Recap of my life abroad! Part 1

I am finally starting my blog!  Now all of you who I promised to write a blog for can creepy live vicariously through my adventures in Chile!  I've been in Chile for over a month now so this post and the next are going to be recaps of what I've been up to south of the border.  This first part is basically an adaption of emails I have sent, hence it is going to be pretty long.  Enjoy!

August 20th

My flight went well and as we neared Santiago I was able to see the Andes outside my window, the left side of the plane.  In fact you can see the Andes, which to me seem bigger than the Pyrenees, from everywhere in the city.  My host mom and dad are nice and I have a 94 yr old host grandmom.  I have not met my host brother yet.  He has exams today and tomorrow.  Zeus the dog is a lab.  After arriving at the house I unpacked and slept until lunch time at 2. Lunch is the main meal of the day so I had soup, a lasagna like dish made with potatoes, meat, and hard boiled eggs, plus bread and a banana.  The water here has a lot of minerals so I have to drink bottled water for the first week so that my body can adjust.  My room is on the 1st floor and has a closet and a desk.  The house is kinda cold like ours is during the winter but it at least gets warm outside as the day goes on.

August 22
My host dad dropped me off at the house of another host student after lunch and I went with her and her host mom to get a cell phone and a metro card.  There are 4 of us who live close together so I think we will all be talking the bus to school together.  After getting my phone we stopped by another girl´´s house and her host mom invited us over later tonight. 

My Chilean family has been keeping my very busy!  Yesterday my host mom took me on the bus I will be using to get to school and we visited a small museum in Provencia, another part of Santiago.  The museum had an exhibit on Russian history, mostly things from the 1900´s and religious.  There was also an exhibit on silver from Peru and those items were very detailed and ornate.  The exhibit had everything from punch bowels to hair combs to miniature furniture sets made solely of silver.  When we got back to the house we found out that my host brother, Christian, who I until then I had not seen passed his final exams so now he is finished school except for 2 yrs of residency, he is a psychiatrist.  Christian reminds me of Steve Torock in appearance, and he has a girlfriend In celebration the family had an asado (BBQ) that lasted from 3:30 till 10.  And then Christian his girlfriend and I went to another party to celebrate the end of exams with other students from the university until 1.  At the party I got to try my first pisco sour.  They are pretty strong so I only had a few sips.  I did not want to get drunk for the first time on my first full day in a strange city.  At the party at my host house I got to meet my other host brother and sister who are married and out of the house.  I am not sure how old my other host brother is but my host sister is 37 and they both have kids.

Then today at 9 my host dad took me and another girl in my program who lives nearby (Meli) to a park in the city that is really a huge hill, Cerro San Cristóbal.  At the top of the hill is a 15m statue of Mary who is the patron saint of Santiago and great views of the city and the Andes.  I am not sure how long the walk was but I think it was 5k.  We got home around 1 and then after lunch I went with Meli, her host mom, and Megan to a community center in las condes that has a lot of home made crafts.  I took lots of pictures but we didn't buy anything because Meli´s mom says it is cheaper in the center of Santiago.  And right now there is a futbol game on TV so I will prob be joining my family soon.

It is cold here in the morning and at night but during the day it is warmer in the 60s or 70s.  Like spring at home.  I don´t have an adapter yet but I am planning to go to the local version of a superwalmart/home depot tomorrow after school to get school supplies and see if they have an adapter there.  My house does´t have wifi so I have not needed to use my computer.  Luckily the university has wifi. 

 

August 25

I have been sooooo busy the past few days!  Monday was my first day of class, I walk 5 minutes to my bus stop then take the bus to the metro and walk about another block after the metro.  Altogether I takes me about an hour to get to school everyday but I don't mind the commute because Megan and Meli (2 girls in my program) ride with me the whole way.  Public transportation here is also really well run and cheap.  It costs me a dollar to use the metro and transferring to the bus is free. 
Everyone in the program is getting along really well.  After the first day of class a bunch of us walked around central Santiago.  I can't find a city to compare Santiago to.  It has the Spanish feel to it with the plazas and the churches but it doesn't have an overall European feel.  The fashion isn't the same here and the dogs wander around all over the place (including the ones with owners).  All the houses in the city have gates and high walls around them and most have 1 floor. 
Right now we are in the orientation phase of the semester so we have Spanish class from 9 to 12:30 and this week we have activities to do around the city in the afternoon. Besides visiting the central of the city I have also seen the Cathedral and Library of Santiago.

Sorry if this email is a bit random.  I am using a computer at a friend's house and other ppl are here so I am a bit distracted.  Some more randomness, I get to light a pilot light every morning for the water heater to take a shower!

*My dad´s response ¨¨I am sitting here imagining you lighting the pilot.  Don't get too close!  I almost lost some eyelashes that way lighting the pilot on a big water heater.¨¨

August 27

It has been a busy week for me!  I have been in Chile for a whole week now! Last night I got 10 glorious hours of sleep and I still didn’t want to get out of bed this morning! Every day there is something new for me to do and yes I have had homework to do as well.  Class has been interesting.  My Spanish teacher is very enthusiastic and has a penchant for say “sexy” and “super sexy” which in Chile are used as slang words for cool and/or sexy.  Kinda like how guys will sometimes say “that’s a sexy car” except with many more objects.  All of those books that told me about how much slang Chileans use is true, luckily though our Spanish teacher explained many of the key phrases and I am beginning to notice them in conversation.  For example the word “bacán” means cool and people say “Como estai” instead of “Como estás.” Spanish class is also a cultural class so we have also been learning about Santiago and Chile while practicing different types of grammar rules.  Our homework assignments also take us around the city.  On Monday I am presenting with a group our thoughts on the Biblioteca de Santiago, which has an awesome children’s section.  Yesterday in the afternoon one of the directors of the program took us to Pablo Neruda’s house in Santiago.  Everyone was joking around that Neruda was my man because I knew a good deal about him unlike everyone else in my tour group.  All of Neruda’s houses were built to resemble ships.  The ceilings are low and the windows and lights were bought from ship yards.  One room even has purposely uneven floors.  Neruda was terrified of the ocean but loved ships nonetheless.  Since Neruda was a rock star in his day and a collector of random things his house was awesome.  There are secret doors just because the are fun, 4 bars and only 2 bedrooms, a small stream, paintings by his friends Vargas, Picasso, and Sisquiera.  There is also simply stuff.  The man collected over 4,000 bottled ships, creepy dolls, 10,000 bottles, paintings of watermelons, 8,000 books, seashells, mastheads, etc.  The sad things that our tour guide kept impressing upon us was that we were only seeing a small portion of what had once been in the house.  Under Pinochet the army ransacked the house.  All the paintings were torn, almost the entire library was burnt down, and many other objects were smashed to bits.  Since then much of the place has been restored but there are not the complete collections they once were.  Our tour guide was highly critical of the army saying that they did not have the capacity to understand the cultural loss they created when they destroyed the house (we were very surprised to hear him say that b/c we didn’t bring up the topic and he said in the same sentence that he was conservative).  The house was so damaged that the stream that used to run through the house had to be diverted underground and a second floor walk way from one part of the house to another no longer exists.  Our guide said that the best place to see Neruda’s collections would be to visit his house, Isla Negra, which my I will get to see along with his other house in Valparíso when my program takes an overnight trip there on Tuesday.  We are all excited to compare Neruda’s other houses.  Oh and fun fact, the graffiti outside Neruda's house was painted by the communist party - apparently they have a branch that just creates murals around the city.
Today we took a bus tour of the city in the morning. We all thought it was an odd thing to do after spending a week here. 

September 2

So we finally figured out how to get the wifi to work on campus so now I will be better able to stay in contact with all of you!  Our tour through Valparaiso was very weird.  Our tour guide arrived late, covered in cat hair, with his fly down, and called himself a rock star of Valparaiso.  We didn't visit Neruda's house or parliament, instead we wandered through a lot of back streets full of graffiti (very good graffiti mind you) and construction jobs.  On one block a huge building was being erected that filled the entire side of the block and the construction workers in the building cat called and yelled as we walked by, all of us girls loved it.  We were also accompanied by one of the stray dogs of Chile that gives the country a bit of the Indian flair.  When cars would pass by the dog would literally attack the car and even bit the bumper of a few.  During the tour we stopped by a museum about the cartoonist Luckas who wrote for a lot of the papers in Chile.  It was a very cool place and I will have to take you there.  After our tour we went to a traditional Valpo restaurant and had a traditional meal of a huge plate of french fries with eggs, onions, and meat piled on top.  Each plate is supposed to feed 2-3 people.  It was sooo good but sooo unhealthy too.  While we were at the restaurant there was a news crew from Mega News who were doing a story on the restaurant, whose walls and tables are covered in writing and pictures from guests.  They interviewed 2 girls from our group and filmed us eating.  Apparently the story is going to run sometime in the evening on Sept 9th so you have until then to figure out how to get that news channel.  *Apparently we did end up on Chilean TV but sadly I have not been able to find footage of it on the internet.

I want to visit Valpo again in the summer and I expect it will be very different from this trip.  Since it is the winter the place is basically a ghost town but during the summer it fills up with ppl from Santiago.  The water will still be very cold even though it is the summer b/c of the Humboldt current but there will be plenty else for us to do besides visit the beach.  Aside from Neurda's house at Isla Negra, we never set foot on a beach.

Now onto some random observations about Chile.

Like I mentioned earlier there are stray dogs everywhere, much like in India but more well fed.  People also let their pet dogs wander the street unaccompanied.  As a result of these two things there are frequently permanent dog footprints in the cement of the sidewalk and one has to be careful not to step in dog poop.

While houses to have garbage cans there are also these metal baskets that are off the ground and can be used to place one's trash for the garbage man.

I have seen people mix soda with beer and also soda with wine.  I was disgusted and I am not even a big wine or beer fan.

Chileans really like their mayo which they will but on everything from hot dogs (another fav dish) to salad.  They also make a dip by mixing mayo and kettsup together.

I will send more random culture things as I think of them.

Last night it rained and today when I went outside I was amazed by how much closer the Andes looked.  All the Chileans had been telling us this but you can't really imagine the difference until you see it.  It is amazing!

 

September 3

Today was my first day of classes!

I had three classes today and while the first teacher spoke a little to fast for me at times the other 2 teachers were great and I understood almost everything they said.  And no, they did not speak English, I am pretty sure only one of them is fluent in the language.  I am also very fortunate in that it seems I am not going to have to write any extensively long essays in Spanish.  Although I do have a 1pg essay due on Monday :(. 

 I feel bad for my dog here, Zeus because he has to stay in the yard all day.  Even last night when it was pouring rain he wasn't allowed in until after 11 and his paw prints into the house were pure mud!  He is also a lot skinnier than our puppies, I almost want to sneak him food but I feel that people would notice when he starts to gain weight!

 

September 8

Not much to report from Chile.  Yesterday on our day off from school everyone in the program had to be at school by 7:45 so that we could go to two different government buildings, wait in lines that lasted over an hour each, and apply for our Chilean ID cards.  Thankfully the line to go pick up our cards, which we have to do in 15 days, is much shorter!  We didn't get done everything until after 12 so a bunch of us went out and got Chinese food/sushi (which I had for the 1st time).  Then I went home and took a 4 hour nap and did some homework.  All and all a very exciting day.

Another random tid bit about Chilean culture - mullets and dreadlocks are in style.  The weird part about the dreadlocks is that people have only one or two strand of hair dread locked or only the bottom half of their hair.  Neither hairstyle is very flattering.

 

September 11

I have made it to Argentina with only a small hiccup at customs ( other ppl had issues not me). Although I slept most of the time I think I witnessed a meteor shower and saw a big comet go by!  I also got a small glimpse of the Andes up close aka the rock was so steep on the side of the road I couldn't see the sky.  I am writing from the bus terminal which has free wifi but makes you charge for everything in the bathroom.  Meeting up with my friend Ali cousin in a bit and then we leave for Buenos Aires at 2.

 

September 12

I made it safe and sound to Buenos Aires!  Right now I am in the hostel which has computers and wfi so I will easily be able to keep in touch.  Today we are checking out the market in San Telmo.  We didn't do much in Mendoza but Ali s counsin showed us around town and had breakfast and lunch with us.  I got to have an alfajor which jimi will love.  It is a chocolate cookie covered in chocolate with dulce de leche in the middle.  He will also love how they make hot chocolate here.  Hot milk that you then drop a chocolate bar into and drink.  The ride to BA was not direct so we got to go through a lot of small towns, also watched planet earth and the bucket list in Spanish.

Fun Fact for the day fresh water  is agua dulce literally translated sweet water.
 

September 13

The weather here in Argentina has not been on my side today. :( it has been rainy all day today! We found a good solution to our problem though, we took a bus tour around the city and got to stop at some places and take photos.  It also gave me a good idea of what I want to check out.  Tomorrow night everyone is getting back together to take tango lessons and enjoy a tango show!
 Went for a walk through the San telmo market which wasn't what I expected, much more touristy than antique-y but it did get a custom sized leather belt for less than  $10 ( my old belt was too big).  Then a group of us went for a walk down to the river front where we got to see the bridge that is in all the photos of BA.  In the evening we went to a nearby bar with a group of Brazilians from our hostel. We taught them how to do the macerena (sp?).

This morning some of us looked into visiting Montevideo but we found out that you couldn't visit the capital as a day trip only a small coastal town so instead on Wednesday I am going gauchoing! Basically going to the Argentinian country side, horseback riding and having an asado ( BBQ ).

 

September 15

I have had a jam packed time in Argentina and tonight I leave the capital for Mendoza and will arrive in Santiago on Friday morning at 7.  Yesterday I had a tango class and then dinner and a 2 hr show. It was amazing!  The dancers were fantastic and I know several steps to the tango.  By far my favorite activity so far since I have been in South America.  I wish you all could go to it!  Several of us liked it so much we plan on taking tango classes when we get back to AU!  Earlier in the day I went and visited the cemetery where Evita´s grave is, recolleta, and even took a tour of it in Spanish!  I also visited two museums, Bellas Artes and one that I can´t remember the name but it use to be a mansion that only two people lived in. Bellas Artes had a great exhibit of Argentinian artists and a surprising number of well known painters like Pollock, Van Gough, Degas, Renoir, and Monet. The mansion museum was basically just all the art work and furniture of the couple that owned the house, which was a lot, very reminiscent of the king´s palace in Spain, but smaller.

Today I went gauchoing, basically visiting the country side of Argentina.  I went horseback riding and even got to gallop with one of the gauchos.  We had a delicious asado and enjoy a show.  I just wish we had gotten back to BA earlier, we were supposed to get back around 2 or 3 but we didn't get to our hostel until 6.  Still I had enough time to get some yerba matte tea.  It's a special tea here that apparently is an acquired taste.  I have yet to try it. 

September 16

Arrived safely in Mendoza and found myself a fabulous pair of leather boots!  They even match my DSW fake leather bag. No boots for Kelly though, her feet are too tiny. Basically walked around the city for the day window shopping.  About to hop on the bus back to Santiago, not looking forward to 1am customs.

September 17

Back in Santiago!  Arrived hours ahead of schedule which was nice, got to shower and crawl into bed before I had to talk to the host family about my trip.  Patricio (host Dad) woke me up at 2pm because the extended family was coming over for the first asado of bicentenatrio weekend.  Ate a lot of meat and danced the cueca.

 *****

Alright, well if you made it through all that I applaud you.  In the coming days there will be a recap of the bicentenario weekend and what I have been up to since!