To the West

So this weekend, I went on a trip organized by CAUC, a club in La Catolica oriented to foreigners. We were at Valparaíso on Saturday and Viña del Mar on Sunday. Overall, it was beautiful, and thus I wanted to share some snapshots.

Valparaíso

La Sebastiana, Pablo Neruda's House in Valpo

Viña del Mar

        

Things I love about Chile

There are days when I go through my daily routine: wake up, eat breakfast, go on the metro, go to class, eat again, work, metro, eat and sleep...and repeat, without feeling entirely present. I am in a Spanish speaking country, but some days my thoughts and my complete interior are in English.

At times though, something breaks my Spanish functioning exterior into my English functioning interior and reminds me that I am not in Pennsylvania anymore.

I am in South America. I am in Chile. I am in Santiago. These are facts. These are affirmations, but sometimes it takes seeing these realities to believe them.

Some of my "Wow I'm here and I love it" things

1. The street dogs.

This is a hot topic, because there are stray dogs amuck in Santiago. They aren't neutered. Sometimes, they breed near/in front of you which can be annoying, and sometimes they form packs which can be disturbing. They also aren't very clean. But they are so nice! They don't bark (except, oddly, at the wheels of taxis), they are relatively healthy and disease free, and sometimes they let you pet them (I use my shoe).

As a person who has not had a dog as a pet, I regard street dogs as collective pets. They are outdoor dogs that everyone can share. It's like having a pet without the responsibility of training them.

I had the experience of seeing the most adorable puppy on the San Joaquin campus of La Catolica. I pet it because it was so adorable. However, because I felt that it was dirty, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. The puppy, however, did not know I was leaving it, and followed me into the bathroom. And because it could fit through opening in the bottom of the stalls, it surprised a few girls who were using the toilets...

I also love the positions the dogs take when they bask in the sun to rest. 2 common positions are...

A) The dead dog pose

B) The "my head is too heavy for me" pose

2. The street stands

I live in Santiago Centro which means I live among the ruckus. While some people may think that it is too shady and too loud (it's not that shady and not that loud, I live in Philly man!), I love living here because it is really convenient. All the buses pass through here, and when the Metro closes at 11pm, I am lucky to have many micros I can board.

The centro is also full of people and full of stands with food for when you are hungry! Since I can be a girl driven by her stomach at times, I love having so much street food here. I love the nut stands; I love the newspaper stands full of treats; I love the sopaipilla/empanda stands full of fresh delicious fried bread. It is a rush of joy when I step off the metro to the quietly darkening sky, and to Santiago full of lights and people, to the aroma of honey and salt from the nut stands, and am able to eat a freshly made sopaipilla covered in mouth-pricking pebre.

3. The cheek kisses

Some Americans have told me that when someone is introduced to them and that person pops the 'personal bubble' to give exchange a cheek kiss that they feel a little uncomfortable. They think, "Woah there". I think Chileans tend to understand that reserved American sentiment and thus find it odd when they see me so willing to accept the cheek kiss.

I am unique because I've had training in random cheek kisses. While meeting new Filipino friends of my Filipino friends in the U.S, I tend to fool those people into thinking I am Filipina as well. Therefore, they lean in and kiss me too. At first, I was startled, but it has happened so often in the U.S. that by this point, I am happy just knowing that everyone is going to greet me with a kiss instead of being surprised by a sporadic smooch.

In general, I adore being able to receive kisses. I feel so loved and appreciated when someone acknowledges my presence by kissing me on the cheek. When you enter a small party, you kiss everyone on the cheek whether you know them or not. My host mother kisses me goodbye every day. I think it is so sweet and fabulous that I want to keep it for the States.

4. People who call you "Linda"

Who can resist the tingle of happiness when someone calls you "pretty"? I certainly can't. Being in South America tends to inflate your ego. I feel 5x more gorgeous here than in the States. They also call you, "Mi amor" and things that end in the diminuitive "--ita". I received some "Chinita"s which means "little chinese girl" which I've come to embrace since this address usually comes from affection.

5. The Andes


Sometimes, I forget these mountains are here, and then when I look up from my walk or through the window of the metro, I see them and it is a revelation.

Skiing in the Andes

So this Saturday, I had the luck of wheedling my way into a group of people headed to El Colorado to ski. I owe this all to my lovely German friend Henri, and while I was happy at the prospect of being with new people, I dragged my Penn friend Lauren along so that I would not be the only American. Our group was super fun, it was about half German, with a few other nationalities (Irish, American, Dutch...).

The mountains are quite close to Santiago; our group went by minibus, and it took around an hour and a half to reach the ski center. The ski town's houses and cabins looked like little popups in the giant page of the mountain; the residences were clustered in bunches and stacked one after the other on the side of the road like wooden elf houses. This Saturday was one of the very last weekends of the ski season. Thus, the snow wasn't as ample nor as fluffy as it would be in the peak season; the silver lining is that because the conditions aren't as nice, there were not many people on the slopes. I am always afraid of someone running into me or me running into someone else, so I was happy with the decreased skier population.

The Andes are beautiful. Describing them does not do them justice: they are brown domes of earth with shrubby plants and cacti growing at the bottom and with bare ground and snow on top. Their characteristics make them excellent (at least for me) to ski because there are no trees to avoid.

I skied pretty much the whole day. Because I am a beginner, I stuck to the easy runs, but I adore skiing. It is the most exhilarating yet relaxing activity.

As much fun as I had, I can not rid myself of the most salient memory of the day. Thus, I have decided to share it:

It is close to one in the afternoon. I am resting on bright, white snow. It glistens under the sunshine, and the rays kiss my face with light. Unfortunately, the beams also cause me to swelter underneath my gloves, my black ski jacket and my black snow pants. While holding onto the ski poles, I shift my weight to plant my legs firmly on the side of the mountain. After I am stable, I peer up to about 10 ft. on the slope above me at the heap that used to be Lauren. She is down on the snow. It is her first run on the slope.

Her signature strawberry hat is askew; she is huffing a little, and she moves like an angry kitten who just can't open its eyes. In Lauren's case, she is irritated because she has fallen and can not get up. I think she may be saying something about asthma, but I don't hear her well. Even if I did, I would not know whether I should trust that fact or not. This is, after all, coming from the girl who at the top of the hill suggested that she take two Xanax before going down.

Beyond Lauren stands sympathetic figure of Paulina. Paulina is Dutch, and it is her first day of skiing as well; it is however, not her first run. All around us are the Andes, its different peaks blending in chains of blue, purple and brown. To even say "I went skiing in the Andes" gives a person a little street/world traveler credit. I note to myself to save that line for when Lauren falls down again. I sigh a bit as I remember that we are on the Spanish equivalent of a bunny hill.

"Just think! After this you can stay in the restaurant and have a MARGARITA!" I yell. "Now just GET UP!"

"I can't," Lauren says, "I have to take off my ski."

I feel a tide of impatience. If only she could get up with her skis, that would save us so much time...How wonderful that would be.

Lauren fumbles over her boots, her skis, her poles and her clothes. Skiing requires such awful and annoying equipment for one to fumble upon. Finally, she is up.

Okay. The sky is a bright blue, blue, blue and the snow is white, white, white. There is not a cloud in the sky. I take a breath and think: At least Lauren did not fall into the fence.

Paulina, on the other hand, was not so lucky. After the beginner ski lesson (which I took to refresh my memory), all the beginners skied together (not Lauren because she had given up for that moment). During the first run with the ski instructor, Paulina had zoomed past us other students. We had all thought that her zipping down the slope was just her being too impatient to wait. Later, Paulina told us her unfortunate story of not knowing how to stop, about her collision with the fence at the end of the run, and about her sad self, entangled in the netting that was supposed to stop her, 20 ft from the end of the run. Apparently, the ski instructor had to find her and then fish her out. I feel sorry for all the ski instructors who teach beginners; Paulina ran into a fence on her first run; I ran into a kid, and Lauren...

Lauren is on the mountain, and we are skiing again. I lead, then Lauren goes, and then Paulina. I love the wind in my hair and the swoosh of the skis on snow. I stop about 50 ft from where we were, praying that Lauren follows me. I feel bad dragging her onto the Andes. I never knew how difficult it was to learn to ski. I wish she would gain her rhythm and begin to enjoy it. However, as I turn back to find her, she is on the snow again. I fish for the motivational yell, "Just think, once you finish this run, you can say how you SKIED in the Andes! Get up!"

Lauren is tired. Paulina flanks her and encourages her as well, but Lauren fails to get up. This is perhaps her 6th time kissing snow. She takes off one ski. And then she takes off the other. We can see the end of the run, but it is over. I ski down to the bottom. Paulina follows. We watch and wait as Lauren slowly walks her way down the hill.

As soon as she arrives, we all go to the ski pulley. I go by myself up the hill. The snow is white and glistening. The sky is blue. The only sound is of my skis slushing through the snow. How can there be any place more lovely than this?

When we all get off the ski pulley, Lauren staggers towards the restaurant. She looks darkly around her catching her breath and missing all the beauty. Gasping out a shaky mutter, she manages to say "Never again".

Well, at least she manages to look under control in the photos.

One Month

So I have been in Chile for one month, and I can not think of a single thing to say fully and to discuss.

Thus, I have decided to list a brief recollection of what I learned in Chile

Week one: I tried to keep a little notebook to take with me to write down new Spanish words. In the first 2 weeks, I wrote down lots of words. Now however, the notebook is simply filled with people I Facebook friend who I don't really know very well. The words I wrote in the first two days were: sopapilla (a type of bread), maraqueta (a type of bread), hallula (another type of bread), tortolo (mourning dove) y livano (light).

I had 3 types of bread written down because Chileans love bread. They eat bread with every meal.

To demonstrate how much bread I eat, a typical day of meals for me is this:

Breakfast -- toasted maraqueta with palta (avocado), cheese, membrillo (this sweet jelly block made from quince) or butter, a kiwi, a banana with honey and tea

Lunch -- more toasted maraqueta or hallula, tea, and a main dish like soup or meat and carbs with some side veggies

Dinner -- Usually Chileans do not eat a proper, big dinner. They eat an "once" which is like nighttime breakfast usually consisting of tea with sweets. They will also eat a light dinner-- a little bit of meat, wine and bread. But I am super lucky and my host mom feeds me dinner dinner. So I usually have toasted maraqueta, a main dish and then tea with a sweet.

It's a really good thing I love maraqueta otherwise I would not want to eat more bread.

Tortola was for the birds that like to nest outside my window.

Liviano was to describe how not light my sheets were.

Week 2: I learned a few names of drinks-- pisco, pisco sour, piscola, terremoto, chicha... I also learned that Chilean drinks are strong, and there is both a Viking themed bar and a Viking themed restaurant within a 5 block radius of where I live.

Week 3: Because it was so cold when I arrived in Chile, I kept thinking that Christmas was around the corner. I've been conditioned by my Northern Hemisphere. However there is no Christmas, and Día del Niño is the closest thing in August. Though it is only for children, I still get to eat cake which makes me happy.

Also, I began to understand that Olga speaks very slowly. Once I started proper classes with Chileans, I realized that I could not understand anyone besides the gringos and the professor.

Another fact I was sad to know was that mourning doves abandon their eggs when they see someone (me) looking at them.

Week 4: I watched the movie Machuca with CIEE which only reinforced how different and distinct the class boundaries are in Chile. Later, I learned that drinking 2 terremotos in one night is not something I can handle. And that I should not ask for more pineapple ice cream in my drink no matter how delicious it is.

Somewhere within the mix of time, I've realized that I am very robotic in Spanish. I can't salsa; I can't talk, and I can't rely on witty comebacks for friends. I hope that there will be a point where I will soon bounce back and find some other way to make friends...

It is so hard to believe I am a fifth of the way through my semester abroad. I feel like I haven't done anything at all and have such little time to complete everything.

Update

So I just finished my first week of classes and now marks the beginning of my weekend. It's Friday! Yay! And although I have planned to write and describe everything that has been happening, I have realized that once again as with every school year that I am behind in work. So I will list a few updates and then write more later after I have finished writing one or two Spanish essays for CIEE.

Important

1. There's actually a two week shopping period for classes, not a one week period, much to my relief.

2. My tortola has two eggs in her nest, not one, much to my surprise.

3. Did you know that in Chile there is no death penalty? And in fact, there was no death penalty during Pinochet either even though he killed thousands of people anyways.

I can’t sleep. Today is the first day of classes in Santiago, and I am really anxious. I have previously shared my love of planning as far as I can for everything. However, the Santiago university system is refusing to cooperate.

I intend to take classes in two universities here—La Universidad de Chile and La Pontifica Catolica. I know that the Latin American class selection is a little warped.  Many students have commented on it. I just did not realize how strange it would be until I had to do it.

To "ease" foreign students in, both universities had an orientation.

The La Chile orientation was kind of a joke. The orientation invited all the department heads to come in and wax poetic on how great each department was. It didn’t consider that most students only truly cared about one department each and would not like to sit through two hours worth of excess departmental advertising. It also did not help that the truly important part of the orientation, the preinscription of classes, was at the end of the presentation, but that the entire orientation was held before any students had received a username or password. What also was confusing was that a booklet full of classes was handed out, but not with the complete set of classes available in the semester.

Fine, I thought as I woke up from the nap I took during the orientation, I’ll figure out my classes when I get my username and password and look online. When I looked online, things seemed hopeful. I got a full list of classes available from a department. And I could easily select a course to preinscribe to. Unfortunately, though I could select a class, I would have a hard time knowing where or even when a class is because most of the classes listed have “to be determined” for the location and for the time. And that would be fine, if not for the fact that some classes only meet once a week, which would still be fine, if not for the fact that there is only a one week “shopping period” for classes. Also, I have never visited that campus where most of my classes seem to be held. Trying to find classes with less to no information provided just made me frustrated.

As for La Catolica, the orientation was fantastic. Much better than La Chile, this orientation handed out a full set of available classes with the names of teachers, times and locations to us students right away. There was a time where a student from each department would sit around the room, and the exchange students could go up to them (separately and privately during that time) to ask about how the classes were and how the teachers were. It would be great to take only classes in La Catolica if not for the fact that to register for them, you have to file a paper request in every department (that may or may not be on different campuses) and there is no online system to fall back upon.

So there is my experience with class selection so far, I'm kind of missing the painless U.S. system, but I will try to be "tranquila" and go with the flow.