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!