i suppose the best way to describe life in Chile right now is delaying the inevitable. i pretend i am on eastern standard time which gives me an extra 2 hours of time in the day to get stuff done. sure its 2am here, but its only midnight back in Indiana....this also correlates to 2 hours more of being in chile, until i have to leave. sure it doesnt really make sense but it seems to work fairly well, most of the time. i have less than 5 weeks left here and time is flying. not only the hours but the days and the weeks. im sure you are tired of hearing me say it, quite possibly every single blog. but time flies! i just cant get over that. so now more than ever i am looking back on everything i have done, everyone i have met, all that i have seen and learned and really reflecting.
in this reflection i have realized a few things. first of all, never in my teenage and above, now practically adult, life, have i ever been happier. i have never been more content and completely in love with life, relaxed and literally with very few responsibilities or preoccupations than i have experienced in Chile. i have never been so free and probably never will be. to give you an example, the other day was absolutely gorgeous. warm, sunny, small breeze. i had class and was running late to it (big surprise there) and as i was about to climb the stairs to run up 5 flights of stairs to try to beat the professor who is also always late, i stopped. and came to the realization that the attendance policy is to attend 75% of the classes. that translates to being allowed to skip an entire month of classes, without penalty. theres no reading to do for the classes i am taking or papers really, just two or three randomly spaced out tests and or presentations throughout the semester. so, i decided rather than sitting in class staring out the window wishing i was outside, that i was going to stay outside. so i went down to the beach and pulled out my lunch, music, and journal and spent the next 2 hours reflecting on the state of my relaxed life and people watching, along with wave watching as they rolled in near me. i´ve come to realize time and again that there is much more than studying and doing school work. not only am i here to study, but im more here to experience the culture, learn the language, discover what makes Chile Chile. so i did that. and have been making that my goal, to really experience Chile, formalities of attending or not attending class, aside. im here to learn what it really means to live life, in its most basic, pure form. and i think i have definitely attained that.
the semester is just about over. i have 2 days of presentations, a paper, and two tests next week and then after that am done until one last test on the 30th of november. not too shabby. not only have i had few responsibilities but the classes are just not hard at all. or challenging. and i am definitely okay with that. im appreciating it now b-c i know that come January, life will not be as sunshiney and content and wonderful as it is now. that being said, balance is probably a good thing.
aside from the constant ice cream and pastry runs and trying random foods, i´ve been exploring the hills of valpo on tuesday and sunday afternoons, finding a new place to hang out for a few hours and get work done, or rather, bring work to do and end up talking life with the people around me, eating some chilean dessert or drinking some fairly decent coffee. tuesday afternoons are also spent in these aforementioned cafes playing games with a group of gringos and chileans. the past few weeks we played pictionary with spanish words...good for the vocabulary building and this week we played some form of Risk which just really isnt my style of an enjoyable game. these cafes, which i have only recently just discovered existed, show the true joy and hidden treasure of valpo. hidden high up in the hills these cafes are varied and interesting. most all of them offer just about the same basic items: natural juices, coffees, pies, cakes, and sometimes some sort of actual food. theres cafes that offer music live in the evenings, are covered with photographs and postcards and notes from regulars, tons of books, artwork, each with its own interesting style and ambiance. love it.
i also dont think ive mentioned that i have been volunteering in a local high school teaching english. if i already mentioned this, sorry, im mentioning it again. i havent gone very many times but i usually go monday mornings and hang out in the english classes, helping with lessons or in some cases, coming up with lessons on the spot to teach english words. of the classes i have helped out in, most of the students dont know much english though there are a few in each class who really get it and participate a lot. however, for the most part its kind of tough. we are supposed to talk in english the whole time, to give the teacher and the students practice hearing a native speaker but its hard, espeically when they dont understand me. interesting experience nonetheless and cool to see a high school here in Chile...very reminiscent of Mexico and my high school experiences there, though perhaps a bit more organized here in Chile.
finally, this past weekend 10 of us rented a cabin in a beach town, Maitencillo, about an hour and a half north of Viña. the bus system to semi far away places like beach towns is interesting and we spent a good amount of time sitting at the bus stop, hoping a bus would pass by and take us where we wanted to go. i only went for one night and day but it was fun all the same. someone brought a guitar and we spent a lot of time with that, singing along to whoever was playing, grilling dinner, trying weird Chilean fruits, playing ultimate frisbee down on a deserted beach and just enjoying the sunshine and waves. it wasnt too hot the day i was there, perfect temperature actually with a good breeze. ultimate frisbee on the beach was definitely my highlight and it was fun to see another town, get out of viña, hang out with friends and relax. okay so i relax almost all the time but it was like a vacation from a vacation....my life is ridiculous. its going to be major culture shock coming back to the States and Butler and having a fairly set, strict schedule with work to do. sometimes i wonder if its just me who is maybe just doesnt have that hard of classes or something but upon talking to most of the other exchange students we have all decided that life in Chile is much better than life in the States, especially study time, stress level wise.
as i watch the weather report in the States get colder and more towards winter and the days tick by faster and faster, and realize that the dates that once seemed so far away back in August, are now arriving and people are making plans to go traveling before their flights back to their respective countries, i feel the end of this experience coming. its winding down, i will be saying goodbye to some amazing friends soon, some leaving as soon as november 27. im here later than most and plan to do lots of traveling as i think i mentioned in my last post, along with the arrival of my father in a few very short weeks!!! so ive still got a decent amount of time left but the daily routine (of sorts) that i have here in chile will soon change. my plan: enjoy whats left, dont think about second semester until i absolutely have to, remember how much i really do still miss all of you, and soak up as much of Chile as i possibly can.
life is good. im probably not going to write for a little while which is why i wanted to write now. ill be studying and finishing up my semester and saying goodbye. the goal is to write again before i start traveling come december 1st. so look for that. happy thanksgiving! a few of us are planning on having a potluck of sorts, find some rotisserie chickens b-c i dont think turkey exists here, and maybe attempting a pumpkin pie. i´d be content with fresh strawberries and hold on the pumpkin pie till the States when i know it will be quite tasty and something to look forward to. as a disclaimer, i really have done some work here in Chile but to reiterate, most of the learning has come from traveling and talking with people i have met and hanging out with the chilean friends i have met as well as those here on exchange, hearing and reading Spanish everywhere and trying to talk in Spanish almost all day long. i have learned a lot, it just hasnt been in attending classes.
oh yes, and my webshots is updated with pictures of argentina so after you get over reading through how long this post was, go on over and check those out.
and, in honor of Thanksgiving, i would also like to reiterate that i am thankful for all of you. that you read my blogs, are interested in whats been going on in my life, send me letters and messages telling me how much you miss me and cant wait til i come home. it will be you, my amazing family and incredible friends, who are my motivation for coming home, back to real life and the normalcy of life in the States and the Midwest. i often play out in my head seeing you again, for the first time in many months, and how exciting that will be. i am completely enamored with Chile and if i have to hitchhike all the way back, i will someday. but you are my roots. you are my true loves. and your support and encouragement means the world to me. so as i prepare to return and then actually do, and when i miss Chile, im counting on you. to be my motivation to stay in the States, at least to graduate, and my encouragement to enjoy life and adventure back at home b-c there is definitely a lot of happiness and contentment to be had back at home. and i am looking forward to that. to the days when i see each of you again. what sweet days those will be. :)
LOVE YOU!!!!
katie
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Argentina: The Land of Adventurous Enchantment
hello all! i just returned from the land of Argentina, crossing over the beautiful, still snowy Andes mountains to two different towns semi near the chilean-argentine border. first of all, let me express to you how much i LOVED argentina. it was fantastic to cross the border and experience a new country, new culture. though very similar in many ways to chile, argentina felt even more european than chile does and the accent in some of the people we met was nearly impossible to understand. they speak with an Italian accent and also use a ch, j sound for the ll in all their words. this i was able to catch onto but they mumble and use a lot of slang, as does Chile but i dont know as much of the argentine slang as i have learned here in chile. im sure with practice i could catch on and understand but for the short 4.5 days we spent, it was not enough to master the argentine accent.
the first city we spent time in was Mendoza which apparnetly back in the 1800s was part of Chile. now it is part of argentina and home to streets lined with sycamores and large moats in the streets like an irrigation system or something. the weather was very warm and sunny every day we were there, just like summertime. the nights too were delightful reminiscent of summertime and i enjoyed this very much. in Mendoza we explored the city a lot, ate really cheap amazing steaks, great coffee, delicious ice cream, pastries, chocolates, all sorts of things. argentina is a very cheap country to travel in now, 3 pesos to the dollar with a good sized steak costing about 2 USD. incredible. we had more food than we knew what to do with in most cases.
also, there are ice cream shops EVERYWHERE, my friends decided to call one of the streets Katie Heaven b-c it was covered in ice cream shops. of course there are special argentine flavors. my favorite was Tramontana which was vanilla ice cream with ribbons of dulce de leche and then small chocolate cookie spheres that were crunchy. it was delicious! so rich and creamy. their coffee was also incredibly delcious and very welcome from chilean instant nescafe grossness. much better than my bad coffee experience at mcdonalds which is normally delicious and awesome here in chile. last week i went to try to get wireless and bought a cup of coffee to try to get the code which i guess i already had. anyway i bought a Ristretto aka NASTIEST coffee on earth. it was a tiny tiny cup with half of this tiny cup full of liquid that no matter how much sugar i poured in still tasted absolutely disgusting. i drank the 3 sips or so that were in it and it was painful and nasty. thus Argentina made up for that terribly sad coffee experience. their steak was also incredible and very cheap. their most popular dish is a lomito which is a sandwich that has lomo, strip steak, and then an egg, ham slice, tomato, lettuce, and cheese. sooo good.
the first day we walked and walked and ended up at a huge park where we played frisbee and walked along the lake in a rose garden. we found Cerro de la Gloria and climbed this to view vistas of the city and surrounding area as well as a statue erected in commemoration to General San Martin, a key player in some important war back in the day. :)
the next day we traveled to Uspallata, a mountain town among beautiful multi-colored mountains where a movie starring Brad Pitt...something about Tibet i think, was filmed a while back. we rented a cabin and hiked to Cerro 7 Colores, some part of the mountain range that was gorgeous, varied colors and absolutely gorgeous. we climbed up the hills and played more frisbee, hiking and taking pictures. so wide open and a wonderful reminder of the sheer power and magnamity of nature. We rented bikes the next day to see more of the mountains and biked along the Mendoza River, more wide open vistas and beautiful mountain views.
The final day we were back in Mendoza and as Mendoza is home to 70% of all wine produced in Argentina, we rented bikes and visited a couple bodegas, wineries in the area. we picnicked in a field of olive trees and enjoyed the sunny day after biking around for miles with the snowy mountains off in the distance and the grape vines slowly growing to maturity. the harvest isnt until March but the vineyards were a lot prettier than when i arrived in winter. spring is here and summer is on its way!
aside from the camping trip in Cajon del Maipo, this was one of the first trips i have taken where all of us were on the same page. being only 3 (kelan luke and i) this also made it easier to decide what to do. plus they are super adventurous as well and loved tramping around the city, riding bikes, playing frisbee, taking naps every day, cooking and just purely enjoying life. it was a wonderful vacation from a vacation and entertaining meeting friendly Argentines and delighting in the days and nights. nighttime in mendoza was delightful, the wind calm and the temperatures perfect. after dinner or sometimes before if we ate late, we would walk through the plazas and ped mall, watching the people and seeing street performances and people sipping coffee out on the sidewalk in sidewalk cafes or just walking lackadaiscally.
buena onda (good vibes)
needless to say, i loved Argentina and was impressed by their culture and lifestyle and beautiful mountains and outdoor activities. 6 weeks until i return to the states with 2 trips left or so. i plan to go to the beach and rent a cabin with some friends this weekend, celebrate a haphazard Thanksgiving in some way or another in a couple weeks, go south with Leslie and Caroline and camp in a national park amidst waterfalls and then await the arrival of my dad in exactly one month from today when we will go all the way to the end of the earth in Chile to the famous Torres del Paine National Park, penguin colony, and Punta Arenas. done and done what is ahead looks exciting, what is behind was amazing and living life now is incredible. i literally wake up everyday with a huge smile on my face, completely in love with life and all that i have gotten the chance to see and experience thus far.
good luck with the rest of the semester-year, see you all super soon!
love and miss you,
katie :)
the first city we spent time in was Mendoza which apparnetly back in the 1800s was part of Chile. now it is part of argentina and home to streets lined with sycamores and large moats in the streets like an irrigation system or something. the weather was very warm and sunny every day we were there, just like summertime. the nights too were delightful reminiscent of summertime and i enjoyed this very much. in Mendoza we explored the city a lot, ate really cheap amazing steaks, great coffee, delicious ice cream, pastries, chocolates, all sorts of things. argentina is a very cheap country to travel in now, 3 pesos to the dollar with a good sized steak costing about 2 USD. incredible. we had more food than we knew what to do with in most cases.
also, there are ice cream shops EVERYWHERE, my friends decided to call one of the streets Katie Heaven b-c it was covered in ice cream shops. of course there are special argentine flavors. my favorite was Tramontana which was vanilla ice cream with ribbons of dulce de leche and then small chocolate cookie spheres that were crunchy. it was delicious! so rich and creamy. their coffee was also incredibly delcious and very welcome from chilean instant nescafe grossness. much better than my bad coffee experience at mcdonalds which is normally delicious and awesome here in chile. last week i went to try to get wireless and bought a cup of coffee to try to get the code which i guess i already had. anyway i bought a Ristretto aka NASTIEST coffee on earth. it was a tiny tiny cup with half of this tiny cup full of liquid that no matter how much sugar i poured in still tasted absolutely disgusting. i drank the 3 sips or so that were in it and it was painful and nasty. thus Argentina made up for that terribly sad coffee experience. their steak was also incredible and very cheap. their most popular dish is a lomito which is a sandwich that has lomo, strip steak, and then an egg, ham slice, tomato, lettuce, and cheese. sooo good.
the first day we walked and walked and ended up at a huge park where we played frisbee and walked along the lake in a rose garden. we found Cerro de la Gloria and climbed this to view vistas of the city and surrounding area as well as a statue erected in commemoration to General San Martin, a key player in some important war back in the day. :)
the next day we traveled to Uspallata, a mountain town among beautiful multi-colored mountains where a movie starring Brad Pitt...something about Tibet i think, was filmed a while back. we rented a cabin and hiked to Cerro 7 Colores, some part of the mountain range that was gorgeous, varied colors and absolutely gorgeous. we climbed up the hills and played more frisbee, hiking and taking pictures. so wide open and a wonderful reminder of the sheer power and magnamity of nature. We rented bikes the next day to see more of the mountains and biked along the Mendoza River, more wide open vistas and beautiful mountain views.
The final day we were back in Mendoza and as Mendoza is home to 70% of all wine produced in Argentina, we rented bikes and visited a couple bodegas, wineries in the area. we picnicked in a field of olive trees and enjoyed the sunny day after biking around for miles with the snowy mountains off in the distance and the grape vines slowly growing to maturity. the harvest isnt until March but the vineyards were a lot prettier than when i arrived in winter. spring is here and summer is on its way!
aside from the camping trip in Cajon del Maipo, this was one of the first trips i have taken where all of us were on the same page. being only 3 (kelan luke and i) this also made it easier to decide what to do. plus they are super adventurous as well and loved tramping around the city, riding bikes, playing frisbee, taking naps every day, cooking and just purely enjoying life. it was a wonderful vacation from a vacation and entertaining meeting friendly Argentines and delighting in the days and nights. nighttime in mendoza was delightful, the wind calm and the temperatures perfect. after dinner or sometimes before if we ate late, we would walk through the plazas and ped mall, watching the people and seeing street performances and people sipping coffee out on the sidewalk in sidewalk cafes or just walking lackadaiscally.
buena onda (good vibes)
needless to say, i loved Argentina and was impressed by their culture and lifestyle and beautiful mountains and outdoor activities. 6 weeks until i return to the states with 2 trips left or so. i plan to go to the beach and rent a cabin with some friends this weekend, celebrate a haphazard Thanksgiving in some way or another in a couple weeks, go south with Leslie and Caroline and camp in a national park amidst waterfalls and then await the arrival of my dad in exactly one month from today when we will go all the way to the end of the earth in Chile to the famous Torres del Paine National Park, penguin colony, and Punta Arenas. done and done what is ahead looks exciting, what is behind was amazing and living life now is incredible. i literally wake up everyday with a huge smile on my face, completely in love with life and all that i have gotten the chance to see and experience thus far.
good luck with the rest of the semester-year, see you all super soon!
love and miss you,
katie :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Ramblings, Reminiscing, and Risas (Laughter)
hola chiquillos! (hey everyone)
whelp, i am past the half way point of being here in chile and less than 2 months and counting until i touch back down in the united states...back to reality. and lets be honest, thats scary. i know i say this every time i write but seriously, i cannot believe how fast time is going. to think back and look at my pictures from when i first arrived, to remember how i felt seeing people and places for the first time that are now so familiar, its crazy. Chile feels normal to me now. like home (almost). dont worry, im coming home and i cant wait but really, Chile feels like a second home. or a third home i guess if we count Noblesville, Butler, and now, Chile. my heart keeps leaving itself in places but i guess that is the life of a traveler. and for now, i am good with that. leaving little pieces of myself wherever i go, bringing smiles to the faces of those i meet.
there are so many things about home that i miss. and each day i am realizing how many things about chile i will miss. but the thing is, i still have 7 or 8 weeks or so and for that reason, i am determined to make the very most of each day that i possibly can! and enjoy those who i am with and all the things we see and do. not that i havent been before but it seems like everyone here has suddenly just realized that the end is coming. studying abroad in chile will end. before it just seemed like this huge long indeterminable time but now it is as if we are all filled with a fervor to rather than put off going to see such and such place tomorrow, to go today, and live in today rather than in tomorrow. so enough of the rambling, back to refocus.
the longer i stay in chile and frequent the places that i enjoy, i am starting to be recognized by shop owners and even though we dont know each others names, we share a little bit of life in those fleeting minutes when i arrive to buy a little pastry or some dinner on the go. we chat and share a smile and then i am on my way. the smiles of these owners is something a bit difficult to describe but its kind of exciting. when they recognize me and remember the last time i visited. its pretty neat.
so. events. my MOM came and visited for 5 or 6 days last week. we had beautiful, sunny, warm weather each day she was here. it was a whirlwind of activity as i played tour guide and showed her all over Viña and Valpo, we even took a couple short trips to a vineyard and another coastal town farther north, Cachagua, where the Humboldt penguins reside on a little island. it was SO beautiful there, the beach was deserted, the water a deep blue, and the penguins small and so cute. we couldnt see them too well but close enough to know they were penguins. super sweet. it was incredible to see her, i hadnt realized how much i had missed her. seeing my mom was kind of like seeing the rest of my family as well, and i definitely miss them. being away from family and friends for this long, in completely new and foreign surroundings has really made me realize not only how much i am loved, but how blessed i really am. i know some amazing people and really truly appreciate and love all of your letters, notes, pictures, random shout-outs. i wish you could see how excited i get and the huge smile that spreads across my face when i see something waiting for me.
so anyway, i played tour guide and showed my mom my Chile. i had her try almost all of my favorite foods here: lúcuma ice cream, maicena, churrascos and completos, empanadas, mil hojas...all sorts of the delicious things Chile has to offer. it was fun to just be with her and show her my life here as well as meet my host family and friends that i have made here. its always interesting showing your life to someone else and seeing what they think of everything, re-seeing things that are super normal to you but through their eyes. not knowing much Spanish but still trying to understand and doing a pretty good job communicating with my host family, i played translator most of the time which helped my bilingualism somewhat and increased my confidence as we maneuvered through the bus and metro system among other things. we rented bikes and rode along the coast, stopping to explore some tide pools where we found some sea anemones clinging to giant kelp covered rocks and even saw a dead sun star. the penguin colony visit was most definitely the highlight of the week though it was a long 2 hour bus ride into uncharted territory..they never really tell you when you arrive to a city so we had to guess when we arrived to the city we wanted and ended up getting off on the side of the highway and hiking alongside the ocean until we finally found the path we needed. such is the life of a traveler. we cooked for my host family (chicken divan and apple crisp mmmm) and spent our last day together in Santiago, exploring around there. i ate really well the week she was here and before we both knew it, it was time for her to get back on the plane and fly back to the states. my dad comes in december to go travel south with me so that will be exciting as well though it is still far off for now...it will come fast.
we also recently sprung forward and are enjoying daylight til almost 8pm now which is glorious. i love daylight savings time and once it stays consistently warm and sunny i hope to really make the most of the longer hours of daylight.
classes here are not really that hard and i am realizing that i get a lot of pity points simply for being not from Chile or natively speaking Spanish. i've gotten a couple tests back recently where i received much higher scores than i definitely deserved, some of which i didnt even really answer the question being asked but i guess my effort got more points than actual content or maybe i did write what they were looking for. either way, the days of study are few and far between and with the onset of some gorgeous weather i find it difficult to sit inside and study anyway so i suppose it all works out. as i have told some, i am not really here to study though that is part of the experience..being in Chilean classrooms and seeing how university classes are conducted here and learning a bit. i am more here for the experience and learning the culture and the language. and with the latter goal i believe i am succeeding to the full. as i said at the start of this entry, Chile holds a piece of my heart and i consider myself extremely blessed to be able to be here, in this particular country, meeting the particular people i have, seeing so many places and truly discovering the true meaning of -living life...in its most purest form-.
if you are still reading, i applaud you for slogging through my ramblings with little focus. why focus when i can just write what is on my mind? thats the most raw anyway, what i really feel rather than some organized, neatly written, organized piece about the experiences i am having. thats not really who i am either. i am messy, all over the place and i like to ramble. (much to the chagrin of my host mom in regards to the messes i make..i dont mean to, they just happen. she is extremely concerned about me staining stuff..its a good thing i am 20 and not 2 otherwise she might really wig out)
In the spirit of previews, I will be traveling to Argentina with Kelan and Luke next Wednesday, consequently Halloween which we shall celebrate on the bus as we travel through the Andes. So look forward to some Argentine tales!
i hope you too are truly enjoying life and living it to the fullest. there will always be work to be done but not always life to be lived. with that in mind, i send my love and wish you the best. thanks for all your love and support and cyber hugs! God is good.
love,
katie :)
whelp, i am past the half way point of being here in chile and less than 2 months and counting until i touch back down in the united states...back to reality. and lets be honest, thats scary. i know i say this every time i write but seriously, i cannot believe how fast time is going. to think back and look at my pictures from when i first arrived, to remember how i felt seeing people and places for the first time that are now so familiar, its crazy. Chile feels normal to me now. like home (almost). dont worry, im coming home and i cant wait but really, Chile feels like a second home. or a third home i guess if we count Noblesville, Butler, and now, Chile. my heart keeps leaving itself in places but i guess that is the life of a traveler. and for now, i am good with that. leaving little pieces of myself wherever i go, bringing smiles to the faces of those i meet.
there are so many things about home that i miss. and each day i am realizing how many things about chile i will miss. but the thing is, i still have 7 or 8 weeks or so and for that reason, i am determined to make the very most of each day that i possibly can! and enjoy those who i am with and all the things we see and do. not that i havent been before but it seems like everyone here has suddenly just realized that the end is coming. studying abroad in chile will end. before it just seemed like this huge long indeterminable time but now it is as if we are all filled with a fervor to rather than put off going to see such and such place tomorrow, to go today, and live in today rather than in tomorrow. so enough of the rambling, back to refocus.
the longer i stay in chile and frequent the places that i enjoy, i am starting to be recognized by shop owners and even though we dont know each others names, we share a little bit of life in those fleeting minutes when i arrive to buy a little pastry or some dinner on the go. we chat and share a smile and then i am on my way. the smiles of these owners is something a bit difficult to describe but its kind of exciting. when they recognize me and remember the last time i visited. its pretty neat.
so. events. my MOM came and visited for 5 or 6 days last week. we had beautiful, sunny, warm weather each day she was here. it was a whirlwind of activity as i played tour guide and showed her all over Viña and Valpo, we even took a couple short trips to a vineyard and another coastal town farther north, Cachagua, where the Humboldt penguins reside on a little island. it was SO beautiful there, the beach was deserted, the water a deep blue, and the penguins small and so cute. we couldnt see them too well but close enough to know they were penguins. super sweet. it was incredible to see her, i hadnt realized how much i had missed her. seeing my mom was kind of like seeing the rest of my family as well, and i definitely miss them. being away from family and friends for this long, in completely new and foreign surroundings has really made me realize not only how much i am loved, but how blessed i really am. i know some amazing people and really truly appreciate and love all of your letters, notes, pictures, random shout-outs. i wish you could see how excited i get and the huge smile that spreads across my face when i see something waiting for me.
so anyway, i played tour guide and showed my mom my Chile. i had her try almost all of my favorite foods here: lúcuma ice cream, maicena, churrascos and completos, empanadas, mil hojas...all sorts of the delicious things Chile has to offer. it was fun to just be with her and show her my life here as well as meet my host family and friends that i have made here. its always interesting showing your life to someone else and seeing what they think of everything, re-seeing things that are super normal to you but through their eyes. not knowing much Spanish but still trying to understand and doing a pretty good job communicating with my host family, i played translator most of the time which helped my bilingualism somewhat and increased my confidence as we maneuvered through the bus and metro system among other things. we rented bikes and rode along the coast, stopping to explore some tide pools where we found some sea anemones clinging to giant kelp covered rocks and even saw a dead sun star. the penguin colony visit was most definitely the highlight of the week though it was a long 2 hour bus ride into uncharted territory..they never really tell you when you arrive to a city so we had to guess when we arrived to the city we wanted and ended up getting off on the side of the highway and hiking alongside the ocean until we finally found the path we needed. such is the life of a traveler. we cooked for my host family (chicken divan and apple crisp mmmm) and spent our last day together in Santiago, exploring around there. i ate really well the week she was here and before we both knew it, it was time for her to get back on the plane and fly back to the states. my dad comes in december to go travel south with me so that will be exciting as well though it is still far off for now...it will come fast.
we also recently sprung forward and are enjoying daylight til almost 8pm now which is glorious. i love daylight savings time and once it stays consistently warm and sunny i hope to really make the most of the longer hours of daylight.
classes here are not really that hard and i am realizing that i get a lot of pity points simply for being not from Chile or natively speaking Spanish. i've gotten a couple tests back recently where i received much higher scores than i definitely deserved, some of which i didnt even really answer the question being asked but i guess my effort got more points than actual content or maybe i did write what they were looking for. either way, the days of study are few and far between and with the onset of some gorgeous weather i find it difficult to sit inside and study anyway so i suppose it all works out. as i have told some, i am not really here to study though that is part of the experience..being in Chilean classrooms and seeing how university classes are conducted here and learning a bit. i am more here for the experience and learning the culture and the language. and with the latter goal i believe i am succeeding to the full. as i said at the start of this entry, Chile holds a piece of my heart and i consider myself extremely blessed to be able to be here, in this particular country, meeting the particular people i have, seeing so many places and truly discovering the true meaning of -living life...in its most purest form-.
if you are still reading, i applaud you for slogging through my ramblings with little focus. why focus when i can just write what is on my mind? thats the most raw anyway, what i really feel rather than some organized, neatly written, organized piece about the experiences i am having. thats not really who i am either. i am messy, all over the place and i like to ramble. (much to the chagrin of my host mom in regards to the messes i make..i dont mean to, they just happen. she is extremely concerned about me staining stuff..its a good thing i am 20 and not 2 otherwise she might really wig out)
In the spirit of previews, I will be traveling to Argentina with Kelan and Luke next Wednesday, consequently Halloween which we shall celebrate on the bus as we travel through the Andes. So look forward to some Argentine tales!
i hope you too are truly enjoying life and living it to the fullest. there will always be work to be done but not always life to be lived. with that in mind, i send my love and wish you the best. thanks for all your love and support and cyber hugs! God is good.
love,
katie :)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Living in the Beautiful Whirlwind Called Life
Life has definitely picked up recently. I continue to revel in the fact that I do indeed go to a Latin school and with that in mind, have lots of classes cancelled, rarely have work to do, and have the ability to just not show up for class if i have something better to do. quite the contrast from Butler but i am definitely still challenged. kind of. a little. at times. i've actually spent the last few days-week or so studying and getting a ton of stuff done. so i have been studious but upon finishing my essay at 8.30 this evening i am now looking forward to 2 weeks of fun in the sun and a little bit of class. next week one of the colleges at my university, the college of business actually, is celebrating its anniversary of becoming part of the university and therefore, we dont have business classes all week long. i'll take that. im soaking up the fun now b-c i know it wont be so laid-back at butler but to each his own.
so, what HAVE i been up to since i last checked in? spring is here with full sunny warm vengeance and spectacular green-ness and growth. there are flowers everywhere and the leaves are the trees are coming out full and new and happy. i love walking down the side streets of the cities, lined with green leaves finally as the warm sun beats down on my happy bare feet. its awesome to be able to break out the sandals yet again. i missed them.
i've had lots of random adventures...studied for a few days for a philosophy test i thought we had only to find out the night before that i was mistaken. i'd misunderstood what the profe had told me. but it worked out b-c the next week we had our test and i had already reviewed a lot of it! another essay test, they sure like those here. i went to an aerobox class with my language partner..we meet up every week or so to speak in English and Spanish as she is trying to learn english and well, im here for spanish. ive resigned myself to the fact that i will not be fluent by the time i leave here. always close but never quite there. chilean spanish isnt really the easiest to become fluent with and while i have become very fluid in my speaking theres still a lot to learn and know and grammar to correct. i try but i just dont think i will get to fluency. who knows though, i did just pass the halfway point of being here. i cant believe its nearly mid-october...it seems so weird that fall is happening in the U.S. with happy springtime here.
oh right, the aerobox class. so i met up with Gigi one saturday morning a while ago and we went to the basement gym of PUCV and i basically made a fool of myself for an hour. there was music and all these movements and punching and kicking the air and spinning. i just kind of tried to move around but kept running into people and looking silly. it would most deifnitely have been exactly the same had i tried it in the states so i cant even pull the language barrier card. i just dont have aerobox rhythm.
this past weekend i first went to Cajón de Maipo with leslie, kelan, and caroline. the 4 of us caught train after train and bus after bus until finally after exploring most of santiago's train system, we arrived to a small town on the edge of a beautiful canyon in between the Andes mountains. we backpacked around the area and climbed a few of the nearby foothills. for the evening we were told by a few as well as a sign that camping was prohibited in the area. however, after hiking for a bit and coming across a roped off area with a peruvian woman standing guard, we talked to her and were granted permission to camp, though she was surprised to see that it was just us women, no guys. chilean women arent hardcore and i doubt many of the friends i have made would be up for camping in the wilderness like we did. we brought along food, mostly crackers and a few loaves of bread and some meat and cheese sorts of stuff. ate along the River Clarillo and set up camp a little ways away. we had a gorgeous view of the snow-capped Andes as well as some neat rock formation mountains and trees. one big difference between camping in the states and camping in chile is that you cant leave your camp set up and then go hiking..it will get stolen so we had to carry everything around with us and our huge intense looking backpacks. that made hiking a bit more tricky but we definitely managed. after deciding we didnt have enough firewood to start a fire we sat around the leftover ashes from someone who had found enough wood and ate our ramshackle meal. the stars eventually started popping out, one by one and within a few minutes we were greeted to quite the display of southern hemisphere stars. it was absolutely gorgeous and after kelan and caroline went to sleep around 9, leslie and i stayed outside looking up at the sky in simple silence and awe, giving way to sharing life stories and soaking up the chilean evening and the beautiful night sky. we crawled into our sleeping bags shortly before 10pm...theres not a whole lot to do without electricity! the next morning we went farther into the canyon and were told that if we wanted to hike we had to pay the equivalent of ten bucks to go on some trail. after looking at our incredulous faces, the guide told us about a secret trail a few blocks away. we were greeted by a pack of 3 dogs at said trail and continued on anyway. the dogs became our companions and followed us all the way up to the very top of this mountain where we were all greeted with more stunning views of the canyon and mountains. the hike was super tough and at times we werent really on a trail. but we made it eventually and it was super worth it. good friends, camping, hiking, nature, laughing, living. life in its most pure of forms.
back in santiago, kelan and i joined up with heidi luke adam and jordan for a bit. kelans birthday was monday and the two of us celebrated by touring the city and climbing another hill that greeted us with less pretty views...just smoggy santiago and the mountains kind of in the distance. we spent a lot of time in the train station, traveling from one side of the city to the other. by the end of the day we joked that we could win in the scattergories category of Santiago Metro Stops...probably not far from the truth. the metro in stgo is much crazier than that of Viña-Valpo. for one thing, there are 7 million people in stgo compared to less than a million between the two cities of viña-valpo. therefore, most of the time you are running to catch the train before the doors start to close, almost cut off your leg, and then you have to kind of force people to move a smidgen to give you a bit of room to stand and kind of breathe. expect to almost fall over every time the train moves or stops or goes. it was quite the experience but fun all the same. kelan knew of some restaurant that made salads so we went there for lunch and it was delicious...the -salad- here is normally random raw veggies cut up onto a plate covered in vinegar and salt. these salads we ate were real and soooo good. a huge bowl with lettuce and nuts and chicken and veggies and goodness. yes.
the evening arrived, bringing the point of our trip to santiago in the first place: the Incubus concert. i dont really like incubus and just went along for the ride and to hang out. i ended up narking out standing up and only knew about 2 songs. the lead singer greeted the crowd with his two phrases -gracias santiago- and -que tal-. they also brought out the chilean flag and waved that around a few times, much to the glee of a pretty packed house. the concert was only 1.5 hours, incubus was the only band that played. it was fun to hang out with everyone, but not really something i'd care to repeat. after the concert we met up with a bunch of people we'd met from the hostel we were staying at from all over the world: england, spain, brazil, and some others i forget. we celebrated the last bit of kelans birthday and the start of adams in a perkins looking place on a street near our hostel.
i am eagerly looking forward to this friday now when my mom flies in from indy to visit for nearly a week. i cant wait to see her and show her around this life of mine here in chile. i miss you all a lot but am definitely enjoying chile and really cant believe its almost half over. i love the people i have met here and cant wait for more adventures though i am also counting down the days until i can brighten all of your doorsteps and see you all again. time will pass as it does and i have been learning so much. not just Spanish but about myself, about life, the perspectives of others towards the U.S. and a variety of other topics. i could go on and on but i think this is probably long enough already. the point is, study abroad if you arent already, travel whenever you get the chance, and always be ready for plans to change or not work out, perhaps for the better.
jump in a pile of crunchy leaves and drink some warmed apple cider for me!
love,
Katie
so, what HAVE i been up to since i last checked in? spring is here with full sunny warm vengeance and spectacular green-ness and growth. there are flowers everywhere and the leaves are the trees are coming out full and new and happy. i love walking down the side streets of the cities, lined with green leaves finally as the warm sun beats down on my happy bare feet. its awesome to be able to break out the sandals yet again. i missed them.
i've had lots of random adventures...studied for a few days for a philosophy test i thought we had only to find out the night before that i was mistaken. i'd misunderstood what the profe had told me. but it worked out b-c the next week we had our test and i had already reviewed a lot of it! another essay test, they sure like those here. i went to an aerobox class with my language partner..we meet up every week or so to speak in English and Spanish as she is trying to learn english and well, im here for spanish. ive resigned myself to the fact that i will not be fluent by the time i leave here. always close but never quite there. chilean spanish isnt really the easiest to become fluent with and while i have become very fluid in my speaking theres still a lot to learn and know and grammar to correct. i try but i just dont think i will get to fluency. who knows though, i did just pass the halfway point of being here. i cant believe its nearly mid-october...it seems so weird that fall is happening in the U.S. with happy springtime here.
oh right, the aerobox class. so i met up with Gigi one saturday morning a while ago and we went to the basement gym of PUCV and i basically made a fool of myself for an hour. there was music and all these movements and punching and kicking the air and spinning. i just kind of tried to move around but kept running into people and looking silly. it would most deifnitely have been exactly the same had i tried it in the states so i cant even pull the language barrier card. i just dont have aerobox rhythm.
this past weekend i first went to Cajón de Maipo with leslie, kelan, and caroline. the 4 of us caught train after train and bus after bus until finally after exploring most of santiago's train system, we arrived to a small town on the edge of a beautiful canyon in between the Andes mountains. we backpacked around the area and climbed a few of the nearby foothills. for the evening we were told by a few as well as a sign that camping was prohibited in the area. however, after hiking for a bit and coming across a roped off area with a peruvian woman standing guard, we talked to her and were granted permission to camp, though she was surprised to see that it was just us women, no guys. chilean women arent hardcore and i doubt many of the friends i have made would be up for camping in the wilderness like we did. we brought along food, mostly crackers and a few loaves of bread and some meat and cheese sorts of stuff. ate along the River Clarillo and set up camp a little ways away. we had a gorgeous view of the snow-capped Andes as well as some neat rock formation mountains and trees. one big difference between camping in the states and camping in chile is that you cant leave your camp set up and then go hiking..it will get stolen so we had to carry everything around with us and our huge intense looking backpacks. that made hiking a bit more tricky but we definitely managed. after deciding we didnt have enough firewood to start a fire we sat around the leftover ashes from someone who had found enough wood and ate our ramshackle meal. the stars eventually started popping out, one by one and within a few minutes we were greeted to quite the display of southern hemisphere stars. it was absolutely gorgeous and after kelan and caroline went to sleep around 9, leslie and i stayed outside looking up at the sky in simple silence and awe, giving way to sharing life stories and soaking up the chilean evening and the beautiful night sky. we crawled into our sleeping bags shortly before 10pm...theres not a whole lot to do without electricity! the next morning we went farther into the canyon and were told that if we wanted to hike we had to pay the equivalent of ten bucks to go on some trail. after looking at our incredulous faces, the guide told us about a secret trail a few blocks away. we were greeted by a pack of 3 dogs at said trail and continued on anyway. the dogs became our companions and followed us all the way up to the very top of this mountain where we were all greeted with more stunning views of the canyon and mountains. the hike was super tough and at times we werent really on a trail. but we made it eventually and it was super worth it. good friends, camping, hiking, nature, laughing, living. life in its most pure of forms.
back in santiago, kelan and i joined up with heidi luke adam and jordan for a bit. kelans birthday was monday and the two of us celebrated by touring the city and climbing another hill that greeted us with less pretty views...just smoggy santiago and the mountains kind of in the distance. we spent a lot of time in the train station, traveling from one side of the city to the other. by the end of the day we joked that we could win in the scattergories category of Santiago Metro Stops...probably not far from the truth. the metro in stgo is much crazier than that of Viña-Valpo. for one thing, there are 7 million people in stgo compared to less than a million between the two cities of viña-valpo. therefore, most of the time you are running to catch the train before the doors start to close, almost cut off your leg, and then you have to kind of force people to move a smidgen to give you a bit of room to stand and kind of breathe. expect to almost fall over every time the train moves or stops or goes. it was quite the experience but fun all the same. kelan knew of some restaurant that made salads so we went there for lunch and it was delicious...the -salad- here is normally random raw veggies cut up onto a plate covered in vinegar and salt. these salads we ate were real and soooo good. a huge bowl with lettuce and nuts and chicken and veggies and goodness. yes.
the evening arrived, bringing the point of our trip to santiago in the first place: the Incubus concert. i dont really like incubus and just went along for the ride and to hang out. i ended up narking out standing up and only knew about 2 songs. the lead singer greeted the crowd with his two phrases -gracias santiago- and -que tal-. they also brought out the chilean flag and waved that around a few times, much to the glee of a pretty packed house. the concert was only 1.5 hours, incubus was the only band that played. it was fun to hang out with everyone, but not really something i'd care to repeat. after the concert we met up with a bunch of people we'd met from the hostel we were staying at from all over the world: england, spain, brazil, and some others i forget. we celebrated the last bit of kelans birthday and the start of adams in a perkins looking place on a street near our hostel.
i am eagerly looking forward to this friday now when my mom flies in from indy to visit for nearly a week. i cant wait to see her and show her around this life of mine here in chile. i miss you all a lot but am definitely enjoying chile and really cant believe its almost half over. i love the people i have met here and cant wait for more adventures though i am also counting down the days until i can brighten all of your doorsteps and see you all again. time will pass as it does and i have been learning so much. not just Spanish but about myself, about life, the perspectives of others towards the U.S. and a variety of other topics. i could go on and on but i think this is probably long enough already. the point is, study abroad if you arent already, travel whenever you get the chance, and always be ready for plans to change or not work out, perhaps for the better.
jump in a pile of crunchy leaves and drink some warmed apple cider for me!
love,
Katie
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Vacationing: how sweet it is
Hello everyone!
Im really not even sure where to begin. I have been having a whole ton of adventures as of late and am now in the process of trying to get back into the swing of school and studying, at least a little bit. :)
Last Thursday, the 13th, I left the city and noise and busyness behind and rode 12 hours south in a bus to Valdivia, a little college town in between a series of three rivers, close to the ocean coast. We stayed in a hostel and met a French man who spoke a bunch of languages and was spending the year traveling the world. Visited the university campus of Universidad Austral de Chile and walked around the botanical gardens along the Rivers Valdivia and Cau-Cau. We walked through residential neighborhoods which I haven’t really seen in chile on our way to a little park and it made me kind of miss the tranquility of suburbia. One thing that really struck me in all of our travels was how green and just absolutely beautiful everything is here. There are so many different varieties of trees and birds, my eyes were so happy the entire time. We had great weather in
Villarrica was definitely my favorite city that we visited-it was small and cultural feeling, with amazing views of Volcano Villarrica which was covered by at least a bit of cloud most of the time—completely snow covered. We were hoping to do some hiking in the national parks while there but forgot that it is still winter and there was no public access…on account of there being 3-4 meters of snow covering all the areas we wanted to go hike in. Instead, Heidi and Eric and I decided to rent bikes from our hostel and go through part of the national park of the volcano. Of course we chose to do this on the ONE day of rain that we ended up having and as we began our 30 mile trek it started to rain, but we decided to just keep on going. Our non-waterproof jackets held up for a little while but not long enough. It was about a 6 hour journey mostly uphill, we even saw snow on the side of the road at the highest point. When we did not find a bridge we were supposed to cross to get across a canyon we decided to turn around. We were all pretty miserable and took a break inside a wooden structure on the side of the path for a while, trying to motivate ourselves to reenter the rain and complete the ride. We finally did and as we began to descend, the sun came out, dried us off a little and treated us to some pretty spectacular views as we realized the whole time the volcano was right in front of us but just hidden in all the rain and clouds surrounding it. We decided to cook most of our meals while traveling, not only b-c it was cheaper but b-c we could. That was so fun, I missed cooking and doing my own dishes and eating something I made by myself, with the collaboration of friends. Im sure next semester I will get tired of it after a while but for now, it was definitely enjoyable.
Pucón was pretty blasé and boring. Just like an adventure tourism
Independence Day was fun as well. We listened to Chilean music the whole day and for lunch had kababs with pork, beef, hot dogs (of course), and onions. Normally we would have had empanadas which are filled doughy masses with cheese or meat or really whatever you can think of to add but the price of onions is really high right now so we didn’t. milk is also very expensive…about 8 dollars for 8 liters of powdered and a $1.25 or so for a liter of premade milk in a bag. I miss my calcium intake. I walked along the beach and through the town, the beach was definitely the place to be as everything in town minus a very small handful of restaurants was closed. Children were flying kites and playing in the waves (it wasn’t that warm…) and families just passing the day wandering through the sand. At night I went out with my Chilean parents to one of their friends houses in a neighboring suburb of Viña. They tried to teach me to dance the cueca which is the national dance of chile with handkerchiefs. Basically independence week is the one week of the year when everyone is super patriotic and in love with chile and there is pure Chilean music and dancing and festivities…when all of chiles culture comes out. After its over, they become gringos again, adopting other cultures and such as they do. More meat at this party and lots of dancing. It was fun to meet more people and just experience an independence day party. We left for it at about 10.15 and I was pretty tired so I caught a bus at 2.45…my Chilean parents didn’t get home til 5.30! and such is how life goes…
The next day I caught the train to the end of the line about an hour away into the mountains where leslie, marc, Christian, adam, Jordan, eric, franz, caroline, leslies sister Kristin who is visiting for a week, and cordelia all rented a cabin in the mountains. It was again, super beautiful and soooo relaxing to just hang out, walk around in the area and experience warmth and sunshine and good company. We played Frisbee and walked through the town and tried to find a rodeo but missed out b-c it was the tail end of the festivities and most of the Chileans were all celebrations out and starting back to work and school.
Since then ive been trying to get back into the groove of school, my first philosophy test is on Tuesday and I have a paper and presentation coming up. October is going to fly for sure, lots going on (including my moms visit!!!)
As I said before, the homesickness comes and goes but lately I have been really really really loving it here. Of course I miss home and everyone there but at the same time here I am in chile and I have made some pretty amazing friends so for now, while we are all together here, learning Spanish and experiencing a foreign culture, I am going to live it up and soak up the culture and enjoy being here. Not to mention that the weather is getting spectacular…its going to be very difficult to study as the days get nicer and nicer here with more and more sunshine and warmer temperatures. It still gets pretty cold at night but the days are nice, minus the wind from time to time that rips through, disheveling everything and everyone in its way.
Heres to vacation, and now getting back to a bit of school mentality so I can at least pass these classes. :) love you guys!!
Katie
Monday, September 10, 2007
Immersing myself in a culture
Heyo!
I figured I should update now before we leave on our vacations and I come back and have 3 whole novels worth to tell you.
The homesickness definitely comes in waves and i´ve found the best remedy to that is to just get outside and walk around and explore. Not only do i love being outside but it makes me breathe in the culture and realize that i am in a special part of my life and in an amazing place.
We´ve had quite a few days lately of cloudy, semi cold weather which has been lamentable but today and yesterday were gorgeous and warm...i was even sweating trekking across town! Friday i went to a folklore concert with Kelan and Leslie. it was in the theater in the center of town and FREE! very interesting, neat cultural event. there were people who dressed up in many of the traditional outfits of indians throughout chile and played traditional music and acted out scenes and danced different dances. it was pretty neat and very beautiful to see all their traditional wear.
saturday i went with Caroline Adam and Jordan to Isla Negra, a little town about 1.5 hours south of Viña where one of pablo nerudas homes is located. there is not much else in this town aside from pablos house but it was a very beautiful area with a unique coarse sand beach, interesting pine trees, and a house full of all sorts of collections such as ships in bottles, TONS of shells and sea life from a narwhal horn to green shells from cuba, huge oyster shells, all sorts of stuff. a large fake horse with 3 tails, and all sorts of glass bottles and busts from boats. neruda had a large obsession with the sea and this was evident in our visit to this particular home where he spent most of his life. we met a couple on the bus back, the woman was from San Diego and her boyfriend from southern Chile. they were spending the weekend in Valparaiso and we met up with them later on in the evening to hang out and trade stories as well as experience Valpo.
Sunday was a fantastic living life day. I woke up decently early and walked all over Viña..down to the mall 20 blocks away and then back along the beach, walking barefoot watching families playing with their children, flying kites, even a group of guys playing in the ocean and getting engulfed by the large waves! sundays are bustling, family days and itw as fun to just wander and be a part of that. after a lunch of all types of grilled meat on our new grill i caught a bus to Valpo and wandered from one side to the other. i found 3 plazas and saw all sorts of people out in the streets, selling books, antiques, food, souvenoirs, gokart rides, kites. i bought a kite but didnt have the proper supplies to construct it and was told so while attempting to build it by a little boy of about 6 years of age, after his own kite hit me about 3 times while sitting in the plaza. at the last plaza which was by far the largest of those i found this day, i stopped and just breathed in chile, soaking up the sights and smells of a sunny sunday. there was a music group playing and talking on the hill in the center of the plaza amidst a statue of one of the founders of Chile, Bernard O`Higgins. Many of Chiles founders were from Great Britain thus the presence of many English names and buildings named after these specific heroes. Upon exiting the plaza, I saw a man playing guitar and singing on one of the street corners and decided to stop and listen. his manager came over, convinced me to buy a CD, and talked to me about how i enjoyed chile, what i was studying...the normal questions of almost every Chilean or non-Chilean that i have met. i stayed for quite a while, just listening and watching people bustle about as the sun began to set. i caught the metro home and found my way to a panaderia for some cake...i still havent found actual cake here and settled for a nutty, pastel papery manjar layered cake with pineapple slices. later in the evening i met up with Leslie, Christian, Marc, and Matt for our weekly sunday reunion at Ciao for 2 for 1 happy hour... 2 for 1 drinks and some of the best pizza ever. It was a relaxing evening of conversation and camaraderie on everything from this past weekend to the U.S. university education system, U.S. perspèctives of cultural experiences and travel, a German perspective from Christian on WWII and how it is treated and thought of in Germany today, etc.
Thursday evening i leave with Heidi Jordan Adam and Eric on a 12 hour bus ride down to Valdivia and then to Villarrica and Pucón for a few days until the 18th, independence day. The week of all of Chile`s culture rolled into one week of festivities. There are flags everywhere, traditional music, and all sorts of events. Upon our return and celebrating Tuesday, I am meeting up with Leslie, Marc, Christian, and a few others in Olmue, a small village in the country with cowboys and rodeos to go camping and see a different side of celebrating the 18th.
Hope everyone is well, as always, keep writing and sending stuff and conversing, i´ve been here for just about 2 months now..crazy huh?
to end this edition i am leaving you with one of my favorite songs. it is by John Mayer, titled Why Georgia. I challenge you to ask yourself the same questions he poses in this song. Are you livin it right? Write me of your adventures and strive to begin each day truly making the most of every moment and opportunity, cachai? (understand?)
^i am drivin up 85 in the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon...
either way i wonder sometimes about the outcome of a still, verdictless life
am i livin it right?
so what so ive got a smile on. but its hidin the quiet superstitions in my head. dont believe me, dont believe me when i say ive got it down
everybody is just a stranger and thats the danger in going my own way. i guess thats the price i have to pay. still everything happens for a reason its no reason not to ask myself if i am living it right..am i living it right?^
I figured I should update now before we leave on our vacations and I come back and have 3 whole novels worth to tell you.
The homesickness definitely comes in waves and i´ve found the best remedy to that is to just get outside and walk around and explore. Not only do i love being outside but it makes me breathe in the culture and realize that i am in a special part of my life and in an amazing place.
We´ve had quite a few days lately of cloudy, semi cold weather which has been lamentable but today and yesterday were gorgeous and warm...i was even sweating trekking across town! Friday i went to a folklore concert with Kelan and Leslie. it was in the theater in the center of town and FREE! very interesting, neat cultural event. there were people who dressed up in many of the traditional outfits of indians throughout chile and played traditional music and acted out scenes and danced different dances. it was pretty neat and very beautiful to see all their traditional wear.
saturday i went with Caroline Adam and Jordan to Isla Negra, a little town about 1.5 hours south of Viña where one of pablo nerudas homes is located. there is not much else in this town aside from pablos house but it was a very beautiful area with a unique coarse sand beach, interesting pine trees, and a house full of all sorts of collections such as ships in bottles, TONS of shells and sea life from a narwhal horn to green shells from cuba, huge oyster shells, all sorts of stuff. a large fake horse with 3 tails, and all sorts of glass bottles and busts from boats. neruda had a large obsession with the sea and this was evident in our visit to this particular home where he spent most of his life. we met a couple on the bus back, the woman was from San Diego and her boyfriend from southern Chile. they were spending the weekend in Valparaiso and we met up with them later on in the evening to hang out and trade stories as well as experience Valpo.
Sunday was a fantastic living life day. I woke up decently early and walked all over Viña..down to the mall 20 blocks away and then back along the beach, walking barefoot watching families playing with their children, flying kites, even a group of guys playing in the ocean and getting engulfed by the large waves! sundays are bustling, family days and itw as fun to just wander and be a part of that. after a lunch of all types of grilled meat on our new grill i caught a bus to Valpo and wandered from one side to the other. i found 3 plazas and saw all sorts of people out in the streets, selling books, antiques, food, souvenoirs, gokart rides, kites. i bought a kite but didnt have the proper supplies to construct it and was told so while attempting to build it by a little boy of about 6 years of age, after his own kite hit me about 3 times while sitting in the plaza. at the last plaza which was by far the largest of those i found this day, i stopped and just breathed in chile, soaking up the sights and smells of a sunny sunday. there was a music group playing and talking on the hill in the center of the plaza amidst a statue of one of the founders of Chile, Bernard O`Higgins. Many of Chiles founders were from Great Britain thus the presence of many English names and buildings named after these specific heroes. Upon exiting the plaza, I saw a man playing guitar and singing on one of the street corners and decided to stop and listen. his manager came over, convinced me to buy a CD, and talked to me about how i enjoyed chile, what i was studying...the normal questions of almost every Chilean or non-Chilean that i have met. i stayed for quite a while, just listening and watching people bustle about as the sun began to set. i caught the metro home and found my way to a panaderia for some cake...i still havent found actual cake here and settled for a nutty, pastel papery manjar layered cake with pineapple slices. later in the evening i met up with Leslie, Christian, Marc, and Matt for our weekly sunday reunion at Ciao for 2 for 1 happy hour... 2 for 1 drinks and some of the best pizza ever. It was a relaxing evening of conversation and camaraderie on everything from this past weekend to the U.S. university education system, U.S. perspèctives of cultural experiences and travel, a German perspective from Christian on WWII and how it is treated and thought of in Germany today, etc.
Thursday evening i leave with Heidi Jordan Adam and Eric on a 12 hour bus ride down to Valdivia and then to Villarrica and Pucón for a few days until the 18th, independence day. The week of all of Chile`s culture rolled into one week of festivities. There are flags everywhere, traditional music, and all sorts of events. Upon our return and celebrating Tuesday, I am meeting up with Leslie, Marc, Christian, and a few others in Olmue, a small village in the country with cowboys and rodeos to go camping and see a different side of celebrating the 18th.
Hope everyone is well, as always, keep writing and sending stuff and conversing, i´ve been here for just about 2 months now..crazy huh?
to end this edition i am leaving you with one of my favorite songs. it is by John Mayer, titled Why Georgia. I challenge you to ask yourself the same questions he poses in this song. Are you livin it right? Write me of your adventures and strive to begin each day truly making the most of every moment and opportunity, cachai? (understand?)
^i am drivin up 85 in the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon...
either way i wonder sometimes about the outcome of a still, verdictless life
am i livin it right?
so what so ive got a smile on. but its hidin the quiet superstitions in my head. dont believe me, dont believe me when i say ive got it down
everybody is just a stranger and thats the danger in going my own way. i guess thats the price i have to pay. still everything happens for a reason its no reason not to ask myself if i am living it right..am i living it right?^
Monday, September 3, 2007
Días Buenas, Llena con las risas y sonrisas (Good days, full of laughs and smiles)
So its been a while since I’ve updated this, I’ve been studying and living life and wanted to wait until I had a few things slightly notable to write about.
Yo no quería una vida normal,
no me gustaban los horarios de oficina.
Mi espíritu rebelde se reía
del dinero, del lujo y el comfort
Y tuve una revelación,
ya se que quiero en esta vida.
I didnt want a normal life
I never liked the hours at the office
My rebellious spirit laughed
at money, luxury, and comfort
I've had a revelation
I know what I want in this life.
Katie :)
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