Here are some reflections and thoughts from our time in Santiago.
Emma: It was interesting but also disheartening to see the history of Chile at the museum of human rights. Kayre and I have learned a lot about the topic in class over the years but have yet to see the reality until now. Also, Santiago reminded me a little bit of New York with beautiful sights.
Kayre: I found santiago to be very similar to NY with the metro to even the way the buildings and streets were. When it came time for the museums it was very eye opening because what I knew of it was only from what I learned but seeing the museum with all of the visuals and actual papers made it more real. Overall I enjoyed Santiago as it was a good introduction to Chile.
The time we spent in Santiago was eye opening and showed some of the culture of Chile. We also saw some similarities to how the country works and functions compared to the U.S. Our tour guide, Rodrigo Acevedo Gallardo, presented us with an excellent introduction to the country and its history that complimented the virtual livestream Chile program from this spring.
Laura: Our tour in Santiago was eye-opening as it included a tour of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. Here we saw the faces of people who were disappeared or killed following the start of the military coup (September 11, 1973) and through the years of the dictatorship. We learned the political divide between the people of Chile during the years of the dictatorship that residually and significantly impacts the society and culture today.
We also landed into Santiago into a layer of smog, bringing stark awareness to the extreme air pollution problems that the city faces with the Andes mountain range trapping in the air contamination.
