Hello everybody! I'm laying in my bed in Valparaíso, tired, sick of traveling, ready to go home, and not feeling so hot (cuban food in Chile = not a good idea). But, I realized I haven't written in a while, my promise to write once a week has been broken, I'm sorry. Once again, I suck at writing blogs. But I will try to fill you in on what has been going on for the past week!
I left Valdivia on Saturday, Cristina and Roberto brought me to the bus station where my bus to Santiago left at 930 PM. That whole day I had the weirdest anxiety. I don't know how to explain it. I FINALLY felt like I was starting to get the hang of everything in Valdi, and then I had to leave! It wasn't fair. We went out on Thursday with from friends from American Corner and had a blast. It was probably the best night out I have had here. We started at our favorite bar, the Clover, and then went to a discotec in the casino called XS to dance. It was the first time I had been to XS, and it's basically the Wayside- for you CMU folks- on steroids. Awesome. I was EXTREMELY hungover the next morning, which sucked because it was my last full day in the house, but I had an awesome night. I had to say goodbye to my maid, Marisol, on Friday afternoon, and I was so sad! She is such a nice, sweet person, makes delicious food AND cleans my room everyday, and it was sad to see her go. Or, rather me go. Anyway, that night we had a little going away party for me, with Lena and Jake and Tia Nana. Once again, Marisol made delicious food, complete with Chilean staples of empanadas and küchen, and she even threw in a special treat: hard boiled seagull eggs! :) They actually taste just like a normal egg, except mini, which makes them even better. And my host mom gave me a necklace, which is a tradition in their house to give each girl as a going away gift. It is a blue stone called lapis lazuli, the national stone of Chile. Leaving Valdivia was bittersweet. I didn't think I was going to be sad to go, but I really was. I cried at the bus station saying goodbye to Roberto and Cristina, and of the gringos, I was the only one. But I blame it on genetics, See's are criers. We can't help it. Ask my dad :p
We arrived in Santiago on Sunday morning, and stayed there until Tuesday. While in Santiago, we went to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, the highest hill in Santiago, with a view of the whole city. It was so amazing, but the view was a little obstructed because of the smog. We took a funicular to get to the top, which is basically a cart that goes up a hill on a track. And on the way up to the top is the National Zoo, so naturally, we stopped to visit! It was soooo cool!! These animals literally live on the slopes of a hill and their view is the city of Santiago and the Andes Mountains. It's unreal. We went on a tour of the city on Monday which was also amazing, because I had no idea of all the history that is in Santiago! Our tour guide, Felipe, was informative and spit when he talked, but super good. He knew every bit of historical information about the city. We got to visit the Moneda (where the president works), the Courts, Museums, and other important parts of the city, and ended our tour at the house of Pablo Neruda, the most famous Chilean poet. He has three houses in Chile, all are converted into museums, and so far we have been to two of them. Neruda was a really strange dude, he was obsessed with the ocean and modeled all of his homes to look like boats. They have low ceilings, circular windows, and you actually do feel like you are in a boat while you are there. He was also an avid collector and his homes are FILLED with off the wall stuff that he gathered throughout his life. They are awesome, and super cheap!
The past two days we have been in Valparaíso, which is about 1 1/2 hours from Santiago. Today we went to the Neruda house here, which I thought wasn't as cool as his house in Santiago, but still pretty amazing. This house is right in the middle of Valpo with views of the ocean from almost every room, but we could hardly see it because it was so cloudy today! We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city, which is strange and charming. It's almost like people just plopped houses wherever they felt like it, some are on streets, some are in alleys, some are on stilts off a cliff, some are 5 levels, some are little shacks. It is seriously the most confusing place I have ever been in my whole life. And there are SOOO many houses! I don't think my pictures will do it justice. They are all different colors too, which makes the city seem very bright and artsy. Valpo also has a lot of history, and we might go on a tour if we have the time, but honestly, I am just over traveling.
I don't know how people manage to travel for months on end only living out of their backpack. We always meet backpackers in our hostels, some of them who are on a year long trip around the world, and I think they are insane! I can barely stand living out of my backpack for a week. All I want to do is have a room where there aren't 7 other people sleeping in it with me, have my own personal space, and take a bath. That would be simply amazing!
It's hard to comprehend the fact that in 5 days, I will be boarding my flight to come home. I have loved and hated Chile at the same time (mostly loved :P) but I am really a little sad about leaving. As of right now, tomorrow I will probably be counting down the hours until I can see everyone that I love. Until next time, I can't wait to see you all! And I hope you have enjoyed reading my blogs, although few and far between.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
tres semanas
Three weeks left in my trip!! I cannot believe how fast time flies by. It literally seems like yesterday I was struggling to buy my very first bus ticket in Santiago, and although life is still a struggle for me all the time, things have definately started to become normal. Its weird how the definition of normal can change. Four months ago, security guards at Mcdonalds and paying to use a public bathroom (not including toilet paper) would have seemed weird to me, but now, thats my life. Stray dogs running all over the streets might seem scary in the US, but here they are pretty much considered squirrels. I never, ever, in my entire life would have eaten a plate of crudos - raw ground beef on a piece of bread with a lemon juice and a mayonnaise type sauce- but I tried it here, and honestly it wasnt that bad. This whole experience has really opened my eyes to so many different things, and I think that is something that I never would have been able to learn unless I actually lived it. Its easy to look at a book or read an article and see pictures of a place and their people and imagine their lives, but to actually be a part of a culture that is completely different than your own is really a life changing thing. Some days I struggle to understand why cut up hotdogs on anything is a sophisticated meal, or why you have to go through three lines to buy a pencil, but that is just the way of life here. I have for sure had some ups and downs in this trip. Some days I refuse to speak spanish because its just too hard, and quite simply, I dont feel like it, but other days I look around and am so thankful to be in a country as beautiful as Chile, and am so thankful to be able to say that I lived in a foreign country, basically on my own, for almost 5 months, and dont want it to end. Some days it is so cold in my bedroom that when I wake up, I can actually see my own breath. But then there are days like today, where I went to the beach and it was absolutely beautiful, and just sat and listened to the waves crashing against the rocks for an hour, went to a feria and listened to live music and ate empanadas and anticuchos, and I think that there is no place in the world quite like Chile. My trip is winding down, and its starting to freak me out. My life that I am just starting to get used to is about to do a complete 180. I am SO excited to see my family, my boyfriend and my roommates and I hope they are excited to see me too, but I feel like everything is just going to be weird for me once I get there. At least for a while. I wont have the lovely Marisol to clean my room and cook for me, and I wont constantly feel out of place, which now, is my normal. As much as I am dying to get home, I really think I am going to miss Chile.
And enough of my ranting :) I had a pretty good week here, even though it was EXTREMELY cold. Whenever I see a facebook status complaining about thunderstorms or heat I want to slap that person right in the mouth. There is a common misconception among my friends that I am basking in the hot sun of South America getting a tan while I have been down here, and I regret to inform anyone who previously thought that, that it is simply not true. For me anyway. I am pretty sure I am whiter than my sister Lauren in the dead of winter, and that is a very bold statement. If anyone reading this doesnt know her, just know this: she is a 22 year old female who uses SPF 70 all year long. Enough said.
I have been eating red meat for the past 4 days straight, not the healthiest thing in the world, and had the BEST steak of my entire life on Saturday night at a place called el Rincón Gaucho. It was 8900 pesos (about 19 dollars) for an all you can eat meat buffet, and it was sooooo delicious. If anyone ever finds themself in Southern Chile I highly recommend it. It was the best meal I have had thus far. So fresh and flavorful, they dont even give you salt or pepper or sauce or anything. Just the beef. SOOO good. I cant even get over it. Today, I also had some delicious meat from an outdoor market type thing. Its called an anticucho, basically a shishkabob (sp?), with sausage, beef, onions, and of course hotdogs :),all freshly grilled on a stick with a little chunk of bread on the top of it to soak up all the juices. Disgusting but so good.
School (or lack of school) has been interesting. There are protests and riots all over the country, so I actually havent gone for almost a week. This week probably wont be any different, I will keep you informed!
And enough of my ranting :) I had a pretty good week here, even though it was EXTREMELY cold. Whenever I see a facebook status complaining about thunderstorms or heat I want to slap that person right in the mouth. There is a common misconception among my friends that I am basking in the hot sun of South America getting a tan while I have been down here, and I regret to inform anyone who previously thought that, that it is simply not true. For me anyway. I am pretty sure I am whiter than my sister Lauren in the dead of winter, and that is a very bold statement. If anyone reading this doesnt know her, just know this: she is a 22 year old female who uses SPF 70 all year long. Enough said.
I have been eating red meat for the past 4 days straight, not the healthiest thing in the world, and had the BEST steak of my entire life on Saturday night at a place called el Rincón Gaucho. It was 8900 pesos (about 19 dollars) for an all you can eat meat buffet, and it was sooooo delicious. If anyone ever finds themself in Southern Chile I highly recommend it. It was the best meal I have had thus far. So fresh and flavorful, they dont even give you salt or pepper or sauce or anything. Just the beef. SOOO good. I cant even get over it. Today, I also had some delicious meat from an outdoor market type thing. Its called an anticucho, basically a shishkabob (sp?), with sausage, beef, onions, and of course hotdogs :),all freshly grilled on a stick with a little chunk of bread on the top of it to soak up all the juices. Disgusting but so good.
School (or lack of school) has been interesting. There are protests and riots all over the country, so I actually havent gone for almost a week. This week probably wont be any different, I will keep you informed!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Bus Rides (An Adventure in it's Own)
Our 4 part bus journey home started in Bariloche at 3:30 PM. We boarded a bus that would take us to Neuquen, Argentina, and would take 5 1/2 hours to get there. We sat down grouchy, ready to be home, and dreading the bus rides ahead. About 30 minutes into the ride, Lena, who was sitting next to me, commented on how something smelled like tuna. My nose, which has been clogged with ash for the past 5 days, didn't smell it at first. Then, I got a wiff. It smelled like death. We were both sitting there talking about it, and decided there is no way in hell anyone in their right mind would eat tuna fish in a confined space, with 50 other people around, tainting the air with that wretched smell. Jake looked behind us and confirmed the bad news. Someone indeed was eating tuna fish, and that someone happened to be a backpacker, and backpackers happen to be people who are usually smelly themselves, which made hate the tuna fish eating backpacker more than I normally would have hated him. We were grouchy to begin with, and even grouchier now. But we got over it, which lasted about an hour, until we yet again smelled something bad from the dirty men behind us. The non tuna eater joined the ranks of his gross friend when he decided to eat a salad. Salad, whatever, salad with hard boiled eggs and peppers, not ok. I hated him. And his friend. They stunk up my 5 hour bus ride.
The next bus left from Neuquen and headed to Mendoza, another city in Argentina. This was an overnight ride lasting for 11 hours. We left at 9:30 PM and arrived in Mendoza at 8:30 AM. Usually I don't mind overnight bus rides, people are usually quiet, you can get some sleep, blah blah. This ride started off well, we got some food, a large comfy chair, and a movie that WASN'T dubbed AND made after the year 2000. Score! Just as I started to drift off into my slumber, the snoring started. A few rows behind me, loud, deep, obnoxious snoring. I don't understand how people don't wake up from their own snores, especially when they sound like a cow, as the man behind me sounded. At least he got a good sleep.
Our third bus was finally going to get us to Chile. Yes, it was Santiago, but still Chile none the less. It left from Mendoza at 10:30 AM, and would arrive in Santiago at 4 PM. This pass would lead us through the Andes Mountains, which was amazingly beautiful and almost worth having to ride 1000 km out of the way just to be able to see it. This bus ride was actually the best of the 4, even though at certain points through the mountains I was sure we were going to fall off a cliff. I was sitting in the front of the bus on the second floor. One of the best seats for being able to see the landscape. It was also one of the scariest seats when we were winding down the mountains on a road that literally had 26 curves that were pretty much U-turns on the side of a cliff. Buses have to make wide turns too, so each one felt like we were going to go straight over the edge and fall to our death. But, we made it through, got to Santiago, and only had one more bus to ride.
We arrived in Santiago at 4 PM and went straight for the bus companies to find the fastest ticket out of there. Our favorite company JAC didn't have a bus leaving until 10 PM. We weren't having that. So, we went with shady shady Tur-Bus, who has a history of deadly bus crashes but also had a bus leaving in an hour. That trumped the chance of death. It was also only 16 dollars for a 12 hour bus ride. That should have been a warning sign, but we were too blinded by the thought of being home in Valdivia to care. We got on our bus, a small small crowded bus, and left. Things weren't so bad at first, but about an hour into the ride we were all sweating balls. For some reason, the assistant closed all the vents, the air conditioning wasn't on, and the bus was packed with people. The windows were fogging up from all the hot breath and carbon dioxide. I had a mild freak out. Still no air. Then, the man sitting behind Lena, who I noticed looked pretty awful, started moaning and literally sounded like he was on his death bed. People were trying to take care of him, he was laying on someone's lap. And finally, a man told the assistant who opened the window. I felt the cool air and felt relieved, but also annoyed that a man literally had to start dying for them to open a window for us. The open window lasted about 10 minutes, until 80 year old woman sitting in front of me complained about being cold. Freaking old people are always cold. I don't understand that either. So the windows shut again, the heat creeps in, some little smelly cholo from Talca comes and sits next to me, and I start dying again. I had been going on 30+ hours in a bus and was starting to lose my mind. But, somehow, with my chair that barely reclined and my mini foam pillow, I fell asleep. It lasted for maybe 30 minutes, until the old lady in front of me started dying too. She either a) had an asthma attack, b) had whooping cough or c) lung cancer. I don't know. I really honestly felt bad for her, because you could tell she was trying to be quiet, but just could NOT catch a deep breath. But it was loud. And contaminating the air along with the moaning man behind me. I felt like I needed a mask to breathe. But, FINALLY, after spending too much of my life on a bus, we got to the bus terminal in Valdivia, and I was home! I had never been so elated/relieved/excited in my life!! It was the longest trip I had ever been on.
The next bus left from Neuquen and headed to Mendoza, another city in Argentina. This was an overnight ride lasting for 11 hours. We left at 9:30 PM and arrived in Mendoza at 8:30 AM. Usually I don't mind overnight bus rides, people are usually quiet, you can get some sleep, blah blah. This ride started off well, we got some food, a large comfy chair, and a movie that WASN'T dubbed AND made after the year 2000. Score! Just as I started to drift off into my slumber, the snoring started. A few rows behind me, loud, deep, obnoxious snoring. I don't understand how people don't wake up from their own snores, especially when they sound like a cow, as the man behind me sounded. At least he got a good sleep.
Our third bus was finally going to get us to Chile. Yes, it was Santiago, but still Chile none the less. It left from Mendoza at 10:30 AM, and would arrive in Santiago at 4 PM. This pass would lead us through the Andes Mountains, which was amazingly beautiful and almost worth having to ride 1000 km out of the way just to be able to see it. This bus ride was actually the best of the 4, even though at certain points through the mountains I was sure we were going to fall off a cliff. I was sitting in the front of the bus on the second floor. One of the best seats for being able to see the landscape. It was also one of the scariest seats when we were winding down the mountains on a road that literally had 26 curves that were pretty much U-turns on the side of a cliff. Buses have to make wide turns too, so each one felt like we were going to go straight over the edge and fall to our death. But, we made it through, got to Santiago, and only had one more bus to ride.
We arrived in Santiago at 4 PM and went straight for the bus companies to find the fastest ticket out of there. Our favorite company JAC didn't have a bus leaving until 10 PM. We weren't having that. So, we went with shady shady Tur-Bus, who has a history of deadly bus crashes but also had a bus leaving in an hour. That trumped the chance of death. It was also only 16 dollars for a 12 hour bus ride. That should have been a warning sign, but we were too blinded by the thought of being home in Valdivia to care. We got on our bus, a small small crowded bus, and left. Things weren't so bad at first, but about an hour into the ride we were all sweating balls. For some reason, the assistant closed all the vents, the air conditioning wasn't on, and the bus was packed with people. The windows were fogging up from all the hot breath and carbon dioxide. I had a mild freak out. Still no air. Then, the man sitting behind Lena, who I noticed looked pretty awful, started moaning and literally sounded like he was on his death bed. People were trying to take care of him, he was laying on someone's lap. And finally, a man told the assistant who opened the window. I felt the cool air and felt relieved, but also annoyed that a man literally had to start dying for them to open a window for us. The open window lasted about 10 minutes, until 80 year old woman sitting in front of me complained about being cold. Freaking old people are always cold. I don't understand that either. So the windows shut again, the heat creeps in, some little smelly cholo from Talca comes and sits next to me, and I start dying again. I had been going on 30+ hours in a bus and was starting to lose my mind. But, somehow, with my chair that barely reclined and my mini foam pillow, I fell asleep. It lasted for maybe 30 minutes, until the old lady in front of me started dying too. She either a) had an asthma attack, b) had whooping cough or c) lung cancer. I don't know. I really honestly felt bad for her, because you could tell she was trying to be quiet, but just could NOT catch a deep breath. But it was loud. And contaminating the air along with the moaning man behind me. I felt like I needed a mask to breathe. But, FINALLY, after spending too much of my life on a bus, we got to the bus terminal in Valdivia, and I was home! I had never been so elated/relieved/excited in my life!! It was the longest trip I had ever been on.
Adventures in Argentina
Holaaaaa! :)
I am sorry to those of you who read this, I am honestly the worst blogger in the world. I always think of something else I would rather be doing than updating my life, but my life this past week has been pretty insane, and I definitely need to keep it in writing. I have also made a pact to myself to update every week until I leave!
This weekend (which turned into a full week) the other CMU students and I made the trek to the beautiful town of Bariloche, Argentina. We didn't have class on Friday and turned in our homework early for our Monday class, so we could have a full, 4 day weekend relaxing (ha) in Argentina. We bought our tickets beforehand to get there and back, so we wouldn't have to worry about buying tickets to get home while we were in Bariloche (once again, HA). We arrived on Friday and it was gorgeous. Our hostel was on top of a hill with views of the lake and mountains behind it, the sun was shining, we went shopping at an awesome craft market and got steak at a famous restaurant. All of Friday we couldn't stop talking about how much we LOVED Argentina and were so pumped for the rest of the trip.
On Saturday, we were thinking about maybe renting bikes to go riding around the city, but decided to save that for Sunday instead. We wanted to just explore the city, eat good food and relax. We ended up at a nice place for lunch that had views of the lake, and when we were done we walked down by the lake to take some photos. We noticed while we were on the beach that off in the distance it looked like it was going to rain, the clouds were really dark and looked awful. Everyone else cleared the beach, so we decided to follow. As we were walking back, I noticed that white things were falling (I originally thought they were coming from the pine trees we were walking under) and one got caught in my eye, and it stung SO badly. Me and Lena kept feeling them, and could not, for the life of us, figure out what the hell was falling from the sky. We were discussing what this weird stuff was that was falling, and I commented on how dusty my jacket was getting. When I said that, Lena finally figured it out: it was ash. At this point, we were a little curious/scared/thinking WTF and it started getting heavier and heavier. We randomly ran into some Americans on the streets, who told us that it was from Mt. Osorno (which we later found of was Volcán Puyehue) and that it was errupting, but we weren't in any danger. We got back to the hostel, turned on the news, and found out that a volcano in Chile was in fact erupting, and the wind direction had lead the ashes to Bariloche. It continued to fall all night, and when we woke up the next morning, the city looked like a giant sandbox.
As you can imagine, a town covered in ash doesn't present many opportunities for doing fun things. Our bike ride was out, kayaking-out, stores were closed, nobody was around, and we had no way to go anywhere, because the bus station and the airport were closed. We were literally trapped in Argentina. The passage way that we took to get to Bariloche was about 2 km away from the volcano, later in the week we learned that the road was covered in 60 cm of ash. The next closest passage, in San Martín, was also closed. Even the passage we ended up taking in Mendoza was closed due to a snow storm. So, we were stuck in Argentina, had nothing to do and nowhere to go. This was Sunday. Our tickets to leave were scheduled for Monday at 9 AM.
On Monday, we went to the bus station hoping that our bus wasn't canceled. It was. All buses going to Northern Argentina were canceled. Anything going to Chile was canceled. We literally went from company to company asking for buses, nearly everyone laughed and told us there was absolutely no way we were getting home. So, we went back to the hostel to try to wait it out. We were going crazy trying to think of what to do. Wait in Bariloche for the pass to open, go to Buenos Aires and hang out there (my thoughts were if we were stuck in Argentina we may as well do something fun), or try to find a way home. We deliberated for a day or so, and decided the best thing to do was get home. We had already missed three days of class, and with finals week approaching, we thought we shouldn't miss more than we had to. Plus, at this point, we were starting to hate Bariloche, and home sounded pretty amazing. We asked the bus station workers, our hostel workers (who were awesome btw), and even one of our professors what we should do. The Bariloche pass would be closed for at least 20 days. The next pass was closed, and nobody knew when it would open. The only sure pass that we knew we could go through was Mendoza, which was 1000 km north. We had to do it. We bought our tickets, and left on Thursday afternoon at 2:30 PM to start our 4 bus journey home.
I am sorry to those of you who read this, I am honestly the worst blogger in the world. I always think of something else I would rather be doing than updating my life, but my life this past week has been pretty insane, and I definitely need to keep it in writing. I have also made a pact to myself to update every week until I leave!
This weekend (which turned into a full week) the other CMU students and I made the trek to the beautiful town of Bariloche, Argentina. We didn't have class on Friday and turned in our homework early for our Monday class, so we could have a full, 4 day weekend relaxing (ha) in Argentina. We bought our tickets beforehand to get there and back, so we wouldn't have to worry about buying tickets to get home while we were in Bariloche (once again, HA). We arrived on Friday and it was gorgeous. Our hostel was on top of a hill with views of the lake and mountains behind it, the sun was shining, we went shopping at an awesome craft market and got steak at a famous restaurant. All of Friday we couldn't stop talking about how much we LOVED Argentina and were so pumped for the rest of the trip.
On Saturday, we were thinking about maybe renting bikes to go riding around the city, but decided to save that for Sunday instead. We wanted to just explore the city, eat good food and relax. We ended up at a nice place for lunch that had views of the lake, and when we were done we walked down by the lake to take some photos. We noticed while we were on the beach that off in the distance it looked like it was going to rain, the clouds were really dark and looked awful. Everyone else cleared the beach, so we decided to follow. As we were walking back, I noticed that white things were falling (I originally thought they were coming from the pine trees we were walking under) and one got caught in my eye, and it stung SO badly. Me and Lena kept feeling them, and could not, for the life of us, figure out what the hell was falling from the sky. We were discussing what this weird stuff was that was falling, and I commented on how dusty my jacket was getting. When I said that, Lena finally figured it out: it was ash. At this point, we were a little curious/scared/thinking WTF and it started getting heavier and heavier. We randomly ran into some Americans on the streets, who told us that it was from Mt. Osorno (which we later found of was Volcán Puyehue) and that it was errupting, but we weren't in any danger. We got back to the hostel, turned on the news, and found out that a volcano in Chile was in fact erupting, and the wind direction had lead the ashes to Bariloche. It continued to fall all night, and when we woke up the next morning, the city looked like a giant sandbox.
As you can imagine, a town covered in ash doesn't present many opportunities for doing fun things. Our bike ride was out, kayaking-out, stores were closed, nobody was around, and we had no way to go anywhere, because the bus station and the airport were closed. We were literally trapped in Argentina. The passage way that we took to get to Bariloche was about 2 km away from the volcano, later in the week we learned that the road was covered in 60 cm of ash. The next closest passage, in San Martín, was also closed. Even the passage we ended up taking in Mendoza was closed due to a snow storm. So, we were stuck in Argentina, had nothing to do and nowhere to go. This was Sunday. Our tickets to leave were scheduled for Monday at 9 AM.
On Monday, we went to the bus station hoping that our bus wasn't canceled. It was. All buses going to Northern Argentina were canceled. Anything going to Chile was canceled. We literally went from company to company asking for buses, nearly everyone laughed and told us there was absolutely no way we were getting home. So, we went back to the hostel to try to wait it out. We were going crazy trying to think of what to do. Wait in Bariloche for the pass to open, go to Buenos Aires and hang out there (my thoughts were if we were stuck in Argentina we may as well do something fun), or try to find a way home. We deliberated for a day or so, and decided the best thing to do was get home. We had already missed three days of class, and with finals week approaching, we thought we shouldn't miss more than we had to. Plus, at this point, we were starting to hate Bariloche, and home sounded pretty amazing. We asked the bus station workers, our hostel workers (who were awesome btw), and even one of our professors what we should do. The Bariloche pass would be closed for at least 20 days. The next pass was closed, and nobody knew when it would open. The only sure pass that we knew we could go through was Mendoza, which was 1000 km north. We had to do it. We bought our tickets, and left on Thursday afternoon at 2:30 PM to start our 4 bus journey home.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Feliz Cumple a Mi
Today is my 21st birthday!!! I have been waiting for this day to come for probably the past 4 years and happy as I am to be 21, I still feel just a little bit sad that I can't be spending it with my family and friends at home. With that being said, my host parents have been an amazing otra familia for me, and I was greeted this morning with a huge hug and present from my host mom Antonieta, she gave me a cute little hand crafted box and a flower. Our housekeeper also was excited to show me the cake she made for me, and I am excited to eat it tonight with some friends!!
The past few weeks have been amazing, and it's hard to believe that next week it will already be May, and my trip will almost be halfway done! Last week I only went to class one day, due to a cancellation, exchange student meeting, hurricane-like weather (I will explain more later), and semana santa, or Holy Week. It was a nice break not to go to class, but it really turned me off even more to going to school, which isn't so good. The hurricane blew into Valdivia on Thursday, and it was so bad that school got canceled. We actually did end up going to campus for a little bit in the morning, but with 100 km/hour winds and rain at the same time, even with rain boots and an umbrella I was soaked by the time we got there. A tree fell down over a power line around 12pm, and all of Isla Teja (where I live) was powerless until about 1030 PM that night. So me and Lena played cards until it got too dark to see and then hung out with my family for a little while.
This weekend was Easter weekend, and many Chilean families go on a mini vacation for the weekend, since there is not class or work on Friday. My family took me on a trip as well, and we stayed in a cabin in the town of Lican-Ray, which is close to Pucón. Lican-Ray is absolutely beautiful and is situated on a huge lake at the foot of a volcano, so the sand is black from the volcanic ash. There are also mountains surrounding the lake and huge waterfalls can be seen coming out of the mountains and into the lake. It's really amazing. My family took me to some thermal springs, which were amazing as well. They were basically a huge pool with naturally heated mineral water in them. I stayed in the one that was about 38 degrees Celsius, which felt so nice on my cold body, the air was freezing!! Even though I am in South America, it is really chilly! I am closer to Antarctica than the Equator so all of you who think I am relaxing in the South American jungle are very wrong :)
For my birthday today, we are heading to the Bunker, which is a restaurant/bar literally down the street from my house. They have really delicious potatoes and hamburgers, and today they have a 2x1 happy hour, which I plan on taking full advantage of!
The past few weeks have been amazing, and it's hard to believe that next week it will already be May, and my trip will almost be halfway done! Last week I only went to class one day, due to a cancellation, exchange student meeting, hurricane-like weather (I will explain more later), and semana santa, or Holy Week. It was a nice break not to go to class, but it really turned me off even more to going to school, which isn't so good. The hurricane blew into Valdivia on Thursday, and it was so bad that school got canceled. We actually did end up going to campus for a little bit in the morning, but with 100 km/hour winds and rain at the same time, even with rain boots and an umbrella I was soaked by the time we got there. A tree fell down over a power line around 12pm, and all of Isla Teja (where I live) was powerless until about 1030 PM that night. So me and Lena played cards until it got too dark to see and then hung out with my family for a little while.
This weekend was Easter weekend, and many Chilean families go on a mini vacation for the weekend, since there is not class or work on Friday. My family took me on a trip as well, and we stayed in a cabin in the town of Lican-Ray, which is close to Pucón. Lican-Ray is absolutely beautiful and is situated on a huge lake at the foot of a volcano, so the sand is black from the volcanic ash. There are also mountains surrounding the lake and huge waterfalls can be seen coming out of the mountains and into the lake. It's really amazing. My family took me to some thermal springs, which were amazing as well. They were basically a huge pool with naturally heated mineral water in them. I stayed in the one that was about 38 degrees Celsius, which felt so nice on my cold body, the air was freezing!! Even though I am in South America, it is really chilly! I am closer to Antarctica than the Equator so all of you who think I am relaxing in the South American jungle are very wrong :)
For my birthday today, we are heading to the Bunker, which is a restaurant/bar literally down the street from my house. They have really delicious potatoes and hamburgers, and today they have a 2x1 happy hour, which I plan on taking full advantage of!
 |
| My favorite pic from this weekend, even though it was cloudy/foggy, the lake was still beautiful! |
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sunday Blues
Hi everyone! These past few weeks have been crazy/busy/lazy/fun/hungover so writing in my blog has been a bit of an issue. But, as I sit here again attempting to do my homework, writing in english sounds a lot better than analyzing a story that I have had over a week to finish, so here I am.
I have met a lot of new people in the past two weeks. We were getting our school IDs a few weeks ago and were talking to the adviser Macarena and she invited us to come get dinner with her and a few other foreign students the next day. At first we were a little hesitant, because we felt like she was inviting us because she had to, and we weren't too keen on making pity friends. But, Lena and I decided that pity friends are better than no friends, so we went, and ended up having an awesome time! We met 2 american girls from University of Wisconsin, 2 guys from the Netherlands who are here on a farming internship, a girl studying in Valpo that goes to Hope college, 2 hispanic exchange students (1 from Colombia and 1 from Mexico) and a few Chileans. After dinner we went to the bar with a few of them and had a lot of fun.
After meeting all of them we made plans to go to the local beer brewery, Kunstmann, that next weekend, which was also a lot of fun. They had traditional German food and 8 different types of beer to try, and for the most part they were awesome -except for the one that was 7% alcohol, woof! We stayed there until it closed, ended up ordering 8 columns of beer and had a great time.
During the week we are usually busy with school and other things, but on Wednesdays we like to go out to a bar at the end of my street called the Bunker, and take advantage of their 2x1 happy hour special :) Lena and I also enjoy going to the town plaza and creep on everyone, especially the high schoolers who chain smoke after school. They are the coolest. The cotton candy man is pretty interesting too.
This weekend was really beautiful, and we had originally made plans to go to a place called Corral, which has old Spanish forts that are supposed to be really cool to see. We were supposed to get there around 3, because you have to take a 30 minute ferry ride to get to Corral, but we got there too late (the Chilean way) and decided to walk around Niebla instead (which is the place where the beach is). We stumbled on a fort we didn't even know existed and went there instead for about 50 cents, and it was so cool! It has a nice little museum and great views of the ocean and river, and at a great price!
Last night our pity friends threw a party at their cabaña, which me and Jake went to-Lena stayed home like a good responsible person to start the buttload of homework that we have due this week. All the friends from La Última Frontera were there, along with 3 Chilean girls I didn't know, and a guy from France that we actually met the night before at a bar. It was a nice relaxing party, mostly sitting around the campfire drinking Cristal (the Chilean Bud Light) and chatting with everyone, and it was the first time that I actually felt like my Spanish was getting better. I had a conversation with 2 Chilean girls (alone) for about 30 minutes, and afterwords I felt awesome! They told me my Spanish was good which was really nice to hear, and made me feel more confident about my speaking abilities. It was good to know that I am actually improving and getting better, and thinking back to my first day here in Santiago, I can already say that I am 100% better from that point. And it has only been a month! :)
Things outside of school here are fantastic, but, the Sunday Blues are kicking in, and my homework is calling. Until next time!
This is one of my favorite pictures so far, these flowers are so unique and EVERYWHERE here. I love them!
I have met a lot of new people in the past two weeks. We were getting our school IDs a few weeks ago and were talking to the adviser Macarena and she invited us to come get dinner with her and a few other foreign students the next day. At first we were a little hesitant, because we felt like she was inviting us because she had to, and we weren't too keen on making pity friends. But, Lena and I decided that pity friends are better than no friends, so we went, and ended up having an awesome time! We met 2 american girls from University of Wisconsin, 2 guys from the Netherlands who are here on a farming internship, a girl studying in Valpo that goes to Hope college, 2 hispanic exchange students (1 from Colombia and 1 from Mexico) and a few Chileans. After dinner we went to the bar with a few of them and had a lot of fun.
After meeting all of them we made plans to go to the local beer brewery, Kunstmann, that next weekend, which was also a lot of fun. They had traditional German food and 8 different types of beer to try, and for the most part they were awesome -except for the one that was 7% alcohol, woof! We stayed there until it closed, ended up ordering 8 columns of beer and had a great time.
During the week we are usually busy with school and other things, but on Wednesdays we like to go out to a bar at the end of my street called the Bunker, and take advantage of their 2x1 happy hour special :) Lena and I also enjoy going to the town plaza and creep on everyone, especially the high schoolers who chain smoke after school. They are the coolest. The cotton candy man is pretty interesting too.
This weekend was really beautiful, and we had originally made plans to go to a place called Corral, which has old Spanish forts that are supposed to be really cool to see. We were supposed to get there around 3, because you have to take a 30 minute ferry ride to get to Corral, but we got there too late (the Chilean way) and decided to walk around Niebla instead (which is the place where the beach is). We stumbled on a fort we didn't even know existed and went there instead for about 50 cents, and it was so cool! It has a nice little museum and great views of the ocean and river, and at a great price!
Last night our pity friends threw a party at their cabaña, which me and Jake went to-Lena stayed home like a good responsible person to start the buttload of homework that we have due this week. All the friends from La Última Frontera were there, along with 3 Chilean girls I didn't know, and a guy from France that we actually met the night before at a bar. It was a nice relaxing party, mostly sitting around the campfire drinking Cristal (the Chilean Bud Light) and chatting with everyone, and it was the first time that I actually felt like my Spanish was getting better. I had a conversation with 2 Chilean girls (alone) for about 30 minutes, and afterwords I felt awesome! They told me my Spanish was good which was really nice to hear, and made me feel more confident about my speaking abilities. It was good to know that I am actually improving and getting better, and thinking back to my first day here in Santiago, I can already say that I am 100% better from that point. And it has only been a month! :)
Things outside of school here are fantastic, but, the Sunday Blues are kicking in, and my homework is calling. Until next time!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
I HATE SCHOOL
I can't believe that in 2 days I will have been in Chile for a month already! Time sure does fly! School is already in full swing, and it's a little annoying that all my friends at home are winding down their school year and mine is just beginning, but then I remember when they were all doing homework and studying for exams I was laying on the couch watching movies. So it's my turn now. As my title implies though, I hate school, because it is frustrating and annoying and I would rather be climbing volcanoes all day than writing spanish papers. My least favorite class (written expression) requires that we read a short story and write a paper about it every single week, and correct the one we had written from the week before every week, so it is going to be a lot of work. But, I came here to learn spanish and that is what I am doing!
Life here is always interesting, yesterday Lena and I were enjoying a nice day in the town plaza and we ran into one of our teachers, who proceeded to talk to us for around 20 minutes. He basically called us out for being losers and not doing anything on a Saturday, but in our defense, ALL of the highschoolers were hanging out in the plaza, so at least we had some company...
Food still is intriguing .. yesterday we decided to try out Telepizza, which we were assuming was like pizza hut or something.. but, alas, we were wrong. It was basically a giant whole wheat english muffin that wasn't toasted with ketchupy pizza sauce and then regular pizza toppings. After that to satisfy our need for something American, we got some ice cream and then hung out around town. About 10 minutes after our ice cream, we both had the most intense stomach cramps of our entire lives and we went back home ASAP. Whether it was the awful telepizza or the ice cream that gave us Montezuma's Revenge we will never know, but I for one am staying away from both for a while. Woof!
My lunch today was also something new, for our appetizer we each had a whole artichoke on a plate. Like usual I had no idea how I was supposed to eat the food on my plate, so I watched others squirt from the mayonnaise pouch a glob of mayo into a little bowl in front of each place mat and then mix it with lemon juice. I did the same. Then, they started peeling off the artichoke leaves one by one and dipping the bottom of them into the mayo mix and scraped the fleshy part of the artichoke off with their teeth. So, I did the same. Surprisingly it was delicious. It tasted like the spinach and artichoke dip my mom makes, and I got over the fact that I was eating straight up mayo (which I despise).
I also got to meet my other 'sister' today, Maria Teresa, and her son Martín, who is 8 months old and adorable. My family is good, school is good, pretty much everything in my life except the occasional stomach issue is awesome right now! See you all in only 4 months now :)
Life here is always interesting, yesterday Lena and I were enjoying a nice day in the town plaza and we ran into one of our teachers, who proceeded to talk to us for around 20 minutes. He basically called us out for being losers and not doing anything on a Saturday, but in our defense, ALL of the highschoolers were hanging out in the plaza, so at least we had some company...
Food still is intriguing .. yesterday we decided to try out Telepizza, which we were assuming was like pizza hut or something.. but, alas, we were wrong. It was basically a giant whole wheat english muffin that wasn't toasted with ketchupy pizza sauce and then regular pizza toppings. After that to satisfy our need for something American, we got some ice cream and then hung out around town. About 10 minutes after our ice cream, we both had the most intense stomach cramps of our entire lives and we went back home ASAP. Whether it was the awful telepizza or the ice cream that gave us Montezuma's Revenge we will never know, but I for one am staying away from both for a while. Woof!
My lunch today was also something new, for our appetizer we each had a whole artichoke on a plate. Like usual I had no idea how I was supposed to eat the food on my plate, so I watched others squirt from the mayonnaise pouch a glob of mayo into a little bowl in front of each place mat and then mix it with lemon juice. I did the same. Then, they started peeling off the artichoke leaves one by one and dipping the bottom of them into the mayo mix and scraped the fleshy part of the artichoke off with their teeth. So, I did the same. Surprisingly it was delicious. It tasted like the spinach and artichoke dip my mom makes, and I got over the fact that I was eating straight up mayo (which I despise).
I also got to meet my other 'sister' today, Maria Teresa, and her son Martín, who is 8 months old and adorable. My family is good, school is good, pretty much everything in my life except the occasional stomach issue is awesome right now! See you all in only 4 months now :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)