On our last day of class our teacher told us she had a surprise for us. The surprise was a Chilean rapper who was talking about the work his group Legua York does in the community as well as freestyling for us a bit (I thought of Adam). I also went shopping with Dania in an inexpensive part of town, we enjoyed that a lot.
The AU group left Thursday morning to tour the V Region. Chile's states don't have names, just numbers. We went to Isla Negra, one of three houses Pablo Neruda lived in. It was full of really cool stuff he'd collected over the years: bowhead figurines, liquor bottles (empty), ships in bottles, butterflies and beetles, maps, indigenouse masks and figurines, shells, and my favorite, a narwhal horn. He also had a beautiful view of the Pacific coast.
We then left for Viña del Mar, a city on the coast of Chile about an hour and a half from Santiago. We spent the night in a hotel there and I got to see Amanda, who is living in Viña this semester, for a little while. One of my AU friends got her purse stolen on the beach, but she miraculously got it back with nothing stolen except her camera. What luck.
The next day we took a walking tour of Valparaíso, or Valpo for short, a shipping center a few miles south of Viña. Our guide was super guapo, I took this sneaky picture of him during the tour.
The next day we took a walking tour of Valparaíso, or Valpo for short, a shipping center a few miles south of Viña. Our guide was super guapo, I took this sneaky picture of him during the tour.
The tour was nice, we went in a bunch of side streets and alleys that had really cool murals and graffiti. There is a lot of graffiti in Chile but it's not gang stuff, it's a form of art that deals with social and political themes. We also had a couple stray dogs follow us for most of the tour.
After that we were done with the group part of the trip, so I went back to Viña to hang out with Amanda. She has a really nice apartment right on the beach. We were bad exchange students and ate Pizza Hut and McDonald's (it was so good though!). She had some friends she met at her orientation over. They are all exchange students so we had a mix of Germans, French, Swedes, Australians, etc. The Australians lived up to every stereotype, it was great. At one point they grabbed me and Amanda and yelled, "Bastard children of the British Empire, unite!" It was pretty funny.
Dania and her friend Majo from her housing visited us on Saturday, it was a nice reunion of the gang. That night Amanda and i went with the int'l people to a Chilean discoteque. It was a lot of fun, they played 70s and 80s music like KC and Earth Wind and Fire. We were out really late, though. We didn't get back to her apartment until 6, which was a bit much for me. But overall it was really nice to spend some time at the beach with my boo. Facebook pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2141467&id=7411879&l=2f1a5.
I came home on Sunday to finally talk to my host sister María José, or Coté for short (don't ask me, i didn't understand the explanation) (but then I failed miserably trying to explain how "shotgun" works). I like her a lot. I only just met her because she spent her summer vacation backpacking through the southern cone of Chile and Argentina. She's into environmental issues and wants to increase ecotourism in Chile. She has also offered to take me hiking and skiing. I think we are going to get along very well.
Today I fell asleep in class for the first time this semester. Coincidentally, it was also the first day of classes for the semester. In my defense, though, the first day of class is always boring and we were reviewing IR theories such as realism, which I have done in EVERY SINGLE SIS CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN. So I'm allowed to doze off. Also, it's really hard to pay attention to a lecture in another language. Coté is having the same problem in her English classes. I offered to switch with her.
On a final, very exciting note, if AU wins against Holy Cross on Friday we will be going to the Big Dance for two years in a row! I'm really excited, even if I don't get to go. Actually, I'm going to be sick with envy when I don't get to go, but it's still great for the school. All my AU friends need to be not lame for once and go to the game! LET'S GO EAGLES!
After that we were done with the group part of the trip, so I went back to Viña to hang out with Amanda. She has a really nice apartment right on the beach. We were bad exchange students and ate Pizza Hut and McDonald's (it was so good though!). She had some friends she met at her orientation over. They are all exchange students so we had a mix of Germans, French, Swedes, Australians, etc. The Australians lived up to every stereotype, it was great. At one point they grabbed me and Amanda and yelled, "Bastard children of the British Empire, unite!" It was pretty funny.
Dania and her friend Majo from her housing visited us on Saturday, it was a nice reunion of the gang. That night Amanda and i went with the int'l people to a Chilean discoteque. It was a lot of fun, they played 70s and 80s music like KC and Earth Wind and Fire. We were out really late, though. We didn't get back to her apartment until 6, which was a bit much for me. But overall it was really nice to spend some time at the beach with my boo. Facebook pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2141467&id=7411879&l=2f1a5.
I came home on Sunday to finally talk to my host sister María José, or Coté for short (don't ask me, i didn't understand the explanation) (but then I failed miserably trying to explain how "shotgun" works). I like her a lot. I only just met her because she spent her summer vacation backpacking through the southern cone of Chile and Argentina. She's into environmental issues and wants to increase ecotourism in Chile. She has also offered to take me hiking and skiing. I think we are going to get along very well.
Today I fell asleep in class for the first time this semester. Coincidentally, it was also the first day of classes for the semester. In my defense, though, the first day of class is always boring and we were reviewing IR theories such as realism, which I have done in EVERY SINGLE SIS CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN. So I'm allowed to doze off. Also, it's really hard to pay attention to a lecture in another language. Coté is having the same problem in her English classes. I offered to switch with her.
On a final, very exciting note, if AU wins against Holy Cross on Friday we will be going to the Big Dance for two years in a row! I'm really excited, even if I don't get to go. Actually, I'm going to be sick with envy when I don't get to go, but it's still great for the school. All my AU friends need to be not lame for once and go to the game! LET'S GO EAGLES!
ahahahaha. bastard children of the british empire? excellent. old music in a chilean discoteque? bound to be even better. sucks about classes though. maybe once they get past IR theory you'll be able to stay awake?
ReplyDeleteThe comment about the graffiti reminded me of the graffiti in Egypt, since people spray paint messages about God a lot more than they spray paint gang signs or anything like that.
ReplyDeleteAnd do the McDonald's in Chile have anything unique to Latin America? The McDonald's in the Middle East have something called the McArabia which is grilled meat in pita bread.
Well, like everything in Chile they put mayonnaise and avocado on almost everything. French fries are called McPapas. And the McDonalds are really clean, much nicer than in the US.
ReplyDeleteouch kels. i see you're glad to be rid of us "lame" kids for another semester :-(
ReplyDelete