And just like that the trip is over. I'm back at my house in DC. Classes started on Monday. This semester I have one class every day in addition to student teaching (which hasn't started yet) three times a week.
The bus ride to the airport from our hostel was emotional. Everyone cried when we left our instructors and Cristian. On the bus we all cried for a minute but then gave out superlatives to everyone. I got "most likely to smile in a picture" (lol what), "most likely to be on America's Next Top Model", "most likely to be eating at any given moment", and "most likely to join the circus" (long story).
The plane ride back went surprisingly well even though the airport lost my bag of dirty clothes.
It's weird being alone after being surrounded by 15 people 24/7. We're all starting to go back to our normal lives. Chances are only a few people will actually talk to each other after a few months and we'll just have the pictures and the memories.
I learned a lot on this trip not only about Chile and its dynamic history, but about myself. Anytime you go somewhere new you learn. I want to continue to travel and learn forever.
I don't know what else to say besides Vive Chile, a phrase we used over and over again on this trip anytime something unexpected or weird happened. It is used when you're pointing out that you can't plan out everything in life and sometimes you just have to go with it. You make mistakes and learn from them and the outcome is what you take from it.
If you're interested in reading more about the trip, check out http://emilyz-in-chile.blogspot.com/ Emily was our TA on the trip and she is in the Writer's House at the University of Maryland, meaning that her blog is more than just random sentences like mine but is well written and more of an analysis of what we learned.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Thursday and Friday
Thursday we got back to Santiago. Our day started right when we got off the bus. We took a cab back to our hostel. I rode with our professor who pointed out a lot of cool things along the way including the building where her friends used to host these big elaborate parties as well as a building that was used as a torture camp. We dropped our bags at the hostel and went to breakfast. I got toast with avocado spread. I love avocados and will miss how they put them on everything here.
We walked around a lot. We took the funicular to the top of this mountain where there is a giant Virgin Mary statue looking out over the city. You could see the entire city which is surrounded by mountains. If it wasn't so smoggy it would have been nicer but it was still nice to see everything. The city is huge. It kind of seems like an endless sprawl in between a bunch of mountains. It's not the prettiest city but it has its moments.
Thursday night we went to a play. But it wasn't really a play. It was like an interactive walk through thing where you went one at a time and the characters affected each of your senses. There was one part where you went into a pitch black tunnel and laid down and they put a sheet over you and planted seeds and poured water on you. I think it was supposed to represent death and rebirth? I don't know, I'm bad at that sort of thing. The whole thing was really cool though.
Friday we went to the Museum of Remembrance and Human Rights. It was a lot like the Holocaust Museum. Really depressing.
Afterwards we went to a boat themed restaurant. It was kind of crazy.
We walked around a lot. We took the funicular to the top of this mountain where there is a giant Virgin Mary statue looking out over the city. You could see the entire city which is surrounded by mountains. If it wasn't so smoggy it would have been nicer but it was still nice to see everything. The city is huge. It kind of seems like an endless sprawl in between a bunch of mountains. It's not the prettiest city but it has its moments.
Thursday night we went to a play. But it wasn't really a play. It was like an interactive walk through thing where you went one at a time and the characters affected each of your senses. There was one part where you went into a pitch black tunnel and laid down and they put a sheet over you and planted seeds and poured water on you. I think it was supposed to represent death and rebirth? I don't know, I'm bad at that sort of thing. The whole thing was really cool though.
Friday we went to the Museum of Remembrance and Human Rights. It was a lot like the Holocaust Museum. Really depressing.
Afterwards we went to a boat themed restaurant. It was kind of crazy.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Tuesday I did one of the coolest things I've ever done. A group of us went rappelling down waterfalls. I can't even describe it. The scenery was absolutely perfect. The guide said we went down 20, 30, and 40 meter falls. There was also a small ten meter one. The hardest part for me was convincing myself to lean back and let my weight carry me down. It was mentally hard to allow myself to just walk backwards down a cliff. We rappelled down this one waterfall into a canyon where we walked most of the time. I couldn't believe how big everything was. I'm pretty sure the canyons were created by lava flows. I don't even want to talk about it because there is no way I could do it any justice.
Tuesday night we all had a barbecue at the hostel. It was a really cool moment. Everyone was talking and laughing and just really happy in general. We were like a family.
Wednesday a girl and I went horseback riding. It was so fun. It was just the two of us plus the guide. We rode up down the street and up a mountain to this forest where we hiked down a steep path which led to a waterfall that had to be 100 feet high. It was so perfect. We splashed around in the water and walked around on the rocks for awhile. The ride back was really peaceful and we both agreed that horseback riding is really good for thinking.
Wednesday night we left Pucon and took the 10 hour bus ride back to Santiago.
Tuesday night we all had a barbecue at the hostel. It was a really cool moment. Everyone was talking and laughing and just really happy in general. We were like a family.
Wednesday a girl and I went horseback riding. It was so fun. It was just the two of us plus the guide. We rode up down the street and up a mountain to this forest where we hiked down a steep path which led to a waterfall that had to be 100 feet high. It was so perfect. We splashed around in the water and walked around on the rocks for awhile. The ride back was really peaceful and we both agreed that horseback riding is really good for thinking.
Wednesday night we left Pucon and took the 10 hour bus ride back to Santiago.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sunday and Monday
Bienvenidos a Pucon!
We got here Sunday morning after a 13ish hour bus ride from Valpo. It's a small touristy adventure town pretty close to Argentina in the southern half of the country.
On Sunday when we got here there was an Iron Man race going on and all the roads were closed off so we had to walk from the bus station to our hostel. We got settled in and walked around a little bit and figured out what we were going to do during the week. That's pretty much all we did on Sunday.
Monday 9 of us woke up at 6:30 in order to climb the volcano.
We got here Sunday morning after a 13ish hour bus ride from Valpo. It's a small touristy adventure town pretty close to Argentina in the southern half of the country.
On Sunday when we got here there was an Iron Man race going on and all the roads were closed off so we had to walk from the bus station to our hostel. We got settled in and walked around a little bit and figured out what we were going to do during the week. That's pretty much all we did on Sunday.
Monday 9 of us woke up at 6:30 in order to climb the volcano.
(I did not take this picture)
We had a ton of gear. The back packs had to have weighed like 50 pounds. And the boots were really heavy as well. We got to the first stopping point which was about halfway up the mountain. The climb from where we started to this point was the hardest thing I've ever done. It was so steep and we were in the clouds and it was freezing raining and the ice on the ground was so slippery. All this in addition to all the stuff we had to carry. Just standing I was out of breathe so climbing something at a 60 degree angle was impossible.
3 girls stopped at the first rest stop. I ate a sandwich and some chocolate and thought I could keep going. About 1000 feet in (at this point it was complete ice and felt like it was almost straight up) I decided I couldn't go any further. I kind of psyched myself out by looking down and thinking about my lung issues and stuff like that. I sort of thought I was feeling dizzy and it was just too much. I went back down and the four of us sat together for a few hours until someone could drive us back to town. I'm happy with my decision to stop. I think if I ever come back here I will try again.. Maybe by then I'll be able to lift more and it won't be such an issue. The rest of the 5 made it to the top. Their pictures are amazing. (Oh and of course my camera died 10 minutes in to climbing)
Last night we went to some hot springs. They were so nice. It was definitely what we all needed after the volcano.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
I haven't had much time to update so I'll combine Thursday through Saturday in to one post.
On Thursday we took the kids to the pool. The bus ride there was crazy. The road curves so fast and hard everyone on the bus was screaming. My amigo always told me when to hold on when a big turn was coming up.
The pool was really fun. The day started out pretty cold and cloudy but around noon the sun came out and it got hot. I played in the water with my two amigos for a really long time. We went from playing monkey-in-the-middle to throw-the-ball-at-each-other-to-see-who-can-make-the-biggest-splash. I also convinced a kid who was really scared of the water to finally get in. Convincing kids to do stuff is hard when you don't speak the same language.
Friday was our last day with the kids. It was such a fun day. We played a game with a volleyball net where you would stand with your amigo holding a towel and have to throw/catch a soccer ball using only the towel. It was harder than it sounds. Then there was a game where you had to dig candy out of a pie made of flower using only your face. Somewhere there is a picture of a bunch of us with our faces covered in flour that I hope no one ever sees. After a three legged race and an egg and spoon game it pretty much ended up being the kids running to a hose, filling up a bottle of water, and dumping it on our heads. This went on for a really long time. Everyone was completely soaked. I gave my two amigos their gifts and they both loved them. I gave Jesus a game where you have two velcro paddles and a ball and you throw the ball and it sticks to the paddle. We played this for forever after I gave it to him. I gave Manuel punch balloons and of course the first thing he did was hit everyone in sight on the head with them.
On Thursday we took the kids to the pool. The bus ride there was crazy. The road curves so fast and hard everyone on the bus was screaming. My amigo always told me when to hold on when a big turn was coming up.
The pool was really fun. The day started out pretty cold and cloudy but around noon the sun came out and it got hot. I played in the water with my two amigos for a really long time. We went from playing monkey-in-the-middle to throw-the-ball-at-each-other-to-see-who-can-make-the-biggest-splash. I also convinced a kid who was really scared of the water to finally get in. Convincing kids to do stuff is hard when you don't speak the same language.
Franco and Jesus
Forcing Manuel into taking a picture with me
The end of the day was really hard. We made plates with a picture of us with our amigos on them. Everyone exchanged emails and facebooks. I am going to write Manuel an email as soon as I get back to DC..I need time to figure out how to say what I want to say in Spanish. Unfortunately Jesus doesn't have a computer so I am gonna try to get his address or give a message to him through Jesus.
Saturday was a lazy day. We pretty much just hung out until we had to get ready to leave for Pucon. I finally tried a cafe con helado. Coffee with four scoops of ice cream. Ahh. I miss Valparaiso. I could definitely see myself living there.
5'9'' and blue eyes, I'd totally fit right in
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wednesday
I really love Valparaiso! This is the view from the window of my room. You can't really see how steep the hills are but they are crazy.
Today I felt like I bonded with mi amigo a lot for the first time. He is so sweet but a little shy. Today we sat on the black top and drew with chalk. We wrote each others names a lot and he showed me how to draw animals using numbers and letters. My favorite was the pig.
In the afternoon we went around the block to see a movie. We saw Paranormal Activity. The kids were so funny during it. At the scary part my boy covered his face and hid in my arm and said "No quierio a mirar" (I don't wan't to look) It was sooo sweet.
When the kids left for the day we went back to our place for a little bit and then went back to the school to work on these mosaics we are making to put up around the school. We finished one and are about a fourth done with the other. They look really good.
Tonight a few of us walked down the hill back to the pizza place. I ate an entire bowl of pasta as well as a pizza. Lardo.
Tuesday
Tuesday was day 2 of the camp. We started out by playing some dodge ball. A drumming group came and performed for awhile and a preschool came out to watch too. They were really good. After they played the kids got a chance to play the instruments as well. Then a circus group came and performed. There were two clowns and an acrobat.
After camp Christian took us down the hill to a vegetarian buffet. It was only 2,500 pesos and the food was really good. I had this thing that kind of reminded me of falafel but it was like fried carrots or something.
Then we laid around for awhile and had to take our test. I thought I did pretty well. As usual I was the first one done. I don't know why that always happens.
Later we went down the hill because we were supposed to see a flamenco performance. When we got there they didn't know when it was starting and the place didn't have any food and we were all starving. We went to this pizza place and I don't think I've ever been happier to eat something. It was American pizza (not weird Chilean pizza) and it was exactly what I've been wanting for the last week and a half. After eating we went back to the place and they told us we missed the first performance and the second would start in 15 minutes. After 45 minutes it didn't start so most of us went back to the bed and breakfast (it was already after midnight). Chileans are not known for their sense of time.
We took the Collectivo home which is a cab service that's kind of more like a bus service. It's got a certain route that it follows and it doesn't go until it is full. The guy drove crazy. The hills are steeper than San Francisco and the guy drove sooo fast.
After camp Christian took us down the hill to a vegetarian buffet. It was only 2,500 pesos and the food was really good. I had this thing that kind of reminded me of falafel but it was like fried carrots or something.
Then we laid around for awhile and had to take our test. I thought I did pretty well. As usual I was the first one done. I don't know why that always happens.
Later we went down the hill because we were supposed to see a flamenco performance. When we got there they didn't know when it was starting and the place didn't have any food and we were all starving. We went to this pizza place and I don't think I've ever been happier to eat something. It was American pizza (not weird Chilean pizza) and it was exactly what I've been wanting for the last week and a half. After eating we went back to the place and they told us we missed the first performance and the second would start in 15 minutes. After 45 minutes it didn't start so most of us went back to the bed and breakfast (it was already after midnight). Chileans are not known for their sense of time.
We took the Collectivo home which is a cab service that's kind of more like a bus service. It's got a certain route that it follows and it doesn't go until it is full. The guy drove crazy. The hills are steeper than San Francisco and the guy drove sooo fast.
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