Reflections: Month 1--ish

Well estimado amigos, I have passed one month mark of my fantastic trip here in Santiago. All I can say is that it's be cussin' amazing and fun, and I am excited for the next 3 months! I was thinking today, while waiting for my Mapuche professor to show up, about the last few weeks, and how I felt at the beginning versus how I feel now. I think part of what made me so reflective was our poetry reading in my other class today. During the first week of classes, we had to write a poem that reflected, represented, summed up, etc. our feelings upon first arriving in Santiago. Listening to everyone's poems, I realized a lot of us had similar experiences and it got me thinking. My favorite poem was written by a guy from UCSB and it was about the Chilean phrases, asking people for directions, getting lost, etc. and I really identified with how he expressed the confusion of being in a new place. Even though his poem was obviously meant to be funny, I felt like it was genuine and played on the emotions of us all during the first weeks here.

I think the most present memories from the first week here were trying to figure out how to use the bus/metro system and trying to find where I was going. There was a lot of waiting, wrong directions, getting lost, and pulling out my map in the middle of a street to figure out where we were. It was scary, confusing, embarrassing, and fun. I spent a lot of time with the people on my program, getting to know them, figuring out who I might be able to connect with, and who I might want to party with. We definitely partied a lot, trying to get our bearings in this huge city and realizing that we are going to be in this place for the next four months of our lives. While four months is essentially a moment in a person's lifetime, I was constantly told in the year leading up to my study abroad experience that it would be the most amazing one of my life, the one I would never forget, the one that would change me, the one where I would figure out who I am, the one that would shape my perspective, etc. etc. I don't know if it will be as grandiose as all that, but it's certainly been pretty amazing so far. My friends and I constantly talk about this experience as unreal, like we aren't in the real world, like we are all going to wake up at any moment and face reality. The beautiful thing is that this IS reality.

My favorite moments in Chile are the spontaneous and momentary vistas of nature I manage to capture to hold my memory.  Sometimes it happens when I'm walking down the street after class. I'm absorbed in my own thoughts and then the Andes hit me like a blast of cold air. The sun setting on the snowy peaks takes my breath away every single time. I stop, just for a moment, to realize how amazing something like mountains can be. That something so huge can be made by this earth, and that I get to see them. Sometimes it's so beautiful that I can hardly stand it, and maybe even a tear or two try to sneak out of my eyes. Maybe it's because I grew up on the flat (but beautiful!) plains of the midwest, and that mountains aren't present, but there is just something about them that gets me. I remember as a child going to Wyoming and seeing the Grand Teton's for the first time. I would wake up before everyone in the house (can you believe it?) and just sit on the floor marveling at that mountain range through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It's so humbling, and I love that feeling here in Chile.

Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm here living this new life, with all these new people, and I am doing great! I don't feel too homesick, although I have my moments. Every now and then I just really want a bowl of my mom's soup, a plate of my dad's clam fettucini, or a cup of Gong Fu tea or Zanzibar's coffee,  but I'm willing to forego these comforts for an amazing trip in Santiago.

Miracles are possible!

Within the last hour, Chileans received the news they have been waiting for for the last 17 days: the miners are ALL still alive. The rescue workers heard noises this morning as they approached the refuge, and this afternoon the miners gave a note written with red pencil saying "We are fine, in the refuge, all 33." This is indeed a miraculous day for Chileans and all those affected by such a tragedy. Hopefully in the next few hours the rescue workers will be able to make contact with the miners via cameras, and then send food, water, oxygen, and medicine to the miners. I can't even imagine how happy the families must be at this moment. Today is a day to celebrate!

Chilean Tragedy

Hello my family and friends. While I have been having fun and experiencing the Chilean life as best I can, many Chileans are living in fear. For those of you who haven't heard or been following the San Jose mining collapse, here is a bit of information.

In San Jose, northern Chile, 10 days ago there was a collapse in the mine there. 33 miners have been trapped there since the 5th, and attempts to rescue them have not only failed thus far, another collapse occurred. No communication has been made with the miners since this collapse. Rather than try to directly access the miners for extrication, the rescue crews are working to transport food, water, and oxygen to the miners. Family and friends of the trapped have gathered en masse at the site of the mine, and President Piñera is addressing the problems that led to the collapse. There is much hope that the miners are all still alive, and many are doing what they can to support the families and friends of the miners. Please keep the miners, their families, and any who are close to them in your hearts. Send out requests to the universe, prayers, or ask whatever deity you put faith in that these miners can make it out alive.

Rescue worker after second collapse

Other nights in Santiago

While my friends and I all try to be creative about what we do each day and night, sometimes we don't always succeed. We do, however, succeed in laughing a lot, and having fun. Recently UChile played a Mexican team, and since we've heard so many crazy stories about what happens on game night, we all decided to hit a bar and watch the game. I unfortunately didn't make it until the second half, and unfortunately there wasn't much going on, but this was probably better for us in the end. So there we are, gringos as we are, essentially the only ones sitting in this bar called Mi Lounge watching the futbol game. I thought it was pretty funny, and it was a great time. We all called the night pretty early and decided to rest up. Especially those unfortunate ones who had classes the next day.

When we can't think of anything else to do, we usually end up hanging out at someone's house. This is my personal favorite because we all get to talk a lot more, relax a bit more, and sit on comfy couches too. One of my friend's family has an apartment and are usually happy to have us all over. We spend a lot of time youtubing and goofing off at her place. Always a fun time.

Sometimes we go out to Las Condes, the very affluent part of Santiago, and sip wine and beer with class. I like to call this photo "The Family Portrait" since it kind of encapsulates our group. 

The Family Portrat

One day when we were walking around near La Moneda (the president's house) I realized that a fair few of us were wearing Ray Bans or knockoffs so we decided we would be a good group to advertise for Ray Ban and took the liberty of doing the photo shoot ourselves. 

As much fun as I've had going out and bein a little loca, there are pretty frustrating moments here too. Trying to deal with all the problems with my computer, charge my transportation card, charge my phone while the pharmacy is being robbed, explain to someone what q-tips are, and get cold medicine can be challenging and stressful. One very frustrating day was when I was trying to find a class at UChile. First, it took forever and a day to get there, then I had to ask about 8 people where to go before I figured out I was at the completely wrong campus and had missed the class. So I decided to head home and call it a day, but I got on the wrong bus and went the opposite direction from home. Just when I was feeling really down, I looked up and saw the sun setting on the Andes and it took my breath away. 

I think this is the most rewarding thing about living in Santiago. You can be walking, riding the bus, or getting lost but every now and then, between the sky scrapers and smog you catch a glimpse like this one and you're reminded of how beautiful the world is. 

More Explorations

One night we were all craving Mexican food, so we found a Mexican restaurant and met up. It was terrible food but we all enjoyed ourselves and it was, as always, good to spend the evening in good company.

Another day some of us decided to grab a beer and some food in the afternoon and then head to the market. We had some intense conversations about religion, politics, morals, and beliefs in general. It's really great that we are all so different, but can have intelligent conversations about our differing ideas without it changing our friendship. We also had some goofy moments, how could we not when I'm around?

After the beers we went and climbed up a Palacio of some kind. The view was amazing and it was a pretty peaceful spot. The Andes are awe-inspiring, even though my pictures don't quite do them justice. 

After the climb, we ended up going to a market, where I FINALLY got an animal sweater. I'm pretty proud of my alpaca wool sweater with llamas on it. 

One night while we were all partying at a friend's apartment, I got a little artsy and took some pictures of my friends. 

I am surrounded by creative people, in all different ways. Two people are photographers, one plays guitar and sings amazingly, another is an opera singer. And others are into sports like rugby and lacrosse. The mixture, like I've said before, is so awesome and I feel super lucky to have all these people around me and I am loving getting to know each of them. 

Valparaíso y la Casa de Pablo Neruda

Our first major fieldtrip that we took as a group was to Valparaíso, the main port of Chile. While it's not the biggest city or port in Chile, it is the primary one. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and the proximity to the sea made it even warmer. We got to nap on the way up to the city, which was good since it was a bit too early for some of us. Once we got to Valparaíso itself, we walked around the town a bit, and then went up to the top of one of the little peak/neighborhoods. The view was incredibly gorgeous and it was a fun ride up to the top. It was interesting seeing the architectural difference between Valparaíso and Santiago. In Santiago, it's much more industrial and the contrast between old and new is much more stark. In Valparaíso, all the houses are brightly colored and the industrial architecture hasn't creeped in so much. The above picture doesn't quite do justice to the dappled cityscape of this lovely port town, but you get the general idea. It was as if someone scattered pebbles of every bright color imaginable across the landscape and houses sprang up all squished together from the pebbles. It was fun and beautiful. 

While at the top taking in this view, I asked Maricarmen, the funny advisor at IES to take a picture with me. When we got ready and posed, she suddenly asked me in her quirky and endearing way, "What is your name again?" and I proceeded to tell her. The moment was captured in the cutest picture I have from my trip to date. We got to take a hike around the neighborhood on our way to our lunch place and I fell in love with the graffiti and street art. Some pieces were simple and powerful while others were complex and amazing. 

The lunch we had was pretty amazing. First the brought out bread drizzled with an herbed oil. Next came a light soup that was pumpkin, curry, and ginger puree. The main dish was either fish or steak over a creamy, shrimp, and snail risotto, with a curry sauce on the side. The dessert was incredible. It was a spicy apple crumble with lucuma/dulce de leche ice cream and topped with a caramel candy. It was muy rico and delicious. 

After we ate lunch, we walked down the little mountain through more colorful houses and more awesome graffiti. Next we went to Pablo Neruda's house at Isla Negra. It was a sweet house that had so many collections of crazy stuff, beautiful architecture, and intricately ascetic rooms that all had their own purpose. Neruda picked a great location with beautiful views of the ocean. His love of the sea is apparent in his house and the stories about his life and poetry. It was a peaceful place (other than all the tourists) and all the different viewpoints on the property were picturesque. I had a great day with my new friends and ended it with a beautiful sunset. I thought about many friends and family who would have LOVED both Valparaíso and Pablo Neruda's house and I wish you could have been there to see it. 

Nights on the Town: ¡Carrete!

Hello my followers! I am sorry it has been so long since my last post, but my computer has been MIA. Now that I temporarily have a functioning computer, I can update you all on my adventures of the last 2 weeks. 

Boys being silly

Needless to say, the nightlife here in Santiago is a bit more loca than I'm used to at home. The lack of classes and responsibilities definitely makes for too many opportunities to go out with the friends. It's been super fun discovering new places to go. I like planning out places to go, even though some of my compatriots don't always agree with my choices. One of the evenings that we went out, my host mother gave me a suggestion for a dance club that was pretty close to where I live. I gave everyone the heads up and we met up in Parque Ñuñoa, found the club, and decided to wait at a sushi bar and have a few drinks before our whole group showed up. We had the usual Pisco Sours, Escudos, and some people got adventurous and had Fanschop's which are beer and Fanta mixed. Yum! After spending a little too long in the sushi bar, where incidentally we were the only people in the whole place, and after listening to the endless, bass pumping weird techno music that nobody liked, we moved on to La Batuta, the supposed "discotech." While dancing did occur at this club, the night we went there happened to be an 80's, christian, hair, metal, and who knows what else band called Jesus Cristo Metal Star. 

Jesus Cristo Metal Star

Friends having fun

While at first we were all pretty apprehensive about staying at the concert, we ended up having a great time and just went with it. It was refreshing to let go of any kind of judgements, preconceptions, or fears and experience something totally new and different. It was a blast and I was there with good friends. What more can you need? It was so crazy and hilarious all you could do was shrug your shoulders and rock out. The atmosphere was fantastic. The entire crowd was singing along and was obviously full of dedicated fans. While it wasn't the night any of us expected, we were all happy to have a new and unexpected experience. 

SHOTS!

Another night we all, almost literally ALL of us met up and went to get drinks. It was fun, albeit a bit difficult, to get all of our group into one place. After we had some laughs, our group split up and went to different places. The bar that I ended up at turned out to be quite interesting. I don't know if I've explained this to all of you, but pololos (couples) are very very into PDA in Chile. They all make out all over the place in all public locations. It's pretty weird. So one couple at this bar was just going at it and we were all pretty weirded out. To take the edge off the strange situation, my friend decided we should do a shot and ordered one that looked tasty. We realized after she ordered that the shots were flaming and we had to take them through straw. They were good and fun anyways. Don't get any bad ideas about me, friends and family, I'm just living it up here in a FUN and Responsible manner. 

When we're not going out on the town, we usually spend a few hours a day in the IES center just hanging out, catching up on the latest stories we all have to share, and sipping tea and instant coffee. It's a comfortable and relaxing environment, with people coming in and out, hanging out on couches and chatting with all the IES staff. It's a great home base. Alrighty! On to the next update! Look forward to lots of pictures from Valparaíso!