Reflejo: Fútbol

Por supuesto, el partido de fútbol es una gran parte de la cultura de los paises latinos (en realidad, en casi todos los paises del mundo menos los EE.UU.), y creo que mi experiencia no habría sido completa sin asistir un partido en vivo.

Tenía muy buena suerte porque la Copa Mundial va a ocurrir el próximo año, entonces había unos partidos emocionantes cuando estaba allá. El que mis amigos y yo asistimos fue el partido contra el equipo de Bolivia. Aunque nosotros no somos el equipo más fuerte de America del Sur (aunque el mejor, sí po), somos bien fuertes, y el equipo de Bolivia es débil; entonces no estábamos preocupados de como nos pasara el partido. Al final, tuvimos razón y ganamos 4-0.

Aunque el resultado nos importaba mucho, lo que voy a recordar es la experiencia. Me pasó super bien y me disfruté mucho. En estos partidos, el ambiente es fantástico porque a dentro del estadio (en este caso el Estadio Nacional de Chile) hay 67.000 hinchas del equipo, y todos están allá para apoyar a los jugadores, emocionantes y gritando y prestando atención todo el tiempo.

Creo que los alirones, o las canciones, eran mi parte favorita, porque todos saben las palabras y las gritan con mucha fuerza y pasión. Lo más popular es "¡CHI CHI CHI, LE LE LE, Viva Chile!" y también se usa "Vamos, vamos chilenos, esta noche, tenemos que ganar" (Supongo que otros países y equipos lo usan también.) Mis amigos y yo continuábamos a usar el primero durante el resto de semestre a menudo y al azar. El otro alirón que se usaba mucho durante el partido era uno para burlarse de Bolivia - "No tiene mar (x3)" No sé quien empezó a usar este hecho como un insulto en los partidos de fútbol, pero me tinca muy bien porque Bolivia es el único país del continente sin costa, y Chile tiene lo más.

Gracias a este semestre y especialmente este partido, voy a ser hincha de Chile por el resto de mi vida. Nuestro próximo partido es este sábado, y espero que podamos ganar y asegurarnos de una posición el la Copa Mundial en 2010. ¡CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE VIVA CHILE!

What do you want to hear about?

As I go through these reflections, I'm writing on topics that were interesting to me, or that I think people who haven't traveled to Chile and/or South America would be interested in. If you have a suggestion, or something you're curious about, let me know and I'll write a response on it.

Reflections: La Católica vs. La Chile

If you remember from an early post about classes, our program offers us the opportunity at 2 different top Chilean universities. They are:

La Universidad Católica: a private, Catholic university, similar to Georgetown and structured more like US colleges in general, and attracts the top students in Chile, but is expensive, so the student body is pretty wealthy

La Universidad de Chile: a public university, 2nd only to La Catolica, still not cheap but known to attract a more liberal/hippie student body, especially in the humanities and liberal arts, and not all that well organized

I took 2 classes at each (3 at La Chile if you count belly dancing) and I'm so glad I did because they offered me a vastly different experience. Neither was better than the other, although many of my fellow abroad students only took classes at La Catolica because they got their course schedule out sooner and in a clearer manner. Neither is the "correct" or "real" Chilean experience, because they offer a glimpse at different parts of society that make up the people of Santiago.

At each school and each course, I made friends with other students; they were friendly and helpful and patient when I had various questions about the working of things. However, it did become obvious throughout the semester that the stereotypes of each student body were basically true. My La Católica classmates were wealthier, more conservative, and interested in a future that will enable them to continue the lifestyle they live now. My La Chile classmates were far more liberal, interested in reform/fighting the man in the academic environment and never hesitated to approve going on strike to prove their point.

Throughout the semester it was interesting hearing different perspectives on everything including career choice, Chilean society, politics, education reform, the treatment of the Mapuche people (indigenous people of Chile), and more. While I was more partial to the views expressed by the students at La Chile, I'm really glad I experienced all viewpoints and could see things from different perspectives.

If you have a chance for a similar, multi-facted experience, take it! It will only enrich the experience and add more dimensions than any part could on its own.

Reflections: Host Family Life

In the first 48 hours our group arrived in Chile before we met our host families, they were all we could talk about. Everyone was excited and nervous and anxious, myself included. I can say now though that living with a family was a great experience, and I'm glad CIEE makes it mandatory for everyone in our program.

On just an immersion level, living with a Chilean family is very effective. It really forces you to use Spanish, and to learn to express yourself, especially in situations where you may not have the vocab or grammatical structures to say what you want and have to figure out how to work around those difficulties. In terms of day-to-day issues, it would have been really difficult to do things like figure out how to navigate public transportation or how to get cold medicine without having a family to ask.

Additionally, living with a family taught me a lot about Chilean culture first hand. I got to eat home-made food every day, and tried traditional foods like empanadas, humitas, pastel de choclo (a corn dish), cazuela de ave (a chicken soup dish), and others, especially some interesting seafood, some of which doesn't even have an English translation, including mussels, oysters, cochayuyo (a rubbery seaweed), and locos (type of sea snail). I got to go to the weekend market and experience first hand why all the produce is so fresh and delicious. I got to meet family friends and learn even more about everyday Chilean life.

Most of all, my family took care of me. Of course it was a little awkward in the beginning, but I felt like I really fit in and was part of the family. My host mom, Margarita, put me at ease right away, always asked about my day, and was ready with food or ideas whenever I asked (and even sometimes when I didn't). My host dad, Pancho, didn't say much but was always ready to give me his opinion on things, tell me to take care of myself and behave when I went out at night, and give me a hard time the next morning. My host sister, Paula (age 26), is absolutely adorable, and it was really fun having a sister for the first time. We helped each other with homework (she was taking a post-grad class) and would chat about clothes, and she was always there to help out if my mom wasn't around.

I still keep in touch with my mom and sister - my mom even sent me a happy birthday email 2 months after the end of the program! I like knowing that they made a big impression on me, and vice versa. I can't wait to go back there and see them again one day!

Todavía tengo mucho que decir!

¡Ay! Me fui de Santiago hace dos meses, pero ya pienso sobre mi hogar chileno cada día. Tengo bastante pensamientos sobre mi experiencia que ya necesito escribir, recordar, y compartir. Les prometo que vengan.

That wasn't the end!

Wow. It's been 2 months since I left Chile, and more than that since my last post. As you may expect, the end of the semester there was awfully busy with final exams and papers, arrangements to go home, tying up loose ends in Santiago and saying my good-byes (sniff!).

Coming home was a whirlwind of readjustment, reconnecting with friends and family, and getting hit with reverse culture shock.

I'll be adding some new posts in the next couple days, including some final thoughts and more pictures of my travels. For now though let me say I had an AMAZING semester, met some truly fantastic people, and already am trying to figure out when I can go back.

The Global Reign of the King of Pop

So for anyone that knows me, you know that one of my favorite (if not number one favorite) music genres is 80s, so it should come as no surprise that I'm really bummed out about the death of Michael Jackson. All jokes and such aside about what he had become, he was a true entertainer and revolutionary in the music world. But enough on that.

If you somehow still thought that being in Santiago meant being worlds away from civilization, think again. And Michael Jackson's death is a great example not only of how well connected I am here to what's happening in the world, but also to how global of audience he managed to reach.

How I heard: Thursday night I finished my Ethnolinguistics test, walked into the hallway and was greeted with the news by 2 of my classmates. Now my head was already spinning because it was 7:30 pm and that was no easy exam, so when they told me I didn't quite believe it and it took until I arrived back to my apartment to actually wrap my head around it. Once I did get back, it's the first thing both my host mom and sister said to me.

How I would have figured it out anyway: This whole weekend, he/his music have been everywhere, as I'm sure is the case back in the US. MTV, Vh1, and E! have been playing tributes all weekend long, ditto local radio stations here, and even the news and music on the Metro has been MJ themed.

How I know people here care: In addition to the daytime media coverage, the nightlife has also been all about the music of Michael Jackson. Friday night, we went to a new club as part of an end-of-the-semester evening, and the electronica/remixes and reggaeton music returned multiple times to a Beat It/Billie Jean/Don't Stop Til You Get Enough sequence. Then last night we hit up a nice salsateca (club specifically for salsa dancing) and about 2 am they jumped from salsa into Thriller and Black or White, followed by Madonna and some reggaeton before moving back into salsa.

So from South America and the rest of the global community, descanse en paz Michael Jackson. Le echarémos de menos.

My proudest accomplishments

thus far. And as a cumulation of my time here, which is nearing the end(!!!!)

- 2 weeks ago for my public speaking/acting class, I did a standup comedy routine. 2 and a half minutes. All in Spanish. In front of all Chileans. And it was a hit! I was a little nervous going into it, but everyone in that class is super nice and supportive, they laughed, and I'm (99%) sure they actually found me funny.

- Last week I handed in a 16 page paper/report for Ethnolinguistics, which would be pretty hardcore even in English, so I felt real proud handing it in to my professor in Spanish the other day. If you're curious, I wrote about the blog Feministing, justifying it as a cultural community and subject of an ethnographic study (part one), and then analyzed the comments according to speech act theory and different types of illocutionary force (part two).

- During our trip to Buenos Aires this weekend, while waiting outside a fruit stand, a lady pulled up in her car and asked me if I knew where a certain street was, and I DID. And I told her and she understood me and presumably got there safe and sound. So not only a testament to my Spanish skills, but my ability to orient myself and function in a new, big city too.

And now I will proceed to pat myself on the back ...

Nature-y Pictures

San Pedro de Atacama: the driest desert in the world, in northern Chile

Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), named for its moon-like terrain

Hangin' in a cave (literally)

Laura and I looking out over the Valle at sunset

Beautiful colors (and not just my hat)

Howling at the moon

Visiting the village of Toconao including its llama residents

Flamingos on the Salar (Salt Flat) of Atacama

Sandboarding! Think snowboarding ... but on sand dunes

Back in Santiago - right outside the city in Cajón de Maipo

Overall scenery, including 1 of 3 sweet bridges

¡Mis amigos!

Quite the change for a city girl, eh?

Yo sé, yo sé

Y lo siento! Ha sido mucho tiempo hace que escribí una entrada nueva. Bueno, tiene que ver en parte con el hecho de que no estoy teniendo muchas experiencias nuevas - voy a clase, estudio, voy al colegio para enseñar, y carreteo con mis amigos y duermo los fines de semana. El otro lado de esto es que también estaba bastante ocupada con la tarea de mis clases. Siempre tengo mucho que hacer para mi clase de dibujo, pero recientemente tuve un gran proyecto en mi clase de etnolinguística, y varios discursos para mi clase de comunicación/discurso público.

Sin embargo, sí tengo algunas cosas para compartir, especialmente mis últimas fotos, y también varias experiencias interesantes tomando la micro. ¡Les prometo que las voy a poner acá!

Finalmente, una cosa y razón por no escribir es que la semana pasada estaba resfriada. No era muy mal pero falté una clase y algun trabajo voluntario por tener la nariz congestionada, un dolor de cabeza, y mucho sueño. Fortunamente no tenía fiebre entonces sabíamos que NO ERA gripe porcina (que sí ha llegada con bastante fuerza a Chile). Entonces fui a la farmacia y compré un remedio, lo tomaba y descansaba mucho, y ¡ahora estoy completemente mejor!

'English Opens Doors,' part 2

So now that the general job description is out of the way, let me share some observations/other specifics.

- Chilean high school students are not much different than American high school students. There's a huge range of age and maturity levels (both physically and emotionally), they appear to live in their own world, and are generally concerned with the the day-to-day dealings and drama of their friends, peers, and especially the opposite sex.

- Especially in the first 2 weeks, we spent time having the students getting to know me, and to do so the teacher had a sheet with questions in English, such as 'what's your name,' 'where are you from,' 'what do you think of Chile,' 'what kinds of music/sports do you like,' etc. Being that Chile is a very relationship-oriented country and everyone seems to be joined at the hip to their long-term significant other, the top 3 questions I was always asked were:

1) Do you have a boyfriend?

2) Would you like to have a Chilean boyfriend?

3) What do you think of Chilean men?

My answers, respectively, are:

1) No
2) I'm not looking for one, but if I find one ... (insert shoulder shrug here)
3) I think they're nice and very friendly and like to dance, which is a good thing (and unlike their American counterparts).

- The linguist in me is very interested in observing what English sounds are difficult for a Spanish speaker. In general, it's vowels because Spanish only has 5, while in English, even though there's 5 letters, there's 10-15 vowel sounds. As a result, Spanish speakers have a hard time hearing and making the difference in similar vowels. Such as:

"Hungry" vs. "Angry" (complicated by the difference in pronunciation of /h/)

"Like" vs. "Live" (verb)

"Stand" vs "Instead"

The phrase "I'm an engineer"

- I noticed an interesting cultural difference last week as I was reviewing with the class basic conversation structures and they were having trouble with the difference between "Where are you from?" and "Where do you live?" Although the two have different Spanish translations and are easy to explain, I realized that for the students the answer to both questions is the same and probably always will be same - ditto for their friends and family members. Whereas in the US it's common to be from one place and live elsewhere, most Chileans live their whole lives in the same place, especially if that place is Santiago, so it's not difficult to see how two questions, even if their straight semantic meanings are different but usage virtually the same, could cause confusion. Luckily I am there to provide a clear example of the difference between the two.

- Lastly, the following is a list of some words/phrases I have taught the students, often without planning on doing so:

Jump the gun

Pull some strings

You wanna mess with me?/Don't mess with Texas

Feisty

What's up?

Catcalls

Flash drive (here they say 'Pen drive')

Doo-rag

Useful stuff, eh?

'English Opens Doors'

So a few weeks ago I started working with a volunteer program called "English Opens Doors," which is a program run by the Chilean Ministry of Education. It recruits native English speaking students studying abroad and puts them in public high school as assistant English teachers. As I've touched on in earlier posts, the public education system isn't great - the classes have 30+ students, and most of the English teachers are Chileans who have never been to an English speaking country, so while their understanding of grammar is pretty solid, their speech is heavily accented and sometimes difficult for me to understand.

For my work, I go to the school (Colegio San Luis) Tuesday afternoons for "English Club" and Wednesday mornings to be in the classroom. In both contexts, the goal is similar - speak English to and with the students and have them listen and practice speaking back to me. Additionally, for most students this is the first time they've met and had a chance to interact with someone from the US, so it's a cultural exchange too. They ask me all kinds of questions about my experience here, what I think of Chile, my life in the US, various pop culture things, etc. Additionally, I work with 2 different English teachers and answer lots of questions from them about nuances of the English language.

Suffice to say, I really love it. This is something I might want to do with my life after graduation, so I'm glad to find that it's something I enjoy. I'm getting to know the school and the students, and they already talk about how they don't want me to leave. It's tough, because it's kind of overwhelming when the students chatter in incomprehensible Spanish and there's a lot of them, but even after just 3 weeks I feel like I'm starting to make a difference.

Plane tickets purchased

Well, it's official because the plane tickets have been bought. Remember in March when I was planning my other trips? Well, Friday I bought 2 big plane tickets, so it's ON!

June 18 - 22: Buenos Aires, Argentina

July 10 - 17: Lima/Cuzco/Machu Picchu, Perú

Obviously I'm super excited, and any suggestions for either spot are definitely appreciated.

More pictures: Finally!

Part 1: Weekend in Pucon (10 hours south of Santiago): full of rain, full of fun

Rafting! (I'm the back row on the right)

Man overboard! That's my hand trying to grab her foot

But we prevailed, victorious in the end!

Ziplining through the forest (or Canopy, as they call it here)

About to explore the caves of Volcan Villarrica

Underground and inside said caves

Part II: Back in Santiago: Visit to Viña (Vineyard) Concha y Toro

Learning to appreciate and pull out the flavors of a 2005  Amelia Chardonnay

A small sampling of the full storehouse

Part III: More around Santiago:

More sweet street art from barrio (neighborhood) Yungay (pronounced yoon-GUY)

Delicious meal at Mercado Central: grilled sea bass and Chilean-style ensalada (salad) - tomato and avocado

More coming ... eventually!

Lo siento!

Yo sé que ha sido hace mucho, mucho tiempo que escribí una entrada nueva, pero estaba muy ocupada estas últimas semanas. Mi clase de dibujo me dio mucha tarea, y también empecí un trabajo voluntario donde ayudo a enseñar ingles en un colegio acá en Santiago.

Pues, hoy y manaña voy a escribir unas entradas nuevas, como:

- Fotos, especialmente de mi viaje a Pucón

- Mi experiencia enseñando inglés

- Mis adventuras en la micro (el bus)

Que estén emocionados!

What do Jesus Christ Superstar and Othello have in common?

I've seen them both in Spanish!

What, did you think that just because I'm speaking a different language I'd go 5 months without seeing some theater?

I celebrated Easter Sunday by going to see Jesu Christo Superstar with some friends and had a blast. I absolutely love that musical and its soundtrack, so I was pumped to see it in Spanish. Apparently it's kind of a tradition here to put on around Easter, and you could tell because the crowd was really into it. Personally, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, singing along (under my breath ... mostly) to all the songs in English. The lyrics were translated pretty literally, so there were often times I could sing all or part of a line in Spanish. Now I want the soundtrack in Spanish too.

The show was pretty similar to both the movie and live version I've seen in English, although there were elements distinct to Chile. For example, before the song 'Simon Zealotes,' there was a short scene of Jesus' followers taunting a guard and driving him off stage, which I've never seen before; I think it represents well the attitude that marginalized Chileans hold towards authority figures and especially embodiments of the government.

Then last Thursday I went to Othello with my host mom, host sister, and a family friend of theirs. I was nervous, because Shakespeare in English is quite the undertaking, and I've never seen or even read this work of his. However the show was really good - both in terms of technical elements and acting, and I understood nearly everything (much more than I thought I would). It definitely proved the point that acting is more than saying the lines, and that expression, posture, body language, etc. really go a long way in creating a character and relaying situations.

I don't have anything specific on the horizon right now in terms of seeing more theatre, but it will definitely happen - after all, I'm not even half way done with the semester!

Public Transport ...

Gotta love it!

But in all seriousness, yes, I do. In a city as big as Santiago, you can't get around without it. But there's a difference between knowing the one bus stop and Metro route that gets you home, and knowing various routes that will get you out and back no matter where in the city you are. I'm the latter.

Mostly it boils down to the fact that I really do enjoy riding on public transportation. Why? I'm not sure. I do like the camaraderie of it all. I like that you never quite know what could happen. It's better for the environment. Plus, it's both cleaner and cheaper than anywhere I've been in the US, so all in all, what's not to like?

Then there's the control freak in me that can't stand not knowing where I am or where I'm going. With the Metro, it's easy. But that closes at 11 pm - not useful for a night out. So before we go out somewhere new, I always check on the bus map and write down notes if need be. And obviously it's also a matter of personal safety, and like anything it gets easier with practice.

Do my friends make fun of me when I announce that we need to walk 2 blocks west to catch the 505? Yep. Do they raise an eyebrow when I talk about distance in terms of the 4900 to 3500 block? Always. But who do they ask when they don't know how to get themselves home? Who do they call when they don't know how to get to the bar in the first place? And who do they thank when we don't have to pay for a cab? Yours truly. Obvi.

Truly knowing a city implies lots of things, and knowing how to orient and direct yourself is definitely one of them. And if absolutely nothing else, it makes me feel like a real Santiaguina!

Strike!

OK, so the question I often get about being here is the extent to which I keep up with the news/know what's going on in Chile. The answer: not a whole lot. BUT I have become really interested in the current education reform (or lack thereof) here, and not only because class gets cancelled ...

A little bit of background: Chile is a country with a big discrepancy when it comes to income distribution, and the school system reflects it. Similar to big cities in the US, the public education system is poor, but wealthy families can afford to send their children to private schools. However, this is even more important when it comes to college than in the US because of two things: The PSU entrance exam and the lack of scholarships. Here, university acceptance is based solely on the PSU test, a test similar to the SAT. Also, scholarships to university are few and far between, so going to a good high school is absolutely vital, yet nearly impossible unless you're from a well-off family.

In 2006, the high school students held a strike and took over the schools, canceling classes for over a month in protest. In the end however, the changes made to the system were more superficial than substantive: they lowered the cost of transportation for students and of taking the PSU, but no real structural changes came out of if.

Jump forward to last week:

Wednesday, April 1st: Congress passes the LGE (General Education Law), which has been in the works for 2 years to reform the education system. Unfortunately, the right wing coalition - La Alianza por Chile - managed to keep in a lot of their provisions, especially Article 46, which allows university graduates without teacher training to teach in their area of expertise. As a result, the new law still isn't very different than the law it replaces, enacted by dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1990.

Thursday, April 2nd: La Universidad de Chile (aka La Chile) goes on strike. This is observed by the students of most departments, but especially at Campus Juan Gomez, where the Facultad de Humanidades is located and where my Ethnolinguistics class is held. Going on strike means the campus is open and the faculty and staff show up, but students don't attend class. They still hang out around campus a lot though.

Wednesday, April 8th: An assembly is held by university students to discuss the issue and course of action. It is led by FECH (The Federation of Students of La Chile) and CONFECH (The Federation of Chilean Students). Afterwards, around noon, over 3 thousand students and teachers took to the streets in protest.

Thursday, April 16th: A national strike is being organized. More than just La Chile, university and high school students, along with the National Labor Center, are being called on strike in order to show that they will not accept the LGE in its current state and to pressure President Michelle Bachelet into vetoing it.

In short, it's all very exciting and very unlike anything that would happen in the US, and especially at Georgetown. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Arte Moderno

Me encanta el arte moderno. Absolutemente. Siempre he sabido esto. Pero el domingo fui al Museo de Arte Contemporáneo y me di cuenta de la razón.

Algunas razones minores incluyen en hecho que arte moderno es sorprendiente, inovador, y sorprendiente. Para mi, esto es lo que constituye la creatividad, entonces para mi arte moderno es el tipo más creativo.  También se usa una gran variedad de materiales, y a menudo son materiales que no se parecen útiles para el arte, como juguetes o basura, pero sí son. Todo esto es parte de la razón que arte moderno tiene bastante poder y potencial para hacer un mensaje fuerte y crear cambio.

Pero la razón principal es simple. Me gusta el tipo de arte que siento que yo puedo hacer. Para muchos, esto es una crítica, y la razón porque no consideran arte moderno como arte. Pero para mi es el opuesto, porque cuando veo una obra que me impresiona mucho, me gusta sentirme que con los materiales y circunstancias correctas, yo podría hacer lo mismo, y por esta manera conecto mucho más con el arte.

Pictures from High Up

Photo evidence of traveling and things higher up:

La Serena:

Lighthouse on the beach

Our adorable, brightly colored hostel where I learned to play the didgeridoo

Sunset from the hostel roof

Back in Santiago:

Riding the teleférico at the top of Cerro San Cristobal

Hey there, Santiago!

We had to climb that high before we could ride - impressive, no?

Viña del Mar:

Flower clock that does actually tell time

View of Viña from sister city Valparaíso

Valaparaíso:

City built onto mountainside = lots of walking up and down

View of Valaparaíso from beach of Viña del Mar

Classes!

Because I know some of you out there doubt that I actually go to school, here's what I'm taking this semester, in order of when they occur during the week:

DANZA ARABE -> BELLY DANCING at La Universidad de Chile: Just what it sounds like. We're 3 weeks in and already my abs feel a tiny bit stronger and the moves are starting to stick in my head. Last week I bought one of those wraps (called a cadérin in Spanish) and now I need to find some music to practice to.

ETHNOLINGUÌSTICA -> ETHNOLINGUISTICS at La Universidad de Chile: Ethnolinguistics is a field that is comprised by a crossing of linguistics, ethnography and social anthropology. We talk a lot about what all those things mean and how they come together, but the subject roughly boils down to studying different cultures and aiming to understand them and draw comparasions using language as data. It's a small, upper level course (me and 4 other students), so it's my most difficult, but I do really like it.

DIBUJO I -> DRAWING I at La Universidad Católica: Also what it sounds like. We've been working on various incarnations of drawing straight lines, and finally are moving onto shapes. It's not exactly what I thought the focus would be, but I am getting a solid base in drawing. Since the Chilean school system is much more restricted here, everyone else in my class is going onto 4 years of art and so it makes sense to start with such a fundamental base.

COMUNICACIÓN ORAL Y NO VERBAL -> ORAL BUT NOT VERBAL COMMUNICATION at La Universidad Católica: I had no idea what this would be when I signed up for it, but it's basically public speaking with a streak of acting thrown in. So far we've been videotaped making impromptu speeches (not fun to watch later), presented scenes acting as famous Chileans, and learned to speak while holding one end of a cork in between our teeth. Needless to say, it's a really fun and relaxed course and since I don't mind making a fool of myself, I really enjoy it.

PAISAJE CULTURAL Y URBANO SANTIAGO -> THE CULTURAL AND URBAN HISTORY OF SANTIAGO at La Universidad de Chile: One of the few courses here offered as general electives to students of various disciplines, this class looks at the history of Santiago and its present problems from an urban planning perspective. Since it started later than my other courses, we've only met once, but it should be interesting. The one problem is that one of the professors teaching it has the voice of a Muppet, which is awfully distracting.

And just to be perfectly clear, all these courses are courses in top Chilean universities, taken with Chilean students and taught completely in Spanish. In most of my courses, I'm the only foreign exchange student. This usually makes it tougher, but not impossible, to understand what's going on, but most importantly I'm obviously learning a LOT of Spanish this way.

Next up: Viña and Valparaíso

Next weekend I'll be taking my second trip of the semester by going to the twin cities of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso. I'm looking forward to enjoying the last of the summer weather and seeing some cities of a different character. While I'm here in Chile, I'm also planning/hoping on going to the following:

-Pucón

-San Pedro de Atacama

-Mendoza, Argentina

-Buenos Aires, Argentina

-Machu Picchu, Perú

What do you think?

Te recomiendo un hostel

Discúlpenme por el largo tiempo hace mi última 'post,' pero con el principio de clases he estado muy ocupada. Pues, voy a contarles un poco sobre mi viaje a La Serena, a donde fui hace unas semanas. Es un pueblo de playa 6 horas hace al norte de Santiago, y aunque me gustaron la playa y el pueblo, lo que me gustó más fue la experiencia de quedarme en un hostel.

Fui con tres otros chicas de mi programa, las tres de partes diferentes de los EE.UU. Nunce me he quedado en un hostel, pero son muy populares (pero NO peligrosos) en América Latina. Son de varios tamaños, pero parecen como casas grandes con unas piezas, algunas con una o dos camas, como un hotel, y unos con varias camas, como un dormitorio de una universidad, y todos se comparten unos baños. 

Nuestro hostel, que se llamaba Aji Verde, fue lleno de color, y la gente que trabajaba allá era amable y ayudante. Pero la mejor parte era la otra gente quedándose allá también. Había un estudiante de Inglaterra, un hombre de Colorado, un scientista de Israel, y unos estudiantes de Suiza. Durante las noches que estuvieron en el hostel, todo el grupo pasó tiempo conjunto, cocinando, hablando de todo tipo de cosas, y escuchando y aprendiendo de nuestras experiencias comunas.

Es un tipo de situación muy único que no se puede encontrar en lugares como un hotel. Me divertí mucho, y fue muy barato. Si vas a viajar, te recomiendo que te quedes en un hostel también!

If I'd Known What It Was ...

... I probably wouldn't have ordered it.

Surprisingly, food can be one of the hardest things to communicate in Spanish. If you don't already have the vocab, a lot of things are hard to describe. There's been a few times I've been out with friends and when we don't recognize things on the menu and it's too difficult to ask the waiter to explain everything, it's easier just to order.

Case 1: Completos and Italianos were the cheapest things on the menu when we (3 friends and myself) were out at a cafe the other night. Since we all wanted to eat something cheap and didn't recognize most things on the menu (Chileans eat a LOT of different meat dishes) we asked for one of each. The waiter looked confused and asked if we wanted 2 and 2, but we firmly replied 1 and 1 (as if we knew what we were talking about). The result: one hot dog with tomato and sauerkraut (completo), and one with tomato, mayo, and avocado (italiano). And they turned out to be delicious.

Case 2: Churrasco was on the menu, including an option for churrasco italiano. Having learned that the italiano combo of tomato/mayo/avocado was amazing, we went for the churrasco version as well. What arrived was a hamburger-like sandwich, with the burger patty replaced by a thin strip of steak. The meat quality may not have been the highest (by Chilean standards anyway), but fresh bread and the italiano toppings made the sandwich.

Case 3: A terremoto (lit. 'earthquake') is a traditional drink at a well-known Chilean bar. As a welcoming activity, our cultural ambassadors took a group of nearly 50 of us to La Piojera, explained that this was the drink to try, and that one is more the sufficient (esp. for a gringo!) It wasn't long before the room was full of deranged ice cream floats: a mixture of beer and specially fermented wine, topped off with pineapple ice cream. The first sips are indeed as gross as they sound, but if you mix it up and push through, it tastes pretty good by the time you reach the bottom.

Suffice to say, the best way to learn about food is to just eat it. I have yet to try anything here that I didn't like!

Pictures

Sorry for the delay! Here's a sampling:

Santiago Sculpture Garden

Los carabineros (police) at the changing of the guard ceremony - every other day at 10 am

One of many beautiful murals in the city, this one outside Pablo Neruda's house

Me outside Palacio de La Moneda, former mint and now seat of the President

The view outside my window - an apartment building 10 floors up

My fav (Chilean) Spanish Words

In alphabetical order:

1. chirimoya (cheer-ee-moi-a): super fun to say. is a Andean fruit that isn't actually available this time of year. makes an excellent "trago" (cocktail) that tastes like a piña colada.

2. cosista (co-see-sta): packrat. aka me. our guide at Pablo Neruda's house describe his as one. as opposed to a 'coleccionista.' PS: his house, La Chascona, is awesome.

3. gringo/gringa (green-go): NOT offensive. describes North Americans. Mi mamá chilena refers to her past exchange students as "las otras gringas" (otro/a = other). 

4. guagua (wah-wah): also fun to say. refers to a baby. specifically an infant (I'm pretty sure ...)

5. paracaidista (pah-ra-cai-dee-sta): maybe my fav. literally means parachutist. actually used to mean party-crasher. like someone who drops in uninvited - get it?

First Impressions

I made it! After 24 hours of traveling, two delayed flights, and one itinerary change, I finally made it to Santiago nearly a week ago. It's been a whirlwind of days, and it feels like I've been here forever even though it's been barely 6 days. Everything, from the weather to my fellow students to the city to my host family, has been amazing. A few fun facts/updates:

- For the first time in my life, I don't feel short. I actually feel ... tall? Weird. I'm def taller than most/all of the Chilean women, and a good number of the men as well.

- The Spanish is tough. The Chilean dialect is notoriously difficult for its slang and the tendency to drop consonants [más o menos -> má o meno; ¿cómo estás? -> ¿como e'ta?], as well as quick speed. If someone speaks slowly/clearly - like a professor, or my host mom when she wants to tell me something important, my understanding is good. If I overhear a conversation between two natives ... yeah ... hopefully that will improve.

- The food is delicious. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables - I get to eat avocado in various forms almost everyday. Saturday my family and I went to "la feria," which is the market. Produce isn't really sold in stores, so we bought all that stuff- tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, etc. - even cilantro there. It def makes a difference in the cooking that all the ingredients are so fresh.

- Santiago is nice mixture of modern and classic city. As to the former: Santiago has the cleanest, most spacious subway system I've ever been on - there's even TV screens in the cars (they show basic stuff like the weather, but still!), and this is coming from someone who's graced the turnstiles of Chicago, DC, Boston, and New York. As to the latter: the city centers around classical buildings from centuries ago, and colonial architecture abounds.

That's not nearly everything, but a pretty good sample I think. They've been keeping us pretty busy (not to mention the amount we keep ourselves busy exploring the nightlife), but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Look forward to more updates soon, and hopefully I'll get some pictures up too!

Hey everyone, and welcome to my blog!

In one week I'll be getting on a plane and flying south to Santiago, Chile. I'll be spending the next five months there (maybe more!) studying abroad and doing my best to live as a Chilean student, which includes living with a family, taking a full load of classes, hanging out with friends, and traveling in and around the country. Of course there will be a lot of adjusting to do, but I'm looking forward to new and unforgettable people and experiences. 

I'll be doing my best to update this blog on a regular basis with pictures and stories of my various adventures ("adventure" being a loose term) and other encounters; hopefully you all will enjoy reading it as much as I'll enjoy sharing with you. There will be entries in both English and Spanish, the latter of which should improve as the semester goes on ...

This will be my first time studying abroad, and my first time in both Chile and South America, and I'm always looking for guidance. So if you've got ideas or suggestions or just something you're curious about, let me know - the last thing I want to do is leave anything out!