This past Friday, the 18th of September, was Chilean Independence Day! And Saturday was Dia del Ejercito (Army Day). Together, the two create las fiestas patrias (literally meaning patriotic parties). [Note--- that link has all of the important information about this day. I'm lazy] Most of my classes were canceled for the week, and a lot of the colegios (~ schools) in Chile were on Spring Break (it's still weird to me that it's spring right now... and that I'll have three springs/summers in a row...). SO! It made for an incredibly fun (or at least interesting) weekend, to say the least.
Vina's population for these festivities seemed to EXPLODE, as people fled the smog of Santiago for more refreshing ocean air. And during these days, everyone's a patriot. Flags hang outside every house; the colectivos put ribbons on their hoods. It's really amazing, and it's definitely a contagious enthusiasm.
Thursday, I went with my friend Sarah to her host siblings' school performance for the dieciocho (eighteen, or how Chileans refer to the day). The traditional Chilean dance, la cueca, was represented, as were other traditional/indigenous dances of Chile. Very cool!
Friday, I went with my host mom to her sibling's house for an asado (cookout) and more traditional Chilean food. That night, I went with some of my friends to a ramada, or this really sweet outdoor carnival. There were tons of stands with food, traditional carnival rides (ferris wheel included), fun games, lots of music, billions of people. It actually got pretty overwhelming after a bit, not gonna lie. Regardless, very entertaining!
It was also a bit of a homesick weekend. I think it's hard being around families, and comparing these holidays to everything we celebrate in the US. It's nearly impossible to not make comparisons like that, but they also make you realize what you're missing. I've realized that it's much easier to not compare Chile to anything, but just remind myself that these are all new experiences, people, holidays; it's easier to not think of an American counterpart! Either way, that time has come and gone... and now I just want to do more in Chile while I'm here. I'm almost at the halfway point, which scares me . . . where's my Spanish!?!? Why am I not fluent yet?! I need to speak Spanish more with my American friends. I made a pact with a few of them that starting October 1, it's ALL Spanish. We'll see how that goes....
I also have midterms this week. Which is why I'm blogging. I'm really just procrastinating...
I was supposed to have literature yesterday, but it ended up being take-home essays instead of in-class work. But I had studied. So that was frustrating and fantastic at the same time... This morning was supposed to be psych, but our professor never showed?! So now that's next week. This afternoon I have grammar (haven't started studying yet...), and tomorrow might be history. I say "might" because I never really know the deal in Chile :) It never ceases to amaze me how laid back EVERYTHING is, even the school system. Could any of you in the US imagine a teacher making a test a take-home essay, or just NOT SHOWING the day of the exam?! I cannot. It's a hard paradigm shift.
Other than that, there's not much going on in my life down here! When I get a chance (probably this weekend), I'll get caught up on all those emails that are still awaiting responses, lo juro (I promise)!
Okay. I need to study grammar. Oy.
Miss you all!!!
Lots of love,
Colleen
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Desert videos
I meant to add these into my last post about the desert, but completely forgot... below are some short videos I took of el desiertooo!
This is just kind of a panoramic view from the day we took the hike. You can see the packs of llamas!!
This was one of the geysers we saw; it wasn't erupting quite the same as all of the others, but it was cool to watch the water boil. People were putting cartons of frozen milk and juice inside it to defrost them
(sorry this one is sideways... I don't know how to fix it!)
This geyser erupts every seven or eight minutes, and is one of the most cyclical geysers in the field.
Panoramic view of the geyser field. At one point, I focus on one that's erupting a bit in the distance; it has a much steadier and stronger pace than most of them. This one was formed by man a few days before our visit, because they're trying to harness geothermal energy to solve Chile's energy crisis and dependence on Argentinian oil.
This is just kind of a panoramic view from the day we took the hike. You can see the packs of llamas!!
This was one of the geysers we saw; it wasn't erupting quite the same as all of the others, but it was cool to watch the water boil. People were putting cartons of frozen milk and juice inside it to defrost them
(sorry this one is sideways... I don't know how to fix it!)
This geyser erupts every seven or eight minutes, and is one of the most cyclical geysers in the field.
Panoramic view of the geyser field. At one point, I focus on one that's erupting a bit in the distance; it has a much steadier and stronger pace than most of them. This one was formed by man a few days before our visit, because they're trying to harness geothermal energy to solve Chile's energy crisis and dependence on Argentinian oil.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
"Do I need my raincoat?"
I know that nature can do some pretty crazy things. I've seen what happens after crazy Nor'easters; tornadoes both scare and amaze me; hurricanes never cease to amaze me; images of the 2004 tsunami are easily remembered. But I've never truly appreciated the sheer force of nature until my trip this weekend to San Pedro de Atacama, to visit the Atacama Desert.
Firstly, it was the epitome of a whirlwind weekend. We barely had time to breathe, let alone sleep (definitely still struggling with those aftereffects).
Sidenote: I just averaged my sleep for the last seven nights. We're hovering around 3.5 hours per night. AHH!!
I think that the easiest way for me to record all this is to just break the days down... we'll see how this goes (Warning: This post is going to be a BEAST). Also, if you click on the hyperlinks, you'll be sent to Wikipedia articles that explain what I saw a little bit more :)
Friday
Friday started when, but about midnight, the group of 12 arrived at my house to chill out and wait for our shuttle to the airport. We made (deliciously amazing) brownies, and just watched some Latin American Idol to pass the time. 2:00 am: Van scheduled to show up. Van shows up at 2:20, a la Chilena. We head to the airport to catch our 5:45 flight. Land in Calama at 7:50. Take a taxi to the bus station. 10:15 bus to San Pedro. Arrive in San Pedro at about noon. Go to the hostel; check in; pay. Get to the center to eat real quick and start tours at 2:30 pm.
The first thing that I really noticed when we got to San Pedro was how DUSTY it was. It honestly blew my mind. And water pressure there? Incredibly low. I mean, it's to be expected... it's the driest desert in the world. But still. And we weren't allowed to drink the tap water, so I ended up spending an unexpected 5 mil pesos on bottled water. BOO!! We were drinking about 4 or 5 liters of water a day, and were still thirsty and dehydrated.
Okay. So Tour One: We went to La Cordillera de Sal, which is a mirador (lookout) over one of the canyons in the desert. I've never seen the Grand Canyon or anything. And it just amazed me that something so vast can just be formed, for lack of a better word. All of the rock formations were mind boggling. Then, we went to Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley). This is the driest spot in the world. They've been recording rainfall and weather there for over 150 years, and never once has there been rain. And it's true... nothing grows in this area, but there's also these HUGE sand dunes that were fun to run around on. The sand was so incredibly fine there from all the wind and natural erosion.
After, we went walking around a bit through some of the canyon-esque areas in Death Valley. We were there right around sunset, as the shadow start to fall on the rock walls. Our tour guide, at one point, made us stop and be absolutely silent. We heard these cracking and snapping noises; when the sun hits the rocks, it heats up all the gypsum and other crystals that they're made of. Once the sun sets, it starts to cool down, and the rocks actually make these noises as they snap back into place.
Last stop: Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley). We went there to watch the sunset from the top of a cordillera (mountain range). It was BEAUTIFUL, with the Andes turning pink in the background.
Below is my slideshow from day one!! Again, the photos have captions
Saturday
After that insane day, we woke up at about 6 for a tour the following morning.
First stop: Salar de Atacama. It is the third largest salt flat in the world, and the only major one that is formed by underground water sources instead of rain. This bottom-up evaporation creates the awkward and irregular structures that you'll see in pictures. Also, licking the salt rocks is a very good/very bad idea all at the same time. As stupid as it sounds, the salt is just saltier there. But I'm glad I did it! And! 40% of the world's lithium reserves come from this salt flat; odds are that the batteries in my camera had lithium from the Salar de Atacama. Talk about going full circle...
Also at the salar was the Reservacion Nacional de los Flamencos (FLAMINGO RESERVATION!). Sad story: it was too hard to really get all that close to them. Oh well!
I also learned that Chile has 150 active volcanoes, which is 10% of the world's population of active volcanoes. The most active one is Volcan Lascar, which had major eruptions every year from 2000 to 2007.
Next stop: Socaire, a small village outside of the Salar. Indigenous influences are still readily visible, especially in their use of terraces to irrigate their land. Pretty ingenious!
Then, we went to Las Lagunas Altiplanicas, Lagoon Miscanti and another. These are some of the highest lagoons in the world, formed by underwater sources and water than runs down the Andes. I think this was perhaps one of the most beautiful things that I saw in Atacama. The volcanoes mixed with the regular Andean mountains in the background.... again, it was just amazing to see the forces of nature at work.
Last stop was Quebrada de Jere (ravine/gully), a random oasis in the middle of the desert. They still use these old-school systems of redirecting water to take advantage of this stream running through the desert. And they're good at it, too. They end up growing lots of fruits there.
PICTURES!
SUNDAY
Another early morning, this time to hike in the Andes a bit. We took a bus along the road that connects Chile and Argentina, and stopped about 50 km away from the country lines. We were at an altitude of 4600 meters (about 3 miles), which is higher than the highest point in Europe! We chewed coca leaves to fend off altitude sickness (... and because it's fun to say that you've chewed coca leaves..). Also, it was entirely FREEZING during this hike because of the insane winds. I was wearing leggings and shorts that day, and I still have this little strip of skin around my ankles that's entirely red raw. My hands were cracked and bleeding due to the crazy temperature extremes in the desert.
I think the trek was my favorite day. I was able to climb lots of rocks, and that fun stuff. It was also cool because our guide was SO laid back. He didn't really care what we did or where we went, as long as we met up with him in the end. It ended up being hours and hours of exploring and wandering. There were a few times where I'd look around and not be able to see anyone, or anything. Absolutely no signs of life at all. I've never felt truly alone like that before; and it might have been the most peaceful feeling I've experienced. I also felt so small during this trek, surrounded by these huge rock formations carved from wind. I feltBlogger: ¿Como se dice.....? - Create Post both powerful and impotent at the same time, which is a bizarre sensation.
At the end of the hike was another lagoon... and a PACK OF WILD LLAMAS!!! Below are photos (obviously).
MONDAY
Monday, we woke up at 3 am to be on a bus by 4 am to go to El Tatio geysers, the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere. Even though the geyser "show" will continue all day, you have to get there super early to see the eruptions before the temperature goes above 0 degrees C. Once it does, you're unable to see the steam that comes out of the geothermic field. So we arrived about 6 am, with a temperature of -9. How fantastic....
No, but it was. I didn't chew coca leaves that day, and ended up feeling a bit sick (altitude of 4200 meters), but it was so worth it. The constant streams of steam into the air were breathtaking.
Then, we went to a thermal spring a few towns away to go SWIMMING in a hot spring!!! Absolutely amazing. It was about 40 degrees C, and was a nice way to warm up.
The last thing we did was go to a "farm" of cacti. There aren't many cacti left in the Atacama desert, but this is one of the areas with the highest concentration. There was also a waterfall (I'm really starting to not believe that it's the "driest desert in the world." I saw salt flats and brine pools and lagoons and geysers... hmmm....).
We got back to the center at about 2 pm. Ate lunch. Checked out of the hostel. Got on a 5:50 bus. Taxi to the airpot. Waited in the airport for security to open because it's such a small airport, it only opens at certain times (?!?!). 10:50 flight. Arrived in Santiago at 1. Van to Vina del Mar (Arrived at 3 am). A full 24 hour day.
Moral of the story: It was an absolutely amazing trip. Everything was so pure and untouched, and was almost too beautiful to be real. I've never felt so inundated by yet close to nature. And never have I been more appreciate of what is natural. I learned that I really love being outdoors, and would prefer to be outside doing something than sitting around.
And this trip just made me want to travel even more.... I can't wait for Santiago in a few weekends!
Firstly, it was the epitome of a whirlwind weekend. We barely had time to breathe, let alone sleep (definitely still struggling with those aftereffects).
Sidenote: I just averaged my sleep for the last seven nights. We're hovering around 3.5 hours per night. AHH!!
I think that the easiest way for me to record all this is to just break the days down... we'll see how this goes (Warning: This post is going to be a BEAST). Also, if you click on the hyperlinks, you'll be sent to Wikipedia articles that explain what I saw a little bit more :)
Friday
Friday started when, but about midnight, the group of 12 arrived at my house to chill out and wait for our shuttle to the airport. We made (deliciously amazing) brownies, and just watched some Latin American Idol to pass the time. 2:00 am: Van scheduled to show up. Van shows up at 2:20, a la Chilena. We head to the airport to catch our 5:45 flight. Land in Calama at 7:50. Take a taxi to the bus station. 10:15 bus to San Pedro. Arrive in San Pedro at about noon. Go to the hostel; check in; pay. Get to the center to eat real quick and start tours at 2:30 pm.
The first thing that I really noticed when we got to San Pedro was how DUSTY it was. It honestly blew my mind. And water pressure there? Incredibly low. I mean, it's to be expected... it's the driest desert in the world. But still. And we weren't allowed to drink the tap water, so I ended up spending an unexpected 5 mil pesos on bottled water. BOO!! We were drinking about 4 or 5 liters of water a day, and were still thirsty and dehydrated.
Okay. So Tour One: We went to La Cordillera de Sal, which is a mirador (lookout) over one of the canyons in the desert. I've never seen the Grand Canyon or anything. And it just amazed me that something so vast can just be formed, for lack of a better word. All of the rock formations were mind boggling. Then, we went to Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley). This is the driest spot in the world. They've been recording rainfall and weather there for over 150 years, and never once has there been rain. And it's true... nothing grows in this area, but there's also these HUGE sand dunes that were fun to run around on. The sand was so incredibly fine there from all the wind and natural erosion.
After, we went walking around a bit through some of the canyon-esque areas in Death Valley. We were there right around sunset, as the shadow start to fall on the rock walls. Our tour guide, at one point, made us stop and be absolutely silent. We heard these cracking and snapping noises; when the sun hits the rocks, it heats up all the gypsum and other crystals that they're made of. Once the sun sets, it starts to cool down, and the rocks actually make these noises as they snap back into place.
Last stop: Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley). We went there to watch the sunset from the top of a cordillera (mountain range). It was BEAUTIFUL, with the Andes turning pink in the background.
Below is my slideshow from day one!! Again, the photos have captions
Saturday
After that insane day, we woke up at about 6 for a tour the following morning.
First stop: Salar de Atacama. It is the third largest salt flat in the world, and the only major one that is formed by underground water sources instead of rain. This bottom-up evaporation creates the awkward and irregular structures that you'll see in pictures. Also, licking the salt rocks is a very good/very bad idea all at the same time. As stupid as it sounds, the salt is just saltier there. But I'm glad I did it! And! 40% of the world's lithium reserves come from this salt flat; odds are that the batteries in my camera had lithium from the Salar de Atacama. Talk about going full circle...
Also at the salar was the Reservacion Nacional de los Flamencos (FLAMINGO RESERVATION!). Sad story: it was too hard to really get all that close to them. Oh well!
I also learned that Chile has 150 active volcanoes, which is 10% of the world's population of active volcanoes. The most active one is Volcan Lascar, which had major eruptions every year from 2000 to 2007.
Next stop: Socaire, a small village outside of the Salar. Indigenous influences are still readily visible, especially in their use of terraces to irrigate their land. Pretty ingenious!
Then, we went to Las Lagunas Altiplanicas, Lagoon Miscanti and another. These are some of the highest lagoons in the world, formed by underwater sources and water than runs down the Andes. I think this was perhaps one of the most beautiful things that I saw in Atacama. The volcanoes mixed with the regular Andean mountains in the background.... again, it was just amazing to see the forces of nature at work.
Last stop was Quebrada de Jere (ravine/gully), a random oasis in the middle of the desert. They still use these old-school systems of redirecting water to take advantage of this stream running through the desert. And they're good at it, too. They end up growing lots of fruits there.
PICTURES!
SUNDAY
Another early morning, this time to hike in the Andes a bit. We took a bus along the road that connects Chile and Argentina, and stopped about 50 km away from the country lines. We were at an altitude of 4600 meters (about 3 miles), which is higher than the highest point in Europe! We chewed coca leaves to fend off altitude sickness (... and because it's fun to say that you've chewed coca leaves..). Also, it was entirely FREEZING during this hike because of the insane winds. I was wearing leggings and shorts that day, and I still have this little strip of skin around my ankles that's entirely red raw. My hands were cracked and bleeding due to the crazy temperature extremes in the desert.
I think the trek was my favorite day. I was able to climb lots of rocks, and that fun stuff. It was also cool because our guide was SO laid back. He didn't really care what we did or where we went, as long as we met up with him in the end. It ended up being hours and hours of exploring and wandering. There were a few times where I'd look around and not be able to see anyone, or anything. Absolutely no signs of life at all. I've never felt truly alone like that before; and it might have been the most peaceful feeling I've experienced. I also felt so small during this trek, surrounded by these huge rock formations carved from wind. I feltBlogger: ¿Como se dice.....? - Create Post both powerful and impotent at the same time, which is a bizarre sensation.
At the end of the hike was another lagoon... and a PACK OF WILD LLAMAS!!! Below are photos (obviously).
MONDAY
Monday, we woke up at 3 am to be on a bus by 4 am to go to El Tatio geysers, the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere. Even though the geyser "show" will continue all day, you have to get there super early to see the eruptions before the temperature goes above 0 degrees C. Once it does, you're unable to see the steam that comes out of the geothermic field. So we arrived about 6 am, with a temperature of -9. How fantastic....
No, but it was. I didn't chew coca leaves that day, and ended up feeling a bit sick (altitude of 4200 meters), but it was so worth it. The constant streams of steam into the air were breathtaking.
Then, we went to a thermal spring a few towns away to go SWIMMING in a hot spring!!! Absolutely amazing. It was about 40 degrees C, and was a nice way to warm up.
The last thing we did was go to a "farm" of cacti. There aren't many cacti left in the Atacama desert, but this is one of the areas with the highest concentration. There was also a waterfall (I'm really starting to not believe that it's the "driest desert in the world." I saw salt flats and brine pools and lagoons and geysers... hmmm....).
We got back to the center at about 2 pm. Ate lunch. Checked out of the hostel. Got on a 5:50 bus. Taxi to the airpot. Waited in the airport for security to open because it's such a small airport, it only opens at certain times (?!?!). 10:50 flight. Arrived in Santiago at 1. Van to Vina del Mar (Arrived at 3 am). A full 24 hour day.
Moral of the story: It was an absolutely amazing trip. Everything was so pure and untouched, and was almost too beautiful to be real. I've never felt so inundated by yet close to nature. And never have I been more appreciate of what is natural. I learned that I really love being outdoors, and would prefer to be outside doing something than sitting around.
And this trip just made me want to travel even more.... I can't wait for Santiago in a few weekends!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I missed the sunset today.
I ALWAYS see the sunset on Thursdays. And always on Mondays, too. I'm either in class or walking back from class towards the ocean, and I watch the sky change colors as the sun slowly disappears over the Pacific horizon. The lights in the city begin to turn on, but not before these few eery moments of semi-illumination and semi-darkness. Watching the sun set is one of my favorite things here. No two are ever the same, and it never ceases to amaze me just how beautiful something natural can be.
I missed it today.
And today was Thursday.
I was walking back from my class, being all stressed and excited and worried about my trip to the desert this weekend (AHH I LEAVE IN ABOUT FIVE HOURS!!!). I was worrying about the homework I have due when I get back; whether or not the water is drinkable there; if I have an exam or not next week; why would I have four in a row the week after; what am I doing for the 18th... etc, etc. True to form, I was just thinking about everything that's left to do, but not doing anything, either. I rushed home, got in the shower, was making a mental list of things to pack, and saw from the window above the shower that it was dark outside. And it hit me: I missed Thursday sundown. It was night. Day was gone.
For some reason, this made things click for me. I feel like for the better part of my life, people have been telling me to SLOW DOWN. Trace Adkins has legitimitely been quoted to me:
You're gonna miss this.
You're gonna want this back.
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast.
These are the good times.
So take a good look around
You may not know it now,
But you're gonna miss this.
Not that I should lose any ambition or stop dreaming, but I'm always so worried about tomorrow that I miss everything beautiful that happens today. I never live in the moment; I'm always in the moment-after. Why have I never slowed down to watch the sun set before? Why is this only something I do in Chile, or those rare occasions that I'm on vacation? I like it. I should do it more often. I've already missed twenty years of sunsets, and I'm sure they were all beautiful.
Moral of the story? I need to chill out a bit. I'm always too stressed for a 20 year old with no obligations to anyone but herself. And I never compete against anyone BUT myself, so why flip out so much? This doesn't mean I'll allow myself to stop working hard, or not do my best. It just means that every now and then, I should be allowed to take a break and watch the sun set.
I'm not missing the sunset tomorrow.
I missed it today.
And today was Thursday.
I was walking back from my class, being all stressed and excited and worried about my trip to the desert this weekend (AHH I LEAVE IN ABOUT FIVE HOURS!!!). I was worrying about the homework I have due when I get back; whether or not the water is drinkable there; if I have an exam or not next week; why would I have four in a row the week after; what am I doing for the 18th... etc, etc. True to form, I was just thinking about everything that's left to do, but not doing anything, either. I rushed home, got in the shower, was making a mental list of things to pack, and saw from the window above the shower that it was dark outside. And it hit me: I missed Thursday sundown. It was night. Day was gone.
For some reason, this made things click for me. I feel like for the better part of my life, people have been telling me to SLOW DOWN. Trace Adkins has legitimitely been quoted to me:
You're gonna miss this.
You're gonna want this back.
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast.
These are the good times.
So take a good look around
You may not know it now,
But you're gonna miss this.
Not that I should lose any ambition or stop dreaming, but I'm always so worried about tomorrow that I miss everything beautiful that happens today. I never live in the moment; I'm always in the moment-after. Why have I never slowed down to watch the sun set before? Why is this only something I do in Chile, or those rare occasions that I'm on vacation? I like it. I should do it more often. I've already missed twenty years of sunsets, and I'm sure they were all beautiful.
Moral of the story? I need to chill out a bit. I'm always too stressed for a 20 year old with no obligations to anyone but herself. And I never compete against anyone BUT myself, so why flip out so much? This doesn't mean I'll allow myself to stop working hard, or not do my best. It just means that every now and then, I should be allowed to take a break and watch the sun set.
I'm not missing the sunset tomorrow.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
No me preocupo
El hombre no va a ninguna parte. Todo viene al hombre, como el mañana.
-Antonio Porchia
-Antonio Porchia
A little bit more than three months left in this country, first time in another country, and I cannot believe how quickly time flies. I've barely left this city in which I've lived for such a short, yet long, period of time. But in these seven weeks, I've seen things that I didn't know existed and encountered a laid back way of life that I didn't know was possible. This carpe diem mentality has been ignited inside of me, and I just want to see/learn/do everything. I'm already looking into programs that let you teach English over the summer in other countries, or just other parts of the US. I've never been one to sit still, and this trip has already taught me truly just how little I like to be in one place.
However, in the past few weeks, "one place" has exactly where I've been. Last weekend was filled with CODEFF activities. I'm slowly falling in love with this organization (actually, let's call it a disorganization. En serio). All of the people in the organization (... I've met four. So tiny) are SO so eager to share all the information that they know with us. Fantastic people.
Saturday, we participated in a demonstration against the dams being built in Patagonia. There were about eleven demonstrations all held simultaneously across the nation. We were all working to get signatures on a petition to have the Chilean government request the Patagonia be protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. And we collected the MOST signatures! Gringas can get things done!
True to form, below is my slide show :) And I stole these pictures. AND click the callout box to get captions!
Sunday, we went on a birdwatch with the same organization. The pelicans were SWEET! But the rest of it kind of bored me, not gonna lie. I think it's because I had NO IDEA what we were looking at, or why they were important. The more that was explained to me, the more I was interested in. However... I did spend some time with fantastic people, and go to walk around a part of the city I've never been to. [For some reason, the entire time I was on this birdwatch I couldn't help but think of the Vogler family...]
Then, I had a week of classes... meaning three days. On Wednesday, I met with a teacher at a school in one of the cerros of Vina, who wants to partner with Doherty Middle in Andover to start a letter exchange program! These are the kinds of things that get me so excited I can't sleep at night... and it's perfect. I start teaching on Monday with my friend Sarah. We have our own class of about 14 students. Cannot. Wait. I'll make sure I take pictures of the neighborhood and mis estudiantes.
Yesterday, we went with CIEE to Rabuco, which is a small farming town about an hour away from Vina. Beautiful, beautiful place. I think if I had to choose between a city and a farmtown... actually, I lied. I'm not sure I could decide. I feel like, in Chile, I could spend hours and hours looking at a horizon that never changes, but see something new and different every minute I spent looking. It's such an amazing country; I can't get over how lucky I am to have landed here. Kind of like applying to Vanderbilt, Chile was a bit of a whim and not much forethought. And again, like Vandy, it's everything I wanted but never knew I did.
Today, we were supposed to go to La Campana, a national park where you can hike mountains and stuff. But it's kind of chilly, and really foggy/cloudy, so this trip was postponed. It doesn't make sense to spend four/five hours hiking up a mountain when you won't have a view at the top. Instead, I stayed in bed for way too long, did a TEENY bit of homework. In a few minutes, I'm going out with a few friends, and then to someone else's house to watch the CHILE v VENEZUELA futbol game!
That's something else about Chile. Chileans in the north and Chileans in the south share so much, regardless of the distance between. They share pisco, la cueca, their national soccer team, a shared identity and culture. It's something that the US doesn't really have, I'm learning. We have more of a regional identity, that's usually associated with other countries. BUT! We have Thanksgiving!
I guess that's all for now... OH! I lied.
1. HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL to all of you Andover kiddies!! Miss you... especially my two favorites
2. GO VANDY! First home football game of the season....feels weird to not be tailgating in a sundress!
Love,
Colleen
However, in the past few weeks, "one place" has exactly where I've been. Last weekend was filled with CODEFF activities. I'm slowly falling in love with this organization (actually, let's call it a disorganization. En serio). All of the people in the organization (... I've met four. So tiny) are SO so eager to share all the information that they know with us. Fantastic people.
Saturday, we participated in a demonstration against the dams being built in Patagonia. There were about eleven demonstrations all held simultaneously across the nation. We were all working to get signatures on a petition to have the Chilean government request the Patagonia be protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. And we collected the MOST signatures! Gringas can get things done!
True to form, below is my slide show :) And I stole these pictures. AND click the callout box to get captions!
Sunday, we went on a birdwatch with the same organization. The pelicans were SWEET! But the rest of it kind of bored me, not gonna lie. I think it's because I had NO IDEA what we were looking at, or why they were important. The more that was explained to me, the more I was interested in. However... I did spend some time with fantastic people, and go to walk around a part of the city I've never been to. [For some reason, the entire time I was on this birdwatch I couldn't help but think of the Vogler family...]
Then, I had a week of classes... meaning three days. On Wednesday, I met with a teacher at a school in one of the cerros of Vina, who wants to partner with Doherty Middle in Andover to start a letter exchange program! These are the kinds of things that get me so excited I can't sleep at night... and it's perfect. I start teaching on Monday with my friend Sarah. We have our own class of about 14 students. Cannot. Wait. I'll make sure I take pictures of the neighborhood and mis estudiantes.
Yesterday, we went with CIEE to Rabuco, which is a small farming town about an hour away from Vina. Beautiful, beautiful place. I think if I had to choose between a city and a farmtown... actually, I lied. I'm not sure I could decide. I feel like, in Chile, I could spend hours and hours looking at a horizon that never changes, but see something new and different every minute I spent looking. It's such an amazing country; I can't get over how lucky I am to have landed here. Kind of like applying to Vanderbilt, Chile was a bit of a whim and not much forethought. And again, like Vandy, it's everything I wanted but never knew I did.
Today, we were supposed to go to La Campana, a national park where you can hike mountains and stuff. But it's kind of chilly, and really foggy/cloudy, so this trip was postponed. It doesn't make sense to spend four/five hours hiking up a mountain when you won't have a view at the top. Instead, I stayed in bed for way too long, did a TEENY bit of homework. In a few minutes, I'm going out with a few friends, and then to someone else's house to watch the CHILE v VENEZUELA futbol game!
That's something else about Chile. Chileans in the north and Chileans in the south share so much, regardless of the distance between. They share pisco, la cueca, their national soccer team, a shared identity and culture. It's something that the US doesn't really have, I'm learning. We have more of a regional identity, that's usually associated with other countries. BUT! We have Thanksgiving!
I guess that's all for now... OH! I lied.
1. HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL to all of you Andover kiddies!! Miss you... especially my two favorites
2. GO VANDY! First home football game of the season....feels weird to not be tailgating in a sundress!
Love,
Colleen
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
"Nerd" is the same word in Spanish. Lesson learned.
iHOLA A TODOS!
Firstly, shout out to all the Vandy kids who are starting classes today.. GOOD LUCK!!!
Not a whole lot going on south of the equator right now . . . it's always surprising to me how quickly something new becomes normal. And it's so helpful now to have a routine (as much as I can say that I have a routine . . . my classes yesterday and this morning were canceled. We shall see what happens tomorrow...).
Where to begin? Oh, I know...
JUEGOS MAPUCHES
Last Thursday, we had our first real Juegos Mapuches class. Well, apparently it was the week before, but all of the gringos thought it was canceled so none of us showed. Bueno!
So we get to class (finally... after having it been moved to a different location across the lake, and after harassing/being harassed by some crazy guys who worked at the stadium), and our profe is holding a huge bundle of sticks that resemble field hockey sticks. We end up playing this game called palin, which really is essentially field hockey, only the "field" is a lot narrower and much, much longer (normally 12 meters wide by 200 long, but we played on a wider and shorter field). Each team has 5 to 15 players, who line up face to face with the other team along the length of the field. And then... craziness ensues.
Our profe thought it would be HILARIOUS if all of the intercambios (exchange students) were on the same team. We had four teams, so ours sat the first game out and watched. But once we took the campo (field).... it was GAME. OVER. It was just a group of about 11 or 12 girls, but I cannot even begin to explain how intense we were! We ended up playing two games in a row (losing the first, dominating the second), and yours truly scored THREE goals! I think I peaked...
Anyway, I've learned that the Mapuche conflict is really something that you don't bring up in casual conversation. Kind of like how in the US you wouldn't randomly start criticizing settlers for the way they treated Natives at the dinner table. But it's different to me, because it's a current event (and it's a new topic to me..). I'm sure I've offended many people with my interests....
More info on the current land dispute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche#Recent_history
More info on current events: http://www.mapuche.nl/english/santiagotimes090812.html
Happy reading!
Worst part of this class? Vandy won't give us credit! The way I'm dealing with it? Pshh.. taking it anyway!
CEDULA DE IDENTIDAD
On Thursday morning, I went with my friend Sarah to get our cédulas de identidad (Chilean ID cards). I had lost my rough draft/paper copy (kind of like how you get a paper permit before a license?), so I was expecting a tough, beaurocratic nightmare where I'd have to start the process all over again... BUT NO! Bless Chile and it's relaxed ways. The lady looked at me, looked at my passport (because nobody understands my name here...) and gave me my card! It's beautiful. And it has my thumbprint on the back. I can't wait until I have to bring my ID somewhere in the US and I can say, "Oh, I'm so sorry! It seems that I only have my Chilean ID with me...."
It's a real plastic ID too. Good job, Chile!
EL CONGRESO NACIONAL
On Friday, CIEE took us en una clase en terreno (field trip) to El Congeso Nacional. Being the history/politics nerd that I am, I was in seventh heaven, even though it was 9 in the morning. It's interesting to me that the Congreso Nacional (which would be like our US Capital Building) is in Valpo even though the Capital is Santiago. But when after Pinochet's coup, he decided to "decentralize," and did so by moving the congress to Valpo. But Valpo is in the same region as Santiago (Chile is divided into 15 regions), and is only about an hour and a half away. So now it seems like it's more of an inconvenience than true decentralization. And I mean, it was a symbolic decentralization anyway.... it's not like the government itself was any less centralized. Go figure. Military dictatorships confuse me.
But Chile has a really interesting political system. It's a presidential representative democratic republic, very similar to the US. The difference lies mainly in the number of political parties and in the power the legislative branch has. Chile has about 12 political parties (six of which are represented in Congress), and most of them are left-leaning. During presidential and other important elections, parties on each side will form alliances in order to nominate one representative. Also, if a law is passed through the Senate, and goes to the president for approval, and she vetoes it, that's the end of that law. It can be re-sent for approval, but only if substantial changes are made. A marked difference from the power that our legislative branch has...
So below is a slideshow of about nine pictures. I definitely forgot my camera that day, so I stole the prettiest ones I could find of other peoples. :) ALSO! On the slideshow itself, in the lower left hand corner, the second button to the right is a small callout/dialogue box. If you click that, it will display all the comments that I've put on my pictures! Hopefully that will explain some of these things a bit better
LAS DUNAS
Saturday, I went with three friends to las dunas (sand dunes) in Concon. But do not be fooled by the word "dune." A much better description would be sand MOUNTAIN. Honestly, these are the coolest structures in the world. From the top, you can see the tip of Valparaiso, the shores of Vina and Renaca, all the way around to the tip of Concon on the other side of the bay. Absolutely breathtaking, and once again, my pictures do it no justice. Again, pictures with comments are below! (And seriously, read the comments on these. It explains my clumsiness...)
Yesterday, I met with someone at CIEE about working with 13-15 year olds in an English program... not sure if the schedules will match, but I'm crossing my fingers and really hoping it works out!! And also, I went with one friend to a CODEFF meeting. CODEFF is a nonprofit that works to preserve Chile's biodiversity. Think about how long Chile is... the driest desert in the north, the lush middle, and then the icy south. It's the most biodiverse country in the world (from what I've heard...), so it makes sense that it needs protecting. BONUS: Volunteering with this nonprofit ensures fun field trips! And in general, it's really interesting to me to see how nonprofits function in other countries. All of the nonprofits I've worked with (I'm thinking mostly CASTLES here, not gonna lie) are so lucky in comparison. It's striking to me that a 40 year old organization with ample legislative power is still struggling so much to make ends meet.
My posts are always so long. Many apologizes!
Love,
C
Firstly, shout out to all the Vandy kids who are starting classes today.. GOOD LUCK!!!
Not a whole lot going on south of the equator right now . . . it's always surprising to me how quickly something new becomes normal. And it's so helpful now to have a routine (as much as I can say that I have a routine . . . my classes yesterday and this morning were canceled. We shall see what happens tomorrow...).
Where to begin? Oh, I know...
JUEGOS MAPUCHES
Last Thursday, we had our first real Juegos Mapuches class. Well, apparently it was the week before, but all of the gringos thought it was canceled so none of us showed. Bueno!
So we get to class (finally... after having it been moved to a different location across the lake, and after harassing/being harassed by some crazy guys who worked at the stadium), and our profe is holding a huge bundle of sticks that resemble field hockey sticks. We end up playing this game called palin, which really is essentially field hockey, only the "field" is a lot narrower and much, much longer (normally 12 meters wide by 200 long, but we played on a wider and shorter field). Each team has 5 to 15 players, who line up face to face with the other team along the length of the field. And then... craziness ensues.
Our profe thought it would be HILARIOUS if all of the intercambios (exchange students) were on the same team. We had four teams, so ours sat the first game out and watched. But once we took the campo (field).... it was GAME. OVER. It was just a group of about 11 or 12 girls, but I cannot even begin to explain how intense we were! We ended up playing two games in a row (losing the first, dominating the second), and yours truly scored THREE goals! I think I peaked...
Anyway, I've learned that the Mapuche conflict is really something that you don't bring up in casual conversation. Kind of like how in the US you wouldn't randomly start criticizing settlers for the way they treated Natives at the dinner table. But it's different to me, because it's a current event (and it's a new topic to me..). I'm sure I've offended many people with my interests....
More info on the current land dispute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche#Recent_history
More info on current events: http://www.mapuche.nl/english/santiagotimes090812.html
Happy reading!
Worst part of this class? Vandy won't give us credit! The way I'm dealing with it? Pshh.. taking it anyway!
CEDULA DE IDENTIDAD
On Thursday morning, I went with my friend Sarah to get our cédulas de identidad (Chilean ID cards). I had lost my rough draft/paper copy (kind of like how you get a paper permit before a license?), so I was expecting a tough, beaurocratic nightmare where I'd have to start the process all over again... BUT NO! Bless Chile and it's relaxed ways. The lady looked at me, looked at my passport (because nobody understands my name here...) and gave me my card! It's beautiful. And it has my thumbprint on the back. I can't wait until I have to bring my ID somewhere in the US and I can say, "Oh, I'm so sorry! It seems that I only have my Chilean ID with me...."
It's a real plastic ID too. Good job, Chile!EL CONGRESO NACIONAL
On Friday, CIEE took us en una clase en terreno (field trip) to El Congeso Nacional. Being the history/politics nerd that I am, I was in seventh heaven, even though it was 9 in the morning. It's interesting to me that the Congreso Nacional (which would be like our US Capital Building) is in Valpo even though the Capital is Santiago. But when after Pinochet's coup, he decided to "decentralize," and did so by moving the congress to Valpo. But Valpo is in the same region as Santiago (Chile is divided into 15 regions), and is only about an hour and a half away. So now it seems like it's more of an inconvenience than true decentralization. And I mean, it was a symbolic decentralization anyway.... it's not like the government itself was any less centralized. Go figure. Military dictatorships confuse me.
But Chile has a really interesting political system. It's a presidential representative democratic republic, very similar to the US. The difference lies mainly in the number of political parties and in the power the legislative branch has. Chile has about 12 political parties (six of which are represented in Congress), and most of them are left-leaning. During presidential and other important elections, parties on each side will form alliances in order to nominate one representative. Also, if a law is passed through the Senate, and goes to the president for approval, and she vetoes it, that's the end of that law. It can be re-sent for approval, but only if substantial changes are made. A marked difference from the power that our legislative branch has...
So below is a slideshow of about nine pictures. I definitely forgot my camera that day, so I stole the prettiest ones I could find of other peoples. :) ALSO! On the slideshow itself, in the lower left hand corner, the second button to the right is a small callout/dialogue box. If you click that, it will display all the comments that I've put on my pictures! Hopefully that will explain some of these things a bit better
LAS DUNAS
Saturday, I went with three friends to las dunas (sand dunes) in Concon. But do not be fooled by the word "dune." A much better description would be sand MOUNTAIN. Honestly, these are the coolest structures in the world. From the top, you can see the tip of Valparaiso, the shores of Vina and Renaca, all the way around to the tip of Concon on the other side of the bay. Absolutely breathtaking, and once again, my pictures do it no justice. Again, pictures with comments are below! (And seriously, read the comments on these. It explains my clumsiness...)
Yesterday, I met with someone at CIEE about working with 13-15 year olds in an English program... not sure if the schedules will match, but I'm crossing my fingers and really hoping it works out!! And also, I went with one friend to a CODEFF meeting. CODEFF is a nonprofit that works to preserve Chile's biodiversity. Think about how long Chile is... the driest desert in the north, the lush middle, and then the icy south. It's the most biodiverse country in the world (from what I've heard...), so it makes sense that it needs protecting. BONUS: Volunteering with this nonprofit ensures fun field trips! And in general, it's really interesting to me to see how nonprofits function in other countries. All of the nonprofits I've worked with (I'm thinking mostly CASTLES here, not gonna lie) are so lucky in comparison. It's striking to me that a 40 year old organization with ample legislative power is still struggling so much to make ends meet.
My posts are always so long. Many apologizes!
Love,
C
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Un mes: una reflexión
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
I cannot believe that, as of yesterday, I've been in Viña for a month. Time is flying by so quickly....Disclaimer: This is going to be a selfish, boring blog post. I want to have a way to track my thoughts and "progress" while I'm here. So I'm mostly just going to be making of list of what I've learned thus far, and what I have left to accomplish.
Why Chile Still Confuses Me
Chile is a land of contradictions. The people here are liberal yet conservative; the country is religious, but secular. I guess it could be argued that it's similar to the US in this manner. But the thing is... it's different. I wish I could explain better. It's almost as if each person is a bit of both, yet claims to be neither. It's this funny combination of advanced and industrialized, and third-world. People have houses of plywood and cardboard, but with satellite TV reception. The first female president was elected in 2006, two years after a law was passed that legalized divorce. I'm also analyzing all of this from an extremely limited viewpoint, something that I'll readily acknowledge. Regardless, Chile me confunde de vez en cuando.
Another example:
Tobacco kills. If you want to live, quit smoking.
Minister of Health, Government of Chile
Example numero dos: Soap and Swine flu. Everyone here is SO SCARED of getting sick. God save you if you happen to cough or sniffle on a crowded bus, because the looks that those old ladies are giving you could honestly kill. There are signs everywhere on what you can do to prevent it. YET! None of the bathrooms have soap (or even soap dispensers). Soap is not a big thing here . . . Ohh, Chile
That's really all that still confuses me. But it's their normal, so I'll have to accept it. Especially when considering the relativity of normality.
Oh, right. And there's that whole language thing, too. But I think it's getting better! I'm able to speak a lot faster in Spanish, and with less thought. I can understand nearly everything that my family says to me (most of the time). I definitely need to speak more. I'm entirely content to just sit at a table and let everyone around me talk. Even if I'm comprehending, I'm not practicing - - which isn't helpful.
Mission: Less English, more Spanish.
(Another quick thing... the way I speak in English is changing, too. I phrase sentences differently and my vowel sounds aren't the same as they used to be. My brain is so confused right now)
I'm frustrated with the US, too. Why in the world is it necessary to use the imperial system instead of the metric? (And isn't it ironic that it's called the imperial system and we're essentially the only country that uses it?!) I'm getting better at converting things in my head (but not height/length...), but it's frustrating that it's even necessary.
Dear United States,
Please adopt the metric system. It'd be easier if we all thought in degrees Celsius, kilometers per hour, and the like.
Love,
Many people.
Okay. It's been a weak reflection, but helpful nonetheless. Hopefully this weekend will be filled with fun adventures and day trips so I can post more pictures!
Ciaaaooo!
-Colleen
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