Hola todos,
After classes, a nap, and dinner, I decided to go for a walk to the nearby store about 15 minutes away. I was craving something sweet. As I was walking, a dog and I crossed paths, and he decided, well heck, why not go with her? So me and my companion (a little black male dog with a white chest) started our walk to the store. He hesitated a few times really wondering if I was worth his time, but he was lucky he decided to stay by my side. We continued walking and we took turns leading. If I was too slow for him, he would wait patiently for me to catch up and we'd continue. All the while, I'm thinking of what my companion's name should be. I was playing with Patas (Paws) because I think that's adorable, but I was also playing with the whole Black and White cookie idea. I mean, his new friend is from NY.
When we arrived at the store, he began to walk in with me, but I told him to wait outside for me (we were working on his English), so he plopped himself down on the front mat and waited. While there, I bought some cookies and a ham and avocado sandwich and a ham and cheese one. He was pretty skinny, and I didn't want him to think he accompanied me for nothing, and I wanted to give us internationals a good name.
After I paid, I went outside and he jumped up to resume our walk. On the way back, I stopped on a little bench and fed him the first sandwich. Well, everyone should now be aware that dogs aren't big on carbohydrates because he sniffed the bread and looked away as if thinking, God why would you even put that stuff near me?? Getting the hint, I moved on to the meat. The first was the avocado and ham sandwich. Well, Patas/ BW Cookie wasn't the fondest of avocado. I tried to explain to him that avocado is a good fat, but he pretended he didn't understand me. But, I still persuaded him to at least have a little. He dealt with it because he knew I had more and didn't want to hurt my feelings.
We left and continued walking. I wanted him to digest the first sandwich before the next one. After a few blocks (the blocks are huge here), we stopped at another bench and I gave him the ham and cheese sandwich. I tried to give him some bread again, but he knew my tricks. So, I just skipped to the ham and cheese, keeping hidden pieces of bread under it. Well, he loved the ham and cheese. He was sticking his nose into my hands while I was breaking it off. After that sandwich, we continued our walk, taking turns leading again. When I returned to my gate, he stopped with me and looked at me like, now what? Do you have more ham and cheese in your apartment? Sadly, I could not take him with me, so I pet him for a little while which he thoroughly enjoyed. Then I opened the gate, and he tried to sneak through, but I closed the gated, pet him a little longer through the bars and then returned to my apartment.
Thankfully, he didn't really care about me that much, because once I walked in the door, I looked back and he was already gone. I really think Patas/ BW Cookie and I had a nice walk and a somewhat substantial meal. Most importantly, I have learned that if I decided to go for a walk with another dog, I better avoid the whole carbohydrates and vegetable stuff.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
A Month in Santiago
Hola todos,
As of Friday, I have been in Chile for a month!! And this weekend was a great celebration. On Friday, I went to another university-hosted party! It was next to the Engineering School, therefore it was about 75% males. I went with Laurel and her Chilean friend Ignacio. I met of lot of Ignacio's friends who are all very nice. There was even a band! Fun night. On Saturday, it was Micaelas's 21st birthday, and she wanted to go to a bar to watch March Madness. We went to an "American" bar because realistically, what Chilean bar is going to have basketball games playing on their televisions? There, we met some other Americans, one of whom has been traveling South America for 10 months! Her cousin is here visiting her for spring break. We met three guys who are here setting up their own company. Very fascinating, they are creating a company that sets students up with internships in foreign countries. Apparently they have offices in London, Buenos Aires, and Madrid. The coolest thing is that the three of them are between 21 and 25! I think that is quite an accomplishment. Overall, the night was a successful birthday celebration for Micaela and she got her fill of American sports. Today, I went for a 2 and a half hour bike ride and explored Santiago. I rode on a bike trail in the city, (yes, they have a bike trail in the city!) which ran parallel with the Andes. A spectacular way to see the city.
Now, being here for a month, I have really been able to discover what I like and don't like about living here. And happily, I can say that there aren't really any dislikes here. The smog in the distance, and the traffic are really the only dislikes I have. (Though, they also put olives in the middle of the empanadas and I detest olives). More importantly, here of some of the things that I really love.
The people: The people here are so nice and helpful (except with directions). They are trusting and a very attractive people as a whole.
The weather: I can honestly say, that I have not seen one droplet of rain. There have maybe been 3 cloudy days. The temperature has ranged between low 80s and 90. Perfect weather if you ask me. But the sun is not scorching. Thankfully, they do not have a NY winter here. A Chilean was telling me, how yes, it has snowed here before.... 10 years ago. I am not worried about a blizzard.
Things to do: It is a great exciting city, full of people my age. I have started doing more things in the city now that I've gotten to know it better, and this week I am going to join some city "clubs" including going to a certain district of the city with a group and learning about that area specifically. The club is actually for Chileans, who want to get to know their own city better. I could say I fit into that mix. Another club I want to join is one that bicycles around the city. I have also picked up several schedules of plays, musicals, concerts and movies at the Performing Centers here. I am really realizing how much there is to do here for a college student!
The nature: Obviously, the Andes in the near distance are absolutely breath-taking, especially at 8PM when the sun is setting, causing shades of red, purple and orange onto the mountains. One of my favorite things is the abundance of trees in the city. The neighborhood I live in (Providencia) is lined with trees. Surprisingly, the center of the city still has quite a few trees. Shockingly, though there is a smog in the distance, the city is quite clean. There are also an abundance of parks here. The main park I consider the "Central Park" here is miles long, but there are also little parks scattered all around the city.
The food: There are so many types of food here and all of it is great. There are many types of fish, meat, vegetables, and fruit here. One of the most common foods here is avocado. I absolutely love avocado! There are also so many restaurants and so many options.
The wine: That goes without saying. Tasteful, aromatic, wonderful wine, and it is so cheap!! (You could buy a bottle of wine here for $4)
The nightlife: As you have all probably gathered from this blog, there is a lot to do on the weekends. Because it is such a young city, there are a lot of bars, and nice ones. There are specific areas that are known for their nightlife, but there are also bars throughout the city that are great too.
The public transportation: As much as some people complain about the public transportation here, I think it is great, there are buses that go everywhere and a good metro system. Very important.
I think my list covers all possible aspects of the city, and there are little things that I appreciate about the city, like the little venders on the street, my walk from my house to the metro station, etc.
I absolutely love it here and am so happy I have another 5 months!
As of Friday, I have been in Chile for a month!! And this weekend was a great celebration. On Friday, I went to another university-hosted party! It was next to the Engineering School, therefore it was about 75% males. I went with Laurel and her Chilean friend Ignacio. I met of lot of Ignacio's friends who are all very nice. There was even a band! Fun night. On Saturday, it was Micaelas's 21st birthday, and she wanted to go to a bar to watch March Madness. We went to an "American" bar because realistically, what Chilean bar is going to have basketball games playing on their televisions? There, we met some other Americans, one of whom has been traveling South America for 10 months! Her cousin is here visiting her for spring break. We met three guys who are here setting up their own company. Very fascinating, they are creating a company that sets students up with internships in foreign countries. Apparently they have offices in London, Buenos Aires, and Madrid. The coolest thing is that the three of them are between 21 and 25! I think that is quite an accomplishment. Overall, the night was a successful birthday celebration for Micaela and she got her fill of American sports. Today, I went for a 2 and a half hour bike ride and explored Santiago. I rode on a bike trail in the city, (yes, they have a bike trail in the city!) which ran parallel with the Andes. A spectacular way to see the city.
Now, being here for a month, I have really been able to discover what I like and don't like about living here. And happily, I can say that there aren't really any dislikes here. The smog in the distance, and the traffic are really the only dislikes I have. (Though, they also put olives in the middle of the empanadas and I detest olives). More importantly, here of some of the things that I really love.
The people: The people here are so nice and helpful (except with directions). They are trusting and a very attractive people as a whole.
The weather: I can honestly say, that I have not seen one droplet of rain. There have maybe been 3 cloudy days. The temperature has ranged between low 80s and 90. Perfect weather if you ask me. But the sun is not scorching. Thankfully, they do not have a NY winter here. A Chilean was telling me, how yes, it has snowed here before.... 10 years ago. I am not worried about a blizzard.
Things to do: It is a great exciting city, full of people my age. I have started doing more things in the city now that I've gotten to know it better, and this week I am going to join some city "clubs" including going to a certain district of the city with a group and learning about that area specifically. The club is actually for Chileans, who want to get to know their own city better. I could say I fit into that mix. Another club I want to join is one that bicycles around the city. I have also picked up several schedules of plays, musicals, concerts and movies at the Performing Centers here. I am really realizing how much there is to do here for a college student!
The nature: Obviously, the Andes in the near distance are absolutely breath-taking, especially at 8PM when the sun is setting, causing shades of red, purple and orange onto the mountains. One of my favorite things is the abundance of trees in the city. The neighborhood I live in (Providencia) is lined with trees. Surprisingly, the center of the city still has quite a few trees. Shockingly, though there is a smog in the distance, the city is quite clean. There are also an abundance of parks here. The main park I consider the "Central Park" here is miles long, but there are also little parks scattered all around the city.
The food: There are so many types of food here and all of it is great. There are many types of fish, meat, vegetables, and fruit here. One of the most common foods here is avocado. I absolutely love avocado! There are also so many restaurants and so many options.
The wine: That goes without saying. Tasteful, aromatic, wonderful wine, and it is so cheap!! (You could buy a bottle of wine here for $4)
The nightlife: As you have all probably gathered from this blog, there is a lot to do on the weekends. Because it is such a young city, there are a lot of bars, and nice ones. There are specific areas that are known for their nightlife, but there are also bars throughout the city that are great too.
The public transportation: As much as some people complain about the public transportation here, I think it is great, there are buses that go everywhere and a good metro system. Very important.
I think my list covers all possible aspects of the city, and there are little things that I appreciate about the city, like the little venders on the street, my walk from my house to the metro station, etc.
I absolutely love it here and am so happy I have another 5 months!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
It's Decided. I Am A Giant
Hola todos,
Today, I had class, and that was good. I am beginning to understand the professor better. My next class the "Dicursos Artisticos y Formas Politicas" of course was cancelled. So instead, I went to the park with a friend in the class who is from Finland and we chatted. Fun fact: Did you know that there is no future tense in the Finnish language? After she left, I hung around for a little bit and people watched. Then I decided to go for a walk down the main drag. As I walked, there were plenty of little stands selling clothing, rings etc. As I passed one place, a pair of shoes caught my eye so I asked to try them on. She asked what size I was. Now, in the United States, I am a size 8 and in Europe etc. I am a size 38. So when she asked I said, 38. Well, that was no 38. So I tried on a 39, then a 40, then a 41. And finally the 41 fit. That was the biggest size they had. A 41 is equivalent to an 11 in the U.S! Now I know my feet didn't suddenly get bigger, so I thought to myself, Wow, I am actually a giant here! I had hoped before coming here that I would fit in enough to not scream foreigner, but I thought wrong.
I ended up buying 2 pairs of shoes, which in total was $10, how could I not buy them? And I went on my merry way. While I continued walking, I saw another shoe place that had a discount sign on the window, so of course I had to go in. Well, I swear, there was not a single size 41 in the entire store. So I tried in a pair of heels that were a size 39 just for the fun of it, and people actually looked at me like, why in the world is she so tall?? So, I decided that I would not need heels here. I mean, I am 5'8" and I guarantee, I don't need a doctor to tell me this, I am in the 100 percentile of height here. Maybe 101.
I gave up on finding any shoes, and continued to walk.
As I was passing people who were walking in front of me due to me being twice the size of them, I figured, well, thank goodness I bought shoes before I got here.
Today, I had class, and that was good. I am beginning to understand the professor better. My next class the "Dicursos Artisticos y Formas Politicas" of course was cancelled. So instead, I went to the park with a friend in the class who is from Finland and we chatted. Fun fact: Did you know that there is no future tense in the Finnish language? After she left, I hung around for a little bit and people watched. Then I decided to go for a walk down the main drag. As I walked, there were plenty of little stands selling clothing, rings etc. As I passed one place, a pair of shoes caught my eye so I asked to try them on. She asked what size I was. Now, in the United States, I am a size 8 and in Europe etc. I am a size 38. So when she asked I said, 38. Well, that was no 38. So I tried on a 39, then a 40, then a 41. And finally the 41 fit. That was the biggest size they had. A 41 is equivalent to an 11 in the U.S! Now I know my feet didn't suddenly get bigger, so I thought to myself, Wow, I am actually a giant here! I had hoped before coming here that I would fit in enough to not scream foreigner, but I thought wrong.
I ended up buying 2 pairs of shoes, which in total was $10, how could I not buy them? And I went on my merry way. While I continued walking, I saw another shoe place that had a discount sign on the window, so of course I had to go in. Well, I swear, there was not a single size 41 in the entire store. So I tried in a pair of heels that were a size 39 just for the fun of it, and people actually looked at me like, why in the world is she so tall?? So, I decided that I would not need heels here. I mean, I am 5'8" and I guarantee, I don't need a doctor to tell me this, I am in the 100 percentile of height here. Maybe 101.
I gave up on finding any shoes, and continued to walk.
As I was passing people who were walking in front of me due to me being twice the size of them, I figured, well, thank goodness I bought shoes before I got here.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Brithday Weekend
Hola todos,
Today is my birthday! I am now 22, which I am thankful that I am in Chile for because otherwise this birthday year isn't very exciting. I mean, what changes when you turn 22? But regardless of this, I had a very nice birthday/birthday weekend.
If I may have mentioned previously, I do not have school on Fridays, so 3 day week ends every weekend! On Thursday, I got together with 2 of the girls in my program, Micaela and Arantxa, and we went to Bellavista to have dinner. Bellavista is a beautiful area. It is one of the "happening" places here. We picked a restaurant, and because I pride myself on being eager to try new things, I looked through the menu and decided I would get, steak with quail eggs and a side of some sauce that I had never heard of. I can't say I know quite what it was, but, the meal was really good! After dinner, we went for a nice walk around the area.
On Friday, I went to a Universidad de Chile sponsored carrete (party)! I wish the U.S. had events like this. It was in the center of the Law School where they had drinks, music, and dancing. There were apparently more than a thousand people there. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to be at an event where everyone was my age. I met lots of new people, some internationals and... Chilenos! I can now say that I have Chileno friends. Definitely an accomplishment. After this event I met up with my the girls from my program, and a few others, with our "cultural mentor" Freddy, and we saw a play. I honestly cannot entirely say what the play was about. Not in a bad or good way, I just didn't comprehend what was going on. I think I would have felt the same way even if the play were in English. It had something to do with Disney characters and the U.S. I got that much after seeing a Cinderella and her "rat" friends. The best part though, was the deranged Barney. He was dressed in a Barney suit, and he was holding his dinosaur head with his arms. I cannot give the play justice in describing it. Either way, it was an experience and I got a taste of Chilean theater, maybe?
Afterwards, Arantxa, Micaela, and I went out for dinner to a lowered plaza called Plaza Ñuñoa. We sipped on drinks and talked.
Saturday, I went to Arantxa's house where her host mom (a sweet 60 (give or take) year old women) made us lunch. It was her son's birthday and she invited me over to share birthday lunch with them. The son is 32 and has a 2 month new born baby. We ate quite an abundance and all of it was wonderful!
That night, I got together with the usuals, a new friend named Ally, and Ignacio who is Laurel (one of the usuals)'s Chilean friends. We went to a birthday party at his friends house. The guys birthday was actaully a week ago, but we also considered it my birthday celebration. It was so much fun! I met a lot more Chileans who were all eager to meet us. When it turned 12AM, I really did feel like a Chilean.
Last bust not least, today, Sunday, I slept in and then got together with the usuals plus a girl named Anna from Finland. We all went to El Cerro San Cristobal (San Cristobal Hill) which is near Bellavista. There is a funicular there and we had planned to take it up to the top of the hill and overlook the city, but the funicular was closed down, so we trekked up the road to the top. The walk wasn't too steap, though I still wasn't wearing the proper shoes. The view, wow. The view was spectacular. We got to the top at about 5PM so the sun was still in the sky, but not quite so burning. This Cerro overlooked all of Santiago, and I realized that Santiago is quite expansive. It is a huge city! We spent some time up there, and then we went down to Bellavista and we had my birthday dinner. We sat outside at a typical Chilean Cuisine restaurant. I got a fish called Marzula. It is a Chilean fish. Very good. And we ordered a bottle of Chilean wine. It was not only a great dinner, but a very Chilean one too.
Today was a great day and I have a wonderful tranquil birthday. In total, the birthday weekend extravaganzas were all successes! Tomorrow I begin my second week of school.
Today is my birthday! I am now 22, which I am thankful that I am in Chile for because otherwise this birthday year isn't very exciting. I mean, what changes when you turn 22? But regardless of this, I had a very nice birthday/birthday weekend.
If I may have mentioned previously, I do not have school on Fridays, so 3 day week ends every weekend! On Thursday, I got together with 2 of the girls in my program, Micaela and Arantxa, and we went to Bellavista to have dinner. Bellavista is a beautiful area. It is one of the "happening" places here. We picked a restaurant, and because I pride myself on being eager to try new things, I looked through the menu and decided I would get, steak with quail eggs and a side of some sauce that I had never heard of. I can't say I know quite what it was, but, the meal was really good! After dinner, we went for a nice walk around the area.
On Friday, I went to a Universidad de Chile sponsored carrete (party)! I wish the U.S. had events like this. It was in the center of the Law School where they had drinks, music, and dancing. There were apparently more than a thousand people there. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to be at an event where everyone was my age. I met lots of new people, some internationals and... Chilenos! I can now say that I have Chileno friends. Definitely an accomplishment. After this event I met up with my the girls from my program, and a few others, with our "cultural mentor" Freddy, and we saw a play. I honestly cannot entirely say what the play was about. Not in a bad or good way, I just didn't comprehend what was going on. I think I would have felt the same way even if the play were in English. It had something to do with Disney characters and the U.S. I got that much after seeing a Cinderella and her "rat" friends. The best part though, was the deranged Barney. He was dressed in a Barney suit, and he was holding his dinosaur head with his arms. I cannot give the play justice in describing it. Either way, it was an experience and I got a taste of Chilean theater, maybe?
Afterwards, Arantxa, Micaela, and I went out for dinner to a lowered plaza called Plaza Ñuñoa. We sipped on drinks and talked.
Saturday, I went to Arantxa's house where her host mom (a sweet 60 (give or take) year old women) made us lunch. It was her son's birthday and she invited me over to share birthday lunch with them. The son is 32 and has a 2 month new born baby. We ate quite an abundance and all of it was wonderful!
That night, I got together with the usuals, a new friend named Ally, and Ignacio who is Laurel (one of the usuals)'s Chilean friends. We went to a birthday party at his friends house. The guys birthday was actaully a week ago, but we also considered it my birthday celebration. It was so much fun! I met a lot more Chileans who were all eager to meet us. When it turned 12AM, I really did feel like a Chilean.
Last bust not least, today, Sunday, I slept in and then got together with the usuals plus a girl named Anna from Finland. We all went to El Cerro San Cristobal (San Cristobal Hill) which is near Bellavista. There is a funicular there and we had planned to take it up to the top of the hill and overlook the city, but the funicular was closed down, so we trekked up the road to the top. The walk wasn't too steap, though I still wasn't wearing the proper shoes. The view, wow. The view was spectacular. We got to the top at about 5PM so the sun was still in the sky, but not quite so burning. This Cerro overlooked all of Santiago, and I realized that Santiago is quite expansive. It is a huge city! We spent some time up there, and then we went down to Bellavista and we had my birthday dinner. We sat outside at a typical Chilean Cuisine restaurant. I got a fish called Marzula. It is a Chilean fish. Very good. And we ordered a bottle of Chilean wine. It was not only a great dinner, but a very Chilean one too.
Today was a great day and I have a wonderful tranquil birthday. In total, the birthday weekend extravaganzas were all successes! Tomorrow I begin my second week of school.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Who Would've Thought?
Today was my third day of classes. The first one, same as the one on Monday, was good; still can't understand his Spanish though. Then I went on to travel all the way across town to the Theater School for Teatro Latinoamericano (Latin American Theater). Well that was quite a disaster. I assumed going into it that it would be a simple class where we'd have to act out a Latin American play or something along the lines of that. Nope. It is actually a theory class, and when he handed out the syllabus I just about died. We have to read about 20 books/texts etc, write 2 papers and a dissertation. On top of that, his Spanish was quite difficult to understand and he just had to be the professor who asked me, specifically, questions. (What do you think Anna? Why is that similar to in the U.S.?)... Most of my responses were either "Si" or "No entiendo" (I don't understand). After a while I just avoided his eye contact completely.
At the half mark (the class is 3 hours) we got to take a break. I started a conversation with some of the other students outside. Apparently, it's a theory class that seniors take. It is even very hard for them. They said the professor was horrible and they dreaded having to take the class. So I thought to myself... Well I'm equivalent to a 2nd grader here with my Spanish capabilities, so as if I'd be able to survive this class. They told me that I definitely shouldn't take it. When they all had to head back into the class, I vanished. While these poor students had to try to understand who knows what topic, I got a cup of ice cream and sat in the park in the sun.
All I can say, is that I am happy I'm not a senior majoring in Theater at Universidad de Chile. Ironically though, the one class that I have decided to change, the Chilean students were actually willing to talk to me, and they seemed to have actually liked me. I suppose they had enough patience to deal with my pauses in between words to decide which word to use next. But, I'm sure there will be others who won't mind endeavoring the feat of having a conversation with me. I am now looking through the course catalog for a replacement class. But seriously, who would've thought that a course called Latin American Theater would be so difficult that I would have to drop it!
At the half mark (the class is 3 hours) we got to take a break. I started a conversation with some of the other students outside. Apparently, it's a theory class that seniors take. It is even very hard for them. They said the professor was horrible and they dreaded having to take the class. So I thought to myself... Well I'm equivalent to a 2nd grader here with my Spanish capabilities, so as if I'd be able to survive this class. They told me that I definitely shouldn't take it. When they all had to head back into the class, I vanished. While these poor students had to try to understand who knows what topic, I got a cup of ice cream and sat in the park in the sun.
All I can say, is that I am happy I'm not a senior majoring in Theater at Universidad de Chile. Ironically though, the one class that I have decided to change, the Chilean students were actually willing to talk to me, and they seemed to have actually liked me. I suppose they had enough patience to deal with my pauses in between words to decide which word to use next. But, I'm sure there will be others who won't mind endeavoring the feat of having a conversation with me. I am now looking through the course catalog for a replacement class. But seriously, who would've thought that a course called Latin American Theater would be so difficult that I would have to drop it!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Second Day of Classes
Hola todos,
Today was my second day of school. My first class is called "Espacio Social y Tiempo: Imaginarios y representacion en la geografia social y historica." (I'm not entirely sure what the English name would be, but I'm assuming something along the lines of " Social Space and Time: Imaginary and Representation in Social and Historical Geography" maybe?) I honestly can say that I don't even know what that means. But, eitherway I figured, eh, why not? So this class is in the same building and same time as my class on Monday's and Wednesday's, so the day started off similar to yesterday.
I arrived at the room early just in case I got lost, and it was strange because I got there, and even 5 minutes before class, no one was there. I was standing outside because I didn't want to look like a weirdo sitting all by myself in the big class room, so when it was 11:55 I began to question if I was at the right room. Finally, a man walks towards the door so I say hi, (I wasn't completely sure he was the professor) and he is the professor for the class. I go into the class and a few minutes later one girl shows up, then a boy shows up, then... no one else! So, here I am being in a class with 2 other people, one of whom is Chilean and the other who is from Barcelona. They of course speak fluent Spanish. Since the professor and I talked for a few minutes prior to "everyone" (I use this term very loosely) coming in, he knew that I was from the U.S. Still, his Spanish was quite quick and I had and still have no idea what the class is about. I suppose that's not such a good sign. I figure however, that within a week or 2, my Spanish will be picking up enough so I will be able to understand. This must happen because it is inevitable I will talk, or will have to talk more than once in each class.
After that nail biting event, I had 3 and a half hours hours to get to a different campus where I have a class called "Discursos Artisticos y Formas Politicas en Latinoamerica" ("Artistic Discourses and Political Forms in Latin America"). I got there quite easily via one bus and had plenty of time to spare. I got a water and sat in park nearby. At 4:00, I went to the building to get to class at 4:15. When I got there I wasn't sure where the class was because the University Catalog didn't say so (yet again, only in South America), so I asked a man at the from desk. A girl also asked him and it turns out she had the same class. Even though I am not a Chilean, I am still capable of telling if someone's Spanish is Chilean or not, and hers was not. I asked her where she is from and sure enough, she's from Austin, Texas. We then walked to class where she knew another Gringa (foreigner) and then that Gringa knew another Gringa, so it was 5 Gringas (including me) in the class, and then 3 Chileans. Apparently this is an attractive course from internationals.
That class was... not bad. I was tired by that point of the day, so I wasn't doing too well at concentrating, but his Spanish was slower so that helped a lot. We already have a homework assignment! We have to go to a museum and find a piece of artwork and write a page about it. Not the end of the world and in fact I would like to go to the museum, but it's the shear fact that we were assigned homework the first class.
After class, I talked to the internationals more, and we all exchanged numbers. So, I now have 4 more friends! I have decided that I will dedicate next week to making Chilean friends because right now, a friend is better than no friend!
After we parted ways, I walked to the Plaza de Armas (a main attraction with beautiful buildings etc, and passed through a street called Nueva York Calle because apparently, the street looks like New York City. Well, it doesn't really, but I won't burst the person's bubble who named it. The Plaza de Armas is beautiful so I sat myself down on a bench, took out my notebook and started writing my "diary entries" that are mandatory for the program. It was a nice evening. I then walked back to the subway drinking a jugo (juice) and returned back to my house.
All in all, a good second day. No horrible issues or urge to cry. The classes were good and I am happy with them thus far. Tomorrow I have the same class I had on Monday plus a class called "Teatro Latinoamericano" ("Latin American Theater"). That should be fun!
Today was my second day of school. My first class is called "Espacio Social y Tiempo: Imaginarios y representacion en la geografia social y historica." (I'm not entirely sure what the English name would be, but I'm assuming something along the lines of " Social Space and Time: Imaginary and Representation in Social and Historical Geography" maybe?) I honestly can say that I don't even know what that means. But, eitherway I figured, eh, why not? So this class is in the same building and same time as my class on Monday's and Wednesday's, so the day started off similar to yesterday.
I arrived at the room early just in case I got lost, and it was strange because I got there, and even 5 minutes before class, no one was there. I was standing outside because I didn't want to look like a weirdo sitting all by myself in the big class room, so when it was 11:55 I began to question if I was at the right room. Finally, a man walks towards the door so I say hi, (I wasn't completely sure he was the professor) and he is the professor for the class. I go into the class and a few minutes later one girl shows up, then a boy shows up, then... no one else! So, here I am being in a class with 2 other people, one of whom is Chilean and the other who is from Barcelona. They of course speak fluent Spanish. Since the professor and I talked for a few minutes prior to "everyone" (I use this term very loosely) coming in, he knew that I was from the U.S. Still, his Spanish was quite quick and I had and still have no idea what the class is about. I suppose that's not such a good sign. I figure however, that within a week or 2, my Spanish will be picking up enough so I will be able to understand. This must happen because it is inevitable I will talk, or will have to talk more than once in each class.
After that nail biting event, I had 3 and a half hours hours to get to a different campus where I have a class called "Discursos Artisticos y Formas Politicas en Latinoamerica" ("Artistic Discourses and Political Forms in Latin America"). I got there quite easily via one bus and had plenty of time to spare. I got a water and sat in park nearby. At 4:00, I went to the building to get to class at 4:15. When I got there I wasn't sure where the class was because the University Catalog didn't say so (yet again, only in South America), so I asked a man at the from desk. A girl also asked him and it turns out she had the same class. Even though I am not a Chilean, I am still capable of telling if someone's Spanish is Chilean or not, and hers was not. I asked her where she is from and sure enough, she's from Austin, Texas. We then walked to class where she knew another Gringa (foreigner) and then that Gringa knew another Gringa, so it was 5 Gringas (including me) in the class, and then 3 Chileans. Apparently this is an attractive course from internationals.
That class was... not bad. I was tired by that point of the day, so I wasn't doing too well at concentrating, but his Spanish was slower so that helped a lot. We already have a homework assignment! We have to go to a museum and find a piece of artwork and write a page about it. Not the end of the world and in fact I would like to go to the museum, but it's the shear fact that we were assigned homework the first class.
After class, I talked to the internationals more, and we all exchanged numbers. So, I now have 4 more friends! I have decided that I will dedicate next week to making Chilean friends because right now, a friend is better than no friend!
After we parted ways, I walked to the Plaza de Armas (a main attraction with beautiful buildings etc, and passed through a street called Nueva York Calle because apparently, the street looks like New York City. Well, it doesn't really, but I won't burst the person's bubble who named it. The Plaza de Armas is beautiful so I sat myself down on a bench, took out my notebook and started writing my "diary entries" that are mandatory for the program. It was a nice evening. I then walked back to the subway drinking a jugo (juice) and returned back to my house.
All in all, a good second day. No horrible issues or urge to cry. The classes were good and I am happy with them thus far. Tomorrow I have the same class I had on Monday plus a class called "Teatro Latinoamericano" ("Latin American Theater"). That should be fun!
Monday, March 11, 2013
My First Vineyard And Day of School
Hola todos,
Today was my first day of school! But, before I get into that, I went to my first viña (vineyard) yesterday, Sunday. I went with two of the girls who are in my program, Arantxa and Laurel, as well as Arantxa's mom who took us and one of Laurel's friends named Ignacio. It was so much fun! The viña is called Viña de Concha y Toro. It is just outside Santiago. When we arrived, we went on a short walk around the vineyard where we saw the grapes that are used in specific wines. So many! I am proud to say that I saw grapes that are used in Merlot and other well known wines. After this walk, we went outside a building and tried a white wine. We then continued on to see where they age and hold the wine. I felt like I was with the Greeks and Romans with the abundance of wine. We then tried a red wine.
Afterwards we walked to the main building and sat at a long table, with 4 glasses of wine, cheese, and bread in front of us. There were 2 white wines and 2 reds, accompanied with 4 types of cheese. What could be better than wine and cheese? We went on to smell, look at and taste each wine with the cheese that complemented it best. It was absolutely wonderful to be able to try all the different types of wine they had, considering Chile produces such an abundance. This was my first viña trip, but will most certainly not be my last; there are lots of viñas outside Santiago. It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.
Today, as I said, was my first day of school! I of course am very lucky, and my first class is 12PM. I walked a short distance and caught a bus that went straight down to the Juan Gomez Faculdad de Filosofia y Historia. There, Arantxa and I met our helper Freddy (also a Universidad de Chile student), who gave us a tour of the campus. This was only one of the main 4 campuses of the university.
I went to my class, Historia de América y de Chile: La Formación de la Sociedad (The History of America and of Chile: The Formation of Society) which, I was comforted to know, I have with Arantxa. The class is about 30 people. When the professor walked in, he asked if there were any internationals in the class. Arantxa, 3 other internationals and I raised our hands. One of them is from Norway, but the rest are from the U.S.
The professor was quite an entertainer. He had a smart sense of humor and is interesting. He didn't just lecture us; it was a more casual class. Thank goodness! Spanish wise, I can say I understood... 50% maybe? Some of the time, I am not going to lie, my mind wandered. But, all in all, I think I will survive in the class. After the class, I talked to an international who was sitting next to me, who is from Brooklyn. We chatted and I met one of her other friends. I have made 2 friends already!! Next step is to make a Chilean friend, hopefully.
One of the girls I met, I went to the Artisan Market with at the edge of the city against the Andes. Lots of beautiful things there. All in all, today has been a successful day. I had my first experience in a class in Spanish with native speakers, and explored a new area in Santiago. We'll see how tomorrow's classes go. Wish me luck!
Today was my first day of school! But, before I get into that, I went to my first viña (vineyard) yesterday, Sunday. I went with two of the girls who are in my program, Arantxa and Laurel, as well as Arantxa's mom who took us and one of Laurel's friends named Ignacio. It was so much fun! The viña is called Viña de Concha y Toro. It is just outside Santiago. When we arrived, we went on a short walk around the vineyard where we saw the grapes that are used in specific wines. So many! I am proud to say that I saw grapes that are used in Merlot and other well known wines. After this walk, we went outside a building and tried a white wine. We then continued on to see where they age and hold the wine. I felt like I was with the Greeks and Romans with the abundance of wine. We then tried a red wine.
Afterwards we walked to the main building and sat at a long table, with 4 glasses of wine, cheese, and bread in front of us. There were 2 white wines and 2 reds, accompanied with 4 types of cheese. What could be better than wine and cheese? We went on to smell, look at and taste each wine with the cheese that complemented it best. It was absolutely wonderful to be able to try all the different types of wine they had, considering Chile produces such an abundance. This was my first viña trip, but will most certainly not be my last; there are lots of viñas outside Santiago. It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.
Today, as I said, was my first day of school! I of course am very lucky, and my first class is 12PM. I walked a short distance and caught a bus that went straight down to the Juan Gomez Faculdad de Filosofia y Historia. There, Arantxa and I met our helper Freddy (also a Universidad de Chile student), who gave us a tour of the campus. This was only one of the main 4 campuses of the university.
I went to my class, Historia de América y de Chile: La Formación de la Sociedad (The History of America and of Chile: The Formation of Society) which, I was comforted to know, I have with Arantxa. The class is about 30 people. When the professor walked in, he asked if there were any internationals in the class. Arantxa, 3 other internationals and I raised our hands. One of them is from Norway, but the rest are from the U.S.
The professor was quite an entertainer. He had a smart sense of humor and is interesting. He didn't just lecture us; it was a more casual class. Thank goodness! Spanish wise, I can say I understood... 50% maybe? Some of the time, I am not going to lie, my mind wandered. But, all in all, I think I will survive in the class. After the class, I talked to an international who was sitting next to me, who is from Brooklyn. We chatted and I met one of her other friends. I have made 2 friends already!! Next step is to make a Chilean friend, hopefully.
One of the girls I met, I went to the Artisan Market with at the edge of the city against the Andes. Lots of beautiful things there. All in all, today has been a successful day. I had my first experience in a class in Spanish with native speakers, and explored a new area in Santiago. We'll see how tomorrow's classes go. Wish me luck!
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| The vineyard |
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| Wine and cheese tasting |
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
My Second Week in Chile
Hola todos (Hello everyone)
After my trip back to Santiago from San Pedro de Atacama, I was greeted at the airport by a women named Tanya, who set me up with a phone etc., and then, I was off to meet my host mother! I arrived on a street called Luis Thayer Ojeda, and it is quite a beautiful neighborhood. It is in an area called Providencia. The streets are lined with trees, and nice apartments. I arrived at night, and people were out walking their dogs and jogging. A great place, I couldn't have asked for a better place to live. My host mother's name is Iracy, and she works in the Kuwait Embassy here (cool right?). She is Brazilian, but has lived here for a few years. It is great because, I am solely speaking Spanish here, but in case I am dying for my native tongue, she speaks English, and she also speaks Portuguese, which is great because I took a class last semester at Albany, and want to keep working on it!
The next day, March 1st, 7 people and I met one of the Middlebury coordinators, Pamela, at a Metro station, where we traveled down to Valparaiso (Valpo) which is on the coast. I met the 3 girls that will also be in Santiago with me. Their names are Laurel, Micaela and Arantxa. Laurel and Micaela are both going to Pontifica Universidad de Catolica, so it's only Arantxa and me attending Universidad de Chile!
In Valpo, we met the rest of the people in the program. Middlebury is a part of universities in Valdivia (south), Valpo, Viña del Mar (next to Valpo), and Santiago. Most of the students are located in Valpo so that is why we all went down there. I met all the other students studying in Chile. In total there are 17/18 of us.
When we arrived at 11AM, (yes, I had to wake up at 7AM that morning) we took a quick tour of Valpo and saw the common attractions and things that they are known for. Afterwards, we went out for lunch which was great, and the view was spectacular. The back wall was one big window overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We then went to a lounge on the bottom floor of a building and started going over orientation.At around 8PM we traveled to a restaurant to eat dinner, and I am lucky enough to say I was able to see the sun set on the Pacific Ocean. Absolutely breath-taking.
That evening, we had a nice dinner with another beautiful view overlooking the city this time. The students who were living in Valpo were with their host families so it was quite a festivity. That night we stayed at a B&B, and sleep was wonderful. Sadly, it wasn't as much as needed, because we had to wake up at 7AM the next morning as well.
The next day, we went back to the bottom floor of the building and finished orientation and learned about a Middlebury hosted volunteer program called, "Manos Verdes" (Green Hands). This is a program that allows Chilean children to go outside and explore nature. Middlebury students, or people participating in the program, can be a part of it. After we learned about this, we had a "Manos Verde" experience of our own. We went to Viña del Mar and took a kayaking trip and learned about nature. We kayaked down a river called the Concon. We got to admire birds through binoculars and learn about the landscape. We then took a little trip around the nature, and did some group exercises and learned more about the environment on the area. It was nice to feel like a kid when we colored our booklets with crayon, and taped flowers to our sheets of paper. It was also nice to do something outside considering we had spent a lot of time inside while doing the orientation. After this, the three other girls and I who are living in Santiago, returned back to Santiago. Orientation was fun and I am happy I met the other people. We also spoke Spanish the entire time we were there, and I think my Spanish is improving already!
The next few days since my mom was still with me, we explored and admired Santiago. Yesterday, (Tuesday) we went up to an area called Bella Vista which is quite a happening place. It is a very youthful place with lots of bars and restaurants. It seems like a great place to visit during the weekends. That evening, my mom left back to a cold, snowy New York that I am thankfully not in right now.
During this week I also organized some international and school related things. Tomorrow, I will be organizing even more.
I will be beginning school on Monday! I am still organizing the classes I will be taking, and hopefully will get an internship here. An internship here is ideal because it will fulfill a need for my major back home, and there aren't many internships back in Albany that could fulfill my major.
I got to have a nice long walk today in the beautiful weather and explored more of the city. A nice second week so far.
After my trip back to Santiago from San Pedro de Atacama, I was greeted at the airport by a women named Tanya, who set me up with a phone etc., and then, I was off to meet my host mother! I arrived on a street called Luis Thayer Ojeda, and it is quite a beautiful neighborhood. It is in an area called Providencia. The streets are lined with trees, and nice apartments. I arrived at night, and people were out walking their dogs and jogging. A great place, I couldn't have asked for a better place to live. My host mother's name is Iracy, and she works in the Kuwait Embassy here (cool right?). She is Brazilian, but has lived here for a few years. It is great because, I am solely speaking Spanish here, but in case I am dying for my native tongue, she speaks English, and she also speaks Portuguese, which is great because I took a class last semester at Albany, and want to keep working on it!
The next day, March 1st, 7 people and I met one of the Middlebury coordinators, Pamela, at a Metro station, where we traveled down to Valparaiso (Valpo) which is on the coast. I met the 3 girls that will also be in Santiago with me. Their names are Laurel, Micaela and Arantxa. Laurel and Micaela are both going to Pontifica Universidad de Catolica, so it's only Arantxa and me attending Universidad de Chile!
In Valpo, we met the rest of the people in the program. Middlebury is a part of universities in Valdivia (south), Valpo, Viña del Mar (next to Valpo), and Santiago. Most of the students are located in Valpo so that is why we all went down there. I met all the other students studying in Chile. In total there are 17/18 of us.
When we arrived at 11AM, (yes, I had to wake up at 7AM that morning) we took a quick tour of Valpo and saw the common attractions and things that they are known for. Afterwards, we went out for lunch which was great, and the view was spectacular. The back wall was one big window overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We then went to a lounge on the bottom floor of a building and started going over orientation.At around 8PM we traveled to a restaurant to eat dinner, and I am lucky enough to say I was able to see the sun set on the Pacific Ocean. Absolutely breath-taking.
That evening, we had a nice dinner with another beautiful view overlooking the city this time. The students who were living in Valpo were with their host families so it was quite a festivity. That night we stayed at a B&B, and sleep was wonderful. Sadly, it wasn't as much as needed, because we had to wake up at 7AM the next morning as well.
The next day, we went back to the bottom floor of the building and finished orientation and learned about a Middlebury hosted volunteer program called, "Manos Verdes" (Green Hands). This is a program that allows Chilean children to go outside and explore nature. Middlebury students, or people participating in the program, can be a part of it. After we learned about this, we had a "Manos Verde" experience of our own. We went to Viña del Mar and took a kayaking trip and learned about nature. We kayaked down a river called the Concon. We got to admire birds through binoculars and learn about the landscape. We then took a little trip around the nature, and did some group exercises and learned more about the environment on the area. It was nice to feel like a kid when we colored our booklets with crayon, and taped flowers to our sheets of paper. It was also nice to do something outside considering we had spent a lot of time inside while doing the orientation. After this, the three other girls and I who are living in Santiago, returned back to Santiago. Orientation was fun and I am happy I met the other people. We also spoke Spanish the entire time we were there, and I think my Spanish is improving already!
The next few days since my mom was still with me, we explored and admired Santiago. Yesterday, (Tuesday) we went up to an area called Bella Vista which is quite a happening place. It is a very youthful place with lots of bars and restaurants. It seems like a great place to visit during the weekends. That evening, my mom left back to a cold, snowy New York that I am thankfully not in right now.
During this week I also organized some international and school related things. Tomorrow, I will be organizing even more.
I will be beginning school on Monday! I am still organizing the classes I will be taking, and hopefully will get an internship here. An internship here is ideal because it will fulfill a need for my major back home, and there aren't many internships back in Albany that could fulfill my major.
I got to have a nice long walk today in the beautiful weather and explored more of the city. A nice second week so far.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
My First Week in Chile (San Pedro de Atacama)
Hola todos (Hello Everyone)
Before I dive into the beginning on my trip to Chile, I want to give everyone some information about myself. I am a student at University at Albany, SUNY and am double majoring in Globalization and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. I am currently a first semester senior. I have been studying Spanish for almost 11 years now, and spent nine months in Ecuador in 2010. I am studying in Chile at the Universidad De Chile which is in Santiago, the capital.
On February 21st at 8:00PM (East Coast Time) I arrived at the airport for a long, long plane ride (10 hours!) to Santiago with my mom, who accompanied me for almost two weeks. The plane ride wasn't awful considering they had an abundance of movies and the food could've been worse. We arrived in Santiago on February 22nd at 7AM (Chilean Time which is 2 hours ahead of New York).
Since my mom was only going to be here for two weeks, I left the travel destinations up to her. (Whatever I didn't see with her, I hope to see during my next six months in South America). She decided that instead of going to Patagonia which is way far south and freezing, we'd go to the highest and driest desert in the world, The Atacama Desert. A few hours after we arrived in Santiago, we got back on a plane to the Atacama Desert for another two hour flight, which was the most incredibly beautiful flight I have ever been on. We traveled up the coast and could see the Pacific Ocean from afar on the west coast and the gigantic ice-capped Andes mountains to the east. Below us, were hundreds of large hills of clay that were reddish-brown colored, but with shades of blue, green, purple, and black. The contrast of landscape and colors was breath-taking.
Once we arrived at the airport in a town called Calama (nothing special), we went straight to our destination called, San Pedro de Atacama. We stayed there for a week. The first day we got there, we did absolutely nothing. Considering we had just traveled for more or less 24 hours, we slept and laid in the 90 degree weather by the pool at our hotel, Solcor B&B. The next day, we did the exact same thing. Most importantly, I was getting a tan!
On our third day there (the 24th) we decided to get bikes, and bike to two of their main attractions: Valle de La Luna (Moon Valley) and Valle del Muerte (Death Valley). Well, that was quite the adventure. Firstly, our hotel told us it was about 3 km there and back. Trust me, it did not feel like it (we later found out we basically biked 15 km). We were told that it was an easy bike ride, and much to our surprise, it of course was not. It was more up hill that flat, and we spent half of the ride walking up the hill (mind you we are at 2,500 meters above sea level). Around half way, we made it to Moon Valley, which is gorgeous. It is protected so cannot be walked in, but a view from above is maybe even better. It was a valley of very sharp looking rocks that were coated with salt, making the rocks look as if there were a light brush of snow on them. We then continued on to find Death Valley, which was much farther than we thought. We got to what we thought was Death Valley, and were disappointed. It was a boring seemingly inverted plateau. We then left, and thankfully, the way back was all down hill.
We had intentions of after the "short" trip to the valleys, that we would go to La Laguna Cejar (Eyebrow Lagoon, apparently in the shape of an eyebrow). We went back to the B&B to refresh our water and take a short break after our 3 hour bike trip. This bike ride, we were told was about a 20 minute ride, and we thought, perfect, we can now go to the lagoon and cool off. Well, yet again, our sources were wrong, and it took us an hour and 45 minutes to get there. I wanted to give up and turn around after about an hour. But, we continued and made it there at around 6PM. It was beautiful, of course, and the water was so thick and filled with salt that you literally couldn't put your head under! You just bounced on the surface like a buoy. It was cold, but felt nice, and quite an experience. We then decided to leave at around 7:30PM (the sun sets at about 8:15PM, but it doesn't get dark until about 8:45/9PM. The trip back, was even worse than going there, or at least I thought so. We figured it would be shorter on the way back, but no. We were both sore from our basically 5 hours of biking, and it got dark half way, so we had to bike with a flash lights, which we luckily had, on a rough rocky dirt road with lots of little ditches. We finally made it back, and I promised myself I would never touch a bike again for the next two weeks. We learned that day, to not trust these so called "reliable" sources.
The next day, Monday, we went to the Puritama Thermal Pools. This was maybe the best part of the week. The warm water felt so nice, and it was incredibly beautiful. We took a taxi there, so no strenuous exercise that day thankfully.
On Tuesday, we took a organized tour to the Tatio Geysers. These are one of the biggest attractions of the desert. We awoke at 3:45AM to catch the bus at 4:00AM. It was an hour and a half ride going up higher into the mountains. They say that the Geysers are the best in the morning so that is why we left so early. However, honestly, they are still equally beautiful once the sun has risen. There, we admired many many geysers all around. Some only steamed, but others shot 150 degree water out of their spouts. I was cold at 6AM, so I wouldn't have minded burning myself a little bit, but I figured it wasn't the best idea. The best and funniest part of this trip was that, very very very unlike the U.S., some of the geysers had rocks around them as to not go any further, but the majority were just there with no warning. You could literally just walk into the geyser if you wanted. Only in South America.
After some time there, we went to a bath with cooled water from the geysers. That was wonderful. There was even a section of the pool that shot out the 150 degree water, which you could lean on, but, you had to time it correctly so that you wouldn't be too close when it shot out the water. We weren't so lucky to avoid it every time and experienced some very hot water on our bodies. But it felt nice. We then returned back to San Pedro.
We returned and took a nap because later that night, at 7:30PM we had a moonlit walk tour through Death Valley. We arrived at Moon valley with 2 tour guides to see the sun set because apparently at sunset, the rocks light up and turn colors. But, we may have arrived a few minutes late because the valley did not change colors. We then went on a walk to Death Valley, which we discovered was the actual Death Valley, not the one we were misinformed to bike to. It was dark, but the land and sky were lit due to the brilliant full moon. We trekked all the way down the valley, and I mean all the way. We made it to the bottom and walked through the valley. Apparently it was originally called Mars Valley because the rocks resemble what Mars (probably) looks like. But for tourist and profit reasons, they changed the name to Death Valley. According to one of the tour guides, nothing lives in the valley. And I mean nothing, so the name is quite suiting. We luckily walked to the end of the valley, which leveled out with the land so we didn't have to climb back up.
The driver met us there, and we then drove to where our night started, overlooking Moon Valley, while our tour guides took us our midnight snack consisting of cheese and bread and Pisco Sours. These Pisco Sours are the alcoholic drink. Pisco, which is fermented grapes, is combined with a sugary sour lemon mixture and served chilled. They taste very good so you need to remember that they go to your head very fast. While drinking Pisco Sours and eating cheese, they brought a telescope, and showed us constellations in the Southern Hemisphere. (My mom was very excited to see the Southern Cross). After some time, we returned back to the B&B and had a very good night sleep.
The next day, Wednesday, we woke up early yet again at 6AM and took a tour called "Las Lagunas Altiplanicas." This tour was beautiful as well. We went very high up into the mountains and saw two lakes that were incredible shades of blue. They are protected so we could only walk so close. They were absolutely stunning. On the way back to town, we were lucky enough to see a rare, endangered animal: a vicuña, which is a mix of a llama and dear. Very interesting animal. Apparently their fur is very expensive and great quality, (that's why they're now endangered.)
The next day, we took a shuttle back to Calama and took the plane to Santiago, again seeing the wonderful view of the terrain.
This week we spent there was indescribable. So many wonderful things, the people were so nice, everything was so beautiful the weather was great the entire time. Besides the bike ride gone wrong, (now I can laugh at it) everything worked out very well. We were very lucky to have experienced this one-of-a-kind place. And to think my adventures are just beginning!!
Before I dive into the beginning on my trip to Chile, I want to give everyone some information about myself. I am a student at University at Albany, SUNY and am double majoring in Globalization and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. I am currently a first semester senior. I have been studying Spanish for almost 11 years now, and spent nine months in Ecuador in 2010. I am studying in Chile at the Universidad De Chile which is in Santiago, the capital.
On February 21st at 8:00PM (East Coast Time) I arrived at the airport for a long, long plane ride (10 hours!) to Santiago with my mom, who accompanied me for almost two weeks. The plane ride wasn't awful considering they had an abundance of movies and the food could've been worse. We arrived in Santiago on February 22nd at 7AM (Chilean Time which is 2 hours ahead of New York).
Since my mom was only going to be here for two weeks, I left the travel destinations up to her. (Whatever I didn't see with her, I hope to see during my next six months in South America). She decided that instead of going to Patagonia which is way far south and freezing, we'd go to the highest and driest desert in the world, The Atacama Desert. A few hours after we arrived in Santiago, we got back on a plane to the Atacama Desert for another two hour flight, which was the most incredibly beautiful flight I have ever been on. We traveled up the coast and could see the Pacific Ocean from afar on the west coast and the gigantic ice-capped Andes mountains to the east. Below us, were hundreds of large hills of clay that were reddish-brown colored, but with shades of blue, green, purple, and black. The contrast of landscape and colors was breath-taking.
Once we arrived at the airport in a town called Calama (nothing special), we went straight to our destination called, San Pedro de Atacama. We stayed there for a week. The first day we got there, we did absolutely nothing. Considering we had just traveled for more or less 24 hours, we slept and laid in the 90 degree weather by the pool at our hotel, Solcor B&B. The next day, we did the exact same thing. Most importantly, I was getting a tan!
On our third day there (the 24th) we decided to get bikes, and bike to two of their main attractions: Valle de La Luna (Moon Valley) and Valle del Muerte (Death Valley). Well, that was quite the adventure. Firstly, our hotel told us it was about 3 km there and back. Trust me, it did not feel like it (we later found out we basically biked 15 km). We were told that it was an easy bike ride, and much to our surprise, it of course was not. It was more up hill that flat, and we spent half of the ride walking up the hill (mind you we are at 2,500 meters above sea level). Around half way, we made it to Moon Valley, which is gorgeous. It is protected so cannot be walked in, but a view from above is maybe even better. It was a valley of very sharp looking rocks that were coated with salt, making the rocks look as if there were a light brush of snow on them. We then continued on to find Death Valley, which was much farther than we thought. We got to what we thought was Death Valley, and were disappointed. It was a boring seemingly inverted plateau. We then left, and thankfully, the way back was all down hill.
We had intentions of after the "short" trip to the valleys, that we would go to La Laguna Cejar (Eyebrow Lagoon, apparently in the shape of an eyebrow). We went back to the B&B to refresh our water and take a short break after our 3 hour bike trip. This bike ride, we were told was about a 20 minute ride, and we thought, perfect, we can now go to the lagoon and cool off. Well, yet again, our sources were wrong, and it took us an hour and 45 minutes to get there. I wanted to give up and turn around after about an hour. But, we continued and made it there at around 6PM. It was beautiful, of course, and the water was so thick and filled with salt that you literally couldn't put your head under! You just bounced on the surface like a buoy. It was cold, but felt nice, and quite an experience. We then decided to leave at around 7:30PM (the sun sets at about 8:15PM, but it doesn't get dark until about 8:45/9PM. The trip back, was even worse than going there, or at least I thought so. We figured it would be shorter on the way back, but no. We were both sore from our basically 5 hours of biking, and it got dark half way, so we had to bike with a flash lights, which we luckily had, on a rough rocky dirt road with lots of little ditches. We finally made it back, and I promised myself I would never touch a bike again for the next two weeks. We learned that day, to not trust these so called "reliable" sources.
The next day, Monday, we went to the Puritama Thermal Pools. This was maybe the best part of the week. The warm water felt so nice, and it was incredibly beautiful. We took a taxi there, so no strenuous exercise that day thankfully.
On Tuesday, we took a organized tour to the Tatio Geysers. These are one of the biggest attractions of the desert. We awoke at 3:45AM to catch the bus at 4:00AM. It was an hour and a half ride going up higher into the mountains. They say that the Geysers are the best in the morning so that is why we left so early. However, honestly, they are still equally beautiful once the sun has risen. There, we admired many many geysers all around. Some only steamed, but others shot 150 degree water out of their spouts. I was cold at 6AM, so I wouldn't have minded burning myself a little bit, but I figured it wasn't the best idea. The best and funniest part of this trip was that, very very very unlike the U.S., some of the geysers had rocks around them as to not go any further, but the majority were just there with no warning. You could literally just walk into the geyser if you wanted. Only in South America.
After some time there, we went to a bath with cooled water from the geysers. That was wonderful. There was even a section of the pool that shot out the 150 degree water, which you could lean on, but, you had to time it correctly so that you wouldn't be too close when it shot out the water. We weren't so lucky to avoid it every time and experienced some very hot water on our bodies. But it felt nice. We then returned back to San Pedro.
We returned and took a nap because later that night, at 7:30PM we had a moonlit walk tour through Death Valley. We arrived at Moon valley with 2 tour guides to see the sun set because apparently at sunset, the rocks light up and turn colors. But, we may have arrived a few minutes late because the valley did not change colors. We then went on a walk to Death Valley, which we discovered was the actual Death Valley, not the one we were misinformed to bike to. It was dark, but the land and sky were lit due to the brilliant full moon. We trekked all the way down the valley, and I mean all the way. We made it to the bottom and walked through the valley. Apparently it was originally called Mars Valley because the rocks resemble what Mars (probably) looks like. But for tourist and profit reasons, they changed the name to Death Valley. According to one of the tour guides, nothing lives in the valley. And I mean nothing, so the name is quite suiting. We luckily walked to the end of the valley, which leveled out with the land so we didn't have to climb back up.
The driver met us there, and we then drove to where our night started, overlooking Moon Valley, while our tour guides took us our midnight snack consisting of cheese and bread and Pisco Sours. These Pisco Sours are the alcoholic drink. Pisco, which is fermented grapes, is combined with a sugary sour lemon mixture and served chilled. They taste very good so you need to remember that they go to your head very fast. While drinking Pisco Sours and eating cheese, they brought a telescope, and showed us constellations in the Southern Hemisphere. (My mom was very excited to see the Southern Cross). After some time, we returned back to the B&B and had a very good night sleep.
The next day, Wednesday, we woke up early yet again at 6AM and took a tour called "Las Lagunas Altiplanicas." This tour was beautiful as well. We went very high up into the mountains and saw two lakes that were incredible shades of blue. They are protected so we could only walk so close. They were absolutely stunning. On the way back to town, we were lucky enough to see a rare, endangered animal: a vicuña, which is a mix of a llama and dear. Very interesting animal. Apparently their fur is very expensive and great quality, (that's why they're now endangered.)
The next day, we took a shuttle back to Calama and took the plane to Santiago, again seeing the wonderful view of the terrain.
This week we spent there was indescribable. So many wonderful things, the people were so nice, everything was so beautiful the weather was great the entire time. Besides the bike ride gone wrong, (now I can laugh at it) everything worked out very well. We were very lucky to have experienced this one-of-a-kind place. And to think my adventures are just beginning!!
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