fotocopias y fútbol

today possibly the largest difference between georgetown and pontificia universidad católica de chile became apparent: the fact that i just bought all the reading material for my history class for $10 USD, instead of $100 USD. chilean universities operate mainly on a system of fotocopiadoras rather than bookstores. instead of instructing students to purchase a list full of books of which they will only be assigned 3 chapters, chilean professors leave a fotocopia of just those 3 chapters at the fotocopiadora (a.k.a. broom closet converted into a bursting-at-the-seams room full of papers) of their department, where the students then go to request/purchase/collect their reading materials. if it sounds slightly messy, complicated, and confusing, it is- there are an average of 15 students in a mangled line at the fotocopiadora window at all times, and it's a genuine mosh pit during the ten-minute breaks between classes. there's a few-hours-minimum delay period between request and receipt of materials, and the sheer inefficiency of the whole set-up leaves me itching to barge in there, take charge and organize things. but hey, it sure is cheap!
unfortunately, the fotocopiadora system is not motivated by the pure urge to save some trees. books are exorbitantly expensive in chile, due to both a high import tax on each book, and the absurd ability of publishers to maintain high prices in order to maximize their own gains. how such limited access to literature exists today in a highly-developed country is beyond me, but i guess i shouldn't be too surprised- chilean society remains very class-divided, and the education system reinforces rather than counters that trend. but there are some working to improve access to books, like the BiblioMetro program that gives subway riders an affordable and handy way to ease the boredom of their commute.
on a lighter note, last night i went to my first chilean partido de fútbol: La U (universidad de chile) vs. some colombian team- La U, of course, won 2-1. unfortunately we arrived too late to sit in the rowdy section of "los de abajo," the crazy official fan club of La U, where everyone keeps up a game-long stream of singing, drum-beating, jumping, flag-waving, and flare-burning. but now we know for next time: come early, and memorize song lyrics beforehand so that we won't be the only ones not singing :) chi-chi-chi-le-le-le!