Chiloé Island: July 4- 7

As a last excursion in Chile, my friend Jena and I traveled to Chiloé. Chiloé is an island off of Chile in the south. With very little planning, we traveled by airplane from Santiago to Puerto Montt. In Puerto Montt we caught a bus to get to the island, in which we had to cross water by taking a ferry. We had planned to spend our time in the city of Castro, which was in the center of the island, so a 4-hour bus ride we embarked on! The idea was to see Chiloé in less than 4 days and having done little research, no one told us it would be raining ALL DAY and EVERY day that we were there. Thankfully we are both adventurous people and enjoy the excitement of the unknown, because I’m sure anyone else would have been disappointed with the amount of rain. Nonetheless, we happened to stay in one of the most awesome hostels (it was a Palafito=house on stilts over water) and ventured out to explore during the day. We ended up in Dalcahue after taking a bus for a while and explored the small fishing village at the edge of the island for an afternoon. Here we tried “Curanto”, which is a traditional food of Chiloé Island consisting of various types of meats, shellfish, potatoes, and other “mystery pieces”. This was an experience in itself and probably the weirdest thing I have ever eaten. *The photo is worth viewing* Although, we didn’t feel our time in Chiloé was complete, it was a relaxing and interesting 3-day excursion. I want to go back!

Click on the "Chiloé" album to see photos here.

Oh how I will miss you

It's hard to believe in less than a month I will be returning to the states. It's unbelievable how time passes you by.. I already have a list created of all the things I have yet to do! Since I love lists, here is one:

Things I will surely miss from Chile:

1. fresh fruit and vegetables all the time
2. my host mother’s cooking
3. the friendly, caring people and their hospitality
4. gelato ice cream for 2$ USD
5. riding the micros (buses) everywhere
6. delicious bread!
7. someone to make my bed everyday (Thank you Erika!)
8. speaking Spanish but also speaking English without anyone knowing what I’m saying
9. guy friends carrying my backpack, waiting for the bus with me and/or walking me home at night (so sweet) =)
10. wine and its cost
11. spending hours in restaurants without feeling rushed to leave
12. hugs and kisses everyday
13. the complete lack of consciences of time
14. the immense beauty and creativity of this country
15. and of course, the staff of ISA, my host family and all the friends/amazing people that have made my experience here unforgettable

The Culture of the Micros (Buses):

Here in Chile most people do not own vehicles and therefore, rely on public transportation to get around, including buses, colectivos (basically cheap taxis that drive you to your destination while picking up and dropping others off along the way) and real taxis. My primary transportation is the Micro and let me tell you, it’s nothing like my busing experience in Grand Rapids. First of all, you can catch a bus (of course if it’s the one that serves you) by standing anywhere on its route and simply flagging it down by a wave of your hand or sticking up your pointer finger. In other words, time schedules and bus stops do not exist. Physically, the bus stops exists and they usually do consist of many people waiting but what I’m trying to say is, you can stand 20 feet away from the stop and still flag the bus down to jump on. Although this method is convenient for the lazy person, it gets real old if you’re already riding the bus and we have to constantly stop and go every 2 feet.

However, the real excitement is riding the bus during rush hour or any time the driver feels like stopping for every single person in its route. (Note: There are several buses that have similar routes. In other words, they overlap each other and for this reason, it’s not necessary to stop for every person. Chances are there is another bus 2 seconds behind them that can pick the person up) Often times I think it’s a game to see how many people we can fit inside the bus and it doesn’t matter whose face you have your butt in or that the doors don’t completely shut all the way. The best part of this experience is trying to hang on while the bus driver travels at speeds nearly off the speedometer. And when someone pushes the button to get off, the driver breaks to a screeching halt and despite how “sardine-like packed” we are, there is enough room for everyone one standing to fall onto the person in front of them like dominoes. I quickly caught on to this “game” and learned to sit or stand as close as possible to the door so I could ensure my exit. I especially love riding the ones rollin’ to Reggaeton music and black lights. Oh how I am going to miss this daily excitement of my Chilean life!

Coca Cola in glass bottles!

*I wrote this awhile ago and forgot to post it...

I probably sound like I am having serious culture shock here by some of the things I say. The truth is… I haven’t really experienced culture shock at all.* Chilean culture is different but I haven’t felt that anything is extreme or shocking to my brain. It’s more about the way they do things here are sometimes different and amusing. Even some of the littlest things are so exciting to me, such as Coca Cola in glass bottles! I remember getting excited back home when we found Coca Cola in the 6-pack glass bottles one time and here, Chileans receive their Cokes in glass bottles everyday! And what else that is so great, the glass bottles are RECYCLED! Yes, they re-use them. It’s always a good idea to pour your Coke into a cup instead of drinking from the glass bottle for this reason.

*The Meat Man: Ok well, there was one moment when we first arrived to Valparaíso. During the first week when we were being herded through the city as a giant group of American students, I witnessed a grotesque sight of a man carrying an entire bloody, cow carcass through the street on his back to La Carcinería (place to buy fresh meat). You could tell the cow had just been slaughtered and the meat was pretty fresh. As he came around the corner with the giant carcass on his back (I can’t even imagine how heavy it was), everyone cleared out of his way and I had to quickly turn away before throwing up. The smell, and of course the sight, was awful.

Doggy Genocide!

When I first heard this, I thought it was some sort of awful rumor and I thought “who would make this up in their mind?” With a history such as Chile’s, we have apparently resorted to killing dogs instead of humans! In my Spanish writing class I received an article over this event and was asked to give my opinion as an assigment. Apparently, this event was really going to happen! As I have already mentioned before, there are packs and packs of stray dogs here in the streets and in the event of the President of Chile coming to town, they plan to kill them so they won’t get in the way of the holiday festivities and parades. Now, what is even worse is that they round the dogs up in the nighttime and then kill them by injecting chlorine into their veins. I’m sure if PETA knew, they’d be all over this one. This tragic event has been set for May 21, 2009.

Two or so weeks later…
Fortunately I was in San Pedro on May 21, but upon my return, I noticed the lack of stray dogs in the streets. They really did carry out their plan of killing them. Not all of them, but a significant amount to notice that they went missing. I heard that they had taken the worst ones, which I guess was good since a lot of the dogs here are sickly and have a lot of health problems. The primary issue of the abundance of stray dogs is that as soon as a pet dog has a problem that requires medical attention, it is pushed out on to the street to live as most Chileans cannot afford to care for their pets. And there is no shelter where the dogs can be taken to.

May 20-May 26: San Pedro, Atacama Desert

What was originally supposed to be a weekend excursion turned into a week-long vacation. We made a mistake buying our airline tickets online, but a great mistake none the less! Since my birthday was Monday, I used that as an excuse to skip my classes and off we went to the desert in the northern part of Chile for a week. It might have been the best week yet in Chile for me. The weather was brilliant with sun and warmth, and the sights we saw were unbelievable. I honestly can’t describe most of the places we had visited, as they seemed surreal to me. As far as I can remember, I had never been to the desert before and was amazed to experience the desert of Chile for the first time.

We left Viña on Tuesday night, May 19, to travel to Santiago, as our flight left bright and early the next morning (Wed). We pulled another “sleep in the airport overnight”, though none of us actually slept. Our flight arrived in Calama, which happens to be the nearest airport. We then had to take an hour-long taxi ride to San Pedro de Atacama. After hours of no sleep and traveling, we arrived to our hostel in San Pedro. Of course, we had to stop and ask for directions a long the way as our taxi-driver (this cute little old man) didn’t know where our hostel was in San Pedro. San Pedro was so small, I’m sure we drove by the place a few times while trying to find someone to ask for directions. As we crawled into the hostel premises with our pack backs, we spotted hammocks and passed out for the day. We had found it necessary to rest before we decided to conquer the great Atacama Desert and naps in the hammocks were only appropriate at this time. This first day was mainly spent sleeping, being lazy and aimlessly wandering. Our next four days were then spent exploring the desert through a variety of excursions. I don’t really know how to describe all of the places that we had visited, other than the fact that they were ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. I suggest you look at my photos to see for yourself because no words can describe the places I saw and even perhaps consider booking a trip to northern Chile in the near future =) I saw lagoons of all sorts, an abundant of rock formations and salt flats, geysers, small ancient towns, as well as unusual (for me) wildlife. We were able to experience most of the sights at their best; either sunrise or sunset. After 4 full-packed days, we spent our last day wandering around San Pedro and lazing around to soak up what last bit of sun we could. The entire “vacation” was ideal and beyond anything I had thought of doing previously.

Aside from the mystery and beauty of the Atacama Desert, one of the most interesting aspects was the loss of electricity and lack of heat at night. The town would become entirely black and the only thing we could do was crawl into our beds under the covers to keep warm. And to look into the darkness… hear the silence of the desolate desert was the strangest feeling. (Especially, as I am used to the sound of dogs barking and car alarms going off all night in Viña) If you walked outside, you could look up and witness the clearest skies filled with a billion stars. Amazing!

I didn’t want to leave...

Notes from Chile

1. Chile is so diverse that you can visit everything: the desert, glaciers, valleys with vineyards, volcanoes, mountains, and even the ocean.
2. Chileans eat BREAD for every meal of the day. It is no wonder they are the 2nd greatest consumers of bread!
3. Along with bread, tea is a staple in the Chilean house. They don’t have dinner, but “Once” (or Tecito) instead that consists of bread with a variety of toppings (meat, cheese, avocado, paté. marmalade, etc…) and tea.
4. They do not have central heating like we do in the States, instead they use electric heaters called “estufas”.
5. A lot of people do not own cars and instead use public transportation.
6. The metro here is the cleanest metro I have EVER been on, including the metro station.
7. Ice cream here is really gelato, and the best ever. It is super cheap compared to the gelato in the states. 900$ pesos for a giant scoop=about 1.50$
8. Chileans talk SUPER fast and the lingo is unlike any Spanish you’ll ever learn in a textbook.
9. Chilean slang is called “Chilenismos” (words or phrases they’ve created). *This has made learning Spanish here far more difficult than I expected.
10. They put mayonnaise on everything, although the mayo here tastes different and perhaps, less fattening.
11. You always know when there is a Chilean soccer game on. The yelling and screaming echoes through the neighborhoods.
12. The division of classes is clearly evident, especially between Valparaiso and Viña.
13. Stray dogs outnumber the people on the streets. Sometimes they travel in large packs or try to start fights with other stray dogs. Beware and try not to step in the dog poop.
14. Parties don’t begin before midnight and don’t end until after the sunrises. And Chileans don’t just party on Friday and Saturday nights.
15. American influence can be seen everywhere.
16. Chileans identity themselves as Catholic, but its likely they are non-practicing Catholics.
17. Jumbo is the fancy Wal-mart of Chile, unfortunately.
18. Aside from Jumbo, you must go to special stores to buy all your products. The panadería for bread, carcinería for meat, pastelería for pastries and cakes, La Feria for fresh fruits and vegetables and more.
19. Chileans LOVE television and they watch all of the same television shows. (only another American influence)
20. Refrigeration is not the same concept as it is in the States. Eggs and milk can be found on the dry shelves in the supermarket.
21. Blonde-haired girls are prized here. The men in the streets will let you know. And most times it’s unflattering.
22. You should always tip the bagger at the supermarket. It’s likely they are not receiving a wage and most times its very young boys.
23. There are a lot of young couples with babies, since birth control and condoms are not as readily available as in the States. Abortion is not an option.
24. Rush hour is from 7pm to 8pm here.
25. It’s normal to see couples making out in the streets or parks.
26. The public education here is really bad. It seems as though most of the time the students aren’t even in school due to teachers striking and protesting.
27. Chileans are conscious about preserving water and electricity, but unfortunately could care less about throwing their trash on the ground.
28. In order to get hot water, they must light the “califant” in the house.
29. When out to eat, it’s acceptable to take a long time and you must ask for the bill when you’re ready to pay. This is because eating is a very social event here.
30. Time doesn’t exist here. Everyone’s always “running late”. Expect to wait for everything.

Smoking: It kills.

"In Chile, tobacco kills 16,000 people a year. The next could be you."

"Tobacco Kills. If you want to live, quit smoking." (*These quotes are issued by the Chilean Government and the Ministry of Health)

I’m not a fan of smoking. In all honesty, I think it’s disgusting. Of all the pollutants that we are exposed to in this world, why would one choose to put MORE into their body? I won’t rant about how much I dislike smoking, but it’s still something I don’t understand.

One of the first things I noticed about Chileans is that so many of them smoke! It’s uncommon NOT to smoke here and for this reason, I’ve become more accustomed to people smoking and being places where there are no rules against such behavior. I still choke when the lady sitting next to me on the bus smells like an ashtray or the smoke from the person in front of me blows into my face, suffocating me on the street. But, it’s a cultural difference that I have had to get used to. What amuses me about smoking here though is that the cigarette packages have this awful image of a man portraying the possible results from smoking. Not to mention all of the writing informing people of the health affects. My friend and I had to laugh the other day when we discovered that our university store/cafeteria doesn’t sell Tylenol of any sort, but certainly provides cigarettes for purchasing. Only food and cigs.

Now I need to research the percentage of Chileans with lung cancer…

¡CHI-CHI-CHI LE-LE-LE VIVA CHILE!

April 1-National Soccer Game

The soccer game was awesome. We traveled to Santiago to see Chile play against Uruguay at their national stadium. Our seats were great and were able to see all the action from all angles. I’ve never seen such high-spirited people at a soccer game and go as crazy as the Chileans do! Although, soccer here is the equivalency to football in the US, security was unbelievable. The entire stadium except a sliver was completely red filled with Chilean attire and spirit. It was unbelievable, but so much fun!

And the things they would yell to the opposing team… I’m not even going to repeat them here, but let me tell you, it was definitely a cultural experience. I enjoyed being there among the thousands of Chileans, yelling and cheering for our team. It was a great time and I imagined how the game was for those who were not there… the yelling and cussing echoing through the neighborhoods. Oh how I love Chile!

First Week of Class (and second too!)

My first week of classes was alright. It was a little stressful trying to find them and make sure I was in the right class and whatnot. It was like being a freshman all over again. Here in Chile, it’s normal to be 15 minutes late for everything so that concept helped. I really like my classes. I am taking all Spanish courses that focus on the language.

This last week was my second week of classes. I was really busy as I had HOMEWORK for the first time in a few months. However, it was real easy and nothing too time-consuming. The nice thing about my classes is that I don’t have to lock myself away and spend all night studying. It’s more about experiential learning, which is awesome. Yesterday (Thursday) in my Chilean Culture class we had to go out of the classroom and ask Chileans to give us definitions to words our professor had provided. The words were “Chilenismo”, which is the language here; different from Spanish. We had to ask them what the word meant and to use it in a sentence. Most of the words were provocative and inappropriate so that made for a good time. It was super intimidating and scary to approach other Chilean students in such a way. Most of them laughed at us since we didn’t know what we were asking in Spanish anyway. Haha It was fun though.

I really like all of my professors too. They already know our names! The professors here are so laid back. They wear jeans to class and answer their phones in the middle of lecture too. Definitely not what I’m used to but it definitely takes pressure off trying to be formal in situations.