Ojalá

I cannot believe how time here has just sped up and sprinted away. Today was the last day of classes; I gave a presentation on Gladys Marín, drank some warm wine, and then took my prueba (don't worry, I passed with flying colors). Afterwards, at our going away gathering with the exchange program, I commented to Brenna on how it seems like just yesterday that we were at our orientation, eating the same sandwiches, hearing the same people speak, and receiving PUCV themed regalos.

I walked home in the rain, but didn't mind. I was feeling a bit triste at the prospect of leaving and saying goodbye to my family here. Just last night, I hugged Romina goodbye. "I'll see you soon," she said, and was so confident in that statement. I do hope she's right. I've never experienced such hospitality and warmth before. I can't wait to see if other places compare, and to return to Chile again.

Tonight, at once, it was just the family and I. Tia Rosita, her pololo Claudio, and her two sons Ferdinand and Carlos. We ate (well, I drank tea), and Carlos (under pressure) got his guitar and started to play. Everyone was singing and laughing, especially when Carlos started singing Nirvana songs without actually knowing the words. He was just making the related sounds, and despite being very familiar with his song choices, I could not make out what he was saying. Tia Rosita suspected, and asked me, and we both laughed so hard when I confirmed that he was singing nonsense.

My stomach has been super strange today. I've been mostly unable to eat, and now I'm beset with a terrible stomachache that comes and goes in waves. Tia Rosita brought me a herb-infused hot beverage as a homeopathic remedy. She also gave me a beautiful necklace, hand-made by one of her friends, and one of a kind. It's beautiful, as is she, inside and out. If I can muster up the strength, I want to go out to celebrate my last night in Viña/Valpo. My teacher and some of the kids from my class are in Valpo for the night, not to mention my brothers are very likely going to carretear as well.

Tomorrow, we go to Santiago. I'll stay with Jane until Monday, when my flight leaves. I cannot believe I'm saying goodbye to this gorgeous place, and these wonderful people. Maybe the stomachache isn't as random as it seems...

Gracias por la Vida

Pucon ended up being incredible, even if it had a bit of a rough start. Brenna and I had bus tickets to Puerto Montt, not Pucon, and we didn't realize the error until we got on the bus. After a chat with the bus driver, we were notified when we came to a stop, about an hour or two from Pucon. From there, we grabbed another bus to Pucon, and from then on, smooth sailing.

We stayed in a hostel run by Pancho's lovely friend, Alvaro. The first night we grabbed burgers and drinks at another friend's restaurant. From there we went to a bar and club, where carreteamos y bailamos. The next day we went white water river rafting, which is one of my favorite activities in the world. I've decided that a solid plan b for my life is to become a river rafting guide, and travel the world taking english and spanish speaking tourists on adventures. Not a bad way to spend your early 20s...

After some sushi, we headed to the hot springs. Pucon is a town bordering the active Volcán Villarrica, so natural hot springs are abound in the area. The next day, Brenna and I woke up nice and early to climb the snow covered volcán. It was one of the most intense and exhilarating experiences of my life. I took some pictures of the gorgeous view, but I doubt they do justice to the experience itself. After a (much) needed shower, we shared the best sandwich of my life. Afterwards, we grabbed ice cream and chocolates for the night-time bus ride.

We arrived yesterday in the morning, too late to go to school and far too tired to, anyway. I met Claudio, Tia Rosita's pololo, who is muy guapo. Tia Rosita is such a wonderful woman who has been through a lot; no one is more deserving of love than her. Off to a ISA dinner for now, but I'll check in soon!

Aventuras con Gringas

Saturday ended up being really fun. Incredible vino con fruta with el profesor, followed by dancing at Me Robó el Corazon, followed by a very long ride home thanks to the very necessary "let's drink more" pitstop. Tonight may be a bit of deja vu, considering we are beginning the night with the prof, have plans and supplies to make delicious vino con fruta, and the DJ who drove us home is spinning tonight at Me Robó and asked us to come...

This past week passed as usual, punctuated by school and homework, but otherwise filled with chocolate, sex and the city, and daily outings with Brenna. That is, until I realized that next week is our last week of classes. How time flies...

Brenna and I have two excursions planned before I return to the states. Tomorrow night we leave for Pucon, a city nestled by a lake en el sur. An active volcano, natural hot springs, and rafting await Brenna, Pancho, Pancho's Brazilian polola, and myself. Then on Friday, Brenna and I leave for La Serena en norte chico, where we'll meet up with Romina. From there we are off to the forest, for a several day long rave/festival to celebrate the Mayan New Year.

I'll do my best to update in the next 2 weeks, although internet access may be scarce. Chau for now, besitos! xoxo

Me Robó El Corazon

So, the past couple of days have been a bit of a whirlwind. I took my grammar test, thought I might've failed it, and then ended up ace-ing it... I hope I don't turn into one of those people who whine about how badly they did, and then get straight A's. I think I'd sacrifice a flawless GPA in order not to be one of the most annoying people on the planet.

I also am having some bizarre allergic reaction to a mysterious substance here. It's really not a big deal, just random little red dots on my body, probably 5-10 total. Originally I thought I had flea bites, so I suppose a mysterious allergic reaction is an improvement over that situation.

On Friday, instead of having our regularly scheduled class, we ended up at a fishing port/market. This is for my other class, which we definitely don't have tests for. We also went to lunch (instead of class) the other week. Talking to 7 fishermen about their jobs on a gorgeous, sunny day instead of being cooped up for an hour and a half? Yes, please. Brenna and I also managed to get our teacher for that class to meet us for drinks in an hour, at Ritual in Valparaíso (famous for their vino con fruta). Successful day, all in all.

Bit of a lazy weekend, filled with Sex and the City, tarea, y carretes. Speaking of which, I need to let Brenna in and begin our night!

El Viento y La Lluvia

Today it's super windy and rainy, and I have a grammar test tomorrow. Translation: I'm not leaving my room until tomorrow morning. All is well, although I suppose all will be even better tomorrow.

July 4th was lovely, although not in the traditional sense. Our program took a trip up to the playas en el norte de Chile. Even though it was too cold to tan or swim, we did go horseback riding on some uncontrollable horses, had delicious empañadas, went shopping in artistenarias, and went on a hike in Zapallar, Chile's version of Malibu.

Otherwise, I've just been up to the usual. Going to class, hanging out with the family, and sleeping as much as possible. I'll update after I get done with tests, and hopefully have a few interesting stories to share...

Mea Culpa

First of all, I'm doing a terrible job at updating consistently. I would like to pretend that is because I'm so busy all the time. I am pretty busy, but I'm also extraordinarily lazy when I'm not super busy. This will become very clear as you read this post.

Anyway, life is pretty good. Had I posted a few days ago, my biggest problem would have been that guys here are very obnoxious when they hit on you. The machismo culture here allows men to catcall at any time of day or night, drink until they are a bit out of control, and approach consistently and aggressively with such unique gems as, "de donde estas?" I've resorted to lying, and saying I'm from Switzerland or anywhere else I care to be from that night. That said, I have a bit more to worry about at the moment. The distance is not having a wonderful effect on my relationship. Since last night I have resolved to stop drunkenly skyping my pololo at 5am. Your mother was right when she said nothing good ever happens after 2am.

We've gone out a few times in the past week, which always results in the next day being that much more fun. Basically, I got 2 hours of sleep Wednesday night, then compensated with 11 hours Thursday night, got 2 hours of sleep last night, and intend to go to bed as soon as possible tonight.

Today we went to Isla Negra (Pablo Neruda's 3rd house in Chile) and Pomaire. It was the South of Chile, and super cold despite a being a beautiful, sunny day. Brenna and I had these gigantic, delicious empañadas at Pomaire market today for about $1.20 a piece. I also bought a giant pair of Alpaca wool socks with llamas on them. I intend to wear them with my birkenstocks and personify the cliche of a traveling hippy from Berkeley.

Pablo Neruda's house was pretty incredible. It was basically a museum on a cliff above the ocean that had all these beautiful art pieces, collections of sea shells and insects, and I couldn't even name what else. Apparently most of the pieces were gifts, which made me feel pretty unpopular. The house was all on one floor, with long and thin rooms. Apparently this was done to imitate the geography of Chile. Only Pablo. Tomorrow we go to the beaches up north, which should be lovely.

Resolutions: Update more often, write better blog posts (this one's all over the place), and finally-no more drunken skyping!

Parties and Funerals

Hi all, I'm sitting at the kitchen table, after eating almuerzo, the biggest meal of the day here. We had alcachofa con mayonesa and pasta with bolognese sauce. In Chile, you need to let go of your former conceptions about Latin food. Meals here consist of a light breakfast (usually consisting of pan tostado), a big almuerzo, and once (tea, coffee, and more pan tostado). Food is not spicy, and mayonesa is bought in giant squeeze bags, because it is used so often. My first thought: um, no. But after giving things a chance (and applying hot sauce as often as possible), I have been pleasantly surprised with the food. It helps that Tia Rosita is an excellent cook. I also drink about 5 cups of tea a day here, leading to my family informing me that I was probably mistaken about being American, and am in fact, English.

We are about to head to the funeral of Pancho's grandfather. The family invited me but made very clear that coming was not obligatory. After vacillating for quite a while, I decided to come. Although Pancho doesn't seem upset, I still just felt as if it was the right thing to do. From a slightly more selfish angle, this whole situation (Chilean catholic churches and funerals) is brand new to me, and could be quite interesting. I'll update you on the event once I return...

We did go out the other night- Brenna, Pancho, Carlos, Ferdinand, Romina, and I. We drank and hung out with quite a few people, I got told that I looked like Nicole Kidman, but prettier (um, no), and we eventually headed out (at around 2am, standard going out time here) to Journal, a bar that my family frequents. The whole night was a bit of a hot mess, beginning with me forgetting my ID, and getting away with it by feigning incomprehension at the front door. Throughout the night, several Chilean men made their (often rude and always annoyingly persistent) attempts to talk and dance with me. Note to self: learn how to insult men in Spanish, pronto. As per usual, several of my family members were extremely drunk, and we didn't manage to get home until after 5am.

We did take it easy last night, but tonight we plan to go out again, with Pancho. Don't worry, though. Although I'm on vacation, I will always take care of myself. Not to mention, I prefer to avoid having a caña the next morning! Chau for now!

Bienvenidos a Viña!

I am now at my pensíon in Viña del Mar, Chile. After a few hours of anxiety, a few days of gringos, and a few weeks of hostels, I could not be happier to be here. You truly underestimate how wonderful it is to unpack until you've been living out of your backpack for over a month. Better yet, I have a room all to myself, and I cannot imagine a more simpático y choro* Chilean family.

I suppose I have a few days of catching up to do. I am terrible at blogging when I'm tired.

The night before we left, a bunch of kids from ISA went out to carretear. I hung out with mi amigas en Santiago antes de meeting them at a bar. Due to this, I showed up without having eaten dinner, or stopping at the hotel to get money. My hangry attitude was not entirely appropriate for a discoteque, or for the Chileans constantly grabbing my arm or asking me to bailas. Oh well, you live and you learn (to get drunk before going out).

I arrived at my pensión on Sunday, and immediately loved the house and the dynamic between the 60 something year old Rosa, her two 20 something sons, and the 4 other Chilean students. Although my Spanish is not super bueno, they really do try to explain things to me, slow down when they talk to me, and listen when I manage to say a few jumbly spanish palabras. I've already had a heart to heart (in Spanish) with Romina, the 22 year old architecture student, and another (in English) with Pancho, the 2(3?) year old business tourism student.

School is bueno too. I took a diagnostic exam yesterday that put me into an intermediate Chilean Culture and Conversation and Grammar class. The teachers seem nice, and speak very slowly. Not to mention, I'm only too excited to learn how not to sound like a 3 year old child all the time.

We had a tour of Valparaíso, which was lovely, and actually reminded me quite a bit of San Francisco. I forgot to take my camera, but I'm sure I'll have plenty more opportunities to take pictures. Now, I have some homework to get to, some once (basically bread with various toppings and tea) to eat con mi familia, and some sleep to catch up on before I go out with Paco for a carrete mañana!

*I apologize for the random spanish phrases, especially those in Chilean slang. Hint: if it's not on google translate, try http://cachandochile.wordpress.com/glossary-glosario-chilenismos/

Blogging in Chile

Blogging is a ridiculous word (try saying it aloud). Yet here I am, blogging, and rather than making excuses for why I'm writing a blog (I'm in Chile, I'm a bit lonely, I want to recuerdo this experience), I'll just do it.

Friday, June 18th, 2:55 pm, Hotel Rent a Home in Santiago, Chile

I'm lying in my bed in the living room, listening to the omnipresent sounds of construction. Santiago is a city, as full of brand new buildings, monuments to a rich cultural heritage, and graffiti. The metro is amazing ($450 pesos to go anywhere in Santiago, cars coming every couple minutes, and easy to navigate) the people are warm and friendly (sometimes a bit too friendly)...

We have an orientation in an hour...wah wah wah. How Not To Be A Gringo 101, taught by the perfectly lovely Lizette. Sitting in a room of 25 gringos, being told about how to use common sense, drives me a little crazy. But I do need to get over myself, because I will be getting orientated for the next few days.

The people on the program are mostly quite nice, although I don't talk to everyone. My roommates are like 3 characters from a sitcom. There's Laura, the party-hard sorority girl from Boulder, Brenna, the much chiller girl from Boulder, and Colleen, the no nonsense mommy/English teacher. I was forewarned by Jane about cliques, and she was undoubtedly right. They form quickly, and while I was originally standing back and judging them, I have let go a bit and tried to befriend a few people, with limited degrees of success... To be honest I do not see the point of coming to Chile to befriend a bunch of white, college aged Americans. That said, it's always nice to have a few people you like who will be living in your area.

Today we went to the Presidential Palace, saw the changing of the guards, visited a beautiful cathedral in Plaza de Armas, and had lunch in Mercado Central. Then we chartered a bus to take us back to our hotel, gringo style.

Before this post gets too rambly, I'm going to sign off. It was nice meeting you blog! Hasta pronto!