Mapuches and Machismo

First off, I apologize for not posting a post last week. I wrote it, and then left without ever hitting the publish button. Then, since I didn't save it, I accidentally lost it. But let me tell you it was probably my best and wittiest post ever written (or not... but YOU'LL NEVER KNOW!)

Also, I've recently become obsessed with Violeta Parra. So if you would like some nice folksy music to enjoy (en Espanol) while you read my blog. Here it is! Enjoy! Or, don't, I would rather not force you to be happy if you don't want to enjoy my awesome music selection.

Anyway...  This weekend I had a group trip through CIEE. We traveled south and went to Pucon, which is the adventure capital of Chile. However, we had two choices. We could choose to stay with the group and go hiking and rafting and all those fun things, or we could choose to stay with a local Mapuche family. I choose the Mapuche family, since it seemed like such a great opportunity to learn about another way of life. So we journeyed from Vina to Pucon in bus, leaving about 10 pm and arriving around 9:30 am (we were supposed to leave around 8:30, but the bus we rented was an 90 minutes late). Once we got to Pucon 12 of us squeezed into a tiny little van and had an orientation at a Mapuche restaurant. We picked/were assigned families and were warned that with some families we would have to apologize for not speaking Mapundugun, the language of the Mapuche. I was assigned a family, because of my dietary restrictions. Also every other student (except one) where going to be staying in pairs, but I was not. I was a little nervous about this, since I would be totally on my own with a family I might not be able to understand.
We piled back into the van and were delivered to our families. This took awhile since we were all pretty spread out. I arrived at my families house, and the first thing I had to do was explain to them about Celiac's disease. This turned out to be a little unfortunate, since my host mom was making sopapillas (which contain flour) as a treat to welcome me.
My host family had an organic farm, so we didn't have any problems with my diet. The first day I helped gather a few fruit and veggies for our meal. I also learned how to knit using natural wool. The next day I woke up to the sweet music of a cow dying. We were butchering a cow in order to sell the meat. Winter is coming, so its better to butcher them now while they are still fat. That was... an experience. I was a vegetarian for 7 years, and I still have problems with raw meat (it just looks gross okay?). So watching them cut up the cow was weird. I choose not to participate in this particular activity. But later I was tasked with hitting the different hunks of meat hanging up in a tree with a stick with leaves on it in order to keep the bugs away. After that, we spent a large portion of the day waiting for friends to come over and buy the meat, but I also helped gather firewood and more fruits/veggies for lunch.
For dinner we went back to the Mapuche restaurant where they were holding a fundraiser for a local community member who was called to be a Machi and will be completing that process on the 15th. A Machi ( I think) is kinda like the spiritual leader for the community and also heals people using natural remedies. He should merit a ton of respect from Mapuche communities. Unfortunately it was like 95% gringolandia. The community wasn't overly supportive of him, since  the community hasn't had their own Machi in a very long time (and don't really see the need for another) and since he only started learning the traditional ways (none of his family really speak Mapudungun). But he was called and had no choice but to become Machi. As an outsider it was really interesting to see the community struggling with old traditional ways/ new habits.
My last day with a local family we gather food again and my family presented me with a gift of a headband and little bag knited out of natural wool. We then headed back to meet up with the other 41 students who stayed in Pucon. We ate dinner with them and then headed back to Vina to arrive just in time for my first class.
Overall I learned a lot about campasino culture. I also had some really great conversations with my host family, and shared in their experiences. One of the hardest things for me to learn was that the dad had only been able to study until 2nd grade when he had to leave school and help his family and work on their farm. It reminded me how lucky I am to be getting a college education (and to be here in Chile). I also was reminded of how much a dedicated person can do regardless of their background. I'm pleased I choose to stay with a local family and got such a unique experience. 

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 So a really common theme here in Chile is Machismo. This has been something I really have struggled with here. Luckily my host family is really equal and they don't have any issues with it. We make our dad do the cooking when he's home since frankly he's the best cook.  My mom works hard in her preschool to try to eliminate machismo (basically by not forcing the kids into gender roles and allowing the children to cry if they need to cry).
But for me, the most annoying way machismo manifests itself is in the constant catcalls women receive on the street. Thank you for your whistle/words, but its definitely not going to make me go talk to you. Some days I am just like screw you leave me alone. And some days (like after I got back from hiking La Campana and was covered in dirt) I'm only mildly annoyed and a part of me feels like huh maybe I'm not a completely disgusting human being right now. Or maybe I'm only getting catcalls that's only cause I have blond hair and look even slightly like a women.
Gender roles (and machismo) are definitely something I've been struggling with here. I hate seeing children told "no" because of their gender. I hate the commercials I see on TV that objectify women and praise men who are complete pervs. But I love love love that conversations are happening about this topic and what can be done to end some of the equality. 
Anyway... that's my little rant on machismo. I have a lot more to say on the topic and love dialoging about it, but I figured I'd give you a little taste here on my blog. I talk a lot about the amazing adventures I'm having on here, but I haven't really talked about how the culture has effected me. So thanks for sticking through my rambling thoughts.