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.