I have been in Chile for 75.5 days. I have 75.5 more days to go. For those of you who aren't math wizards, that means I'm halfway done with my time here... so weird! And also bittersweet. As my friend Laura pointed out... that means that we're on the downhill, that every day that passes means one day we are closer to leaving. I am absolutely loving my time here traveling, going to the beach, spending time with my host family, and just getting to know the Chilean culture. But at the same time, I really do miss so much from home! I think one of the best things that will come out of my time here (although there are sure to be SO many) is that I appreciate everything I have at home so much more. At the end of my sophomore year at DU, I can't say I was excited to go back. Everything seemed so repetitive, and I just really felt burnt out there. But after having been here, I have realized what incredible people I'm surrounded by there, and how fortunate I am to have everything I do. I know that that must seem like the typical abroad student thing to say, but it really is true. It's not even so much that I miss the material things, like my car, mom's chocolate chip cookies, normal grocery stores, etc... I mean I miss those, but I really do know that I could live without them. What this experience has really showed me is that no matter where you are, the most important thing is the people you are surrounded by. I have so many incredible people in my life back in the US, and I really do appreciate and miss every single one of you!
Okay, I know I've been really bad about posting recently, so here's a quick update!
At the end of my week off of school, some of my friends from school invited me to go on a beach getaway weekend with them to a small town called Horcón! Horcón is about an hour and a half micro ride from Viña, so we left on Thursday, and were off! We spend the weekend in a cute little cabaña that was perfect for the six of us, and cooked, drank good wine, and spent a lot of time at the beach! One day we also went to a small town called Zapallar, which is another hour and a half from Horcón. The town here and beach was beautiful and clean, and really the only way I can explain it is that the people, homes, and cars led me to believe that this town is the Chilean equivalent of the Hamptons. Range Rovers, BMW's, huge white houses, the works! Definitely a change of pace, but I still prefer Horcón and Viña.
This past week of school was the hardest I've had yet here... and still when I'm saying that, it wasn't even that bad. I've had MUCH worse at DU! I had two presentations and three essays this week, two of those essays and one presentation in spanish. It was a lot, but I got it done (sometimes last minute... my Thursday essay was started on Wednesday night at 8:30pm, and finished 45 minutes before class... whoops!). Other news this week... my friends Laura and Lindsey came to my house after class on Thursday night, and we had plans to make cookies and watch a movie! We made the cookies in the form of cookie bars (just like Momma Swig!), and then when they came out, I asked the girls if they had ever heard of pazookie. They both looked at me with a look of, DUH, and so naturally we took the ice cream out of the freezer, and had a great time devouring an entire pan of cookies and ice cream. Oh yeah, we did that. Yum. Afterwards we watched Toy Story 3. While this definitely wasn't enhancing our Chilean culture experience, it was a pretty great time to just veg out with friends and relax :)
Then, my host sister, Leslie (23), and I went running/working out yesterday! She's been wanting to work out with me for awhile now, and yesterday worked for both of us! She wasn't quite used to the distances I run (which really isn't that much, but she hasn't ran that much in the past), so we had to walk/stop sometimes, but we had a lot of fun! When we got back we also did abs together... and then made a delicious pasta lunch with homemade sauce! It was really good bonding time! Then last night, I was having oncé with my host parents, and we were just having a great conversation. It's so nice to finally be able to feel like I really am a part of the family who can contribute to the conversations and express my own opinion! There are definitely words I still struggle saying, like... refrigerator and europeans (refrigerador and europeos), which led to a really funny incident last night. After my parents found out I couldn't say europeos, they spent some time trying to help me pronounce it. They broke it up into syllables... "eh-oo-ro-pe-os." This really helped me, and I said those parts very slowly, after getting it down better, I apparently said the last part, "pe-os" rather strongly in comparison to the other parts, and both of my parents started laughing at me! I had no idea what was going on, and asked, "¿Qué!? ¿Qué significa "peos"?" (What? What does "peos" mean?), and they continued to laugh. My host mom then went on to make noises and hand signals which led me to understand that she thought I was pronouncing it with a "d", and the word "pedos" is the equivalent of the english word, "fart". Yup. Fart. Then of course I had to teach the both of them the word fart, and how to say it in a sentence. My host sisters came home from being out of town for awhile, and the first thing my host mom said to them was, "Who farted?!" Hahaha. I'm such a good influence. We were dying laughing. This is the second time in two weeks that I have been in tears from laughing so hard at my dining table with my family. Definitely not something I'm upset about!
Overall a really great week, minus all the school work. Tomorrow I leave at 5am to go to Peru to see MACHU PICCHU with my dear friend Rachel. I have been looking forward to this trip for so long, it's hard to believe that it's actually here! Needless to say, you probably won't be hearing from me for awhile, but I promise to have some great things for you when I get back! Miss you all, chau for now!
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
A Week Without Sleep
Fiestas de Patrias. Oh lord. Where to begin. So for those of you who don't know, Chile's "Independence Day" is September 18th. This year, the date happened to fall on a Tuesday. Usually students and workers get both the 17th and the 18th off, and for some reason, this year they decided it was necessary to cancel school for the 19th-21st as well. Meaning I get an entire week off of school. But hey, I'm certainly not complaining! Anyway, after my Thursday night class, it was officially party time! Thursday and Friday actually didn't contain much... Friday I went to the beach to read for a bit which was really nice! However, I kid you not when I tell you that I couldn't have been there for more than 30-40 minutes, and that night, I was fried. Mamá told me that the sun here is a lot stronger, and I definitely figured that out. Apparently I'll be wearing sunscreen everywhere I go once it starts being more consistently sunny! Anyway, here's what has been happening the past couple of days:
Saturday: My host sister, Leslie (23), invited me to go to this party with her about a week ago. She had been talking about it everyday at lunch the whole week prior, and I was really excited to go out with her! She and her novio (fiancé) picked me up at 7pm, and we went to their house in Valparaíso. We weren't going to leave until 10:30 or 11, so I was a little concerned about why I was being picked up so early, but as I've learned down here, Chileans like to take their sweet time doing things, including getting ready to go out apparently! Leslie let me borrow a dress (if you could call it that... it was SO tiny) and heels (also too small, ouch feet) to go out, and she did my makeup and hair for me. Needless to say, after 3 hours of getting ready, we looked gewd. Memo (novio) drove us to the bar, and on the way we picked up some of her friends. Memo's car is perfect for 4 people. It's very small, but 4 is definitely doable. The 7 people we ended up packing in there however, was not a very comfortable/safe situation... especially driving down the crazy hills of Valpo! I mostly just kept my eyes shut the whole way, ignorance is bliss right? Then we went to Bar Barcelona, had some drinks with her friends, and afterwards danced the night away! On the way back to my house, we all stopped at McDonalds and enjoyed some french fries at 5:00am. This is often how my nights out end here in Chile. These people love Mickey D's. But who doesn't love some good salty fries at the end of a night out!? Overall I had a great time this night, and it was really good bonding for my sister and I!
Sunday: Well, because we didn't get home til 5:30am from the previous night out, I definitely slept in on Sunday. Until 2:00pm. Yup. Dad, you can be proud, I'm finally sleeping in! Although I'm sure you're not too excited about the whole going to bed at 5:30 thing... sorry! When I did wake up, my host family and I had lunch together, que rico! Usually our lunches here last a little bit longer, just because it is the biggest meal of the day, but this day we were at the table for two and a half hours just talking and talking! This is one thing I really love about my host family, and am so grateful for, they just love to talk! And they really try to include me in conversations! I attribute all of my improvements in Spanish to them. They are so helpful, and really try to make sure I'm always understanding what's going on. At the end, my stomach was filled to the maximum (per usual) and my brain was a little tired after focusing so much on spanish! That night, my host sisters Leslie and Coté were taking me to las ramadas. Las ramadas happen only during Fiestas de Patrias, and are basically a giant mix of a carnival, barbecue, dance, and outdoor shopping market thing. Basically, just a lot of fun! We rode some of the rides, drank Mote con huesillos, and had a good time. Mote con huesillos is a really odd drink... basically, it has something similar to oats/oatmeal things at the bottom, peach juice, and 2 small skinned peaches in every cup (it's eaten/drank with a spoon). It sounds really weird, probably because it is, but it was actually quite delicious! I was really tired from the night before, but I knew that I'd be getting to go home at a decent hour this night to get some sleep! However, as I've learned here in Chile many times, things are never what I think they're going to be! When we left la ramada, my sisters informed me we were going dancing. I had no choice in this decision, just was told! Oh well, así es la vida! We went to a bar in Valpo, ordered Terremotos for the table, and danced the night away yet again, this time only until 4:30am. So early! Ha. My host sisters seemed to know a new dance to every single song that came on, while I just awkwardly danced to my own beat. I've definitely got some learning to do on the hip moving... Oh, and do I have a jóte story for you all! So, as we were all dancing, a guy came up and started dancing with us, he then started talking to me, which was fine, he seemed nice enough, that is until he stuck his tongue out. I'm not sure if I misinterpreted what was happening in our conversation or what, but I'm not really sure how talking about what I'm studying here in Chile and his tongue have in common. He apparently had a big urge to show me his tongue ring... yup, that's right. His tongue ring. He then went on to say how much the ladies like it, and I decided that was my cue to get the hell out of dodge and pull the, "Necesito ir al baño, chau!" move. Thankfully he was gone when I came back. Phew. Crisis averted. Overall, another good night, especially because it also ended with really healthy food... more peach juice and snickers bars! Yum!
Monday: Slept in until 11am today, I just couldn't sleep anymore! This day was so great, I got to spend more quality time con la familia. I learned how to make empanadas! And not just a couple, we made over 60!!! And these things are big, and time consuming to make! Once we made all the ingredients for the insides, we started working on the dough, and then the empanada making began! I was in charge of filling and folding, and my host family said that I had the prettiest empanada folds they'd ever seen... bacán! (Bacán is chilean slang for "cool!"). There are a couple types of empanadas, and today we made pino, napolitana, and a jamón, queso, y pollo one. The pino empanada is a chicken/sweet onion mixture, with two quarters of a hard boiled egg on each side and an olive in the middle. Napolitana is basically like pizza in an empanada, and the other one is pretty self explanatory, ham cheese and chicken! The whole time we were making them, we listened to traditional cueca music and just overall had a wonderful time! This was really good bonding again with the whole family. After a long day of empanada making, we went to the ramada again as a family, ate some cotton candy, went on some rides, and had a great time overall. Another cool thing that happened on Monday- I found out that one of my photos was chosen to be on DU's homepage to represent study abroad! My name was even mentioned! Celebrity status over here people. Watch out world.
Tuesday: Fiestas de Patrias! The day finally came! So much celebrating led up to this day, and finally the real deal was here. My family had a big empanada lunch, and then later my friend Rachel and I went to some Chilean friends apartment for an asado/to hang out! We ended up having some delicious meats, chicken, choripan, the works! We also played beerio kart. I mean, how many people can say they've played beerio kart in Chile!? Not many I'd say. Good stuff. We ended up just hanging around the apartment playing games, dancing, and having a great time. Didn't get home until 6:30am this morning. Brutal. It's a good thing this week is almost over, I can't handle the schedule of going out!
Today (Wednesday): Slept in until 2:00pm. Yup, 2:00pm. I'm turning into such a bum. Waking up though was really pleasant thankfully, as I was awoken with the smell of barbecue! My family made anticucho again, and we had lots of other yummy meats and sides as well! Mamá also made a typical Chilean drink for the family, it's called Cola de Mono (Monkey Cola). It's so delicious! It has no type of cola in it, so I'm a little confused as to where the name came from, but again it's just one of those things that I've decided not to ask questions about. It has vanilla, coffee, milk, a liquor called aguardiente, and a couple of other ingredients. It's served cold, and is really tasty! Mamá is giving me the recipe and taking me to the place where I can buy the liquor so I can make it at home :) This lunch was again a rather long one, about 2 hours, and the conversation was wonderful as always. However, the overall best part of todays lunch conversation had to do with my family learning a new word in english. Now, this word they learned was not a "good" word, so if you for some reason care to avert your virgin eyes, now would be the time. So how this story starts... Kiika, my sister who knows a little english, was describing to me in spanish that today in Chile is called "Día de concha tu madre". Basically the day after the independence day where everyone is hungover, and this saying is something that people apparently say when they are frustrated, like when they burn themselves cooking or hurt themselves or something. I thought it meant something along the lines of son-of-a-b... and asked that, and she said, "No... concha es más como...pussy!" And of course, being the mature person that I am, I immediately started giggling. I don't really get the saying, I think it's one of those things where literally translated it doesn't mean the same thing. Anyway, my host parents, who both really like learning new english words, both started repeating, "pushee? pussay? pushay?" trying to get it right... and all the while, I am laughing the hardest I have laughed the entire time I've been in Chile. I was crying. At this point, every member of my family at the table was trying to pronounce this word, all saying it over and over, and I'm just sitting there with my head in my hands trying to breathe. So there we were, me craughing (cry-laughing), my family laughing and repeating the word over and over... just one big happy unconventional family. They obviously didn't really understand what it meant, and I tried to explain to them that it's just not a word that people commonly say, and it's not necessarily a terrible cuss-word, but it's also not a nice word to say. Oh man. Quite the day.
And now, here I am, finally resting and hopefully going to bed at a decent hour tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to a small beach/fisherman's town with a couple girls from my school, it's called Horcón! We are renting a small condo for 6 people, and just going to relax and hopefully have an overall good time doing nothing but being lazy. You'll have updates later this week I'm sure. For now, that's all I have! Sorry for the long one again. ¡Nos vemos!
Saturday: My host sister, Leslie (23), invited me to go to this party with her about a week ago. She had been talking about it everyday at lunch the whole week prior, and I was really excited to go out with her! She and her novio (fiancé) picked me up at 7pm, and we went to their house in Valparaíso. We weren't going to leave until 10:30 or 11, so I was a little concerned about why I was being picked up so early, but as I've learned down here, Chileans like to take their sweet time doing things, including getting ready to go out apparently! Leslie let me borrow a dress (if you could call it that... it was SO tiny) and heels (also too small, ouch feet) to go out, and she did my makeup and hair for me. Needless to say, after 3 hours of getting ready, we looked gewd. Memo (novio) drove us to the bar, and on the way we picked up some of her friends. Memo's car is perfect for 4 people. It's very small, but 4 is definitely doable. The 7 people we ended up packing in there however, was not a very comfortable/safe situation... especially driving down the crazy hills of Valpo! I mostly just kept my eyes shut the whole way, ignorance is bliss right? Then we went to Bar Barcelona, had some drinks with her friends, and afterwards danced the night away! On the way back to my house, we all stopped at McDonalds and enjoyed some french fries at 5:00am. This is often how my nights out end here in Chile. These people love Mickey D's. But who doesn't love some good salty fries at the end of a night out!? Overall I had a great time this night, and it was really good bonding for my sister and I!
Sunday: Well, because we didn't get home til 5:30am from the previous night out, I definitely slept in on Sunday. Until 2:00pm. Yup. Dad, you can be proud, I'm finally sleeping in! Although I'm sure you're not too excited about the whole going to bed at 5:30 thing... sorry! When I did wake up, my host family and I had lunch together, que rico! Usually our lunches here last a little bit longer, just because it is the biggest meal of the day, but this day we were at the table for two and a half hours just talking and talking! This is one thing I really love about my host family, and am so grateful for, they just love to talk! And they really try to include me in conversations! I attribute all of my improvements in Spanish to them. They are so helpful, and really try to make sure I'm always understanding what's going on. At the end, my stomach was filled to the maximum (per usual) and my brain was a little tired after focusing so much on spanish! That night, my host sisters Leslie and Coté were taking me to las ramadas. Las ramadas happen only during Fiestas de Patrias, and are basically a giant mix of a carnival, barbecue, dance, and outdoor shopping market thing. Basically, just a lot of fun! We rode some of the rides, drank Mote con huesillos, and had a good time. Mote con huesillos is a really odd drink... basically, it has something similar to oats/oatmeal things at the bottom, peach juice, and 2 small skinned peaches in every cup (it's eaten/drank with a spoon). It sounds really weird, probably because it is, but it was actually quite delicious! I was really tired from the night before, but I knew that I'd be getting to go home at a decent hour this night to get some sleep! However, as I've learned here in Chile many times, things are never what I think they're going to be! When we left la ramada, my sisters informed me we were going dancing. I had no choice in this decision, just was told! Oh well, así es la vida! We went to a bar in Valpo, ordered Terremotos for the table, and danced the night away yet again, this time only until 4:30am. So early! Ha. My host sisters seemed to know a new dance to every single song that came on, while I just awkwardly danced to my own beat. I've definitely got some learning to do on the hip moving... Oh, and do I have a jóte story for you all! So, as we were all dancing, a guy came up and started dancing with us, he then started talking to me, which was fine, he seemed nice enough, that is until he stuck his tongue out. I'm not sure if I misinterpreted what was happening in our conversation or what, but I'm not really sure how talking about what I'm studying here in Chile and his tongue have in common. He apparently had a big urge to show me his tongue ring... yup, that's right. His tongue ring. He then went on to say how much the ladies like it, and I decided that was my cue to get the hell out of dodge and pull the, "Necesito ir al baño, chau!" move. Thankfully he was gone when I came back. Phew. Crisis averted. Overall, another good night, especially because it also ended with really healthy food... more peach juice and snickers bars! Yum!
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| Mote con huesillos |
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| I stole this picture from a friend on facebook... la ramada! |
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| Mamá and I sharing cotton candy! |
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| Learning how to make empanadas! |
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| Watching the fuegos artificiales (fireworks) in Valpo! |
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| My first empanada! |
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| DU famous!! |
Today (Wednesday): Slept in until 2:00pm. Yup, 2:00pm. I'm turning into such a bum. Waking up though was really pleasant thankfully, as I was awoken with the smell of barbecue! My family made anticucho again, and we had lots of other yummy meats and sides as well! Mamá also made a typical Chilean drink for the family, it's called Cola de Mono (Monkey Cola). It's so delicious! It has no type of cola in it, so I'm a little confused as to where the name came from, but again it's just one of those things that I've decided not to ask questions about. It has vanilla, coffee, milk, a liquor called aguardiente, and a couple of other ingredients. It's served cold, and is really tasty! Mamá is giving me the recipe and taking me to the place where I can buy the liquor so I can make it at home :) This lunch was again a rather long one, about 2 hours, and the conversation was wonderful as always. However, the overall best part of todays lunch conversation had to do with my family learning a new word in english. Now, this word they learned was not a "good" word, so if you for some reason care to avert your virgin eyes, now would be the time. So how this story starts... Kiika, my sister who knows a little english, was describing to me in spanish that today in Chile is called "Día de concha tu madre". Basically the day after the independence day where everyone is hungover, and this saying is something that people apparently say when they are frustrated, like when they burn themselves cooking or hurt themselves or something. I thought it meant something along the lines of son-of-a-b... and asked that, and she said, "No... concha es más como...pussy!" And of course, being the mature person that I am, I immediately started giggling. I don't really get the saying, I think it's one of those things where literally translated it doesn't mean the same thing. Anyway, my host parents, who both really like learning new english words, both started repeating, "pushee? pussay? pushay?" trying to get it right... and all the while, I am laughing the hardest I have laughed the entire time I've been in Chile. I was crying. At this point, every member of my family at the table was trying to pronounce this word, all saying it over and over, and I'm just sitting there with my head in my hands trying to breathe. So there we were, me craughing (cry-laughing), my family laughing and repeating the word over and over... just one big happy unconventional family. They obviously didn't really understand what it meant, and I tried to explain to them that it's just not a word that people commonly say, and it's not necessarily a terrible cuss-word, but it's also not a nice word to say. Oh man. Quite the day.
And now, here I am, finally resting and hopefully going to bed at a decent hour tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to a small beach/fisherman's town with a couple girls from my school, it's called Horcón! We are renting a small condo for 6 people, and just going to relax and hopefully have an overall good time doing nothing but being lazy. You'll have updates later this week I'm sure. For now, that's all I have! Sorry for the long one again. ¡Nos vemos!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Cold Showers
After my usual morning run on the beach this morning, I came back to the house, did a quick ab workout, and got in the shower as usual. Now, for those of you who I already complain to about this, I'm sorry you have to hear it again, but for those of you who don't know, my house usually only has hot water between the hours of 6am-11:30am, and again from 6pm-10pm (if I'm lucky). Don't ask me why, because I don't know! What I do know is that I certainly am not waking up here before 8am, because I have no need to, and I usually prefer to workout in the mornings, so morning showers are a necessity to be clean for the rest of the day! Today I finished working out at 11:00am, plenty of time to still grab a hot shower. I let the water warm up, got in, but, unfortunately for me, sometimes the water decides to stop being hot even before 11:30 on certain days! Que chucha!? This being said, I had about 45 seconds of hot water, and then the rest was cold. Yup. It's 50 degrees outside, probably 52 degrees inside my house (no central heating either people!), and I'm taking an ice bath for a shower. Lovely. To demonstrate how I felt as this was happening, I googled a picture for you all. This was my face. I may or may not have screamed a little once or twice.
However, in googling this picture, I also found many links describing the health benefits of taking cold showers! Intrigued by why anyone would ever want to be that miserable on a daily basis, I took a look. Here are some of the benefits that were listed:
So, I guess that cold showers really aren't that bad! While I still won't be purposely taking them, at least while it's still Winter here in Chile, if the water does turn cold as it so often does, I'll at least have something to be optimistic about while suffering! Hope you all enjoyed your nice warm showers this morning, but just remember, if the water does turn on you, look for the bright side!
However, in googling this picture, I also found many links describing the health benefits of taking cold showers! Intrigued by why anyone would ever want to be that miserable on a daily basis, I took a look. Here are some of the benefits that were listed:
- Enhance immunity against infections and cancer
- Jump-start your mood and motivation
- Crank up metabolism to fight type 2 diabetes, obesity, gout, depression, and more
- Normalize blood pressure
- Decrease chronic pain
- Detoxify your body
- Fight fatigue
- Rejuvenate, heal, and tone the skin
- Help with insomnia
- Improve lymphatic circulation, thereby increasing immune function
- Reduce stress by regulating your autonomic nervous system
- Keep your hair healthy
So, I guess that cold showers really aren't that bad! While I still won't be purposely taking them, at least while it's still Winter here in Chile, if the water does turn cold as it so often does, I'll at least have something to be optimistic about while suffering! Hope you all enjoyed your nice warm showers this morning, but just remember, if the water does turn on you, look for the bright side!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Lesson for the Day
Yesterday as I was walking to meet a friend, a grey haired older man with a thick beard, probably in his late 60's to 70's, stopped me and asked, "Eres de Chile?" (Are you from Chile?) At first I wasn't sure I should be stopping to talk to random people in the street, normally it's something I avoid, but after assessing the fact that he not only had his hands full with groceries, but that he was also an old man with a kind smile, I decided it was safe to stop and talk to him. I then told him, "No, soy de los Estados Unidos!"... and from there he proceeded to ask me questions about my school here, how my spanish is going, what I think of the politics and the presidential candidates in the US, what I think about mormons (he was really interested in knowing more about mormons!), and a couple of other things! About 15 minutes later, we exchanged names (his was Sergio, and he couldn't say Kylee for the life of him), we said, "Mucho gusto!" (Pleasure to meet you!), kissed on the cheeks (the bushy beard felt quite weird) and went our own separate ways!
It is still such a shock to me how open and inviting the Chileans are. People are interested in people. They want to have connections, they want to know about your life even if you're a stranger, and they always want to learn new things about other cultures. Life here isn't about working as much as you can, or always being in a hurry to get somewhere, or constantly talking on your cell phone. Here, it's about having connections with those around you and taking the time to actually have quality relationships with those in your everyday lives. It's such an easy thing to do, yet something that so few people back home truly understand and appreciate. There is a reason that the human species is the only one with the ability to communicate our inner feelings, needs, and beliefs, yet it's something we take so for-granted.
So, lesson for the day: Never be so busy that you can't take the time to talk to an endearing, bearded Chilean man on the street. And if you're lucky, you might get a tickley kiss on the cheek too!
It is still such a shock to me how open and inviting the Chileans are. People are interested in people. They want to have connections, they want to know about your life even if you're a stranger, and they always want to learn new things about other cultures. Life here isn't about working as much as you can, or always being in a hurry to get somewhere, or constantly talking on your cell phone. Here, it's about having connections with those around you and taking the time to actually have quality relationships with those in your everyday lives. It's such an easy thing to do, yet something that so few people back home truly understand and appreciate. There is a reason that the human species is the only one with the ability to communicate our inner feelings, needs, and beliefs, yet it's something we take so for-granted.
So, lesson for the day: Never be so busy that you can't take the time to talk to an endearing, bearded Chilean man on the street. And if you're lucky, you might get a tickley kiss on the cheek too!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Una Carrera
Ran my first ever 10K here in Chile today, 57 minutes! Our group of 5 gringos stood out to say the least, but we had a great time.
Friday, September 7, 2012
San Pedro de Atacama
So I know this post is long overdue... in fact, without a little push from my oh-so-adoring mother, I may have forgotten to post! Whoops! Anywho, here goes, it'll pry be a long one, sorry! This past weekend, a group of gringos and I made our way to the desert. Yup, the desert. Why go on a weekend vacation there, you may ask, and believe me, we were asking ourselves the same thing! However, after hearing about the travels of friends from years past and from our university here, we decided it was a must do. We booked our flights/buses one week prior to leaving, and from there the rest was pretty easy!
Most of the group left on Thursday afternoon, but because my friend Lindsey and I both have class Thursday night, we booked our flights together for early the following morning. Getting to the airport was an adventure in and of itself! Linds and I met at the bus terminal in Viña del Mar, which is about a 15 minute walk from my house, but because it was 5am on a busy street, Papá insisted that he drive me. I wasn't complaining... it was cold and my backpacking backpack was heavy! Once at the bus terminal, the long day of traveling commenced. Almost 2 hours on bus to the Pajaritos station in Santiago, then another 25 minute bus to the actual airport, 1.5 hours waiting at the airport, almost 2 hour flight to Calama, and then another 1.5 hour bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama! Phew! Because getting to the airport in Santiago was quite the interesting situation just by itself, and because we were proud of ourselves for making it all alone, we decided that we deserved a Dunkin' Donuts at the airport. That's never a bad decision. Then, after leaving Viña del Mar what had seemed like days ago, we arrived in SP around 2:30pm. Flying into Calama, and then driving to SP seriously felt like being on another planet. The landscape is only what I can describe as very "Mars-like". After a beautiful drive, we were dropped off right at our hostel, and we could already hear the music playing and people talking!
The hostel, Hostel Rural, was such an interesting place! It had so much character and such a great atmosphere.... clean rooms/bathrooms, hot water, and good water pressure. What more can a traveler ask for!? That afternoon, the Thursday group showed us around the town a bit, where we got to see a desert cemetery (beautifully kept, and even more beautiful with the mountain range in the background), a white stucco church, and many fun little tiendas! Gifts may or may not have been purchased. For dinner, we originally weren't sure what we were going to do, but that was until we saw a handmade sign around our poster that advertised an asado, including all you can eat cowmeat (that's how it translates), chicken, sausage, bread, rice, salad, vegetables, wine, and beer. For $5000CLP, about $10USD, we figured that was well worth our money. And it was. I was stuffed at the end of the night. While it was slightly sketchy that the meat was cooked over coals in a wheelbarrow, my hunger overcame my doubts, and the food was delicious. There were so many travelers in our hostel, people from Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand to name a few... it was such a cool experience to be able to talk to all of them at the asado and get to see such interesting perspectives on the world! Minus the fact that I had trouble understanding our NZ friend after he had a couple beers, the conversation all around was great :)
Saturday morning, we had a tour booked that was meant to pick us up at 6:30am. However, the bus showed up 15 minutes early, and apparently we were supposed to have been ready at 6:15... whoops! I explained to the driver that we had been told by the person who booked our tour to be ready at 6:30, and that it was a miscommunication, so we would finish making our sandwiches and getting ready as soon as possible. While he and the three other passengers in our bus were a little frustrated, we made it to the bus and were on our way. The first stop of the tour was at the Salar de Atacama (the Atacama Salt Flat). There was so much salt. Weird, I know. The greatest part about this part of the tour was getting to see los flamencos (flamingos). They were so beautiful! A lot of people in our group learned that flamingos can actually fly! I'm embarrassed to say I also learned this... but really, all I really had ever seen them do was stand there and sleep! After this, we went to Lagunas Altiplanicas, which were some lagunas up in the mountains. They were so blue and beautiful! After that tour, we all went back to the hostel, enjoyed some hammock time, a little more shower time, then showered and got pizza and a cute little place in town! Overall, great day.
Most of the group left on Thursday afternoon, but because my friend Lindsey and I both have class Thursday night, we booked our flights together for early the following morning. Getting to the airport was an adventure in and of itself! Linds and I met at the bus terminal in Viña del Mar, which is about a 15 minute walk from my house, but because it was 5am on a busy street, Papá insisted that he drive me. I wasn't complaining... it was cold and my backpacking backpack was heavy! Once at the bus terminal, the long day of traveling commenced. Almost 2 hours on bus to the Pajaritos station in Santiago, then another 25 minute bus to the actual airport, 1.5 hours waiting at the airport, almost 2 hour flight to Calama, and then another 1.5 hour bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama! Phew! Because getting to the airport in Santiago was quite the interesting situation just by itself, and because we were proud of ourselves for making it all alone, we decided that we deserved a Dunkin' Donuts at the airport. That's never a bad decision. Then, after leaving Viña del Mar what had seemed like days ago, we arrived in SP around 2:30pm. Flying into Calama, and then driving to SP seriously felt like being on another planet. The landscape is only what I can describe as very "Mars-like". After a beautiful drive, we were dropped off right at our hostel, and we could already hear the music playing and people talking!
The hostel, Hostel Rural, was such an interesting place! It had so much character and such a great atmosphere.... clean rooms/bathrooms, hot water, and good water pressure. What more can a traveler ask for!? That afternoon, the Thursday group showed us around the town a bit, where we got to see a desert cemetery (beautifully kept, and even more beautiful with the mountain range in the background), a white stucco church, and many fun little tiendas! Gifts may or may not have been purchased. For dinner, we originally weren't sure what we were going to do, but that was until we saw a handmade sign around our poster that advertised an asado, including all you can eat cowmeat (that's how it translates), chicken, sausage, bread, rice, salad, vegetables, wine, and beer. For $5000CLP, about $10USD, we figured that was well worth our money. And it was. I was stuffed at the end of the night. While it was slightly sketchy that the meat was cooked over coals in a wheelbarrow, my hunger overcame my doubts, and the food was delicious. There were so many travelers in our hostel, people from Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand to name a few... it was such a cool experience to be able to talk to all of them at the asado and get to see such interesting perspectives on the world! Minus the fact that I had trouble understanding our NZ friend after he had a couple beers, the conversation all around was great :)
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| View of hostel: L to R: bedroom, hammocks, front desk area |
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| View from the church in San Pedro |
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| Shadows at the cemetery |
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| Volcano in background of cemetery |
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| Flamingos at Salar de Atacama |
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| Laguna Miñiques |
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| Llamas on the way to Lagunas Altiplanicas! Bah! |
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| Salt at Salar de Atacama |
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| Kassi and I relaxing in the hammocks after a hard days work! |
Sunday was my favorite day! We rented bikes with the intentions of biking to Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley). After a flat tire and a pedal fell off of two different bikes, we fixed the situations and were back on our way! It was a great ride, it felt so nice to be outdoors in shorts and a t-shirt again! The weather here in Viña definitely isn't terrible, but it was hard only having a month of summer before I came here, so the hot desert was very welcome! We packed lunches this day, and had a great time exploring a cavern and just walking along through the Mars-ish landscape. After returning our bikes, we took more hammock time, and then went on another tour in the afternoon! This tour was a sunset tour of Laguna Cejar. Laguna Cejar has 70% salt volume per liter, so swimming was actually not really swimming as much as it was just floating! Such a cool, and very cold, experience. In the deepest part, we were able to put our feet down as though we were standing up, and didn't even need to swim at all in order to stay afloat! The water just reached my collar bone, and kind of bobbed a little from there, but there was no need to kick or move my hands to stay afloat! So weird. After drying off and trying to rinse the salt deposits off our bodies, we got changed, enjoyed some pisco sours, and watched the puesta de sol (sunset) over the desert. What a perfect way to end an amazing weekend.
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| Nathan, Laura, and I being extreme and whatnot. |
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| Lindsey, Katherine, myself, and Kassi in front of the Valle de la Luna sign |
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| Floating in Laguna Cejar, everyone else was too scared/cold to jump in, but I showed them how it was done. |
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| Sunset from Laguna Cejar |
Monday was another long travel day... Laura, Nathan, and I left really early in order to get back to our night classes, and were again traveling from 6:30am until about 3:00pm. Well worth the amazing trip. Again, sorry for the lack of blogs these past two weeks or so, but I'm sure the rest of September will be full of memories, especially because it's Chile's independence day/week coming up! Woohoo, get excited! Chau until next time.
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