WOW how time flies when you´re on the road. First, I need to say that I´m a little tipsy in preperation for the continent´s biggest New Year´s party, in Valparaiso, Chile. Seriously, huge. The town has like, 200,000 residents normally but for the New Year the number of people in the city breaks one million easily.
So just to describe my surroundings right now, I´m on a computer that is blasting some Brazillian Samba tune to a group of steadily more and more drunk hosteling strangers ages 16 to at least 60. Mom is in the other room cooking pasta and tomato sause with a Brazillian lawyer we met last night named Simone and everyone is in the highest of spirits dancing and drinking and talking about where we´re going to go sit and watch the fireworks at midnight and shake and spray our two dollar bottles of champagne. I think with one more pisco sour Mom may even admit to be enjoying the hostel life. Quite the 180 from Plaza el Bosque in the business district of Santiago we enjoyed last week with the grandparents though. But I think I prefer the chaotic, multilingual craziness of the hostels. Anyway, Valpo on New Years. Put it on your bucket list.
Patagonia three weeks ago was incredible, indescribable, breathtaking, WINDY. My friend Jac and I backpaked through Naional Park Torres del Paine for five nights and had the time of our lives. HUGE glaciers, the most beautiful vistas (I live for a good vista) and the clearest, coldest, wildest lakes I have ever seen. Fun fact about the park: no need to carry water on you because EVERY RUNNING WATER SOURCE IS POTABLE. Not only is every stream potable but it is the tastiest, purest water I have ever had. To conclude, I URGE you to go to Patagonia, it is an amazing place, truly unlike anything else I´ve seen. I love Oregon, Washington, the Rockies, Montana, but Patagoinia was just unspeakably beautiful. Also, we met a whole bunch of Israelis, interestingly enough. Oh and afterwards we saw Penguins. They were great.
So. Seeing Mom and my grandparents has been so wonderful, I miss the northwest a lot.
LOVE from the Southern Hemisphere, I wish everyone reading this and not the happiest 2011!
much love,
erin
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Plan
Hello People!
Big news: I am officially on summer break in five days, Tuesday is my last day of classes! As many of you may know, I won't be returning to the US until July and here is the plan for the summer until I come back to Valdivia for another semester at UACH.
Dec. 8-17
My friend Jaqueline and I will be hikin the W trail in Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Chile. Could not be more excited, you should google image search it. The trail itself takes 4-5 nights and we'll be spending a few days in Punta Arenas (a tiny city on the Straight of Magellan) to see some penguins afterwards.
Dec. 19-Jan. 2
Meeting Mom and Nana and Papa in Buenos Aires, Argentina where we will have two weeks to get over to Santiago, sampling South America's best wine and steak the whole way, if I know my grandparents. I am beyond excited to see my family. I have missed everyone so much! I think the plan is to me on the move on Christmas but Mom and I will be in the city of Valpairaiso for New Years, it has the best fireworks in Chile.
Jan. 4-Jan 10
I'll be meeting Jaqueline (Jac) again in Santiago and the two of us will make our way up to Peru, lingering for a few nights in the driest desert in the world, the Atacama.
Jan 10 - Feb
Jac and I will meet our other friends Rob and Eitan in Cuzco, Peru where we'll hike up to Macchu Piccu, see what we can see in the Sacred Valley and then head over to La Paz, Bolivia via Lake Titicaca and the great salt flats of Bolivia.
First of Feb - First of March
I will be drinking mate and working for room and board at an organic winery in Mendoza, Argentina. Here's their website: http://www.fincalarosendo.com.ar/
OR I could be working for room and board at this organic vegetable farm in Cordoba, Argentina. I haven't decided yet! Here is their website: http://shamballapermaculture.com/
I really can't wait! So I won't have an address for awhile and limited access to a computer, but if you email me your addy, I'll certainly send you a postcard!
Love you all and hope everything is well stateside.
erin
Big news: I am officially on summer break in five days, Tuesday is my last day of classes! As many of you may know, I won't be returning to the US until July and here is the plan for the summer until I come back to Valdivia for another semester at UACH.
Dec. 8-17
My friend Jaqueline and I will be hikin the W trail in Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Chile. Could not be more excited, you should google image search it. The trail itself takes 4-5 nights and we'll be spending a few days in Punta Arenas (a tiny city on the Straight of Magellan) to see some penguins afterwards.
Dec. 19-Jan. 2
Meeting Mom and Nana and Papa in Buenos Aires, Argentina where we will have two weeks to get over to Santiago, sampling South America's best wine and steak the whole way, if I know my grandparents. I am beyond excited to see my family. I have missed everyone so much! I think the plan is to me on the move on Christmas but Mom and I will be in the city of Valpairaiso for New Years, it has the best fireworks in Chile.
Jan. 4-Jan 10
I'll be meeting Jaqueline (Jac) again in Santiago and the two of us will make our way up to Peru, lingering for a few nights in the driest desert in the world, the Atacama.
Jan 10 - Feb
Jac and I will meet our other friends Rob and Eitan in Cuzco, Peru where we'll hike up to Macchu Piccu, see what we can see in the Sacred Valley and then head over to La Paz, Bolivia via Lake Titicaca and the great salt flats of Bolivia.
First of Feb - First of March
I will be drinking mate and working for room and board at an organic winery in Mendoza, Argentina. Here's their website: http://www.fincalarosendo.com.ar/
OR I could be working for room and board at this organic vegetable farm in Cordoba, Argentina. I haven't decided yet! Here is their website: http://shamballapermaculture.com/
I really can't wait! So I won't have an address for awhile and limited access to a computer, but if you email me your addy, I'll certainly send you a postcard!
Love you all and hope everything is well stateside.
erin
Friday, November 19, 2010
I'm not dead or anything, promise.
Hello loved ones!
So I've been here three months now and I have learned a lot. For example, I can recognize any Luis Miguel song by his voice only. I can tell you where to get the best completo in Valdivia and why you should be excited about it. I know to look forward to the first week of the month at school (it has to do with really really cheap chocolate) and why you should never party with jotes. I have also learned that I am the worlds worst blogger. THE WORST. I'm really sorry I never write on this and I pledge to write more when I am more mobile this summer (more details on that later). I will have exciting things to write about then, I promise.
So this blog update is all about why I never blog! It has to do with my daily and weekly routine here in Vadivia which is not that exciting.
Monday through Thursday I go to school in the morning, come home for lunch with my family and go to a few more classes in the afternoon. Tuesdays are a little different because I help out at the local elementary school in the morning and then have class in the evening. Weeknights I do homework and read a lot.
On the weekends when I'm not traveling I read and eat and sleep during the day, sometimes going downtown and sampling various cake and coffee at cafes (the coffee sucks here, if you don't ask for espresso they will give you instant) which is all wonderful. The town is really pretty. At night I usually go out with friends (both American and Chilean, but mostly American). We have a few karaoke bars we frequent and we drink beer and sing and eat greasy bar empanadas. If the mood strikes we go dancing after but sometimes I just go home and sleep late the next day. The biggest difference about nightlife here (other than that I'm allowed to participate) is that bars simply don't close until everyone leaves, usually around five or six am.
Sometimes though I travel on the weekends. Last weekend I went with some friends to a beautiful tiny town on a lake about two hours inland called Panguipulli where a Chilean friend has an adorable house really close to the beach. The place looks like this:
And a few weekends before that I went to a cool town called Pucon. It's also inland and on a lake (there are a lot of lakes here) and we did some hiking and visited a fake Mapuche (the native people of Chile) village. Pucon is cool because it's right in the shadow of a huge volcano called Vulcan Villaricca. There is also a crazy awesome black sand beach. It looks like this:
So there you have it! I've not been blogging because I do pretty normal student things here, the catch is that it's all in Spanish! But this summer (Dec-March) I will be travelling around and will blog more regularly. Hope all is well wherever you are! Chao! (That's what Chileans say when they want to say Adios)
So I've been here three months now and I have learned a lot. For example, I can recognize any Luis Miguel song by his voice only. I can tell you where to get the best completo in Valdivia and why you should be excited about it. I know to look forward to the first week of the month at school (it has to do with really really cheap chocolate) and why you should never party with jotes. I have also learned that I am the worlds worst blogger. THE WORST. I'm really sorry I never write on this and I pledge to write more when I am more mobile this summer (more details on that later). I will have exciting things to write about then, I promise.
So this blog update is all about why I never blog! It has to do with my daily and weekly routine here in Vadivia which is not that exciting.
Monday through Thursday I go to school in the morning, come home for lunch with my family and go to a few more classes in the afternoon. Tuesdays are a little different because I help out at the local elementary school in the morning and then have class in the evening. Weeknights I do homework and read a lot.
On the weekends when I'm not traveling I read and eat and sleep during the day, sometimes going downtown and sampling various cake and coffee at cafes (the coffee sucks here, if you don't ask for espresso they will give you instant) which is all wonderful. The town is really pretty. At night I usually go out with friends (both American and Chilean, but mostly American). We have a few karaoke bars we frequent and we drink beer and sing and eat greasy bar empanadas. If the mood strikes we go dancing after but sometimes I just go home and sleep late the next day. The biggest difference about nightlife here (other than that I'm allowed to participate) is that bars simply don't close until everyone leaves, usually around five or six am.
Sometimes though I travel on the weekends. Last weekend I went with some friends to a beautiful tiny town on a lake about two hours inland called Panguipulli where a Chilean friend has an adorable house really close to the beach. The place looks like this:
So there you have it! I've not been blogging because I do pretty normal student things here, the catch is that it's all in Spanish! But this summer (Dec-March) I will be travelling around and will blog more regularly. Hope all is well wherever you are! Chao! (That's what Chileans say when they want to say Adios)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
El Bicentenario y Argentina!
First of all, I am very sorry that I never update this thing, I think I'm going to try more frequent and shorter posts, we'll see how it goes!
A few weeks ago (September 18) Chile celebrated it's Bicentennial! Coincidentally, Argentina and Mexico also won their independence in 1810, it was apparently not a good year for Spain.
The Chilean Independence Day celebrations basically consist of just a lot of eating and drinking and since it was the bicentennial the celebrations lasted four days and schools closed and there were parades and parties all over the place. I'm volunteering as an English teacher at a local elementary school, helping out with English classes and the whole school just took the day off for a big party and program, it looked something like this:
And all the kids were wearing the coolest outfits, mostly from colonial times, there was a pretty funny conversation in the staff room with the other teachers about the clothes, they have no faith in our Spanish skills and spent several minutes trying to explain the phrase "arocristocracía colonial" obvioulsy a cognate, ah the adventures of learning a second language, they were convinced we didn't know what they were talking about. The girl in the middle is a gringa friend of mine who is also working in the school.
So the bicentennial was great, lots of chicha (hard cider they only drink during the holiday) and empanadas, which are SO GOOD.
Then we had a week of break so a group of us gringos went to Bariloche, Argentina, a smallish mountain town about six hours away. Bariloche is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and it was really refreshing being in a country where they speak more correct and slower Spanish. I even got a few compliments on my skills! But I think people are just surprised when a gringo knows any so I may have an advantage there. Did a little spring skiing, a little hiking, a lot of walking, a lot of chocolate eating (Bariloche is famous for it's chocolate scene) and enjoying the livley nightlife thanks to the abundant tourist scene. Met a couple of other really cool travelers and had an amazing time! Argentina is great and I can't wait to go back. Here is a picture of a few of us at one of the top ten viewpoints in the world (I don't know who judges that but that's what the brocure said):
A few weeks ago (September 18) Chile celebrated it's Bicentennial! Coincidentally, Argentina and Mexico also won their independence in 1810, it was apparently not a good year for Spain.
The Chilean Independence Day celebrations basically consist of just a lot of eating and drinking and since it was the bicentennial the celebrations lasted four days and schools closed and there were parades and parties all over the place. I'm volunteering as an English teacher at a local elementary school, helping out with English classes and the whole school just took the day off for a big party and program, it looked something like this:
And all the kids were wearing the coolest outfits, mostly from colonial times, there was a pretty funny conversation in the staff room with the other teachers about the clothes, they have no faith in our Spanish skills and spent several minutes trying to explain the phrase "arocristocracía colonial" obvioulsy a cognate, ah the adventures of learning a second language, they were convinced we didn't know what they were talking about. The girl in the middle is a gringa friend of mine who is also working in the school.
So the bicentennial was great, lots of chicha (hard cider they only drink during the holiday) and empanadas, which are SO GOOD.
Then we had a week of break so a group of us gringos went to Bariloche, Argentina, a smallish mountain town about six hours away. Bariloche is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and it was really refreshing being in a country where they speak more correct and slower Spanish. I even got a few compliments on my skills! But I think people are just surprised when a gringo knows any so I may have an advantage there. Did a little spring skiing, a little hiking, a lot of walking, a lot of chocolate eating (Bariloche is famous for it's chocolate scene) and enjoying the livley nightlife thanks to the abundant tourist scene. Met a couple of other really cool travelers and had an amazing time! Argentina is great and I can't wait to go back. Here is a picture of a few of us at one of the top ten viewpoints in the world (I don't know who judges that but that's what the brocure said):
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Greetings from the End of the World
First blog post from Chile!
When people find out I've only been here a weekish they always say, "how do you like it at the end of the world?" or "Welcome to the end of the world!" Chileans complain a lot about all that is wrong with their country, starting with the awkward geographic location, but it seems to me that they are secretly pretty proud of themselves for inhabiting such an unlikley place.
Chile doesn't seem that different than the states at first glance, but it's the little things that always catch me off guard. For example, there are stray dogs everywhere, just roaming the streets. Also, you shouldn't smile at strangers, even if you make eye contact because then people will think you're a 'flirt' (how it was explained to me, three days after I'd been going around smiling). And all the homes are heated by wood stoves, which is also where all the cooking is done, electricity is very expensive here.
Officially, Chileans speak Spanish. However in practice, Chilean Spanish is comprised of mostly chileanisms, spoken very very fast, always dropping syllables and never ever saying the esses. But they really do want to help you learn, so they turn on their 'correct' Spanish for gringos (non Chilean white people, more a term of endearment than a put down) and slow down, making it easier for us to understand but then as soon as they turn to another Chilean, they're right back to speaking their own crazy version of Spanish. My favorite chileanismos: sípo--yes of course, cachay?--get it? feel me?, huevon--dude/asshole, flaite--sketchy, carretear--to party
I forgot how much I missed winter, but I love bundling up to go outside and wearing scarves, headbands and gloves. It rains here too, a lot! But when it is sunny the city is so beautiful and really deserves it's title, 'la perla del sur', the pearl of the south. Valdivia was founded by Germans so beer and chocolate abound. And the night life is really thriving, thanks to the university crowd.
My host family is so sweet, they have had American exchange students before so they know the deal. Lunch here is a very very big deal, taking two hours sometimes and so far I haven't had a lunch of less than four courses. My host mom told me that once she had an exchange student who didn't have time to come home for lunch on Wednesdays. She was appalled and shocked that they would make her do that. "She had to buy a lunch at school!" Imagine! It's great, lot's of soup, meat, rice and homemade bread. Dinner and breakfast are pretty light, owing to the enormous midday meal and I think the change of diet will be beneficial, it already feels like a healthier way to eat. It helps that all the food is very fresh and homemade. My only complaint is that everyone drinks a ton of Nescafé. Seriously, like three or four cups a day! And when I tried to explain that in the states we usually drink brewed coffee instead of instant, my mom said "Well, it's the same thing." !!! So I have switched to tea for the year, and I already miss even the cheapest cup of drip coffee.
So yeah, Chile is a beautiful and wet place, much like home. The people here are gracious and warm and I am having a great time! And so far I have not been mugged, robbed, cheated, swindled, married off, seduced by a Chilean, sold into slavery or harmed in any way. Not that I'm letting my guard down, don't worry.
Much love,
erin
When people find out I've only been here a weekish they always say, "how do you like it at the end of the world?" or "Welcome to the end of the world!" Chileans complain a lot about all that is wrong with their country, starting with the awkward geographic location, but it seems to me that they are secretly pretty proud of themselves for inhabiting such an unlikley place.
Chile doesn't seem that different than the states at first glance, but it's the little things that always catch me off guard. For example, there are stray dogs everywhere, just roaming the streets. Also, you shouldn't smile at strangers, even if you make eye contact because then people will think you're a 'flirt' (how it was explained to me, three days after I'd been going around smiling). And all the homes are heated by wood stoves, which is also where all the cooking is done, electricity is very expensive here.
Officially, Chileans speak Spanish. However in practice, Chilean Spanish is comprised of mostly chileanisms, spoken very very fast, always dropping syllables and never ever saying the esses. But they really do want to help you learn, so they turn on their 'correct' Spanish for gringos (non Chilean white people, more a term of endearment than a put down) and slow down, making it easier for us to understand but then as soon as they turn to another Chilean, they're right back to speaking their own crazy version of Spanish. My favorite chileanismos: sípo--yes of course, cachay?--get it? feel me?, huevon--dude/asshole, flaite--sketchy, carretear--to party
I forgot how much I missed winter, but I love bundling up to go outside and wearing scarves, headbands and gloves. It rains here too, a lot! But when it is sunny the city is so beautiful and really deserves it's title, 'la perla del sur', the pearl of the south. Valdivia was founded by Germans so beer and chocolate abound. And the night life is really thriving, thanks to the university crowd.
My host family is so sweet, they have had American exchange students before so they know the deal. Lunch here is a very very big deal, taking two hours sometimes and so far I haven't had a lunch of less than four courses. My host mom told me that once she had an exchange student who didn't have time to come home for lunch on Wednesdays. She was appalled and shocked that they would make her do that. "She had to buy a lunch at school!" Imagine! It's great, lot's of soup, meat, rice and homemade bread. Dinner and breakfast are pretty light, owing to the enormous midday meal and I think the change of diet will be beneficial, it already feels like a healthier way to eat. It helps that all the food is very fresh and homemade. My only complaint is that everyone drinks a ton of Nescafé. Seriously, like three or four cups a day! And when I tried to explain that in the states we usually drink brewed coffee instead of instant, my mom said "Well, it's the same thing." !!! So I have switched to tea for the year, and I already miss even the cheapest cup of drip coffee.
So yeah, Chile is a beautiful and wet place, much like home. The people here are gracious and warm and I am having a great time! And so far I have not been mugged, robbed, cheated, swindled, married off, seduced by a Chilean, sold into slavery or harmed in any way. Not that I'm letting my guard down, don't worry.
Much love,
erin
Thursday, August 12, 2010
First Blog Post!
Greetings Family and Friends!
I see you have found my blog. As you may have heard, I will be spending the next 11 months in Chile and South America, studying at La Universidad Austral de Chile (from here on referred to as UACH) in Valdivia, Chile. The purpose of this blog is to keep anyone interested relatively informed of my activities, adventures and travels. In order to write this blog, I have forced myself to accept that there is a certain level of interest in what I'll be doing (certainly the point of what is essentially a huge mass email is that someone reads it?), but feel free to read only what you want, just look at the pictures, or never look at this blog again and forget all about it. I will not be offended in any way and we can still be friends, promise. But if you are interested in my take on life in South America and my experiences in it, I will be here to inform you and occasionally post a stunning photograph.
That being said, let's start with some geography! This is La República de Chile (pronnounced chee-lay):
I'll be living in Valdivia, which is on that map there, it's sort of near Puerto Montt, about 500 miles south (or about 800 km) of Santiago. It is a town of about 140,000 people, capital of Region X or the Lakes Region. I'll be living there with a host family and attending UACH for two semesters with a summer break between December and March. By the way, this is an open invitation to anyone I know to meet me anywhere in South America during that time, so far I have no plans. Definitely want to hit Patagonia and Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Antarctica, Buenos Aires, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Quito, maybe the Amazon, maybe Rio? Who knows but I have three months. Let me know if you'll be in the area!
If you are interested in more information about the great nation of Chile you should check out it's wiki page, it's pretty good. Or here are some books I've been reading this summer about it, all very good: My Invented Country: A Memoir by Isabel Allende, In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin, Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile by Sara Wheeler, The Penguin History of Latin America by Edwin Williamson and also a documentary called 180 Degrees South that is excellent and will make you quit your job.
I fly out of Portland on Thursday the 19th and I would love to see you before I go so feel free to email me or call or facebook or whatever. Also, I'm not exactly okay with having both a facebook and a blog so let's not talk about it.
Next time I will also post a mailing address and I love getting mail. My promise to you is that if you send me a letter I will at the very least send you a postcard.
Thanks for your interest in me!
Much Love,
erin
I see you have found my blog. As you may have heard, I will be spending the next 11 months in Chile and South America, studying at La Universidad Austral de Chile (from here on referred to as UACH) in Valdivia, Chile. The purpose of this blog is to keep anyone interested relatively informed of my activities, adventures and travels. In order to write this blog, I have forced myself to accept that there is a certain level of interest in what I'll be doing (certainly the point of what is essentially a huge mass email is that someone reads it?), but feel free to read only what you want, just look at the pictures, or never look at this blog again and forget all about it. I will not be offended in any way and we can still be friends, promise. But if you are interested in my take on life in South America and my experiences in it, I will be here to inform you and occasionally post a stunning photograph.
That being said, let's start with some geography! This is La República de Chile (pronnounced chee-lay):
I'll be living in Valdivia, which is on that map there, it's sort of near Puerto Montt, about 500 miles south (or about 800 km) of Santiago. It is a town of about 140,000 people, capital of Region X or the Lakes Region. I'll be living there with a host family and attending UACH for two semesters with a summer break between December and March. By the way, this is an open invitation to anyone I know to meet me anywhere in South America during that time, so far I have no plans. Definitely want to hit Patagonia and Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Antarctica, Buenos Aires, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Quito, maybe the Amazon, maybe Rio? Who knows but I have three months. Let me know if you'll be in the area!
If you are interested in more information about the great nation of Chile you should check out it's wiki page, it's pretty good. Or here are some books I've been reading this summer about it, all very good: My Invented Country: A Memoir by Isabel Allende, In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin, Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile by Sara Wheeler, The Penguin History of Latin America by Edwin Williamson and also a documentary called 180 Degrees South that is excellent and will make you quit your job.
I fly out of Portland on Thursday the 19th and I would love to see you before I go so feel free to email me or call or facebook or whatever. Also, I'm not exactly okay with having both a facebook and a blog so let's not talk about it.
Next time I will also post a mailing address and I love getting mail. My promise to you is that if you send me a letter I will at the very least send you a postcard.
Thanks for your interest in me!
Much Love,
erin
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