Saturday, September 28, 2013

The random things I miss.

I'm super happy here in Chile. Yet, I am starting to notice that there are some small things that I really miss in the U.S. They're so small, and it's funny to notice that I actually miss them.

Things about the States that I miss...
  • Self-checkout lines... especially when only 2 out of 30 lines are open in the store and you have all but 2 items.
  • The sound of my Bialetti making REAL coffee. The instant stuff got old after the first packet. 
  • Dogs being excited to see you. Almost all the dogs here are strays and are just laying around on the street. They don't care that you're walking by. Just wag your tail dang it!
  • Good customer service. If there's one thing that America does better than the rest of the world, it's customer service. No such thing here or really anywhere else in the world. 
  • Studying in coffee shops. This also doesn't happen here in Chile, because people can come  and steal your stuff. Actually people only ever study in there houses, which is no fun after coming from  Fort Collins.
  • Bike rides. It's a dangerous endeavor here. 
  • Cooking for myself.
  • Driving. Also a dangerous endeavor here.
  • Salads. Their idea of salads here is iceberg lettuce and peeled tomatoes (um, yeah they peel tomatoes) all soaked in lemon juice and oil. It tastes fine, but it just looks too pathetic to be called a salad.
  • Not having to worry about a potential strike. There's always a strike at the post office, bus station, or some place important... gosh it's so irritating when people fight for something they believe in! ;)
I guess if that's the list, then life must be pretty good. And it is. Happy Fall in the States, happy Spring and beach weather here! Ciao!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Chile is simply wonderful: A brief update.

After so much traveling last week, I am pleased to report that there is nothing to report. Except that I am pretty much 100% settled here in Viña, and looking forward to my last 2 and 1/2 months here (what!?). The time has blown by yet it feels like ages ago when I was dropped off at the airport by my family. I've been able to keep in touch with pretty much everyone since I left, which is also a weird feeling. I am very far away, but technology makes the world a lot smaller. It's funny being in touch because in the States it's starting to become fall. I'm hearing about snow in the mountains! AH! Fall is my favorite season, so it stinks to be missing it... but then I just go on a run by the beach with the sea mist spraying in my face and suddenly I'm totally ok with missing fall ;)

Classes have been great, and I'm doing well in them. I'm amazed by how much free time I have here. I literally can do everything I want to do in a day, without being stressed. The only times that I'm stressed is when I procrastinate. This is a strange feeling that I don't think I've had since I was 4 years old. America is so fast paced and everyone is going going going! Initially the laziness of Chile really bothered me; teachers always showing up 5-10 minutes late for class, people walking slower than sloths on the street, and others just not doing what they should be doing. Now however, I'm finding that it has its benefits. One such benefit being siestas! I nap a lot here, because so does everyone else ha. Another benefit is having the time to read for pleasure, which is a luxury I rarely get to enjoy during the school semester. I promptly finished a book within 2 weeks here and am tackling 3 books right now, and about to finish one of them.

My spanish is getting a lot better. And I am really glad that I can say that, because after the first month I was starting to panic a little because I didn't feel that I was improving at all. But you hit hills and plateaus while developing your skills, and as of now I'm in an upward hill and loving it. I can have good conversations that are better than basic small talk. I just have to brace for the inevitable plateau that is coming, because they are pretty frustrating. Not being understood, and not being able to communicate your thoughts or feelings has been one of the most humbling/enraging experiences here. You feel very alone and stuck. Thanks to good friends, such as my buddies from Mexico, it can also be a hilarious situation. They are such fun people, and we enjoy making fun of our bad spanish together. They teach us a lot too, so I guess their payment is entertainment.

Volunteering has been hard, yet so good. I volunteer for two hours every Monday at the nursing home in Viña. The residents are very interesting people, and it's cool to note the differences between our elderly and the elderly here. Our elderly are generally more depressed than the elderly here. The reasons for this are completely logical... it's all about the family. Chile still holds the family unit as very important, in fact it is the most important thing here. For America, this is changing a little. Success, adventure, and fun lives are what is important. It is strange for people to get married young because they are "throwing away" their youth. They could have so much more fun before they have to settle down! Why would they do that? But here, the family is the adventure! Getting a house and starting a family is still really important here, and people work so that they can make a good life for their family. Most of the time in the States people work to make money, buy fun stuff, gain power, and show how successful they are. I know these are huge generalizations, but the patterns exist. Anyway, since family is still the core of society here, it's actually quite strange to not visit your parents in the nursing home. Actually it's strange to even have your parents in a nursing home. It's a rare situation in Chile, but even when it does happen, the family is visiting so much it hardly affects the resident. I like visiting these residents, because they love seeing me and I'm not a bitter reminder to them that they're no longer young... I simply remind them of their grandchildren :)

I think that's good for an update! I felt another earthquake today! It was freaky! My teacher was not even phased until she looked up and saw Kaylin and me. Our eyes were huge and we were just trying to comprehend how the whole building could be moving. Haha, she just laughed and continued with class.

I'm sending prayers for my friends and family to the States! Hope all is well... oh, and GO BRONCOS!
Ciao!

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Fiestas Patrias, Parte II

The second half of my vacation was very different from the first half! No more hiking volcanos or going rafting... we just ate, drank, and saw some pretty cool sights. It was nice to relax. I am once again going to brag about my host family. I was back in Viña for the 17th and 18th, so I got to partake in the preparations for the 18th, which is their Independence Day. I woke up on the 18th and by 10am we were in the kitchen cooking empanadas and drinking this cinnamon/coffee liquor drink. By helping make them, I quickly found out exactly how bad empanadas are for you! It's why they taste so good I suppose. By 11am we were making terremotos (earthquakes), which is pipeño wine with a fruit syrup and ice cream. They don't sound appetizing, but they're actually good! Then we all sat down to eat choripan, grilled meat, empanadas, more food, and more drinking :)

The brown mix on the left was the cinnamon/liquor drink, and the other two plates were the filling of the empanadas we were making.




Making terremotos!


The meat ready to be grilled, and a  completed terremoto!


On the night of the 18th a group of us went to the Fonda in Viña del Mar. A Fonda is basically a fair with rides, food, and dancing! Below is a random couple that started dancing Cueca, which is the traditional dance of Chile.




The Fonda was SUPER crowded in Viña, and after some food and a ride, we all decided to go home. The next day we caught a bus to La Serena, which is a beach town about 6 hours north of Viña. It's the second oldest city in Chile, and you could tell by the architecture because all of the buildings were Spanish colonial style. There were also old Catholic Churches nearly every 5 blocks.





Below are pictures from the Cathedral de La Serena.










We made a wonderful spur of the moment decision that night in La Serena! We had heard that one of the best and biggest Fondas in Chile was in Pampilla, just a short bus ride away from La Serena. Initially, none of us were very interested because we were so tired from the day, but a bus came by and it said Pampilla, so we just hopped on and went! Thank goodness we did! This Fonda was HUGE! There was food everywhere, big rides, and even though there were more people than the one in Viña, the area was so big that it was definitely less crowded. We rode the roller-coaster (montaña rusa), and ate some good food with terremotos of course!

Below is a man preparing Chorillanos, which is basically a heart attack waiting to happen... french fries with all kinds of meat, grilled onions and peppers piled on, then a sunny-side-up egg is placed on top and you're given a fork... dig in! 



They also have this thing called an Ass... yep try ordering that with a straight face. It's just seared meat with sauerkraut, onions, mayo, and mustard on a hotdog bun. 


Always more terremotos! And Kaylin figured out how to make them even better! In Fort Collins, Beer/Margaritas (aka beer-ritas!) are really popular. So she decided to try adding some beer to the terremotos to see if they would taste similar. Um yeah... it was perfection! The beer took away the sweetness of the terremoto, and made the flavor a lot more smooth. Beer always seems to fix things ;)
(Disclaimer: We always drank responsibly, don't worry Mom and Dad)


Another great thing that La Serena is known for is it's huge beach. The beach runs about 6km without being broken. It was the softest sand I have felt, and we went on a Calbagata (horseback ride!) on the beach. The Calbagata only costs $4, so that was a given!




We only had two days in La Serena, and this was a great way to end those two days. Below, you'll see my friend Dana who really enjoys learning and dancing Cueca. We entered this restaurant, and they were playing good music for Cueca and Dana started pretending to dance. Then the man who worked in the restaurant got really excited, went and changed his outfit, and came out ready to teach Dana to Cueca! Normally you dance with a fancy handkerchief, but he grabbed to paper towels and they danced like pros! Chileans are really fun people, especially during their independence week!





I've had a long 10 days celebrating Chile, and discovering so much about it's people, nature, and customs. It's been an absolute blast, but I am definitely ready for the routine of school to come back and  for a break from all the travel. I have some great friendships here after all this because once you travel that much with someone, you just get more comfortable with them than you ever thought you would. You get to see each other in all your greasiness after a 12 hour bus ride ha! It's been so much fun, and a week I will remember for the rest of my life! CHI-CHI-CHI! LE-LE-LE! VIVA CHILE!


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Fiestas Patrias, Parte I

Independence day is done right here! The 18th of September hasn't even arrived and mis amigos and I have already started celebrating along with Chile! I left last Wednesday night on 9/11 to go to Pucón with my three amigas Ali, Kaylin, and Dana. Our bus made a stop in Santiago on the way to Pucón, which was actually a bummer because we got stuck there for about 3 hours thanks to the protesters that were out for 9/11. But it was a small price to pay for getting to Pucón.

We had a ton of fun getting to cook our own meals for a change! We made some dang good food if I do say so myself. Below is Choripan... chori is short for chorizo, and pan means bread in Spanish.


Pizza making!



And you always have to have your drawer full of Alfajores! Nelly gave me 12 for my trip, and I had to share or I would've gained 5 pounds alone from those dangerous cookies. 


Arriving at Pucón for the second time was just as exciting as the first! It's incredibly nice to get away from the city and breath some mountain air... and we got a bigger dose of mountain air than we expected. We hiked Volcán Villarica, and it was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. That volcano requires every bit of metal toughness you've got. We had to rent the gear and guides. The gear consisted in boots, jacket, pants, backpack, gloves, helmet, icepick, crampons, and butt sleds. It was very cold when we left at 6:30am. We got to the base and there was a cloud on top of the volcano, which we were hoping would move so that we could summit the whole volcano. It ended up not moving but by the time we got the the base of the cloud we had been hiking for a solid 5 and 1/2 hours,  so though we were bummed it wasn't horrible to go home. I saw some of the most beautiful views of my life, and fell in love with the Andes. Descending only took about 1 and 1/2 hours because we had pieces of plastic to sit on and sled down. Yeah, I got to go sledding on a volcano! :)

That's the cloud that stopped our ascent.












We also got the chance to go rafting! 



The pics aren't great, but the other girls took some too, which I will get from them. My fingers were a little cold. After our 4 days in Pucón we took a bus to Valdivia, which is a city further south in Chile. Pucón is in the Lake Region of Chile, while Valdivia is in the River Region of Chile. I loved Valdivia! It was one of the most authentic places I've been in Chile. The people were really nice and the area was beautiful!


We went to Niebla, which is another city by Valdivia because everyone recommended that we go to this Feria (Fair) that they have every Sunday. We were thinking it was going to be more of the Artesian items we had already seen but it was better... it was FOOD! All food, and it was good food.





Nothing better than a kabob that's longer than your arm!


This is a typical Chilean dish called Pastele de Choclo. It's pretty much corn, meat, and onion all baked together. It was very good!



Kaylin and I of course had to split a sopapilla!


That is a bowl full of fresh shell fish for only $8. Unfortunately we didn't get to try everything. 


After the good food, we took a walk to the beach nearby.







Ok, this is a great story about the language barrier. We got on a bus when it started raining because we wanted to go find the famous Kunstmann Brewery. We couldn't see outside the windows so we asked a man if he would let us know where the brewery is so we could get off the bus. He said yes, and after a couple minutes we got off. Yeah.. not the Kuntsmann brewery. We had to go into a kids playland restaurant and ask directions to the brewery! Ha! We got some odd looks from the parents in there. Apparently there's a lot of microbreweries around, so we took a step out of the rain into the Salzburg brewery. We then found out from them that Kuntsmann is about 3km farther down the road. So we had a beer to warm up, then headed out to Kuntsmann. 



Yay! Kuntsmann!... das gute Bier!



We got the samplers of their 10 varieties of beer. They were really good. The darkest one (called Bock) was my favorite, because it tasted like coffee.






Our second day in Valdivia consisted in walking around the town, visiting the botanical garden, then in the afternoon we took a boat tour of the river and a town called Punucapa.





Below are pictures of the Botanical Garden at the University of Valdivia.










There is an amazing market next to the river that has all the freshly caught seafood. The best is that some of the fishermen will make bowls of ceviche right when they dock, and they sell it for $2 per bowl. Best ceviche in the world!







Every now and then we would see a sea-lion just waiting for the men to drop a piece of fish that they can snag. These guys were HUGE! They weigh half a ton, and are not the most attractive looking animals. They were so cool though, because they acted like dogs. They would bark/snort when begging for food. The men saw how fascinated we were and allowed us to feed them!





Below are pictures of the boat tour that took us up the river to Punucapa. This huge river was once just a creek, and a huge earthquake (2nd largest ever recorded) caused the ground around the river to sink 3 meters. This created a marshland type of river, and the environment is simply gorgeous!









This Catholic Church is over 100 years old. It was built by the Spanish when they came to Punucapa. 




The tour took a stop at a place that makes Chicha, which is fermented wine...


I bought myself a bottle of Chicha!


We then took a tour of another brewery!



Part I of las Fiestas Patrias was a huge success! Southern Chile is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and has some of the most kind people I have met. They love how fascinated gringos get, and instead of laughing at us they like to show us even more of what they love. This was a sweet trip! I will write about Part II soon. It takes place in Viña del Mar, and I get to cook with my parents! Empanadas here we come! Ciao! Sending love to mis amigos y familia en los Estados Unidos!