in Valparaiso where we visited Pablo Neruda’s house, where we learned about its history and toured its unique ship and train inspired shape. Given the chance, I will gladly go back to revisit some spectacular places and find new ones.
