You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

I can't take my mind off of you

2007-07-26T15:41:24Z

I'm home?!

Being home is insane. I feel so... weird. I don't know. I can' t really describe it yet. It's really strange though.

Back to updating about my travels.

Friday, July 13: Flew to Santiago (amazing flight over the desert); met up with Danielle and Nicole; spent the afternoon with Nicole's friend; watched Harry Potter 5 (it's in Spanish, you know!); slept in the airport

Saturday: Flew to Lima then to Cuzco; found out that we couldn't go to Machu Picchu when we wanted; signed up for a 3 day tour of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley (lost a day of our trip, goodbye day-trip to Bolivia); spent the day adjusting the altitude, buying tickets; ate guinea pig; stage one of discovering I have an allergy to te de manzanilla

Sunday: Started Sacred Valley tour; still fatigued from altitude; saw Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo; ate amazing Peruvian food; slept in Aguas Calientes

Monday: Up early to get to Machu Picchu for the sunrise (which kind of sucked actually); saw Machu Picchu; fell asleep at Machu Picchu (and got yelled at..); almost died walking back to Aguas Calientes; ate what was potentially beef hearts on a stick; saw the festivities for la Virgen de la Carmen

Tuesday: Back to Cuzco; shopping; walking around; big demonstrations in the plaza; night bus to Puno (8 and a half hours of pure hell!)

Wednesday: Puno in 15 hours! This is a pretty crazy, long story that I don't have the ganas to type right now.
What it boiled down to though is that we couldn't stay in Puno more than a day because of the national protests going on (even though we had planned 3 days there). So we see Lake Titicaca (giggle, Danielle), the Floating Islands and Puno in a day. This is all after getting into Puno at 5 am after that horrible, horrible night bus experience. Then after we get back we can't find our hostel, but Nicole miraculously saves us by spotting a guy that works there on the street. We still don't know how/if we can leave Puno because a guy named Julio (an angel named Julio?) was taking care of our bus tickets (he was also the man who set us up with the Lake Titacaca tour, fed us breakfast, found us a hostel in Cuzco for Thursday and Friday and much, much more!) But we eventually find a bus (that sounds like it is going to break down any second) and get out of Puno-- the same day we got there!

Thursday and Friday: Killing time in Cuzco; more shopping; lots of coffee and cake

Saturday: Flew to Lima; spent the day in Miraflores watching surfers, buying books; flew to Santiago that night; slept in airport (ish)

Sunday and Monday: Danielle and Nicole went to Valpo; I spent 2 days in Josefina's apartment, sleeping, updating my lj, showering, preparing myself mentally to go home

And that's it! That's the end of my 5 months in South America.

Amor Mio...

2007-07-23T18:34:47Z

Now, San Pedro.

San Pedro de Atacama is located in northern Chile (Region 2) in the middle of, you guessed it, the Atacama Desert (which is, by the way, the driest desert in the world). It's just a tiny little town in the middle of all sorts of natural wonders. The landscape as you drive into San Pedro is just magical. This huge open desert, salt beds, valleys, volcanos, it's just surreal. The things I saw in and around San Pedro were a million times cooler than anything else I've seen in my life (including Machu Picchu, but we'll get there in another entry). And of course, like anything truly beautiful in the world, the pictures just look lame in comparison.

I was only in San Pedro for 2 and a half or three days. In that time, I took two excursions. The first was three hours of trekking in the desert, a visit to Valle de la Muerte (Valley of Death) and Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), where we watched the sunset and the mountains change colors. It was fabulous. The second excursion started at 3:30 am as we drove to the Tatio Geysers to see them go off at dawn. It was breathtaking, absolutely incredible. You could walk around in this huge field of geysers that would just go off with little or no warning. The lighting was beautiful, but eerie, as the sun came up. After the geysers we went to this little pueblo with a pretty church and llama shishkabobs. Then we went trekking again for a few hours and got the chance to see a bunch of different animals including vicuñas, llamas, this rabbit-squirrel mix, a million different kinds of birds and more. It was really exciting for me.

San Pedro also had much more of an indigenous presence than anywhere else in Chile, which was a neat experience. It was definitely a touristy town (which really, reall irritated me at times), but if you walked to the outskirts of the town, away from the travel agencies and touristy restaurants, you could see indigenous families living quite traditionally. There really wasn't any of that in Valdivia. (There was much, much more of this in Peru.. but again, I'll get to that later).

Another reason I loved my time in San Pedro was because I finally felt like everything was coming together for me. I had traveled by myself for a while, something that many people told me they were scared to do. I had talked to every single person I came in contact with (made a lot of friends, practiced my Spanish, broke an Argentine flute player's heart). I had spent time thinking about my stay in Chile, but hadn't thought too much to enjoy myself. I really realized that I was a different person than I had been when I had left the States. It was a really enriching experience.

July 11
This trip has been incredible. Even if every single minute I spent in Valdivia had been awful, this week would have made it all worth it.

That's when I miss you, You are my home

2007-07-23T02:52:31Z

I'm going to try to start with the traveling now.

Before I go into too much detail, I'd like to list a few statistics from my trip (July 5th- July 22):

showers: 4 (only one of which was a reasonably comfortable temperature)
hours in a bus in Chile (July 5th- July 12 only): 38
total hours on a bus (Chile and Peru): 55
flights: 5
allergic reactions: 2
highest altitude: more than 4,000 meters above sea level
nights NOT spent in a bed: 7
days that started before 6 am: 7

**********************************************************************
Overview: I left on July 5th from Valdivia, spent two days in Valpo and Viña, a day in La Serena and 3 days in San Pedro before flying to Santiago to meet up with Danielle and Nicole for our adventura peruana.

I'm not sure how to sum up my week of traveling solo through Chile. It was the most fabulous experience I have had here I think. I guess I will start with journal excerpts because it seems easiest. (Translated to English for all of you lazy bums who haven't discovered the joys of being able to express yourself in two languages!)

***********************************************************************
July 6th
It was so empowering to be in the bus station in Santiago again. It was strange to return to the place where this whole adventure started. I remember my first Chilean experiences there-- not being able to figure out the language or the money in the terminal. I went back to the same bread shop we went to that day just out of spite. Just to shout to the world, "I GET IT!!" I walked up like a pro, ordered without any problem, knew to pay THEN get my food, gave her exact change within seconds and then left. Just like that. No struggling to figure out which coins to give her, how to order, where to pay, etc. How cool.

I'm in Valpo! And I am in love with this city. I would live here my whole life if I could. The energy, the art, the passion, the people, the colors, the hills-- everything is amazing. It is absolutely the coolest city in Chile that I have seen. It is so romantic with the house built on the hills and the narrow streets and the staircases. I want to take pictures of everything! ... Right now I am in a cute little cafe and there's a guy playing acoustic guitar and a woman singing beautiful songs while he plays. Nothing else matters to me right now, I love it here.

July 7th
I am sitting outside in the plaza in Valparaiso and it's sunny! I really miss sunshine. The energy of this city is just incredible. There are a ton of little kids here running around, playing, riding bikes, eating ice cream. It's awesome. What a beautiful day.

It's a good thing that I don't want to go home ever, right? It means that I had a positive experience and have some true friends. It would be really depressing if I weren't sad after spending 5 months in this place, right?

July 8th
When I went to Viña last night, I accidentally took the bus too far north of the plaza. I was frustrated that I had to walk that far with my backpack but then I ended up at the ocean just as the sun was setting. And there was an artisan fair along the coast and lots of people and energy that reminded me of summertime. I was very grateful that I missed my stop. It was gorgeous.

I have to describe La Serena. It's the most peaceful, beautifully simple place I've been. And the people are so friendly too. The buildings here are so picturesque and there's this overwhelming sense of calm. I was walking around this morning as the sun was coming up, taking pictures and... I just... I felt this unsettling feeling of peace. I know that seems like a paradox, but that's what I felt-- an unsettling peace.

*********************************************************************
That's all I can handle tonight. Tomorrow I will try to write about San Pedro, which was an experience on a whole different level than anything else I have done or seen this semester. As far as the first few days of my trip (Valpo, Viña and La Serena), it was good weather, beautiful sunsets, great people watching. I was still trying to come to terms with leaving Valdivia but all in all was too excited to be traveling to all of these new places to let anything get me down for more than a second.

Still a little bit of your face I haven't kissed

2007-07-22T15:39:43Z

Number Two!

I guess the next step is to rewind back to Valdivia and fill in the details from there before moving on to the past three weeks of travel.

Valdivia

My last week in Valdivia was a roller coaster. I was not exactly what we would call emotionally stable. I was sooo excited to leave in some ways, but really and truly I wanted to stay. There were a few major issues that week.

First, language. I finally, finally was feeling like I was making some important progress in the Spanish language (and Chilean too!) and didn't want to leave in the middle of it. It really is a huge fear of mine that I'm going to go home and forget everything. When I would talk with peolple who studied in Chile for a year, I was awe-strucken by their accents, their vocabularies, their sentence strucutures. I was finally getting somewhere and then I had to leave before I could really develop it fully.

Next, friends. I made a few amazing friends while in Valdivia. I am really going to miss Ivet, Paula and Cristobal especially. They each had a big influence in making my time in Chile a positive experience. Saying goodbye to my classmates and my conversation groups was a lot harder than I had anticipated as well. They all really helped shape my stay. And, of course, the amazingly fun gringos from Wisconsin. Nicole and Danielle and I all shared some great experiences together and then when Ginger and Otto got added into the mix, lots more fun was had by all! Clearly they are all much closer geographically than my Chilean friends though and I can't wait to visit Madison for a football this fall.

However, whether they were Chileans or gringos, I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I felt like there were so many people I didn't get the opportunity to know as well as I would have liked. And the people that I did get to know were now people I considered best friends and didn't want to leave. But with all of these goodbyes, I'm pretty sure I learned a few last minute lessons.

A third reason I didn't want to leave was because I didn't want to go home. I'm scared to go home. Even sitting here in Santiago, knowing I leave tomorrow, I'm terrified. I'm moving into a new apartment with new girls I don't really know this semester. It is my last few months at Central. I have to decide on a life plan. I have to deal with a few unresolved issues that are waiting for me. Will people want to hear my stories or see my pictures? Will I be able to practice Spanish? Even simple things like the fact that my parents remodeled their house make it harder to go home. Where are all of the things I find comfortable? A lot of them are finished and I have to move on and start over. It's exciting, but it's scary too.

But... even though I really didn't want to leave, there was a part of me just dying to get the hell out of there. I was sick of some of the little struggles. I was sick of uncertainty. I wanted to get out and travel, see my family and friends, be in control of my own life a little more than I even could in Valdivia. It was a really confusing time for me.

So emotionally that was what was going on with me as my time in Valdivia was winding down. I was pretty busy that week with classes, exams and (mostly) hanging out with people before I left. We had a very fun 4th of July celebration in the Bunker the night before I left, which was the perfect going away present for me. I had coffee with a few important people. Went out and got a little too drunk one night. We had black dress night (and Lumber Jack Otto decided to show up). I watched a movie I had been dying to see again, burned some new music. I helped out at the trivia contest for high school students. All in all, a pretty good week.

The best night though was the night I went back to the apartment complex by my house and just sat on the staircase and thought about it all. I spent my first day in Valdivia there, scared and excited. Sitting there again and thinking about everything that happened in those five months, everything I had experienced and learned was incredible. Thinking about all the times I had laughed or even the times I didn't want to leave my bedroom because I was crying so hard. It was such a peaceful night. And I got exactly the affirmation I needed.

So that was that. My last week in Valdivia. I can't believe it's over. I already miss it.

CHI- CHI- CHI-... -LE -LE -LE

2007-07-22T14:50:28Z

It's been a while, huh?

I am in Santiago right now and I go home tomorrow!!

I have four weeks of amazing adventures, heart wrenching goodbyes and insightful reflections to share... plus a million pictures to post. (I'm starting now!) However, if I wrote everything I have to say in one LJ entry it would be longer than the last Harry Potter book, so I am going to try to break up entries by theme.

To get everyone warmed up and ready to read I'm going to start with a few lists I have been working on.

List Number 1: Things I will in no way miss about my time in Chile...
*Having to sleep in pants and a long-sleeved shirt to avoid getting bitten by fleas and other bed bugs
*Mariscos
*Being able to see my breath in my bedroom
*Claudia Rosa's class
*Ants in my food and shower
*The sounds of the washing machine in my house
*The absence of any sort of personal space
*My pants always being HUGE even though I gained weight (my family doesn't own a dryer)
*"Robin... Apurate!.... SEBI... !" every morning
*Getting hollared at in the streets constantly (okay, okay, maybe I'll miss that one a little)
*Salt
*Chilean bluntess
*Never truly knowing what's going on
*Alejandro
*Eating off of dishes that were "washed" in cold water with no soap
*Seeing people piss in the streets daily
*The lack of toliet paper (though at least there were toliet seats, which is one giant step ahead of Peru)
*People refusing to move for you when you walk by (especially en el puente)
*Having the entire description of my food be listed on the menu as "bird" or "meat"

List Number 2: Things I will definitely miss about my time in Chile
(Pay careful attention to how many deal with food...)
*lobos marinos
*American Corner
*la naturaleza
*the Bunker
*fresh/cheap food
*THE CHILEAN LANGUAGE!!!! (seriously, it was the thing I despised most of all when I arrived and now I don't know how to survive without all of the weon po-ing, cachai?)
*going out until 7 in the morning every weekend
*691
*alfajors (that damn library lady!!)
*a few incredible, incredible friends
*PALTA
*Donde la Negra
*The Jardin Botanico
*Volcanos
*THE OCEAN
*cheap bus tickets
*freshman hazing
*Entrelagos cake
*outdoor markets
*the same mix of 80s songs all of the time

List Number 3: Ways I've changed and lessons I've learned
(That's right, I'm not even close to the same girl, so please don't expect me to be!)
*Much more relaxed
*I can finally stop thinking sometimes!
*More adventurous/spontaneous
*I have learned to fail (this one is huge for me)
*I am a beautiful, important person (thank you!)
*I still have a ton of room for improvement (3 main ones to work on for now)
*Much more self-aware
*Totally different view of traveling
*Time? What's that? Who needs a clock?
*Take advantage of the time you have with people
*Everyone has something to teach you
*It is irrational to fear suffering
*I deserve to be 100% happy
*Sometimes you just have to get over yourself and go for it
*Confidence
*Courage
*Independece
*Things really do always work out
*Have more fun!
*Saying goodbye is a part of life and it doesn't have to be a negative thing
*I can speak Spanish!

And those are Katie's meta-reflections on studying in Chile for now.

These lists are subject to change.

Algunas noches, soy facil, no acato limites

2007-06-22T14:04:50Z

I can't get that song out of my head!

So I was right. It was a great weekend. Well, starting with Wednesday's trip to Niebla, which was outstandingly fun. (Pictures soon to come... I'm sorry, I'm slow). Then that night I tried some "spaceman" cookies before an asado out at Ginger and Otto's cabaña. Good times... I suppose.

Friday was an excellent day too. I went over to CristObal and Mauro's and they made a big lunch for me and I made cheesecake for them. We went to see Shrek 3 in the the theaters (my first time at the cine in Valdivia) and I was excited because I understood everything. Yay me! (I know, I know.. it's a kid´s movie. But it's a kid´s movie in a different language, c'mon!) That night we went out to 691 and besides losing my gorro, I had a good time.

Yesterday was a really good day too. I hung out with some friends at the American Corner for a few hours then I went to a new restaurant in town (the first Chilean retuarant I've seen with any sort of atmosphere or flavor) and got coffee at this cute little log cabin-y place Ginger told me about. Loved it all.

I got some good news this week: I don´t have a lit final. So all I have left is a 1 page paper I need to write this weekend and then I'm done with that class! I'm not sure what's going on in my other two classes, but there is a good chance I will get to eximir those finals too, which means I will pretty much be done with classes a week from today. Hooray!

Two of my conversation groups ended this week. I'm not going to lie, I hate goodbyes and I was really sad to have to say goodbye to some of the people in my Wednesday group. Oh, Alice... I'm not ready for goodbyes yet. I still have 13 days here. My other group ends on Monday. We'll see how that goes.

It kind of sucks that I finally feel like I have some real Chilean friends here and I have to leave. But at the same time, I guess I am looking forward to going home. I'm looking forward to summer at the very least. I miss the sun. And warmth. And flip flops.

I FINALLY bought my plane ticket for my trip up north. That website was crazy. But now it's official, I leave Thursday, July 5 and will be taking the Panamericana from Valdivia to San Pedro de Atacama, with a few worthwhile stops on the way. Then I will be flying from Calama (near San Pedro) to Santiago, from where I will be heading to Lima, Peru and then to Cuzco. It should be a VERY exciting couple of weeks of fabulous travel.

This weekend I am going to La Union to meet CristObal's family and see his farm and just get away for one last weekend. I also need to start (yes, start) buying souvenirs and tonight we're all going out to celebrate Jamie's birthday. Jell-o shots and cake followed by a night of kareoke. There's nothing better than that.

I wanna be everywhere twice

2007-06-13T18:28:45Z

I still love Chile.

This past weekend there was a fiesta and an asado, so those were both great. The European film festival started on Thursday and I saw a hilarious German movie. I ate lots of good food (I am a hungry dinosaur!) like a customized Bunker sandwich and my first bistec a lo pobre. Classes have been easy enough lately too. And, actually, I have made quite a habit of arriving home after the paper in the morning. This week I am living in the cabana with Nicole though and Danielle is living with my family. It's a nice chance to get a little more privacy and freedom for the week. There was a lot of talk of traveling South for a while, but I think that it's out of the picture now.

This isn't much of an entry, but it's all I have in me right now. I'm off to a surprise trip to Niebla now.

More from me after the weekend which, by the way, I'm sure is going to be absolutely amazing.

Dame tu mano, dame tu sueño

2007-06-02T22:19:51Z

A list is the best I can do.

Things I have done in the past week or so....

*Saw a live ska band in the Casona
*Ate completos
*Partied with some of the "students" in my English conversation hour
*Played on a playground at 6 in the morning
*Watched a Chilean movie (it doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment but there aren't very many Chilean movies)
*Ate panqueques and manjar
*Got a surprise visit from the bomberos from Fruitillar (that was quite an adventure)
*Gone out to the bar 6 times in the past 9 days
*Took a few exams (is school done yet?)
*Bought my flights for when in Peru
*Walked in the house at 11 am after not coming home the night before, my family all gathered around the breakfast table
*Discovered the best place in the world to get sopaipillas

And a story...
On Thursday night Cristobal and I went to Strike but decided we just couldn't handle karaoke that day (anyone read the article about the guy in the Philippines who was shot after singing out of tune in a karaoke bar?) so we went to go to a liquor store to buy something and go back to the cabaña and hang out. Well, it was late and everything was closed so he called a taxi. We take the taxi to the shadiest neighborhood I have seen here yet (he told me it was the ghetto), and the taxi stops in the middle of this deserted street. Well, it wasn't quite deserted because there were a few flites hanging out, trying to look inconspicuous. Cristobal tells me to stay in the taxi, that he'll be right back. I watch him get out of the car, walk up to this tiny little hut where he knocks (probably a secret code), and a little screen opens. Cristobal orders the drinks, the screen shuts and he wanders over to the flites and pretends he to play with his cell phone. A few minutes later, he goes back to the stand, gets his alcohol, looks around, and comes back to the taxi. Way shady. Way flite.

Only, that's not the end of the weirdness of the night. So we go back to his cabaña and are hanging out and his totally strung out, drug addicted neighbor comes over, pounding on the door and telling us about the fantasmas in his apartment. Yeah, ghosts. He is having these crazy hallucinations, hearing these sounds, seeing these weird images... It was so bizarre. Cristobal asks if he wants a coffee, he decides he'd rather have some pisco (yeah, that's going to help the fantasmas disappear). I don't know, it was just crazy. This guy couldn't breathe or talk and was so freaked out.

Makes me want to try drugs.

Less than five weeks before I leave Valdivia.

I want to make out on the costanera, who's in?

2007-05-22T21:47:47Z

Okay then.

I went to Argentina this weekend. It was a little lame overall, but not bad. I almost died on the way (seriously), so the fact I made it there and back alive was AMAZING. However, I think it is insanely necessary for me to give you fine readers a taste of life in Argentina as a Chilean. Let me illustrate with one day as an example.

8.30 - Up for breakfast (sweet rolls and coffee)
9.00 - Wait (for what, I'm not sure... but it's the Chilean way of life)
10.00 - Leave the hotel and go to La Tourista for coffee and chocolate
11.30 - Return to the hotel to drink Pisco
12.00 - Wait
12.30 - Lunch (salads, appetizers, meals, dessert, coffee... for 30 people)
16.00 - (Yes, lunch lasts until at least four) Nap
18.00 - Meet in chocolate factory for alfajors and cake
19.00 - Wait
20.00 - Dinner (again, the whole thing, dessert and all)
22.00 - Back to the hotel (while the "adults" go to the casino and drink and waste money)

And I must tell you that each and every single meal I ate while traveling this weekend was bigger than the biggest meal I had ever eaten in the United States. Each and every one. So that was that.

What else? Oh, I went out on Thursday night with my friend CristObal (capital O on purpose). That was a good time. I'm quite convinced he's not Chilean since he came to pick me up at my house, bought me my drink, didn't tell me I was pretty once OR laugh excessively at my broken Spanish, and he even made sure I got home okay. We had some good conversation. It was nice.

And, I lied (not on purpose) in my other entry about the plane ticket. I tried to buy it. I clicked PAGAR. But something has been going wrong and someone doesn't want me to see the desert so I still technically do NOT have a plane ticket. There goes any hope of being spontaneous. Hopefully I will have one soon.

Classes are cancelled tomorrow due to the student protest.

Alright, it's time to get going. Chao chao!

Say goodbye to the old Katie

2007-05-16T13:29:54Z

Umm...

Yeah, I bought another plane ticket. I'm crazy. There must be something in the palta here. So I'm going to the desert later and as of right now, I'm going alone. But it had to be done. I HAVE to see San Pedro.

What has happened to me?

We will sing pretty songs about love...

2007-05-13T13:19:11Z

...and we will dance to no music at all, we will do what it takes to get through to you

A real journal entry I thought I should share:

Friday, May 11

Wow... life in Chile is so insane. I am so happy! (Yeah, these ups and downs are getting a little out of hand.) I love it here. I love Chile. I love my family. I love Spanish. (I have learned something!) I love my new friends. I am excited for Argentina this weekend again. I am excited to visit Chiloe, Valparaiso and Viña de Mar. I excited for Peru. I am even excited to write my history paper. (I know, right?) So I went to a swanky jazz club last night with Danielle and ordered an expensive adult drink and we talked a little about love, about Chile, about our love for Chile. We talked about our favorite memories and everything else we want to do before we leave (I don´t want to leave!), but also about all of the little things we are looking forward to when we go home. I have such a priveleged life and I hope I never take this experience for granted. Even just moving out of my house for a week made me realize how much I love my family here and how little time I have with them. Ahh! I know it´s two months, but the days are flying. I can´t say that enough. My countdown of days used to a.) make me feel accomplished and b.) assure me that I could survive this trip, but now it reminds me that every day here is so important. Days here are things I will never be able to get back. I´m in Chile! How amazing. I never, ever want to forget what I´ve experienced here, what I´ve learned. I don´t want to forget the MANY perfect moments and the feeling of empowerment that comes after a day of successfully communicating in Spanish (and even making some friends). I love it here. I hope, hope, hope I can remember the feeling I have right now for the rest of the trip.

***

So, that was that. Just thought it would make a good lj entry as well. As for pictures, I am in the process of uploading pictures. It takes FOREVER though. But I have 80 that I am currently trying to upload. I have changed my photobucket site so now there are folders. New pictures will be added to Argentina, Puerto Varas and Valdivia.

Mapuche School Visit

2007-05-07T20:11:55Z

I just realized that I forgot to update about one of the best experiences I have had here. Friday I went to a Mapuche school with the other girls from the American Corner. If any of you are feeling brave enough to try to tackle an article in Spanish, here it is:

http://www.uach.cl/rrpp/online/ver.php?not=7900

Anyway, it was amazing. We rode the bus for 45 minutes and arrived at this little building in the middle of nowhere. The 20 kids were fed breakfast before they dressed in traditional Mapuche (indigenous)clothing and showed us some amazing songs and dances. They played the drums and horns, danced and sang... it was a really cool thing to see. If anyone posts their video of it, I will post the link on here. We taught them the "Itsy Bisty Spider" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and answered their questions about the United States. We also went for a walk and within minutes arrived at the ocean! What a great place for these kids to grow up. The amount of freedom they had to come and go, to run around outside and just be kids was really refreshing. After lunch we drew pictures and labeled words in Spanish, English and Mapuche. It was a really, really cool experience. I don't know how else to describe it.

Well, that was it. I just wanted to write about that because it was "una experienca muy rica" for all of us.

OH! And it is important to note that it really hasn't been raining hardly at all the past few weeks. I can hardly beleive it. (The power of prayer...)

Tu eres para mi, yo soy para ti

2007-05-07T02:56:10Z

So, the trip's half over. I don't know what to make of that.

I went to Argentina the other weekend. It was a lot of fun. I ate lots of chocolate, bought some CDs, went on a senior citizen excursion to see some glaciers, the usual. In two weeks I am going back with my family. It should be a good time.

This week I am living in my friend's apartment. She and I traded for a week so she could see what it was like to live with a real Chilean family. My family was excited to have a new gringa... maybe too excited.

In light of some recent events and self-discovery kind of things I have deemed May, "The Month of ME." I have made a list of a lot of things I want to do (and some things that I don't want to do) this month. Things to make me a better person, help me grow. And also things to ensure I am having as much fun as possible in Chile. So I am eager to see how this turns out.

I am way excited about Peru. I can hardly wait. But first, there is still a lot of stuff I need to do here.

I'm sorry this update is kind of lame (que fome), but since no one has responded to a post in quite some time, I'm really not that sorry.

CAR-NE!!!!! QUE-SO!!!!

2007-04-23T21:21:37Z

So I had a mildly adventurous weekend filled with fun and surprises.

Thursday I skipped my class and took a bus to Puerto Varas by myself. I really needed some quality ME time. I had a lot of fun just walking around the city (GORGEOUS), going out to eat and just hanging out at the hostel. The next day I took the micro to Fruitillar, which I fell in love with! How amazing!! It's this beautiful, tiny little city with a great view of the lake and the volcanos. (Volcanos!) It is super tranquil and has some great little coffee shops. I love it. I want to live in Fruitillar Bajo!

Then, that afternoon Jamie took the bus into Puerto Varas and after a little confusion, we managed to meet up and make plans for the day. After some empanadas we decided to head to Petrihue to see the most amazing waterfalls and another view of the volcanos. The trip there was more than a little hectic and some woman who thought we couldn't understand Spanish started yelling "CAR-NE!" and "QUE-SO!" in our faces. It was fabulous. We got back to town and spent the evening enjoying the nice weather (what, no rain?) and grabbed some dinner and jugo natural (it was 2 X 1 night).

The next morning I made Jamie come back to Fruitillar with me because I loved it so much. We had decided that after Fruitillar we would just head home. But, while waiting for a micro in Fruitillar, some bomberos stopped and asked if we needed a ride to Fruitillar Alto. So, getting in the car with three strange men in another country probably isn't the best idea ever but hey, we were tired and they were cute! So we got in, just as they were explaining to us how dangerous it was. But they were hilarious and we had a great little ride with them. They were so nice and so funny and helped us out a lot. We got pictures with them (and Jamie's cabra) and decided that one adventure just wasn't enough for the weekend.

So instead of heading home as planned we called our friend (Jamie's friend?) who lives in Rio Negro, close to Osorno. We took a bus to Osorno and Jamie, her wet shoe (singular) and I walked around el centro for a while waiting for Pato (Quack!) to come pick us up. After showing us his 6 houses, we managed to get to the house where he was living in Rio Negro. After we got there we had dinner with his darling family (his dad is some big shot policeman, kind of cool) and then went out with him and his friend Leo (ROAR!). We had a lot of fun that night, drank quite a bit, and then fell asleep watching 300 at his house.

We did, in fact, make it home yesterday although we were tired and smelly.

Now, I have three more days of classes before we leave for Bariloche, Argentina. We are going Friday-Monday because this weekend is a holiday weekend in Chile. It is going to be all of us girls: Danielle, Nicole, Jamie, Elizabeth and me! We are all renting a car and I can only imagine the adventures we will have along the way.

I really, really like Chile but I have to admit that it can be very hard to be so far from home sometimes. It is hard to have a life at home that continues while I am here. On top of things going on in the States, there are also the daily struggles here. It can get to me sometimes. However, time is going by more quickly each day and I am excited to see what else this trip has in store for me before I have to return. I have been gone two months now and I leave Valdivia in 2 1/2 more. That means next week, it is half over. Wow.

I have more than 50 pictures to post and a couple of videos. So look for them later this week. They are from a fiesta at Danielle and Nicole's cabaña and from this past weekend.

That's all for now. There will be more after Argentina I'm sure.

chica_en_chile @ 2007-04-15T22:09:00

2007-04-16T02:24:52Z

So... my trip is one-third over already. It's a little crazy. I had an off week or two there but now I am back to my normal self, having lots of fun and trying to take advantage of all Chile has to offer. Not a whole lot to update I guess, this past week was relatively uneventful. I bought rain boots and lots of coffee, but that's really it. I am loving my history class and any sunshine I can manage to find. But the rain has begun. It rained 6 days last week.

Well, that's it. Short and sweet.

LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMA (beans)

2007-04-10T00:56:43Z

So I bought a plane ticket to Peru today. No planning, no thinking... totally spontaneously. I am going to Peru on July 13. So... that's that I guess.

A little less upbeat than the rest...

2007-04-07T12:43:51Z

Tengo una cita pendiente con mi soledad
Para ver quien soy cuando nadie esta mirando
Tengo una cita pendiente con la mujer que soy
No la que fui hace tanto ni la que ven los demas

I hate to say it, but it's starting to get to me. The euphoria stage has finally ended I think. I want friends and a place I feel at home. I haven't gone completely emo or anything, but it is really starting to wear on me. I think if I had one really good friend here I'd be fine, but it's hard to make really good friends when you can't even speak the language. And I just don't click with the other girls from Central here. They're nice, great people but they don't satisfy that best friend need.

Oh, I had to eat muscles, fish and seafood empanadas for lunch yesterday. If you know anything about me you know that is pretty much my own living hell. (Add someone touching my feet and it really couldn't get any worse.)

In other news, my birthday was this week. It was nice. I spent the afternoon in my favorite coffee shop where I treated myself to a banana split and a caramel coffee. How delicious. For lunch my parents made me this amazing chicken and pineapple dish and for dinner onces was HUGE. Plus, I got a cake. So really, my birthday revolved around food. But it was good. I got earrings from my host family and socks from Jamie. This amazingly friendly Columbian girl named Ingrid gave me a bracelet too. I got a package from Troy's family, but the package from my family still hasn't arrived. (They sent it over three weeks ago! I'm a little scared it got lost in the mail.) All in all, not a bad day.

I was supposed to go to Puerto Varas this weekend but we didn't get seats in time. Easter weekend is a big weekend for traveling here and the buses filled up really quickly. So I'm still in Valdivia, wishing I were somewhere else doing something exciting. I just don't feel like there's an excuse to be bored in South America. I think I'm going to try and plan a day trip for today. I don't know...

Well, that's it for now. I should go find something exciting to do.

My oxytocin level is far too low.

Another fun weekend

2007-04-03T02:00:15Z

I love Chile. This weekend Danielle and I went to Pucon and it was amazing. We spent Saturday bumming around the city, shopping, eating in great restuarants and planning our adventures for Sunday. That night, we went to this spa that has a bunch of natural hot water springs in the middle of nowhere. We ran into some friends there and we spent the evening relaxing and eating Nutella. It really doesn't get much better than that.

But then it did! Because Sunday we woke up and rode horses all morning through the most beautiful countryside ever. It was just me, Danielle and our guide Miguel. And we got to gallop! I had never galloped on a horse before. I'm lame, I know it. But it was a lot of fun and even though we were riding horses, it really wasn't very touristy at all. After horseback riding we went to another spa, but this one had a mud bath! Who takes a mud bath in Chile? I did!! It was the craziest, most fun thing ever. I can't say that it was relaxing but I had so much fun.

After a minor crisis at the spa (I'm starting to get used to these), we went white water rafting! I had never done that before either so it was a blast!! I was a little scared because when I swim I look like a "wet beaver" (reference, anyone?) but it was so much fun and I didn't fall out at all. We had to get out of the raft at one point and walk (it was more like climb) around because the rapids were too big for amateurs. No big deal, right? But then I come to find out that we have to jump from (what seems like) this HUGE cliff into the water to get back to the raft. Seriously? I almost cried I was so scared but it was soooo much fun and I couldn't be happier that I did it.

After rafting, Danielle and I went to this great little restuarant where I ordered my glass of wine with dinner ever. Loved it. Then we (just barely) caught our bus back home. It was an amazing experience. At first I was bummed out because we were going to climb the volcano but decided not to because it was so ridiculously expensive and because it is not a sure thing that you will get to go to the top that day. Turns out, the group that went Sunday (the day we would have gone), climbed for two hours and then had to go home. So they spent a TON of money to climb only halfway up a volcano before having to turn around and go home without a refund. So I was excited that we decided not to do that because I would have been very disappointed had I not been able to go to the top. I think if Liz and I go to Ecuador I want to climb a volcano there though.

Other than that, the week was filled with homework, homework, homework. My lit class is keeping me incredibly busy with creative writing assignments due all the time. I have my first exam on Wednesday. I'm terrified. My other class sucks. I haven't learned anything, the professor gets on my nerves and I just feel like it is a waste of my time. She assigned us a 10 page paper on Wednesday that is due a week from today. Ten pages. In Spanish. With 1.5 spacing. She's nuts. I don't care though. I'm not stressing out over it. In fact, Jamie, Liz (Liz-in-Chile-Liz) and I have plans to go away again this weekend for the Semana Santa. Tomorrow is the birthday but I'm not really doing anything super exciting for it. Oh well, I'm sure it will be fun anyway.

That's it for now. In conclusion, I, "The Yellow Dart," believe I have done a great job illustrating the differing opinions of hustle and bustle, may they both rest in peace.

One month down, 4 to go!

2007-03-26T21:31:25Z

I can't believe it but I have already been here a month! In some ways it feels like I just got here, in others I feel like I have lived here my whole life.

I still love it. Honestly, more and more every single day. This past week was not super eventful but it was the first week that I felt like I belonged here. I am finally talking to my family, I've made some friends from Chile, I understand the way things work here... I just feel like everything fell into place for me this week. And I think I have FINALLY gotten used to the language. I still need things repeated sometimes (okay, a lot) but I can almost always understand after the second time. That sounds dumb but it is a BIG feat for me!

I feel like the first couple of weeks it was really challenging because 3/4 of me was so excited to be here and looking forward to everything, but the other quarter was just miserable. And I was always in a good mood and had a pretty positive attitude but there was always that nagging voice in the back of my mind whining, "I want to go home." Now I am just happy to be here. All of me. (I just hope that when it starts raining I don't get grumpy.) And on top of all that, I feel like I've figured out the stuff I came here to figure out. At least a lot of it. So I am very happy about that too.

Anyway, not too many crazy stories to share this time. I was bombarded with homework this week and was busy helping with the American Corner so that was exciting. I went out on Friday (till 6!) but nothing good to share about that. I don't think anyone needs to worry about me becoming an out of control party girl like I thought. I'm over it already. Too much drama. Not that I won't go out sometimes but it will definitely not get out of hand.

Liz and I are planning a week or two of fun in Ecuador for July. I don't know for sure that it will happen yet but I am WAY excited by the idea of it. If I make it to Ecuador I will have met my "5 by 25" goal. So yay me!

I guess that's all for now. Plans in the making include a trip to climb Villarrica (a volcano!), a birthday celebration, and an excursion with my family to Bariloche, Argentina later in April. Lots to look forward to, I just hope I can find time to get some work done too! My other class starts next week!

This cannot be my life..!

2007-03-18T15:26:19Z

Here's your warning: This could very well be the longest, most ridiculous lj entry in history. And, again, I refuse to do a lj cut.... so get over it.

This has been the most amazing weekend ever. I am having a hard time grasping the fact that it is real. Okay, I guess I had better tell it chronologically.

Thursday: Thursday concluded "La Semana de Mechonas" at the University. It is quite possibily the funniest and most cruel thing I have ever witnessed. It is two full weeks of hazing the freshmen. The second year students come after freshmen classes and cut chunks of their hair, paint/write all over their faces, steal their clothing and/or shoes, make them wear fish heads around their necks, cover them in eggs and honey and other disgusting things. The freshmen seem to love it though, as it is a tradition and they know they'll get to do it next year. It is so weird though to look around and think, "This is all very illegal in the US." Classes are even cancelled sometimes so the sophomores can have more time to torture these poor kids. Oh, and the freshmen have to go downtown to collect enough money (about $10 US) to get their shoes back. It's quite entertaining. I happened to get some pictures of the craziness this week. I have decided not to post any to this already ridiculously long entry, so you'll have to go to Photobucket and check them out yourself.

Okay, that brings us to Thursday night. I happened to make some friends on Thursday (YAY my first ones) and we decided it was time to go out. So we went to the Bunker for a few drinks (the first legal drinks that I have purchased!) then over to Strike, this little kareokee bar. We met a couple of other people over there and it was a great time. In fact, Danielle (one of my new friends) won the kareoke contest while Nicole and I danced back up for her. It was so crazy. Me. Dancing. In a Kareoke bar. In Chile. Weird. And for those of you who like me because I'm not an irresponsible alcoholic, it was nice knowing you. I didn't come home until after 4 on Thursday. And even then my friends made fun of me for going home early.

Friday: Friday was a really important day here because the president signed a law, declaring two new regions in Chile, and Valdivia is the capital of one of them! So classes were cancelled and there was a big outdoor party all day and most of the night. And on top of that, I got to see the president!!! How cool is that? Everyone was packed in to hear her speak. I've never, ever seen so many people in one place before. It was awesome. There were bands playing, dancers doing the national dance, outdoor vendors... it was so much fun. And! it was amazing weather! So that was all a very good time and I am currently uploading photos and videos from that, but it will probably be an all day process, as it takes forever here. Seriously, I heard the Michelle Bachelet speak... in person. How great. Oh, and I had my first completo, which is apparently a food everyone should try when in Chile. It's a hotdog in a HUGE bun with avocado, tomatoes and Chilean mayo (which is different) on top.

Then Friday night I went out again with the same girls. We went to the outdoor concert for a while to watch some supposedly famous Chilean band, but we ended up getting bored and meeting up with these 4 Chilean guys that Danielle and Nicole met in class too. So that was a lot of fun and I was glad to actually be hanging out with people from here (since Danielle and Nicole are from Wisconsin). We went to a bar for a while before we went out dancing. It was a blast until some creep (who I now call "All Hands Julio") started dancing with me. We decided to leave after that. It was 3:30. We were going to go to ANOTHER dance club with the guys we had shown up with but decided that getting home around 4 was perfectly acceptable since we had big plans for Staurday morning.

Saturday: We got up early and Nicole, Danielle, Jamie and Elizabeth and I headed over to Parque Oncol. After the bus ride from hell, we made it and it was gorgeous! We got to ride on four different ziplines through the canopy of the Chilean forest. It was amazing. And we hiked to the top of this mountain and you could see forever. We were at the same level as the clouds and... I don't know. It was great. We could see Valdivia and some volcanoes in the background. So picture perfect. So we spent the day there and had so much fun.

Right as I was falling asleep, the girls called me saying they were going out again. But, luckily, I haven't totally turned into a true Chilean party girl yet and I passed.

So... there it is. My amazing weekend. I have pictures of everything that should all be loaded by tomorrow. I could absolutely get used to this.

Lesson #1

2007-03-09T14:36:36Z

So I learned the first lesson that Valdivia has to offer: You absolutely have to learn to laugh at yourself because someone else always is.

Someone is always laughing at me. Today it was the secretary of the language department because I have pretty much lived at his desk this week. My schedule got changed again (fourth time this week I think), so here I am speaking my broken Spanish to him, explaining that I can't take my linguistics class because the professor said it was too hard for me, asking to see the schedule book YET again and he just sits there and laughs at me, shaking his head. I had to the same. Really. What else am I going to do? It's definitely not worth stressing out about and I can understand how it'd be a funny sight. When I walked away, he just kept laughing. He knows I'll be back Monday.

Everything else is fine I guess. I only had one class this week due to the craziness of figuring out my schedule. Good thing I liked it. The language is coming easier, though it is still a struggle sometimes and I make a fool of myself often. Jamie and I took the most random boat ride to the middle of nowhere earlier this week. It was fun, but really, ridiculously random. I bought a cute sweater from the market and a purse too. I'll probably put pictures up on my photobucket because I'm a loser. Also! I bought a poster that has the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Spanish with pictures and such. It's way cute and I love it so much!

Other activities have included:
-End of summer barbeque
-Eating crudos (GAG!)
-Going to the museum in town
-Acting as a translator for two lovely German girls
-Eating lots and lots of ice cream (Entrelagos is the best!)
-ALMOST getting attacked by the second year students
-And, por supuesto, taking millions of pictures of lobos marinos (I have a great one that I still need to post)

Alright, lunch time.

Pictures

2007-03-03T03:26:47Z

So I still haven´t figured out what I´m doing here. In Chile. For five months. But whatever it is, I´m having a blast.

Here are the pictures I promised. I´m not cool enough to do a lj cut and I know everyone wants to see them anyway...

This is my city! Wooo!

And this too.

This is my house

And of course... the sea lions!

I have more pictures if anyone is that interested. On photobucket, username chica-en-chile.

Wow, it´s late and I am in desperate need of some sleep. Look for an update sometime next week after classes start.

I´m HERE!!!!

2007-03-01T16:43:58Z

So... I am in Chile! YAY! After two and a half long days of awful travel (read: flight delays, turbulance, 11 hours in a bus station, late bus), I made it. And with a smile on my face nonetheless.

When I got to my family´s house things only got worse because I couldn´t understand ANYTHING. I am so serious. They drop all of their S´s and when they say J´s it sounds like they are German. It´s a little crazy. But it´s been a lot of fun so far and I am loving it. It´s so frustrating too but the city is great (there really are sea lions!!), my brothers are awesome, the weather is warm. I like it a lot. I have already been riding bikes, motor boating, kayaking. Classes start on Monday and I am nervous because I am still having a little trouble understanding people. It´s coming much easier today though than it was on Monday. So I am glad for that.

I haven´t talked to anyone at home yet because I am scared that once I do I will miss it. Right now I am very happy here and am keeping busy enough where I don´t have much time to think about everyone. I figured I would cry for the entire first week but I have been doing great. No freak outs yet! Except, I keep waking up in the middle of the night (in my awesome bedroom) and thinking, ¨Wow, why do I keep having that dream that I am in Chile?¨Then I look around and realize it´s not a dream. So insane. Well, it´s time for almuerzo so I should get going. I have a lot to do this afternoon to prepare for classes.

But first... I have a cell phone here and I can receive calls for free. I need to buy some minutes for it tonight and then I will post my number. Pictures will come soon too.

Okay, hasta luego!

Chilean Adventures

2006-12-10T17:10:14Z

This is my livejournal for my trip to Chile! For those of you who don't know...

*I leave February 25 and return July 23
*I will be living with a host family in Valdivia
*I will be taking classes at the Universidad Austral de Chile
*I'm taking three 4-credit classes: television and cinema, literature, and the language and culture of the Mapuche

But that's all from me until I get settled in Valdivia!