Friends, Family, Adventure

I am so, so, so very sorry for how long it has taken me to write again in my blog. On top of classes, meeting people, traveling, family matters, and let's be honest, being lazy, I haven't taken the time to really write anything. A part of me wanted to stop writing because the person I designed this blog for passed away, but I feel that he would really enjoy that I share all my adventures with friends and family. This is a once in a lifetime experience filled with many memories that should be shared. Life is too short and thus it is important to not create distant memories that can easily be forgotten when all I need to do is take the time to write them down. Likewise, in my opinion, sharing my memories and experiences with others gives them more meaning because it is like my memories can live and thrive through other people. For that reason, I have returned to the blog scene and am ready to share condensed, but jam packed memories in one post.

Where to begin? So much has happened here in Chile!! I guess I will just explain the two major trips I have taken thus far, beginning with my trip up north to La Serena and Valle de Elqui. This area of Chile is very unique in comparison to Santiago and has a great character of its own. In La Serena, there is the beach, beautiful buildings, a desert that stretches for miles on end, and mountains that surround you like the imposing structures they are. 

From La Serena, we took a one hour bus ride to Valle de Elqui, where we biked through many vineyards, through the lightly colored and sandy mountains, and ending at a river within the green trees of the valley. The Valle was my favorite part of this trip, because I have never seen anything like it. The sandy and desert like mountains concealed an oasis within, filled with grape vines, trees, a river, and a very blue sky. To top off our vacation here, we biked to a Piqueria, where my favorite alcoholic drink is made, called Pisco :). Pisco is a Chilean alcohol that is not exported to the U.S. (only to Canada and other South American states...how sad). Around 10 in the evening, the same day we went biking through the valley, we rode the bus to the top of a mountain and star gazed with an astronomist. It was cool to see such a clear sky full of so many stars!! I honestly cannot describe it. It was breathtaking and surreal to see how big the universe really is. 

Valle de Elqui

Of course I could find some Borges on the street

Now on to my trip to the beautiful city of Buenos Aires this past weekend. I literally do not know where to even begin with this trip because it was amazing and I miss every part of that city. The city itself had both a European and New York City vibe to it. My favorite part was the fact that everyone was so friendly and no matter how horrible my spanish was, they would try to understand or correct me when I spoke to them. It really helped build my confidence and for once I actually felt like "hey, I can do this!!". I just cannot get over my experience there because I met so many people in my hostel that come from all around the world and I saw very important historical landmarks. Don't get me wrong, Santiago is great and really has stolen my heart, but it was refreshing to go somewhere new for a vacation and have people speak spanish that is closer to what I learned in class (in Chile, the Chileans kind of just mumble and talk very very fast in which I feel inadequate in my speaking and comprehension abilities). 

Plaza de Mayo

La Casa Rosada

Band on the street

Night out with friends

San Telmo Market

Oh, did I forget to mention that I met the pope?

Our lovely room for three nights in the hostel "America del Sur"

My favorite part of the trip occurred during our second night in the city. My friends Natalie, Maria and I were sitting in our hostel lobby when a group of Argentinians invited us to eat their "asado", a.k.a their barbeque. Me, being deprived of meat since I live with a vegetarian family here in Santiago, jumped on the chance to eat a traditional Argentinian meal that mainly consisted of steak and sausage. Yum. During the whole night, I talked seven hours of straight Spanish and was very proud of myself. Another perk of the night was that the group of people that invited us to eat also played their guitars and sang throughout the evening. I have never had a night like that, where everyone was so relaxed, savoring the food, and literally enjoying life. After all that has gone on this past month, it was really refreshing to sit back and see all the positive aspects of life and the joys that it can bring. 

Natalie learning how to play the guitar

Hanging out with our friends

A LOT of meat

During my last night in Buenos Aires, we went to a drum concert called "La Bomba". It is a concert that only occurs on Monday nights and it was extremely fun. The lights, the traditional drumming, and the lively atmosphere finished my night well. In addition to my trip's end in Buenos Aires, I got into an in-depth conversation with my cab driver to the airport about soccer-in spanish!! It was great because I felt like for once someone could understand what I was saying to them as I spoke in Spanish and we talked about a topic that I love. It was a nice way to top off the trip, even if it was at 4 AM in the morning, I stayed up the whole night and, rightly so, was very exhausted. 

La Bomba

I hope I made up somewhat for my lack of posts this past month. I really want to share these experiences and I will try to keep my blog updated in the future.

Until next time!!

Vamos a la playa

Hey everybody! Sorry it has taken so long to post, I just have been so busy! This weekend I visited the coastal cities of Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. Only an hour and a half away by coach bus, these cities are popular for their art, beaches, and night life. However, the two cities were different from one another because Valparaíso had a more grunge, hipster look to it while Viña clearly is designed for tourists. I will just start off by saying that I am glad I chose to live in Santiago over Valparaíso this semester, because the streets are clear cut and I don't have to walk up a hill everywhere I step. Valparaíso is full of hills and curvy streets that are easy to get lost in, especially when you get caught up in looking at the fantastic street art and colorful houses! 

 

It is amazing how just an hour away from Santiago, lifestyles change dramatically in Valparaíso. Chile is known for supporting very relaxed cultures, where one can be as late as they want and it is socially acceptable. In Valparaíso, I felt life was even more relaxed with less people walking around, the breezy ocean air, and the houses on the hills with balconies for people to hang out on. Although at the same time, the nightlife seemed a little more intense and I did not feel as safe going out at night in Valparaíso than I do in Santiago. Part of this could be due to the fact that Santiago is starting to feel like home while Valparaíso was someplace new, with very confusing streets and hills that I could not comprehend within staying there for only two nights. On top of all this, I stayed in my first hostel. So overall, this whole trip to Valparaíso was one of my first adventures in Chile where I really experienced what it is like to be a student traveler, with limited cash, in a foreign city. I have to start somewhere though, and I think Valparaíso was a great first choice. In case any of you are interested, here are some pictures of my hostel (there were a total of eight of us to a room, pretty crazy but also really fun):

On our second day in Valparaíso, we took the metro to Viña del Mar to go to la playa (beach)! I was very excited because it has been awhile since I have seen the ocean and I really love the vast, endless feeling it evokes. However, before we got to the beach, we realized the metro dropped us off a mile away and so we had to walk in the blazing heat for about an hour. While on our walk we met a stray dog that accompanied us all the way to the beach and who we named Jesus. He was kind of a scary looking dog but I think in the inside he was a big softie...I mean he did walk with us for a very long time in extremely hot weather. Once we got to the beach, we stayed for seven hours, soaking up the sun, enjoying the ocean and talking with each other. I have to say that the pacific ocean is freezing and slightly terrifying. I got pulled under by the tide and was very scared I wouldn't surface. So after that experience I decided to stick only my toes in the water, for safety reasons. I had to go in the water at some points because it got to about 85 degrees around two in the afternoon. By the end of the day everyone was sunkissed (or burnt) and exhausted. The sun can be extremely draining and water was very expensive on the beach because it was a tourist hot spot. Let's just say that that night I fell asleep around 10:30 PM as opposed to 1 AM.

On our last day in Valparaíso, the eight of us went to the house of the famous poet and noble prize winner, Pablo Neruda. After seeing his house, I now can't wait to take a class in Madison on his poems because the themes of his literature relate exactly to how I feel about life sometimes. The guy is also an extremely creative person, and his house showed it. Sadly I could not take any pictures but I can describe some of the house's quirky attributes. First of all, Neruda was an avid collector of artifacts, kind of like my brother, Alex. In Neruda's living room resided a horse from a merry-go-round that he strategically placed in a circular portion of the room, so one sitting on the couch in there could feel like they too were still on the carousel. In addition, there were many oil paintings around the house of people and boats (because Neruda loved the sea) and there were tapestries from Ethiopia, Vietnam and China. In Neruda's office there was an elaborate british sink installed in the wall which Neruda never actually had attached, so it only served for aesthetic appeal. He was an eccentric dude who cared greatly about people remembering the complexity of this world and the need to remember, as an adult, your inner child. 

Grade school named after Neruda

View from Neruda's house

Bench with Neruda's head

Thank you for reading this extremely long blog post! It was a very busy weekend full of lots of exciting things to see. Te amo mucho y espero que todos recuerden la importancia de vivir como una poca inocencia en este mundo complejo.  

Explore What You Can Everyday

Wow! Can I just start off by saying that Santiago has made a great impression on me so far. Not only because of all the trees and mountains in the background, but also because everyone is so NICE! The people here are, from my experience, always willing to help you with directions and seem eager to return the goofy smiles I give them. I feel as if I am currently in the hidden gem of the world. I am positive that when asked where is the one place they would like to travel in the world, a person would not respond with Chile as the answer. But Chile is so unique being completely surrounded my a mountain chain on its eastern side and the pacific ocean on its western side. It also is very long, containing a wide range of natural landscapes that seem breath-taking. I hope that I can take advantage of the bus rides offered and the excursions my program will go on so I can experience the northern, southern and western life Chile has to offer.

Since I haven't posted for a couple days, I am just going to talk about my tour of downtown Santiago yesterday and my hike up San Cristobal today. Starting with the tour downtown, a few friends from my program decided to get a group of people together to see some of the popular spots downtown. We all met at La Moneda (pictured above) which is Chile's equivalent to our White House in D.C. My trip to La Moneda required me to take the train all by myself, but have no fear because I'm practically a master at navigating the subway system :). Once at the Moneda, a tour group near the building gave my friends and I free maps of the popular Santiago spots. So following that, we all headed to La Plaza de Armas. The plaza was actually under renovation so all we could see were the buildings surrounding it, which were still very beautiful. 

At the plaza, we visited Chile's national history museum which was very interesting. There I learned more about the Mepuche, the largest indigenous tribe in Chile, and about the communist-like rule in the country. The plaza was a fun area, but all of us were mainly excited to head over to Santa Lucia, the second highest point in Santiago. Santa Lucia was absolutely beautiful, with a great view of the city and nature greens galore.  I have posted pictures below of my adventures there.

Last but not least involves my travels today. The same group of friends and I set out for San Cristobal, the highest point in Santiago where the Virgin Mary stands watching over the city. To get to Mary was very difficult however, because we had to hike all the way to the top in eighty degree weather. Let's just say that my shoulders are very unhappy with me and my SPF 50 sunscreen did not calm the pain. It is ok though, because the top of the hill was breath taking and up near Mary everything was very tranquil. On top of the tranquility, however, I also felt a little sad. Being so high up was definitely a powerful experience, but the strong spiritual atmosphere that surrounded the place was making me remember those who have passed, the struggles my loved ones face today and the unknown future ahead. I couldn't help but shed a few tears, remembering Baba, my grandfathers and James, a friend from my high-school who passed away recently due to a terrible accident. At the same time though, remembering them at such a spiritual place made me smile through the tears and know that the time I did spend with them, if any, was great and never will be forgotten. Also I took the time to pray for my uncle Walter, a strong individual who is struggling with a major obstacle life has thrown at him. Just the fact that this one place in Santiago evoked many emotions and memories from me showed how powerful and important it is to make the effort to go places you may have never thought of going and to take advantage of the time life gives you. 

To end the day at San Cristobal, we all went down the mountain/hill via the funicular-the cart pictured below. I was kind of scared because I don't really enjoy heights and the funicular seemed kind of wobbly. 

El Metro??? Que??

This morning began with a very tasty and balanced breakfast that contained many foods I will enjoy anywhere in the world. I had oatmeal that tasted even better than oatmeal at home, a juicy peach, chamomile tea, and of course I had bread (typical of a Ukrainian). I ate EVERYTHING on my plate, which actually isn't very surprising since eating is one of my favorite hobbies. 

After breakfast, my host mother and I headed out to the metro station "Los Orientales" which was about four and half blocks away from the house. However, before we got on the train, mi mamá pointed out to me that it was probably wise I had un cuaderno (notebook) to take notes in during orientation. So before arriving at the metro station, we stopped at a nearby supermercado (super market that looked similar to Walmart) and I purchased my very cheap, less than one dollar, handy-dandy One Direction themed notebook:

 
Once I had my notebook in tow, mi mamá and I set out for the metro station. We were at the station that houses the purple line. It was not a straight shot to the Universidad though (where my orientation is held), instead we had to transfer to the red line at the station "Tobalaba". The red line is probably the most important because it is the train that spans the major road in downtown Santiago-Liber Bernador O'Higgins. I was really surprised by Santiago's metro system, known as transantiago, because the trains are very clean, tunnels have fans with water mist spraying to keep people cool, and payment for the metro is similar to in the states. Above is a picture of my bip! card. This card is my ticket to riding the metro or the buses. Almost everyone in Santiago owns a bip! card to easily get around. Each trip costs approximately $1.00, so by the end of my trip I will probably end up spending most of my money on transportation.  Below are some pictures of a map I grabbed from the metro station. The first photo is the overall map and the others are bits and pieces of the map. The station I start at is along the right side of the map and the main building of the university is in the center on the red line.

Once done with orientation, my host mother picked me up and we headed back on the metro. This time however, we got off at a stop next to the mall and took a bus back to the house. I have posted some pictures of the area where the bus station and metro station are located. The green squiggly awning represents a bus stop and those green squiggles are seen all throughout the city.

 

Last but not least, I told myself in my room at the end of the day "yeah you got a nice tan". I will let you decide if you think my pale skin is an indication of a tan.