Hello today,
Not much has happened this week, but since I haven't been updating too often, here is a treat! I have been swamped with work. I failed my test on Monday, I'm pretty sure, but I won't find out for sure until next week. I also started my volunteer work this week! It's only been one time, but I love it already. I teach an English workshop on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at a school next to one of La Catolica's campuses. My students are all boys ages 14-16. They are lots of fun, and super dorky. One of them was all up in my grill because his grandmother is from England so he knows English and is good at it. hahaha. his only interest is music. all my other students like computers, soccer (futbol), and science. perfect. They were all really interested though, in hearing about Thanksgiving and other American holidays. I think it will be a lot of fun. Some of them refuse to speak and are really shy and embarrassed about their English. The point of the workshop is for them to practice their conversational skills. It's nice to be the one who isn't fumbling for words, even if its only twice a week for 45 minutes.
In other news, I managed to lose my little Chilean phone that Lindsay so kindly gave me before I left. So much for saving money, because I needed to buy one after all. I got a really cute blue one for 20 dollars and it included minutes, yay! It was cheap, and not ghetto like the other one (no offense Lindsay) or the one Martin was originally going to give me. I just have to go through the process of getting everyone else's numbers again and handing out my new one. Some how, on my way to the school where i teach, I managed to drop my phone on the micro and not notice until later when i looked for it in my bag and it wasn't there. I'm sure it wasn't robbed, because 1, who would want it, and 2, i had my wallet still. Oh well, it called for an outing with Mama which was really fun. We bought my phone, then went into her favorite store. Then, to shake this cold I have she took me to this little juice bar where they make fresh juice and explain the medical benefits of each fruit. I had orange/mango and she had orange/carrot which sounds nasty but was surprisingly delish.
I had another test Thurs morning that should have been easy but I didn't study the class notes so it was a little tough. Instead I did the reading, which was what I was supposed to do for my other class. I guess I'm still learning the system. On Monday I have a test in my dance class. Although the practical part (where we dance) was moved to another week cuz of my damn group. I woke up this morning to meet my group at 10 and was stood up. as i was leaving they all show and was like sorryyyy we went to eat. then we stood around and there were no empty rooms, so they emailed the prof saying we needed more time. I was so mad, and they kind of got a kick out of it which made me madder. A couple of them are nice, and were nicer about it but I am supposed to grade my group members, so I might just have a field day with that. In case you are wondering, I waited 45 minutes for them.
Last night I wrote a paper for a class that doesn't exist. One of the orientation profs assigned a 6-12 page partner paper on indigenous tribes. It took me forever to do my half, but its done now :) We have another one this week but its only 500-700 words which I believe to be a little more reasonable. For my Psych of Learning class we have a group project for this week. There is one girl who is always really nice to me and let me join her group. we are researching language communication in deaf students. something to that effect. she broke the assignment down for me so i knew exactly what to do and exactly what topics i was in charge of. my goal is to become better friends with her. then ill actually have a chilean friend, yay!
In a few minutes I am going with Martin and CIEE to see the tall ships that are in Valparaiso this week. I saw them all lit up on my way home from class yesterday, and it was so pretty. I think we can go on them this afternoon, so that should be fun. There's tons of sailors and marines in Valpo this weekend. Tomorrow I think I am hiking La Campana with CIEE, which is a mountain nearby. Meanwhile Martin is hustling me along.
Besitos,
Caroline
Friday, April 16, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Pucón
Hello trusty followers,
This past weekend CIEE took us to Pucon, which is in the IX Region. Generally it takes about 9 hours by bus, but seeing as the earthquake did a little bit of damage, it took 12. So, last Thursday night we boarded the bus, and got there Friday morning. Martin came with us, which was actually really fun. So here's the low down on my weekend:
We got there around 9am on Friday and went to our super nice cabins. I was in a cabin with a really chill bunch of girls, so that was good. They gave us breakfast then we were on our way already, we wasted literally no time. We went to a Mapuche village for the whole day. The Mapuches are an indigenous group here in Chile, the most populated and well known group. We divided up into two groups, and I got to go into the museum first. I took lots of pictures! I found their language to be one of the most interesting parts of the tour. The Mapuches believe in the holiness of land and the earth, so their views on things are also super interesting. Their art and instruments are beautiful, pictures to come. The tour ended in a room with a huge stove where they were cooking "sopaipillas". Pretty much, its fried bread. It was soo good. and the other group didn't get any, hehe. They also explained how you have to throw the first bite of a special bean they have to the ground first, in thanks for the food it provides. Then we got to go to the little souvenir shops. I bought a lil sumthin sumthin, but I haven't decided who its for, so I won't say what it is! After that we went for a traditional Mapuche lunch. They gave us mashed potatoes and lots of fresh vegetables. Not bad, but I missed Mama's cooking, actually. Then we went to play Palin (not like Sarah, theres an accent on the i), which is a Mapuche game like field hockey. I did not participate, obviously. When we finally got home, my cabin made dinner then went to bed early because most of us had signed up to climb a volcano Saturday.
So its Saturday at 7am and the guide told us it was a shitty day to climb the volcano. However he had assured us it was going to be a gorgeous day, so when he said that about Sunday we didn't believe him. It rained for a lot of Saturday which sucked, but I signed up to do canopy. We were all pretty upset about not being able to climb, we had heard its amazing. The sun came out so we went into the center of town to kinda explore and shmy around. It was cute and fun. Then it was time to canopy. I was so brave!!!!!!!! The first time I went with the guide because I was terrified of the height and, you know, flying over a river. Then it was really fun. Until i pulled the cable too early and was dangling over the river on one of the runs. Then, around the second to last run i got the hang of it hahaha. My friend took a video, so hopefully that will get on facebook soon for you all to marvel at. So that was Saturday. Sunday we went hiking and to hot springs!!!! The hike was gorgeous, I have tons of pictures of waterfalls. The hot springs were so cool! I have never been to any before, so it boggled my mind how these little pools were like natural jacuzzis. We we there for at least 2.5 hours and it was super relaxing. When we returned to the cabins i was forced to play a game of soccer. Big weekend for me, eh??? Then we ate dinner and boarded the bus for the journey home. We made it back at around 830 monday morning. Perfect because I had class at 1145 then a test at 520, ha!!
I failed the test, fyi.
Today, I had practice with my group for my folklore dance class cuz we have a test monday. I am dancing Diablada. Its me and 5 chilean phys ed majors, all guys. Its interesting, but they have been really nice so far. Then I went to CIEE class which was dumb. The Gloria took me to the school where I'll be volunteering. I am assisting an English workshop for 15 and 16 yr olds on Tues and Weds. I think its going to be really fun!!! On the way to the school i dropped my phone on the micro, way to go me. So i need to go buy another, terrific. i should be reading for the test I have thursday, or researching for the paper due friday :). On that note, please keep on sending me things. oh wait, no one does except mommy. So facebook me things about life and exciting news!!!!! miss everyone!
love,
line
This past weekend CIEE took us to Pucon, which is in the IX Region. Generally it takes about 9 hours by bus, but seeing as the earthquake did a little bit of damage, it took 12. So, last Thursday night we boarded the bus, and got there Friday morning. Martin came with us, which was actually really fun. So here's the low down on my weekend:
We got there around 9am on Friday and went to our super nice cabins. I was in a cabin with a really chill bunch of girls, so that was good. They gave us breakfast then we were on our way already, we wasted literally no time. We went to a Mapuche village for the whole day. The Mapuches are an indigenous group here in Chile, the most populated and well known group. We divided up into two groups, and I got to go into the museum first. I took lots of pictures! I found their language to be one of the most interesting parts of the tour. The Mapuches believe in the holiness of land and the earth, so their views on things are also super interesting. Their art and instruments are beautiful, pictures to come. The tour ended in a room with a huge stove where they were cooking "sopaipillas". Pretty much, its fried bread. It was soo good. and the other group didn't get any, hehe. They also explained how you have to throw the first bite of a special bean they have to the ground first, in thanks for the food it provides. Then we got to go to the little souvenir shops. I bought a lil sumthin sumthin, but I haven't decided who its for, so I won't say what it is! After that we went for a traditional Mapuche lunch. They gave us mashed potatoes and lots of fresh vegetables. Not bad, but I missed Mama's cooking, actually. Then we went to play Palin (not like Sarah, theres an accent on the i), which is a Mapuche game like field hockey. I did not participate, obviously. When we finally got home, my cabin made dinner then went to bed early because most of us had signed up to climb a volcano Saturday.
So its Saturday at 7am and the guide told us it was a shitty day to climb the volcano. However he had assured us it was going to be a gorgeous day, so when he said that about Sunday we didn't believe him. It rained for a lot of Saturday which sucked, but I signed up to do canopy. We were all pretty upset about not being able to climb, we had heard its amazing. The sun came out so we went into the center of town to kinda explore and shmy around. It was cute and fun. Then it was time to canopy. I was so brave!!!!!!!! The first time I went with the guide because I was terrified of the height and, you know, flying over a river. Then it was really fun. Until i pulled the cable too early and was dangling over the river on one of the runs. Then, around the second to last run i got the hang of it hahaha. My friend took a video, so hopefully that will get on facebook soon for you all to marvel at. So that was Saturday. Sunday we went hiking and to hot springs!!!! The hike was gorgeous, I have tons of pictures of waterfalls. The hot springs were so cool! I have never been to any before, so it boggled my mind how these little pools were like natural jacuzzis. We we there for at least 2.5 hours and it was super relaxing. When we returned to the cabins i was forced to play a game of soccer. Big weekend for me, eh??? Then we ate dinner and boarded the bus for the journey home. We made it back at around 830 monday morning. Perfect because I had class at 1145 then a test at 520, ha!!
I failed the test, fyi.
Today, I had practice with my group for my folklore dance class cuz we have a test monday. I am dancing Diablada. Its me and 5 chilean phys ed majors, all guys. Its interesting, but they have been really nice so far. Then I went to CIEE class which was dumb. The Gloria took me to the school where I'll be volunteering. I am assisting an English workshop for 15 and 16 yr olds on Tues and Weds. I think its going to be really fun!!! On the way to the school i dropped my phone on the micro, way to go me. So i need to go buy another, terrific. i should be reading for the test I have thursday, or researching for the paper due friday :). On that note, please keep on sending me things. oh wait, no one does except mommy. So facebook me things about life and exciting news!!!!! miss everyone!
love,
line
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
La Serena!!!
Hi everyone,
I hear its nice and warm, and a little soggy back home. Its starting to get chile here (get it?!). Boy, I'm just a riot. I'm sitting on my bed with my guatero which is just a big bag of boiling water. Central heating is a concept this country doesn't seem to want to understand so we have guateros. When it gets really cold then there are estufas, which sounds like a space heater stove thing. So when we last left off I was getting ready to go to La Serena. I will now fill you in!
Last Wednesday at 11:15 I boarded the bus with my bag of Passover food. We sat on the second floor of the bus which i thought was cool in itself. Busses here are super comfy. We traveled on a semi-cama (semi-bed) bus, so we had recliners and pillows and blankets. Airlines should learn from Chilean bus companies. I slept a decent amount. It took between 7-8 hours unfortunately. We got there and walked to our hostel. We rented, like, an apartment pretty much for about 40 dollars. We slept till about 11 then decided to go grocery shopping. No sense in eating out when we had a stocked kitchen. After that we made lunch and then hit up the beach. We definitely didn't make it to the right beach but it was beautiful and fun. I collected some shells. Then we walked back home and cooked a yummy dinner of stir fry. We were pretty tired so didn't go anywhere. Then, on Friday, Chris decided to sleep the whole day while the girls decided to explore the city of La Serena. It's pretty tiny so we just walked around and explored. It was a beautiful day. I also rocked my fannypack, pictures soon to follow. There were lots of ferias artesanales (like, marketplaces of local art). I bought some things for people :). We took lots of pictures and just enjoyed the weather. It is a gorgeous town with pretty architecture. I found out that there are 29 churches there. We also went to a restaurant for lunch thats in all the guide books for its seafood. I ate fried fish while the girls all got like, shellfish soup. I tasted theirs and it was delish, but I don't regret my decision haha. Then they got shellfish empanadas, which I also tried. Very good, but I would never eat my own obviously. We also made reservations for tours of Valle del Elqui and the observatory, ridiculously cheap ones too! That night we made steak and choripan. I was in charge of grilling the steak hahah!!!! We went to bed early to prepare for our long Saturday of tours.
Saturday was amazing. Our tour left at 830 to go to Valle del Elqui. Valle del Elqui is just a region up north where there's a lot of cool stuff, which I will tell you about. We stopped first to see papayas growing; this region is known for their fruit, mainly grapes and papayas. As we drove the weather got to be gorgeous! We stopped at the side of the road to buy grapes. We got 4 kilos for 1mil!!!!!!!! Translation: 8 lbs for 2 bucks. Valle del Elqui is where pisco is made, and some wines. Pisco is distilled grapes. They are so sweet, we divided them up and I still have some left. We stopped at a big dam to look around, I got some great pictures. Then we continued up to Gabriela Mistral's school and bedroom, which is now a museum. Gabriela Mistral is from Vicuna (part of Valle del Elqui). She is a writer, and the first Latin-American to win the Nobel Prize which she did in 1945. Practically every road in Valle del Elqui is called G. Mistral! The museum was cute. Then we rolled onto a pico distillery. We went to the oldest one in the area, opened in 1860. We learned how pisco is made, and we saw some old machinery. They gave us some to taste, which I happily passed along to Chris. It was fun, and very hot. But the climate is mediterranean, meaning its very toasty but no humidity! Then we drove to the centre of the town to poke around and chill. There was a feria there too. They're all over the place here! Then we finally went for lunch. We went to a restaurant started by two women that decided they wanted to cook with solar energy. All of the ovens are outside. It takes about 4 hours for everything to cook. It was absolutely delicious though, I had salmon. I took pictures of things cooking :). I also kept the label of my homemade juice. Then, our trusty tour guide dropped us off at the tour office for the observatory. We had about three hours to kill. There was another couple from our hostel so we hung out with them too. We walked around the feria in their plaza, where I bought a fun souvenir. We had gelato then completos for dinner. So healthy! Completos are hot dogs with tomatoes and avocado. Soooo good! After chilling and waiting it was finally time to go to the observatory. We had a moody, crazy driver but we made it there in one piece. It was a perfect night to look at the stars cuz there was a small moon. The light from the moon makes it hard to see the stars. But since there is a hole in the ozone, Chile has some of the clearest skies. You can see the Milky Way and the Magellin clouds with the naked eye. I took a picture of Saturn through the telescope! The guide also pointed out and explained the Southern Cross, which is like the North Star for this side of the world. You can see Orion here, but not the Big Dipper, cool eh? He also pointed out the astrological constellations and some Aztec constellations. Then we looked through the telescope to see that a star that we see is actually a whole lot of stars!!!!! It was so pretty, and it made me feel very small. When we got home we all fell asleep right away! Sunday was kinda shitty weather, so we hung around the hostel and made a big lunch. Some of the group went out, but I stayed in cuz I was having an upset stomach. Its just as well that I didn't go, cuz they ended up at a sketchy area and never got to a club! Then on Monday we cleaned the place, paid the guy, and went on our merry little ways. We spent the whole day on the bus, and I was thrilled to be home. Not that I didn't have fun, but I missed my home-cooking and seeing mama. I guess I got used to the idea that Vina del Mar is home. And strangely enough, that night, my stomach was fine after mama's cooking.
This week is Semana Novata, which is like initiation week for the freshmen. There are only morning classes. Yesterday I had my CIEE class. Then I went out for a little while. Today I went to get my Chile ID (yay!) then realized I have tons of work for a test on Monday, yikes. Tomorrow night at 8 CIEE is taking us to Pucon, which is south. We get back Monday at 8am. I think I am going to climb a volcano! There are other options but that one sounds coolest. Sounds like a jam packed (and expensive) weekend. Tonight I need to read and study. Monday I have class then my test. In two weeks I am getting some visitors, i am very excited! I'm about ready for some familiar faces.
In other news, I went to Dunkin Donuts. They don't sell coffee. Bummer. I also helped mama make dinner. How do you make guacamole?! I'll teach you! Pictures coming shortly of everything, I swear!!!
Miss yous,
Carolina
I hear its nice and warm, and a little soggy back home. Its starting to get chile here (get it?!). Boy, I'm just a riot. I'm sitting on my bed with my guatero which is just a big bag of boiling water. Central heating is a concept this country doesn't seem to want to understand so we have guateros. When it gets really cold then there are estufas, which sounds like a space heater stove thing. So when we last left off I was getting ready to go to La Serena. I will now fill you in!
Last Wednesday at 11:15 I boarded the bus with my bag of Passover food. We sat on the second floor of the bus which i thought was cool in itself. Busses here are super comfy. We traveled on a semi-cama (semi-bed) bus, so we had recliners and pillows and blankets. Airlines should learn from Chilean bus companies. I slept a decent amount. It took between 7-8 hours unfortunately. We got there and walked to our hostel. We rented, like, an apartment pretty much for about 40 dollars. We slept till about 11 then decided to go grocery shopping. No sense in eating out when we had a stocked kitchen. After that we made lunch and then hit up the beach. We definitely didn't make it to the right beach but it was beautiful and fun. I collected some shells. Then we walked back home and cooked a yummy dinner of stir fry. We were pretty tired so didn't go anywhere. Then, on Friday, Chris decided to sleep the whole day while the girls decided to explore the city of La Serena. It's pretty tiny so we just walked around and explored. It was a beautiful day. I also rocked my fannypack, pictures soon to follow. There were lots of ferias artesanales (like, marketplaces of local art). I bought some things for people :). We took lots of pictures and just enjoyed the weather. It is a gorgeous town with pretty architecture. I found out that there are 29 churches there. We also went to a restaurant for lunch thats in all the guide books for its seafood. I ate fried fish while the girls all got like, shellfish soup. I tasted theirs and it was delish, but I don't regret my decision haha. Then they got shellfish empanadas, which I also tried. Very good, but I would never eat my own obviously. We also made reservations for tours of Valle del Elqui and the observatory, ridiculously cheap ones too! That night we made steak and choripan. I was in charge of grilling the steak hahah!!!! We went to bed early to prepare for our long Saturday of tours.
Saturday was amazing. Our tour left at 830 to go to Valle del Elqui. Valle del Elqui is just a region up north where there's a lot of cool stuff, which I will tell you about. We stopped first to see papayas growing; this region is known for their fruit, mainly grapes and papayas. As we drove the weather got to be gorgeous! We stopped at the side of the road to buy grapes. We got 4 kilos for 1mil!!!!!!!! Translation: 8 lbs for 2 bucks. Valle del Elqui is where pisco is made, and some wines. Pisco is distilled grapes. They are so sweet, we divided them up and I still have some left. We stopped at a big dam to look around, I got some great pictures. Then we continued up to Gabriela Mistral's school and bedroom, which is now a museum. Gabriela Mistral is from Vicuna (part of Valle del Elqui). She is a writer, and the first Latin-American to win the Nobel Prize which she did in 1945. Practically every road in Valle del Elqui is called G. Mistral! The museum was cute. Then we rolled onto a pico distillery. We went to the oldest one in the area, opened in 1860. We learned how pisco is made, and we saw some old machinery. They gave us some to taste, which I happily passed along to Chris. It was fun, and very hot. But the climate is mediterranean, meaning its very toasty but no humidity! Then we drove to the centre of the town to poke around and chill. There was a feria there too. They're all over the place here! Then we finally went for lunch. We went to a restaurant started by two women that decided they wanted to cook with solar energy. All of the ovens are outside. It takes about 4 hours for everything to cook. It was absolutely delicious though, I had salmon. I took pictures of things cooking :). I also kept the label of my homemade juice. Then, our trusty tour guide dropped us off at the tour office for the observatory. We had about three hours to kill. There was another couple from our hostel so we hung out with them too. We walked around the feria in their plaza, where I bought a fun souvenir. We had gelato then completos for dinner. So healthy! Completos are hot dogs with tomatoes and avocado. Soooo good! After chilling and waiting it was finally time to go to the observatory. We had a moody, crazy driver but we made it there in one piece. It was a perfect night to look at the stars cuz there was a small moon. The light from the moon makes it hard to see the stars. But since there is a hole in the ozone, Chile has some of the clearest skies. You can see the Milky Way and the Magellin clouds with the naked eye. I took a picture of Saturn through the telescope! The guide also pointed out and explained the Southern Cross, which is like the North Star for this side of the world. You can see Orion here, but not the Big Dipper, cool eh? He also pointed out the astrological constellations and some Aztec constellations. Then we looked through the telescope to see that a star that we see is actually a whole lot of stars!!!!! It was so pretty, and it made me feel very small. When we got home we all fell asleep right away! Sunday was kinda shitty weather, so we hung around the hostel and made a big lunch. Some of the group went out, but I stayed in cuz I was having an upset stomach. Its just as well that I didn't go, cuz they ended up at a sketchy area and never got to a club! Then on Monday we cleaned the place, paid the guy, and went on our merry little ways. We spent the whole day on the bus, and I was thrilled to be home. Not that I didn't have fun, but I missed my home-cooking and seeing mama. I guess I got used to the idea that Vina del Mar is home. And strangely enough, that night, my stomach was fine after mama's cooking.
This week is Semana Novata, which is like initiation week for the freshmen. There are only morning classes. Yesterday I had my CIEE class. Then I went out for a little while. Today I went to get my Chile ID (yay!) then realized I have tons of work for a test on Monday, yikes. Tomorrow night at 8 CIEE is taking us to Pucon, which is south. We get back Monday at 8am. I think I am going to climb a volcano! There are other options but that one sounds coolest. Sounds like a jam packed (and expensive) weekend. Tonight I need to read and study. Monday I have class then my test. In two weeks I am getting some visitors, i am very excited! I'm about ready for some familiar faces.
In other news, I went to Dunkin Donuts. They don't sell coffee. Bummer. I also helped mama make dinner. How do you make guacamole?! I'll teach you! Pictures coming shortly of everything, I swear!!!
Miss yous,
Carolina
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