I had a fantastic semester and I was really sad to leave, but hopefully in the future I'll have the opportunity to return.
Me and my host family. From left: María, Nelson, Cote, Me, Ridicula, Francisco. Not pictured: Nelsito.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The End?
I am home now. There wasn't much culture shock when I got to Chile so there has been minimal reverse culture shock. It's mostly little things, like the reflex to kiss people on the cheek when i say hello and goodbye and to throw toilet paper in the trash. I'm staying in touch with friends in Chile so hopefully I won't forget Spanish.
I had a fantastic semester and I was really sad to leave, but hopefully in the future I'll have the opportunity to return.
Me and my host family. From left: María, Nelson, Cote, Me, Ridicula, Francisco. Not pictured: Nelsito.
Thanks to everyone who has read this blog the entire semester. I hope it was entertaining and insightful. Or at least not boring. This is the end for now but who knows? I might have to have a few updates if I end up in Iceland or Portugal or the Dominican Republic in the future. Until then, chau! Besitos!
I had a fantastic semester and I was really sad to leave, but hopefully in the future I'll have the opportunity to return.
Me and my host family. From left: María, Nelson, Cote, Me, Ridicula, Francisco. Not pictured: Nelsito.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Impressions of Buenos Aires
I spent my last week abroad visiting my good friend Jenelle in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These are my impressions...
BsAs is called the “Paris of South America,” but reminds me of New York City. Of course, I haven’t been to Paris so I don’t really know. It’s much larger and more hectic than Santiago. It has something like 48 barrios, of which Jenelle and I only went to like 5. There are a lot of European immigrants, esp Italian, so the city is a lot more European than Santiago. There is a lot more of a café culture with people sitting outside and eating in plazas. The people are a lot more fair than the people in Chile so I didn't stand out as much.
However, the city is also much dirtier than Santiago. There are a lot of torn-up sidewalks and dog poop EVERYWHERE, which is weird because I saw fewer stray dogs.
The Argentines are a lot more fresh with women. I got a lot more piropos than I did in Chile.
Tango is fun but hard. Everyone is moving around the dance floor so much it can get dangerous, esp since all the women are in heels. While it is beautiful, I like salsa better. Tango is very elegant and austere, while salsa is more relaxed and warm. Having had many more salsa lessons than tango I may be a little biased.
This is a video of the gauchos dancing at the gaucho fair. I didn't know how to make it regular, sorry.
However, the city is also much dirtier than Santiago. There are a lot of torn-up sidewalks and dog poop EVERYWHERE, which is weird because I saw fewer stray dogs.
The Argentines are a lot more fresh with women. I got a lot more piropos than I did in Chile.
Tango is fun but hard. Everyone is moving around the dance floor so much it can get dangerous, esp since all the women are in heels. While it is beautiful, I like salsa better. Tango is very elegant and austere, while salsa is more relaxed and warm. Having had many more salsa lessons than tango I may be a little biased.
Tango in the plaza
Me: Brr
Jenelle: Chilly?
Me: No,
Delicious food: pizza, pasta, alfajores, wine, steak, chocolate, ice cream :)
I didn’t realize how much of a Chilean accent I’d adopted until trying to speak to Argentineans. They use “vos” instead of “tu” (eww) and the “y” and “ll” are pronounced “zh.” Meanwhile, I’m dropping the “s” and keep talking about flaites and cuicos like they know what I’m talking about.
Porteños (residents of BsAs) have serious self-esteem issues. They are obsessed with being thin and many women are anorexic. It's kind of gross. In Jenelle's neighborhood there are a bunch of psychoanalysts and the nickname is Villa Freud.
Omg gauchooo!!!
We went to a gaucho fest! Unfortunately we only saw the gauchos on horseback ride by once, but it was still pretty cool. There was also a huuuuge feria where you could buy all kinds of leather. My favorite argentine was this old gaucho all dressed up and dancing a traditional dance while eating popcorn.
<3
Mate is the traditional drink of Argentina. It's a hot caffeine drink, kind of a really strong tea. It has very specific requirements. You drink it out of a cured gourd through a bombilla, a kind of strainer. It's very strong and bitter but I like it a lot. It's a shared drink so you pass it around to everyone. It's a very nice way to relax and get to know people.
Because the buses only take coins (monedas) there is a huge moneda shortage. Jenelle and her friends literally hoard them. If you don't have enough to take the bus you have to get change through what she calls the Moneda Game-- you go to a kiosk and buy little candies and try to get monedas back. Except sometimes they don't want to give you monedas and you have to go try somewhere else... it's a big hassle.
I'm actually back in the states now, and in a couple days when I have readjusted I will write one final post... thanks to all who are still reading this lol. Pictures of Buenos Aires here.
This is a video of the gauchos dancing at the gaucho fair. I didn't know how to make it regular, sorry.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
CHI-CHI-CHI LE-LE-LE VIVA CHILEEEEE
I'll try not to make this sappy.
Today is my last day in Chile! Tomorrow I head to adventures in Buenos Aires. My goals for the week are:
1. Dance tango
2. Eat chocolate and steak
3. Drink mate
4. Go shopping
5. Not get dengue fever
6. Do all of the above with a gaucho
But Chile. Oh, Chile. This has been a fantastic semester and although my classes sucked and it's super cold right now I'm really glad I came. I didn't really know what to expect when I got here. I feel like not many people in the US know very much about Chile. It's certainly more developed than expected. Not that I thought it was really poor or anything, but I did not expect to be living walking distance from two giant malls. A number of people asked me how I saw Star Trek on opening weekend. It's simple: it opened here too. The country has issues for sure, every country does, but on the whole my experience has been very pleasant.
I must also say that things are much different in real life than in the classroom. I know this seems like an obvious statement, but a lot of times we forget. I took a class last semester on US-Latin American relations and, of course, we talked at length about the Pinochet period. In 1973 Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende (with the help of the CIA) and instituted a military dictatorship that lasted until 1990. While his economic policies accelerated Chile into the developed country that it is today, he accomplished it with grotesque human rights abuses. Thousands of people were tortured, disappeared, or fled in exile. In the classroom we analyzed this history as another example of US Cold War foreign policy and discussed the political implications for the region, which is all well and good. It's a lot different when you can see the pain in the eyes of a Chilean remembering how his mother was afraid to vote the way she wanted for fear of being blacklisted (which was significantly worse than being blacklisted in the US).
Well that was a little heavy... but important. Now to preempt the questions every single person is going to ask me when I get back. And if anyone asks me I'm going to punch them in the face (just kidding... maybe).
"How was Chile?"
First of all, this question is ridiculous. There is no possible way to summarize my semester (or this country) in one simple phrase. Answer: Chile was great.
"What are you going to miss from Chile?"
Food: empanadas, cheap fruit and veggies, chirimoya alegre, pisco sour, great wine, pastel de choclo, Ramitas, Coca Light (better than Diet Coke!), papas fritas
Cheap Metro with pretty stations
Juan Pablo, my environment profe
Tuesday night salsa and merengue class
the informal economy/ferias
Staying out until 6am
the mountains
Excellent transnational bus system
And, of course, my wonderful host family and the friends I made, both Chilean and American
"What did you miss the most from the US?"
Food: PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY, normal cake, Mexican/Indian food, macaroni and cheese, things without mayonnaise or avocado
Normal clothes and hair (aka NO MULLETS) (oh wait I'm going back to the south)
Clean air
Central heating/cooling
Metro open until reasonable hours
Animal shelters
And, of course, my wonderful family and friends, most of whom I won't actually see for a while
"What have you learned/accomplished this semester?"
I am capable of, and in fact prefer, travelling by myself
Spanish
Also how to get by without speaking the language (aka point repeatedly or just smile and nod)
You don't have to go to every class to get an A
I accidentally named my host sister's new puppy (they went with Ridicula)
Salsa, merengue, cha cha, cueca, and hopefully tango
I understand why people like soccer
I am perfectly happy living in a foreign country and am willing to do it again
"What was your favorite place you went to?"
While Easter Island was pretty sweet, I have to go with the raw beauty of Patagonia and Torres del Paine.
One final story that I think perfectly sums up my life in Chile. Today I got the student discount pass for the metro that I applied for in the beginning of March. When I went to put money on it the cashier asked me something that I didn't understand so I said yes. A man got on the train carrying a car bumper. For dinner we had pizza and every single family member took one bite, said "it needs more salt," and dumped a ton of salt on it.
Viva Chile!
Today is my last day in Chile! Tomorrow I head to adventures in Buenos Aires. My goals for the week are:
1. Dance tango
2. Eat chocolate and steak
3. Drink mate
4. Go shopping
5. Not get dengue fever
6. Do all of the above with a gaucho
But Chile. Oh, Chile. This has been a fantastic semester and although my classes sucked and it's super cold right now I'm really glad I came. I didn't really know what to expect when I got here. I feel like not many people in the US know very much about Chile. It's certainly more developed than expected. Not that I thought it was really poor or anything, but I did not expect to be living walking distance from two giant malls. A number of people asked me how I saw Star Trek on opening weekend. It's simple: it opened here too. The country has issues for sure, every country does, but on the whole my experience has been very pleasant.
I must also say that things are much different in real life than in the classroom. I know this seems like an obvious statement, but a lot of times we forget. I took a class last semester on US-Latin American relations and, of course, we talked at length about the Pinochet period. In 1973 Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende (with the help of the CIA) and instituted a military dictatorship that lasted until 1990. While his economic policies accelerated Chile into the developed country that it is today, he accomplished it with grotesque human rights abuses. Thousands of people were tortured, disappeared, or fled in exile. In the classroom we analyzed this history as another example of US Cold War foreign policy and discussed the political implications for the region, which is all well and good. It's a lot different when you can see the pain in the eyes of a Chilean remembering how his mother was afraid to vote the way she wanted for fear of being blacklisted (which was significantly worse than being blacklisted in the US).
Well that was a little heavy... but important. Now to preempt the questions every single person is going to ask me when I get back. And if anyone asks me I'm going to punch them in the face (just kidding... maybe).
"How was Chile?"
First of all, this question is ridiculous. There is no possible way to summarize my semester (or this country) in one simple phrase. Answer: Chile was great.
"What are you going to miss from Chile?"
Food: empanadas, cheap fruit and veggies, chirimoya alegre, pisco sour, great wine, pastel de choclo, Ramitas, Coca Light (better than Diet Coke!), papas fritas
Cheap Metro with pretty stations
Juan Pablo, my environment profe
Tuesday night salsa and merengue class
the informal economy/ferias
Staying out until 6am
the mountains
Excellent transnational bus system
And, of course, my wonderful host family and the friends I made, both Chilean and American
"What did you miss the most from the US?"
Food: PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY, normal cake, Mexican/Indian food, macaroni and cheese, things without mayonnaise or avocado
Normal clothes and hair (aka NO MULLETS) (oh wait I'm going back to the south)
Clean air
Central heating/cooling
Metro open until reasonable hours
Animal shelters
And, of course, my wonderful family and friends, most of whom I won't actually see for a while
"What have you learned/accomplished this semester?"
I am capable of, and in fact prefer, travelling by myself
Spanish
Also how to get by without speaking the language (aka point repeatedly or just smile and nod)
You don't have to go to every class to get an A
I accidentally named my host sister's new puppy (they went with Ridicula)
Salsa, merengue, cha cha, cueca, and hopefully tango
I understand why people like soccer
I am perfectly happy living in a foreign country and am willing to do it again
"What was your favorite place you went to?"
While Easter Island was pretty sweet, I have to go with the raw beauty of Patagonia and Torres del Paine.
One final story that I think perfectly sums up my life in Chile. Today I got the student discount pass for the metro that I applied for in the beginning of March. When I went to put money on it the cashier asked me something that I didn't understand so I said yes. A man got on the train carrying a car bumper. For dinner we had pizza and every single family member took one bite, said "it needs more salt," and dumped a ton of salt on it.
Viva Chile!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Adventures On (and with) Rapa Nui
Rapa Nui being the name for Easter Island, the people who live there, and the language they speak.
The Rapa Nui came to the island from Polynesia at some unknown date. Due to the usual disastrous combination of Europeans, disease, and the propensity for slavery most of them died and so little is known about their past. They are most famous, obviously, for the moai.
The moai represent clan chiefs who are buried underneath the platform. They were carved in a single quarry from volcanic rock and rolled to sites all over the island. Over 900 were made, although only 400 were erected (and only 3 were women--booo). They weigh, on average, 20-25 tons, with the biggest weighing it at over 80.
The thing on their heads is hair, not a hat, although I must say the Rapa Nui had odd hairstyles
However, the good moai times would not last. In a classic case of overpopulation, the Rapa Nui multiplied from a few explorers to 20,000 and quickly used up their natural resources. The island is devoid of its native vegetation, with only a small number of exotic species dotting the landscape. This led to a prolonged civil war between the clans in which all the moai were toppled. Most of them remain that way. So let that be a lesson to all of us....
During the war the king's clan was annihilated and the islanders needed a new way to choose a king. This is how I imagine the conversation went:
Drunk Rapa Nui #1: "Heyyyy, you know what? Why don't we have each clan send some guys over to that cliff, have them climb down, swim across the shark-infested waters and find a bird egg, then come all the way back! Whoever gets there first wins!"
Drunk Rapa Nui #2: "That's the best idea I've ever heard!"
That island
Along came the white man and the Rapa Nui were no longer isolated (or alive, most of them). Nowadays there are only 5,000 inhabitants concentrated in a single town, Hanga Roa. The men are super sketch. I guess they're used to getting a lot of action from the tourists so they were really aggressive. Latinos are nothing compared to these guys-- they just whistle, the Rapa Nui actually whooped at us. Men.
Hanga Roa
Only a few moai sites have been restored because it's expensive and also part of the heritage. Only about 35 have been re-erected, and of these, only a handful have the eyes intact.
The trip went well, although after traveling solo all semester being stuck in a group of 21 all the time was chafing. I was amused at the northeast city kids who flipped out every time we saw a horse/cow/chicken. It was also disappointly chilly for a tropical island. Everyone packed warm weather clothes but we ended up in jackets the whole time. It rained the first day there :(
Rainy day at the beach
The last night we went to a traditonal Rapa Nui dance show. It was super touristy but fun. They pulled a bunch of people from our group on stage to dance (not me, thankfully). For those of you with facebook there's a great video of it. The dancers were pretty hot (both sexes) but we posed for pics with them afterwards and, once again, the guys were really sketch. Oh well.
I also went snorkeling with a few friends. We went to that island where they had to get the bird egg (the sharks are all gone by now--sad) and saw a good number of fish. It was pretty exciting. Along with us were a couple men who had participated in the Easter Island annual triathlon that morning and were then scuba diving. I have no idea how they did it--they came in 2nd and 3rd places.
That's about it. Oh, and the plane was sweet. Even though EI is a part of Chile it was considered an international flight and we got really good food and tons of movies to pick from. Yayy Lan. More photos here.
My upcoming schedule:
June 12-go to Buenos Aires to see Jenelle
June 19-fly back to Santiago, fly a few hours later (I'm a rip-the-bandaid person)
June 20-arrive in Atlanta and connect to Memphis!!
The Rapa Nui came to the island from Polynesia at some unknown date. Due to the usual disastrous combination of Europeans, disease, and the propensity for slavery most of them died and so little is known about their past. They are most famous, obviously, for the moai.
The moai represent clan chiefs who are buried underneath the platform. They were carved in a single quarry from volcanic rock and rolled to sites all over the island. Over 900 were made, although only 400 were erected (and only 3 were women--booo). They weigh, on average, 20-25 tons, with the biggest weighing it at over 80.
The thing on their heads is hair, not a hat, although I must say the Rapa Nui had odd hairstyles
However, the good moai times would not last. In a classic case of overpopulation, the Rapa Nui multiplied from a few explorers to 20,000 and quickly used up their natural resources. The island is devoid of its native vegetation, with only a small number of exotic species dotting the landscape. This led to a prolonged civil war between the clans in which all the moai were toppled. Most of them remain that way. So let that be a lesson to all of us....
During the war the king's clan was annihilated and the islanders needed a new way to choose a king. This is how I imagine the conversation went:
Drunk Rapa Nui #1: "Heyyyy, you know what? Why don't we have each clan send some guys over to that cliff, have them climb down, swim across the shark-infested waters and find a bird egg, then come all the way back! Whoever gets there first wins!"
Drunk Rapa Nui #2: "That's the best idea I've ever heard!"
That island
Along came the white man and the Rapa Nui were no longer isolated (or alive, most of them). Nowadays there are only 5,000 inhabitants concentrated in a single town, Hanga Roa. The men are super sketch. I guess they're used to getting a lot of action from the tourists so they were really aggressive. Latinos are nothing compared to these guys-- they just whistle, the Rapa Nui actually whooped at us. Men.
Hanga Roa
Only a few moai sites have been restored because it's expensive and also part of the heritage. Only about 35 have been re-erected, and of these, only a handful have the eyes intact.
The trip went well, although after traveling solo all semester being stuck in a group of 21 all the time was chafing. I was amused at the northeast city kids who flipped out every time we saw a horse/cow/chicken. It was also disappointly chilly for a tropical island. Everyone packed warm weather clothes but we ended up in jackets the whole time. It rained the first day there :(
Rainy day at the beach
The last night we went to a traditonal Rapa Nui dance show. It was super touristy but fun. They pulled a bunch of people from our group on stage to dance (not me, thankfully). For those of you with facebook there's a great video of it. The dancers were pretty hot (both sexes) but we posed for pics with them afterwards and, once again, the guys were really sketch. Oh well.
I also went snorkeling with a few friends. We went to that island where they had to get the bird egg (the sharks are all gone by now--sad) and saw a good number of fish. It was pretty exciting. Along with us were a couple men who had participated in the Easter Island annual triathlon that morning and were then scuba diving. I have no idea how they did it--they came in 2nd and 3rd places.
That's about it. Oh, and the plane was sweet. Even though EI is a part of Chile it was considered an international flight and we got really good food and tons of movies to pick from. Yayy Lan. More photos here.
My upcoming schedule:
June 12-go to Buenos Aires to see Jenelle
June 19-fly back to Santiago, fly a few hours later (I'm a rip-the-bandaid person)
June 20-arrive in Atlanta and connect to Memphis!!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Settling
With only two weeks left in Chile, plus one in Buenos Aires, I feel like I'm finally getting settled and therefore am starting to get really sad to leave. As much as I miss everyone, I've finally found a niche and settled into a routine and now will have to leave it all behind. But that is going abroad for you. Some adventures I've been up to lately...
My friend Kaia lives close to this place that has salsa dancing lessons every Tuesday night for about $3, so we've been going for a while. It's a lot of fun. I'm still not very good but when you dance with someone who knows what they're doing it feels like I am. The best part is that I have finally made some Chilean friends. It's been a lot of fun, esp since one of them has a car. Chileans are pretty funny and they always crack me up. We've discussed Chilean politics and US politics (they generally like Obama, although remain understandably skeptical). We also discuss cultural issues, such as their outrage that the Latin American character on Captain Planet is the lame one ("heart!").
I recently went with the car-owning friend, Emmanuel, and a couple other exchange students on a wine tour. One of them was German and can I pause here and express my love for Germans? There are a bunch of them here and I have yet to meet one that isn't awesome. I should have gone with Kate lol. Anyway, the wine tasting was definitely the most pretentious thing I have ever done in my life. Apparently it even matters what the shape of the glass is (I have drank piscola out of a coffee mug so I am not too picky). But Emmanuel knows a lot about wine so his enthusiasm made it fun.
I'm getting a good wine-taste out of this one, with just a hint of fermented grapes
I guess I should explain for the non-winos that Chile is one of the largest producers of wine in the world. The area around Santiago has a Mediterranean climate so they brought a bunch of vines over from Europe in colonial times. In fact, Chile has a few varieties that were wiped out by a disease in Europe. I'm no expert but I have generally liked the wine here. Let me know if you have any requests for souvenirs.
We also went to Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas, a little-known park at the end of a miserable dirt/rock road. It was worth it though--there are some awesome waterfalls called the Siete Tazas, which means Seven Cups, so called because it forms a series of pools that resemble cups. It was formed by glaciars or something, I'm not really sure as the signs were in Spanish. The water is a really nice shade of blue though.
Siete Tazas
In other news, classes ended this week (!!!) Someone mentioned that I don't talk about my classes very much on my blog. That is because they are (were) a miserable waste of time and I hated them and that is all I will say on the matter. BUT before I was able to go free I had to survive finals week. It honestly was nothing compared to finals at AU, but since it was the first time since December I've had to do any work it kind of sucked.
On top of the papers and studying I had to make up other stuff I missed while traveling (arguably a much better use of my time). For one class we went on a field trip to a preschool/daycare in a really poor part of Santiago. It was really interesting, the barrio (Puente Alto) only has 2 preschools, one hospital, and a handful of upper schools/bus stops. This preschool is free for local families and provides the kids a safe place to play and basic education. The kids were sooo cute too! I know I have limited experience but I'm pretty sure Chilean babies are the cutest babies in the world. I have yet to see an ugly one.
I also had to go to a play for my retarded Spanish class, but I ended up leaving after half an hour because the actress was just screaming into the phone and I didn't understand a word she said. Plus I don't pretend to enjoy theater. There are much better ways to experience Chilean culture.
Aka at a Chilean bar. I went with my C. friends the other night to the Piojera, a "typical Chilean bar." It was bumpin! Full of college kids and people playing the guitar and dancing the cueca (the national dance, which Emmanuel taught me at salsa--so fun). I did, however, have my first run-in with anti-Americanism. For those of you oblivious to history, the US has really done a number on Latin America. Between overthrowing presidents and supporting dictators and imposing crappy economic plans, it's understandable that they would be a little bitter. But so far I have never felt uncomfortable or discriminated against (besides the frequent catcalls). This one guy at the Piojera, though, kept talking about how much he doesn't like the US gov't and how he thinks Americans and arrogant. He kept telling me not to judge the "dark-haired Americans." I was like, dude, I'm here with Chilean friends. He never got mean about it, but it was still a little uncomfortable.
To end on a lighter note, though, my host family has recently acquired a puppy. Coté's friend found a litter on the highway and passed them out to her friends. She is super cute and tiny but also super annoying. When she whines (which is frequent) she sounds like Pippin's squeaky toy. She also likes to chew on everything, including my pants. While I'm wearing them. But she is a puppy. So far she doesn't have a name so I've just been calling her Chiquitita. María calls her Ridicula lol.
Her sweater is a cut-up sock. Also it was really hard to get her to hold still for a pic.
Next week I will be incommunicado due to my trip to EASTER FREAKING ISLAND. Apparently on last year's trip half the group made out with the Polynesians while others drove a rented motorcycle into the ocean. I do not intend to do either of these things but I'm anticipating an awesome week. Chau chau!
My friend Kaia lives close to this place that has salsa dancing lessons every Tuesday night for about $3, so we've been going for a while. It's a lot of fun. I'm still not very good but when you dance with someone who knows what they're doing it feels like I am. The best part is that I have finally made some Chilean friends. It's been a lot of fun, esp since one of them has a car. Chileans are pretty funny and they always crack me up. We've discussed Chilean politics and US politics (they generally like Obama, although remain understandably skeptical). We also discuss cultural issues, such as their outrage that the Latin American character on Captain Planet is the lame one ("heart!").
I recently went with the car-owning friend, Emmanuel, and a couple other exchange students on a wine tour. One of them was German and can I pause here and express my love for Germans? There are a bunch of them here and I have yet to meet one that isn't awesome. I should have gone with Kate lol. Anyway, the wine tasting was definitely the most pretentious thing I have ever done in my life. Apparently it even matters what the shape of the glass is (I have drank piscola out of a coffee mug so I am not too picky). But Emmanuel knows a lot about wine so his enthusiasm made it fun.
I'm getting a good wine-taste out of this one, with just a hint of fermented grapes
I guess I should explain for the non-winos that Chile is one of the largest producers of wine in the world. The area around Santiago has a Mediterranean climate so they brought a bunch of vines over from Europe in colonial times. In fact, Chile has a few varieties that were wiped out by a disease in Europe. I'm no expert but I have generally liked the wine here. Let me know if you have any requests for souvenirs.
We also went to Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas, a little-known park at the end of a miserable dirt/rock road. It was worth it though--there are some awesome waterfalls called the Siete Tazas, which means Seven Cups, so called because it forms a series of pools that resemble cups. It was formed by glaciars or something, I'm not really sure as the signs were in Spanish. The water is a really nice shade of blue though.
Siete Tazas
In other news, classes ended this week (!!!) Someone mentioned that I don't talk about my classes very much on my blog. That is because they are (were) a miserable waste of time and I hated them and that is all I will say on the matter. BUT before I was able to go free I had to survive finals week. It honestly was nothing compared to finals at AU, but since it was the first time since December I've had to do any work it kind of sucked.
On top of the papers and studying I had to make up other stuff I missed while traveling (arguably a much better use of my time). For one class we went on a field trip to a preschool/daycare in a really poor part of Santiago. It was really interesting, the barrio (Puente Alto) only has 2 preschools, one hospital, and a handful of upper schools/bus stops. This preschool is free for local families and provides the kids a safe place to play and basic education. The kids were sooo cute too! I know I have limited experience but I'm pretty sure Chilean babies are the cutest babies in the world. I have yet to see an ugly one.
I also had to go to a play for my retarded Spanish class, but I ended up leaving after half an hour because the actress was just screaming into the phone and I didn't understand a word she said. Plus I don't pretend to enjoy theater. There are much better ways to experience Chilean culture.
Aka at a Chilean bar. I went with my C. friends the other night to the Piojera, a "typical Chilean bar." It was bumpin! Full of college kids and people playing the guitar and dancing the cueca (the national dance, which Emmanuel taught me at salsa--so fun). I did, however, have my first run-in with anti-Americanism. For those of you oblivious to history, the US has really done a number on Latin America. Between overthrowing presidents and supporting dictators and imposing crappy economic plans, it's understandable that they would be a little bitter. But so far I have never felt uncomfortable or discriminated against (besides the frequent catcalls). This one guy at the Piojera, though, kept talking about how much he doesn't like the US gov't and how he thinks Americans and arrogant. He kept telling me not to judge the "dark-haired Americans." I was like, dude, I'm here with Chilean friends. He never got mean about it, but it was still a little uncomfortable.
To end on a lighter note, though, my host family has recently acquired a puppy. Coté's friend found a litter on the highway and passed them out to her friends. She is super cute and tiny but also super annoying. When she whines (which is frequent) she sounds like Pippin's squeaky toy. She also likes to chew on everything, including my pants. While I'm wearing them. But she is a puppy. So far she doesn't have a name so I've just been calling her Chiquitita. María calls her Ridicula lol.
Her sweater is a cut-up sock. Also it was really hard to get her to hold still for a pic.
Next week I will be incommunicado due to my trip to EASTER FREAKING ISLAND. Apparently on last year's trip half the group made out with the Polynesians while others drove a rented motorcycle into the ocean. I do not intend to do either of these things but I'm anticipating an awesome week. Chau chau!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Some Like It Variably Hot and Freezing
Stardate 5.18.2009. Just returned from expedition to the Atacama Desert. Located in northern Chile, it is the most arid place in the world. There are parts that never see rain. And yes, I did see Star Trek recently, why do you ask?
San Pedro de Atacama
The base of the desert trips is San Pedro, a tiny town in the middle of the desert. To get there I took metro=>bus=>plane to Calama=>bus to San Pedro. The town was all dirt roads and had one main street with a few restaurants, a number of shops, and millions of tour companies. They all offered the same tours but prices varied so you had to shop around. The plaza had this little colonial church that was cute but not cute enough to be on all the souvenirs like it was.
Salar de Atacama
In the middle of the desert is a giant salt flat, caused by an upwelling of water from the mountains that evaporates in the heat and leaves behind the salts and minerals it was carrying. I didn't see much of the salar since I only had a half day (apparently there is a large colony of flamingos), but we did go to one pool, Laguna Cejas. The water in the pool is 80% saline so you float, just like in the Dead Sea. The weird thing was that the water at the top was cold but the deeper parts were boiling hot.
After that we were all salt-encrusted so they took us over to another freshwater pool to wash off. It was a 6-foot jump into freezing water, though, so I opted for the portable shower the guide had on the bus. Then we went to a different lake, where I performed a miracle.
Ta da!
Just kidding. This lake had a very shallow layer of water over a base of salt, so it gave off a good reflection and the illusion of walking on water. Still pretty cool. We stayed there for the sunset and pisco sour. The nice thing about Chilean tours is that they usually include food and/or alcohol.
El Tatio Geysers
The next morning I got up at the lovely hour of 3:30 to witness geology in action. We drove for two hours through the dark and arrived at the geothermal field at 6:30, just in time for the geysers to wake up. Another fun fact about Chilean tours: to be a tour guide you must first be proven certifiably insane. So our guide (i didn't catch his name, but it was probably Juan Pablo. Everyone in this country is named Juan Pablo) led us over to a hole in the ground and starting talking about how geysers work while we all peer in. Then he said, "Oh, hear that bubbling? It's ready! Let's back up." Not 20 seconds later the thing erupts with boiling hot water.
Juan Pablo and I huddle in the warmth of the geyser
We were fairly high up, approx. 4500 m (almost 15,000 ft). It was also extremely cold-- 15 below in Celsius. I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit but it was freaking cold. Once the sun came up though it got warm pretty quickly. It was also beautiful seeing the sun come over the mountains and light up the billowing columns of steam. Definitely worth braving the early morning cold.
On the way back the guide kept spouting some nonsense about morraines and underground rivers. I didn't really care, but the scenery was wonderful. We saw some cool wildlife (that I am obliged to tell you about :)-- vicuñas, smaller cousin of the llama and guanaco; Andean geese, which mate for life; vischazas, mountain rabbits or, as JP said, "Chilean wallabies"; and a couple foxes. We also stopped in this little village (pop. 6) to get some lunch. They had llama kebobs and llama empanadas. Let me tell you, llamas are delicious! There was also a lady with a baby llama but she charged a mil to take a picture of it so I don't have one.
Llama kebob!
Sandboarding and Valle de la Luna
That afternoon (after a nap, of course) i went on yet another tour, this time to the Valles de la Muerte y Luna. In Valle de la Muerte (which literally translates to Valley of Death but is supposed to be Valley of Mars) I went sandboarding. It was so much fun! It's basically snowboarding on a sand dune. I was embarrassingly bad at it, of course, and I do not exaggerate when I say my underpants were full of sand. If they had given me sand skis I would have been queen of the dune. It was exhausting, not least because there was no lift of any sort. You had to carry your board up the dune.
You can tell I'm posing because I'm upright
Then we popped over to Valle de la Lune (Valley of the Moon) for the sunset. I've wanted to go to this place since my freshman year of college when we watched a movie about it in my Spanish class. The valley is desolate of life because it never gets rain, and it has a bunch of really weird rock formations carved out by the wind. All in all it resembles an extraterrestrial landscape. Unfortunately, we got there right as the sun was setting so I didn't get to see very much of the valley. I would have liked more time there but it was a short trip so I had to be selective. It was still really cool though. Definitely a boom de yada experience.
To boldy go where no man has gone before...
Boom de yada!
And finally, a big shout out to my hermanito Raleigh who graduated from high school last Saturday. So exciting! The lucky kid won a flat screen tv at the postgraduation party too. He's going to the Mississippi U. for Women in the fall, entering their culinary arts and honors programs. Goooo Raleigh! : D
San Pedro de Atacama
The base of the desert trips is San Pedro, a tiny town in the middle of the desert. To get there I took metro=>bus=>plane to Calama=>bus to San Pedro. The town was all dirt roads and had one main street with a few restaurants, a number of shops, and millions of tour companies. They all offered the same tours but prices varied so you had to shop around. The plaza had this little colonial church that was cute but not cute enough to be on all the souvenirs like it was.
Salar de Atacama
In the middle of the desert is a giant salt flat, caused by an upwelling of water from the mountains that evaporates in the heat and leaves behind the salts and minerals it was carrying. I didn't see much of the salar since I only had a half day (apparently there is a large colony of flamingos), but we did go to one pool, Laguna Cejas. The water in the pool is 80% saline so you float, just like in the Dead Sea. The weird thing was that the water at the top was cold but the deeper parts were boiling hot.
After that we were all salt-encrusted so they took us over to another freshwater pool to wash off. It was a 6-foot jump into freezing water, though, so I opted for the portable shower the guide had on the bus. Then we went to a different lake, where I performed a miracle.
Ta da!
Just kidding. This lake had a very shallow layer of water over a base of salt, so it gave off a good reflection and the illusion of walking on water. Still pretty cool. We stayed there for the sunset and pisco sour. The nice thing about Chilean tours is that they usually include food and/or alcohol.
El Tatio Geysers
The next morning I got up at the lovely hour of 3:30 to witness geology in action. We drove for two hours through the dark and arrived at the geothermal field at 6:30, just in time for the geysers to wake up. Another fun fact about Chilean tours: to be a tour guide you must first be proven certifiably insane. So our guide (i didn't catch his name, but it was probably Juan Pablo. Everyone in this country is named Juan Pablo) led us over to a hole in the ground and starting talking about how geysers work while we all peer in. Then he said, "Oh, hear that bubbling? It's ready! Let's back up." Not 20 seconds later the thing erupts with boiling hot water.
Juan Pablo and I huddle in the warmth of the geyser
We were fairly high up, approx. 4500 m (almost 15,000 ft). It was also extremely cold-- 15 below in Celsius. I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit but it was freaking cold. Once the sun came up though it got warm pretty quickly. It was also beautiful seeing the sun come over the mountains and light up the billowing columns of steam. Definitely worth braving the early morning cold.
On the way back the guide kept spouting some nonsense about morraines and underground rivers. I didn't really care, but the scenery was wonderful. We saw some cool wildlife (that I am obliged to tell you about :)-- vicuñas, smaller cousin of the llama and guanaco; Andean geese, which mate for life; vischazas, mountain rabbits or, as JP said, "Chilean wallabies"; and a couple foxes. We also stopped in this little village (pop. 6) to get some lunch. They had llama kebobs and llama empanadas. Let me tell you, llamas are delicious! There was also a lady with a baby llama but she charged a mil to take a picture of it so I don't have one.
Llama kebob!
Sandboarding and Valle de la Luna
That afternoon (after a nap, of course) i went on yet another tour, this time to the Valles de la Muerte y Luna. In Valle de la Muerte (which literally translates to Valley of Death but is supposed to be Valley of Mars) I went sandboarding. It was so much fun! It's basically snowboarding on a sand dune. I was embarrassingly bad at it, of course, and I do not exaggerate when I say my underpants were full of sand. If they had given me sand skis I would have been queen of the dune. It was exhausting, not least because there was no lift of any sort. You had to carry your board up the dune.
You can tell I'm posing because I'm upright
Then we popped over to Valle de la Lune (Valley of the Moon) for the sunset. I've wanted to go to this place since my freshman year of college when we watched a movie about it in my Spanish class. The valley is desolate of life because it never gets rain, and it has a bunch of really weird rock formations carved out by the wind. All in all it resembles an extraterrestrial landscape. Unfortunately, we got there right as the sun was setting so I didn't get to see very much of the valley. I would have liked more time there but it was a short trip so I had to be selective. It was still really cool though. Definitely a boom de yada experience.
To boldy go where no man has gone before...
Boom de yada!
And finally, a big shout out to my hermanito Raleigh who graduated from high school last Saturday. So exciting! The lucky kid won a flat screen tv at the postgraduation party too. He's going to the Mississippi U. for Women in the fall, entering their culinary arts and honors programs. Goooo Raleigh! : D
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A Word on the Chilean Health Care System
It's pretty good.
Monday night after dinner me and my entire host family (except Nelson) got violently ill. The mayonnaise is the prime suspect. Maria ended up taking Coté and I to the clinic, where I got an IV bag of medicine, much to my delight (not). When we got home at 2:30 am Nelsito was really sick, so poor Maria (who wasn't feeling well herself) took him back to the clinic. The entire family stayed home on Tuesday to recuperate. I just laid in my bed dozing and watching tv, and let me tell you, there was nothing good on. Even Friends was bad, they're showing the last season. But the good news is we are all feeling much better and I will be able to make my trip to San Pedro this weekend (the bad news being I had to go back to class today).
The point of this whole story is that I will not being eating mayo for a long time.
Monday night after dinner me and my entire host family (except Nelson) got violently ill. The mayonnaise is the prime suspect. Maria ended up taking Coté and I to the clinic, where I got an IV bag of medicine, much to my delight (not). When we got home at 2:30 am Nelsito was really sick, so poor Maria (who wasn't feeling well herself) took him back to the clinic. The entire family stayed home on Tuesday to recuperate. I just laid in my bed dozing and watching tv, and let me tell you, there was nothing good on. Even Friends was bad, they're showing the last season. But the good news is we are all feeling much better and I will be able to make my trip to San Pedro this weekend (the bad news being I had to go back to class today).
The point of this whole story is that I will not being eating mayo for a long time.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
El Carrete
Chileans take their nightlife very seriously. There is even a special word for it, "el carrete." Basically, you go to the bar around midnight, hang out for a little, then go to the club at around 2. Seriously, the clubs are empty before 1:30. You stay at the club until it closes (sometime between 4:30 and 5) and then get something to eat, usually a completo (hot dog smothered in mayo, avocado and tomato--super gross) or McDonald's. Then you go home and sleep in til the next afternoon. This usually occurs on Friday and Saturday nights, although really Chileans will go out on any day of the week. Not to say I do this all the time--I've only been out that late twice this semester--but it sure is a lot of fun, even when you go home early (aka 3).
Most of the places are either reggaeton or American 80s music. The artists you are guarenteed to hear at a Chilean club are Madonna, KC, and the Bee Gees. Michael Jackson gets a good amount of air time as well. I'm not a big fan of the reggaeton, and as much as I like the 80s, I do miss good ol' hip-hop.
This weekend we rented out a small bar for Julie's bday. We all dressed up in ridiculous 80s clothes and danced to 80s music/Taylor Swift (cause she was born in the 80s)(barely). It was a pretty sweet time. It's going to be weird back in the States going out at 10pm.
Most of the places are either reggaeton or American 80s music. The artists you are guarenteed to hear at a Chilean club are Madonna, KC, and the Bee Gees. Michael Jackson gets a good amount of air time as well. I'm not a big fan of the reggaeton, and as much as I like the 80s, I do miss good ol' hip-hop.
This weekend we rented out a small bar for Julie's bday. We all dressed up in ridiculous 80s clothes and danced to 80s music/Taylor Swift (cause she was born in the 80s)(barely). It was a pretty sweet time. It's going to be weird back in the States going out at 10pm.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Dolphin Video
It's not the highest quality, and please ignore my retarded comments in the background.... but it's still has more of a plot than No Country for Old Men! HEY-OOO!
Special thanks to Cary for formatting my incompetent filmmaking
Special thanks to Cary for formatting my incompetent filmmaking
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Exciting Dork Opportunities Abound in La Serena!
Hello faithful followers (what few I have left). You'll be happy to know that I only have about a month left in this fair country. Unfortunately for you, that month includes three major trips, so you're not doing hearing from me just yet.
SOOO this weekend I went to La Serena, the second oldest city in Chile (says my guidebook, while failing to mention the first). I went by myself (GASP) and everything went fine (whew). I wanted to try traveling by myself 1) just to see if I could, 2) so I can selfishly do whatever I want, and 3) cause everyone else went to San Pedro this weekend and I am going there later. Don't worry though, nothing happened, I had a lot of fun, and I met a lot of cool people.
I left on Thursday night since we didn't have classes Friday. I did not, however, connect in my head that i didn't have classes because it was a national holiday and because it was a national holiday many other things were closed too. So there wasn't much to do on Friday. The tour I thought I'd reserved for that day was pushed back to Sat, so I just wandered the city center for a while. It's a really nice town, with lots of colonial architecture. I also walked down to the beach (with my entourage of stray dogs) but it was cold and windy so I didn't stay long.
Old church
That night I went to the Mamalluca Observatory. This part of Chile has some of the clearest skies in the world, so there are a lot of European and US observatories in the area. It's really hard to see them, though, since people are always doing research, so Chile built Mamalluca specifically for public use. I intended to do the tour in Spanish but there were only four people in the English group so I went with them. I'm 100% sure I learned way more that way, and I got to use the telescope more (there were like 60 people in the Spanish group).
IT WAS SO COOL. We got to look through the big telescope with the moving dome and everything. I saw Saturn, the moon way up close, Alpha Centauri (which you can only see from the Southern Hemisphere), red and blue stars, star clusters, and a nebula. After that we went outside and the guide showed us a bunch of constellations, such as the Southern Cross, also only visible from the S.H. Also, while the Greeks and Egyptians only saw animals in the stars, the Incas had constellations in the dark parts of the Milky Way (a llama-what else?). Cap everything off with a pisco sour and it was a pretty fantastic night.
The telescope I looked through (photo not mine, obviously)
The guide took this picture for me through the telescope. So cool!
Saturday I finally got my tour to Isla Damas worked out (that was, after all, what I came to LS for). We drove for a while (almost 2 hours) through a semi-desert. Chile has the largest variety of cacti in the world--who knew? We stopped to take pictures of the guanaco again lol. So many guanaco! Since it was such a long ride I got to know the girl next to me, Anais, who is from Montreal working as a nanny in Santiago.
In Punto Chorros we got aboard our tiny boat and set out for Isla Chorros, part of the National Reserve for Humboldt Penguins. Everyone was super excited for the animals, esp the dolphins. The people in front of me kept jumping up everytime they saw anything, even a wave breaking, I thought they were going to tip the boat over. But then we found them! And they were jumping and splashing and swimming around right next to the boat! I couldn't get a very good picture, and Cary needs to fix my video, but just know that it was super cool. And be jealous.
Yay!
Hold stillll
We also saw some penguins and sea lions, although not as many as I'd expected. Maybe they were out to lunch, or on another part of the island, but I expected a colony and we only saw like 6. But still, it was pretty cool. After about an hour and a half we went over to Isla Damas where you could get out and walk around, although there wasn't really much else to do. Then they took us back and gave us lunch and I slept the entire way back.
Humboldt penguin, the second smallest in the world
When we got back to LS Anais and I decided to go around to the ferias for a while. She invited me to dinner at her friend's house in Coquimbo with whom she was staying (Coquimbo runs into LS like Viña does with Valpo). After dinner we went out in Coquimbo to Barrio Ingles, which was *bumpin'*. We went to a bar with a great live band covering classics like Clapton and CCR, and I had a papaya sour, which was amazingly even better than pisco sour. I was super tired though so I left at 2:30 (lame by Chilean standards).
The weather this whole time had been cloudy and chilly, but Sunday, of course, was gorgeous. I had to get back to Santiago before the metro closed though, so I didn't get to enjoy it. We got stuck in really bad traffic on the way back so I almost missed the metro anyway. But all in all, it was a great trip, and the travelers I met really inspired me to drop out of school and backpack across South America. I'll see you all in a few years!*
I'm on a boat!
Haz click para ver fotos
*Just kidding, parents.
SOOO this weekend I went to La Serena, the second oldest city in Chile (says my guidebook, while failing to mention the first). I went by myself (GASP) and everything went fine (whew). I wanted to try traveling by myself 1) just to see if I could, 2) so I can selfishly do whatever I want, and 3) cause everyone else went to San Pedro this weekend and I am going there later. Don't worry though, nothing happened, I had a lot of fun, and I met a lot of cool people.
I left on Thursday night since we didn't have classes Friday. I did not, however, connect in my head that i didn't have classes because it was a national holiday and because it was a national holiday many other things were closed too. So there wasn't much to do on Friday. The tour I thought I'd reserved for that day was pushed back to Sat, so I just wandered the city center for a while. It's a really nice town, with lots of colonial architecture. I also walked down to the beach (with my entourage of stray dogs) but it was cold and windy so I didn't stay long.
Old church
That night I went to the Mamalluca Observatory. This part of Chile has some of the clearest skies in the world, so there are a lot of European and US observatories in the area. It's really hard to see them, though, since people are always doing research, so Chile built Mamalluca specifically for public use. I intended to do the tour in Spanish but there were only four people in the English group so I went with them. I'm 100% sure I learned way more that way, and I got to use the telescope more (there were like 60 people in the Spanish group).
IT WAS SO COOL. We got to look through the big telescope with the moving dome and everything. I saw Saturn, the moon way up close, Alpha Centauri (which you can only see from the Southern Hemisphere), red and blue stars, star clusters, and a nebula. After that we went outside and the guide showed us a bunch of constellations, such as the Southern Cross, also only visible from the S.H. Also, while the Greeks and Egyptians only saw animals in the stars, the Incas had constellations in the dark parts of the Milky Way (a llama-what else?). Cap everything off with a pisco sour and it was a pretty fantastic night.
The telescope I looked through (photo not mine, obviously)
The guide took this picture for me through the telescope. So cool!
Saturday I finally got my tour to Isla Damas worked out (that was, after all, what I came to LS for). We drove for a while (almost 2 hours) through a semi-desert. Chile has the largest variety of cacti in the world--who knew? We stopped to take pictures of the guanaco again lol. So many guanaco! Since it was such a long ride I got to know the girl next to me, Anais, who is from Montreal working as a nanny in Santiago.
In Punto Chorros we got aboard our tiny boat and set out for Isla Chorros, part of the National Reserve for Humboldt Penguins. Everyone was super excited for the animals, esp the dolphins. The people in front of me kept jumping up everytime they saw anything, even a wave breaking, I thought they were going to tip the boat over. But then we found them! And they were jumping and splashing and swimming around right next to the boat! I couldn't get a very good picture, and Cary needs to fix my video, but just know that it was super cool. And be jealous.
Yay!
Hold stillll
We also saw some penguins and sea lions, although not as many as I'd expected. Maybe they were out to lunch, or on another part of the island, but I expected a colony and we only saw like 6. But still, it was pretty cool. After about an hour and a half we went over to Isla Damas where you could get out and walk around, although there wasn't really much else to do. Then they took us back and gave us lunch and I slept the entire way back.
Humboldt penguin, the second smallest in the world
When we got back to LS Anais and I decided to go around to the ferias for a while. She invited me to dinner at her friend's house in Coquimbo with whom she was staying (Coquimbo runs into LS like Viña does with Valpo). After dinner we went out in Coquimbo to Barrio Ingles, which was *bumpin'*. We went to a bar with a great live band covering classics like Clapton and CCR, and I had a papaya sour, which was amazingly even better than pisco sour. I was super tired though so I left at 2:30 (lame by Chilean standards).
The weather this whole time had been cloudy and chilly, but Sunday, of course, was gorgeous. I had to get back to Santiago before the metro closed though, so I didn't get to enjoy it. We got stuck in really bad traffic on the way back so I almost missed the metro anyway. But all in all, it was a great trip, and the travelers I met really inspired me to drop out of school and backpack across South America. I'll see you all in a few years!*
I'm on a boat!
Haz click para ver fotos
*Just kidding, parents.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
You can't make this stuff up folks
Today I arrived home to find this in my bathroom:
Monday, April 27, 2009
April 25, 2009
9:00- Alarm goes off.
9:30- Amanda and I get up and get dressed, still groggy from a late night at the samba club.
10:00- Buy snacks at Líder for our hike in Parque Nacional La Campana.
10:30- Dunkin Donuts closed. Go back to Líder for breakfast. Rush to meet Jono and Stefan, two of Amanda´s friends, at the metro by 11.
11:00- Arrive at metro.
11:30- Jono arrives at metro. Stefan is at bus station?
11:45- All on surprisngly nice Valpo metro. Discuss adventures at the samba club.
12:30- Arrive in Limache. Look for bus to Olmué.
12:35- Notice man renting double bicycles in the plaza.
12:37- On bicycles. Amanda and I ride circles around the boys, laughing when they have to get out and push the bike.
12:45- Switch bikes and discover that theirs is super ghetto. Must use "Little Miss Sunshine" technique to get moving. Boys ride circles around us laughing.
1:00- Get on bus to Olmué.
1:20- Arrive in Olmué. Amanda charms colectivo driver into taking us to the park.
1:45- Driver drops us off on the side of the road, next to the "1 km to Park" sign.
2:00- Finally arrive at park entrance. Ranger informs us that we do not have time to do the 7-hour hike to the top of the cerro.
2:15- Hike.
2:19- Wheeze.
2:45- Stop for a break and lunch. Realize how much I miss PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY. Boys spout nonsense about the rat king of Chile.
3:15- Go back down.
3:45- Take another break at the bottom.
4:00- Back at our sign. Find bus but the driver wants to wait ten minutes. The boys go to buy water. Driver asks us if they are our husbands while changing clothes in front of us.
4:10- Rock out to Backstreet Boys on the radio.
4:30- Back in Limache. Eat ice cream. Get back on metro.
5:15- Back in Viña. Amanda and I go back to her apartment and nap.
7:00- Wake up. Amanda gets in the shower.
7:30- Amanda gets out of the shower.
8:00- Amanda is ready to leave for dinner.
8:40- Delicious goat cheese and tomato empanada. Rent Seven Pounds for ridiculous collateral.
10:50- Back to Líder for snacks. Recieve angry glares from closing employees.
11:30- Watch Seven Pounds.
2:00- Go to bed depressed. Don´t let the bedbugs bite.
9:30- Amanda and I get up and get dressed, still groggy from a late night at the samba club.
10:00- Buy snacks at Líder for our hike in Parque Nacional La Campana.
10:30- Dunkin Donuts closed. Go back to Líder for breakfast. Rush to meet Jono and Stefan, two of Amanda´s friends, at the metro by 11.
11:00- Arrive at metro.
11:30- Jono arrives at metro. Stefan is at bus station?
11:45- All on surprisngly nice Valpo metro. Discuss adventures at the samba club.
12:30- Arrive in Limache. Look for bus to Olmué.
12:35- Notice man renting double bicycles in the plaza.
12:37- On bicycles. Amanda and I ride circles around the boys, laughing when they have to get out and push the bike.
12:45- Switch bikes and discover that theirs is super ghetto. Must use "Little Miss Sunshine" technique to get moving. Boys ride circles around us laughing.
1:00- Get on bus to Olmué.
1:20- Arrive in Olmué. Amanda charms colectivo driver into taking us to the park.
1:45- Driver drops us off on the side of the road, next to the "1 km to Park" sign.
2:00- Finally arrive at park entrance. Ranger informs us that we do not have time to do the 7-hour hike to the top of the cerro.
2:15- Hike.
2:19- Wheeze.
2:45- Stop for a break and lunch. Realize how much I miss PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY. Boys spout nonsense about the rat king of Chile.
3:15- Go back down.
3:45- Take another break at the bottom.
4:00- Back at our sign. Find bus but the driver wants to wait ten minutes. The boys go to buy water. Driver asks us if they are our husbands while changing clothes in front of us.
4:10- Rock out to Backstreet Boys on the radio.
4:30- Back in Limache. Eat ice cream. Get back on metro.
5:15- Back in Viña. Amanda and I go back to her apartment and nap.
7:00- Wake up. Amanda gets in the shower.
7:30- Amanda gets out of the shower.
8:00- Amanda is ready to leave for dinner.
8:40- Delicious goat cheese and tomato empanada. Rent Seven Pounds for ridiculous collateral.
10:50- Back to Líder for snacks. Recieve angry glares from closing employees.
11:30- Watch Seven Pounds.
2:00- Go to bed depressed. Don´t let the bedbugs bite.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
A Tale of Two Boos
But first, two great pieces of news!
1. The federal court blocked offshore drilling in Alaska.
2. The EPA has (finally) declared that greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to human health, clearing the way for tighter emission regulations.
Anyhoo.... I know I've been posting a lot lately but much has happened in the past couple weeks. My dear friend Jenelle, who is spending this semester in Buenos Aires, came to visit the Chile crew a couple weeks ago. She stayed with me for the first couple of nights. We did many touristy things in Santiago, such as climbing cerros and shopping at ferias and going to Pablo Neruda's house. Amanda came over too, and we had a fun night of carrete (Chilean nightlife). We also had a big AU reunion at a delicious pizza dinner with me, Jenelle, Amanda and Dania. Yayy friends!
Sunset from the top of Cerro San Cristobal
Jenelle went to Viña with Amanda while I was in Patagonia, and the two of them came back for one last girl's night before Jenelle had to leave. It was a beautiful night-we got take-out Chinese food, a tub of ice cream, and ate them in pj's while watching movies. It was so refreshing to spend time with people I have a background with--I like everyone in the enclave but we don't actually know each other that well. With A&J I could gossip about people we all knew and reminisce about good times from years past. Needless to say, I was sorry to see them go. I am having a wonderful time here, but as my dad so astutely noted, I am a little homesick... for AU.
: )
1. The federal court blocked offshore drilling in Alaska.
2. The EPA has (finally) declared that greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to human health, clearing the way for tighter emission regulations.
Anyhoo.... I know I've been posting a lot lately but much has happened in the past couple weeks. My dear friend Jenelle, who is spending this semester in Buenos Aires, came to visit the Chile crew a couple weeks ago. She stayed with me for the first couple of nights. We did many touristy things in Santiago, such as climbing cerros and shopping at ferias and going to Pablo Neruda's house. Amanda came over too, and we had a fun night of carrete (Chilean nightlife). We also had a big AU reunion at a delicious pizza dinner with me, Jenelle, Amanda and Dania. Yayy friends!
Jenelle and I on Cerro Santa Lucia
Sunset from the top of Cerro San Cristobal
: )
More photos here. Yes it's the same album, go to the end for the new pics.
PS-I learned how to link stuff, aren't you proud of me?
PS-I learned how to link stuff, aren't you proud of me?
Monday, April 13, 2009
Patagonian Wildlife
aka Kelsey in Attenborough mode... I actually saw all of these in the wild!
Condor
With a wingspan of 9-10 feet, the Andean condor is the largest flying land bird in the Western hemisphere. They are also extremely long-lived, with a lifespan of up to 50 years. Since they are so large they have to use heat thermals rising from the ground to life them into the air. The Andean peoples have myths about condors carrying off women to be their brides. They're basically awesome.
Where's Condorito?
Huemul
This highly endangered deer is the national symbol of Chile, featured alongside the condor on the national seal. There are only 50 in the park so we were really lucky to see one. They are small, only 3 feet high and weighing around 100 lbs.
Guanaco
A relative of the llama, they live in high altitudes and travel in large herds. We saw a bunch of them. They are sometimes raised for their wool but there is a large wild population as well.
Rhea (Ñandú)
Basically a small ostrich native to South America. If you have ever puzzled over a photo of a gaucho chasing an ostrich, well, this is it. I saw the rheas from the bus (we had to stop for them to cross the street) so I didn't get a picture, but don't worry, the internet has many.
Sea Lion
You all know what a sea lion is, I just want to show off that I saw babies in the wild!
Awwww
Condor
With a wingspan of 9-10 feet, the Andean condor is the largest flying land bird in the Western hemisphere. They are also extremely long-lived, with a lifespan of up to 50 years. Since they are so large they have to use heat thermals rising from the ground to life them into the air. The Andean peoples have myths about condors carrying off women to be their brides. They're basically awesome.
Where's Condorito?
This highly endangered deer is the national symbol of Chile, featured alongside the condor on the national seal. There are only 50 in the park so we were really lucky to see one. They are small, only 3 feet high and weighing around 100 lbs.
My crap photo from the bus. See it?
One with detail!
Wikipedia doesn't know much about this little guy except that he does general foxy things. He sure is cute though! He came up right next to the bus and let people get very close to him to take pictures, so I think he is used to getting food from tourists and hikers (bad!).
One with detail!
Gray fox
A relative of the llama, they live in high altitudes and travel in large herds. We saw a bunch of them. They are sometimes raised for their wool but there is a large wild population as well.
Rhea (Ñandú)
Basically a small ostrich native to South America. If you have ever puzzled over a photo of a gaucho chasing an ostrich, well, this is it. I saw the rheas from the bus (we had to stop for them to cross the street) so I didn't get a picture, but don't worry, the internet has many.
Sea Lion
You all know what a sea lion is, I just want to show off that I saw babies in the wild!
Awwww
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Journey to the End of the Earth
This week I went with the AU group to two national parks in Patagonia. For those of you who forgot their geography, this is the southernmost area of the South American continent. I have provided a map for your benefit. It was definitely cold, but it wasn't unbearable. We thought it might rain but it never did.
Note the distance to Antarctica
Our flight left Santiago at 2:10 am. The passengers consisted almost entirely of our group and a bunch of 17-year-old Chilean boys going to boot camp for the first time. Imagine, if you will, a giant line of young men with a pocket of gringas in the middle. We got a lot of stares.
We flew into Punta Arenas, the southernmost city of its size in the world. The airport only had two gates (but also two baggage claims for some reason). An unconscious bus ride later we pulled into Puerto Natales, a tiny town close to the parks. We kept seeing this figure of a badger-sloth-bear thing everywhere--on street signs, in gift shops, on posters, etc. It turns out they found the skeleton of a Milodon, a prehistoric sloth, close to the town and it is apparently the biggest thing that has ever happened there.
Run away!
Our first day there was a free day but since we'd only had like 5 hours of sleep we mostly just wandered the town and then napped. The next day (tues) was the start of the adventures. We first went to the Cave of the Milodon, where they found it. The whole thing had been excavated already, though, so there wasn't much to see.
We then drove over to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. The tour was a little disappointing in that they just drove us in a bus to different scenic locations where we'd get out and take pictures. They told us to bring trekking gear, but of the two "hikes" we did, one was a dirt road and the other was handicap accessible. We did get to see more of the park that way, and I understand that it's hard to take such a large group hiking, but we got really tired of sitting on the bus.
The scenery, however, was incredible. It was a cloudy day so you couldn't see the peaks, but I thought that gave it a nice creepy feel. I don't even know how to describe what I saw. The pictures are good, but they don't really capture it. The whole place seems so rugged and wild. Few people live there so there is plenty of undisturbed wilderness, it was really cool.
The second day we took a boat ride to Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins. It was a lot of fun to be on a boat, but again, we mostly sat around the whole time. The highlights of the ride were the sea lion pups (!) and two glaciers.
20 years ago this glacier was at sea level
We were promised pisco sours with ice from the glaciar on the way back, but a) the ice looked normal and b) they just gave us straight-up pisco, which was gross. For lunch (6 hours after we left-uggh) we stopped at an estancia (ranch) and were served a heaping pile of lamb.
Thursday was another long travel day, and I finally got home at 12:45 to find that my host family had gone to their beach house for the long weekend. Jenelle and Amanda visited this week but I will have to save that for another post.
Link to photo album:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2146267&id=7411879&l=485a78c799
Note the distance to Antarctica
We flew into Punta Arenas, the southernmost city of its size in the world. The airport only had two gates (but also two baggage claims for some reason). An unconscious bus ride later we pulled into Puerto Natales, a tiny town close to the parks. We kept seeing this figure of a badger-sloth-bear thing everywhere--on street signs, in gift shops, on posters, etc. It turns out they found the skeleton of a Milodon, a prehistoric sloth, close to the town and it is apparently the biggest thing that has ever happened there.
Run away!
Our first day there was a free day but since we'd only had like 5 hours of sleep we mostly just wandered the town and then napped. The next day (tues) was the start of the adventures. We first went to the Cave of the Milodon, where they found it. The whole thing had been excavated already, though, so there wasn't much to see.
We then drove over to Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. The tour was a little disappointing in that they just drove us in a bus to different scenic locations where we'd get out and take pictures. They told us to bring trekking gear, but of the two "hikes" we did, one was a dirt road and the other was handicap accessible. We did get to see more of the park that way, and I understand that it's hard to take such a large group hiking, but we got really tired of sitting on the bus.
The scenery, however, was incredible. It was a cloudy day so you couldn't see the peaks, but I thought that gave it a nice creepy feel. I don't even know how to describe what I saw. The pictures are good, but they don't really capture it. The whole place seems so rugged and wild. Few people live there so there is plenty of undisturbed wilderness, it was really cool.
The second day we took a boat ride to Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins. It was a lot of fun to be on a boat, but again, we mostly sat around the whole time. The highlights of the ride were the sea lion pups (!) and two glaciers.
20 years ago this glacier was at sea level
We were promised pisco sours with ice from the glaciar on the way back, but a) the ice looked normal and b) they just gave us straight-up pisco, which was gross. For lunch (6 hours after we left-uggh) we stopped at an estancia (ranch) and were served a heaping pile of lamb.
Bonier than expected
Thursday was another long travel day, and I finally got home at 12:45 to find that my host family had gone to their beach house for the long weekend. Jenelle and Amanda visited this week but I will have to save that for another post.
Link to photo album:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2146267&id=7411879&l=485a78c799
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