Click on the picture to go to the photobucket album, enjoy!
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
Monday, March 3, 2008
Empieza
Before I begin this update I would like to thank everyone for reading these bits and pieces of my adventure and sending my notes and comments. Its comforting to have all of the support. THANKS! Also, if there is ever anything specific you want me to write about, let me know.
Well, I finally moved out of Paula and Antonio's house into my pension. Paula and Antonio have been super helpful and generous to me, but I was ready to get out of their hair and become more independent. I have been in the pension for two nights, and thus far the transition has been fine. I'm sure your all wondering about this "pension" thing, I will try to explain.
What: The word pension basically signifies a place to live for rent that usually includes part or full board. My pension is a "pension completa" so i get all food, laundry once a week, internet, cable, water, electricity and the room for a flat monthly rate. There is a live in maid who prepares all of the meals and does the laundry ect. My pension has about 13 people in it. A few share a room, but most are single. We share 5 bathrooms. It is kind of like the dorms, but in a house.
Why: In short, because we need to hang our hat somewhere! The university does not have dorms as in the US. Students usually live in a pension if they are from out of town. The phenomenon of having a maid is very common, therefore, everyone is accustomed to having someone else do all such activities. For this reason, students usually don't just get apartments. Note, however, I'm generalizing, its not a rule.
Where: They are all over the city. Concepcion is home to a few other Universities, so pensions can be found anywhere. University of Concepcion is the principle U in the town (third best in Chile, approx 20,000 students) so there are several pensions in the university neighborhood. Mine is 3 blocks from the university, in a very beaustiful street at the base of the forrest (pictures to come).
When: I have a key to the front door and I may come and go as I please. Other pensions have stricter rules about hours & ect. It just depends on the owner. Often times a family house also doubles as a pension. For this reason the owners my have stricter rules because they have kids ect. The owners of my pension do not live here, but are here often doing "stuff" that needs to be done.
How: Penisoins are advertised in the classifieds, signs in the street and around the U ect. I set out on foot to mind mine. I called a few adds that I saw, checked out three places before making my decision. I pay at the beginning of each month, and there is no contract.
Now you know what a pension is, there is a quiz next week. ha.
I started school today, and at this point I have only had one class. Intro to sociology. I was not nervous to start, after all, this is my third University (thanks mom and dad! promise I'll be done soon!) However, what happened during this class was one of the most awkward, interesting, funny, strange, exciting, bazaar things I have ever experienced. Remember, this class, Intro to soc. is for freshman. First day or U. I'm taking it just for the heck of it, but there are no other such students. All the rest are freshman majoring in sociology. The system is a bit different in Chile. They don't have general education requirements or anything like that. You pick your degree, and basically your schedule is set, for the next 5 years, so long as you don't switch.
The class began with an introduction by the head of the degree followed by and introduction by the head of the department. During this second introduction began a bunch of noise in the hallway. People were banging on the door, banging on the windows from outside, yelling. The guy kinda just kept talking, not paying too much attention to this interruption. When he was done, the professor proceeded with a general intro to the course which included every student having to say there name and where their from. (40 - 50 students) This was a bit embarrassing, being the gringo and all, but was nothing compared to what was coming. Periodically the racket would occur. The professor would bang on the window in response to their banging. She was laughing. There was something coming, and I had no idea what it was. As it got toward the end of the class, the banging on the door increased, I could here a mob of people trying to get into the classroom. The teacher finally conceded and unlocked the door. What happened next was indescribable, but I will try.
Into the room came a mob of people with scarfs, jackets, or whatever covering there faces as though they were robbers. They did not permit anyone to leave. They then came around and took one shoe from every person and put them in a pile at the front of the room. We are talking 40 - 50 shoes. Then, a girl proceeded to go around and make everyone pay 500 pesos (about 1 USD) to get the shoe back. Then one of the mob leaders grabbed one of the shoes from the pile, and demanded the owner to come down to the front of the room. They then made this guy stand on the table and dance. All the while they were singing and clapping. Then they grabbed a couple more shoes, these people came down and had to dance together on the table. This continued until about 2/3 of the class had to dance up front. This all took some time, so I suppose there was not enough time to have everyone dance, or they got bored, I don't know. I was a part of the 1/3 that did not have to dance... I just picked up my shoe when the pandemonium was over and left.
When I got outside, I witnessed a few other mobs. So I hear, this is initiation for freshman. It goes on all week. Supposedly they do all kinds of stuff including putting paint on faces, clothes, hair and other crazy stuff. However, this class is only one day a week on Monday, so I won't get any of that other treatment. I don't believe my other classes are only for freshman.
Thats it for now...... hope everything is good in gringo land..
paz y amor desde chile
Well, I finally moved out of Paula and Antonio's house into my pension. Paula and Antonio have been super helpful and generous to me, but I was ready to get out of their hair and become more independent. I have been in the pension for two nights, and thus far the transition has been fine. I'm sure your all wondering about this "pension" thing, I will try to explain.
What: The word pension basically signifies a place to live for rent that usually includes part or full board. My pension is a "pension completa" so i get all food, laundry once a week, internet, cable, water, electricity and the room for a flat monthly rate. There is a live in maid who prepares all of the meals and does the laundry ect. My pension has about 13 people in it. A few share a room, but most are single. We share 5 bathrooms. It is kind of like the dorms, but in a house.
Why: In short, because we need to hang our hat somewhere! The university does not have dorms as in the US. Students usually live in a pension if they are from out of town. The phenomenon of having a maid is very common, therefore, everyone is accustomed to having someone else do all such activities. For this reason, students usually don't just get apartments. Note, however, I'm generalizing, its not a rule.
Where: They are all over the city. Concepcion is home to a few other Universities, so pensions can be found anywhere. University of Concepcion is the principle U in the town (third best in Chile, approx 20,000 students) so there are several pensions in the university neighborhood. Mine is 3 blocks from the university, in a very beaustiful street at the base of the forrest (pictures to come).
When: I have a key to the front door and I may come and go as I please. Other pensions have stricter rules about hours & ect. It just depends on the owner. Often times a family house also doubles as a pension. For this reason the owners my have stricter rules because they have kids ect. The owners of my pension do not live here, but are here often doing "stuff" that needs to be done.
How: Penisoins are advertised in the classifieds, signs in the street and around the U ect. I set out on foot to mind mine. I called a few adds that I saw, checked out three places before making my decision. I pay at the beginning of each month, and there is no contract.
Now you know what a pension is, there is a quiz next week. ha.
I started school today, and at this point I have only had one class. Intro to sociology. I was not nervous to start, after all, this is my third University (thanks mom and dad! promise I'll be done soon!) However, what happened during this class was one of the most awkward, interesting, funny, strange, exciting, bazaar things I have ever experienced. Remember, this class, Intro to soc. is for freshman. First day or U. I'm taking it just for the heck of it, but there are no other such students. All the rest are freshman majoring in sociology. The system is a bit different in Chile. They don't have general education requirements or anything like that. You pick your degree, and basically your schedule is set, for the next 5 years, so long as you don't switch.
The class began with an introduction by the head of the degree followed by and introduction by the head of the department. During this second introduction began a bunch of noise in the hallway. People were banging on the door, banging on the windows from outside, yelling. The guy kinda just kept talking, not paying too much attention to this interruption. When he was done, the professor proceeded with a general intro to the course which included every student having to say there name and where their from. (40 - 50 students) This was a bit embarrassing, being the gringo and all, but was nothing compared to what was coming. Periodically the racket would occur. The professor would bang on the window in response to their banging. She was laughing. There was something coming, and I had no idea what it was. As it got toward the end of the class, the banging on the door increased, I could here a mob of people trying to get into the classroom. The teacher finally conceded and unlocked the door. What happened next was indescribable, but I will try.
Into the room came a mob of people with scarfs, jackets, or whatever covering there faces as though they were robbers. They did not permit anyone to leave. They then came around and took one shoe from every person and put them in a pile at the front of the room. We are talking 40 - 50 shoes. Then, a girl proceeded to go around and make everyone pay 500 pesos (about 1 USD) to get the shoe back. Then one of the mob leaders grabbed one of the shoes from the pile, and demanded the owner to come down to the front of the room. They then made this guy stand on the table and dance. All the while they were singing and clapping. Then they grabbed a couple more shoes, these people came down and had to dance together on the table. This continued until about 2/3 of the class had to dance up front. This all took some time, so I suppose there was not enough time to have everyone dance, or they got bored, I don't know. I was a part of the 1/3 that did not have to dance... I just picked up my shoe when the pandemonium was over and left.
When I got outside, I witnessed a few other mobs. So I hear, this is initiation for freshman. It goes on all week. Supposedly they do all kinds of stuff including putting paint on faces, clothes, hair and other crazy stuff. However, this class is only one day a week on Monday, so I won't get any of that other treatment. I don't believe my other classes are only for freshman.
Thats it for now...... hope everything is good in gringo land..
paz y amor desde chile
Sunday, March 2, 2008
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