End of November

A couple things about my life lately...

My time here is really finishing up, which is both satisfying and bittersweet. I finished classes yesterday so I'm no longer a Chilean university student. While finals week was about 1/4 as stressful as it is in Grinnell, I'm still pretty tired out. Though in all honesty that probably has more to do with the fact that I've gone out 5 times in the past week than that I've been studying ; ) Today was also my last day at Liceo Barón. I've gotten really fond of the kids and of Carola and Wednesday mornings at the school were always a good dose of chaos, energy, and amusement in my week.

Daughter had to be put down on Monday after what was probably a heart tumor pressing on her lungs . She was 20 years old and losing her is one of the hardest things I've had to face in a while. Home won't feel the same without her. I think about things like how she would cuddle with me, how she would play with paper bags, the blonde spot on her paw, how she would take socks out of my sock drawer and hide them around the house, or how she always smelled like clothes right out of the dryer, and it all makes me miss her so much that I just cry. She was supposed to make it until I graduated from college so she could come live with me in my first appartment. I guess that was wishful thinking though since 20 is a ripe old age as it is. I really liked how she was my favorite and I was her favorite, and we would never love anyone else quite as much as eachother.

Sometimes you just have spectacularly hard weeks, you know? And there's nothing you can do about it or anything anyone can say about it, it just has to be that way and you have to get through it.

Strangely though, I like Chile more than ever. I might even say that I love Chile, and I wouldn't have said that a month ago. Everything is falling into place here, and I really feel like I GET this bizarre country. The way things are done here and the way people think here make sense, and the US doesn't feel like my point of reference anymore. Its an odd but kind of nice feeling.

Procesos de Aprendizaje Pictures

Yesterday was my last day of classes and my last final. To celebrate being done with Procesos (ESL), the class threw me and Jake a little going away party. Out of all my classes, this is the only one I'll really miss. The people in it were so wonderful, open, and warm. In the afternoon Jake and I hung out with a group of the girls and went to another girls house for an end of the year party.


Florencia, David, Profesora Morán, Yasna, Carla, Bernardo.


Jake, Nicole, and I.





Jake and Daniela.


Me and Silvia.

Walking around...

Some pictures from around Valparaíso, in no particular order.


Calle Uruguay just west of Plaza O'Higgins. I walk along here every day on the way to classes. Its main features are flower vendors and fish vendors.


Buses Barón. The kind of dusty and grimy bus route I take to Liceo Barón.


Looking up towards Cerro Lechero, next to Cerro Barón.


Pedro Montt and Uruguay, my bus stop. Actually waving down your bus can be really hard on weekdays because so many run, and almost all of them have to pass along Pedro Montt. My host mom got run over by a bus a few weeks before I came, so she always warns me to be really careful.


The feria on Avenida Argentina where, if you brave the ferral dogs and the garbage, you can buy things like neon polyester shirts for about 20 cents. It looks a lot prettier from a distance than it does up close!


Sidestreet near the Congreso.

2nd to last week...

as Chilean student. And I leave Chile in a month. I wonderful if I'll ever make it back here. I really hope so!

Yesterday was devoted to getting Chilean and Latin music. I now have:
-Ismael Serrano (I've played "Canción de amor propio" about 50 times since I got it last night : D)
-Jarabe de Palo ("Romeo y Julieta")
-Juan Luis Guerra
-Juanes (but I still need "La camisa negra" to complete my carrete chileno collection)
-La oreja de van gogh ( a bit girly, but very nice...similar to Ella baila sola)
-lots and lots of Reggaeton (not exactly my style, but kind of fun)
-tons and tons of Café Tacuba
-Laura Pausini
-Los Jaivas
-Victor Jarra ("Valparaíso" among others)
-"Los caminos de la vida" de Vicentito
-Illapú
Now to make a Chile-music mix!

Today I got up early, worked on travel planning and logistics, and then went to the beach in Reñaca with Kristin...we had a great time. It was a gorgeous day and the waves were huge, the water bright turquoise. We talked and talked and I played in the water a bit. This afternoon I'm going to write letters, go to the travel agent, and take a nap.
Tonight is "carrete a la chilena," in other words, we're going to stay out until sunrise partying : D

Last day in Pucon

Kristin and I hiking to some waterfalls. After climbing Volcán Villarica, going swimming, going out to eat, and partying until 4:30 in the morning the day before, I was dragging. Overall, Pucón was not good for getting sleep. I got maybe 7 hours over the past two nights and I'm trying not to fall asleep as I write this!


Me alongside the river. Apparently its supposed to be good luck if you dunk your head into this particular river. Some people in the program did, but I was definitely not one of them. Getting soaked in snowmelt sounds like an adventurous but not very pleasant way to start the day.


It was so green and lush along the river. There were ferns growing everywhere, and Daddy would have loved it.


We went with the entire program to some hotsprings in the mountains outside of Pucón. Here you can see down into the little river valley where the "termas" are. It was absolutely gorgeous, with wildflowers growing everywhere, little rock pools of different temperatures, and the river to cool off in.


One of many swimming holes. The hot water felt really good on my sore muscles.


Las chicas. Me, Mariah, Jessica, Carla, Kristin.


Cooling off in the river.

Volcan Villarica

Our second day in Pucón we had our major outing: climbing the Villarica volcano. This was one of the coolest things I've done in Chile, maybe ever. Volcán Villarica is an active volcano 2,800 m tall that had its last eruption in 1971, spilling 30 million cubic meters of lava. These days its fairly safe to climb it, and from the top its a gorgeous, completely bizarre, other-worldly landscape of ice, lava, steam, volcanic dust, snow, views of the Andes, and being on top of the clouds. It was an amazing, fantastic experience.


Looking at the Volcano from its base. We started out the hike bright and early, completedly weighed down with enormous backpacks filled with ice picks, clamp ons, snow gear, emergency packs, and lots of food and water.


Here I am, about 1/3 of the way up the volcano. We were hiking in the snow, which was exhausting. At this altitude it was still really hot out, and had I been less afraid of being sunburnt, I would have been in shorts and a tank top. As it was, wearing long sleeves and putting on sunblock 4 times, I'm still slightly burnt. The sun is extremely strong in Southern Chile, since that is where the hole in the ozone layer is.


We take a break half way to the top. Kristin, Mariah, Jon, Jake, and I were in "Equipo Uno" or the fast group. We made it to the top in 3.5 hours. Though its not very far, there is a 35 degree incline, so its very steep and exhausting. In this picture we were putting on sunbock, chugging water, and snacking as quickly as we could before our guide started going again.


La cumbre! Up here, its extremely cold and windy, and occasionally the volcano would belch out deathly-smelling smoke, which made it hard to breathe.


We made it! Jon, Kristin, Me, Mariah. Yes, I know, we look ridiculous and somewhat identical in our snow suits and enormous sunglasses : ) We're standing in front of the crater.


At this point of the hike, the guide asks if anyone in the group has asthma. Since I did/do, I had to stay behind. Everyone else went down to this ledge where you could get a closer look into the bowels of the vocano. If you look closely, even the person who has the gas mask on is struggling to breathe. My friends came back coughing from the volcanic dust and gases.


Eruptions of lava! You could hear it gurgling and the ground was hot to the touch.


Steam from the lava (lower left) comes out of a crack in the ice. The contrasts here were so amazingly dramatic. In the background you can see the Andes and more volcanoes.


Lake Villarica, near the town of Pucón, through the clouds.


A cold lunch at the top. Knowing exactly how steep it was going up the volcano, I was worried about going down. As you can see, we're all wearing our survival gear: snow boots, gaitors, extra-strength snow pants, jackets, sunglasses, hats. All we knew at this point was that we "were going to slide down the volcano using our icepicks as brakes." It sounded scary, especially when the guides made us all put on helmets. I kept thinking about the waivers and insurance forms I'd had to fill out to come on this trip and suddenly understood why. Would trailmix and avocado sandwiches be my last meal? : )


Last views from the top before the descent.


I look like a bug.


After hiking down a rocky, icy, unbelievably steep stretch where I thought for sure someone was going to break their leg or fall of the edge or something awful, we go to the sliding part. So we did indeed slide down the entire volcano. Because of the 30 degree gradient and the (mostly!) soft snow, it worked amazingly well. It was actually more like canoing, or body surfing, than sliding. You kind of rode on this river of snow that got faster and faster and faster. It was incredibly fun once you got used to it.


Lots of pile ups and accidents! And lots of snow packed into your mouth, sleeves, boots, pants, backpack, and ears. Everyone is having fun though!

When we got back to real ground, I took one step on to it and immediately fell over. I was so used to walking on soft snow that its firmness was really disconcerting!

On the bus ride back to the place we were staying, we all sat in quiet awe of what we'd seen and the fact that we'd actually made it. We were exhausted! Also, the blisters, sunburn, dehydration, need for a bathroom (there was no place to go since the trail was so exposed), and wet, snowy clothes started to sink in. I was glad to get back to the cabins and get in the hot tub ; )

Visit to the Mapuche Community Center in Trawupeyum

We spent our first day in Pucón doing a cultural exchange program with a Mapuche community in a small town in the mountains. Though the Mapuche are Chile's most important ethnic group, they still have a very low profile in homogenous Chile. This center was built with a grant from the Chilean government to fight poverty and encourage the arts in local indigenous communities. We arrived there in the morning, exhausted after travelling all night (11 hours in the bus) just to get to Pucón. It turned out to be an enjoyable, mellow day. Though the "cultural exchange" was a bit bizarre/awkward/forced feeling, the community center was a gorgeous place, and the people there were really nice to us and open to all sorts of questions. I ended up talking to this little old man for a long time about Mapuche musical instruments. He played this unbelievably long, skinny horn. You stand up to play it, and it reaches from your mouth down to the ground and extends maybe 9 feet. He said that it takes an incredible amount of strength to play it. He's been playing for 52 years and is the only one in Chile that knows how to play the instrument the traditional way.


Volunteers put on a play about Mapuche history for us. They must have been sweating under the traditional wool clothing, because it was easily in the 90's.


The gringos attempt to do a Mapuche dance : )


Carla and I at a Mapuche lunch in the community center.


This was one the the most delicious meals I've ever had. As someone commented, Chileans really should have stuck with their indigenous foods instead of moving on to the bland quasi-spanish food they eat now! Anyways, our lunch consisted of nut bread, sopaipillas, nuts, bamboo shoots in lemon sauce, tomato and cilantro salsa, bright red, forrest mushrooms, quinoa and greens soup, and different kinds of wild berry jam. It was fantastic.

These are some traditional Mapuche rugs they had on display. I thought the colors and patterns were beautiful.

Early November

So tomorrow I'm off to Pucón! Yaaaay! Hopefully this weekend will entail lots of good times, sight-seeing, hiking, being with friends, staying in pretty hotels (paid for by the program) and eating great restaurant food (also paid for by the program).

My parents get here in less than a month. I can't wait. Their visit is looking even better now that we actually have SOME idea of what we're going to do when they get here, too. They're going to stay with my host family in Valpo a couple of days, then we're going to fly to Isla Juan Fernández (Robinson Crusoe Island) for a long weekend. Then we'll come back to mainland Chile, regroup, and fly down to Torres del Paine for 5 days in that area. Then home for Christmas : )

Highlights of this week:
-reading 100 Years of Solitude
-getting some really nice emails
-making chocolate chip cookies
-listening to Christian's music and getting it hopelessly stuck in my head
-getting ready for Pucón

Low points of this week:
-having a test, a presentation, and a debate in a period of three days
-getting almost no sleep and becoming addicted to caffeine as a way to get my eyes open in the morning
-still having a cold
-boys being stupid
-I already mentioned this, but having a 4-hour essay test on more than 1000 pages of Chilean Literature reading.
-knowing that instead of catching up on sleep this weekend, I will be spending 2 nights on a bus.

Quiet weekend, thoughts on this and that

Well, its been a pretty average week and a relaxing weekend so far. Summer's really here, and its gorgeous out, sunny and windy, with tons of people in the streets and a really festive, weekendy feel. I'd probably be out taking advantage of this more, but I've had a cold so I've been trying to just take it easy. Having a chest cold plus asthma is really no fun. I don't like taking my inhalors because I hate how they make me feel (it speeds up your heart or something) but I'm afraid that if I don't take them, I'll have an asthma attack, which is really scary. Anyways I'd probably be feeling pretty bored and frustrated with my wheezing, but luckily I've been having a really good time reading Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude). What an amazing book. Its great for the imagination and completely entertaining. After I finish I'll have to go through and identify all the biblical references, examples of mythicism, and other boring academic stuff (I'm reading it for a class), but at this point its just pure enjoyment reading.

I was feeling pretty proud of me and Kristin's adventures in southern Chile, but when I got back to Valpo and talked with some of my friends I found we weren't the only ones to have a crazy weekend. It turns out Jessica had to hitchhike home from the far north of Chile while she was sick with tonsilitis. Carla showed up in class having gotten off a 25 hr bus ride that same morning. David bussed it all the way from Buenos Aires to Valpo, I don't even know how many hours that is, across the Argentine plains and then across the Andes. One girl in the program nearly died in a hotel fire on the Chilean island of Chiloé (they don't have smoke detectors here). It seems like everyone in the program is looking kind of tired out and run down. Too much travelling! ( I know, it seems hardly possible : D)

Things have been going well at my host family's. Their aunt was sick for a while, but on Thursday we got the news that she's going to be fine, which was a big relief. We had about 15 family members over to the house to celebrate! Other than that, I've been getting along amazingly with Christian. Every day when I get home from school, he and his friends are sitting around his room, listening to great music and drinking beer. I go in and talk to them for a bit, and they're always incredibly nice, ask me about my day, get me to translate song lyrics for them, and pester me to go out drinking with them. As a matter of fact that's my plan for tonight, provided I'm feeling well enough.

I'm not sure if anyone's heard about this in the news, but Chile and Peru have gotten into a pretty tense dispute in the last few days over the boundaries of their marine territories. Peru wants to redraw the existing borders of its ocean territory, which would take 15,000 sq miles of Chile's richest fishing waters. Peru's redrawing of the line is in accord with a UN agreement, but Chile's in accord with some other international agreement and has been in Chile's hands since the 1950's. Chile and Peru have hated each other pretty much since the War of the Pacific in the 1880's, and I've gotten used to hearing Chileans go on and on about the dirty, lazy Peruvians, but with this new territorial conflict, its reached a whole new level. I almost choked on my soup at lunch today when I heard aunt María Teresa say that Peruvians were "filthy, godless Indian pigs."

In other news, Chile just launched an AIDS awareness campaign that shows smiling, fully-clothed celebrities holding condoms. It seems that even this bland and basic campaign is making waves here...some conservative and catholic television chanels refuse to show the commericials since they are supposedly too "graphic and obscene." The problem with this is that Chile has absolutely no liberal or independent media. In terms of newspapers, you have your conservative Santiago paper, your conservative Valparaiso paper, or your "National Enquirer" type paper. In terms of TV, you can choose between channels owned by a) the Catholic church, b) the Catholic university, c) the government, d) Piñera, the center-right Presidential candidate, or e) a leading conservative spokesman. I know in the US its common for conservatives to say things like "the liberals control the media" and for us liberals to comiserate about what an asshole Bill O'Reilly (for example) is, and how many idiots get their news from him. But its weird, being here, the US media is starting to look pretty good!

This is a good article about the AIDS campaign and the Chilean media.

More pictures

from PN Radal Siete Tazas and our amazing weekend hike.

Waterfalls, Frustrations

Last night Kristin and I got back from our 4 day trip to Southern Chile. It was quite an experience. The trip had some very high highs and some very low lows, which makes it hard to come up with any overall response to it, other than I'm very glad I went, but I was also very glad to get home last night, take some deep breaths, and relax! This trip confirmed my belief that a) Chilean cities (other than Valpo) are boring, b) the Chilean outdoors is absolutely fantastic and c) getting from the cities to the outdoors is really difficult. I have some pictures proving just how unattractive and boring the cities we went to were, but I'll spare you and just show the pretty outdoorsy pictures.


Salto de Laja! The Laja river drops over 50 meters here, making a beautiful waterfall that is supposed to look like a miniature Iguazú Falls.


Here I am hiking along the Río Laja to get closer to the falls.




After a beautiful morning exploring the waterfalls, Kristin and I went back to Chillán to have lunch in a vegetarian restaurant called "El arcoiris." It was one of the best meals I've had in Chile. Sadly, after this lunch, our food situation went down hill, and we ate avocados and bread every meal for the next two days!


We went with a small group of Germans and a really cool guide (nicknamed El pato, "the duck") to Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas. The Siete Tazas are seven huge bowls of water connected by small waterfalls. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture. This is Salto Velo de Novia, or Bride's Train Falls.


A very happy Julia. I loved this place--sooo beautiful!


Beautiful, clear mountain water.


Scrambling over rocks. Li, Nadia, and El pato.


Lunch break!


La cordillera de los Andes. The Andes.


Two tires blow out on the way back to Talca. We sat along side the road for 6 hours while El pato tried to find a phone, a rancher with a spare tire, anything. As it got dark, we decided we should hitchike back, since our only other option would be to try to find a rancher with a spare room, and this seemed unlikely. But since no cars passed going our direction for hours upon hours, we were pretty much stranded. We finally got home at 1 in the morning, absolutely exhausted.


Since we got home so late Sunday night, we weren't able to go to Lircay early Monday morning as planned. Tired and sick of eating avocado and bread sandwiches, we decided to head home. Here is a view of rural southern Chile from the bus window. You can see the Andes in the background and political grafiti (the presidential elections are coming up) in the foreground.