Many Differences...great similarities in Chile (Veta Parker)

We are at the end of our 2nd week in Chile.  It has been a great week.  What I have learned is that there is a great difference in visiting a country and being totally immersed in it's culture.  I have visited several countries in the past few years but I realized that usually engaging with the culture is limited to the ride outside of the resort to the excursion that I am taking for the day.  Being in Chile has immersed me in the culture, the food, the traditions and the history of Chile.  Being a former history teacher, I am always interested in the story behind something...the who, what, when, where, and why.  This week, I was priveleged to visit many places. Dichato was affected greatly by the last earthquake and subsequent tsunami.  Most of the city was destroyed.  From the shore of the beach, there is the most beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean...absolutely breathtaking!  We also visited Tomas. Chile is 2,653 miles long and only 110 miles east to west.  The length is similar to the width of the United States. On Sunday, I was able to see the landmark that signifies the midway point of the length of Chile.  I also visited the home of the Cousino family that owned the mine in Lota, Chile.  Hearing the stories of histories remind me that even though we are on different continents, there are several similarities in the histories of Chile in the U.S. The workers at the mine were treated like indentured servants in the U.S. working long tedious hours to make the owners richer but not receive adequate pay in return...they only received shelter and food...which would never allow them or their children to progress out of this life of servitude. When we visited the museum, we saw the lavish life that the Cousino family lived which included massive homes with sweeping verandas and lush gardens. The Cousino family´s garden is about the size of City Park in New Orleans or Central Park in New York with the most awe inspiring views of the Pacific Ocean that you can ever imagine. And then you visit the mine where the people that made them rich worked countless hours in dangerous conditions. Children as young as 8 years old worked in the mines...did they really have any other options?  My visit has shown me that no matter where we are in the world, most histories have a dark side that was marred by colonization and capitalism.