Hola a todos! Been awhile since the last update, I know I know.
The thing is (or rather my excuse is) that things here are becoming more normal to me and so quirky differences are a part of life now and it's hard to think of what I should write, what would stand out if I still had fresh eyes? If there's anything in particular you are curious about don't hesitate to leave me a comment....unless it's about my love life. In that case dream on kids.
The last couple of weeks I've been firmly settled in Vina and going to school. It's about midterm right now so the first set of tests/pruebas/controls/examenes/whatever you call 'ems is upon us.
My first control which is like a small quiz was not so hot. Granted, it's in a business management class (don't ask my why I'm in it I have NO idea) and the TA grades them. She is not the friendliest of people and I have a hunch that she is slightly elitest and maybe a bit anti-exchange student. Who knows. Anyway, after chatting with the professor he told her that we were allowed to do our quizzes in English! Normally I would not take them up on that, I'm in class mostly to learn Spanish, but in the spirit of passing school I busted out the English on the next one. I used the most ridiculously over-worded, crowded, run on sentence-filled, Elizabethan English that you will every read. I also tried to state all of the same in Spanish just to show some effort. Hopefully the snotty TA takes it as pure genius. It remains to be seen as the grades aren't back yet.
My first big test though was in my History of Cinematography class and that went really well. I got about the equivalent of a C on it but I think here the A's a little harder to come by than they are in the States. Here C is actually average. Anyway, my friends in the class gave me a round of applause when I got it so that's a good sign!
The OTHER big test I had this week (I told you they were upon us!) was in my Modern Chilean Literature class. It was an essay test in which I had to describe the birth of the national chilean identity after the independence of the country based on the readings of two novels and various essays. Also I had to explain what I thought two particular authors' goals were in terms of chilean literature in general. These are authors from the 1800's remember. Good Lord. But I actually feel like the test went well, it's the most interesting class as far as I'm concerned so I actually enjoy mulling over questions like how a country forms it's own identity amongst it's people after a revolution. Call me crazy.
So that's school, in a rather large nutshell. There really isn't much other news so since I'm Minnesotan here's a weather update. It was really foggy and cold here last week and that was a huge bummer. Makes it really hard to get motivated in the morning when you can't even see out your window. However today and yesterday everything has brightened up and it's back in the mid 60's-70's again. We had a big thunderstorm last night too which was really fun! I've been warned that there are a lot of earthquakes here and that I will surely feel a few before I leave but that hasn't happened yet.
Also, this last week my friend Dan from Montana came to visit. No, he didn't come all the way from MT, he's actually studying in Concepcion for this year to finish college. We had a good time and discovered that we have more in common that just UM, we're both also avid fans of the ColoColo soccer team! I think secretly he wishes he had gone to school here in Vina del Mar/Valparaiso now that he's seen that they are just about the coolest places in Chile to be a student ;)
Tomorrow I'm off to Cordoba, Argentina to visit Ian Holmen, another gringo from Cook County. He's been there since August so his Spanish should kick my butt and also make him an excellent tour guide. I'll let you know how it goes!
Besos-
Clare
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Stay Left!
Hey everybody! Do I ever have an update for you....
Several posts ago I did a bit of foreshadowing by mentioning some upcoming 'adventures'. Well, by that I meant "I just bought a ticket to Anguilla but it's a secret!!!"
That's right, about 2 weeks ago my grandpa 'Keck' emailed and asked if I'd like to redeem my graduation present of one trip to Anguilla and surprise my mom on her vacation there. There are two things in this life that I will never turn down: ice cream and Anguilla. So on April 9 I packed up my sarongs and bikini and hopped a plane to the Carribean.
When I got there, Nana and Keck picked me up off the ferry from St. Maarten and rushed me to the villa. I promptly hid while Keck told my mom that he had me lined up on a video conference call on the computer. She came hurrying up stairs to 'chat' with me. Keck told her she needed to say my name really loudly to 'voice activate' the program. (Really Mom, who is that gullible?) So she started shouting my name at the screen when lo and behold, I jumped up behind her! Her reaction was priceless and very Cindy Lou like. There was a moment of totally disbelief followed by "What the HELL are you doing HERE??" Followed by much laughter on everyone's part. We spent the next few days lounging on the beach and brushing up on our mini golf skills with my Auntie Sherrie, cousins Anna (the waterbug) and Will (Mr. Hole-In-One) and of course Nana and Keck.
You may be wondering what StayLeft! is all about. Well in Anguilla, they drive on the 'wrong', that is to say left, side of the road. Sounds easy enough until you are on a tiny little gravel road with a huge truck coming at you. That is when every instinct in your body tells you to sharply swerve right, which would be bad. So came the tradition of the entire car yelling "Stay Left!" at every intersection and roundabout and stoplight and you get the idea. Anguilla's motto is in fact not "Stay Left!" but rather "Tranquility Wrapped In Blue" which I thought was particularly fitting on my last morning as I sat on the deck in my blue sarong and drank my (real) coffee while looking out at the ocean and St. Maarten. All in all, a fabulous vacation.
Now I'm back in Vina trying once again to settle in. I had my first little twinge of my version of homesickness today. Several factors all sort of ganged up at once and took me out at the knees. One being that I am no longer in Anguilla. The others were a compilation of sleep deprivation, the first Sawbill crewmember arriving at home (though I don't envy him the Mason Ordering he'll be doing), and the fact that I had my first huge test today. Carl had told me before I left home that he used to brush his teeth in Norway to ward off the bad days so I tried it out. My teeth felt great, but that test was still at 3:45 and it was still worth 33% of my grade and I still didn't speak/write fluent Spanish.
But I geared up anyway and headed out on my walk to school. Halfway there none other than Bob Marley popped up on my I-pod shuffle. 'Three Little Birds' was the song and I suddenly realized that this one test was not the end all be all of my academic career. Of course every little thing was gonna be alright! Sometimes I'm such a hippy I can hardly stand it. But, regardless, I have discovered what turns my mood around, exercise and a little Bob Marley!
Thankfully, I think the test went okay and the profe is pretty nice. He even cracked a joke at the beginning of the test saying that there was a new rule...you had to write your answers in Spanish. Everybody else laughed and I whipped out my 50 pound dictionary.
That's all the news for now, this weekend is shaping up to be a good one with birthday parties and BBQ's galore so more posts to come!
Paz y Amor desde Chile~
Clare
oh ps- pictures of Anguilla are posted on Photobucket. Just go to http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg297/ClareHansen/?special_track=nav_tab_album
The album is called Wrapped In Blue and the link is on the left-hand side of the page...you know the drill!
Several posts ago I did a bit of foreshadowing by mentioning some upcoming 'adventures'. Well, by that I meant "I just bought a ticket to Anguilla but it's a secret!!!"
That's right, about 2 weeks ago my grandpa 'Keck' emailed and asked if I'd like to redeem my graduation present of one trip to Anguilla and surprise my mom on her vacation there. There are two things in this life that I will never turn down: ice cream and Anguilla. So on April 9 I packed up my sarongs and bikini and hopped a plane to the Carribean.
When I got there, Nana and Keck picked me up off the ferry from St. Maarten and rushed me to the villa. I promptly hid while Keck told my mom that he had me lined up on a video conference call on the computer. She came hurrying up stairs to 'chat' with me. Keck told her she needed to say my name really loudly to 'voice activate' the program. (Really Mom, who is that gullible?) So she started shouting my name at the screen when lo and behold, I jumped up behind her! Her reaction was priceless and very Cindy Lou like. There was a moment of totally disbelief followed by "What the HELL are you doing HERE??" Followed by much laughter on everyone's part. We spent the next few days lounging on the beach and brushing up on our mini golf skills with my Auntie Sherrie, cousins Anna (the waterbug) and Will (Mr. Hole-In-One) and of course Nana and Keck.
You may be wondering what StayLeft! is all about. Well in Anguilla, they drive on the 'wrong', that is to say left, side of the road. Sounds easy enough until you are on a tiny little gravel road with a huge truck coming at you. That is when every instinct in your body tells you to sharply swerve right, which would be bad. So came the tradition of the entire car yelling "Stay Left!" at every intersection and roundabout and stoplight and you get the idea. Anguilla's motto is in fact not "Stay Left!" but rather "Tranquility Wrapped In Blue" which I thought was particularly fitting on my last morning as I sat on the deck in my blue sarong and drank my (real) coffee while looking out at the ocean and St. Maarten. All in all, a fabulous vacation.
Now I'm back in Vina trying once again to settle in. I had my first little twinge of my version of homesickness today. Several factors all sort of ganged up at once and took me out at the knees. One being that I am no longer in Anguilla. The others were a compilation of sleep deprivation, the first Sawbill crewmember arriving at home (though I don't envy him the Mason Ordering he'll be doing), and the fact that I had my first huge test today. Carl had told me before I left home that he used to brush his teeth in Norway to ward off the bad days so I tried it out. My teeth felt great, but that test was still at 3:45 and it was still worth 33% of my grade and I still didn't speak/write fluent Spanish.
But I geared up anyway and headed out on my walk to school. Halfway there none other than Bob Marley popped up on my I-pod shuffle. 'Three Little Birds' was the song and I suddenly realized that this one test was not the end all be all of my academic career. Of course every little thing was gonna be alright! Sometimes I'm such a hippy I can hardly stand it. But, regardless, I have discovered what turns my mood around, exercise and a little Bob Marley!
Thankfully, I think the test went okay and the profe is pretty nice. He even cracked a joke at the beginning of the test saying that there was a new rule...you had to write your answers in Spanish. Everybody else laughed and I whipped out my 50 pound dictionary.
That's all the news for now, this weekend is shaping up to be a good one with birthday parties and BBQ's galore so more posts to come!
Paz y Amor desde Chile~
Clare
oh ps- pictures of Anguilla are posted on Photobucket. Just go to http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg297/ClareHansen/?special_track=nav_tab_album
The album is called Wrapped In Blue and the link is on the left-hand side of the page...you know the drill!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Mas Vino? Por Favor!
So being that I live in a town literally called "Vineyard by the Sea" it seems only fitting that I explore the local wine scene here in Chile. Luckily for me, Kindra's host brother Felipe and his girlfriend Aranza arrange tours to the vineyards of Casablanca, about a 45 minute drive towards Santiago from Vina.
We left around 10 am and drove first to the church Lo Vasquez. It's a very popular church located directly inbetween Vina and Casablanca and apparently many people will even walk the long distance from Vina to attend Mass here. Since it was Sunday, we sat in on a few minutes of the Mass which was truthfully pretty uneventful but interesting nonetheless.
We continued on to Casablanca and toured two vineyards. Vina Andomida and Vina Mar. The first tour was in English, but the rest of our day unfolded in Spanish. It was really fun to see how the whole process works. Harvest season here is March/April so the grapes were all ripe and delicious and everything was processing and working inside the vineyards. This is truly their busy season with many seasonal employees around since all the grapes are handpicked. Yet somehow, there was an air of simple tranquility that permeated every corner of Casablanca. We would tour the whole vineyard, learn about how they made their special wines, and then we would taste it! It wasn't just one of these 'swirl it in your mouth and spit it out' deals either. We drank 7 or 8 full glasses of wine throughout the day! They would give us the glasses, explain what to look for/taste for/smell for and how to taste it/hold it/swirl it/smell it/drink it properly and then leave us to enjoy the sunshine and the view...and of course the wine.
After these first two tours we went back to Aranza's family's house where Felipe had been busy cooking us lunch. We had a ridiculous amount of bread, homemade salsa, emanadas, and choclo(those tamale type things that are wrapped and cooked in a cornhusk packet...I can't remember what the English name is...). After that we waddled on over to the final vineyard tour.
The last one was easily my favorite, Vina Casas del Bosque. It was much smaller than the others and had a very friendly/relaxed vibe. There were a lot of kids playing and laughing and the tour guide was very personable. Their Merlot was also excellent, how fun to be able to say that!
At this point, we were all quite tuckered out from our hard day of wine, grapes, sunshine and conversation so we hopped in the car and returned to our own Vina del Mar.
I've posted the pictures from this adventure and also from my hike in La Campana on Photobucket. The link below will take you to my main page and if you look on the lefthand side you will see the links to the albums. They are entitled La Campana and Vino en Vina and should have accompanying descriptions under each photo.
http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg297/ClareHansen/
Chao for now-
Clare
We left around 10 am and drove first to the church Lo Vasquez. It's a very popular church located directly inbetween Vina and Casablanca and apparently many people will even walk the long distance from Vina to attend Mass here. Since it was Sunday, we sat in on a few minutes of the Mass which was truthfully pretty uneventful but interesting nonetheless.
We continued on to Casablanca and toured two vineyards. Vina Andomida and Vina Mar. The first tour was in English, but the rest of our day unfolded in Spanish. It was really fun to see how the whole process works. Harvest season here is March/April so the grapes were all ripe and delicious and everything was processing and working inside the vineyards. This is truly their busy season with many seasonal employees around since all the grapes are handpicked. Yet somehow, there was an air of simple tranquility that permeated every corner of Casablanca. We would tour the whole vineyard, learn about how they made their special wines, and then we would taste it! It wasn't just one of these 'swirl it in your mouth and spit it out' deals either. We drank 7 or 8 full glasses of wine throughout the day! They would give us the glasses, explain what to look for/taste for/smell for and how to taste it/hold it/swirl it/smell it/drink it properly and then leave us to enjoy the sunshine and the view...and of course the wine.
After these first two tours we went back to Aranza's family's house where Felipe had been busy cooking us lunch. We had a ridiculous amount of bread, homemade salsa, emanadas, and choclo(those tamale type things that are wrapped and cooked in a cornhusk packet...I can't remember what the English name is...). After that we waddled on over to the final vineyard tour.
The last one was easily my favorite, Vina Casas del Bosque. It was much smaller than the others and had a very friendly/relaxed vibe. There were a lot of kids playing and laughing and the tour guide was very personable. Their Merlot was also excellent, how fun to be able to say that!
At this point, we were all quite tuckered out from our hard day of wine, grapes, sunshine and conversation so we hopped in the car and returned to our own Vina del Mar.
I've posted the pictures from this adventure and also from my hike in La Campana on Photobucket. The link below will take you to my main page and if you look on the lefthand side you will see the links to the albums. They are entitled La Campana and Vino en Vina and should have accompanying descriptions under each photo.
http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg297/ClareHansen/
Chao for now-
Clare
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Theologians
In a note completely unrelated to anything I must mention that as I write this the only Chilean radio station we get in our house, Las Dunas, is playing Theologians by Wilco. A very welcome little taste of the United States, I much prefer this to the occasional Abba that works it's way into the playlist.
Things in Chile have been falling into a routine, finally. I now have a pretty set school schedule. I've gone to class regularly, though one keeps getting cancelled! This is so very different from school back home. Things here are done so last minute and I've only had each class twice in the last month! I was initially a little bit freaked out by this, in the States we have the same class three times a week! But I've been assured that this is totally normal and not to worry, I will still get the credits.
The weekends are spent exploring little towns near Vina (Valparaiso, ConCon, Renaca, Limache). Each town has it's own very distinct vibe and even the architecture is strikingly different. Mostly though, Chilean buildings don't follow any sort of building code. You can basically build it to look how ever you want! They are also painted all sorts of crazy colors. One house that I walk by on the way to la Universidad is all bright magenta; I'll try to snap a picture of it this week.
Now that I'm a bit more settled here, cultural subtleties are beginning to present themselves. It's really hard to put them into words just now, as I am only starting to comprehend them. As things clear up, I'll write more.
Spanish is going pretty well. I had a break through in my Cine class this week. I actually understood exactly what we were doing for the first time ever in a class! We would watch 10 minutes of an old silent film and then one student would have to comment on the different styles and techniques of cinematography used in the montage. When it came time for me to provide my commentary I actually had a few valid comments to make and I feel like for the first time I was able to contribute something of substance to the class, such a great feeling. I have also discovered my favorite Spanish word: abeja. It's pronounced "ah-bay-ha" and it is super fun to say! It means 'bee'.
That's all the news for now although I have a few adventures coming up in the next 2 weeks which should make for some pretty fun blog entries/pictures.
Until then- hasta luego!
-Clarence
Things in Chile have been falling into a routine, finally. I now have a pretty set school schedule. I've gone to class regularly, though one keeps getting cancelled! This is so very different from school back home. Things here are done so last minute and I've only had each class twice in the last month! I was initially a little bit freaked out by this, in the States we have the same class three times a week! But I've been assured that this is totally normal and not to worry, I will still get the credits.
The weekends are spent exploring little towns near Vina (Valparaiso, ConCon, Renaca, Limache). Each town has it's own very distinct vibe and even the architecture is strikingly different. Mostly though, Chilean buildings don't follow any sort of building code. You can basically build it to look how ever you want! They are also painted all sorts of crazy colors. One house that I walk by on the way to la Universidad is all bright magenta; I'll try to snap a picture of it this week.
Now that I'm a bit more settled here, cultural subtleties are beginning to present themselves. It's really hard to put them into words just now, as I am only starting to comprehend them. As things clear up, I'll write more.
Spanish is going pretty well. I had a break through in my Cine class this week. I actually understood exactly what we were doing for the first time ever in a class! We would watch 10 minutes of an old silent film and then one student would have to comment on the different styles and techniques of cinematography used in the montage. When it came time for me to provide my commentary I actually had a few valid comments to make and I feel like for the first time I was able to contribute something of substance to the class, such a great feeling. I have also discovered my favorite Spanish word: abeja. It's pronounced "ah-bay-ha" and it is super fun to say! It means 'bee'.
That's all the news for now although I have a few adventures coming up in the next 2 weeks which should make for some pretty fun blog entries/pictures.
Until then- hasta luego!
-Clarence
Monday, March 31, 2008
La Campana
Hey there!
It's good to be back 'home' in Vina after the big trip down South. I had a few days of school, which went pretty well, I think anyway as I still don't really understand much of what my professors are saying. I find that following along in class is like walking a tight-rope. Lots of focus and if you lose it for a second, forget about recovering! Luckily, I've made friends in each class who are very very helpful and patient with me.
In my spare time, which there is a lot of, I've been getting to know my new roommate a bit. Her name is Katie and she is from Arkansas. She's here to teach English at a local tech-school. She's super busy and not around a lot but when she is home, there is usually a lot of laughter!
Also this weekend, I went on a fabulous 12k hike with Kindra, my friend from UM. La Campana is a mountain/National Park located about an hour inland of Vina. We hiked as far as we could in the time we had and almost made it to the top. We also bumped into a girl from Wyoming who knew some people from Missoula that Kindra also knows. Small world! The hike was beautiful, landscapes that I have never before seen. Lots of oddly shaped mountains, lush trees separated by dust dunes, and even a tarantula (granted it was a roadkill tarantula but I still have the heebie-jeebiez)!
Speaking of Kindra, she also has a blog and has a much better description of our hike. She's a bit more on-the-ball than I am about posting. My travel buddy Laura also has a blog with a very complete story about our trip down South. If you want to cheat on my blog and read their excellent writing instead, I won't be jealous.
Kindra's blog is www.ungulatedreams.blogspot.com
Laura's blog is www.chillychilepepper.blogspot.com
My friend Dan has also posted some pictures of Bariloche, which is great since I didn't take many there :) You can find them on his blog at www.danshirley.blogspot.com
Hope all is well in los Estados Unidos, I think of you all often!
-Clare
It's good to be back 'home' in Vina after the big trip down South. I had a few days of school, which went pretty well, I think anyway as I still don't really understand much of what my professors are saying. I find that following along in class is like walking a tight-rope. Lots of focus and if you lose it for a second, forget about recovering! Luckily, I've made friends in each class who are very very helpful and patient with me.
In my spare time, which there is a lot of, I've been getting to know my new roommate a bit. Her name is Katie and she is from Arkansas. She's here to teach English at a local tech-school. She's super busy and not around a lot but when she is home, there is usually a lot of laughter!
Also this weekend, I went on a fabulous 12k hike with Kindra, my friend from UM. La Campana is a mountain/National Park located about an hour inland of Vina. We hiked as far as we could in the time we had and almost made it to the top. We also bumped into a girl from Wyoming who knew some people from Missoula that Kindra also knows. Small world! The hike was beautiful, landscapes that I have never before seen. Lots of oddly shaped mountains, lush trees separated by dust dunes, and even a tarantula (granted it was a roadkill tarantula but I still have the heebie-jeebiez)!
Speaking of Kindra, she also has a blog and has a much better description of our hike. She's a bit more on-the-ball than I am about posting. My travel buddy Laura also has a blog with a very complete story about our trip down South. If you want to cheat on my blog and read their excellent writing instead, I won't be jealous.
Kindra's blog is www.ungulatedreams.blogspot.com
Laura's blog is www.chillychilepepper.blogspot.com
My friend Dan has also posted some pictures of Bariloche, which is great since I didn't take many there :) You can find them on his blog at www.danshirley.blogspot.com
Hope all is well in los Estados Unidos, I think of you all often!
-Clare
Monday, March 24, 2008
Pictures!
Here's the link to the pictures corresponding to the last post. Hopefully someday I will figure out how to get the pictures onto the blog but until then just follow this link; if you click on the first picture to enlarge it, you can see a description underneath and then just scroll through them that way.
http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg297/ClareHansen/Adventuras/
http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg297/ClareHansen/Adventuras/
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Una Semana Loca
Hola!
So I realize that it's been a long time since the last post so here it goes, my best effort to bring you all up to date!
Classes started but my first day was rather uneventful. My class was cancelled, indefinitely. So I rescheduled and now I have classes on Tues-Thurs. I've only had one week of classes though, this past week they were cancelled. Yay for going to school in a Catholic country, lots of time off for Easter!
During this free week the other exchange student from the States (Laura from D.C.) and I decided to take a little vacation. Basically we got onto a bus going south and got off at the last stop, it took 14 hours.
Day 1) We left Vina at around 10pm and headed south, ending up in Puerto Montt after a rather long bus ride. Luckily we had some Mission Impossible (dubbed in Spanish of course) to keep us entertained...
Day 2) We arrived in Puerto Montt and booked a hostel for the night expecting to leave by boat in the morning. Puerto Montt turns out to be not the loveliest town in the world. Lots of gypsies waiting to steal your money and shady characters around every corner, we mostly hid out in our hostel after it got dark.
Day 3) Went to the boat terminal only to find that the boat we wanted was late and may not show up for a few days. Thinking that anywhere was better than Puerto Montt, we booked a bus to Chiloe. Chiloe is a large island off the southern coast of Chile. On our bus we met another traveller who recognized our US accents, she was from Manhattan. We all three decided to spend the night in Castro, the capitol of Chiloe.
Day 4) Woke up in Castro, a very fun, very lively little town. It was such a change of pace from Vina that it's hard to believe they are in the same country! We spent all morning sea kayaking around the little islands close to Chiloe. There were also some cool houses on stilts that we could paddle under. All in all, a very fun town to be in. We left Castro that afternoon and headed across Chiloe to the tiny town of Cucao. It's the last town before you hit the National Park. It was comprised of a few thrown together houses and a road that supported one crazy bus driver and his ghetto bus once a day. We went through Cucao towards the park and found El Fogon de Cucao. It is an architecturally sweet house/restaurant/bar/hostel/campground/ranch built and run by a man named Miguel Angel Allendes. We stayed at his house that night and he made us an incredible dinner of the biggest hunk of salmon I have ever seen. Then he played music for us the rest of the night, he is in several traditional Chilean bands that travel the country frequently. He was a very interesting man with a never-ending supply great stories and advice. He will be in Vina in two weeks and he is planning on looking us up to show us the music hot spots he knows in Vina/Valparaiso.
Day 5) Marissa from Manhattan had to take off early to catch a bus to Valdivia so Laura and I set off on our own to check out the National Park. Since it is the off season down here, mid-fall, there were maybe 4 other people in the entire park. It was crazy! Huge sand dunes with crashing waves of the ocean as far as the eye could see. *There were cows along the beach eating seaweed, they looked very out of place* Then if you turned around there was a big thick lush forest with a large lake. We spent most of the day hiking around and picking our jaws up off the ground. Then we packed our bags and sat on the side of the road waiting for our bus. We had a momentary panic attack when we thought we saw it pass by without stopping, but luckily another one came along about an hour later and rescued us. We spent that night back in Castro.
Day 6) We had a bright and early 6:25am bus back to Puerto Montt (unfortunately it's the only town with access to and from Cucao) where we met up with my friend Dan from the University of Montana. He's studying in Concepcion this semester and also had some free time to travel this week. The three of us hopped on a bus and headed to Bariloche, Argentina! The drive over was awesome. Such a change of scenery again. We all kept saying that certain aspects of it, like the trees or the hills remind us of home or someplace else we know...but all together, nowhere else in the world looks the way it does down in Northern Patagonia. We got to Bariloche in the early evening, set ourselves up in the hostel and went out for a night on the town.
Day 7) We spent this last big day of our trip exploring Bariloche. It's a fun city, a little bit of a tourist trap, but with lots to offer. We got some good food and sat at the edge of the lake looking out at the mountains. Most notably though, this was the day I started to get sick...more on that in a bit.
Day 8) Due to it being Easter, bus tickets were a bit hard to come by so Laura and I had to leave earlier than planned. Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We went from Bariloche to Osorno in the south of Chile. We had an 8 hour layover in Osorno and then we got on another marathon 12 hour bus ride back up to Vina. We got home this morning around 10am. The blessing in disguise is that I clearly have Strep Throat and any more time on the trail would have been difficult. I called the doctor's office today and when I told them I was an exchange student, they insisted on doing a house call. He actually showed up with a little black bag. So, now I'm on a round of meds (don't worry Mom and Dad, no penicillin) and should be back on my feet in no time! I went to the supermarket to buy some comfort foods (cranberry juice, sprite, and tomato soup) all of which had to be purchased in the "World Foods" section, aka a shelf with Safeway stuff :)
It is, of course, completely impossible to sum up this week long adventure in a blog post. Even the pictures (that I will hopefully post tonight) can't really convey what went on. It was the best vacation I could have asked for and never before have I been so happy and content to just take off into the unknown. All I can think to say is that my life is ridiculous, and I love it!
So I realize that it's been a long time since the last post so here it goes, my best effort to bring you all up to date!
Classes started but my first day was rather uneventful. My class was cancelled, indefinitely. So I rescheduled and now I have classes on Tues-Thurs. I've only had one week of classes though, this past week they were cancelled. Yay for going to school in a Catholic country, lots of time off for Easter!
During this free week the other exchange student from the States (Laura from D.C.) and I decided to take a little vacation. Basically we got onto a bus going south and got off at the last stop, it took 14 hours.
Day 1) We left Vina at around 10pm and headed south, ending up in Puerto Montt after a rather long bus ride. Luckily we had some Mission Impossible (dubbed in Spanish of course) to keep us entertained...
Day 2) We arrived in Puerto Montt and booked a hostel for the night expecting to leave by boat in the morning. Puerto Montt turns out to be not the loveliest town in the world. Lots of gypsies waiting to steal your money and shady characters around every corner, we mostly hid out in our hostel after it got dark.
Day 3) Went to the boat terminal only to find that the boat we wanted was late and may not show up for a few days. Thinking that anywhere was better than Puerto Montt, we booked a bus to Chiloe. Chiloe is a large island off the southern coast of Chile. On our bus we met another traveller who recognized our US accents, she was from Manhattan. We all three decided to spend the night in Castro, the capitol of Chiloe.
Day 4) Woke up in Castro, a very fun, very lively little town. It was such a change of pace from Vina that it's hard to believe they are in the same country! We spent all morning sea kayaking around the little islands close to Chiloe. There were also some cool houses on stilts that we could paddle under. All in all, a very fun town to be in. We left Castro that afternoon and headed across Chiloe to the tiny town of Cucao. It's the last town before you hit the National Park. It was comprised of a few thrown together houses and a road that supported one crazy bus driver and his ghetto bus once a day. We went through Cucao towards the park and found El Fogon de Cucao. It is an architecturally sweet house/restaurant/bar/hostel/campground/ranch built and run by a man named Miguel Angel Allendes. We stayed at his house that night and he made us an incredible dinner of the biggest hunk of salmon I have ever seen. Then he played music for us the rest of the night, he is in several traditional Chilean bands that travel the country frequently. He was a very interesting man with a never-ending supply great stories and advice. He will be in Vina in two weeks and he is planning on looking us up to show us the music hot spots he knows in Vina/Valparaiso.
Day 5) Marissa from Manhattan had to take off early to catch a bus to Valdivia so Laura and I set off on our own to check out the National Park. Since it is the off season down here, mid-fall, there were maybe 4 other people in the entire park. It was crazy! Huge sand dunes with crashing waves of the ocean as far as the eye could see. *There were cows along the beach eating seaweed, they looked very out of place* Then if you turned around there was a big thick lush forest with a large lake. We spent most of the day hiking around and picking our jaws up off the ground. Then we packed our bags and sat on the side of the road waiting for our bus. We had a momentary panic attack when we thought we saw it pass by without stopping, but luckily another one came along about an hour later and rescued us. We spent that night back in Castro.
Day 6) We had a bright and early 6:25am bus back to Puerto Montt (unfortunately it's the only town with access to and from Cucao) where we met up with my friend Dan from the University of Montana. He's studying in Concepcion this semester and also had some free time to travel this week. The three of us hopped on a bus and headed to Bariloche, Argentina! The drive over was awesome. Such a change of scenery again. We all kept saying that certain aspects of it, like the trees or the hills remind us of home or someplace else we know...but all together, nowhere else in the world looks the way it does down in Northern Patagonia. We got to Bariloche in the early evening, set ourselves up in the hostel and went out for a night on the town.
Day 7) We spent this last big day of our trip exploring Bariloche. It's a fun city, a little bit of a tourist trap, but with lots to offer. We got some good food and sat at the edge of the lake looking out at the mountains. Most notably though, this was the day I started to get sick...more on that in a bit.
Day 8) Due to it being Easter, bus tickets were a bit hard to come by so Laura and I had to leave earlier than planned. Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We went from Bariloche to Osorno in the south of Chile. We had an 8 hour layover in Osorno and then we got on another marathon 12 hour bus ride back up to Vina. We got home this morning around 10am. The blessing in disguise is that I clearly have Strep Throat and any more time on the trail would have been difficult. I called the doctor's office today and when I told them I was an exchange student, they insisted on doing a house call. He actually showed up with a little black bag. So, now I'm on a round of meds (don't worry Mom and Dad, no penicillin) and should be back on my feet in no time! I went to the supermarket to buy some comfort foods (cranberry juice, sprite, and tomato soup) all of which had to be purchased in the "World Foods" section, aka a shelf with Safeway stuff :)
It is, of course, completely impossible to sum up this week long adventure in a blog post. Even the pictures (that I will hopefully post tonight) can't really convey what went on. It was the best vacation I could have asked for and never before have I been so happy and content to just take off into the unknown. All I can think to say is that my life is ridiculous, and I love it!
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