A Valparaiso!

Today was the last day of our intensive Contemporary Chile class. It was a little sad to say good bye to our tutora because she's just been so fun since she got drunk last Friday and sang us Chilean folk songs. We gathered at her house this afternoon to drink wine, eat pie and chit-chat (cotorrear). She lives in a charming little cabin-style house on a little road packed with houses just as cute, steps away from the end of the green line. The cordillera is covered with snow and seemingly just a few blocks away.
At about nine this morning, we were at La Pontificia Universidad Catolica. We attended an orientation that was really well organized, but more importantly, held in a library that looked like it was out of Harry Potter. Swear to god, I felt like I should've been able to look around and pick out the muggles from the witches. Um, my spidey sense wasn't working though because it was so very early in the morning.
Tomorrow, Katelyn, Julia, Tom and me will all be jumping on a bus to Valparaiso. Although we are still in the throes of winter, (did I mention that I got a sunburn today/seriously regretted wearing long sleeves?) we figured a trip to the beach would be a pretty nice change of scenery from smoggy Santiago. Plus, Katelyn has a few friends who are studying there, and should be able to take us around and show us the reportedly 'awesome' nightlife. I don't know how much bar hopping I'll be doing, but I've been told over and over by my abuela about the picturesque cliffs and houses perched high on the cerro. So I went out today and bought some colored pencils, promising myself that I'll get to a little doodling. Assuredly photos will be taken to do the town justice. I imagine I won't be posting until Sunday, but by then I promise to have some great photos for you all. I just get so overwhelmed by technology sometimes. Love to all.

PS- I totally saw two old peopled pulled over on the side of the road, making out. They were easily 65, if not older. I wasn't looking for it, people, they were pulled up right next to the sidewalk on my route home! I'm not a pervert. No sir.
I just thought somebody should get a giggle out of that.


PPS- Marcy, we will definitely have that phone conversation soon! I'm sorry I wasn't around tonight, I fell asleep at 8 and didn't wake up until 11. I love you, and I hope that you're kicking some ass on your exams!

Gringa Rubia

I would like to apologize for being such a lazy postress. I've been getting home late and the prospect of turning on the computer becomes a much more overwhelming idea after such a long day. I have come to the conclusion that people who live in cities have to put up with a lot of not-so-great things. For instance- smog, creepy dudes that stare and the prospect of willingly packing themselves (think sardines) into a hot little train car. Suffice to say, I just might miss having a car. However, allow me to say in the same breath how lovely it is to walk everywhere and see things much closer.
In other news, a few friends and I decided to head down to the Plaza de Armas. It's a huge pedestrian plaza that's dotted with palm trees and chess tables. There, we shared a park bench with a funny old man, saw people selling their knock-off versions of classic paintings like Diego Rivera's calla lilies, Frida Kahlo's self portraits...you get the idea. Here's where the trouble starts: my friend Hannah and I saw a huge crowd and decided to go see what the fuss was about. There were roughly 150-200 people gathered in a circle around two men doing physical comedies a-la Larry, Moe and Curly (did you know they were all Jewish?). We hadn't been standing there more than two minutes when I see one of the entertainers turn to our sector of the crowd and yell out, "Senorita, senorita! Ven pa'ca al centro! Ven pa'ca!" [Translation: I am a filthy old man and I want to touch you]. He was still yelling and pointing and me, in my normally dreamy state didn't realize he was talking to me until I look over at Hannah and she's simply staring at me with her mouth agape. We're the only two rubias (blonds) in the crowd. By this time, the people around me had parted like the Red Sea, so as to ensure my passage to the center of the circle.
Aside: Did I mention that I have yet to have had a person actually move out to the way so as to allow me to continue on my path? Normally they just barrel on through. And you really have to be careful with the short ones: because of their short, stocky stature they carry the lowest center of gravity, meaning their momentum will crrrrush you (or at least you'll get the wind knocked out of you).
Continuing with the story, I look behind me to my grinning friends, figure there's nothing to fear, that I can just walk off casually, then turn around to see the pot-bellied man much closer me than I had remembered. He grinned, grabbed my hand and hauled me to the middle of the circle where his amigo was waiting. People began to giggle. At this point I realize I was not chosen at random to take part in an 'illusion', rather, I am the entertainment. "Look what we have here", says the ringleader in Spanish. He then switches to broken English. "Wherr you fron? Swecia? Sweeeedin?" The men in the crowd are yipping and whistling. I summon all the courage I can muster to say: "No, somos estadounidenses". The crowd is having a good time with this. Then one of the men tries a different tactic- teaching me how many kisses to give in Chile, as per tradition. I already know the answer-one. "No", he says, "Een Tseeleh wee gu-eeve fore keesis." Oh my God. He's going to touch me on the FACE. Maybe this is a good time for him to let go of my hand? Oh, no! I am completely helpless, stuck to the cobblestones beneath my feet. He proceeds to kiss my cheeks until my face has flushed to the point of no return: that is, I am unable to arrest it's magenta coloration with controlled breathing. Whatever, it actually never works, I just heard that if you breathe deep and cleansing breaths, you won't be so red. I pull away by the time he's gotten two in. This is really not as fun as I thought it would be.
J turn to find that Hannah is in the middle as well, also being accosted by the side-kick, who also happens to carry all of his weight in the front (read: he looked like he stuck a stock pot under his shirt). The men are kissing her, she's giving me the "Get me the hell out of here" eyes. I summon the confidence I had left (I was running on empty) and grab Hannah's hand while wriggling out of the grip of the dirty old man. We push through the crowd and reunite with our dark-haired counterparts. "I didn't even get a photo!" Tom said. "Go back, and I'll get a picture." Are you f@#$ing kidding me? I'd rather rub a guinea pig all over myself.*
I must say that in retrospect, I should have simply kept walking away. But I suppose this is how we learn lessons? We all know that I love having attention lavished upon me, but this kind of attention- um, even I must say it was a little degrading. I mean, those guys should've at least given me part of their profits for being such a good sport.
We ended up wandering off to a Haiti bar, where there are no seats, and the waitresses wear skirts so short, that it's no longer attractive; it's sad. I just hope that they make great money.


*This is practiced among South American shamans. The idea is, the body is cleansed of its' negative energy by rubbing the live rodent all over it. Then the shaman goes about killing it and slicing open the belly, searching for organs that are either green or black. From this, it is deduced that those very organs in your body are the source of your negative energy. You should probably get them looked at, 'cause you know, them docs don't know their ass from their elbow.

carretear means: "to party"

So it's 3:30 am. I just wanted to be consistent with my blogging. I noticed that Mom has been telling some people about my blog, which is fabulous. Please, my friends-share and share alike! It's always fun to stay in touch.
I got back from a party about 40 min. ago. It was pretty cool-I got to talk to real Chilean kids who are actually my age and cool! I liked it. We mostly just sat around and talked, it was pretty nice. But because of switching languages all day, it's a little hard to really concentrate in one. It's like both engines are running, but one is unneeded.
We also had dinner with our program professors today that was really tasty and fun. Our profs got drunk off of pisco and started singing folk songs with a guitarist that had been hired. He was pretty good. I bought the CD. It is good. Ok I have to go to bed I love you all.

I bought (clean) underpants in the metro station.

This afternoon I visited the house of Pablo Neruda, La Chascona. When I asked what that meant, my tutora told me, "It's you know, unkempt, uncombed hair-it's like yours.", I kidd you not. But the truth is, I totally didn't shower today, so I'm sure my hair was a real treat to behold. Anyway, about the house-it's gorgeous and tiny! It's filled with furniture from ships (hence the small-scale) and has tons collectibles in it. Apparently Neruda was a bit of a hoarder, so he collected all kinds of things: colored glass, postcards, paintings of watermelons, the usual. And get this- what we saw was only 20% of the collection in that house! Unfortunately, most of the collectibles were destroyed during the golpe de estado, when planes were bombing the city. And on top of that, Pablo had 2 other houses filled with more collectibles. But the best part by far: seeing his Nobel Peace Prize in literature!

In other news, today was my day to do all of my commuting myself. I traveled in and out of the city alone, and although that may not sound very challenging to the average bear, it took me about an hour and a half just to get home. I am hoping that that isn't the usual. Getting off of the metro, I went to the bust stop to wait for my bus. That never came. So, I walked the 20 blocks to my house. Of course the bus didn't show it's ugly face until I was crossing the street, completing the last ten steps of my walk. And now all the stoves in the house are out of gas and it's about 40 degrees outside! In more uplifting news: dinner was great tonight, mushroom cream-sauce and pasta. I'll work on having a more exciting entry tomorrow. For now, I need to do my homework.

metro, metro, sweatro

Today we had to take the Metro to school, like real chileans. It was fun, exciting and even thrilling at times. I shan't soon forget they way my heart pitter-pattered as I realized the woman seated to my left was indeed holding a (live, mind you) puppy in a plastic shopping bag. I couldn't help watching it doze to sleep. I'm sure it was easy to do, as the metro was roughly 97 million degrees. In fact, I'm not even sure if that puppy was as much dozing off, as he was passing out from heat-stroke.
My pal Katelyn and I had been warned previously of the 'high traffic hours' on the metro, but this was more than I could ever have imagined. Picture this-me and Katelyn, the easily 5'11" blond bombshell packed into a normally spacious passageway with little room to breathe let alone move. Everyone around us is coming from work, the market, or perhaps even at work *ahem*. We were packed tighter than Victoria's Secret's dressing rooms on the first day of the 'semi annual sale. I believe at one point I looked down and realized that there was a little boy squished between me and the wall. At that point I asked myself, was this what it was like in the last minutes of Pompeii?
In truth, it was a fun ride in and out of the city, and has already proved itself to be a promising people-watching venue. I couldn't help but giggle at the mullets that seem to be taking the city by storm. They come in all shapes and sizes, from the she-mullet to the businessman mullet that is cleverly tied back so as to avoid any of the "party in the back" to get in the way of their power-lunching. I believe Katelyn spotted a mullet that was normal in the front, and then braided in the back. It was sweet.
I really am learning stuff while I'm here, I promise. In fact today we visited La Moneda, the site of the infamous coup d'etat on September 11, 1973. The presidential palace has since been skillfully restored. It stands on the other side of Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins, a beautifully manicured lawn and peaceful looking place, it makes it hard to believe it had been so violently stormed with bombs and bullets.
In other news, my host mom has made something that isn't beef for dinner: lasagna tonight with white sauce,red sauce and ground beef. I was lying. I've never eaten so much beef in my life. I bet I'll be a champ at donating blood when I return. I won't even have to take the blood protein test. They'll be able to see it in my eyes. Of course by then, it is quite possible that my circulatory system will have turned solid.

A quick note to you all: I am currently organizing some albums to put up using Picasa, which is a pretty amazing application. Let me know if you have any preferences, thoughts, advice...

San Alfonso del Mar

Hello all my little Amigos and Amigas,
I just got back from spending the weekend with my new host family in San Alfonso del Mar. It was beautiful, and a really relaxing time, as it's easily 15 degrees warmer on the coast. We are all getting along really well--I feel really accepted and comfortable. If it's any indication, they were comfortable enough to blast Duran Duran all the way there, whilst singing along. I think it really dawned on me in the middle of "Hungry like a Wolf", which always reminds me of Siegfried and Roy. Shame about the tiger.
The family, you ask? Well, the father's name is Rodrigo, and the son is named after him, however we all call him Yoyi (Joe-gee). He is only 9. The mother is Carmen Gloria, and their daughter is named after her as well, however she's 17 and her nickname is Pochi. Yoyi is very funny and silly, making up new voices all the time and talking about bodily functions. Pochi is more reserved and very into 'post-hardcore rock'. Interpret this as you will. Trust me, it makes me feel old too. The place we stayed at was beautiful, and we got to walk on the beach and lay in hammocks. They're a pretty relaxed family, and like to chat and lounge and play a videogame every once in a while.
I realized that from Santiago, the coast is only a little over an hour away, and it really reminds me of the French riviera (think Casis). There are tiny towns perched on cliffs and fresh seafood everywhere. I can't wait to see what all of this is like in the summer!
Right now, I'm pretty cold, it's about 45 degrees in the house, and I realized that you pretty much just have to wear your jacket at all times. My host family quite generously lent me a portable gas stove so that I can heat the third floor where my pieza, or room, is. I hope to write often, and am enjoying your comments, keep them coming, my little friends!!

!Santiago de Chile, finalmente!

I have finally arrived in Santiago de Chile. After a daunting evening in Dallas, I got to spend the day there seeing the sights and relaxing. I arrived at about 7:30 this morning. Since then I have spent most of my time in a low-ceilinged conference room learning about how not to stand out in a crowd, how to use a metro map, etcetera. Mostly, it's just a bunch of stuff that would probably be far easier to learn by doing. But that's just me being a little grumpy and antsy to get out and do things. My fellow students seem pretty nice, and me and two other girls are sharing a little hotel room in Providencia. I am really excited for tomorrow, when I get to buy a cell phone and finally meet my host family! They gave us a mini-hint today: the names of our mothers, and a map to our houses. My Chilean mamita is Carmen Riviera, and she lives in a neighboring borough of the city called Nunoa. The n's have a "nyuh" sound, with a tilda, but apparently my computer is incapable at this time of carrying one out.
The horizon is high-rises and the Andes cordillera in the background. It's dusk and time for a well-deserved nap.

Hot-lanta!

Hello from the hot and sticky South, my Yankee friends! I have spent the past few days with my sister Gretchen and her husband Dana. We have spent the past few days enjoying ice cream cones among assorted other things, like the crazy dog Nina, who was born to retrieve (and coincidentally, rub spitty, stuffed animals all over you). We have a good time.
Today, Gretchen and I went to her campus at Georgia State University. There, she held an international student conversation hour, where we spoke with kids from all over about their travel experiences. There was a student from Algeria, one from Saudi Arabia, and two from Colombia in my group. I asked the Colombianos what they thought of South American university courses in comparison to the courses here in the States. They looked at me with eyes as wide as saucers and gave me a resounding "much, much harder". "In fact," one of the guys said, "I would probably say Chile has the most challenging programs in all of South America." Needless to say, I am spending my upcoming 9-1/2 hour flight as an emergency Spanish cram session.
Truly, I am very excited to go, and will probably feel pretty relieved as soon as I get off that plane. Now's the fun part; it's not just paperwork anymore, people! I am planning on putting a slideshow of photos up, but you'll have to do with the pictures I have supplied for now, because I haven't quite figured it all out yet. Much love to all.

Welcome!

I have finally established my blog spot that will cover the coming six months in South America! Please bear with me, as I am all too green to the world of blogging. I am so glad to have had such a warm reception to the concept of my blog, and I pledge to do my best in relating various adventures and experiences.