Cultural Activities

Craftsmanship

I am actually a fan of the cultural activities that EAP puts on. Yes they can be extremely boring at some points, but they really do expose aspects of Chilean culture that I otherwise might not get to experience. Last Saturday I had the opportunity to visit the pottery village of Pomaire and yesterday I went to the old mining town of Sewell and the actual El Teniente mine.

Pomaire- A couple extra decorations at a flower stand

 Pomaire was just really freaking cool! The entire town revolves around the art of making pottery. It is a tradition that is passed down through the generations in each family. One of the families opened up their home and pottery workshop to some 30 American students to share their craft with us. It was really neat, we all got to make out own pinch pots (ones that you just make by hand) AND we all got to give the pottery wheel a go. I'm definitely no ceramic connoisseur, but it was really fun to get our hands dirty and do some crafts. Everyone still loves doing crafts, even 20 year olds (I know I am still 19, but it's close enough). The family even provided us with a great breakfast and a 3-course lunch! Which by the way was absolutely delicious! Hand made empanadas, cazuela (typical chilean soup), and fruit for desert! I was so full, that I didn't eat dinner that night. After eating and making our pots we got to explore the town and obviously do a little shopping. I have never seem so much pottery in my life, all hand made and painted and just lining the streets of this little pueblito.

The master, Don Pedro, giving me some tips

The town of Sewell

Just a giant ass crystal

I got to visit the mining town of Sewell and the copper mine El Teniente yesterday, again thanks to EAP. Sewell is this adorable little mining town set in the heart of the Andes. All of the homes and buildings are painted with brigt colors, partly to combat the depressing life a miner. It's abandoned now, but has been converted into a historical site with a museum. Seeing pictures of the town back in the day was a little sad. There was one of a schoolhouse with all the students, and it's strange to me to think that mining was all they really knew. Generations grew up in that town without the hope of really changing their life. Think "October Sky" expect copper not coal mining. After visiting the town, we actually got to go into El Teniente, yeah underground! We got to wear actual miner's equipment too! I felt like a member of the Village People, it was strange. El Teniente is the largest underground mine in the world! Chile also produces almost a third of the entire world's copper. Not gonna lie, when I heard that we were going into the mine I was picturing having to like descend via elevator, or propel down on ropes, and to arrive seeing people with picks just hacking away at the wall. Well, it was nothing like that. We just drove right into the heart of the Andes via tunnel. It was crazy being down there though, and knowing how much was above us. It was absolutely massive down there! The miners that work there are pretty hard core. Most of them work crazy long hours and 6 days a week. When we were down there, we got to talk to a couple. They are all really friendly and are extremely proud of their job. Some of the miners work such insane hours that they will not see the sunlight, they head into El Teniente before the sun comes up and their shift ends after the sun has gone down. I literally could not imagine a life where I didn't get the see the sun. I guess one of the perks of a job like that is discovering MASSIVE crystals just chillin in the earth, ones that took some 4 million years to form. We got to see them too! By the time our tour of the mine was over I was ready to sleep. This was one of the longest days of my life, well at least that's what it felt like. By the time we loaded onto the bus to head back to Santiago I was ready to knock out for the 2 hour journey. 

Leaving El Teniente in all our gear