One month in Chile whaaat

Hiiii, sorry sorry I know it's been a while since I have updated this, I've been pretty good at procrastinating doing really pointless things, and then hours later remember that I could maybe update my blog or something. Oh well.

This past weekend was excellent! Thursday Allie, Christine, and Allison came over to my house for a bit and got to meet my family. Very nice to have friends over, because we all live so far apart that we tend to just meet up at a certain location versus at someone's house. However, that day we planned to go out to meet some friends at a bar later, and it was easier to stop at my house (yet again, I love living in el centro...so close to everything!). Before going to Bellavista we stopped at a small whole in the wall restaurant (there are A LOT of these especially in my neighborhood, because there are so many hungry university students around). We got completos--basically a hot dog topped with tomato, avocado, and mayo--burritos, and "jugo natural", which is literally a piece of fruit blended with ice/water. We met up with our friends, Carlos (Allie's pololo), Carlos, and Matías and spent a long time at a fun bar in Bellavista befor braving the micros (buses) home. On friday I went to CIEE to watch the movie Machuca. I've already seen it, but it's a really great movie, I definitely recommend it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_p3QAPtdEY). Basically, it tells the story of the coup but from the point of view of two middle school boys--one from the lower class and one from the upper class--which is a really interesting way to view the conflict. Afterwards I was planning to go to a concert, but the movie went really late so I decided to call it a night and go home. However, as I was leaving, my friend Alexandra invited me to go eat Peruvian food with her and her mom. Ashley (from CIEE) and I went with her--it was really fun because we would never have found this wonderful little peruvian restaurant tucked away on the second story of a building, in the middle of Santiago (also it would probably not have been safe to walk there as just two gringas). It was really fun to eat with Ale and her family--felt a lot like going out on a friday night with the neighborhood families (also the peruvian food was so good!).

Saturday morning I met up with 7 other gringas from my program at Estacion Central, which is one of the main connecting metro stations to the bus depot. We bought tickets and 15 minutes later were on a bus headed to Pomaire, a small town about an hour outside of Santiago. Pomaire is known for its traditional ceramic bowls and small "chanchitos". These are little 3-legged pig sculptures; if you give one as a gift, it's supposed to bring luck to the recipient. I found Pumaire to be really touristy, but I had a wonderful time nonetheless, spending the day out of the city and with friends. When we got there we went to lunch at an amazing restaurant, where we all got either pastel de choclo (similar to pastel de papa, but with corn) or a half pound kilo (!!!) empanada, with delicious delicious jugo natural of every flavor you could imagine (melon was the best by far). We walked around a bit. and saw about a thousand ceramic pots and chanchitos. It was a little strange, because the main attraction was about 5 blocks of stores selling the same thing, which clearly runs the economy in Pomaire. However, at the same time if you looked down the neighborhoods past the main shops, there was a stark difference between the bustling artisan streets, and the deserted, more run down residential area. After wandering around and getting completely confused about how to find a bus back to Santiago, we finally hopped onto a micro going to a neighboring town, where we could catch a bigger bus to Santiago. The packed, rumbling bus dropped us off in the middle of a road. None of us quite knew where we were/anything about the bus we were supposed to get on. But not five minutes later, a bus to Santiago pulled up to our group of lost looking gringas. The sun was strong and the day was very warm, making it a lovely day to be outside exploring and away from the concrete of the city.

Waiting at a bus stop somewhere in Chile. Lost? Of couse not...

Here are some snapshots of this week:

• Yesterday I fed Renato his dinner which, although not really remarkable at all, made me feel infinitely more a part of the family. (Also kind of fun because I got to do the airplane trick. heh heh.) It was good to be helping out.
• As I am always on my pursuit of making chilean friends, yesterday was another venture in the long journey. I was supposed to meet Ale, for lunch at the U de chile. I went to the cafeteria at 1:35 to meet her, and didn't see her anywhere, although there were tonsss of people milling around. Being here and trying to make friends/lunch buddies basically launches me back to middle/elementary school/summer camp. Basically anywhere here you don't know anyone, they alllll know each other, and you somehow have to initiate contact. Take that feeling and then multiply it by 20 because everyone is looking at you because you are tall and blond and obviously gringa and lost. To say the least, I have had many experiences where I have to get over the fact that the situation is about to be reaaally awkward and everyone will be staring blatantly at me. Anyway, after going in and leaving the cafeteria 3 times, I finally found Ale and got to eat with her and 4 of her friends. I pretty much couldn't hear anything from the conversation over the dull roar of the cafeteria, so my part often included a ton of nodding, but I'm excited to get to know them all better (and be able to understand them too!)
  
• After my next class, which ended at six pm, I decided to walk home instead of taking the metro (my new fave thing to do). It's about a 30 min walk and it's nice to stretch my legs, join the rush hour crowds, and see people and places. I walk from my U, right by Santa Lucia, an old spanish fort on a hill, past the "White House", and then to my house. Yesterday was cloudy and gross all day, but when I left my class the clouds had mostly broken, leaving amazing streaks of pink and orange across the sky. I walk toward the west away from the mountains, so I had the most spectacular view the entire way back. It was a really wonderful way to end the day.
• Today finally felt like spring! (Although I'm sure it's just teasing.) It was so warm that during the lunch hour, everyone was spread out across the large expanses of grassy area at la Catolica, just enjoying the beautiful day.
• Mi hermanita, Leo, had her one month birthday on August 9th. It's so exciting to watch her grow, she is so much bigger than when I first met her and she was only 6 days old.
  

With everyday I feel more and more at home with my family, at the universities, and roaming the various streets of downtown Santiago. It's hard to think that over a month ago I didn't know Renato and his carshh or the best ice cream place in Bellavista (on that note, I was at Emporio la Rosa the other day and ended up eating chocolate-basil icecream. This is what happens when you order things and have no idea what they mean. I say it's always worth the adventure.)

Much love to all. Happy and safe travels to all the other students who are now on study abroad! Can't wait to here your stories.

Besitos!

Some pictures! Also, I'll leave you with some reggaeton this time (this one suggested to me by Allie). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RKfnvLPdLM

Looking at la Universidad Católica's campus central where I have my lit class. The picture doesn't really do it justice--if you go inside there are numerous, gigantic courtyards always filled with students chatting, playing small partidos de futbol, and stopping at outdoor cafes for a coffee (mmm Nescafe) before class. If you walk down this street, I live about 30 minutes away.

Kalamazoo girls in Santiago! Wishing Jessie farewell before she left last week.

Love this kid.

chilAY

Hello! So it's been rather CHILLY in CHILE. HAH. But for real, today was absolutely freezing, while the day before was almost t-shirt weather. I'm sensing that Michigan's unpredictable weather patterns have followed me here. Great.

Apparently some people who will go unnamed rebeccanovello think that I can do better with the name for this blog. Suggestions have been 1. Allyson is not in Mexico (a leetle politically incorrect, no?), 2. Enchil(e)ada (...mmm mexican foood), 3. Something with the witty wordplay between Chile the country and chilly the state of being less than warm. Suggestions and votes are welcome.

Tengo sueeeeeño, so this will be cortito (it'slatei'mtiredthis'llberullshortrullshort). I pretty much officially know my class schedule. Translated into English, I'm taking: Human Rights in Chile; Government and Social Responsibility; Confronting Poverty (with a service learning component, woohoo!); and Vargas Llosa, Novelista (a lit class). I think they'll all be really interesting, and if I don't die from the 300 pages of novel reading a week, this'll be a great semester!


More exciting things are happening too I'm sure, but I am too sleepy at the moment to think past tea time a few hours ago. I will leave you with this lovely picture of me from when I put off an essay and about 100 pages of reading until the last minute. Apparently procrastination doesn't leave when you go to a new country. Dammit.

mmmm school.

Oh man, has it really been a week since I wrote here? I am never going to be able to remember everything that has happened. But here are at least the interesting points.

This week has been all about trying to figure out classes in the universities here. I've been told that this is the most frustrating part of one's entire experience in Chile, and I'm pretty inclined to believe that that's true. At la Catolica (one of the universities), they are pretty well organized, but in order to sign up for a class you have to go to the office of that department, which oh yeah, is only open for a few hours every day. At la Chile (the other univ) there is approximately zero organization: the class schedules were not online/available until the day classes started (how does this make any sense??). So far I am registered in three classes, and next week will find one more to take. I am taking two classes at la Catolica (but of course at different campuses, because why should I make things easy). The first, enfrentando la pobreza, aka confronting poverty, seems really interesting. It's in the agriculture department (weird, yes) but basically talks about social issues, and we get to do a community service component which I'm really excited for. Next, I'm taking Vargas Llosa, Novelista at La Catolica's central campus, which happens to be pretty close to my house. There is a tonnn of work--we have to read something like 8 novels--but the profe is really cool, so I think it'll be worth it. CIEE offers some classes too, so I'm taking a human rights class with them. The class seems so interesting; the main profe was a really important judge in a lot of human rights cases in Chile, we get to go on field trips (!!!!), and there are visiting profs all the time. Also, so far there are only 3 of us in the class.

Basically this past week has included a lot of frantic wandering from class to class, asking Chileans where exactly I am, not understanding things, getting lost, and repeat. But I seem to be getting the hang of things little by little...One of the most challenging aspects so far is figuring out how to access readings for classes. Books are generally super expensive here, so everyone photocopies EVERYTHING. At the universities there are photocopy stations where you put in an order for copies and come back later to pick them up (and then wait in a line with every other person in the entire universe). Today I went to a fotocopiadora (not at school, just a store) and waited for about an hour and a half as they hand fed the papers through the machine. So frustrating.

In other news, a few nights ago I went with my host dad to a bar to share some cerveza and watch the big futbol aka soccer game: U Chile vs. Chivas (Mexico). Definitely heard some words there that are in no way allowed in a house with a 2 year old. Unfortunately U Chile lost...it was a very quiet walk back to the house.

Last night I went with Christine and Courtney, two other girls from CIEE, to our friend Alexandra's house. (Ale was one of the "cultural embassadors" with CIEE. Basically a chilean university student who could show us the ropes/someone to hang out with.) We went to her house and made delicious guacamole. This involved a bus ride to the supermarket to get chips. I am still getting used to riding the micros...the metro I know how to do, but micro drivers tend to slam on the breaks and swerve all over the place. I was launched into a girl, and instinctively grabbed out to catch myself. Unfortunately I grabbed the guy who was standing right across from me. Neither of them appeared too pleased with this situation. Ah well, I've learned that everyday brings another awkward experience to learn from. Anyway, I had a great time at Ale's house; we stayed for once (evening meal of bread, tea, other snacks), and then headed home before the metro closed. It was really nice to meet another chilean family and get to talk to them as well.

I'll leave you all with some more photos, some stolen from facebook, others are mine.

Everyone in the program on the second night here at our welcome dinner with Pisco sours, the national drink.

Dancing at Papagayo's

At Flannery's, an Irish pub, with friends

There are stray dogs everywhere. This one really wanted my lunch.


Gah so cute. Even though he likes to steal my stuff sometimes, this kid is adorable. And yes, that is my headlamp.

Guacamole success! (And lots of other delicious things too.)

Enjoying a wonderful cup of REAL coffee and chocolaty brownie after a long day of classes.

como taiii?

It's hard to believe it, but I've almost been in Chile for 3 weeks! At times it feels like I just got here yesterday, but most of the time it feels like I've been here for ages. Everyday brings a new surprise, situation, people to meet, food to try, words to misinterpret, and just adventure in general.

This weekend started off with a trip to the mall in Las Condes on Friday evening. To properly appreciate this story, you need to understand that one of Santiago's (and Chile's) biggest problem is that there exists a huge disparity of wealth. In Santiago, those who live closest to the foothills of the Andes tend to be the wealthiest. Needless to say, las condes is nestled right into the base of la cordillera. I live in the center of the city, so travelling all the way out to the 'burbs was pretty strange. Entering the mall, you walk into a large courtyard with outdoor restaurants, all covered with plastic to keep the heat in. On both sides of the escalator fountains cascaded down through glittering lights. As we walked further in, we found that the mall was not just outdoors, but also continued inside, where gaping doors lead to an expansive cove of stores. These included familiar names, such as Starbucks, Friday's, and Columbia Sportswear. (It was very strange to see a Friday's nestled next to an extremely upscale, gourmet restaurant.) Needless to say, I was quite taken aback by the luxury displayed at the mall.

We went to an heladería to get icecream, and found that they had about 60 different flavors (who knew that many even existed!). I skipped icecream because I had just stuffed myself with mi abuela's homemade sopaipillas (basically fried dough--it's seriously delicious, especially when eaten warm, right out of the pan). The six of us sat around the table, talking and laughing laudly (yep, we were probably being those gringos). It was quite a fun night--we even managed to figure out the micros (buses) and find ways to get home once realizing that we missed the last metro car by 10 minutes.

Last night I went salsa dancing again at Papagayos. This time, we were in the advanced class, which turned out to be pretty hard. I danced with Allison during the lesson, and we managed to generally figure things out by the end, but got pretty tangled up along the way. Unfortunately the salsoteca was dissapointingly empty, so we mostly sat around and talked after the lesson. After a while I decided to venture off, and took a micro to meet friends at a club (it was a fun mixture of CIEE people, Kalamazoo people, and chilean friends). After getting sufficiently lost for about 10 minutes, my good sense of direction just happened to lead me to the right building (doubly fortunate, because I had forgotten the name of the club). I told the bouncer that I was looking for friends there--I wasn't sure if I was at the right club--and could I just go in to look for them? Only a gringa could get away with something like that. Fortunately they were there (and I got away with not paying the $10 cover charge!). Chileans like to stay out reaaally late, so I didn't end up getting home until, well 6am.

Today Héctor taught me how to make pastel de papas, a tradicional meal. I of course decided to be a huge nerd and take notes, so I now have the recipe. If you're up for trying something new, this was absolutely delicious!

Boil 5ish potatoes (you'll be making mashed potatoes later for 4 people)
Cut up 3ish onions and soak them in warm water with some sugar (to get rid of the acidity)
Hard boil 3 eggs
Cook some ground beef with the onions (strain them from the water)
Add salt, pepper, and rosemary
Once the potatoes are done, turn them into mashed potatoes (you know, throw in some milk, butter)
<--(I stole this picture from google, but it looks pretty much exactly like what we made.)
Once all of that is done, you will layer things in bowls (oven safe). First, put a layer of the meat/onion/spices, next put some hard boiled egg slices and a few olives (the really big ones), then a thick layer of mashed potatoes. Last, and most important of all, sprinkle the top with at least 1 spoonful (probably 1 and a half) of sugar. I know it sounds weird, but the sugar with everything is sooo delicious. Stick the bowls in the oven until the top browns and everything is warm. Sorry that is totally not specific at all, but I have no idea how hot the oven was. What we made served about 4 people. Seriously delicious and perfect for a cold day! Although I imagine most of you reading this are plenty warm enough as is.

Now I'm attempting to choose classes; I have to enroll tomorrow! I have about a thousand options, so I'll let you know later what I end up taking. Well my fingers are officially frozen. Chau y besitos!

One last thing: I've been noticing that I've started to drop my "s"s when I talk...and so starts the adoption of the chilean accent.

Hola a todos! Yet again another packed week with CIEE. Monday was dedicated to learning about human rights in Chile, including visiting various memorial sites. As many probably know, there was a coup here in 1973, in which the military overthrew Presidente Salvador Allende, and replaced him with General Agosto Pinochet. Pinochet (or "la dictadura") was in power until 1990, when he was voted out of office in an official election. During these years, many people who supported Allende or supported leftist politics were dissappeared or assasinated. Today it is extremely taboo to talk about the coup--no one does. It is recent history that affected many, but is not talked about, and is still a very polemic issue. We listened to a lecture about los derechos humanos, and then went to Villa Grimaldi (remaaned Parque por la Paz), which was a site used for torture and interrogation during the reign of la dictadura. After the tour there, we continued to el Cementerio General. This national cementary is huge; there are road names to direct a lost visitor, and one wanders through rows of graves which range from small palaces of marble to long apartments of tombs. As we walked through, stray dogs accompanied us (like in all of Santiago), we passed through a large funeral party, and wandered by kiosks selling candy and cookies. While there we saw the tombs of Salvador Allende and a memorial for many deseparecidos. (LEFT: Salvador Allende's grave. RIGHT: graves of some of those who were executed during this time; most were never found.) We returned home late, around 7pm, and to say the least it was a tiring and heavy day, although extremely interesting.

On Tuesday we took a Spanish test (homework in July, whattt) to show the level of our speaking and writing skills. At the end of the semester we'll take another test, which they will compare against this one to see how much we have advanced. Once finished with work, we took a tour of la Universidad de Chile. It seems like a wonderful campus--it's huge, with beautiful buildings, all very different in architectural styles. All of the students are on vacation now (between semesters) so it was pretty empty, but I imagine it's bustling when school is in session!

Today we met at la Universidad Diego Portales for an orientation. This was great for me, because I live only 5 blocks away, and could wake up late and walk there in less than 10 minutes (once again, I love where I live, it's the best location ever!). After a quick orientation/long coffee break, I came back to my house with 3 friends from CIEE to eat our packed lunches here. We then wandered through my neighborhood, and found a huge park just 6 or 7 blocks aways, where we basked in the warm weather (well warm for here--compared to home I imagine you all would be freezing). We were craving icecream, so before heading to the CIEE office to attempt the laborious process of choosing classes, we ventured around Santiago to find a good heladería (ice cream store!). After wandering down wrong streets and asking many strangers for directions, we finally found a wonderful heladería with tons of flavors. The icecream here is absolutely delicious, and resembles gelatto more than what we're used to at home. From here I met up with Allie, a friend from K studying in Santiago, and wandered further around the city and Plaza de Armas. Quite a full and wonderful day!


Also, mi hermanita Leo had her first bath today; here's a picture of her, all warm and clean:

Eso es todo para hoy! Love to all.

algunas fotos

I thought it was about time to upload some photos, so here they are!

Here's the view out of the airplane as we flew into Santiago. The picture does not do justice to the striking glow of the sun, as it blended into the night sky behind the magnificent Andes.










This is the view from (one of) Pablo Neruda's houses, la Chascona. This is also my, "dear mom and dad, i am still alive and this is proof" picture. (hi guys)










This is my host brother, Renato. We play cars a lot (you can't see them, but there are about 20 toy cars on the ground).










It rained on and off for the past two days, leaving today sunny and clear. After heavy rains the smog clears out of the valley and you get a beautiful view of the mountains. I went on a walk today and stumbled upon this wonderful view!

Disfruta la vida

Hola a todos! Right now I'm listening to a song that I've heard a few times here, called "Arriba la vida" by Croni-K. You should look it up, it'll make you want to dance! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9ytgRg_F8)

Today was another day for adventuring. I was exhausted last night, so I went to bed relatively early instead of meeting up with friends--I played cars with Renato for a long time, and then called it a night. This morning I woke up to a cloudy, cold sky, but nonetheless wanted to go exploring. What can I say, I always get cabin fever during the winter, and when there's a whole city to explore, there's no way that I'll let the weather get in the way. I had plans to meet up with a friend at Cerro Santa Lucía, and decided to walk there instead of taking the metro. I live about 4 or 5 metro stops away, so I set out 45 minutes early, not really knowing how far away I was. Walking to Santa Lucía was definitely a rewarding experience; not only did I orient myself to the different places that I've visited in Santiago, but I realized that I live only a 10 minute walk away from La Moneda (their white house, remember?), and 35 minutes from the National Library. It's pretty easy to orient yourself here, because a river and main street runs through the city, which the metro stops on Line 1 follow.

While many people may find other cultural differences the most striking and hard to become accustomed to, to me understanding how to walk in Chile has proved the most frustrating and complicated out of all that I have encountered. I can't seem to understand the vibe of walking. For example, at home people tend to walk on the right side of the sidewalk, at a fairly steady pace, leaving room for others to pass if they need/want to. Here I have encountered that each person has their own preference of walking. Some follow what I am used to, others amble along taking up the whole sidewalk, and others weave in and out of the surging sea of people. There is no steady flow of walking, instead each person chooses their own pace, style, and number of peer walkers. This is the one place where my Washingtonian "walk on the left, stand on the right" side remains completely perplexed. I tend to dart in and out of walkers, get stuck behind others, and then finally find a way around.

Anyway, after wading through the midday crowds, I met up with my friend, and we got lunch, wandered around permanent outdoor craft stalls (mostly just oggling over the warm sweaters, hats, and gloves because it was SO cold), and then went to a cafe to warm up with a hot NesCafe (real coffee is unfortunately pretty rare).

After las onces tonight, a big group of us went to a salsateca--first to take lessons, and then to dance. What a wonderful time! Around 8 gringas descended on the salsa club, and we all joined in the class, taught by an excellent instructor. Afterwards we danced salsa and merengue until around 1:30 (In Chile most events don't even start until midnight, and go all night, but I'm more than happy to go to bed now!...I'm sure we'll get accustomed at some point though.). I can't wait to go back and dance salsa again--everything about it is so suave and fun, and the music is tan rica! Also, people here know how to dance with their hips. Very important.