What is the most important thing you have learned studying abroad?
1) When life goes nuts!, go nuts 7 nuts! or splurge on peanut butter.
a. With the advent of TranSantiago, a plethora of nut stands have sprung up around metro stops, encouraging you to take it one step further than Nuts4Nuts! Nuts5Nuts! And Nuts7Nuts! have also been discovered. There have also been rumors of a Nuts11Nuts! sighting.
b. There is peanut butter in Santiago!!! It’s just really exspensive and they hate it. They think it makes them fat, but with the abundance of helado in this place and the amount of sugar they pour in their coffee, it’s amazing they don’t also dive right in to the mani mantequilla. Somethings I will never understand.
2) Almuerzo is not just a meal.
a. Almuerzo is a lifestyle. It’s an all day affair, it’s a whole family event, with your host mom dreaming about Pisco Sours and your host sisters returning after advertising a car dealership, spicy salsa, more meat than you dreamed of along with some of the freshest veggies ever, right in the middle of the hottest part of the day, and you’re inside with air conditioning and Metallica playing in the background and Chileans inviting you on weekend trips with them left and right (¡que rico!). And after you actually eat almuerzo your expected to lie around on the couch and do absolutely nothing, for at least a half-an-hour.
3) Saint Patrick is not important in Chile.
a. And I thought they were a Catholic country. In any case, we ended up celebrating Saint Patrick’s day in a German restaurant drinking Chilean beer (mmm Kunstmann), because the only Irish pub in Santaigo had a line. This was after we spent the entire afternoon in Ameri-land designing the most amazing coat of arms ever! rather than studying for our poli sci final, the night after dancing like crazy people on the edge of Santiago and eating in a rotating restaurant.
4) If you are blond, you are not from Santiago and you probably speak English.
a. This is common knowledge. Sadly, if you are blond and trying to blend in, you are a lost cause. This is also true of most Asian people (except for the speaking English part). This is actually true of anyone who does not look Chilean, but then again, that’s pretty self-explanatory.
OMG!!! So pumped for Torres and life right now! That is all. And off I go!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Plantastic!
Phrase of the week: festivally plump
This week was a week spent planning.
Chilean Universities: Monday, Fabia sent the five of us who are staying an email saying that she had gone to pick up our orientation packets from U de Chile, which consisted of a messenger bag and a book full of classes like “Social Memory, Official History: Conflicts in Chile.” Aubrey and I went to talk to the lady in charge of the U de Chile branch of foreign students, and all she basically said was go ask the prof if we could sit in on classes. So on Thursday, we went to classes, both of which were filled with gringos. Because we were slightly disappointed, we both decided to go to a class next Tuesday together, and I think I’m going to stop in at a couple others. I intended to go to one on Friday (only for this Friday) but was scared off by all the Chileans there. There are also some classes at the U Catolica that sound interesting, so I have to go talk to those folk as well.
Community Service: Tuesday, I tried to find my community service interview. So I took the metro out to where they told me to take a collectivo (a cheaper form of taxi) to where I needed to go. Since I couldn’t find the collectivo, I took a taxi. The taxi driver thought that I was lost so took me to a street and a hostel in Barrio Brasil that I did not tell him to take me to. I went back to Fabia, tired of trying to make this stupid community service thing work. But then I talked to Kara and her community service boss and now will be talking to women at an old folks home close to Palacio Cousiño, if you wanted to orient yourself.
Host Family: rocks. They are really, really great and very different than the host family I am living with now. There are two little boys who are absolutely adorable. The mom is really sweet and knows all the right questions to ask and the dad (who wasn’t there for most of the time that I was) is also really sweet and they are going to make life very easy and family oriented for me next quarter. Which at this point is kind of what I need. I miss home and Wednesday morning coffee.
Bing dinner: Was a preparation for saying goodbye and looking forward to new people coming in some ways. There were also strip dancers and professors. To say the least, it was a little awkward. Fabia found this Cuban dance place for Susie Cashion, the visiting prof. The show include with dinner had girls in thongs and men in sparkly athletic wear. Sad panda. We all embraced the awkward together, clothed.
This weekend was not planning but generally awesome with jazz, wine and cheese, a visit to Villa Gremaldi and climbing a cerro with Kara and her host dad (whose like a mountain goat! and generally awesome), a failed flourless chocolate cake, violence in the Spanish civil war (go rebels and good computer graphics!) lots of food and very little work. So now I will go back to writing my essay. Oh, and I got my grant and can look forward to living in SF for sure this summer. Yay me!
This week was a week spent planning.
Chilean Universities: Monday, Fabia sent the five of us who are staying an email saying that she had gone to pick up our orientation packets from U de Chile, which consisted of a messenger bag and a book full of classes like “Social Memory, Official History: Conflicts in Chile.” Aubrey and I went to talk to the lady in charge of the U de Chile branch of foreign students, and all she basically said was go ask the prof if we could sit in on classes. So on Thursday, we went to classes, both of which were filled with gringos. Because we were slightly disappointed, we both decided to go to a class next Tuesday together, and I think I’m going to stop in at a couple others. I intended to go to one on Friday (only for this Friday) but was scared off by all the Chileans there. There are also some classes at the U Catolica that sound interesting, so I have to go talk to those folk as well.
Community Service: Tuesday, I tried to find my community service interview. So I took the metro out to where they told me to take a collectivo (a cheaper form of taxi) to where I needed to go. Since I couldn’t find the collectivo, I took a taxi. The taxi driver thought that I was lost so took me to a street and a hostel in Barrio Brasil that I did not tell him to take me to. I went back to Fabia, tired of trying to make this stupid community service thing work. But then I talked to Kara and her community service boss and now will be talking to women at an old folks home close to Palacio Cousiño, if you wanted to orient yourself.
Host Family: rocks. They are really, really great and very different than the host family I am living with now. There are two little boys who are absolutely adorable. The mom is really sweet and knows all the right questions to ask and the dad (who wasn’t there for most of the time that I was) is also really sweet and they are going to make life very easy and family oriented for me next quarter. Which at this point is kind of what I need. I miss home and Wednesday morning coffee.
Bing dinner: Was a preparation for saying goodbye and looking forward to new people coming in some ways. There were also strip dancers and professors. To say the least, it was a little awkward. Fabia found this Cuban dance place for Susie Cashion, the visiting prof. The show include with dinner had girls in thongs and men in sparkly athletic wear. Sad panda. We all embraced the awkward together, clothed.
This weekend was not planning but generally awesome with jazz, wine and cheese, a visit to Villa Gremaldi and climbing a cerro with Kara and her host dad (whose like a mountain goat! and generally awesome), a failed flourless chocolate cake, violence in the Spanish civil war (go rebels and good computer graphics!) lots of food and very little work. So now I will go back to writing my essay. Oh, and I got my grant and can look forward to living in SF for sure this summer. Yay me!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
CHILOE!!!
Castro is not just a district in San Francisco covered with rainbow colored flags. Castro is also a town on the island of Chiloe covered in houses on stilts. Chiloe is an island in Chile that originally was a stronghold of the Mapuches, but I think that the Spaniards and Germans eventually made sure that the Mapuches didn’t have a stronghold anywhere and then I think racism took care of the Mapuches. Chiloe has lots of weird stories surrounding it. For example, there is a one-legged gnome/troll who lives on Chiloe and will get young unwed girls pregnant. There are also brujas, who were jackets that are made from the skin of virgins turned inside out. To become a bruja, you have to kill a close relative and do other evil things. But killing the close relative is key.
Sadly, we did not see any brujas or one-legged gnomes while on Chiloe. Nor did we see penguins. We did see sea lions and some birds and lots of fish and alpaca wool. And cows. And the eclipse!
Okay, rewind.
We managed to survive the two hour plane flight down to Puerto Montt, where we got on a bus to the bus station, where we got on a bus that got on a ferry that took us to Ancud and then the bus that was on the ferry took us from Ancud to Castro. In other words, we traveled from 9 to 5, which we were not expecting. After we finished traveling and had arrived, we set off without map or guidebook to find our hostel, which was a place called Hospedaje El Molo that looked out across the bay of Chiloe and was located down some very steep stairs. After examining the room, which had three beds slightly larger than twin, but not quite queen, we went to go find sea kayaking. Which we found and reserved for the next day, then we went out to dinner had some very cheap, very good fish and marveled over how big the almost full moon was. Then we went to go make hot chocolate. But the lady at the Mini-Market misled us and sold us chocolate filled with nasty stuff that was supposed to taste like liquer but just tasted nasty. So we made hot milk and tried to deal with the chocolate as we pleased and then we slept.
The next morning, I wandered around Chiloe for a half hour and decided that it looked exactly like Fort Bragg. And that the people were like Fort Bragg people. It made me happy and at home. I met up with Kara and Araceli back at the hostel and we headed down to the water to find the kayaks. We managed to find the kayaks but the guide was missing, so the man who ran the kayak place let us go out exploring on our own, which was wonderful. We spent four hours paddling down the bay and back and now my back and arms are very sore and my legs are red to the point of becoming purple. But we arrived back alive and managed to explore some of the coastline of this gorgeous island. Upon our return, we grabbed some food and then showered and then shopped. And I managed to buy all my family presents! Yay! On a scale of 1 to 10, that day rates a pretty awesome. Only to be supplemented by a fairly good dinner (more fish), during which we realized there was no moon. And as Kara and I were debating the logistics of waxing and waning, we realized that it was the middle of the eclipse! It was awesome. So we all frantically pulled out our camaras and tried to take pictures and all failed. But it was pretty to watch. Then, we sat down, I gave Kara and Araceli a massage and we went to bed early again.
In the morning, we checked out and went to catch our bus. Spent some time wandering around Puerto Montt and sitting the airport, but got back on the plane safely and happily, despite the really annoying couple sitting next to me. And returned home. So I would say, that was a pretty stellar weekend. In fact, I think that was the best trip I’ve taken. I’m glad the next trip is to Torres del Paine, which is going to be crazy intense. Kara and I have been kind of planning which is fun to think about in any case. In further news, my host family for next quarter sounds awesome! I mean, my future host dad likes “The Electric Koolaid Acid Test.” I don’t think that many Chileans can say that.
Sadly, we did not see any brujas or one-legged gnomes while on Chiloe. Nor did we see penguins. We did see sea lions and some birds and lots of fish and alpaca wool. And cows. And the eclipse!
Okay, rewind.
We managed to survive the two hour plane flight down to Puerto Montt, where we got on a bus to the bus station, where we got on a bus that got on a ferry that took us to Ancud and then the bus that was on the ferry took us from Ancud to Castro. In other words, we traveled from 9 to 5, which we were not expecting. After we finished traveling and had arrived, we set off without map or guidebook to find our hostel, which was a place called Hospedaje El Molo that looked out across the bay of Chiloe and was located down some very steep stairs. After examining the room, which had three beds slightly larger than twin, but not quite queen, we went to go find sea kayaking. Which we found and reserved for the next day, then we went out to dinner had some very cheap, very good fish and marveled over how big the almost full moon was. Then we went to go make hot chocolate. But the lady at the Mini-Market misled us and sold us chocolate filled with nasty stuff that was supposed to taste like liquer but just tasted nasty. So we made hot milk and tried to deal with the chocolate as we pleased and then we slept.
The next morning, I wandered around Chiloe for a half hour and decided that it looked exactly like Fort Bragg. And that the people were like Fort Bragg people. It made me happy and at home. I met up with Kara and Araceli back at the hostel and we headed down to the water to find the kayaks. We managed to find the kayaks but the guide was missing, so the man who ran the kayak place let us go out exploring on our own, which was wonderful. We spent four hours paddling down the bay and back and now my back and arms are very sore and my legs are red to the point of becoming purple. But we arrived back alive and managed to explore some of the coastline of this gorgeous island. Upon our return, we grabbed some food and then showered and then shopped. And I managed to buy all my family presents! Yay! On a scale of 1 to 10, that day rates a pretty awesome. Only to be supplemented by a fairly good dinner (more fish), during which we realized there was no moon. And as Kara and I were debating the logistics of waxing and waning, we realized that it was the middle of the eclipse! It was awesome. So we all frantically pulled out our camaras and tried to take pictures and all failed. But it was pretty to watch. Then, we sat down, I gave Kara and Araceli a massage and we went to bed early again.
In the morning, we checked out and went to catch our bus. Spent some time wandering around Puerto Montt and sitting the airport, but got back on the plane safely and happily, despite the really annoying couple sitting next to me. And returned home. So I would say, that was a pretty stellar weekend. In fact, I think that was the best trip I’ve taken. I’m glad the next trip is to Torres del Paine, which is going to be crazy intense. Kara and I have been kind of planning which is fun to think about in any case. In further news, my host family for next quarter sounds awesome! I mean, my future host dad likes “The Electric Koolaid Acid Test.” I don’t think that many Chileans can say that.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
I forgot to post this one, yep...
Once upon a time, there was a place called Valdivia. It was very picturesque and fairly close to the ocean. If you’ve ever been up the Columbia River Gorge, it looks like that. But not like Portland, it’s very scenic and on a very large river. In fact, the river is so large that boats and sea lions swim from the coast to Valdivia and back again. Then, the Germans immigrated, during World War II, bring with them chocolate and Chilean prejudices that everyone in the region is blond and blue-eyed and speaks slowly. Neither of these beliefs are true, but they do make some good chocolate. Then, the Bings decided to sponsor the Stanford group to go to Valdivia and see the parade they have in honor of “La Semana de Valdiviana.” So that was where we went this weekend. Sadly on the plane flight over, I lost my aisle seat to Noah, because he has long legs. But we arrived in Valdivia and had a very cheese-y dinner at the hotel, which Fabia said was the second nicest (they gave us free soap!). Seriously, everything at that meal was smothered in cheese. Which is too bad for Ilana because she doesn’t eat cheese and too bad for the rest of us because it wasn’t that good. Then, we wandered down to an Artisans fair and I found the only braided leather belt in all of South America, only it was too red and I knew Paul wouldn’t wear it, ever. But otherwise, it was a pretty awesome artisans fair and someone asked me if I was German rather than speaking to me in English right away, which was pleasant. Then, we headed home and dreamt, which is when I decided to tell Ilana that Honda civic hybrids are the best cars ever and she laughed at me in the morning.
We also got to see the fish/fruit market, where they were selling lots of fish and fruit. Large boats drove down the river towing smaller boats, filled with fruits, veggies and fish. The sea lions also came up the river to have some fish. Then, we wandered to the chocolate factory to see what was happening. Then the Bings decided that we should drink, so we went off to a beer brewery to go “beer tasting,” in which they gave us a five minute tour of the brewery and then brought out beer in three giant glass columns and gave us shot glasses, which made it a free-for-all. Then the Bings took us to lunch. They like to make sure that we eat and drink well. Lunch was right on the mouth of the river and the ocean. It was gorgeous, there was folk music playing, it was sunny and flowers were everywhere. It felt like a commune or a home for disabled people, we were all very content. We also explored a fort, or took a tour of it. But the most amazing thing about this fort was that it overlooked the ocean and that the ocean spread out forever. So Rita, Wendi, Dylan and I climbed down one of the cliffs that the fort was on so that we looked directly into the waves crashing below us. And then walked back down to the bus all in blissful happiness. Then, we walked around an museum of German Valdivia and then around the town some more. Then, we ate (what else) and headed off to the festival, which was a bunch of people watching boat floats on the river (La Mueñeca made an appearance! Okay, not the real mueñeca, but still…) and a bunch of people throwing confetti. Not in celebration, but into your eyes and mouth. So we eventually decided that we had had enough of that party and went to the hotel and watched Harry Potter and deconfettied ourselves. Only to arise the next morning to hop on the plane and return to Santiago.
Then, I turned out to be bed-ridden for the next couple of days and in my few waking moments reflected on existence or groped for water. But then I got drugs and now everything is okay. Yay!
We also got to see the fish/fruit market, where they were selling lots of fish and fruit. Large boats drove down the river towing smaller boats, filled with fruits, veggies and fish. The sea lions also came up the river to have some fish. Then, we wandered to the chocolate factory to see what was happening. Then the Bings decided that we should drink, so we went off to a beer brewery to go “beer tasting,” in which they gave us a five minute tour of the brewery and then brought out beer in three giant glass columns and gave us shot glasses, which made it a free-for-all. Then the Bings took us to lunch. They like to make sure that we eat and drink well. Lunch was right on the mouth of the river and the ocean. It was gorgeous, there was folk music playing, it was sunny and flowers were everywhere. It felt like a commune or a home for disabled people, we were all very content. We also explored a fort, or took a tour of it. But the most amazing thing about this fort was that it overlooked the ocean and that the ocean spread out forever. So Rita, Wendi, Dylan and I climbed down one of the cliffs that the fort was on so that we looked directly into the waves crashing below us. And then walked back down to the bus all in blissful happiness. Then, we walked around an museum of German Valdivia and then around the town some more. Then, we ate (what else) and headed off to the festival, which was a bunch of people watching boat floats on the river (La Mueñeca made an appearance! Okay, not the real mueñeca, but still…) and a bunch of people throwing confetti. Not in celebration, but into your eyes and mouth. So we eventually decided that we had had enough of that party and went to the hotel and watched Harry Potter and deconfettied ourselves. Only to arise the next morning to hop on the plane and return to Santiago.
Then, I turned out to be bed-ridden for the next couple of days and in my few waking moments reflected on existence or groped for water. But then I got drugs and now everything is okay. Yay!
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