What I've Been Doing

For some reason it has become harder and harder to keep up with writing. Perhaps it is because my bilingual (or 1.75 lingual) brain is tired, and writing in formal English is no longer easy for me. Or perhaps it is because I've become accustomed to living in Santiago, and few things seem new and exciting enough to report on. The new friends, advancements in guitar, salsa dancing, difficult academics, and uncomfortable weather feel so normal now. But as I look back on the last month or so, I realize that two very new things have happened to me: my internships.
My first internship started about six weeks ago with a Catholic mass at 10:00am on a Saturday morning. It was an introduction to the very religious group of Universidad Católica students who visit socially marginalized communities. I joined because - as a result of my curiosity about rejected societies, and passion for education - I was interested in visiting incarcerated youth. I had never been inside a jail before, let alone a foreign one. And so it is. Every Saturday morning I meet a group of about 12 university students at the metro station just 40 minutes away from my house. We spend about two hours with the 16 year old boys, and though we bring activities, they would usually rather dance and converse with us. So far, it has been a fascinating experience because I spend time with two very different groups of Chilean youth: the upper class Chileans from one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and the marginalized, and, most likely, lower class Chileans in jail.
My second internship involves working at a school for mentally disabled, often abused, children in Santiago's notoriously dangerous neighborhood, La Legua de Emergencia. This is a doubly new experience for me because I've never worked with mentally (and often physically) disabled children, nor have I spent much time in the dangerous parts of any city. It's only been three weeks, but I've already learned a lot about working with children with disabilities and personal trauma, and even more about Chilean culture. The best part is that the children and teachers that I work with are some of the sweetest people that I've met in Santiago. Also fun, is when all (well, not all, but many) of the children immediately touch my hair upon seeing me. This has caused me to wonder how many other Chileans, and people in general, restrain themselves from touching my hair on a daily basis. Come to think of it... my university friends with whom I visit the youth jail also enjoy touching my hair. What an entertaining Afro-American I am.
In conclusion, I feel quite privileged to have these two internships, for the people I work with will teach me more than I could ever teach them. And so I hope that our passing exchange will leave a beautiful impression on all of us.