Taking Chances

Last night, I had the privilege to be at another high school swim meet.  For the second year in a row, I have helped coach an inner-city swim and dive team, and it has been such a joy.  Yesterday, we had a swim meet against two other inner-city teams in the city, and it gave us an opportunity to swim all of our less-experienced athletes who don’t get much swim time in the more competitive meets.  And let me tell you, they did a great job.

For many of them, this past month has been completely new to them.  Most of these less-experienced athletes had never swum a lap in their life, and now they are swimming over 4000 yards a day.  Talk about a challenge, but they have stepped up to this challenge with such a positive attitude.

And last night, during the girls JV 50 Free, I almost cried.  That’s right.  I was brought to tears during a swim meet.  Not exactly the norm.  This event was full with swimmers who struggled to make it the two laps.  Their strokes were far from perfect. Flip turns just didn’t happen. Their starts had a closer resemblance to a belly-flop.  Some of it was more splashing than swimming.  And yet, it was absolutely beautiful.

Here was a group of six girls from three different high schools who took a chance.  Humans are not made for water.  We were designed for dry land, and yet every day, they throw themselves into a pool.  They listen to feedback from their coaches.  They look up to more-experienced swimmers for tips and encouragement.  They push themselves to just keep swimming, swimming, swimming (thank you, “Finding Nemo”, for your helpful mantra), even when they are tired, even when they just want to crawl onto the deck and rest.  They have taken a chance, and are growing in leaps and bounds.

Kudos to you ladies, who make me so proud and remind me why I coach swimming.

Rainy Days.

There’s nothing like a rainy day to get the memories rolling.  Chilly, wet days like today remind me of most of my time in Chile.  While I enjoyed plenty of gorgeous, sunny days, I definitely remember being bundled up in my rain coat more often than not, especially during my last few weeks.  My transition back to life in the States, even with how unpredictable it has been, has been a relatively smooth one, which has been such a blessing.  But I definitely find myself missing Chile and the adventures I had while I was there. 

I miss sitting in our kitchen with my gringa roommate, chatting about our lives at home and getting to know each other better over mugs of hot cocoa and spoons of manjar.  I miss my walk to (and even up the giant hill from) the metro.  I miss the daily hugs from Mariela, one of my supervisors at my internship.  I miss being close to the beach all the time, even if it meant I was always smelling nasty fish.  I miss hearing my host dad sing around the house.  I miss the helado de canela that I found at a little coffee shop.  I miss the sounds of music (mostly good) on my metro rides.  I miss the laughter of the kids running around our house, playing escondido.

And now that I find myself in the US, I have noticed how much my time in Chile has changed me.  There are so many moments, every day, where I want to blurt out in the middle of a conversation, “that reminds me of ____ in Chile”.  And even though I have some great, understanding friends, I know that I can’t talk about Chile all the time, or they are just going to get sick of it.  And when that happens, I become a bit upset.  No one knows what I experienced.  None of my friends or family will ever be able to share in my memories of the things I saw, heard, did.  And that is a bit of a lonely realization.  And when those thoughts start running through my mind, I have to make a conscious decision to remember where I put my hope and faith – not in this world, but in the work done on the cross for me.  I have been told to “be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified […], for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). 

I am not alone. 

“For surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

From one adventure to the next

Once again I am standing on American soil.  Actually, I’ve been on American soil for ten days. 

So, a little update on my final week in Chile: I climbed a volcano.  I mentioned preparing for the trek in my last post, but I actually made it to the top of Volcán Villarica (feel free to Google it).  And it was the hardest (physically) thing I have done in my life – even harder than running a half marathon.  It had rained for two weeks in the town of Pucón, which meant two weeks worth of fresh snow on the volcano, so we had to create our own path the entire way.  It took us six hours to reach the top, and it felt like climbing up stairs, but the “steps” were too far apart most of the time (or at least, for someone of my height… or lack thereof).  Most of the time, the snow was deeper than my knees, so I used my ice pick to help stabilize me on the climb up.  After the long climb, we finally reached the top!  We were unable to see the lake of lava in the crater, but we did have some pretty great views of the surrounding area.

At the top of Volcán Villarica, with the crater behind me (and steam from the lava). 

After climbing up a snow-covered volcano for six hours, what is the best way to get down?  Well, sledding of course.  In our huge back-packs (like, the 20+ pound back-packing bags) was a little baby sled that was about the size of your butt.  And for two hours, we sled down, using our ice picks as brakes.  After getting snow sprayed into my face (and down my jacket… and up my pant-legs… and in my shoes) for two hours, we made it back down to the base of the volcano, looking behind to what we had just done.  Like I said, it was incredibly hard, but it was totally worth the exhaustion and was one of the coolest things I’ve done in my life.

Other folks from my hostel who climbed the volcano.  I'm on the far right.

View of Volcán Villarica from town.

While that adventure was a blast and was an experience of a life-time, life State-side is a little less adventurous.  I am currently rocking the unemployed status, which means life is incredibly up-in-the-air for me right now.  But surprisingly enough, that’s okay.  Yes, things are pretty unpredictable right now, but this is my current adventure – figuring out where the Lord wants me next.

Blogging this past summer was a blast for me (and hopefully you enjoyed reading).  I probably won’t update this very often, but maybe there will be some more writing – and blogging – for me in the future.  I guess we’ll find out. 

Un abrazo,

Elise

One last hooray.

Dearest friends and family,

As I write, I am unwinding from one adventure, and am preparing myself for the next.  These last 72 hours in Chile are going to be wonderful.

Today, I went white-water rafting for the first time, on a level 4 river.  It was crazy! The river was beautiful, and it was surrounded by gorgeous, snow-capped mountains.  And I learned that the water was incredibly cold when I went for my little ¨swim¨ part-way through. One of the level 4 rapids included a ¨hydraulic¨(? Some things just get lost in translation with Spanish...) that our group didn´t manuever quite as well as we should have, and a few of us took a dunk.  But it was totally worth it.

And now, I am packing my bag in preparation to climb the volcano tomorrow with some people from my hostel.  Let me tell you, the adventures never end in Chile.  The past few days have been raining a lot, which meant a lot of activities were unavailable for the past few days, but tomorrow is supposed to be perfect weather to climb the volcano.  We start at 6:45 in the morning, and climb up 2800m for 5 hours through the snow, before sledding back down.  I´ll be sure to keep you posted on the details of this next adventure :)

Love to all,
Elise

Bucket List

I have officially been in Chile for two months, and it has come to my attention that there were two experiences I had not yet had.  But not to worry, I have now experienced these last two things:

One.  Pulgas.  More commonly known as fleas.  That´s right folks, I got fleas.  I had hoped that if I didn´t pet the stray dogs and ran away instead (not hard for me to do), and hoped for the best, I would remain flea-free for my entire trip.  But alas, those pesky little pulgas got the best of me.  I have no idea when or where I got them (I have been in countless trains, buses, cars, and cities this past week), but the 16+ bites on my leg leave no room for doubt.  Mom and Dad, I hope you´re ready for all the laundry I´ll be doing when I get home :)

Two.  The south. During my time here, I lived in central Chile (and I love it dearly), and traveled to the Atacama desert (see the earlier post about that adventure).  But I was still lacking time in the south of Chile.  The land starts to break up the further south you go, as it turns into the region of Patagonia.  And my study abroad program ended last week, so I decided to travel to southern Chile for my final week here.  I made it to one of the northern-most towns of Patagonia, and I am enjoying the lake and the beautiful scenery, when it´s not raining.  Which it kind does all the time during the winter in the south.  So when it rains the hardest, I curl up by the fire, drinking tea and reading a book.  Rough life, huh?

I will continue to travel for this week (one more city to go before Santiago!), enjoying the paisaje and relaxing by fire-places.  And this weekend, I fly home!  I land in the wonderful land of the United States of America, bright and early on Sunday morning.  USA, I hope you´re ready for me :)

Love to you all, and I look forward to talking to you soon when I am state-side once again!

¡Chao!

Nearing the End

For the past few weeks, I have been volunteering full time at a local organization, and it has been different than I expected to say the least.  Unfortunately, the organization is in the midst of some transitions, which means there is little work for us gringo volunteers.  So, I can say I am incredibly up-to-date on my email inbox, and have found a few fun projects to do to decorate my new apartment next year.  I guess I am redefining “productivity” while I am here.

This past weekend, our group had another project in which we painted a different set of stairs in Valparaíso.  Our artwork was definitely better the second time around, and it was fun to hang out in the sun, painting away.  The set of stairs we painted was 450 steps long, so it was a little daunting to look at.  Someone had previously written a poem up the stairs, so we left that untouched and added color to other parts of the stairs.  Once again, I’ll try to add pictures soon!

Later in the day, I returned to the stairs with some friends to take pictures of our dry artwork.  And then I encountered the other side to Latin American culture.  A man had found our trash (empty paint cans, etc.) and put some paint on his hands and pants, and was pretending to have painted the stairs. And he was collecting tips for his “work”.  We spoke with him for a minute or two, asking about his “painting”, and he proceeded to tell us that the area was feo (ugly) so he was painting to bring color y alegría (color and happiness) to the area.  We didn’t correct him (telling him that we were the ones who had painted), because that would not have been a smart or productive decision, but I definitely learned about the “other” side of the culture here.  Ay de mí.

Lastly, I’ll admit being a little frustrated here.  Studying and living abroad is extremely fun and different and exciting, but no one really talks about the other side of it.  It is difficult to abruptly adjust to another culture, and then to have to leave so quickly.  These are my last days in Valparaíso, and I find myself upset about leaving Chile, but also upset about being back in the United States.  So basically I don’t know where I want to be.  Please be praying for peace for me in these last two weeks.  I have some exciting adventures awaiting me for these last weeks, so I’m looking forward to enjoying as much as possible from my remaining time in Chile.

I will try to update this blog again before I am standing on American soil, but I honestly don’t know if I will have the time.  So, please forgive me if this is the last post from Chile, and know that I am looking forward to catching up with everyone when I get home :)

You know you're not in America when...

You know you're not in America when... you hear the sound of an ice cream truck, look over your shoulder, and instead of seeing said ice cream truck, see the gas truck driving around the neighborhood with tanks of propane gas for household estufas.

That is all for today.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

As promised, here are some pictures of the painting activities of last weekend.  For more details on what we did, read the previous blog post.  Enjoy!

The stairs that we painted- we painted the  side of each step,  so that as you walk up the stairs, the color is facing you.  Unfortunately, we were unable to paint over the graffiti.

This is the view from the top of the stairs.  Across the road is the local fish market and port, which is why we chose these stairs to paint.  Recently, things have been extremely difficult for local fisherman as large businesses are taking over, and legislation is not protecting these local workers.  So, we hope that the view of our painted stairs will bring hope and joy to the fisherman.

This is the plaza at the top of the stairs that we painted- in the top right corner you can see the fish market.  The plaza has a series of low brick walls, and we painted the tops of these walls.

The organization that we worked with "Semilla de Color" (Seed of Color).

I also went down behind the fish market to take pictures...
I hope you enjoy these next few pictures, because it smelled SO BAD here!

El Saco (The Sack).

Fisherman cleaning out their nets.

PS- if  you want to view pictures larger, just click on them, and it'll enlarge it.  Enjoy!

Marking the city, marking my life

I guess it is time for un poquito de an update for you lovely friends.  And I have some news to share with you:  I AM DONE WITH COLLEGE.  I know, right?  Crazy!  Yesterday, I attended my last classes and submitted my last essay of my college career.  Honestly, I still don’t believe that I am done, because:

A. I’ve been in school since I was five years old, and I still don’t believe that I have to grow up after; and

 B. because I’m in Chile and can’t even believe that I’m in South America. 

Although I won’t be considered a college graduate for a few more months (international transcripts take a while to transfer), I’m still done with college, and in my book, that is something to celebrate!

So, I still am in Chile for about another month, but I’m done with classes… so what am I going to do?  The next part of my program is volunteering full time at a local organization.  As I may have already mentioned, I have been working after school a few days a week at a local microenterprise NGO, so now, I will simply work full time, with no classes.  I have no idea what my role will be at our organization, but hopefully I’ll find out on Monday when my schedule switches!

Today, the other students and I who are volunteering in various organizations had a group project to do.  Now, I’ll be honest in saying that I was a little bummed to be working all day today (it’s the first day free after classes, and I was selfish and just wanted to rest), but it turned out to be really awesome.  In Valparaíso, we painted a plaza pequeñita and a set of stairs (pictures coming soon!).  Now, it wasn’t “painting” in the sense of one neutral color, or painting a planned mural.  We had cans of paint, and just started, creating designs as we went along.  Especially in Valparaíso (the older, poorer city compared to Viña del Mar, even though they are only two minutes apart), street art and graffiti (beautiful!  it’s not all gang signs like in the States) are extremely common, partly because it is just part of the culture, and partly as a way to brighten and uplift the city.  So we literally left our mark on the city by painting today, and it was wonderful.

Now, in the States, if you tried to paint a set of stairs or a plaza, you’d have to do it illegally during the night, but here we were, 15 gringos, painting in broad daylight in high-traffic areas.  And although we half-blocked the stairs for people climbing up, no one minded.  In fact, half of them commented, saying “¡que hermosa!”, “¡que lindo!”, and complimenting and thanking us for painting.  It was a great way to spend the first day of post-college life.

And one more story about my day:  this evening, I ate dinner with my host-dad, and started asking him a lot about his family’s experience during the dictatorship of Pinochet in Chile, and he told me lots.  Obviously, I learned more details of their family history from the 70s and 80s, but I learned a lot more than just that.  I am still processing things, so I apologize if this doesn’t totally make sense.  But, over the past few weeks, my host parents have taught me a ton about true, genuine faith in Christ, and sacrifice for each other.  My host parents are older (65+), and are still completely in love with one another, and it is so evident how they care for each other in the quiet actions during the day.  They serve each other all day long, but I also see their faith in God as the foundation of their relationship.  And hearing about their experience during the dictatorship (they were refugees in France for 9 years, and coming back to Chile was actually a harder transition than leaving), and the way they made countless sacrifices for their four kids, was really special.  It’s kind of hard to articulate what I’m learning (and at this point, both English and Spanish are a hodgepodge in my brain, so verbalizing anything in either language is a challenge), but just know that I am learning some really good life lessons.

I know this is already a long post, but I am going to add one more thing, some more prayer requests.  Could you please be praying:

·         For wisdom on what God wants for me here in Chile and after;

·         For me not to experience loneliness at my house (my dear roommate, Annie, left today to go back to the States since her program here has ended), and evenings at our house are extremely quiet; and

·         For me to continue to seek how God plans to use me in Chile.

Well friends, I thank you for reading this novel of a post, and I hope you are all doing well!  When you get a second, shoot me an email to update me on life at home!  ¡Hasta luego, chao!

La Vida Diaria

I have been in Chile for a month.  Crazy!  Honestly, the first week (plus some) was difficult because of the transition to life here and all of the Spanish (thank you, culture shock), but these last two weeks have been SO MUCH better.  Not only have I settled down into a bit of a routine here (and as you probably know, this girl thrives on structure), but I have also started to fall in love with this country.

So what do I do in Chile?  Let me walk you through a normal day:

I have classes every day from 10am-1:15pm, so I generally wake up around 8 to get ready for school, finish up any last-minute homework, and eat breakfast.  I then walk down to the metro station to wait for the next train, and ride a grand total of two stops before I get to our school.  Generally either at the metro station, or on the train, I meet up with other gringo friends also going to classes.

My ride on the Metro is typically accompanied by musicians, playing on the trains for tips.  About 90% of the musicians are really good (and the remaining 10% are really bad).  I have also seen people washing car windows or juggling items at stop lights, selling candies on the buses or at toll booths, and some comedy acts in busy places, all for tips.  And people watching frequently pay these street performers.  I have a few theories on why this is:

First, it is difficult to get jobs here in Chile (same as in the States) but people’s response here is more creative, in terms of using their skills to earn an income.  As a result, I have seen very few traditional beggars.

Second, carrying cash and change is so common here.  Credit cards are rarely used, and no one likes to have “large” bills (10,000 or 20,000 peso bills = $20 or $40 bills).  So, I think it is just easier for passerby to tip these musicians and artists.

So, I guess that would be considered another cultural difference.  But back to my normal day:

At school, I walk to the back corner of the building, because all of our classes are in a separate wing for international students.  And then I proceed to freeze my butt off for the next 3+ hours.  As I have quickly learned, not only does central heating not exist in Chile, but buildings are often colder than outside because they just trap in the cold air.  So, as my friends here can attest, I often sit with my hood up and gloves on through class, watching my breath when I get bored listening to my professors.  Such a glamorous life, I know.

After classes, I walk across the street to the office of my study abroad program and hang out there for about an hour.  Since I don’t have time to go home for lunch during the day, my mamá chilena packs a lunch for me every day.  While at the study abroad office, I hang out with my gringo friends until the next event of the day.

After my break to almorzar, I have work.  There are four other gringo students who work at the same place I do, so together we flag down a micro to get the two miles to our work placement.  Right now, we work about three days a week, teaching English classes to business owners.  I have no idea who considered us qualified to teach these classes (they ask questions about English grammar all the time, and I never know how to answer the questions), but I’ve been enjoying the classes a lot.  Once we start working full-time (starting in two weeks, once our classes at the university are over), our duties will change, and I’ll keep you updated on my new role!

On my way home from work, I often get to see the sunset over the bay, assuming it’s not a foggy day (like yesterday- I couldn’t see more than 100 yards in any direction!).  On days I don’t have work, I adventure around town with friends, finding cafés, artsy streets, flea markets, etc. During the evening, we eat dinner, I do my homework, and over the course of the night, I drink about four cups of tea as part of my strategy to stay warm.  Then, I crawl under my down comforter, and sleep like a baby until the next day.

Atacama Adventure

This past weekend, I got to experience authentic Chilean travel.  What do I mean?  Traveling in Chile can either be extremely easy or extremely difficult, and there isn’t really a happy-medium.  For my weekend, I experienced the ease of buses and metros, but planes were a whole different issue.  If you ever want to hear a funny story, ask me about: the pastor who is also a beekeeper; the worst taxi driver on earth; the missed flight; or the cancelled flight.  Travel was a bit stressful this weekend, but that isn’t the point.  The point is God is a wonderful Creator.

Sunset in the desert.  Beautiful.

Last weekend was another long weekend in Chile thanks to Monday’s holiday (but please don’t ask me what holiday it was, I still don’t know… oops), so me and three other friends traveled to San Pedro de Atacama.  What is San Pedro de Atacama?  It is a tiny town in the middle of the Atacama Desert, in the north of Chile.  The Atacama is the driest desert in the world, and I definitely experienced the dryness of the desert while seeing some amazing things.

After finally getting to San Pedro, we decided to rent bikes to ride to and through Valle de la Luna.  By the end of our five hours on bikes, we had ridden more than 20 miles on dirt roads and hills to see some BEAUTIFUL views.  In the valley we crawled through salt mines, saw huge sand dunes, and climbed to lookout points of the dunes, valley, and surrounding desert and volcanoes.

Emerging from the salt mines (aka: caves).

Biking through Valle de la Luna.  Let's not talk about my decision to wear black-on-black while biking at the hottest part of the day.

Lookout point in Valle de la Luna.  There are no clouds in the sky because there is not enough moisture in the air to create them.  Truly the driest desert in the world.

The following day, we visited the Salar de Atacama, the salt flat in the Atacama.  This salt flat is the third largest in the world (Bolivia has the first, and the second is Salt Lake City), and here we got to swim in Laguna Cejar, a small lake you float in.  The water was still pretty cold, but it was pretty cool to float on the top of the water!

The last excursion we did was to visit the Geisers de Tatio.  The best views of the 70+ geysers is at sunrise, which meant we woke up at 3am to get to the valley.  And at sunrise in the desert at 4200 meters above sea level, I have never been so cold in all of my life.  It was 5°F.  Oh my goodness.  But it was so cool!  The geysers were everywhere, and watching the sun come up through the mountains and shine through the steam of the geysers was simply amazing.  The early morning and bitter cold were definitely worth it for the views.  And to top of our morning at the geysers, we swam in the hot spring.  Yes, the air was still below freezing.  Yes, I am crazy.

Geysers at sunrise.  Five degrees Fahrenheit. Five layers.  Not enough.

Friends swimming in the hot spring.

The weekend was busy and full of adventure, but I loved seeing the beauty, peace and simplicity of the desert.  I have never experienced true silence and peace like I did in the desert, and see such a diverse, beautiful and majestic creation.  Pictures will never do justice to what I got to see and do this weekend, but here are a few more to give you an idea… enjoy!

Ohio State friends with our tour guide, Pedro.

Friends at the top of the ruins of an old indigenous village on the mountain outside of San Pedro.

Honking and Summer Sledding

One of the things I have noticed about Chile, but have yet to write about, is all of the honking.  Now that I’ve been here for a few weeks, I am getting accustomed to it, even if it is still annoying.  For Chileans, there seem to be three reasons worthy of honking your horn:

Reason #1: To alert other drivers or pedestrians, to show frustration with traffic, etc.  Basically the same as in the States.  If someone is annoying you or is in your way, you honk.  Pretty basic.

Reason #2: To alert pedestrians of your presence.  This is used by micro (crazy buses) and colectivo (shared taxi) drivers.  As the micro or colectivo is coming up to a group of people or a “stop” (used loosely- there aren’t really official stops for the buses), they honk their horn to get people’s attention, with hopes that the pedestrian will decide to get on and pay.  I’m not sure about the colectivos, but I know that the micros operate on commission, so the more riders a driver has, the more money he makes.  However, this also means that micro/colectivo drivers honk all the time, even if I am just walking home from the Metro station.  I guess they are hoping I’ll change my mind and stop walking?  I’m not really sure.

Reason #3: Cat calls.  Chilean men are very “machismo”, and cat calls are a common occurrence here.  And the fact that I am obviously a gringa doesn’t help my case.  These aren’t aggressive or offensive, but they are a part of the culture that I am definitely not used to. I often confuse this reason for honking with the others but yesterday on my run, the man with his body half out the truck, waving, cleared things up for me.

So, enough about cultural differences and honking.  Here’s what I’ve done for the past two days…

Yesterday, we went to two different places, Pomaire and Isla Negra.  Pomaire is a small, artesian town known for its cheap, handmade pottery.  The part of the town we were in was basically a giant flea market, with some really cool, hand painted pottery.  I was pretty bummed that I live in the States and that everything I buy has to fit in a suitcase.  That stuff was really pretty!  A large vase (something that would come up to my knees) was about $4.  Crazy.

Isla Negra is another one of Pablo Neruda’s houses, located on the shore.  Before this trip, I didn’t really know much about Pablo Neruda, but I have been learning so much about him.  And he was a bit of an eccentric man.  I have now visited all three of his houses in Chile: La Chascona (in Santiago), La Sebastiana (in Valparaíso) and Isla Negra (in Isla Negra).  And Isla Negra is definitely my favorite.  It sits on a hill that leads down to the ocean, and it has some gorgeous views of the sea.

And today, we had many more adventures.  This morning, we rode horses on one of the beaches in the north.  And ate lunch at a small town right on the water, known for its seafood.  And walked along a beautiful, quiet beach, where I proceeded to get my pants wet from the water (the Pacific is ICE cold.  But worth getting a bit wet for).  And went sand boarding down the dunes.  So fun!  Out of the activities of today, sand boarding was by far my favorite.  For $1 I rented a board and got to sled down the dunes.  I ended up with sand everywhere, but it was a blast, and a great way to end the weekend.  Summer sledding?  I’m cool with that.

This coming week (and into next week) is going to be crazy busy for me!  I start working at my internship placement this week, and am traveling this coming weekend.  Unfortunately that means no more blog posts for a little while, but I’ll be sure to update you with pictures of these upcoming adventures!

¡Chao!

Holiday Adventures.

I know I am a bit overdue on an update, my apologies!  The past week has been busy- there was no messing around when it came to the beginning of classes.  In just over a week of classes, I have already read half a book and given a 30 minute presentation, and in the next few days, will write a paper and read another book.  And tomorrow I have my first day at my internship placement here in Chile. ¡Ay de mí!

This past Monday was a holiday in Chile, the holiday of San Pedro and San Pablo.  I am still not really sure what the holiday is for or what people do, but I did find a parade this weekend!  Or maybe “stumbled upon” would be more accurate… some friends and I were trying to find a café and heard some music and noises and, naturally, went towards the sounds. And bam.  There was a parade.  There were a lot of dancers and musicians, and the parade seemed to grow as half the town joined and walked with it.

And while all you friends were celebrating the Fourth of July in the midst of some crazy heat, I was “celebrating” while bundled up in the cold.  A group of friends and I went out to dinner and went to McDonald’s afterwards for an ice cream cone (really logical when it’s WINTER here).  Nothing like celebrating America Day with McDonald’s.

In the past week, I have also gotten the chance to experience the lovely colectivos.  I may have mentioned that there are a few different forms of transportation available in Valparaíso and Viña del Mar.  Well, these colectivos are a bit of a cross between a taxi and a bus.  The colectivos have a fixed route, but they are shared rides.  You basically stand on the side of the road and flag one down, and get in with whatever other strangers are already inside the car.  And they are CRAZY drivers.  The majority of cars here are manual transmission, and as I have said before, these hills are unreal.  I truly do not understand how these drivers don’t stall all over the place.  But somehow these colectivo drivers have mastered the hills, and go flying through them at all hours of the day.  It’s quite an experience.

This coming week I have more fun adventures planned, so here are some things to check back for: Isla Negra (another one of Pablo Neruda’s houses- by the end of this trip, I will have seen 3 of his houses); artesian towns; beaches in the north (no, I will not be swimming. Hypothermia isn’t really my thing); neighborhoods and markets in Valparaíso; and San Pedro de Atacama (WAY north in Chile- I’m traveling with a few friends next week to see the desert!)

In the meantime, I leave you with some more pictures!

One of my landmarks during my walk to the Metro.  Contenedor de los monos.

My school!  PUCV, Casa Central.  And don't be deceived!  We may have  palm trees in Chile, but it's still SUPER cold!  Chilly in Chile.

From the Metro stop!  And can you make out the tiny people on the left of the photo?  That's the path I run on.  Along a 7 lane highway. And the Metro.  On my runs, I am accompanied either by the smell of car exhaust or fish from a local market.  Lovely.

View from one of the hills of Valparaíso, overlooking the bay and the port at sunset.

Thank you, Jesus.

On Friday night, I attended a church service for “youth” (defined pretty broadly) and I liked it a lot! First of all, I loved worship. Worship in Spanish is just so cool. Almost everything about Chile is different for me (and super overwhelming at times) but God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Even though my surroundings (and language, and culture) have changed, the love demonstrated on the Cross doesn’t change, regardless of what continent I am singing from. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it was a pretty great reminder after the long week.

The rest of the service was good, but harder to follow. Thankfully, during songs, people sing slower than they speak, so I could understand and follow along. Unfortunately during the rest of the church service, Chileans like to return to their normal speech, which I am not quite accustomed to yet, seeing as it is a million miles an hour with no pronunciation. So maybe I understood half of the rest of the service? I’ll take what I can get!

A few friends from home have been super encouraging and have asked what they can be praying about for me here in Chile. Here are some ideas:

• That I will be less overwhelmed by life here, but will begin to enjoy it and find beauty in it.
• That I will be bolder about my faith with my classmates.

Thanks for all your prayers and moral support! 

Love to you all, Elise

Old and Cold, Steps and Water.

This post is far from eloquent because after another long day, my brain can only handle so much more tonight.  So, a few quick comments about my new home:

Valparaíso and Viña del Mar are neighboring cities that sit along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.  What I didn’t know about them before coming here was how old the cities are, and how hilly they are.

I knew that Viña and Valpo were colonial cities, but everything I have seen so far seems very old here.  This isn’t a bad thing, but it is something I have noticed because it stands in sharp contrast to life in the States, where there is a huge obsession with “new” (OSU students- the ridiculous construction on campus to update, renovate, and create… am I right?!).  Oh, and there is graffiti everywhere.

Also, these cities are so gosh-darn hilly!  I’ve never been to San Francisco, but my guess is that the hills of Valpo and Viña would put San Fran to shame.  My walk down to the Metro station is a breeze, but I might as well be climbing Mount Everest coming home.  Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

And along with hills (everywhere), there are lots of steps.  Now, yes, I am talking about a normal set of stairs between floors of a building, but I’m also talking about individual steps.  This city (and its sidewalks and its buildings) is not level.  There are randomly single steps between anything.  Example: in my host family's house, there is a step for my roommates’ room, and also a step down for the laundry room.  Steps may not seem like a big deal, but I don’t always see them in the middle of the house or school or sidewalk, and being the clumsy person that I am, I end up tripping over myself all the time.  It makes it so much easier to blend in and not stand out like a gringa.  Not.

Speaking of always looking like a gringa and steps (well, kind of), at many Metro stations (like the one near my school), you have to cross the train tracks to get to the other side of the tracks.  In the States, there are stairs to either walk above or below the tracks, but here you just wait until the trains pass and the little gate lifts, and then everyone walks across the two sets of tracks.  Don’t we tell kids all the time to never go near train tracks? Real safe.

And lastly, I know I have already talked about the cold, but seriously, I’m not kidding.  This place is cold.  But along with the cold and learning how to use las estufas (heaters) and how to best layer clothing without being a marshmallow, there is the fun challenge of learning how to heat water.  I’m pretty sure this is called a calefont (I couldn’t even tell you what language that is), but I had never seen or heard of them before coming to Chile.  In order to take a shower with warm water, you have to take a match to this funky contraption, and when you’re done, turn it off.  So far, I’ve been able to do use it successfully, but I never really know what I’m doing.  And for your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of the one in our house when it’s lit:

The calefont?

Pictures- Enjoy!

Wooden bells at Los Dominicos (artesian shops).

Birds made of straw at Los Dominicos.

Hammocks at Los Dominicos.

 Handmade leather bags at Los Dominicos.

Me!  At a fountain at the bottom of Cerro Santa Lucia, where Santiago was founded.

Me and my roommate, Annie, at the Metro station on our first day of school!

Friends at the beach in Valpo!

Back to Kindergarten

Today was, shall we say, a bit of a difficult day.  At least parts of it.   But let me first tell you about yesterday:

Yesterday was orientation day at the University!  The University has multiple buildings (campuses?) throughout Chile, but we are at the location in Valparaíso called “Casa Central”.  It is one big building with extremely Classical architecture; very beautiful and very old.  It is an open building, with courtyards inside and the classrooms around the outside, so the size is deceiving from the street (at least to me!). 

And yesterday, I felt like I was in kindergarten, not that it was all bad.  As part of our homestay, we get three meals a day, but since we have classes during lunch time, everyone gets a sack lunch from our mamá.  Lunch in Chile is the biggest meal of the day (by far!), so it has been an interesting adjustment for my body to change meal times and sizes, because I am accustomed to smaller meals throughout the day with snacks of fruit between my meals.  So far, the meals I have had (both at home, and packed for lunch) have been delicious, but very different from “typical” American meals.

Also for our first day at the University, our mamás took us to school!  There are a few different options for public transportation throughout ValparaÍso and Viña, some crazier than others, so our families have been showing us how to use them.  For me, I walk 5 minutes to the Metro, and go two stops to get off at the University.  Today, for the first day of actual classes, I was able to get to school without my mamá, and I didn’t get lost!  That is a great accomplishment for the day!

I will be taking two classes at the University for the next month: one about Latin American literature and movies from the perspective of indigenous populations, and the other about the sociopolitical history of Latin America.  I think these will be interesting classes, although I know I will have lots of reading to do for each class.  My professors seem to be really nice, although I am noticing even more differences in Chilean Spanish.  For example, my history professor likes to drop almost all his consonants from words.  Today, “libertades” (= freedoms or liberties) became “lihetae”.  Try listening to that for an hour and a half.  Bueno suerte.

After our classes today, we took a tour of parts of Viña del Mar, the city I am living in. In the last two days, I have seen: a public garden, the Plaza de Viña, the mall, the beach, a supermarket, artesian shops, multiple Metro stations, earthquake evacuation routes (just in case of a tsunami warning), and about a thousand stray dogs.  Okay, maybe not a thousand, but there are lots of strays here.  I. Am. Exhausted.

Oh, and have I mentioned how cold it is here?  Today, I felt like a marshmallow with the number of layers I was wearing.  The only warm places I have found so far are the crowded Metros, and my bed when I get under the down comforter… I think I have found my preferred warm spot in Viña!

No entiendo mucho, pero no te preocupes

¡Ay de mí!  The past few days have just been a blur!  We spent a few more days touring around Santiago, and arrived last night to Viña del Mar and Valparaíso.  First, let me try to update you on the rest of our adventures around Santiago!

On Saturday, we visited Viña Cousiño Macul (a local vineyard) to take a tour and do a wine tasting.  Now, as my family knows, I cannot stand the taste of wine, so this proved to be an interesting activity for me!  I’m always game to try new things, but I couldn’t do more than a few tiny sips of the red and white wines, even though I know they are some of the best wines in the country… ¡que lástima!

We also visited another giant hill in the city, this one called Cerro Santa Lucia, the place where Santiago was founded.  Once again, beautiful views of the city, and some beautiful architecture on the hill, too!

Other highlights of our time in Santiago: La Chascona (Pablo Neruda’s house, built for his mistress, who later became his wife), Barrio Bellavista (an artsy neighborhood), Los Dominicos (artesian shops), and other museums, cathedrals, and important government buildings (like the Palacio Presidencial).  Needless to say, our time in Santiago was a blur!

And then, the really crazy stuff – moving to Viña!  After our busy time in Santiago, we arrived in Viña and Valpo last night and met our host families.  I honestly don’t know if I have ever been so nervous in my life!  Mi familia chilena is incredibly kind and sweet, and I am extremely thankful to be living with another student through our program!  In our house, there are the two parents and one of their daughters, who teaches in a local elementary school.  Their other three children (all married) and their grandkids (nine!) live in the same neighborhood as us.  While I haven’t met our extended family yet, I cannot wait to play with the grandchildren!

To say life in Chile is different than life in the States would be the understatement of a lifetime.  I am loving it here, but it is really difficult.  My brain is working overtime trying to think and listen and speak and read and write in Spanish, and while also trying to understand the cultural differences to try to begin to blend in.  I love having conversations, and while I think my roommate and I are doing a great job communicating thus far with our familia, there are SO many long (awkward!) pauses in conversation because I just don’t know what else to say with my limited vocabulary.

The title of this post (“No entiendo mucho, pero no te preocupes”// I don’t understand much, but don’t worry) is becoming the tagline of my life in Chile!  I might only understand half of a conversation, but I’m learning more every day, and can’t wait to be able to understand more and more!

Es todo para hoy, but I will continue to write about some of my other experiences (and adventures!) in Chile. ¡Chao!

Al Principio

Bueno, I've been in Santiago for less than 36 hours, and it has been crazy.  


Things I am learning:
• Chileans speak SO differently than any other Spanish I've heard.  They speak softly, but so quickly, slurring words and dropping consonants and syllables right and left.  Let's just call it an extra challenge for non-native Spanish speakers.
• Stray dogs are everywhere around Santiago.  Just wandering.  And sleeping.
• Central heating does not really exist in Chile.  And it's winter here (temps from mid-30s at night, to 60s during the day).  Everywhere you go, people are bundled up, and most places (stores, restaurants, etc.) keep their doors open, and people just stay bundled up while eating.
• If you want to order water at a restaurant (or anywhere), you have to ask for "agua sin" or "agua sin gas" (said super fast).  That's because typical bottled water is carbonated here.  Who knew.
• Everyone stares.  So far, a lot of what we have been doing is in a group of about 15 students since we are visiting museums and monuments, but people just stare at our group as we walk by.  Clearly we're tourists, but I can't say I've ever stared at groups of tourists in the States.
• Bathrooms.  You have to pay to use them about half the time (it's less than a buck, so not bad, but still strange).  And you're not supposed to flush the toilet paper.
• And las montañas.  Santiago is located in a valley, so the Andes surround the city.  Since it's winter here, they are snow-capped and BEAUTIFUL.  I plan to get myself on some hiking or skiing (yes, I know those are very different, but I want to do both!) trip while I am here.  Seriously, the mountains are gorgeous.

Santiago!  This is the view from Cerro San Cristóbal, a hill in the middle of the city.  Santiago is home to 6 million Chileans, which is 1/3 of the country's population.  This picture shows less than a fourth of the city. 

I really am in Chile!  And I'm a bit blinded by the sun.  Some things never change.

 (Please note the palm tree in the background- the combo of the sun and palm trees keeps making me think it's warm, but alas, it really is winter here.  So deceiving.)

Also, note the smog.  It rained earlier in the day, which actually improved the view, but there is still a bunch of smog over the city.

El Mercado Central.  Cool market, but I wasn't exactly a fan of this part...

Estoy en Chile!

I made it!  I'm in Chile!  I'm in Santiago for a few days touring and doing my orientation, and then on to Valpo and Vina for the rest of this adventure :)

I've only been in Santiago for a few hours, and I'm already having plenty of awkward situations (not a surprise to those who know me...)  I tried to order coffee at a little cafe a few doors down from our hotel, and somehow messed even that up.  We're doing some group activities this afternoon, so even though we'll be traveling in a pack (and thus looking like total tourists) we'll get more guidance on how to survive Chilean life!

And here are a few early pictures from my flight... enjoy!

 My first South American sunrise!

Hello, Andes :)

The Plan

So, I guess I should probably share with you all why I am going to Chile.  To study abroad!  And work. And explore. Here's the plan:

I will be taking Spanish classes at a local university in Valparaíso, Chile.  I don’t yet know a lot about the classes I'm taking, but I hope that I'll be with Chilean students!

One of the things that made this program so exciting for me is the internship placement.  I have been placed with a local microenterprise NGO, and I will be volunteering while I am there.  Honestly I don't know exactly what I'll be doing with the organization, but I will be happy and excited to help teach classes at the organization, or even just help with the daily administrative duties.  I know that working in Chile will expose me to a whole new vocabulary set and conversational skills that I won't get just by taking classes.

And last, but certainly not least, I get to explore!  I am so excited to experience authentic Chilean life, as best as I can.  Learning how to use the buses and metro, discovering the best places for coffee, and hanging out with my Chilean family are all things I look forward to.  I know I'm probably going to sound like an American whenever I speak Spanish (and the deer-in-the-headlights look isn't going to help my case), but I'm hopeful that these instances will be fewer over time, and that I can blend in with the local porteños (apparently that's what local residents of Valpo are called… who knew?!)

Some school, some work, and hopefully a bit of play.  Sounds like a great summer to me!

Bienvenidos!

Wow, getting to this point has been crazy to say the least.  As I am writing this, I am at my parents' house, getting ready (or so I'm telling myself) for CHILE.  I can hardly believe it, but in a matter of days I will be wandering through the airport, getting myself on a plane, and flying to South America.  The emotions and thoughts running through my head are endless:

• I'm excited. Well, duh.  I'm going to Chile for a little more than two months, to study, work and explore.  I have no idea what's in store for me, but I'm EXCITED!
• I'm nervous.  I feel like I've said this a million times, but I'm nervous!  Primarily because of the Spanish.  Yes, I have studied Spanish for years (and I'm a Spanish major), but my use of and need for Spanish here in the States is minimal to say the least- I haven't needed to depend on it all day, every day.  I know I'm going to learn lots (and fast!), but I'm still anxious about communicating with my host family, navigating my way around the cities, and surviving in another language.
• And I'm at peace.  As my friends and family can attest, this past quarter has been hectic and stressful to say the least.  But, in the midst of the craziness, I know that God is in control and has great, beautiful plans for me.  Every day I remind myself of his grace and mercy poured out on me, and hopefully the way I live my life is reflective of this.  I am excited to see what he does in and through me on this trip!

So, if you want updates about my adventures in Chile (trust me, there will be many!), this is the place to find them!  Also, please email me lots- I want updates about life back home!  I can't wait to share this experience with you :)