December 2011
2 posts
home sweet home
this post has the potential of becoming painfully nostalgic and corny, so i’ll try and keep it as brief as possible. first i want to take a sentence or two and thank y’all for reading these. it’s strange having five months worth of life that no one from my american life will ever fully understand. thank you for keeping up with what i was up to in chile, and for allowing me to attempt to put words...
a walk in the park
i think my ankles are stained brown from the dirt that accumulated on my body during the week backpacking in patagonia. i scrubbed and scrubbed in the shower this morning, but to no avail. a small price to pay for the trip of a lifetime. i could try to describe torres del paine national park. attempt to put words to the turquoise blue of the lakes and the vastness of the glaciers and the jagged...
November 2011
5 posts
school's out
i didn’t receive a letter from hogwarts on my eleventh birthday, and have therefore never been forced to endure potions class with a perpetually grumpy snape. but i can say without a doubt, at one point in her life, j.k. rowling visited viña del mar and stepped foot into the shop on the corner of arlegui and ecuador streets. and from there she received the inspiration for snape’s dungeon...
día de acción de gracias
i’m not a huge fan of turkey. and on my list of favorite foods, well, mashed potatoes isn’t even on there. and stuffing? why would you ever willingly eat soggy bread? that’s like leaving cereal in milk for an hour and then coming back to eat breakfast. it’s just silly. however, despite my lack of appreciation for the actual food, i absolutely love thanksgiving.
yesterday was a little like...
week eighteen
the final project for my spanish language class is a video of us interviewing chileans about a cultural aspect that we’ve noticed in the last four months. my friend and i are investigating empanadas. mostly because i wanted to eat a bunch of them and call it homework. today we hit the streets of viña to ask random strangers about their opinions on this traditional food. i’ve been dreading...
heading to hogsmeade
i’m not a huge fan of viña del mar. occasionally i describe living here as having the life sucked out of my soul. the dementor effect if you will. it’s really not that bad, but i’m just not that fond of living in a city. and it’s not a very pretty city. lots of pavement and apartments and slightly run down buildings. it’s the resort town of an almost developed country that is trying really hard to...
mendoza
chileans don’t respect the sanctity of the line. at all. there is no such thing as patiently waiting in single file order. i think that’s why they use the number system to such a ridiculous extent. otherwise the pharmacy would be mad chaos. not to mention the cheese counter. things could get ugly. on friday night my friends and i are were waiting at the terminal for our overnight bus...
October 2011
12 posts
quitting school to become a pro gambler
there is a ruby tuesday’s going in down the street. between pizza hut, starbucks, mcdonald’s and this new addition, it’s almost like i never left america. and then the construction workers remodeling the building tell me i’m very pritty. bootiful even. “like a barbie.” definitely still in south america.
yesterday there was a national strike of colectivo drivers. which caused major traffic...
pumpkins and poppies
the clicky button thing on my laptop isn’t working very well. every time i open my computer i have the unreasonable hope that it will have healed itself overnight. so far not the case. and whenever i try to drag something to the trash or highlight part of a paper, i have a minor anxiety attack when it takes two or three attempts at success. haven’t seen a lot of apple stores in chile, so this...
Teach me your way , O Lord,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all
my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths
of the grave.
Psalm 86
“But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn’t know what to...”
– C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
the one when we didn't go to argentina
the first person to send me a package of reese’s peanut butter cups will receive my eternal and undying affection. i’ll even add a south american present. just please get that chocolatey peanut buttery deliciousness through customs and into my mailbox. desperate times.
apparently we’re having a colder-than-usual spring. how do i know this? well other than the fact that my peacoat still...
"are you from the united states? because i can't...
one of my classes is an internship for credit. the brief overview we were given at orientation only scratched the surface of the enormity of this project. or maybe i just wasn’t listening well. or understanding the spanish. i have problems with both of those things. anyhoo, there are two components to the internship. first is a one-on-one class every thursday with my professor and me. just the two...
“love that will not betray you, dismay, or enslave you. it will set you free. to...”
– mumford & sons
nature is neat
friday was an important soccer game for chile. my friend molly and i met up with some chilean friends at a bar in valpo to watch part of the game. the love chileans have for soccer is unmatched by anything you can find in america. the building was packed. standing room only. everyone in red and white jerseys, blowing whistles, and breaking out into the national anthem whenever chile scored. so...
““Well, I do think someone might have arranged about our meals,” said...”
– C. S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew
isaiah
sometimes i forget that the rest of the country doesn’t struggle to communicate as i do. at church today one of the pastors got up to give the announcements for the week, and the entire time he was speaking all i could think about was how well he conjugated verbs and how he could toss around direct object pronouns like nobody’s business. and then i remembered that choosing between preterite and...
September 2011
10 posts
a week in peru=priceless
1 jar of peanut butter eaten with bread, oreos, and occasionally a spoon
2 times we were yelled at by a guard for sitting on the grass at machu picchu
4 am wake up call for mp, complete with pancakes fresh off the skillet
7 peruvian soles spent on a two course meal (2.53 american dollars) in aguas calientes
12 cups of coca tea to ward off altitude sickness
37 degrees fahrenheit in the...
fiestas patrias!
prepare yourselves for an explosion of blog posts.
first off, a quick recap of my weekend in valparaíso and rancagua celebrating the fiestas patrias.
dancing the cueca in the main ramada at the fonda in viña del mar. i used my gringa charms to get us in fo free.
kids dancing the cueca at the school next door. precious.
anticuchos at the fonda in valparaíso
in rancagua we went to the zoo...
oh hey spring break
yesterday i turned in my last paper. down to the wire doesn’t even begin to describe the situation in which i found myself. it would suffice to say that a paper writing miracle occurred at six o’clock in the corner chair of starbucks. and now i’m officially free from school for the next week and a half.
“if you eat and drink everything offered to you, you won’t make it through the celebration....
seven pages down, eight to go
one of the number one questions i’m asked by chileans is why i chose to study in their country. by this point i have a prepared response. “i wanted to learn spanish, and since i studied in spain last summer, coming to latin america was a clear choice.” that usually suffices. the first time someone asked i didn’t have an answer. i tried to recall my decision making process last fall in nelson...
sunday.
if you wait until the last minute, then it only takes a minute. this beautifully describes my college experience thus far. this week i have fifteen pages of papers due. which means that in the past three days i’ve cleaned my room, responded to emails, painted my toe nails, read a book, watched several september 11th specials with mi papá, and laid out at the beach attempting to rid myself of socks...
maybe 63 degrees isn't beach weather
i love coffee shops. i am exponentially more productive sitting with a black coffee at stella’s or bidwell perk than i ever would be at my own kitchen table. and the people watching is an added bonus. i’m currently curled up in a big comfy chair at starbucks. i know, i know. not the most cultured choice. but it’s also the only coffee shop in this city that doesn’t allow smoking. so the fact that i...
he said, she said
1. “very short. we’re cutting off lots.” very comforting mr. hairdresser as you hack off huge chunks of my hair. you sure know how to set your clients at ease as you snip away.
2. “are you from a different country? you sound funny,” asks a little boy as we color pictures of smurfs. why yes, yes i am. now pretty please with sugar on top speak a little slower so i can try to understand what exactly...
August 2011
14 posts
“Relying on god has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been...”
– C.S. Lewis
laughing because otherwise i’d be crying
wednesday and thursday of this past week classes were canceled due to a national strike of public transportation and other services. awesome, right? no school for six days!? unfortunately, things were a little iffy in terms of demonstrations and such, not to mention there was a distinct lack of buses. so there was no school, but i was also more or less confined to my immediate surroundings. and it...
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
Psalm 96
destination: sand dunes
yesterday, my dad and i were walking to the bakery when he pointed to a staircase on the side of the hill (viña and valpo are cities of hills that would put even san francisco to shame). he told me that he once ran three laps up the stairs and around the backside of the hill. three? i can do more than that. five. i probably can do five…
no. i cannot. turns out i can do one. and only if i...
don't wurry, be hoppy.
i have a paper due tomorrow for which i have yet to write a single word. so this is what i’m doing instead. i usually have my roommates to distract me from homework, i’m having to get creative.
my mountain sports professor sent me an email that started with “los invito a la clase este viernes” and ended with “asistencia es obligatoria.” yes folks, those words really are nearly the...
I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27
five reasons chilean grocery stores are second to...
1. they have escalator ramps for you and your cart. sounds dangerous, right? 50 pounds of groceries on wheels combined with a steep incline can’t possibly lead to anything good. wrong. the wheels on the cart have rims that fit into the grooves of the escalator so that your cart is unable to move forward or back. automatic cart braking. so impressive.
2. the men working behind the meat...
cabeza hombros rodillas y dedos de pie
introductions in chile go a little like this. a kiss on the right cheek, accompanied by an hola, buenos días, or something of the sort, and then as you draw back, a mucho gusto (nice to meet you). however, no one has yet to meet anyone, because NO names were exchanged. i still don’t actually know the names of half the people i’ve met. at this point i’ve dug myself into a rather deep hole, because...
tomar un número
take a number. take a number. take a number. chileans love their numbers. buying toothpaste at the pharmacy? take a number. cheese at the grocery store? take a number. taking a number is certainly a great way to regulate lines, but chile has elevated this system to a whole new level. i’ll be able to wallpaper my room with number slips by december.
I took two numbers this morning. one was to...
my chilean mother is better than yours
was i just served steaming hot crepes filled with dulce de leche and homemade apricot jam?
why yes, yes i was.
am i going to be as round as a pumpkin when i get back to the states?
why yes, yes i am.
zorrillos y guanacos
one of the things i’ve noticed about chileans is their generosity. i was crossing the street this morning, and there were two teenagers doing backflips in the crosswalk, and just before the light turned green, they ran from car to car. every driver dug through their wallets and handed over a handful of change. yesterday, a man was playing his saxophone in my car of the metro. as he walked down the...
back to school!
today i had my first classes at the university! reality check, i’m here to study. thankfully i’m the world’s biggest nerd and love the prospect of learning new things, so i was quite content sitting in my desk. my schedule is still up in the air until september 9, the deadline to finalize courses. but for sure i’m taking classes on spanish language, history and film, and the...
July 2011
10 posts
chilean family? check
okay folks, this is a long one…
chileans are really good at soccer. i’m fairly certain they pop out of the womb with cleats on. friday night we were challenged to a game of soccer by the employees of the hotel. picture this. eight gringos, mostly girls, five of which have never played soccer before. against a team of chilean soccer gods all wearing matching shirts. needless to say, we did...
Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our Father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt...