MAPUCHE CULTURE

“Mapuche people is and has always been one of the original ethnic group most important of Chile, for their social influence and demographic as well, for their strong feeling of cultural identity. They have found through history ways of resistance and adaptation to the dynamic of the borderline contact with Spanish and Chilean people.” 

I have always been an admirer of the Mapuche’s culture. Because of their bravery, that they have shown since the beginning of their existence (in books) with the Spanish that tried to conquer them and couldn’t and now how they make to the Chilean people things hard. I think that Chile hasn’t treated them like they should, they are part of our roots, and we owe them a lot more of respect that we as society are giving them. 

They are people from the earth, they respect mother earth as everyone should and are an example of this, they use natural medicine and are so spiritual that it makes me love them. 

When I was in a trip in another country, someone read me “my guardian” and told me that was a Mapuche, one of my ancestors that was a very powerful Machi. After all of this reading the person asked me what was a Mapuche and I told her all of this. Also, after this reading, I love even more the Mapuche people because it helped me find my real roots, it helped me find and connect with my ancestors, with my past. 

But what I highlight the most out the Mapuche’s essence is their spirituality and their respect for our mother earth.

CHANGES THAT COULD BE MADE TO MY STUDY PROGRAMME

As many classmates, I started my life here in the Fau last year and after an entire year of classes and stress I failed workshop. Everything was going relatively fine till all the people that failed a class from the first year of architecture (including me) had to take all their classes.

We just could take our classes from the third semester and the classes that we failed had to wait. At January we had different talks about the new programme and that we had to take because: one “it was better” and two “we just were late one semester and not an entire year” because of the length of the new programme with a semester less.

The only bad thing about signing that paper that makes you change of programme was (in my case) that you could only course in this year the class that you failed and the optative ones. I decided to change my programme and that’s were my nightmare started, I had to drop the classes of the third semester that I had taken and wait till the first day of classes to know what workshop I will have.

I’m really sad about all of this situation that me and the classmates that are in the same situation have going through this year, almost all of us feel stuck, with no motivation and the worst of all is that we’re in the first year again, all of our effort last year was for nothing. I think that the university could manage this situation better, I only feel that they made this to take our money.

So, as I have lived both programmes I could say that the classes are the same but with different names, the teachers (“Gods”) are the same and the information is the same as the way they teach (making you feel dumb and miserable) is the same, and this is my most important critic, I don’t believe in the idea of learning using those methods, Why can’t they be less egomaniacs and think about how we feel?.

About the infrastructure is a really common debate, we don’t have the better one as other faculties of this university and is really a shame of the way it is because we’re the architects lmao. 

“I can’t believe that you prefer to sleep that finish the work”- Workshop assistant.

“If you have pending things in another class, forget it. Workshop is the important class” – Workshop teacher.

    

THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT

My thoughts about feminism are really clear I think. I’m against every kind of oppression, so every movement that treat us like equals would be one that I will support.

I have a sister that is 12 years older than me so when I went to first grade she was going into her first year of university (she studied pedagogy in parochial education). She has always influenced me and my brother because the differences of ages (she’s 15 years older than him) she is our role model and because of that we learnt about the movement very young I think, at home she was always talking about equal rights to me and my brother.

She taught me that I shouldn’t let anyone think that could pass over me because I was a woman, also she taught my brother that we are all the same and if anyone told him that he was better than women because he was just born as a man, it was wrong. 

Till today we practice all that she taught us, my brother is always defending women against assholes that think that are superior to them (he defends anyone that is treating like it shouldn’t actually, as I do too). About my side I have never felt less beside a guy because I’m a woman, and I don’t think that anyone should. 

We are always teaching to the youngest all this things that we learnt and obviously my sister as a pedagogue does the same.