We got off the boat in Chaiten, Chile about a week ago. What I saw was something undescribable, somthing i have never seen before and certainly somthing i hope to never again see in my life. The city is filled to the brim with ash. I strolled through as many streets as possible during the few hours we had before our bus headed south. Homes were filled to there roofs, and lives were stopped in place, and removed from that location forever. After the clouds burned off, the volcano, still eerlily pouring ash, stood tall over the town. There will be no official recuperacion until it stops errupting.
We caught a bus to Villa santa lucia and found a nice little campsite on the river. The next day our hot sunny weather continued as we road in the back of a truck down south arriving in La Junta. We camped next to a large river the color of the caribean and enjoyed the sun as we swam. The next day after a nice hike down the road, we shared the back of a truck with a lamb. We made it to Puyayapi on the fjord. After camping a few more days in this location, we again hit the road and put our thumbs in the wind. A few days later, after camping in the nonstop rain, we walked hours only to finally roll into a little bump in the road and find one open room. After a night warming up and drying out, we beat the streat again, and after 4 hours walking and a few hitch hikes, we arrived to our current location of coyhaique. We will again stay under a dry roof tonight as we look for our next romp into the wilderness.
Patagonia is filled with glaciers, its amazing! Its quite an experience to swim in the ocean, in the shadow of a glacier and then drip dry in the middle of december.
Hope all is well on the states side, we´ll be keeping our thumbs in the wind!
Salud and happy new year!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Fast Finish
Hello all. This is going to be quick. I finally finished school a week ago. wheh. done forever. A ten page final exam and a 20 page ressearch paper and its all in the books. Imediatly afterward my buddy Jesse arrived in Concecepcion. I showed him aruond and we also climbed Volcan Chillan. We camped at the confluence of three hotwater rivers streaming from the volcano. Later in the week another buddy, Jerad, arrived and we headed out of town. We have spent the last week camping and hitch hiking through the island of Chiloe. Yesterday we were at an amzzing secluded beach we walked 4.5 hours to arrive to. I have never seen the pacific ocean be so beautiful.
Tomorrow morning we are getting on a boat to Chaiten where the volcano erupted earlier this year. We will be hitching and camping our way down south, taking it as it comes.
Its a crazy sensation to go from resident to tourist in a day, but I have two of my best friends with me, and we are kicking ass. I hope all is well on that end. I hope to update when the technology is available.
Dan
Tomorrow morning we are getting on a boat to Chaiten where the volcano erupted earlier this year. We will be hitching and camping our way down south, taking it as it comes.
Its a crazy sensation to go from resident to tourist in a day, but I have two of my best friends with me, and we are kicking ass. I hope all is well on that end. I hope to update when the technology is available.
Dan
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
La Aguita
Happy Halloween, Dia de los muertos, election day, and whatever else I have missed in the last few weeks. Although halloween is primarily a 'gringo' holiday, the celebration has migrated its way down to Chile. Although its not the huss and fuss it is states side, people are familiar with the day.
I decided to share the holiday with my elementary students to whom I teach english. "Calabazas" are not produced in mass here for the celebration as they are back home, so I drew a pumpkin on a piece of construction paper and made some photocopies. The kids thus 'carved' their first ever Jack-o-lanterns.
In my pre-kindergarden class (avg age 4), I had the kids all color in the pumpkin, and then I cut out the face and we turned the product into little masks for them. My most difficult class to teach are these little guys. Because they are still learning spanish, it is difficult to communicate with them. Although I speak to them 99.9% in spanish, its hard to get them to understand me sometimes, and also for them to make connections between the english words i teach them and their spanish counterpart. However, I have learned that coloring and playing simple games is the most effective use of time. One game we have played is called "semaforo" (stoplight). I have the kids line up on one side of the playground court, and when i say "green" they start running toward the other side. When I say "red" they stop. This game is very basic, and obviously seems quite boring and pointless however, the kids like it. The kids are very cute and very affectionate with me. When I arrive, they always come running, "teacher Daniel, teacher Daniel!" and hug me.
The third grade students took on the project much more independently, designing their own faces and coloring the jack-o-lanterns as they pleased. This class is also difficult, but not because they don't understand. I blame their teacher to a certain degree, but they are rambunctious and usually fighting and interrupting me as i try to speak. Every so often I have to lay the hammer down on them, but usually I keep the mood pretty light and fun. I have taught them the numbers up to 100, several colors, shapes, body parts, alphabet, greetings and goodbyes ect. Although they are not the best behaved, they don't ever disrespect me apart from talking amongst themselves sometimes while i'm talking. This group refers to me as "profe," "profesor" and "tio."
I meet with my fourth grade class right after my third grade class, and it is a great change of pace. They are very well behaved, very excited to ask me questions (ie, how do you say such and such in english?), always listen when i speak, and always participate. I have been teaching them many of the same things as the third graders, but their comprehension and retention is exponentially greater. As a result, I use much more english with them. Although I still speak in spanish about 99% of the time, they are able to link some words together. I regret not having more time with them during the week, and a better program and materials. One of their favorite games to play is Bingo. Although I change the word to something more fun and relevent and to practice letters that are more difficult. I say the letter and number in english, and the rest is the same as bingo.
I only have three more classes with each of the groups. This experience has undoubtably been a highlight of my time here. It has been great to give back to this particularly underadvantaged area and school. One thing that always strikes me is that they don't have any pencil sharpeners. In order to sharpen pencils, they use a box cutter, and some kids have there own small razor blade they keep in the pocket of their overcoat. It was a little unnerving in the begening seeing 9 and 10 year olds with free use of box cutters. I'm never worried that they would use it against me or against one another, although accidents can happen. Apart from some of the obvious differences in resources, I have learned that kids are kids no matter what country or economic class they come from.
I have posted pictures of the pumpkin carving and some playtime. They are grouped together by class. Go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shirleydan/LaAguita
Enjoy!
I decided to share the holiday with my elementary students to whom I teach english. "Calabazas" are not produced in mass here for the celebration as they are back home, so I drew a pumpkin on a piece of construction paper and made some photocopies. The kids thus 'carved' their first ever Jack-o-lanterns.
In my pre-kindergarden class (avg age 4), I had the kids all color in the pumpkin, and then I cut out the face and we turned the product into little masks for them. My most difficult class to teach are these little guys. Because they are still learning spanish, it is difficult to communicate with them. Although I speak to them 99.9% in spanish, its hard to get them to understand me sometimes, and also for them to make connections between the english words i teach them and their spanish counterpart. However, I have learned that coloring and playing simple games is the most effective use of time. One game we have played is called "semaforo" (stoplight). I have the kids line up on one side of the playground court, and when i say "green" they start running toward the other side. When I say "red" they stop. This game is very basic, and obviously seems quite boring and pointless however, the kids like it. The kids are very cute and very affectionate with me. When I arrive, they always come running, "teacher Daniel, teacher Daniel!" and hug me.
The third grade students took on the project much more independently, designing their own faces and coloring the jack-o-lanterns as they pleased. This class is also difficult, but not because they don't understand. I blame their teacher to a certain degree, but they are rambunctious and usually fighting and interrupting me as i try to speak. Every so often I have to lay the hammer down on them, but usually I keep the mood pretty light and fun. I have taught them the numbers up to 100, several colors, shapes, body parts, alphabet, greetings and goodbyes ect. Although they are not the best behaved, they don't ever disrespect me apart from talking amongst themselves sometimes while i'm talking. This group refers to me as "profe," "profesor" and "tio."
I meet with my fourth grade class right after my third grade class, and it is a great change of pace. They are very well behaved, very excited to ask me questions (ie, how do you say such and such in english?), always listen when i speak, and always participate. I have been teaching them many of the same things as the third graders, but their comprehension and retention is exponentially greater. As a result, I use much more english with them. Although I still speak in spanish about 99% of the time, they are able to link some words together. I regret not having more time with them during the week, and a better program and materials. One of their favorite games to play is Bingo. Although I change the word to something more fun and relevent and to practice letters that are more difficult. I say the letter and number in english, and the rest is the same as bingo.
I only have three more classes with each of the groups. This experience has undoubtably been a highlight of my time here. It has been great to give back to this particularly underadvantaged area and school. One thing that always strikes me is that they don't have any pencil sharpeners. In order to sharpen pencils, they use a box cutter, and some kids have there own small razor blade they keep in the pocket of their overcoat. It was a little unnerving in the begening seeing 9 and 10 year olds with free use of box cutters. I'm never worried that they would use it against me or against one another, although accidents can happen. Apart from some of the obvious differences in resources, I have learned that kids are kids no matter what country or economic class they come from.
I have posted pictures of the pumpkin carving and some playtime. They are grouped together by class. Go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shirleydan/LaAguita
Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Pisco
The shinning sun and the passage of a few weeks since my last excursion prompted an impromptu departure. I didn't have my chemistry lab last Friday, so Tuesday night I headed out to the bus station. A gringo friend of mine and I jumped on board a bus headed north and 13 hours later we were in La Serena, Chile.
La Serena is a desert coastal town that in summer months sees its beaches filled up with tourists. Our visit was in the off-season, so the common gringo sightings didn't happen.
The first day we found a hostal and took it easy, the theme of this trip. The next day we took a bus south about an hour to the small fishing village, Tongoy. There we ate 'mariscos' including 'machas' (clams), 'locos' (abalone or sea snail), 'jaibas' (crab)and camarones (shrimp). I have already eaten these things on a few occasions here, but it was a nice treat to have them come right off the boat. We spent the remainder of the day hanging out on the beach and relaxing before a night out on the town back in La Serena's neighbor town, Coquimbo. The night life is basically non-existant in La Serena, so we took the 15 minute ride next door most nights. We saw a good Bob Marley cover band and hit a couple of discos. Back in La Serena we hung out on the beach and took in the sun.
We ended our time with a trip to El Valle Elqui, the old stomping grounds for Gabriela Mistral and the place where all of the pisco grapes are grown. We left our bags at a hostal in Vicuna at the valley's head and bussed it up to Pisco Elqui for the day. There we went to a small pisco factory and did some tasting. The valley was very dry with a high mountain desert landscape, but the valley floor was a river of green grape plants. Very pretty. Back in Vicuna, we visited the Capel distillery and bottling plant. Capel is the largest producer and exporter of pisco in Chile. As pisco has found a special place in my heart down here, this was a great experience to go to the place that it is born. Salud!
We had made reservations for our final evening to one of the several observatories in the area, but due to a slight overcast sky, the tour was canceled. Darn. As a consolation we drank one last bottle of pisco and got back on the bus the next day.
We rolled into Concepcion at about 4:30am, I jumped into bed, and then it was back to 'reality' once again.
Pictures can be found at this link in the album "La Serena": http://picasaweb.google.com/shirleydan
See you all soon!
La Serena is a desert coastal town that in summer months sees its beaches filled up with tourists. Our visit was in the off-season, so the common gringo sightings didn't happen.
The first day we found a hostal and took it easy, the theme of this trip. The next day we took a bus south about an hour to the small fishing village, Tongoy. There we ate 'mariscos' including 'machas' (clams), 'locos' (abalone or sea snail), 'jaibas' (crab)and camarones (shrimp). I have already eaten these things on a few occasions here, but it was a nice treat to have them come right off the boat. We spent the remainder of the day hanging out on the beach and relaxing before a night out on the town back in La Serena's neighbor town, Coquimbo. The night life is basically non-existant in La Serena, so we took the 15 minute ride next door most nights. We saw a good Bob Marley cover band and hit a couple of discos. Back in La Serena we hung out on the beach and took in the sun.
We ended our time with a trip to El Valle Elqui, the old stomping grounds for Gabriela Mistral and the place where all of the pisco grapes are grown. We left our bags at a hostal in Vicuna at the valley's head and bussed it up to Pisco Elqui for the day. There we went to a small pisco factory and did some tasting. The valley was very dry with a high mountain desert landscape, but the valley floor was a river of green grape plants. Very pretty. Back in Vicuna, we visited the Capel distillery and bottling plant. Capel is the largest producer and exporter of pisco in Chile. As pisco has found a special place in my heart down here, this was a great experience to go to the place that it is born. Salud!
We had made reservations for our final evening to one of the several observatories in the area, but due to a slight overcast sky, the tour was canceled. Darn. As a consolation we drank one last bottle of pisco and got back on the bus the next day.
We rolled into Concepcion at about 4:30am, I jumped into bed, and then it was back to 'reality' once again.
Pictures can be found at this link in the album "La Serena": http://picasaweb.google.com/shirleydan
See you all soon!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Chao FB, Hello
As we open the door to October, the harsh reality sets in that I have only 4 more months in Chile. I have 2 quick months left in Concepcion to finish up school, and then 2 super duper fast months of traveling before its back to the mother country. So far I feel like I have taken good advantage of my time. However, I have become really accustomed to life here, and the curious spirit has slipped a little bit. I contribute the long rainy rainy rainy winter to most of that. During that time I spent many hours inside, on my computer, not doing much. Now that spring has finally shown up on the tail end of this journey, I need to reevaluate what I'm doing.
I have decided that Facebook (although a good communication tool) is going to be set aside. I'm a little bit tired of the PUBLIC communication and sharing of information that is Facebook. I'm also tired of the time consumption it can beckon. There are a few more books I want to read while I'm here, there is a big research paper i need to write, there is Chilean air i need to breath. None of these things will be accomplished while 'tagging' photos on facebook.
I know some of you are probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about because you are not familiar with this 'animal.' If you are one of those, disregard. However, those of you who are, I'm not saying that I don't want contact with you. Give me a call, I would love to chat, and my number is from the states so it’s not an international call (505-908-9491). Send me an email, I would love to exchange some notes or letters (shirleydan@gmail.com). Y para ustedes que estan en chile, mi numero es 74327384.
In no way is this an attack on people using facebook! I understand that it is a great social tool to keep people connected all over the world. It has served me well for this purpose and I anticipate using it again. But for this specific time in my life, I want a break. That is all I'm saying!!!
I miss my family, my friends and understanding everything that I hear. However, for the next several months, I need to concentrate on me and continue to enrich my south american invasion.
I have decided that Facebook (although a good communication tool) is going to be set aside. I'm a little bit tired of the PUBLIC communication and sharing of information that is Facebook. I'm also tired of the time consumption it can beckon. There are a few more books I want to read while I'm here, there is a big research paper i need to write, there is Chilean air i need to breath. None of these things will be accomplished while 'tagging' photos on facebook.
I know some of you are probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about because you are not familiar with this 'animal.' If you are one of those, disregard. However, those of you who are, I'm not saying that I don't want contact with you. Give me a call, I would love to chat, and my number is from the states so it’s not an international call (505-908-9491). Send me an email, I would love to exchange some notes or letters (shirleydan@gmail.com). Y para ustedes que estan en chile, mi numero es 74327384.
In no way is this an attack on people using facebook! I understand that it is a great social tool to keep people connected all over the world. It has served me well for this purpose and I anticipate using it again. But for this specific time in my life, I want a break. That is all I'm saying!!!
I miss my family, my friends and understanding everything that I hear. However, for the next several months, I need to concentrate on me and continue to enrich my south american invasion.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Carne!
Woooff... The last week was by far the most indulgent I have had so far in Chile. It was the week of Fiestas Patrias, centered around the 18th of September which is more or less Chilean independence day. Imagine the amount you eat on thanksgiving and the amount you drink on new years, put those two together in the same day, everyday for a week. Heres a quick blow by blow of the action.
Friday the 12th was "18th at the university." They have this early because everyone travels home to be with their families on the actual day. At the school were set up "ramadas" which are booths that vend food and drink. The food consisted of "choripan" (sausage on bred), "empanadas," "sopapillas" (fried bread), and "a name i don't remember" (kabobs). The drink consisted of "ponche" (white wine with sliced peaches and aguardente), "chicha" (a strong wine combination with carbonation, i think), "cerveza," and "pisco." The food and drink cost between 200 and 500 pesos (0.40 - 1.00 USD) each.
The scene consisted of a band playing music and about 5000 students overindulging. We arrived at about 4pm and stayed until the chicha and choripan ran out.
The next thing I knew it was monday and I was on a bus headed north to Talca. I was invited to the house of one of my roomates for a couple of days before heading to Curico (a city an hour away from Talca) for the remainder of the week. In Talca we went to the University of Talca to check out their ramadas. It was considerably less exciting, so we decided to take a tour of the campus. During the tour we somehow found ourselves joining a game of soccer. I was wearing sandals, so I played barefoot. This was ok because it was on grass, and it was only 5 vs 5. The game then grew to a full field and 11 vs 11. I decided I would play goalkeeper so that I wouldn't lose any toes. This turned out to be a lot of fun, and reminded me of the old days when I was just a boy.
After a couple of non eventful nights out on the town, I was off to Curico to my other friends house. The grandma of my friend lives in a little town of about 2000 people in the country side close to Curico. Here is where we would spend the remainder of the week. At grandmas house was all of my friends family (about 30) from great grand kids, to great grandma, and me.
The first day we had an asado (BBQ). The grill was a 55 gallon drum cut in half. It was filled with meat, two layers thick, 3 times. I could barely move afterwards. They had bought a full cow for the celebration, 130 kilos worth of meat (286 lbs). Later that day we climbed up the little hillside and enjoyed the view. Many people on the hillside were flying kites, a very popular activity in the pueblo.
That evening began the drinking and to my pleasure and suprise, a bottle of Jim Beam surfaced. The uncle whom had the bottle let me drink away on it as i pleased as the rest didn't really like whisky. I haven't had that flavor in my mouth since I was in the Atlanta airport waiting for my flight to come down here. Later later in the evening we went to the ramadas where there was folk dancing, games, food and drink. One was a gambling game, so i decided to try my luck. There were 9 pins set up in a diamond. One person throws a ball at the pins and trys to knock down an even number. If he does so twice in a row, he doubles his money. Meanwhile all of the people standing around are also making bets that he wont knock down an even number. I threw the ball on about 5 occasions. After winning and losing, I finished 2000 pesos behind (about 4 USD).
The remaining days consisted of basically more of the same, however with the menu changing slightly. One day we ate empanadas and had more asado and another day we had a "discada." The discada was a large metal disk like platter (kinda like a metal garbage can lid, see fotos) that was filled with clams, oysters, beef, chicken, potatoes and sausage covered in cabbage and cooked in white wine over a fire. This was delicious.
Its hard to explain how interesting this experience was. I was with a Chilean family on the most important holiday of the year in the country side. Its interesting enough to witness all of the family dynamics of families from your own culture, so this was extraordinary. Apart from enjoying the opportunity of partaking in this celebration, I really liked the little pueblo. It was a place where the road is shared by bicycles and horses with the occasional car. Houses are not locked up and bicycles are left in the street. These are things that could never happen in the more populated areas of this country.
Back in Curico we took advantage of the final afternoon and went to the stadium for a soccer game. This was a smaller stadium than the one in Concepcion, but the fans no less passionate. I will say it once again, they do not stop singing, banging the drum, waving the flag once during the whole game. After that it was back on the bus and back to reality and to my running shoes to shed some of the weight.
It was a really special experience to be in Chile for this holiday, and to be able to share it with a family in a traditional way.
My birthday is this Friday, so there will be one more party before a nice cleansing period.
I hope all is well in Gringolandia.
The pictures can be found here under the album "Fiestas Patrias" http://picasaweb.google.com/shirleydan
Abrazo
Dan
Friday the 12th was "18th at the university." They have this early because everyone travels home to be with their families on the actual day. At the school were set up "ramadas" which are booths that vend food and drink. The food consisted of "choripan" (sausage on bred), "empanadas," "sopapillas" (fried bread), and "a name i don't remember" (kabobs). The drink consisted of "ponche" (white wine with sliced peaches and aguardente), "chicha" (a strong wine combination with carbonation, i think), "cerveza," and "pisco." The food and drink cost between 200 and 500 pesos (0.40 - 1.00 USD) each.
The scene consisted of a band playing music and about 5000 students overindulging. We arrived at about 4pm and stayed until the chicha and choripan ran out.
The next thing I knew it was monday and I was on a bus headed north to Talca. I was invited to the house of one of my roomates for a couple of days before heading to Curico (a city an hour away from Talca) for the remainder of the week. In Talca we went to the University of Talca to check out their ramadas. It was considerably less exciting, so we decided to take a tour of the campus. During the tour we somehow found ourselves joining a game of soccer. I was wearing sandals, so I played barefoot. This was ok because it was on grass, and it was only 5 vs 5. The game then grew to a full field and 11 vs 11. I decided I would play goalkeeper so that I wouldn't lose any toes. This turned out to be a lot of fun, and reminded me of the old days when I was just a boy.
After a couple of non eventful nights out on the town, I was off to Curico to my other friends house. The grandma of my friend lives in a little town of about 2000 people in the country side close to Curico. Here is where we would spend the remainder of the week. At grandmas house was all of my friends family (about 30) from great grand kids, to great grandma, and me.
The first day we had an asado (BBQ). The grill was a 55 gallon drum cut in half. It was filled with meat, two layers thick, 3 times. I could barely move afterwards. They had bought a full cow for the celebration, 130 kilos worth of meat (286 lbs). Later that day we climbed up the little hillside and enjoyed the view. Many people on the hillside were flying kites, a very popular activity in the pueblo.
That evening began the drinking and to my pleasure and suprise, a bottle of Jim Beam surfaced. The uncle whom had the bottle let me drink away on it as i pleased as the rest didn't really like whisky. I haven't had that flavor in my mouth since I was in the Atlanta airport waiting for my flight to come down here. Later later in the evening we went to the ramadas where there was folk dancing, games, food and drink. One was a gambling game, so i decided to try my luck. There were 9 pins set up in a diamond. One person throws a ball at the pins and trys to knock down an even number. If he does so twice in a row, he doubles his money. Meanwhile all of the people standing around are also making bets that he wont knock down an even number. I threw the ball on about 5 occasions. After winning and losing, I finished 2000 pesos behind (about 4 USD).
The remaining days consisted of basically more of the same, however with the menu changing slightly. One day we ate empanadas and had more asado and another day we had a "discada." The discada was a large metal disk like platter (kinda like a metal garbage can lid, see fotos) that was filled with clams, oysters, beef, chicken, potatoes and sausage covered in cabbage and cooked in white wine over a fire. This was delicious.
Its hard to explain how interesting this experience was. I was with a Chilean family on the most important holiday of the year in the country side. Its interesting enough to witness all of the family dynamics of families from your own culture, so this was extraordinary. Apart from enjoying the opportunity of partaking in this celebration, I really liked the little pueblo. It was a place where the road is shared by bicycles and horses with the occasional car. Houses are not locked up and bicycles are left in the street. These are things that could never happen in the more populated areas of this country.
Back in Curico we took advantage of the final afternoon and went to the stadium for a soccer game. This was a smaller stadium than the one in Concepcion, but the fans no less passionate. I will say it once again, they do not stop singing, banging the drum, waving the flag once during the whole game. After that it was back on the bus and back to reality and to my running shoes to shed some of the weight.
It was a really special experience to be in Chile for this holiday, and to be able to share it with a family in a traditional way.
My birthday is this Friday, so there will be one more party before a nice cleansing period.
I hope all is well in Gringolandia.
The pictures can be found here under the album "Fiestas Patrias" http://picasaweb.google.com/shirleydan
Abrazo
Dan
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Un poco atresado
Hola all...
I apologize for my lack of writing as of late, but I'm in Chile, and your not, so deal with it.
School has gotten off to a good start (good i guess, there is class, I go to it, and i try to understand the viejo that practically whispers.) It kinda feels like school this time around. I have already taken a class similar to this one, so despite everything being in spanish, its not as hard as it could be so far. However, this last week we had our first laboratory, a truly memorable experience.
I have taken several chemistry lab courses during my time at UM, and there was a general pattern for the first day of each of those labs. This consisted of receiving our equipment for the semester and getting a safety orientation of the lab. Well in Chile, that pattern has been snapped. The first thing we did in the lab was take a test, not a safety test, but like a real test. "reproduce the fourth period of the periodic table" Are you kidding me! Good thing there was one on the wall in my sight.
Next it was "begin." Well, I had two partners, but no equipment so I left it up to them to figure out what to do. We found ourselves a beaker and began. What came next is something I'm still not sure I experienced in real life. My fellow students went to fetch the necessary 5 mL of the prepared copper nitrate solution with their pipets. But instead of having a bulb on the end of the pipets, they only had their mouths!! Yes, they were pipetting by mouth, and this was no big deal to them. I almost freaked out. (For you non science people, I will explain. A pipet is a glass tube, like a straw, with graduation marks in order to measure and transfer small amounts of liquids. There is usually a small bulb to attach on the top in order to create suction. Pipetting be mouth is to suck on the end in order to draw in the liquid!) Well, for anyone who has ever taken a chemistry lab in the last 15 years, you have probably heard "don't pipet by mouth!" I was shocked, especially when it was my turn to fetch the solution. Yes, I pipetted by mouth.
Although what we were working with was not necessarily dangerous, I still wouldn't want to drink it. Apart from this, the lab did not have very good ventilation, no fume hoods, an emergency shower nor emergency eye washer. Hopefully I don't spill, or the old chemistry adage will definitely come into play "oops means run."
I have now met with my classes that I teach at the elementary school about 4 times each. I'm really impressed with how much the kids are learning and retaining. After I left the first time, I thought there was no hope, but at the second meeting they were all repeating what i had taught them the first time. I'm really enjoying the experience so far, its nice to see the kids excited to learn and also the corresponding results. The hardest class for me in the pre-kindergarten because they just like to sing, and I don't. The 3rd graders are good, but a little wild. The fourth graders are excellent. They are the most interested, always asking me questions and they are picking things up very fast. I hope I can take advantage of there sponginess and provide them with enough liquid.
We had the exchange student welcoming reception last night, complete with wine and hors d'oeuvres . Also, 12 students from St. Cloud university are here this semester, so the gringo ratio is up. It was fun to meet all of those Minnesotans, reminded me of my little Minnesotan back home:)
The other night La Universidad de Chile futbol team came to town again, so me and my fellow hooligans went to the stadium. It was again crazy as it was when i went back in march, but this time I snuck in my camera. I'll let the photos and video explain the rest. La U lost in a shoot out, so we drank an extra beer.
In other news, about a week a go we had one of the supposed worst rain storms in recent history here in concepcion. School was canceled for the day due to flooding. I didn't get that memo until i arrived at class, soaking wet.
My street
The U
The U
Some locas that wanted to cross the street
Thats the scoop for now. As I said before, Chilean independence day is coming up on the 18th, so that means lots of carretiando for the next couple weeks. I'm headed up to Curico to the house of one of my Chilean friends where I'm going to celebrate with his family. I shall have more on this en la vuelta. Que esten bien!!! besos y abrazos
I apologize for my lack of writing as of late, but I'm in Chile, and your not, so deal with it.
School has gotten off to a good start (good i guess, there is class, I go to it, and i try to understand the viejo that practically whispers.) It kinda feels like school this time around. I have already taken a class similar to this one, so despite everything being in spanish, its not as hard as it could be so far. However, this last week we had our first laboratory, a truly memorable experience.
I have taken several chemistry lab courses during my time at UM, and there was a general pattern for the first day of each of those labs. This consisted of receiving our equipment for the semester and getting a safety orientation of the lab. Well in Chile, that pattern has been snapped. The first thing we did in the lab was take a test, not a safety test, but like a real test. "reproduce the fourth period of the periodic table" Are you kidding me! Good thing there was one on the wall in my sight.
Next it was "begin." Well, I had two partners, but no equipment so I left it up to them to figure out what to do. We found ourselves a beaker and began. What came next is something I'm still not sure I experienced in real life. My fellow students went to fetch the necessary 5 mL of the prepared copper nitrate solution with their pipets. But instead of having a bulb on the end of the pipets, they only had their mouths!! Yes, they were pipetting by mouth, and this was no big deal to them. I almost freaked out. (For you non science people, I will explain. A pipet is a glass tube, like a straw, with graduation marks in order to measure and transfer small amounts of liquids. There is usually a small bulb to attach on the top in order to create suction. Pipetting be mouth is to suck on the end in order to draw in the liquid!) Well, for anyone who has ever taken a chemistry lab in the last 15 years, you have probably heard "don't pipet by mouth!" I was shocked, especially when it was my turn to fetch the solution. Yes, I pipetted by mouth.
Although what we were working with was not necessarily dangerous, I still wouldn't want to drink it. Apart from this, the lab did not have very good ventilation, no fume hoods, an emergency shower nor emergency eye washer. Hopefully I don't spill, or the old chemistry adage will definitely come into play "oops means run."
I have now met with my classes that I teach at the elementary school about 4 times each. I'm really impressed with how much the kids are learning and retaining. After I left the first time, I thought there was no hope, but at the second meeting they were all repeating what i had taught them the first time. I'm really enjoying the experience so far, its nice to see the kids excited to learn and also the corresponding results. The hardest class for me in the pre-kindergarten because they just like to sing, and I don't. The 3rd graders are good, but a little wild. The fourth graders are excellent. They are the most interested, always asking me questions and they are picking things up very fast. I hope I can take advantage of there sponginess and provide them with enough liquid.
We had the exchange student welcoming reception last night, complete with wine and hors d'oeuvres . Also, 12 students from St. Cloud university are here this semester, so the gringo ratio is up. It was fun to meet all of those Minnesotans, reminded me of my little Minnesotan back home:)
The other night La Universidad de Chile futbol team came to town again, so me and my fellow hooligans went to the stadium. It was again crazy as it was when i went back in march, but this time I snuck in my camera. I'll let the photos and video explain the rest. La U lost in a shoot out, so we drank an extra beer.
In other news, about a week a go we had one of the supposed worst rain storms in recent history here in concepcion. School was canceled for the day due to flooding. I didn't get that memo until i arrived at class, soaking wet.
My street
The U
The U
Some locas that wanted to cross the streetThats the scoop for now. As I said before, Chilean independence day is coming up on the 18th, so that means lots of carretiando for the next couple weeks. I'm headed up to Curico to the house of one of my Chilean friends where I'm going to celebrate with his family. I shall have more on this en la vuelta. Que esten bien!!! besos y abrazos
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Halftime
Greetings faithful,
In the last week I saw the eclipse of the 6 month mark on my invasion of South America. I'm now officially on the downward slide. I leave the country on the 29th of January, so that leaves me exactly 5.5 months of hell raising. This halfway point has snuck up on me from out of nowhere, i feel like i was just giving the 2 month update. But as I'm forced to reflect, its clear that I in fact have spent a good quantity of time here, and more importantly it has been of grade A quality.
I have experienced change. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. I have not cut my hair in over six months, its longer than it has ever been. I have also recommitted myself to regular vigorous exercise. Looking in the mirror, 6 months has passed.
I study, socialize, communicate, survive using a new language. At this point I can say almost anything, and understand almost everything (although those damn Chileans still remain super difficult to understand sometimes) with out too much effort. Speaking is much more natural.
I have met and made friends from all over the world and from all walks of life. They have all had special impacts on me. When in a situation like this, you develop good strong friendships much faster because you know that your time is limited with the people. Also, the bonds built between fellow exchange students is especially strong due to the sharing of this extraordinary type of experience.
As always, the positives have there down sides. At this point, several of my friends have left forever. Although I'm still here, its sad because I may never see them again, and I will not have them as a part of my experience anymore. There is one, however, whom is the most special, who I will be seeing immediately upon my return. Our future holds many more great adventures together.
Its almost impossible to specifically explain my experiences so far in Chile and the impacts they are having on my life. But, in a few words: magic, amazing, confusing, crazy, fun, rainy, exciting, surprising, pure.
Although the first half has come and gone, round two i expect to be all that and more. Heres whats coming up:
I started school this week, and it looks like my classes are going to consist of Quimica Inorganica 4 w/ its corresponding lab and Actividades Recriativas. Aside from these two classes, I will also be volunteering at an elementary school in Concepcions poorest neighborhood. I will be conducting english workshops for a pre-kindergarden class, 3rd grade class, and 4th grade class. I start tomorrow, but I have already met some of the kids. They are super cute, and I anticipate working with them to be a great experience. More to come on this later.
Also, 18th of September is Chilean independence day, and from what i hear it is a week long celebration of booze and food and fun! Sounds like a good ol Chilean carrete. The following week on the 26 is my birthday, so the party may just extend for 2 weeks straight. Ill be turning 24, scary i know. Send your condolences.
As for the rest of the semester, we have spring and sun and fun to look forward to. I have lots of travel plans as well. i hope to get out for some weekend adventures, before I spend all of December (alone) and January (with my folks) seeing all that i can before going back to the states. The end can be seen off in the distance, but I'm just looking down at my feet.
I hope everyone is living awesome. Abrazos y besos.
Dan
In the last week I saw the eclipse of the 6 month mark on my invasion of South America. I'm now officially on the downward slide. I leave the country on the 29th of January, so that leaves me exactly 5.5 months of hell raising. This halfway point has snuck up on me from out of nowhere, i feel like i was just giving the 2 month update. But as I'm forced to reflect, its clear that I in fact have spent a good quantity of time here, and more importantly it has been of grade A quality.
I have experienced change. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. I have not cut my hair in over six months, its longer than it has ever been. I have also recommitted myself to regular vigorous exercise. Looking in the mirror, 6 months has passed.
I study, socialize, communicate, survive using a new language. At this point I can say almost anything, and understand almost everything (although those damn Chileans still remain super difficult to understand sometimes) with out too much effort. Speaking is much more natural.
I have met and made friends from all over the world and from all walks of life. They have all had special impacts on me. When in a situation like this, you develop good strong friendships much faster because you know that your time is limited with the people. Also, the bonds built between fellow exchange students is especially strong due to the sharing of this extraordinary type of experience.
As always, the positives have there down sides. At this point, several of my friends have left forever. Although I'm still here, its sad because I may never see them again, and I will not have them as a part of my experience anymore. There is one, however, whom is the most special, who I will be seeing immediately upon my return. Our future holds many more great adventures together.
Its almost impossible to specifically explain my experiences so far in Chile and the impacts they are having on my life. But, in a few words: magic, amazing, confusing, crazy, fun, rainy, exciting, surprising, pure.
Although the first half has come and gone, round two i expect to be all that and more. Heres whats coming up:
I started school this week, and it looks like my classes are going to consist of Quimica Inorganica 4 w/ its corresponding lab and Actividades Recriativas. Aside from these two classes, I will also be volunteering at an elementary school in Concepcions poorest neighborhood. I will be conducting english workshops for a pre-kindergarden class, 3rd grade class, and 4th grade class. I start tomorrow, but I have already met some of the kids. They are super cute, and I anticipate working with them to be a great experience. More to come on this later.
Also, 18th of September is Chilean independence day, and from what i hear it is a week long celebration of booze and food and fun! Sounds like a good ol Chilean carrete. The following week on the 26 is my birthday, so the party may just extend for 2 weeks straight. Ill be turning 24, scary i know. Send your condolences.
As for the rest of the semester, we have spring and sun and fun to look forward to. I have lots of travel plans as well. i hope to get out for some weekend adventures, before I spend all of December (alone) and January (with my folks) seeing all that i can before going back to the states. The end can be seen off in the distance, but I'm just looking down at my feet.
I hope everyone is living awesome. Abrazos y besos.
Dan
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Epic adventure, take 2
I finally made it back in one piece to my home away from home here in Concepcion. After about 132 hours (75 with Clare) in buses (yes that’s over 5 days sitting in a bus) and three countries I am home sweet home and can take a little breather before I start school on Monday. What did round two have in store for me? Let’s see!
As I already mentioned after seeing Clare off back to the states I headed to my friend Paulo's house in Santiago. From there we adventured up to Valle Nevado ski resort for some snow time. This was the first time in over 10 years that I have used equipment that was not my own, and also the first time in over 5 years that I have not used my helmet. It was a recipe for disaster, but I lived to tell about it. The snow was not great nor was the visibility, but it was really fun. Skiing in the Andes is a bit different from what I'm used to. Because there are no trees, the snow is easily blown off and has alot of sun exposure. This creates icy conditions unless you hit it on a fresh snow day or close to one. Anyway, I had a great time, and the best part is I didn't hurt myself (except for those damn blisters from rented boots...)
Next up on my solo journey was a quick 6 hour jaunt over the mountains to Mendoza, Argentina, the wine capital of Argentina. I arrived on 'el dia de amigos' (friends day) which is only an Argentine holiday. Since I was without a friend on this day, I searched out my next best option which happened to be a micro brewery close to my hostal. After belly-up to the bar and trying the local brew, I found myself in a nice conversation with an Argentine gentleman whose name also happened to be Daniel and whom also had just set off solo after splitting apart from his girlfriend.
The next day I spent bumming around the city and getting my clothes cleaned as they had about 20 days of Peru on them. The next day I hopped on a little micro bus out to the Mendoza country side where many of the wineries call home. With my map of the wineries and my rented bicycle, I set out for my next adventure. First stop was a wine museum with a free tour and glass of wine. The following several stops were all about the same. They consisted of a tour of the winery and then a tasting at the end. Usually they charged about 10 pesos (3 USD) for the tour and tasting. After reaching the point where most people turn around on their bikes and head back in, I decided I wanted to make a loop and visit a few of the less traveled areas. So back on my bike with my wine buzz it was. The next stop was a small organic winery that was about 3 miles down a dirt road. This was very interesting and the wine was good. However, a little bit down the road, of course, I got a flat tire. So, after riding the bike on the rim for longer than I should have, I arrived into a little town. I headed to the gas station, but the air nozzle on the bike did not comply with the normal air dispenser. So I resigned myself to walking and hitchhiking. After walking for a while, I game across a tire shop. I popped in and the gentlemen tried filling up the tire but it was totally dead flat and busted. I told them of my plan of hitchhiking back to the bike shop and they insisted I would get beat up and robbed. So, they called the bike shop and the owner came out and brought me another bike. I was a bit surprised by this because it was so late in the day and the wineries were about to close. But, there was one other small one I wanted to go to. So, I back tracked it and turned down another small back road, but this time it was paved. At the end of this road was a small family run joint. I was given a little tour of the operation which was so small it reminded me of my own beer brewing operation. I was even able to taste some of the wine out of one of the big barrels that it was in waiting to be bottled. Later, the lady showed me how by hand they label each bottle, and then had me label one myself and also put the top sealant around the cork. I of course bought that bottle after wards, to add to the 2 I had already bought that day. So, back to the bike rental shop it was. There I was joined with several other international people where we enjoyed as much free wine (thanks to the bike guy) as we wanted. This clearly turned into a lot of wine. Afterwards it was back to Mendoza and out to dinner with my new friends. The next day I had planed to get out of the city again, but because I had a bus to Buenos Aires in the early evening I could not swing it. So, I spent the day in a large park, reading my book and enjoying the sun.
I jumped on a bus that evening, and 14 hours later I was in bustling Buenos Aires. BA was by far the biggest city that I had plopped down in without any plans thus far. It was a little overwhelming at first, but I hit up a tourist information place and was given a map with hostals marked on it. A short subway ride later I was checked into a hostal. I didn't really like the hostal a whole lot, but I was super tired and wanted to put down my bags. I spent the remainder of the day walking around looking for other hostals in the neighborhood and just being my tourist self. That evening I hit up a little bar for some live blues. The next day I was off to my new hostal down the street where I stayed for the next three nights. I met a couple of guys from Spain at the hostal with whom I took on the city. One of the guys, a black as night fellow with dreadlocks named Jeli, had a long board. So his friend David and I rented bicycles and we proceeded to zoom all over the city together for the next couple of days. The most exciting time was on Friday evening around 5-6 we were buzzing in and out of all the traffic on the busiest streets in the city. It was great! Two guys on orange single gear cruisers and one guy on a skate board. We were quite a site. We were able to escape all of the madness without any injuries except for a cut on my hand. I was zooming between cars stopped at a stop light and I accidently punched a rearview mirror. Oops. The remaining days were more of the same. One night I went to a small independent theatre and saw a play. It was funny and interesting as it was all in spanish. I went to the Argentine Holocaust Museum, also interesting, but as expected depressing. Tango has a long history in Buenos Aires, and I was able to see a little show in the street one night. I would be very interested in learning that dance; unfortunately my dance partner was not with me. I also ate very very well. As I said before when I went to Argentina the last time, the beef is very good there and cheap. I ate great meat and drank good wine every night for about 10USD.
My trip finally came to a close with one last bus ride, a nice 30 hour jaunt back over the mountains and back down to Concepcion. The second half of my trip was great, although quite different from the first. First off I was alone, not with my little lady. This was significantly different. The hostal situations were very different as well. In Peru, we always had a private room with private bathroom ect and paid a total of about 12 USD a night. It was like having a hotel room more or less. In Argentina, I always stayed in a dorm style room with between 2 and 15 other people, and obviously shared bathrooms. For this I paid about 10 USD a night. This was ok though because I was alone it was a great way to meet new people to hang out with. The experience was sort of schizophrenic, however, because I met people and hung out with them and we had really personal conversations all the while knowing that I would only know them for a day or two.
The vacation was certainly the best of my life so far, and if I had to pick my favorite part, which is very hard to do because it was all so fun and different, I would say the time in the jungle and in the jungle town of Puerto Maldonado. It was really a blessing in disguise to have that 'paro' and trap us there for about a week.
I am happy, however, to be back on the western side of the mountains where I can rest a little and get ready for school to start. Also, my razor is over here, and it misses me! I don't know what or when the next big adventure will be, so stay tuned. I have reached the halfway point to this crazy South American adventure, so things are just getting warmed up!
Following are a ton of pictures that were taken over the last 35 days on the adventure. They are broken up and captioned as best as I could. There is an album of Peru, snowboarding and of Buenos Aires/Mendoza. Click on each picture shown for each album to get linked to the full album. Also you can go to www.photobucket.com/danshirley and on the left hand side select the albums with those names.
I hope you enjoy, and as I said before, please write me with questions or whatever if you want to know more.
Hope all is well.
Dan
As I already mentioned after seeing Clare off back to the states I headed to my friend Paulo's house in Santiago. From there we adventured up to Valle Nevado ski resort for some snow time. This was the first time in over 10 years that I have used equipment that was not my own, and also the first time in over 5 years that I have not used my helmet. It was a recipe for disaster, but I lived to tell about it. The snow was not great nor was the visibility, but it was really fun. Skiing in the Andes is a bit different from what I'm used to. Because there are no trees, the snow is easily blown off and has alot of sun exposure. This creates icy conditions unless you hit it on a fresh snow day or close to one. Anyway, I had a great time, and the best part is I didn't hurt myself (except for those damn blisters from rented boots...)
Next up on my solo journey was a quick 6 hour jaunt over the mountains to Mendoza, Argentina, the wine capital of Argentina. I arrived on 'el dia de amigos' (friends day) which is only an Argentine holiday. Since I was without a friend on this day, I searched out my next best option which happened to be a micro brewery close to my hostal. After belly-up to the bar and trying the local brew, I found myself in a nice conversation with an Argentine gentleman whose name also happened to be Daniel and whom also had just set off solo after splitting apart from his girlfriend.
The next day I spent bumming around the city and getting my clothes cleaned as they had about 20 days of Peru on them. The next day I hopped on a little micro bus out to the Mendoza country side where many of the wineries call home. With my map of the wineries and my rented bicycle, I set out for my next adventure. First stop was a wine museum with a free tour and glass of wine. The following several stops were all about the same. They consisted of a tour of the winery and then a tasting at the end. Usually they charged about 10 pesos (3 USD) for the tour and tasting. After reaching the point where most people turn around on their bikes and head back in, I decided I wanted to make a loop and visit a few of the less traveled areas. So back on my bike with my wine buzz it was. The next stop was a small organic winery that was about 3 miles down a dirt road. This was very interesting and the wine was good. However, a little bit down the road, of course, I got a flat tire. So, after riding the bike on the rim for longer than I should have, I arrived into a little town. I headed to the gas station, but the air nozzle on the bike did not comply with the normal air dispenser. So I resigned myself to walking and hitchhiking. After walking for a while, I game across a tire shop. I popped in and the gentlemen tried filling up the tire but it was totally dead flat and busted. I told them of my plan of hitchhiking back to the bike shop and they insisted I would get beat up and robbed. So, they called the bike shop and the owner came out and brought me another bike. I was a bit surprised by this because it was so late in the day and the wineries were about to close. But, there was one other small one I wanted to go to. So, I back tracked it and turned down another small back road, but this time it was paved. At the end of this road was a small family run joint. I was given a little tour of the operation which was so small it reminded me of my own beer brewing operation. I was even able to taste some of the wine out of one of the big barrels that it was in waiting to be bottled. Later, the lady showed me how by hand they label each bottle, and then had me label one myself and also put the top sealant around the cork. I of course bought that bottle after wards, to add to the 2 I had already bought that day. So, back to the bike rental shop it was. There I was joined with several other international people where we enjoyed as much free wine (thanks to the bike guy) as we wanted. This clearly turned into a lot of wine. Afterwards it was back to Mendoza and out to dinner with my new friends. The next day I had planed to get out of the city again, but because I had a bus to Buenos Aires in the early evening I could not swing it. So, I spent the day in a large park, reading my book and enjoying the sun.
I jumped on a bus that evening, and 14 hours later I was in bustling Buenos Aires. BA was by far the biggest city that I had plopped down in without any plans thus far. It was a little overwhelming at first, but I hit up a tourist information place and was given a map with hostals marked on it. A short subway ride later I was checked into a hostal. I didn't really like the hostal a whole lot, but I was super tired and wanted to put down my bags. I spent the remainder of the day walking around looking for other hostals in the neighborhood and just being my tourist self. That evening I hit up a little bar for some live blues. The next day I was off to my new hostal down the street where I stayed for the next three nights. I met a couple of guys from Spain at the hostal with whom I took on the city. One of the guys, a black as night fellow with dreadlocks named Jeli, had a long board. So his friend David and I rented bicycles and we proceeded to zoom all over the city together for the next couple of days. The most exciting time was on Friday evening around 5-6 we were buzzing in and out of all the traffic on the busiest streets in the city. It was great! Two guys on orange single gear cruisers and one guy on a skate board. We were quite a site. We were able to escape all of the madness without any injuries except for a cut on my hand. I was zooming between cars stopped at a stop light and I accidently punched a rearview mirror. Oops. The remaining days were more of the same. One night I went to a small independent theatre and saw a play. It was funny and interesting as it was all in spanish. I went to the Argentine Holocaust Museum, also interesting, but as expected depressing. Tango has a long history in Buenos Aires, and I was able to see a little show in the street one night. I would be very interested in learning that dance; unfortunately my dance partner was not with me. I also ate very very well. As I said before when I went to Argentina the last time, the beef is very good there and cheap. I ate great meat and drank good wine every night for about 10USD.
My trip finally came to a close with one last bus ride, a nice 30 hour jaunt back over the mountains and back down to Concepcion. The second half of my trip was great, although quite different from the first. First off I was alone, not with my little lady. This was significantly different. The hostal situations were very different as well. In Peru, we always had a private room with private bathroom ect and paid a total of about 12 USD a night. It was like having a hotel room more or less. In Argentina, I always stayed in a dorm style room with between 2 and 15 other people, and obviously shared bathrooms. For this I paid about 10 USD a night. This was ok though because I was alone it was a great way to meet new people to hang out with. The experience was sort of schizophrenic, however, because I met people and hung out with them and we had really personal conversations all the while knowing that I would only know them for a day or two.
The vacation was certainly the best of my life so far, and if I had to pick my favorite part, which is very hard to do because it was all so fun and different, I would say the time in the jungle and in the jungle town of Puerto Maldonado. It was really a blessing in disguise to have that 'paro' and trap us there for about a week.
I am happy, however, to be back on the western side of the mountains where I can rest a little and get ready for school to start. Also, my razor is over here, and it misses me! I don't know what or when the next big adventure will be, so stay tuned. I have reached the halfway point to this crazy South American adventure, so things are just getting warmed up!
Following are a ton of pictures that were taken over the last 35 days on the adventure. They are broken up and captioned as best as I could. There is an album of Peru, snowboarding and of Buenos Aires/Mendoza. Click on each picture shown for each album to get linked to the full album. Also you can go to www.photobucket.com/danshirley and on the left hand side select the albums with those names.
I hope you enjoy, and as I said before, please write me with questions or whatever if you want to know more.
Hope all is well.
Dan
Monday, July 21, 2008
Planes, trains, automobiles and peru
Ok people, the last month has been one of note, or lots of notes as you will see, no need to waste more time!
On the 27th of June i left my house in concepcion early with my packback filled to the brim and my final assignment for the semester in my hand. I passed by the professors office, turned in the paper, and I was off to Viña del Mar. I arrived just in time that evening for Clares going away party. It was fun and not too messy. The next night Clare and I set off for Santiago and spent the night in the airport as our flight left at 6 am for Arica, Chile which is on the border with Peru. We arrived and hopped in a colectivo car to cross the boarder. It was three of us in the backseat and three grown men in the front seet of an 80s Chevy. An hour later we were in Tacna, Peru. After buying our bus tickets through to Cusco via Arequipa, we set off to eat and had our first experience with ordering ¨menu.¨ We didn´t know what was going on because we asked for menus and they brought us soup and then gave us a couple options for a second dish. We went with it and then it was super good and very cheep. About 6 soles in total. 3 soles = 1 USD. In peru this option is usually available everywhere and for every meal... We eat a lot of menus!
On our walk over to the bus with the little travel agent guy who sold us our tickets, he asked us if we would do him a favor. We said sure, and he handed us a package said to conain shoes that he wanted us to delever to his parents in Cusco. Its suposedly expensive to send such items because of customs and the shoes are much cheeper in Tacna. I accepted the package on good faith and shoved in in my pack and tried to forget i had it.
We arrived in arequipa several hours later and had about 1 hour layover until our bus to cusco. We again happened across a very small local place to eat where the mom served us up some more soup and chicken with rice. Several more hours on the bus and we arrived in Cusco about 330 am. We were supposed to arrive around 6, so the receivers of the package were not there. We negotiated a hostal for a few hours to sleep and then called the name and number we were given just in case for the package. The woman was very nice, and her husband came to recieve the package, which at this point was confirmed to be only two pairs of shoes and nothing more exciting. Anyway, Jose arrived and we passed on the goods. We then told him that we were trying to get to Ollataytambo in the sacred valley where our train left the next day for machu picchu. He then imediatly hailed a cab, got in with us and took us to the little micro bus station where those buses take off from. He not only paid for the cab, he also paid for both of our bus fairs to the sacred valley... only a total of about 10 soles, but it was a very nice gesture. He even got up on the bus with us to make sure we had our seets. Once the bus was about the leave, the door opened one more time and it filled up with school kids... yes all the seats were aleady taken, but they packed in. As we hit the road with absolutly to space to move in the bus, we stopped and picked up two more: a mom and her little daughter who proceeded to have her cute little hand on my knee until they got off.
We arrived in Ollataytambo, found a hostal and ate some food and chilled in the small mountain town. There were alot of tourists as it is a jump off for machu picchu (MP). The next morning we got on the train at 530 and proceeded up the valley with amazing views of the Peruvian andes... really some of the most beautiful mountain views i have ever seen. 2 hours later we arrived at Aguas Calients, bought admission to MP and bought tickets in a little bus to take us up to the site. You can also walk up, but we wanted to get there early. We then proceeded to take in all of the amazingness. Its just like the picuters, but real, in your face and full of energy. It was amazing how preserved it was, and you were allowed to go almost anywhere you wanted. No ropes or fences telling you ¨NO¨. We were able to climb up Wayanapichu which is the peak you see in all of the pictures behind the site. They only allow 400 a day, so we were lucky. This part was sooo amazing. We climbed straight up ancient stair cases that are still in perfect shape. For this part I opted to go barefoot to feel the cool rocks, and be like the incas! Yes yes I know, i´m really cool. Anyway, after taking more than 300 fotos and taking the whole place in, we walked back down to Aguas Calientes and then got back on the train. From Ollataytambo we took a bus directly back to cusco.
In Cusco we found a nice hostal with hot water in a nice spot down town. We showerd and passed right out. We wanted to go to the amazon jungle which is somewhat close by, so the next day we dedicated ourselves to figuring that out. After looking at some tours and deciding that wasnt our style, we decided to call up Jose for his advice. He came to meet us later that afternoon. He went into several tour agencies to ask proces for us because they always try to take advantage of the gringos. But, after explaining to him we kinda just wanted to do our own thing, it was off to the bus terminal. Puerto Maldonado is about a 30 min flight from cusco and is a jump off for the jungle. We opted for the bus route instead however. 18 hours! But Jose negotiated getting us the front seats on the second level of the bus, so we had a panoramic view of the whole trip! He was really a great guy and it was worth every risk taking that package to him!
We left the next afternoon for Pto M. WE arrived the following day in the morning. We hoped in a little motorcycle cab and went to the main plaza. We then came across a great little hostal with a our own balcony looking over main street. We then rented a little moto to check out the town. There are hardly any cars there.. everyone is on a moto and all the taxis are motos retrofitted to have a bench seat on the back, little cart type things. So with Clare on the back we cruised with the warm wind on our backs, it was awesome. And I didnt even wreck! 3 hours cost us 10 soles, super cheep! Later we searched for a tour to get us into the jungle. Becuase of just the way it is, its not possible to just jump on a boat and wing it like we wanted to do, so we had to find something more organized. At one place as we talked with the woman, she suddlenly pulled her small child into her lap, pulled out her nipple and started to feed the little brat. She didn´t even break stride in her schpeal either.. However, it took everything i had to not start cracking up.
We ended up going with a different company that was cheeper, but no nipples. The next day we went up the Madre de Dios river about an hour and then walked about an hour and a half through the jungle to Lago Sandoval. There we stayed for the next two nights and three days. We stayed in a really rusted cabana thing. There was a really nice lodge on the lake too, but we wanted the real experience. So, with huge spiders as our roomates, we took in all that we could of the jungle. Our bed had serious netting over it to protect us from all the creepy crawlers in the room. It was not a net, it was actually canvas sheets. Clare demanded that I check every last inch of that bed before she would get into it.. i wasnt really against the idea either.
We spent the days swimming in the lake, canoeing and walking through the junlge. We saw lots of exotic birds, parrots and all other types. The lake also had lots of Black Caymen: one of the only places in the world were they remain, and yes we saw several. We also saw some other swimming creatures but i cant remember the name. Help here Clare, please! It was super fun and interesting to be in the amazon and feel all the energy of so much life.
When we arrived back in Pto M, we were greated by a paro. As i have explained before, paro is basically a boycot. But this paro was of the whole town. So, there were no cars nothing, and we had a bus in a few hours. So, we walked the 20 blocks in the heat with our big bags amongst people walking an protesting in the streats. At the bus terminal they said the bus wasn´t going to leave for atleast 3 days. So, we walked back to our little hostal from before and got the same room with the balcony. There we stayed for the next 3.5 days watching the people marching through the streets almost continuosly. It was a great view! Because everything was closed, we had to search out clandestine restaurants that were serving. We looked for cracked open doors and people standing outside whispering ¨almuerzo¨. It was like a little mission and adventure everytime we wanted to eat. But, we did eat alot and it was really good. The best food of our trip by far. One time however, the protesters came to the restaurant where we were eating and strated yelling and throwing stuff and banging sticks before the workers could force them out and shut and lock the door. It was intense! Another time at night, we were getting sandwhichs on the street and the protesters came, and we had to duck into the little building the cart was at and shut the doors and lights.
After 4 days of this, we finally left. We got on our bus, but this time the bus did not have the upper level with the good seats. Instead this was a bus without a bathroom that was half broke down. So not only were we on the dirt road which makes the trip longer anyway, the thing couldnt hardly go and kept breaking down. About 22 hours later we arrived. It was hell basically. We then imediatly got on another bus in cusco to go to Puno. We succesfully were on a bus for 29 out of 30 hours. It was a tour de force! We arrived in puno and just died!
Puno is on the shore of Lago Titicaca. We took a little boat out to the island los uros which are floating islands. They are constructed of reeds as are all of there things, such as houses and boats. It was very interesting to see the very unique traditional culture still surviving. Then we hoped back on our boat and headed to the island Taquile where supposedly the best knitters in the world come from. The lake is at 3800 meters, almost 12000feet and the second islands plaza was up above 12000 feet. All the flat landers that were there were huffing and puffing to climb up to the plaza!
Next we got on our final bus which was from Puno back down to Tacna. We thought we had already had the worst bus ride ever, but we were wrong. When we got to our seats, they were covered in vomit. So, we didnt sit in them. However, soon enough the bus filled up and we couldnt stay in the other clean seats. We then sat at the very back of the bus on a little shelf. It was baring wide enough for one person, and we both sat there for about 9 hours. They over sold the bus by 8 people so there were six more people sitting on the floor in the isle the whole time. Every one on the bus was indigenous peruvian because we werent on a tipical tourist route at this point. They however didnt seem to have a problem sitting in the vomit seets. Ours were no the only such ones. However, we made ourselves happy and confotable cramed in the corner witnessing people vomit the whole way. When we finally got to tacna we jetted off of that disgusting thing and zoomed back across the boarder to arica, where our flight left from the next day.
The next day we were in Santiago and then over to Viña. We packed up Clares stuff and headed back to santiago the next afternoon for her to catch her flight back to the US. We had an amazing time together on that advneture despite at the very end both of us having very unhappy stomachs. Thank god it was at the very end... we blame it on the super nasty bus rides.
It was very sad to see Clare go, we really had a great great time together. It is a minor miracle she didn´t kill me, and she even insists she still likes me! She gets woman of the year award. 20 days straight with me and no other human contact, any other takers?? I didnt think so!
I then met up with my friend who lives in Santiago and we went snowboarding together. It was really fun despite not great snow. Yay for snowboarding in the Andes in July!
Im now in Mendoza, Argentina all alone. I´m going to do a bicyle wine tour tomorrow and then head off the Buenos Aires in a couple days before heading back to Concepcion by the end of the month to start school again.
Im sorry for some of the quick explanations, but please please ask me specific questions if you have them. It was such a cool experience, I know clare and I would be happy to talk your ear off about it if you want more.
For now i´m off to pick my clothes up from the laundry mat and sip on some wine!
I hope you are all doing great and I hope to hear from you! Leave a comment or email me!! I will update again when i get back to concepcion.
I miss you all! Take care! Hugs and kisses!
PEEEAAAAAACCCCCCCCEEEEEEE
Dan
PS sorry for all the spelling mistakes, this computer only does spanish spell check and im too lazy to proof read!!!
On the 27th of June i left my house in concepcion early with my packback filled to the brim and my final assignment for the semester in my hand. I passed by the professors office, turned in the paper, and I was off to Viña del Mar. I arrived just in time that evening for Clares going away party. It was fun and not too messy. The next night Clare and I set off for Santiago and spent the night in the airport as our flight left at 6 am for Arica, Chile which is on the border with Peru. We arrived and hopped in a colectivo car to cross the boarder. It was three of us in the backseat and three grown men in the front seet of an 80s Chevy. An hour later we were in Tacna, Peru. After buying our bus tickets through to Cusco via Arequipa, we set off to eat and had our first experience with ordering ¨menu.¨ We didn´t know what was going on because we asked for menus and they brought us soup and then gave us a couple options for a second dish. We went with it and then it was super good and very cheep. About 6 soles in total. 3 soles = 1 USD. In peru this option is usually available everywhere and for every meal... We eat a lot of menus!
On our walk over to the bus with the little travel agent guy who sold us our tickets, he asked us if we would do him a favor. We said sure, and he handed us a package said to conain shoes that he wanted us to delever to his parents in Cusco. Its suposedly expensive to send such items because of customs and the shoes are much cheeper in Tacna. I accepted the package on good faith and shoved in in my pack and tried to forget i had it.
We arrived in arequipa several hours later and had about 1 hour layover until our bus to cusco. We again happened across a very small local place to eat where the mom served us up some more soup and chicken with rice. Several more hours on the bus and we arrived in Cusco about 330 am. We were supposed to arrive around 6, so the receivers of the package were not there. We negotiated a hostal for a few hours to sleep and then called the name and number we were given just in case for the package. The woman was very nice, and her husband came to recieve the package, which at this point was confirmed to be only two pairs of shoes and nothing more exciting. Anyway, Jose arrived and we passed on the goods. We then told him that we were trying to get to Ollataytambo in the sacred valley where our train left the next day for machu picchu. He then imediatly hailed a cab, got in with us and took us to the little micro bus station where those buses take off from. He not only paid for the cab, he also paid for both of our bus fairs to the sacred valley... only a total of about 10 soles, but it was a very nice gesture. He even got up on the bus with us to make sure we had our seets. Once the bus was about the leave, the door opened one more time and it filled up with school kids... yes all the seats were aleady taken, but they packed in. As we hit the road with absolutly to space to move in the bus, we stopped and picked up two more: a mom and her little daughter who proceeded to have her cute little hand on my knee until they got off.
We arrived in Ollataytambo, found a hostal and ate some food and chilled in the small mountain town. There were alot of tourists as it is a jump off for machu picchu (MP). The next morning we got on the train at 530 and proceeded up the valley with amazing views of the Peruvian andes... really some of the most beautiful mountain views i have ever seen. 2 hours later we arrived at Aguas Calients, bought admission to MP and bought tickets in a little bus to take us up to the site. You can also walk up, but we wanted to get there early. We then proceeded to take in all of the amazingness. Its just like the picuters, but real, in your face and full of energy. It was amazing how preserved it was, and you were allowed to go almost anywhere you wanted. No ropes or fences telling you ¨NO¨. We were able to climb up Wayanapichu which is the peak you see in all of the pictures behind the site. They only allow 400 a day, so we were lucky. This part was sooo amazing. We climbed straight up ancient stair cases that are still in perfect shape. For this part I opted to go barefoot to feel the cool rocks, and be like the incas! Yes yes I know, i´m really cool. Anyway, after taking more than 300 fotos and taking the whole place in, we walked back down to Aguas Calientes and then got back on the train. From Ollataytambo we took a bus directly back to cusco.
In Cusco we found a nice hostal with hot water in a nice spot down town. We showerd and passed right out. We wanted to go to the amazon jungle which is somewhat close by, so the next day we dedicated ourselves to figuring that out. After looking at some tours and deciding that wasnt our style, we decided to call up Jose for his advice. He came to meet us later that afternoon. He went into several tour agencies to ask proces for us because they always try to take advantage of the gringos. But, after explaining to him we kinda just wanted to do our own thing, it was off to the bus terminal. Puerto Maldonado is about a 30 min flight from cusco and is a jump off for the jungle. We opted for the bus route instead however. 18 hours! But Jose negotiated getting us the front seats on the second level of the bus, so we had a panoramic view of the whole trip! He was really a great guy and it was worth every risk taking that package to him!
We left the next afternoon for Pto M. WE arrived the following day in the morning. We hoped in a little motorcycle cab and went to the main plaza. We then came across a great little hostal with a our own balcony looking over main street. We then rented a little moto to check out the town. There are hardly any cars there.. everyone is on a moto and all the taxis are motos retrofitted to have a bench seat on the back, little cart type things. So with Clare on the back we cruised with the warm wind on our backs, it was awesome. And I didnt even wreck! 3 hours cost us 10 soles, super cheep! Later we searched for a tour to get us into the jungle. Becuase of just the way it is, its not possible to just jump on a boat and wing it like we wanted to do, so we had to find something more organized. At one place as we talked with the woman, she suddlenly pulled her small child into her lap, pulled out her nipple and started to feed the little brat. She didn´t even break stride in her schpeal either.. However, it took everything i had to not start cracking up.
We ended up going with a different company that was cheeper, but no nipples. The next day we went up the Madre de Dios river about an hour and then walked about an hour and a half through the jungle to Lago Sandoval. There we stayed for the next two nights and three days. We stayed in a really rusted cabana thing. There was a really nice lodge on the lake too, but we wanted the real experience. So, with huge spiders as our roomates, we took in all that we could of the jungle. Our bed had serious netting over it to protect us from all the creepy crawlers in the room. It was not a net, it was actually canvas sheets. Clare demanded that I check every last inch of that bed before she would get into it.. i wasnt really against the idea either.
We spent the days swimming in the lake, canoeing and walking through the junlge. We saw lots of exotic birds, parrots and all other types. The lake also had lots of Black Caymen: one of the only places in the world were they remain, and yes we saw several. We also saw some other swimming creatures but i cant remember the name. Help here Clare, please! It was super fun and interesting to be in the amazon and feel all the energy of so much life.
When we arrived back in Pto M, we were greated by a paro. As i have explained before, paro is basically a boycot. But this paro was of the whole town. So, there were no cars nothing, and we had a bus in a few hours. So, we walked the 20 blocks in the heat with our big bags amongst people walking an protesting in the streats. At the bus terminal they said the bus wasn´t going to leave for atleast 3 days. So, we walked back to our little hostal from before and got the same room with the balcony. There we stayed for the next 3.5 days watching the people marching through the streets almost continuosly. It was a great view! Because everything was closed, we had to search out clandestine restaurants that were serving. We looked for cracked open doors and people standing outside whispering ¨almuerzo¨. It was like a little mission and adventure everytime we wanted to eat. But, we did eat alot and it was really good. The best food of our trip by far. One time however, the protesters came to the restaurant where we were eating and strated yelling and throwing stuff and banging sticks before the workers could force them out and shut and lock the door. It was intense! Another time at night, we were getting sandwhichs on the street and the protesters came, and we had to duck into the little building the cart was at and shut the doors and lights.
After 4 days of this, we finally left. We got on our bus, but this time the bus did not have the upper level with the good seats. Instead this was a bus without a bathroom that was half broke down. So not only were we on the dirt road which makes the trip longer anyway, the thing couldnt hardly go and kept breaking down. About 22 hours later we arrived. It was hell basically. We then imediatly got on another bus in cusco to go to Puno. We succesfully were on a bus for 29 out of 30 hours. It was a tour de force! We arrived in puno and just died!
Puno is on the shore of Lago Titicaca. We took a little boat out to the island los uros which are floating islands. They are constructed of reeds as are all of there things, such as houses and boats. It was very interesting to see the very unique traditional culture still surviving. Then we hoped back on our boat and headed to the island Taquile where supposedly the best knitters in the world come from. The lake is at 3800 meters, almost 12000feet and the second islands plaza was up above 12000 feet. All the flat landers that were there were huffing and puffing to climb up to the plaza!
Next we got on our final bus which was from Puno back down to Tacna. We thought we had already had the worst bus ride ever, but we were wrong. When we got to our seats, they were covered in vomit. So, we didnt sit in them. However, soon enough the bus filled up and we couldnt stay in the other clean seats. We then sat at the very back of the bus on a little shelf. It was baring wide enough for one person, and we both sat there for about 9 hours. They over sold the bus by 8 people so there were six more people sitting on the floor in the isle the whole time. Every one on the bus was indigenous peruvian because we werent on a tipical tourist route at this point. They however didnt seem to have a problem sitting in the vomit seets. Ours were no the only such ones. However, we made ourselves happy and confotable cramed in the corner witnessing people vomit the whole way. When we finally got to tacna we jetted off of that disgusting thing and zoomed back across the boarder to arica, where our flight left from the next day.
The next day we were in Santiago and then over to Viña. We packed up Clares stuff and headed back to santiago the next afternoon for her to catch her flight back to the US. We had an amazing time together on that advneture despite at the very end both of us having very unhappy stomachs. Thank god it was at the very end... we blame it on the super nasty bus rides.
It was very sad to see Clare go, we really had a great great time together. It is a minor miracle she didn´t kill me, and she even insists she still likes me! She gets woman of the year award. 20 days straight with me and no other human contact, any other takers?? I didnt think so!
I then met up with my friend who lives in Santiago and we went snowboarding together. It was really fun despite not great snow. Yay for snowboarding in the Andes in July!
Im now in Mendoza, Argentina all alone. I´m going to do a bicyle wine tour tomorrow and then head off the Buenos Aires in a couple days before heading back to Concepcion by the end of the month to start school again.
Im sorry for some of the quick explanations, but please please ask me specific questions if you have them. It was such a cool experience, I know clare and I would be happy to talk your ear off about it if you want more.
For now i´m off to pick my clothes up from the laundry mat and sip on some wine!
I hope you are all doing great and I hope to hear from you! Leave a comment or email me!! I will update again when i get back to concepcion.
I miss you all! Take care! Hugs and kisses!
PEEEAAAAAACCCCCCCCEEEEEEE
Dan
PS sorry for all the spelling mistakes, this computer only does spanish spell check and im too lazy to proof read!!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Another day, another vacay
Greetings-
My time in Chile has now eclipsed the 4 month mark! Woh! I'm sitting here procrastinating my end of the semester work, seeing the past 4 months flash by, slapping me in the face with a jumble of emotions. Although I still have until the end of January (the 29th to be exact), a significant chapter is coming to close.
I look forward to the semester ending so that the next one can start. I will be taking my final required class. After going to school continually since my high school graduation in 2003, it should be easy to understand that I'm ready to be done. The sooner I start this class, the sooner it will be over. However, don't be confused, I’m not in any way tired of Chile, and I'm not yearning for this adventure to end. Things will just be different once again, and as always will require an adjustment period.
Last week I took advantage of some of the 'paro' and 'toma' stoppage to take one more quick vacation before the end of the semester. I headed back up to Vina del Mar to see my partner in crime, Clare. It was great to get out of rainy Concepcion and up to the sun.
We took advantage of the nice weather and went camping for 3 days at La Campana Parque National. After a night of pisco and a few hours of sleep, we jumped on the metro train and rode it until the end of the tracks where a little town by the name of Limache sits. We then hopped on a micro until its final stop which left us about a 1/4 miles walk from the park. We had intended on doing a backpacking trip, but because of camping restrictions we were forced to stay in the campground. This, however, was not a problem because its 'winter' here and not that many people go camping. We had the place to ourselves. We spent the days hiking and the nights sitting around a nice big campfire. We ate lots of great food and enjoyed being out of the city. We were commenting on how much it did not feel like we were in Chile, until we heard a monkey yell a reminder. We were not in fact in the woods back home.
Back in Vina we enjoyed a dinner of Swedish pancakes with real maple syrup (thanks Clare) appetized by some real green chile dip (thanks me) with the owner of Clare’s house and his good friend; both of whom have been super generous to me in my visits and obviously invaluable to Clare during her stay.
Before I jumped on my bus the next night we went to Con Con, a little town up the coast from Vina, where walked the coast for a few miles and ate some amazing seafood at a super popular yet hole in the wall restaurant.
I regret not having any pictures of this fun trip due to camera difficulties. As I said before, my camera died, and Clare’s too took a fatal plunge.
I'm now here staring at three papers to write and seven days to do them in. The semester ends on the 27th, also the day that I start my next biggest South American adventure. Clare and I are headed up to Peru to see Macchu Pichu, probably the amazon rainforrest, and whatever else strikes our fancy at the time.
Don't worry; there will be pictures of this adventure because I have recently procured a new camera. If that too fails, damnit we'll get disposables.
I hope everything is wonderful and that summer is warming up. I will try to write again as soon as possible, but it may not be until I get back at an undetermined date.
Besos y abrazos-
Dan
My time in Chile has now eclipsed the 4 month mark! Woh! I'm sitting here procrastinating my end of the semester work, seeing the past 4 months flash by, slapping me in the face with a jumble of emotions. Although I still have until the end of January (the 29th to be exact), a significant chapter is coming to close.
I look forward to the semester ending so that the next one can start. I will be taking my final required class. After going to school continually since my high school graduation in 2003, it should be easy to understand that I'm ready to be done. The sooner I start this class, the sooner it will be over. However, don't be confused, I’m not in any way tired of Chile, and I'm not yearning for this adventure to end. Things will just be different once again, and as always will require an adjustment period.
Last week I took advantage of some of the 'paro' and 'toma' stoppage to take one more quick vacation before the end of the semester. I headed back up to Vina del Mar to see my partner in crime, Clare. It was great to get out of rainy Concepcion and up to the sun.
We took advantage of the nice weather and went camping for 3 days at La Campana Parque National. After a night of pisco and a few hours of sleep, we jumped on the metro train and rode it until the end of the tracks where a little town by the name of Limache sits. We then hopped on a micro until its final stop which left us about a 1/4 miles walk from the park. We had intended on doing a backpacking trip, but because of camping restrictions we were forced to stay in the campground. This, however, was not a problem because its 'winter' here and not that many people go camping. We had the place to ourselves. We spent the days hiking and the nights sitting around a nice big campfire. We ate lots of great food and enjoyed being out of the city. We were commenting on how much it did not feel like we were in Chile, until we heard a monkey yell a reminder. We were not in fact in the woods back home.
Back in Vina we enjoyed a dinner of Swedish pancakes with real maple syrup (thanks Clare) appetized by some real green chile dip (thanks me) with the owner of Clare’s house and his good friend; both of whom have been super generous to me in my visits and obviously invaluable to Clare during her stay.
Before I jumped on my bus the next night we went to Con Con, a little town up the coast from Vina, where walked the coast for a few miles and ate some amazing seafood at a super popular yet hole in the wall restaurant.
I regret not having any pictures of this fun trip due to camera difficulties. As I said before, my camera died, and Clare’s too took a fatal plunge.
I'm now here staring at three papers to write and seven days to do them in. The semester ends on the 27th, also the day that I start my next biggest South American adventure. Clare and I are headed up to Peru to see Macchu Pichu, probably the amazon rainforrest, and whatever else strikes our fancy at the time.
Don't worry; there will be pictures of this adventure because I have recently procured a new camera. If that too fails, damnit we'll get disposables.
I hope everything is wonderful and that summer is warming up. I will try to write again as soon as possible, but it may not be until I get back at an undetermined date.
Besos y abrazos-
Dan
Sunday, June 8, 2008
a mini
Hello all.... So you will find below the fotos that Clare took while here in Concepcion.... We only had one sunny day, thus only one days worth of pics. Click on the picture to take you to the album, or you can go to www.photobucket.com/danshirley and view all of the fotos i have posted at your pleasure.. The individual albums are listed on the left hand side..
I know I promised fotos of the 'Paro' and 'Toma' signage around campus, but my camera mysteriously stopped working... I'm in the process of resolving that problem, hopefully the students don't want to return to class right away... Stay tuned.
The semester is rapidly coming to a close (27th of June) so that means there are fun things coming up. This next week I'm headed up to Vina del Mar for a little sunshine and R&R. During this time Clare and I plan to take on La Campana National Park (near Vina) for a little 2-3 night backpacking trip.
Also in the works is a sweet trip up to Peru once the semester is over. More info to come on this later, but go ahead and start feeling jealous, its going to be a good one!
Thats all for now folks... keep on keepin on.
Chao
D
I know I promised fotos of the 'Paro' and 'Toma' signage around campus, but my camera mysteriously stopped working... I'm in the process of resolving that problem, hopefully the students don't want to return to class right away... Stay tuned.
The semester is rapidly coming to a close (27th of June) so that means there are fun things coming up. This next week I'm headed up to Vina del Mar for a little sunshine and R&R. During this time Clare and I plan to take on La Campana National Park (near Vina) for a little 2-3 night backpacking trip.
Also in the works is a sweet trip up to Peru once the semester is over. More info to come on this later, but go ahead and start feeling jealous, its going to be a good one!
Thats all for now folks... keep on keepin on.
Chao
D
Thursday, May 29, 2008
It rains in Chile
Estimados Gringos... Como están??!!!!
Me? Great. You know why? Because it finally stopped raining. That’s right; it rained for 8 days straight!!! However, it was perfect for my study time I had over the weekend. But, it turned out it was all in vain. I think I was missing some of the material, because the questions I was asked were nothing that I studied. But, don't worry, I had a nice chat with the Profe afterward and he told me his expectations of me are different than those of the regular students. The class was Geografia de la octava region (Geography of the 8th region) which is the region that Concepcion is in. I took the class to learn a bit about my new temporary home. Although, I'm not learning as much as I hoped because the class is only once a week and the professor is really old and has a hearing aid in one ear making him very difficult to understand. However, it isn't a total waste; I'm sharpening my ear, and have learned some tid bits too.
It just occurred to me that until now I have not said anything about my classes. Well, here goes then.
Monday: 9-11 Espanol para extranjeros (Spanish for gringos). This class has diminished from 8 of us to 2 and now seems to be held in the profe's office. We do worksheets and discuss Chilean culture. It’s not really a class to learn spanish, it’s more to practice writing and to learn to express yourself better.
6-8 Baile folklore (Chilean folk dancing) This class is really interesting and fun. We are learning to dance the cueca (Chile's national dance) along with many other traditional dances. Chile is large and diverse so there is a wide range in the culture. Some of the dance moves are kinda silly, but it’s neat anyway. The profe is also very nice and often lectures to the class the importance of preserving the culture.
Tuesday: 12-2 Geografia
5-6 Futbol Its pretty self explanatory. We usually do some drills in the beginning and then we play scrimmages. This is all inside a gym. As I said in the last post, the game is quite fast. Also, the boys are pretty darn competitive, and good players as well. Its fun and great exercise.
Wednesday: 8-9 Espanol
Thursday: 5-6 Futbol
Friday: 12-2 Hable con sus animales (Talk with your animals) That’s right. This class is kinda ridiculous, but what the hell. The profe talks about behavior and conduct and we watch videos about various animal things. Also, we are supposed to observe our pet for two hours a week. My pension has a dog, so every now and then I’ll sit outside and watch him sleep. At the end of the course we have to turn in a report on our pets’ behavior. Also, last Friday I had my first exam in that class, which was also the very first thing I have had to do for the class all semester. (The same was the case for the geography test.) I think it went fairly well considering I’m slowly refining my dog whispering in spanish.
So that’s my school deal. The semester ends on June 27 and the next semester starts August 4. Next semester will be more serious as I have to take a Chemistry class. Speaking of school, right now most all of the departments are either in 'paro' or in 'toma.' Paro is when the students don't go to class in protest. Toma is when the students take over the building and keep it occupied around the clock and don't let anyone enter... only the students from that department may enter. So, that little dream we have all had waking up at 8am going to class hoping that just maybe the prof wont show... yeah that is a common reality in my life. I usually don't have class.. At least not recently. Why? Because the departments are not giving as much scholarship money as they have in the past. Money for food, transportation and photocopies.
To help me pass the rain and the not having class, Clare came down from Vina del Mar to hang out for the last week. We bounced around the town, testing our raingear and being gringos. We did a little hiking, dancing, and living the pension life. It was fun to have her in the house because we could speak english around my roommates and they couldn't understand anything. Normally that would be rude, but they are my roommates and they like to fuck with me, so it was fun to fuck with them. Even the score a bit.
On Wednesday of this week, I went to a bar with two roommates (Clare left on Monday night) to watch the first game of the finals of the Chilean futbol league tournament. There are two games for the final, one at each team’s stadium. The contest is between Colo-Colo and Everton. As mentioned before, Colo-Colo is very popular. So, it was no surprise that the place was packed. The people were cheering and singing the whole time as if they were there. The fanship of futbol is quite amazing. Colo-Colo ended up winning and the people went nuts. We continued to party a bit more at a couple other bars before buying some vodka and going back to the house. We were drinking in my room where the night culminated with my bed being shattered and my light fixture being broken. All is better now. I'm just glad their team won.
Things of note coming up on the agenda is a little backpacking trip and then a jaunt through Peru and Bolivia during the break between semesters.
I hope to get some pictures up soon of all of the protest banners around campus and maybe steal some of Clare's from her visit down here. NOTE: if you have had trouble seeing the pictures, you need to click on the picture, which will then take you to the full album!
I hope you are all staying high and dry and loving the start to summer!
Abrazos y besos para todos!!!
Paz-
Dan
Me? Great. You know why? Because it finally stopped raining. That’s right; it rained for 8 days straight!!! However, it was perfect for my study time I had over the weekend. But, it turned out it was all in vain. I think I was missing some of the material, because the questions I was asked were nothing that I studied. But, don't worry, I had a nice chat with the Profe afterward and he told me his expectations of me are different than those of the regular students. The class was Geografia de la octava region (Geography of the 8th region) which is the region that Concepcion is in. I took the class to learn a bit about my new temporary home. Although, I'm not learning as much as I hoped because the class is only once a week and the professor is really old and has a hearing aid in one ear making him very difficult to understand. However, it isn't a total waste; I'm sharpening my ear, and have learned some tid bits too.
It just occurred to me that until now I have not said anything about my classes. Well, here goes then.
Monday: 9-11 Espanol para extranjeros (Spanish for gringos). This class has diminished from 8 of us to 2 and now seems to be held in the profe's office. We do worksheets and discuss Chilean culture. It’s not really a class to learn spanish, it’s more to practice writing and to learn to express yourself better.
6-8 Baile folklore (Chilean folk dancing) This class is really interesting and fun. We are learning to dance the cueca (Chile's national dance) along with many other traditional dances. Chile is large and diverse so there is a wide range in the culture. Some of the dance moves are kinda silly, but it’s neat anyway. The profe is also very nice and often lectures to the class the importance of preserving the culture.
Tuesday: 12-2 Geografia
5-6 Futbol Its pretty self explanatory. We usually do some drills in the beginning and then we play scrimmages. This is all inside a gym. As I said in the last post, the game is quite fast. Also, the boys are pretty darn competitive, and good players as well. Its fun and great exercise.
Wednesday: 8-9 Espanol
Thursday: 5-6 Futbol
Friday: 12-2 Hable con sus animales (Talk with your animals) That’s right. This class is kinda ridiculous, but what the hell. The profe talks about behavior and conduct and we watch videos about various animal things. Also, we are supposed to observe our pet for two hours a week. My pension has a dog, so every now and then I’ll sit outside and watch him sleep. At the end of the course we have to turn in a report on our pets’ behavior. Also, last Friday I had my first exam in that class, which was also the very first thing I have had to do for the class all semester. (The same was the case for the geography test.) I think it went fairly well considering I’m slowly refining my dog whispering in spanish.
So that’s my school deal. The semester ends on June 27 and the next semester starts August 4. Next semester will be more serious as I have to take a Chemistry class. Speaking of school, right now most all of the departments are either in 'paro' or in 'toma.' Paro is when the students don't go to class in protest. Toma is when the students take over the building and keep it occupied around the clock and don't let anyone enter... only the students from that department may enter. So, that little dream we have all had waking up at 8am going to class hoping that just maybe the prof wont show... yeah that is a common reality in my life. I usually don't have class.. At least not recently. Why? Because the departments are not giving as much scholarship money as they have in the past. Money for food, transportation and photocopies.
To help me pass the rain and the not having class, Clare came down from Vina del Mar to hang out for the last week. We bounced around the town, testing our raingear and being gringos. We did a little hiking, dancing, and living the pension life. It was fun to have her in the house because we could speak english around my roommates and they couldn't understand anything. Normally that would be rude, but they are my roommates and they like to fuck with me, so it was fun to fuck with them. Even the score a bit.
On Wednesday of this week, I went to a bar with two roommates (Clare left on Monday night) to watch the first game of the finals of the Chilean futbol league tournament. There are two games for the final, one at each team’s stadium. The contest is between Colo-Colo and Everton. As mentioned before, Colo-Colo is very popular. So, it was no surprise that the place was packed. The people were cheering and singing the whole time as if they were there. The fanship of futbol is quite amazing. Colo-Colo ended up winning and the people went nuts. We continued to party a bit more at a couple other bars before buying some vodka and going back to the house. We were drinking in my room where the night culminated with my bed being shattered and my light fixture being broken. All is better now. I'm just glad their team won.
Things of note coming up on the agenda is a little backpacking trip and then a jaunt through Peru and Bolivia during the break between semesters.
I hope to get some pictures up soon of all of the protest banners around campus and maybe steal some of Clare's from her visit down here. NOTE: if you have had trouble seeing the pictures, you need to click on the picture, which will then take you to the full album!
I hope you are all staying high and dry and loving the start to summer!
Abrazos y besos para todos!!!
Paz-
Dan
Friday, May 16, 2008
Why the time flies..
Greetings.... Work with me on this one people, for I am 'functioning' on maybe double digits of sleep in three nights. For why, you ask? The short answer is because I'm crazy (but you already knew that) but the more specific answer follows.... On Tuesday night I pushed my way through a crowded bar to meet friends to watch a playoff game in the Chilean national 'futbol' league. The contest was between the U de Catolica and Colo-Colo. Colo-Colo is one of the two most popular teams in Chile, second to the U de Chile. Colo-Colo won the game and advanced, thus I avoided lots of pissed off Chileans. Later at a different bar I found myself in a conversation with an interesting 40 something bachelor. At one point in the conversation I was trying to explain to he and his friend that I enjoy playing futbol and that I'm OK, but the game they play here is different than that which I have played my whole life. Here, when people have 'pickup' games, they play baby futbol (futbol on a smaller scale.) However, it is not usually played on grass (I have yet to play on grass here.) It is played in a gym, on a tile roller hockey court, cement parking lot, or dirt (I haven't played on dirt, unfortunately.) I will save you more boring details, but the point is, the game is really fast and in a small space. So, having really good touches on the ball is important, and dominates the game. I have always had success in futbol not because I have good ball control, but because I'm a good athlete. So, my advantages lie in playing on a large grass field where my fitness and speed can set me apart. Not the case so much in baby futbol. So, I explained that I play soso, but I'm better on a large field. Well, the friend contested that it doesn't matter the size of the field, and that ball control always rules. I disagreed. The guy I was originally talking to defended me. And as a token of something, he proceeded to take off the soccer jersey he happened to be wearing, and gave it to me. I couldn't believe it. But he was serious and the thing is currently lying on my floor with all the rest of the clothes I have worn this week. (Shocking, I know, but they haven't cleaned my room in a few days. hm) Anyway, the jersey is from the U de Concepcion professional team. In fact, the jersey is an original that was used by the player whose name adorns the jersey in a game or season. Pretty fricking awesome! The night concluded with some chatting back at the house until the wee hours of the morning, and then I got up and went to class at 8am.
The following night (Weds) me and a few of my roomies and a couple bottles of pisco got together to play a board game. It is a drinking game where you roll the dice, move your piece, and do what the thing tells you to do. Usually drink. Anyway, some of the spaces are to make a 'rule' for the game which lasts until another player lands on that same type of space. 'Rules' can be things such as: you can't say anyone's name, or you have to drink only with your right hand. If you violate, you drink. Well, a good way into the game, I landed on that space. And as a joke I said, 'No speaking in spanish.' I was not serious, but the boys wanted to do it. The following 20 minutes were some of my happiest here in Chile. These boys don't speak english nor any other language. However, they know a tiny bit of english. Basically it was just one big mess of 'you mine give turn fuck' 'you fuck fuck' 'I go 4 fuck gringo fuck you gringo ass hole son bitch fuck.' You get the point. From now on when ever they give me shit about the way I speak in spanish, I'm just going to laugh.
The following night (thurs) I expected to be much more relaxed and hoped for a little extra sleep. I chatted online with some gringo friends until about 2:30am, and when I left my room to fetch some water, I encountered a roommate and a buddy of his having some drinks in the study lounge. They insisted I have a beer. Well, 4 beers and 4 hours later I finally went to bed. But in the mean time we had an extremely interesting conversation about the military dictatorship of Pinochet in Chile and how crazy and fucked up a time that was. They told me that there is maybe a handful of people in the world that know exactly what went on during those times, but they proceeded to explain to me things that are basically common knowledge. Such as, if you said anything against the government, you were killed of put in jail. (There are thousands or people that 'disappeared' during that time, and there is no trace of them at all) If you were perceived to be a 'communist' you could be prohibited from doing your job. For example, my roommates friend told me that his mom whom worked for a university and was somewhat outspoken against the dictatorship was pulled from her job, and not allowed to work in her profession because she was a 'communist.'
The dictatorship was a product of the cold war is what they told me. The US pumped money into all of the campaigns against Allende, which failed and then there was the military coup... Read books to learn more.
We then talked about the very interesting political situation in the states right now. I tried to explain that this election is quite important in our histroy not only because our economy is all messed up and we are fighting a stupid ass war in vain, but also because it is likely we will have a black man or a woman as the next president. They did not realize we had yet to have a black man as president. (Finally foreigners that know less US history than I!) But even if they don't win, it is unprecedented to have a woman or a black man (let alone both at the same time) so close to winning the general election bid. Not to mention how uncommonly tight the race is, bringing little no name states such as Montana into the mix with some importance.
Despite my lack of sleep, this week has been what I came to Chile for; to learn, grow and share. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep until Sunday, the day I need to start studying for my three exams I have next week.
I hope you are all awesome and enjoying the spring.... Those in missoula, go play a round at Patty for me, would ya?
Paz!!!!!!
D
The following night (Weds) me and a few of my roomies and a couple bottles of pisco got together to play a board game. It is a drinking game where you roll the dice, move your piece, and do what the thing tells you to do. Usually drink. Anyway, some of the spaces are to make a 'rule' for the game which lasts until another player lands on that same type of space. 'Rules' can be things such as: you can't say anyone's name, or you have to drink only with your right hand. If you violate, you drink. Well, a good way into the game, I landed on that space. And as a joke I said, 'No speaking in spanish.' I was not serious, but the boys wanted to do it. The following 20 minutes were some of my happiest here in Chile. These boys don't speak english nor any other language. However, they know a tiny bit of english. Basically it was just one big mess of 'you mine give turn fuck' 'you fuck fuck' 'I go 4 fuck gringo fuck you gringo ass hole son bitch fuck.' You get the point. From now on when ever they give me shit about the way I speak in spanish, I'm just going to laugh.
The following night (thurs) I expected to be much more relaxed and hoped for a little extra sleep. I chatted online with some gringo friends until about 2:30am, and when I left my room to fetch some water, I encountered a roommate and a buddy of his having some drinks in the study lounge. They insisted I have a beer. Well, 4 beers and 4 hours later I finally went to bed. But in the mean time we had an extremely interesting conversation about the military dictatorship of Pinochet in Chile and how crazy and fucked up a time that was. They told me that there is maybe a handful of people in the world that know exactly what went on during those times, but they proceeded to explain to me things that are basically common knowledge. Such as, if you said anything against the government, you were killed of put in jail. (There are thousands or people that 'disappeared' during that time, and there is no trace of them at all) If you were perceived to be a 'communist' you could be prohibited from doing your job. For example, my roommates friend told me that his mom whom worked for a university and was somewhat outspoken against the dictatorship was pulled from her job, and not allowed to work in her profession because she was a 'communist.'
The dictatorship was a product of the cold war is what they told me. The US pumped money into all of the campaigns against Allende, which failed and then there was the military coup... Read books to learn more.
We then talked about the very interesting political situation in the states right now. I tried to explain that this election is quite important in our histroy not only because our economy is all messed up and we are fighting a stupid ass war in vain, but also because it is likely we will have a black man or a woman as the next president. They did not realize we had yet to have a black man as president. (Finally foreigners that know less US history than I!) But even if they don't win, it is unprecedented to have a woman or a black man (let alone both at the same time) so close to winning the general election bid. Not to mention how uncommonly tight the race is, bringing little no name states such as Montana into the mix with some importance.
Despite my lack of sleep, this week has been what I came to Chile for; to learn, grow and share. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep until Sunday, the day I need to start studying for my three exams I have next week.
I hope you are all awesome and enjoying the spring.... Those in missoula, go play a round at Patty for me, would ya?
Paz!!!!!!
D
Monday, May 5, 2008
Un gran viaje
Hola los de Friolandia....
I decided to 'aprovechar' the long weekend we just had in observance of Labor Day. And when I say take advantage of, I mean it. We had school off this past Thursday and Friday, so I decided to leave on my vacation two Tuesdays prior. For those I just confused, we didn't have school the 1st and 2nd and I left on the 22nd of April.
First stop was Viña del Mar to visit the girls that accompanied me to Argentina about a month ago. Due to Clare's (my friend from Montana) high tolerance and her landlord’s generosity, I was able to stay with her for free.
When I arrived, Clare took me to the local farmers market to buy food for the week. I was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning, but ended up leaving with bundles of fresh fruit and vegetables without much money spent. I was then introduced to the Viña lifestyle as we proceeded to drink wine and watch the sun set over the pacific. Clare lives atop a hill in Viña with an amazing view of the ocean and the city below. Before the jealousy of her lifestyle could set in, we were off to a discotech in Valparaiso. Valparaiso is an important port city in Chile. It has very cool architecture using the whole rainbow of colors. It is built on the side of a hill like San Francisco and shares the same kinds of vibes. This night we did not explore much of Valparaiso, but I got a better introduction a few days later.
Viña del Mar is a touristy city that hugs the Pacific Ocean. In the summer, it is filled with people from all over the world. Although there were not many tourists while I was there (out of season) it was very evident that the town caters to them. McDonalds, the mall and other things gringo were seen everywhere.
I must note that for each city I have spent time in here in Chile, the experience has sorta been defined by the type of transportation utilized. For example, in Concepcion, I walk almost everywhere. I have only ridden the bus one time and a colectivo two times. In Viña it was defined by riding in colectivos. (Colectivos are like taxis but they follow a certain route.) We also rode some micros, but due to where Clare lives, high up on the hill, it’s either walking or taking a colectivo. It was an adventure getting around when I was alone in Viña. For example, one night Clare stayed in and I went out parting with Laura (the other friend that went to Argentina.) At the end of the night and probably a little too much pisco drank, I found myself jogging down the side walk in Viña until I happened across the necessary colectivo…
Viña was super fun and I was hosted excellently.
The next stop was Santiago. I arrived on Monday the 28th. I have two Chilean friends whom studied at the UM last year. I again was lucky to stay with one of them for free. I had originally planned on staying in Santiago for only a couple of days and then head to Argentina, but for a combination of reasons that did not happen. However, my friends showed me a great time. One night, we went to the house of my friend Paulo's cousin for a BBQ and party. Much to my surprise the party ended having a DJ and about 100 or so people show up. It was like a disco in this back yard. It was alot of fun, however, I got asked about 50 times if I was cold because I was wearing my sandals. It’s hilarious. I have noted this before, but the Chileans are not very resistant to a little cold. The rest of this night, when ever asked where I was from I would respond 'Friolandia' because apparently wherever that is, it’s colder than Chile.
At the end of the week, Clare came over from Viña to join me in my gringo invasion of Santiago. We scoured the whole city. In Santiago, the time was defined by riding the metro (subway). Clare and I rode that thing all over the city, getting off at random stops and walking the streets. I told her I was the tour guide and that I always knew where we were. hehe We passed the days beating the streets and then danced the nights away. Clare, being a much practiced dancer in various disciplines is obviously very good. I, being a gringo white boy with no rhythm am not so good. However, I do love to dance and I’m certainly not afraid. So, that coupled with Clare's ability we were able to have some fun.
Because I did not know exactly when I was going to be returning to Concepcion, nor from what point, I did not buy my return ticket until Saturday, the day before I came home. Being as it was a holiday weekend there were not many options. So, I ended up buying the bus equivalent of a first class plane ticket because that was all that was available. (The long distance bus industry is quite large and popular here. There are many companies and three levels of service. The most basic or 'clasico' is just a normal bus with normal greyhound type seats. The next level is semi-cama, and then full cama. Cama means bed. Anyway the semi-cama and cama flavors are usually on the same bus. The semis are on the second level of the double deck and the fulls are on the first level. The semi is basically a regular seat that reclines a little farther and has a leg rest thing you can pull down so that your lower legs are supported. The full is a bigger seat and really soft, much like a first class seat on an airplane. It reclines almost all of the way and also has the leg support thing.) So, I rode in high comfort back to Concepcion watching movies and sleeping!
I had a great time over the past two weeks discovering all types of new things in my new country. I hope all is amazing on your end too. I think about you guys often and I appreciate your support. Abrazos y besos para todos. Chao!!
D
Ps. Check out the following photo album of the adventure….
I decided to 'aprovechar' the long weekend we just had in observance of Labor Day. And when I say take advantage of, I mean it. We had school off this past Thursday and Friday, so I decided to leave on my vacation two Tuesdays prior. For those I just confused, we didn't have school the 1st and 2nd and I left on the 22nd of April.
First stop was Viña del Mar to visit the girls that accompanied me to Argentina about a month ago. Due to Clare's (my friend from Montana) high tolerance and her landlord’s generosity, I was able to stay with her for free.
When I arrived, Clare took me to the local farmers market to buy food for the week. I was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning, but ended up leaving with bundles of fresh fruit and vegetables without much money spent. I was then introduced to the Viña lifestyle as we proceeded to drink wine and watch the sun set over the pacific. Clare lives atop a hill in Viña with an amazing view of the ocean and the city below. Before the jealousy of her lifestyle could set in, we were off to a discotech in Valparaiso. Valparaiso is an important port city in Chile. It has very cool architecture using the whole rainbow of colors. It is built on the side of a hill like San Francisco and shares the same kinds of vibes. This night we did not explore much of Valparaiso, but I got a better introduction a few days later.
Viña del Mar is a touristy city that hugs the Pacific Ocean. In the summer, it is filled with people from all over the world. Although there were not many tourists while I was there (out of season) it was very evident that the town caters to them. McDonalds, the mall and other things gringo were seen everywhere.
I must note that for each city I have spent time in here in Chile, the experience has sorta been defined by the type of transportation utilized. For example, in Concepcion, I walk almost everywhere. I have only ridden the bus one time and a colectivo two times. In Viña it was defined by riding in colectivos. (Colectivos are like taxis but they follow a certain route.) We also rode some micros, but due to where Clare lives, high up on the hill, it’s either walking or taking a colectivo. It was an adventure getting around when I was alone in Viña. For example, one night Clare stayed in and I went out parting with Laura (the other friend that went to Argentina.) At the end of the night and probably a little too much pisco drank, I found myself jogging down the side walk in Viña until I happened across the necessary colectivo…
Viña was super fun and I was hosted excellently.
The next stop was Santiago. I arrived on Monday the 28th. I have two Chilean friends whom studied at the UM last year. I again was lucky to stay with one of them for free. I had originally planned on staying in Santiago for only a couple of days and then head to Argentina, but for a combination of reasons that did not happen. However, my friends showed me a great time. One night, we went to the house of my friend Paulo's cousin for a BBQ and party. Much to my surprise the party ended having a DJ and about 100 or so people show up. It was like a disco in this back yard. It was alot of fun, however, I got asked about 50 times if I was cold because I was wearing my sandals. It’s hilarious. I have noted this before, but the Chileans are not very resistant to a little cold. The rest of this night, when ever asked where I was from I would respond 'Friolandia' because apparently wherever that is, it’s colder than Chile.
At the end of the week, Clare came over from Viña to join me in my gringo invasion of Santiago. We scoured the whole city. In Santiago, the time was defined by riding the metro (subway). Clare and I rode that thing all over the city, getting off at random stops and walking the streets. I told her I was the tour guide and that I always knew where we were. hehe We passed the days beating the streets and then danced the nights away. Clare, being a much practiced dancer in various disciplines is obviously very good. I, being a gringo white boy with no rhythm am not so good. However, I do love to dance and I’m certainly not afraid. So, that coupled with Clare's ability we were able to have some fun.
Because I did not know exactly when I was going to be returning to Concepcion, nor from what point, I did not buy my return ticket until Saturday, the day before I came home. Being as it was a holiday weekend there were not many options. So, I ended up buying the bus equivalent of a first class plane ticket because that was all that was available. (The long distance bus industry is quite large and popular here. There are many companies and three levels of service. The most basic or 'clasico' is just a normal bus with normal greyhound type seats. The next level is semi-cama, and then full cama. Cama means bed. Anyway the semi-cama and cama flavors are usually on the same bus. The semis are on the second level of the double deck and the fulls are on the first level. The semi is basically a regular seat that reclines a little farther and has a leg rest thing you can pull down so that your lower legs are supported. The full is a bigger seat and really soft, much like a first class seat on an airplane. It reclines almost all of the way and also has the leg support thing.) So, I rode in high comfort back to Concepcion watching movies and sleeping!
I had a great time over the past two weeks discovering all types of new things in my new country. I hope all is amazing on your end too. I think about you guys often and I appreciate your support. Abrazos y besos para todos. Chao!!
D
Ps. Check out the following photo album of the adventure….
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Dia de Pacos
I apologize for posting again so soon, i promise I won't make a habit of it. Yesterday, a roommate of mine took of for class only to return minutes later. He told me that there was a protest on campus and all classes were canceled. Furthermore, his face was white and eyes red because he got blasted by tear gas. I thus quickly grabbed my camera and we set off for the U. We arrived to see people basically destroying what they could. They then proceeded to move off campus toward the nearby main street. In rout, they but rocks and whatever they could to block off the road that runs along side of the U. However, before making it to the main street, the cops arrived with their armored vehicles. All of the protesters then receded. When the vehicles entered the parking lot, the protesters proceeded to throw rocks and ect at the vehicles. There was one small jeep looking vehicle that sprayed tear gas out the sides. There was also a very large tank type vehicle that had a large spraying gun on top that discharges tear gas. The third vehicle was an armoured bus carrying several cops. The exchange of rocks and tear gas lasted for some time before the cops decided to attack on foot. They ended up arresting only two people. See the pictures for a more vivid, well, picture.
All the while I was just watching taking photos. I was not scared because there was alot of people just watching. However, it was quite intense. I'm not exactly sure what they were protesting, but there have been several other protests this year, but with less action. What I'm told is that during this time of the year there are always protests for various reasons, usually against the government.
I was quite displeased by this protest. They did alot of damage to the U, and I'm not sure why. The protest was against the gov, not the U. Anyway, I was told that the protesters were not from our U, they were from other U's and the majority from high school. This kinda pissed me off that they used my U as there stage of destruction. But, these are just the things that happen in Chile and I may never fully understand them.
Later in the evening when I was going to bed, I was watching South Park on my computer. My battery was really low and was about to die at any moment. I then heard this high pitched ringing noise. I thought it was the fan or something in my computer because it was dieing. So I plugged it in, but the noise continued. I was confused. So I left my room for some water and the noise was louder. The noise led me outside of the house. There I found several roommates and other people from the neighborhood. The noise was a house alarm. What had happened was someone was robbing one of our neighbors houses, and when the alarm sounded, two of my roommates saw out there window what was happening. They then ran outside and detained the guy until the police got there. The robber ended up being a drunk university student being stupid.
Anyway, it was an entertaining day with lots of police. However, don't worry, I'm totally safe and was never in any danger. Nor have I ever been in any danger here ever. Seriously, mom, all is ok. I only wrote about this because it was notable, funny and entertaining!
Paz
D
All the while I was just watching taking photos. I was not scared because there was alot of people just watching. However, it was quite intense. I'm not exactly sure what they were protesting, but there have been several other protests this year, but with less action. What I'm told is that during this time of the year there are always protests for various reasons, usually against the government.
I was quite displeased by this protest. They did alot of damage to the U, and I'm not sure why. The protest was against the gov, not the U. Anyway, I was told that the protesters were not from our U, they were from other U's and the majority from high school. This kinda pissed me off that they used my U as there stage of destruction. But, these are just the things that happen in Chile and I may never fully understand them.
Later in the evening when I was going to bed, I was watching South Park on my computer. My battery was really low and was about to die at any moment. I then heard this high pitched ringing noise. I thought it was the fan or something in my computer because it was dieing. So I plugged it in, but the noise continued. I was confused. So I left my room for some water and the noise was louder. The noise led me outside of the house. There I found several roommates and other people from the neighborhood. The noise was a house alarm. What had happened was someone was robbing one of our neighbors houses, and when the alarm sounded, two of my roommates saw out there window what was happening. They then ran outside and detained the guy until the police got there. The robber ended up being a drunk university student being stupid.
Anyway, it was an entertaining day with lots of police. However, don't worry, I'm totally safe and was never in any danger. Nor have I ever been in any danger here ever. Seriously, mom, all is ok. I only wrote about this because it was notable, funny and entertaining!
Paz
D
Monday, April 14, 2008
Pensamientos y Observaciones
Greetings Gringos...
I have now been in Chile for two full months! I must say that the time has flown by. However, the sensation of pure vacation has left me. I am getting accustomed to life here and developing some sort of routine. The cultural differences, although ever present, are not so much of a burden. I tend to take things in stride, furthermore I came into this experience with an open mind knowing things would be different. At any rate some things catch me off guard and I need to make a conscious effort not to mind. The culture here is much more 'cariñoso' and the people tend to be 'closer.' As a result, sharing things is very common. I'm all about sharing, but food and drink I'm a bit squeamish about. However, to share a beer, an apple or whatever is totally normal. For example, I was walking down the street the other night, and I bumped into a group of people I know. Acquaintances. They were drinking beer out of cans, and immediately I was handed a beer. This was not a new unopened beer, this was a beer that someone was drinking. Before this beer was done, and another was opened, it had been drank by 3 maybe 4 people. A bit strange for me, especially when there was more beer. (note. this is not how they always drink, but its just an example of their ease of sharing.) I have also witnessed this with an apple, although i was not participating. The sorta quirky thing about it is not the actual act of sharing (sure I've shared like this in the states) its the attitude associated with it. They automatically just hand off the beer without being asked, or someone will just grab the beer from the other person, and they will freely give it to them without any fuss or saying anything. This is the phenomenon that is difficult for me. So, if I'm eating or drinking something on the go, and one of my friends wants some, they just kinda take it, but there intention is not to be rude, its just normal and expected that i would share with them. It would be awkward if, say, one person in the group was eating a sandwich and not sharing it. I know plenty of people in the states (including myself at times) that would say 'this is my sandwich, I want all of it, go find your own.'.......Tired of me SHARING this custom yet? yeah i thought so.
Another quirky thing is how these people react to cold, or i should say, mild to crisp temperatures. Its fucking hilarious. It is now fall, entering winter, so the temps are obviously dropping. However, its not that cold, it never snows here. We are close to the coast, so the temperature is regulated. Its like San Francisco for those who have been there. I haven't, but thats my comparison. Anyway, I was walking to class on Monday, it was sunny, i was wearing shorts and sandals and a zip-up sweater. Crisp, but not cold. I encountered one guy with hat and gloves. Several more were wearing scarves. And when i say wearing scarves, I mean that thing was covering their whole face. I only wear a scarf in that manner during the winter in Montana while I'm riding my bike, and then thats only sometimes. I seriously laughed out loud. I wonder what they were thinking about the gringo....
Despite their, umm, wimpishness is some areas, this does not apply to their ability to party. As I said before, it is UNCOMMON for a party to end before 4 or 5am. And if the party is any good, you are walking home in the light. This is a bit hard for me because its hard enough to pay attention to my professors while I'm NOT still drunk from the night before.. The parties are super fun, and everyone dances. Its normal. Unlike in the states where guys are wallflowers and women dance in groups. Everyone dances here. Its odd not to.
Perhaps the availability of liquor lends to this. For example, at the liquor store we frequent, they always have 'promos.' For the whole month of march one of the promos was a liter of Smirnoff Vodka and 1.5 liters of juice for 2,500 pesos, about $5. This promo has since gone up to about $6. There are others of course too, for instance, good Pisco, 2 liters of soda and ice for about $7. Its great.
Pisco is a liquor made from grapes. It comes in 30, 35, 40, 43, 45% alcohol (perhaps more). The higher the grade, the higher the quality. It has a distinct flavor which is quite good. (note. There is an on going controversy between Chile and Peru as to whom Pisco belongs to. The Peruvians claim that its their product and that Chile stole it from them. Chile claims that its theirs because they don't drink Pisco in Peru, and that the majority of all Pisco produced comes from Chile. My opinion is that my opinion depends on which country I'm in. I just drink the stuff and leave the fighting for the rest.) Furthermore, wine is also very cheep here because they produce so much of it. However, I don't drink it often. I stick to beer and pisco with an occasional vodka.
What about the language...? Despite frequent internal frustrations, its going remarkably well. I understand alot and can communicate most anything i want. However, I struggle with some pronunciation. Also, my vocab is still developing, so I often don't understand words. But, I can understand what people are saying the majority of the time. I have been told by several Chileans that I speak well, better than any other 'gringos' they have met. Whatever that means, probably that they don't know many gringos. I owe this all to living with Chileans. I am constantly hearing and using the language. I have a few English speaking friends whom live together, one from the US and a two from Germany. They always speak in English, for this reason there ability is significantly below mine. I must say though, I have come to appreciate English sooo much! Its priceless to be able to express yourself in exactly the way you want.
Well, hopefully that helped satisfy some of your curiosity cravings. I promise I will try to write more frequently! Ojala que todos de ustedes esten bien y que se vayan bien tambien. Besitos desde Chile, Chao!
I have now been in Chile for two full months! I must say that the time has flown by. However, the sensation of pure vacation has left me. I am getting accustomed to life here and developing some sort of routine. The cultural differences, although ever present, are not so much of a burden. I tend to take things in stride, furthermore I came into this experience with an open mind knowing things would be different. At any rate some things catch me off guard and I need to make a conscious effort not to mind. The culture here is much more 'cariñoso' and the people tend to be 'closer.' As a result, sharing things is very common. I'm all about sharing, but food and drink I'm a bit squeamish about. However, to share a beer, an apple or whatever is totally normal. For example, I was walking down the street the other night, and I bumped into a group of people I know. Acquaintances. They were drinking beer out of cans, and immediately I was handed a beer. This was not a new unopened beer, this was a beer that someone was drinking. Before this beer was done, and another was opened, it had been drank by 3 maybe 4 people. A bit strange for me, especially when there was more beer. (note. this is not how they always drink, but its just an example of their ease of sharing.) I have also witnessed this with an apple, although i was not participating. The sorta quirky thing about it is not the actual act of sharing (sure I've shared like this in the states) its the attitude associated with it. They automatically just hand off the beer without being asked, or someone will just grab the beer from the other person, and they will freely give it to them without any fuss or saying anything. This is the phenomenon that is difficult for me. So, if I'm eating or drinking something on the go, and one of my friends wants some, they just kinda take it, but there intention is not to be rude, its just normal and expected that i would share with them. It would be awkward if, say, one person in the group was eating a sandwich and not sharing it. I know plenty of people in the states (including myself at times) that would say 'this is my sandwich, I want all of it, go find your own.'.......Tired of me SHARING this custom yet? yeah i thought so.
Another quirky thing is how these people react to cold, or i should say, mild to crisp temperatures. Its fucking hilarious. It is now fall, entering winter, so the temps are obviously dropping. However, its not that cold, it never snows here. We are close to the coast, so the temperature is regulated. Its like San Francisco for those who have been there. I haven't, but thats my comparison. Anyway, I was walking to class on Monday, it was sunny, i was wearing shorts and sandals and a zip-up sweater. Crisp, but not cold. I encountered one guy with hat and gloves. Several more were wearing scarves. And when i say wearing scarves, I mean that thing was covering their whole face. I only wear a scarf in that manner during the winter in Montana while I'm riding my bike, and then thats only sometimes. I seriously laughed out loud. I wonder what they were thinking about the gringo....
Despite their, umm, wimpishness is some areas, this does not apply to their ability to party. As I said before, it is UNCOMMON for a party to end before 4 or 5am. And if the party is any good, you are walking home in the light. This is a bit hard for me because its hard enough to pay attention to my professors while I'm NOT still drunk from the night before.. The parties are super fun, and everyone dances. Its normal. Unlike in the states where guys are wallflowers and women dance in groups. Everyone dances here. Its odd not to.
Perhaps the availability of liquor lends to this. For example, at the liquor store we frequent, they always have 'promos.' For the whole month of march one of the promos was a liter of Smirnoff Vodka and 1.5 liters of juice for 2,500 pesos, about $5. This promo has since gone up to about $6. There are others of course too, for instance, good Pisco, 2 liters of soda and ice for about $7. Its great.
Pisco is a liquor made from grapes. It comes in 30, 35, 40, 43, 45% alcohol (perhaps more). The higher the grade, the higher the quality. It has a distinct flavor which is quite good. (note. There is an on going controversy between Chile and Peru as to whom Pisco belongs to. The Peruvians claim that its their product and that Chile stole it from them. Chile claims that its theirs because they don't drink Pisco in Peru, and that the majority of all Pisco produced comes from Chile. My opinion is that my opinion depends on which country I'm in. I just drink the stuff and leave the fighting for the rest.) Furthermore, wine is also very cheep here because they produce so much of it. However, I don't drink it often. I stick to beer and pisco with an occasional vodka.
What about the language...? Despite frequent internal frustrations, its going remarkably well. I understand alot and can communicate most anything i want. However, I struggle with some pronunciation. Also, my vocab is still developing, so I often don't understand words. But, I can understand what people are saying the majority of the time. I have been told by several Chileans that I speak well, better than any other 'gringos' they have met. Whatever that means, probably that they don't know many gringos. I owe this all to living with Chileans. I am constantly hearing and using the language. I have a few English speaking friends whom live together, one from the US and a two from Germany. They always speak in English, for this reason there ability is significantly below mine. I must say though, I have come to appreciate English sooo much! Its priceless to be able to express yourself in exactly the way you want.
Well, hopefully that helped satisfy some of your curiosity cravings. I promise I will try to write more frequently! Ojala que todos de ustedes esten bien y que se vayan bien tambien. Besitos desde Chile, Chao!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Well, actually just buses
Hola gringos.... My latest adventure of note took place this past weekend. A friend of mine from UM, Clare, whom is studying in Vina del Mar (North of me), a friend of hers from Vina, Laura, and I took our sweetness across the boarder to Argentina.
The girls did not have school all last week so they took the opportunity to travel to the south of Chile. I, being the responsible student that I am, decided to attend classes for half of the week.
So at midnight last Wednesday I set off from my house with my backpack (overpacked) to the bus terminal. I arrived in Puerto Montt, Chile at about 9 am and then rendezvoused with the girls in a restaurant for a nice burger and french fry breakfast. We then killed time down on the board walk until our departure for Argentina. During this layover, the girls introduced me to a statue dedicated to PDA they had encountered earlier in the week. Check the pictures, this thing was hilarious yet so appropriate. After a little run in with some gypsies that stole 20,000 pesos (approx 40USD) from Laura, we were off to the bus. Two stops at customs and seven hours later we arrived in Bariloche, Argentina.
Bariloche is a nice tourist town set next to a large lake in the mountains of southwestern Argentina. It is known for its chocolate and nearby outdoor activities. As it was a holiday weekend, there was a lot of people in town from all over the world.
The first night we went out and ate at about 11:30pm. I had steak, Laura had a breaded steak thing called milanesa and Clare had pasta. We also shared a liter of beer and a bottle of wine. All together this cost 25USD. We had anticipated going to one of the large disco techs, but unfortunately they were all closed because it was Thursday. So, we went to a techno dance party thing that someone gave us a flyer for. We proceeded to dance until 5 am. The following day we relaxed by the lake- I went swimming and the water was quite chilly. Unfortunately Clare had gotten sick and was unable to do much.
That evening, after dinner and a nap, Laura and I set out for a disco at 2:30 am. We proceeded to dance until about 6 am. We had to leave at 6 because she and Clare's bus back was at 7:30. They had planned to stay until Sunday, but there were no tickets available. So, we headed back, got an hour of sleep, and they left.
I then spent the day exploring. I went out that night alone to what seemed like a 80's high school dance party. Very interesting. All of the people were very young (the same was true at the disco tech) and the girls were all wearing dresses with Chuck Taylors. I must admit I have not seen that before.
The next day I had to change hostels. I moved into a shared house with three Israelis. They were nice and they spoke english, but no spanish. They told me that in Israel after they finish high school, everyone enters the military. The women for 2 years and the men for 3. After this service, they all travel for about 6 months and then start university.
The four of us hung out for the day and night, but it was more relaxed than the previous days. I then caught my bus at 7am on Monday, and 16 hours later I was home.
Bariloche was a nice town. Pretty, but not amazing. The food was really good and cheep. The drinks, too, were very cheep. However, I did not care too much for the touristy vibes. However, it was a fun adventure. I look forward to traveling to Argentina again, but perhaps to a larger city without such a high density of tourists.
Coming up on my travel agenda is to visit the south of Chile, visit the girls in Vina while its still warm and also visit my friends in Santiago. If school continues as it is now, I won't be having too much weekend homework.
The girls did not have school all last week so they took the opportunity to travel to the south of Chile. I, being the responsible student that I am, decided to attend classes for half of the week.
So at midnight last Wednesday I set off from my house with my backpack (overpacked) to the bus terminal. I arrived in Puerto Montt, Chile at about 9 am and then rendezvoused with the girls in a restaurant for a nice burger and french fry breakfast. We then killed time down on the board walk until our departure for Argentina. During this layover, the girls introduced me to a statue dedicated to PDA they had encountered earlier in the week. Check the pictures, this thing was hilarious yet so appropriate. After a little run in with some gypsies that stole 20,000 pesos (approx 40USD) from Laura, we were off to the bus. Two stops at customs and seven hours later we arrived in Bariloche, Argentina.
Bariloche is a nice tourist town set next to a large lake in the mountains of southwestern Argentina. It is known for its chocolate and nearby outdoor activities. As it was a holiday weekend, there was a lot of people in town from all over the world.
The first night we went out and ate at about 11:30pm. I had steak, Laura had a breaded steak thing called milanesa and Clare had pasta. We also shared a liter of beer and a bottle of wine. All together this cost 25USD. We had anticipated going to one of the large disco techs, but unfortunately they were all closed because it was Thursday. So, we went to a techno dance party thing that someone gave us a flyer for. We proceeded to dance until 5 am. The following day we relaxed by the lake- I went swimming and the water was quite chilly. Unfortunately Clare had gotten sick and was unable to do much.
That evening, after dinner and a nap, Laura and I set out for a disco at 2:30 am. We proceeded to dance until about 6 am. We had to leave at 6 because she and Clare's bus back was at 7:30. They had planned to stay until Sunday, but there were no tickets available. So, we headed back, got an hour of sleep, and they left.
I then spent the day exploring. I went out that night alone to what seemed like a 80's high school dance party. Very interesting. All of the people were very young (the same was true at the disco tech) and the girls were all wearing dresses with Chuck Taylors. I must admit I have not seen that before.
The next day I had to change hostels. I moved into a shared house with three Israelis. They were nice and they spoke english, but no spanish. They told me that in Israel after they finish high school, everyone enters the military. The women for 2 years and the men for 3. After this service, they all travel for about 6 months and then start university.
The four of us hung out for the day and night, but it was more relaxed than the previous days. I then caught my bus at 7am on Monday, and 16 hours later I was home.
Bariloche was a nice town. Pretty, but not amazing. The food was really good and cheep. The drinks, too, were very cheep. However, I did not care too much for the touristy vibes. However, it was a fun adventure. I look forward to traveling to Argentina again, but perhaps to a larger city without such a high density of tourists.
Coming up on my travel agenda is to visit the south of Chile, visit the girls in Vina while its still warm and also visit my friends in Santiago. If school continues as it is now, I won't be having too much weekend homework.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Happy Pi, St Pattys, Easter ect.....
So the stories are true, people really do love futbol (soccer) here. And I'm going out on limb, but I would say, in general, the people are much more passionate about futbol than any American is about their respective sport. Last week, some friends invited me to a game between their favorite team and a local team in concepcion. There are two teams in Chile which are far more popular than the rest. The Universidad de Chile and Colo-Colo. My friends (and I by default) are fans of U de Chile. The U de Chile was in town to play the U de Concepcion. I must note now, that these teams are all professional and really have to tie to the U, only the name. From what I understand, in the past they were connected, and now they are not. However, I am a bit confused on this issue still.
At any rate, the fans were intense. They were singing from the moment we got there. When I say singing, I mean singing the whole game. Thats 90 minutes of jumping, dancing, throwing confetti, throwing toilet paper, lighting flares, clapping. Furthermore, there was a huge flag that came down and engulfed the whole set of stands, then retracted after a few minutes. The stadium was certainly alive. However, there was no violence, and I was never scared. But, the police were there and ready. Lining the field were what looked like astronauts. They had huge helmets with masks, body armour as if playing catcher in baseball and a few had riot shields.
I regret not having pictures of this, but my friends told me not to take valuables. However, the U will return to Conce, and I too, will return to the stadium, with my camera.
School has begun, but things get going very slow here. I have attended almost all of my classes one time so far, but have yet to really do anything yet. I'm not really sad about this.
I have now been in Chile for just over a month. At this point, I'm fairly settled and accustomed to daily life. My pension is great. I live with really great people, several which are certainly my best friends here so far. There is one guy I don't care too much for, but he is OK.
Cultural quirks: First, everything is scheduled around lunch. It is the main meal of the day. Breakfast only consists of some bread and coffee or tea. Most people don't eat dinner, they eat "once" (own - say). This consists of more or less a sandwich and coffee or tea. Lunch or "almuerzo" consists of a salad or soup or some type of starter food followed by the main course. This could be anything really. Chicken with rice, pasta, stew ect.. followed with a desert, usually fruit at the pension. Because of the importance of this meal, the town, the U, everything kinda shuts down between 12 and 3. You literally cannot run errands at public offices or the U during this time. A bit strange, but OK. I like the idea of cutting the day into two pieces, it alleviates some stress. (note. I suppose it relieves stress, I haven't really encountered any yet. ha) Anyway, this transition from eating my main meal in the evening to mid day has been fine, but at times I crave more than a sandwich for once. The next quirk is that punctuality is like so last year. People are habitually late. This is ok with me. I usually am late anyway, so I've already got this one down. All I need to do is lose my guilty conscience and I will fit right in.
Its not uncommon to party until 5,6 7 am. At the university, each department throws a party for the incoming freshman. I attended two of these. The party for the law school was quite fun. We arrived at about 12:30 am, and there was no one there. My friend assured me all would be OK. At around 1:15, the place was hoppin. Lots of people, dancing drinking ect. It was quite unusual to have a U function begin so late, end so late (5am) and serve booze. Trust me on this one, there is no reason for objection.
A note on words: The process of learning a new language is quite fascinating. I understand the grammar and constructions fairly well, but there are a lot of words I don't know. However, when I learn a new word, sometimes its hard to remember because it seems so arbitrary. English words are our words, like the blood in our bodies. Spanish words, no. So, when I learn a word, I have no context for it. Its just a sound. For instance vulgarities. The vulgar words don't seem any different to me then the non-vulgar. I don't get any tingly sensation when I say "tirate" as I would if I said "fuck you." Its the same for the spanish speakers. On the public radio, or TV, when the songs or movies are in english, they are not censored. For instance last night I was watching Training Day. It was in english with spanish subtitles and on FOX. They censored nothing. I heard "fuck," "shit," "nigga" countless times, on FOX. However the subtitles used less vulgar words such as "shucks" or "friend." Furthurmore, at times I feel like I'm caught up in a giant game of catch phrase. When I don't know the word I want to say, I try describing it in anyway possible, hoping that the other person will "get it right" without me actually saying it. Anyway, this process has been extremely interesting, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding.
This week being Easter, we have a few days off of school. I plan to head south to meet a friend of mine from U of Montana. We are then going to hop on over to Argentina for the weekend. This is the plan... we shall see what happens....
I hope all is well in gringolandia. Happy St Pats, Cheers!
D
At any rate, the fans were intense. They were singing from the moment we got there. When I say singing, I mean singing the whole game. Thats 90 minutes of jumping, dancing, throwing confetti, throwing toilet paper, lighting flares, clapping. Furthermore, there was a huge flag that came down and engulfed the whole set of stands, then retracted after a few minutes. The stadium was certainly alive. However, there was no violence, and I was never scared. But, the police were there and ready. Lining the field were what looked like astronauts. They had huge helmets with masks, body armour as if playing catcher in baseball and a few had riot shields.
I regret not having pictures of this, but my friends told me not to take valuables. However, the U will return to Conce, and I too, will return to the stadium, with my camera.
School has begun, but things get going very slow here. I have attended almost all of my classes one time so far, but have yet to really do anything yet. I'm not really sad about this.
I have now been in Chile for just over a month. At this point, I'm fairly settled and accustomed to daily life. My pension is great. I live with really great people, several which are certainly my best friends here so far. There is one guy I don't care too much for, but he is OK.
Cultural quirks: First, everything is scheduled around lunch. It is the main meal of the day. Breakfast only consists of some bread and coffee or tea. Most people don't eat dinner, they eat "once" (own - say). This consists of more or less a sandwich and coffee or tea. Lunch or "almuerzo" consists of a salad or soup or some type of starter food followed by the main course. This could be anything really. Chicken with rice, pasta, stew ect.. followed with a desert, usually fruit at the pension. Because of the importance of this meal, the town, the U, everything kinda shuts down between 12 and 3. You literally cannot run errands at public offices or the U during this time. A bit strange, but OK. I like the idea of cutting the day into two pieces, it alleviates some stress. (note. I suppose it relieves stress, I haven't really encountered any yet. ha) Anyway, this transition from eating my main meal in the evening to mid day has been fine, but at times I crave more than a sandwich for once. The next quirk is that punctuality is like so last year. People are habitually late. This is ok with me. I usually am late anyway, so I've already got this one down. All I need to do is lose my guilty conscience and I will fit right in.
Its not uncommon to party until 5,6 7 am. At the university, each department throws a party for the incoming freshman. I attended two of these. The party for the law school was quite fun. We arrived at about 12:30 am, and there was no one there. My friend assured me all would be OK. At around 1:15, the place was hoppin. Lots of people, dancing drinking ect. It was quite unusual to have a U function begin so late, end so late (5am) and serve booze. Trust me on this one, there is no reason for objection.
A note on words: The process of learning a new language is quite fascinating. I understand the grammar and constructions fairly well, but there are a lot of words I don't know. However, when I learn a new word, sometimes its hard to remember because it seems so arbitrary. English words are our words, like the blood in our bodies. Spanish words, no. So, when I learn a word, I have no context for it. Its just a sound. For instance vulgarities. The vulgar words don't seem any different to me then the non-vulgar. I don't get any tingly sensation when I say "tirate" as I would if I said "fuck you." Its the same for the spanish speakers. On the public radio, or TV, when the songs or movies are in english, they are not censored. For instance last night I was watching Training Day. It was in english with spanish subtitles and on FOX. They censored nothing. I heard "fuck," "shit," "nigga" countless times, on FOX. However the subtitles used less vulgar words such as "shucks" or "friend." Furthurmore, at times I feel like I'm caught up in a giant game of catch phrase. When I don't know the word I want to say, I try describing it in anyway possible, hoping that the other person will "get it right" without me actually saying it. Anyway, this process has been extremely interesting, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding.
This week being Easter, we have a few days off of school. I plan to head south to meet a friend of mine from U of Montana. We are then going to hop on over to Argentina for the weekend. This is the plan... we shall see what happens....
I hope all is well in gringolandia. Happy St Pats, Cheers!
D
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