El Rescate!

By now I expect you have seen the incredible rescue of the 33 miners so I won´t retell about the rescue. The best way I can describe it down here is to compare the rescue to when an American walked on the moon. Families here were transfixed to their TVs watching the progress. Mike rode in a bus that had a video set up to show the passengers the progress. The first miner came out after midnight so the country was up late. (Well, late for a pair of gringos!) As soon as he stepped out of the capsule the Tsunami alarms blared, church bells pealed and we joined in the shouting. I opened the window and could here Hurrahs all about our rural section of town. Every channel has been devoed to the rescue 24 hours a day since Tuesday. Last night we heard the siren and bells again. Mike and I both simultaneously said ´the 33rd miner is out´. Sure enough when we turned on the TV we saw 33 hugging the President.

I spent most of Wednesday´s class trying to communicate to my students how big this all is for their country´s image on the world stage. I think they know that the world is watching but I don´t think they realize how little the USA notices Chile all the rest of the time. This rescue and the behavior of the miners has really shown why the USA should pay more attention to Chile.

As they say down here ´Chi,chi,chi! Le,le,le! Viva! Chile!