La Experiencia del Sur: 2009

Part One: Ecuador, Argentina, and Uruguay

 

January 15, 2009

 

Here I am, finally going, and delayed already.  Fortunately, we don’t fly to Cuenca until Sunday so we have some flexibility I presume.  We’ll be staying in Quito until then, doing what I’m not exactly sure.

            There are 10 of us on the group flight, and after the prerequisite awkward introductions, I think we’ll all be fairly comfortable traveling with each other.  On the group flight is myself, John Jameson (already knew him), Scott Simpson, Jackie and Marie from Fordham, Emily, Allison, and a girl named Megan.  Two are missing but I’m assuming they’re making connections from somewhere else.  Heavy snow has been falling all week and was the cause of the delay getting out of JFK.  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll hold the flight to Quito for us.  We are a group of 10. Ha, doubt it. 

            I, of course, arrived at the terminal four hours early like it said in the pre-departure literature.  Completely unnecessary.  I was through checked in and through security in about 10 minutes.  So, then I killed time waiting for John.  I tried to work on my essays for Honors but that was a no go.  Maybe I should do that now actually…

            Surprisingly, I’m not very nervous.  I thought I would have the least language experience of everybody, but it looks like we’re all in the same boat.  My anxiety over not being able to communicate is shared by pretty much everyone.  By the way, our plane to Quito takes off at 3:35 pm and we’ve just been informed that we will be arriving at 4:10 pm.  Apparently we’ve been rebooked.  

 

 

January 16, 2009

 

First day, first adventure, and first culture clash in Ecuador.

            We did arrive yesterday in Quito and only a few hours later than expected.  We immediately picked up and traveled by bus to Otavalo, a small indigenous town famous for its enormous market.  Were turned loose on the streets of Otavalo upon arrival and subsequently began exploration.  I was glad to get off the bus because the altitude is definitely affecting me and the winding roads didn’t help.  The scenery was incredible.  Dramatic and literally heart-stopping when I happened to look out the window and realize that the right set of wheels were about two inches from a sheer drop-off.  Ecuadorian bus drivers are talented people. 

 

January 19, 2009

 

I got cut off from my last entry.  I enjoy sitting in public places rather than in my room so I don’t feel anti-social, but then I just get distracted.  For the past three days it has been impossible to get time alone.  Our group is very social and we’re always doing something.  Not that I mind at all.  I’m just not used to people I’ve only known for 72 hours knocking on my door wanting to know what I’m doing. Of course, a couple of rounds of fuck the dealer were great ice-breakers last night. Apparently we're all going to be pretty comfortable with each other in less than the usual amount of time.

            Quito and Otavalo were a blur of being on the bus, walking, and trying to navigate our way around using our mediocre Spanish.  Both places were somewhat similar when I compare them with Cuenca.  They are less quaint and many areas are less wealthy.  Cuenca seems to be a more middle-class city in general with European influence. 

            Looking back on the whirlwind wind tour and semi-orientation, the Otavalo Market sticks out in my mind.  At first we couldn’t find it and were wandering around in a very small market that sold knock-off American clothing in addition to some foodstuffs.  I didn’t say anything of course, but privately I was wondering why the Otavalo Market was so famous.  It didn’t look like much to me.  Then, we turned a corner and all of a sudden there it was.  Stand after stand of everything imaginable.  I bought a necklace, and alpaca blanket, and a scarf.  I’ve discovered that I’m a compulsive scarf buyer.  I've bought three in the space of two days.  The fair is so huge that we meandered around forever trying t find our way out.

            Jess Schnur and I were also approached by a group of Ecuadorian school girls who were learning English.  We gave them our emails and immediately gained 13 new pen pals.

            While we were talking to the girls a very old, and VERY tiny woman inserted herself in the midst of our group, begging.  That was the first time I had every really encountered begging.  Jess and I gave her a few coins and the woman raised her gaze to the sky to thank heaven and ask for God’s blessing upon the two generous foreign girls, gringas, is what they call us. 

            I haven’t seen any beggars so far here in Cuenca, but there were so many in Otavalo and Quito.  Yesterday in Quito, we were at a juice stand (natural juice is huge in Ecuador) and a little boy came up to me asking if he could shine my shoes.  In retrospect I should have just given him a coin, but there are just so many in his situation, and I just didn't even think of it.

            In Quito, we took a tour of the city yesterday and one of the main stops was the famous basilica.  The church was like a city in itself.  We climbed all over and inside of it, even to the very top of the bell towers.  The size of it was incredible.  Finally at 5:30 last night, we all boarded our flight to Cuenca.  It was only a 45 minute flight but we had to fly because of the state of the road system.  It would have taken us over 12 hours by bus.

 

January 20, 2009

 

Observation 1:  Time passes so slowly.  In a good way.  I accomplish and do a number of things in a given day but never feel stressed or pressed for time.  In fact, I’m usually strolling around thinking, “OK, I have so many options right now.  I could be doing this, or this, but I don’t necessarily HAVE to be doing anything at all.”

            I was afraid at first that I would be uncomfortable with my host family because of the language barrier but it’s already easier even after just 3 days.

            Important aside:

                        Today was Obama’s inauguration. I watched it during “almuerzo” (lunch) with my host parents and I was surprised at how excited they were for his presidency.  Many of Ximena’s (my host mother) family were at the house when I arrived home from class and they were watching as well.  The whole world is excited about Obama and I just saw concrete proof.

            I talked to my parents today from a cabina (telephone booth for international calls at a cheap rate) and I kept waiting for homesickness to hit but it never did.  I suppose I shouldn’t get overconfident that it won’t, it’s only been a week.  Actually, I think the transition to Chile will be harder than here.  In Cuenca, it is fairly contained and structured.  The city is easier to navigate, and I get to see my group everyday.  In Chile, I think it will be much more overwhelming.  I get the impression that Cuenca is like a training ground before they cut the apron strings in Santiago.

            The weather is so temperamental here.  Every morning and early afternoon it has been sunny and warm, but every afternoon, without fail, it has rained.  I find everything so interesting.  There are constantly little things to take note of.  Yesterday, for example, I was walking home from CEDEI (where we take our classes), and a car full of boys chucked bombas de agua (water balloons) at me!  Furthermore, it happened again today!  Actually, I remember Jess Kenney (my friend who did this program last semester) telling me about Carnaval, the weeks leading up to the austerity of Lent on the Liturgical calendar.  Which is of course, the entire time we are here.  I don’t really mind it truthfully, it’s harmless, but I just better not get nailed with a well-placed balloon if I’m wearing nice clothes.

           

 

January 21, 2009

 

One of the aspects of Ecuadorian culture that you would never know about unless you came here is the unspoken hierarchy of the society.  The indigenous peoples are the servants, maids, gardeners, etc., and for the most part, very poor.  I think it’s ironic that the U.S. gets such a bad rap for discrimination when it is much worse in other parts of the world.  The system here reminds me exactly of the dalit system in India.  My host brother actually told me to be careful of the indigenous vendors in the streets because they are inherently sucios, dirty.

            Not to change the subject but the only problem with the custom of eating a big meal in the middle of the day is that it makes you extremely sleepy.  No wonder siestas are popular, and no wonder Americans don’t eat big meals during the day or we would have to take longer lunch breaks.  Ximena is an excellent cook.  It looks like today she cooked food for her entire extended family and they have been stopping by with baskets to pick it up.

 

 

January 22, 2009

 

Yesterday, I switched from just taking the SPA 202 class, to taking both the morning session of 202 and then attending SPA 380 at 10:30.  Seems to be working out well.  Actually, I can’t believe what an easier time I’m having with the language than I originally thought.  I can speak, to be honest, a lot better than I can write.  I think it’s because I’m not careful with grammar but that helps me when I’m speaking as I’m not worried about making mistakes. 

            I’m also learning to cross streets like an Ecuatorian.  No fear, step out in front of speeding cars, and act as if the cars are essentially not there.  The cars themselves drive at 80 mph at all times and if there are people I front of them they don’t slow down, just honk if you’re lucky.  Sometimes I can feel the car go racing past inches behind me.  Essentially there are no rules, just be a ruthless, or reckless driver.

 

 

January 29, 2009

 

How is it that I have so much time and yet so little time to write?  Probably too much running back and forth from La Calle Larga all day.  Today is unusual:  I’ve only gone back and forth from CEDEI twice.  Normally, I make the 25 minute trek several times a day.  However, today was free afternoon.  No dancing or cooking classes, no charlas or meetings.  So instead, Ximena took me to see the Museo del Banco, the most prominent museum in Cuenca with my host nephew Joaquin, who is 15 months old.  The people at the museum thought that I was Ximena’s daughter and Joaquin was my son.  Ximena laughed and said “No! Es mi hija norteamericana!”  The ladies couldn’t believe it.  They were convinced that because I have black hair and a darker complexion that I am Latina.  I had to explain that I am part-Indian, but that just confused them because they wanted to know then why I didn’t have a red dot on my forehead (a tikka) and I told then that I wasn’t Hindu even though I was Indian by race.  It was wonderful spending time with the family.  I’m so glad I enjoy my host family here.  I feel that I’m learning more and speaking more Spanish by being with my family.

            Tomorrow, we have an oral exam and discussion for SPA 380 on las diferencias culturas between Ecuador and the United States.  I looked at our topics and I’ve had discussion with my family about every one of them.  Personally I find the culture a strange contradiction.  It’s both more and less conservative than I expected.  The country is nearly 100% Catholic, yet divorce (especially among young couples, in their 20s) is extremely common.  Abortion, however, is vehemently opposed and illegal, and birth control is rarely used.  Young people here have much more freedom and less responsibility.  It’s not strange or unusual that 25-30 year olds live at home, and generally behave like they’re still college students.  When I go out, I only ever meet people in their late twenties at the clubs.  I don’t even know what the kids my age do.  Alison S.  was funny today, and I knew exactly how she felt.  She felt so guilty about taking a nap again, but that was what everyone else was doing!  Always, after lunch, they are going to take a descansito, “a little rest.”  

 

February 2, 2009

 

We went to Las Cajas, the national park, today.  Extremely high altitudes, dramatic mountainous lanscapes, the lakes, and the forests were all major attractions of Cajas.  After Cajas I was so exhausted that I slept until 11:00 the next day.  After I woke up, Viviana and a friend invited me for a walk in the park with them.  The only problem is: I figured out that Cuencans walk SO SLOWLY.  It’s actually kind of ridiculous.  Anyway, the in the afternoon a friend of mine, Miguel, took me hiking up a mountain right outside of Cuenca for a view of the valley and the surrounding mountains.  Hermosa la vista!

 

February 5, 2009

 

I’m currently embroiled in a dilemma.  Well, not really, it’s a win-win situation either way, but I need to decide whether I’m going to the beach with the group, or staying here to go to a cuy (guinea pig) cook-out with family.  My fear with going to the beach is that it will be an entire weekend of English. It would be so fun though!  I know if I stayed here I would find plenty to do, but it would be a drag if it turned out to be a dull weekend.  Oh well, better to have too many decisions than too few.

            Anyway, this week has been good.  Yesterday, Alex and I went to the University of Cuenca with Bobby to have lunch with him where his host mother works.  She cooks in the one of the cafeterias there.  Tuesday, we all went to a fútbol (soccer) game, Cuenca vs. Somebody, I don’t remember who.  The stadium was full of crazy, screaming fans.  South Americans love soccer.  NOT American football, which they disdain as the fake fútbol.  Before the game, all of the fans were marching around the stadium chanting “Vive Cuenca!” 

 

February 7, 2009

 

Today I am in Saraguro, a town of indigenous people that call themselves the Saraguranos.  MIguel picked me up at 6 this morning and although it was early, the countryside in the early morning is unforgettable.  I discovered on the way that the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, was also going to be in Saraguro for a federal meeting. 

            Right now, I’m hiking along in the woods neighboring the tiny town, passing by farms and houses, and probably piquing the curiosity of the residents.  I don’t think they get many 6 foot foreign girls walking past their driveways.  It’s funny, Saraguro is what I pictured Cuenca would be like before I got there.  I have also learned that it is much easier to understand the Spanish spoken by the mestizos (those of European descent) than that spoken by the indigenous population which is mixed with their own language as well.  I just encountered a group of men and it was impossible for me to understand them.

           

 

February 13, 2009

 

Last day in Cuenca! Noooo!!!  There’s no stress, homework, or problems for me here, and I love the city itself.  And the people.  It’s not to big or too small.  I had a good final morning of classes.  My exams went well and afterward I went to the Parque Calderon for a café pintado with Brad and Emily.  This morning was the last time for CEDEI, to buy bread at Paris Brest, and to see the Parque.  I have almost finished packing before heading out to enjoy a last night at Calle Larga.

            A funny story:

                        Last night was the despedida for us, the students and their families.  We all went to a restaurant called La Parradilla, which was beautifully appointed and had set up a buffet for us.  To commemorate our time in Cuenca, Christina had put together a slideshow of pictures and Bobby gave a speech thanking the host families for their hospitality.  After this, I was talking with the people seated at my table when the co-director of CEDEI, Dunia, came to my table and said to me, “Christine! I’ve heard that you sing.  Would you like to sing something after drinks are served? Ok, great.  I’ll announce you…”

                        I hadn’t even had a chance to respond.  Fortunately, an uncle of Ximena’s had taught me a Spanish song called “Besame Mucho” so I sang that and a jazz song called Summertime because my host mom likes it.  It was spontaneous but a lot of fun.  I wrote down the lyrics to “Besame” so I wouldn’t forget the refrain:

 

Besame…besame mucho

Como si fuera esta noche la última vez.

Besame…besame mucho.

Que tengo miedo perderte…

Perderte despues.

 

 

February 19, 2009

 

I am in Buenos Aires.  We spent 3 days in Santiago in order to get to know the city a little and attend some brief orientation sessions.  I really like the city.  It made a good first impression on me.  Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Buenos Aires.  For being touted as the most cosmopolitan, cultural city in South America, I found it unremarkably sprawling and lacking in charm.  There are mountains of garbage in the streets and all I can see from one section of the city to the next is blocks and blocks of unattractive concrete buildings.  However, I need more time to make a fair judgment.  There has to be a reason why the whole world is in love with Buenos Aires.

 

February 22, 2009

 

We leave for Uruguay today! I am much more excited to see Montevideo and Punta del Este.  I like Buenos Aires decently well but we didn’t have much time here and all I was able to glean was the fleeting impression of an enormous monster of a city.  There is much to learn here and an interesting history but I think I’ll leave it until another time. 

 

February 26, 2009

 

Our last traveling day.  We’re heading back to Chile after 8 action-packed days.  I learned quite a bit in the last few days.  We had a class yesterday covering Plan Condor and the role of the United States in Latin America at the time in respect to the operation.  It’s fascinating to me that all three governments of Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay were being ruled by dictatorships at the same time.  Our class covered the superficiality of US relations with the three countries at the time.  On the surface, the US and Latin America were friends, but under Plan Condor, the US ordered the execution of covert operations involving Panama and La Escuela de las Americas.  La Escuela used their system of communication to pass information to other countries.  It has also been interesting observing and contrasting the three neighboring countries.  For example, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay possess more similarities than Ecuador does to any one of the three.  Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay (also known as countries of the Southern Cone) have all thrown themselves wide open to trade and European influence, much more so than Ecuador or its neighbors.  The countries of the Southern Cone also have a much less influential indigenous population altering the practice of culture and their domestic relations.  However, this is not to say that the Southern Cone is more “Westernized.”  I’ve never seen anyone in the US strolling around sipping from a mate cup.  Mate is a plant that is boiled in water like tea but is much stronger and the leaves remain unfiltered from the water.  You need a bombilla (metal straw) to extract the liquid from the boiled plant matter sipped from clay or metal cups.  Don’t drink to much of it or it’ll make you violently sick.  Drinking mate is very much a part of the culture and is a method of socialization. 

 

February 27, 2009

 

I’m back in Santiago.  We’re finally going to start the Chilean adventure, the whole point of this study abroad experience.  In Syracuse they only talked about our time in Chile, only prepared us for Chile, but so much has already happened in the month and a half we’ve been in South America and none of it in Chile!  Today, I’m going to meet my Chilean family.  I have three sisters ages 16, 19, and 22 as well as a younger brother age 6.  I’m so excited!  They are exactly what I was hoping to get, as many people as possible in one house.  The youngest sister plays volleyball and the oldest sister and mother sing.  Already we have things in common.  I’m glad to be back in Santiago.  While we were traveling, I realized how lucky we were to be studying in Santiago.  The city is much more conducive for living and studying than Buenos Aires or Montevideo.

            It’s a little sad that today is the last day that our group will be together for a while.  From now on, any time we spend all together will only be for short trips with the program.  Bueno, pero así es la vida!.  We need to be apart in order to learn more of the language, culture, and meet more people.

            I’ve been thinking about a lot of different things.  For one, I’m not nervous to meet my family.  I was horribly nervous to meet my Ecuadorian family, much more than I would have thought.  I think I’m less nervous now because I have much more information about the family and a stronger command of the language. 

            My first observation of Santiago is the view.  In contrast to the tall buildings and stark modernity of the city, are the Andes Mountains that rise above the building on all sides of the city.  It’s like man vs. nature, and neither has won yet.  In Buenos Aires and Montevideo the cities covered nature, making it invisible.  They were all buildings and cement.  In Ecuador, the two worked together.  Here, they are not in harmony but both possess a strong presence.  From my window, I can see the streets, the building, but also the mountains and sky.  It’s quite unique. 

            Traveling has been great but exhausting and I’m ready for the end of traversing the continent and the start of something new.

 

 

Part Two: The Semester in Chile

 

March 4, 2009

 

We haven’t started classes yet.  Still.  It’s seems so crazy. It’s almost spring break in Syracuse!  I feel like I’m in a state of limbo.  We haven’t really had a chance to get integrated into life here at all and instead we run around to orientations, or kill time waiting to go to orientations. 

            We played fútbol this afternoon to blow off some steam after our Spanish evaluation exam.  Playing helped us feel a little more Chilean as all people in South America are OBSESSED with talking about it, watching it, and playing it.  We have been exploring the city at night a bit and I’m discovering, to my chagrin, that it may be a harder to make Chilean friends.  They are not as open or friendly as the Ecuadorians, and compounding this is the fact that we are in a city where people are more reserved and cautious anyway.  I said today during my oral exam that the difference between culture in a city and a small town is much greater than cultural differences between countries in some cases.  Towns breed a certain kind of person no matter the nationality, and so do cities.  It’s a difference in pace of life and how you communicate with your next-door neighbor. 

 

March 15, 2009

 

Que buena es la vida y loca además!  My thoughts and perceptions of Santiago are developing and growing with time.  To be here is a great opportunity and I don’t have to time to be reserved or suspicious.  Therefore, after a stressful first week, I have decided that I need to relax and think about what is actually important and what are my goals for studying abroad. 

            My initial impression that the people are more difficult to get to know is correct but I had a conversation with my Chilean mother, Loreta, about my fear that I would never be able to speak with, and make Chilean friends.  She told me that I need to take more time with these things. 

 

March 19, 2009

 

You know what’s weird? I want to go to church and it’s not even Sunday.  I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I can walk to the church as it’s so close and I’ve discovered that religion is something that can help me accustom myself to new places.  I didn’t really need it in Cuenca because I had a family I was very comfortable with, especially Ximena.  Loreta is a different story.  She’s not very motherly.  The church has always been somewhere I feel comfortable and it’s usually the same worldwide.  The Catholic Church is known for consistency and tradition if nothing else.  

Last night I went to Brad’s house and I am officially in love with his host mother.  She gave me a big hug and a kiss and proceeded to talk to us for the next two hours.  Displays of affection are a little forced in my house.  I don’t know why.  I like them all but there isn’t the same kind of affection I had for my family in Cuenca.

Although, I finally have my class schedule!  I’ve changed it about 3 or 4 times but that’s typical of me.  I am going to take Dictaduras y Derechos Humanos with Mauricio (Professor Paredes, we never call him that),  Política Medioambiental: El Caso de Chile with Beatriz Bustos, and Geografía de Latina America con Profesor Alfredo Sanchez.  I’ll also be taking Español Avanzada, the advanced Spanish class as well as teaching English twice a week at a local high school. 

 

March 27, 2009

 

We’re here in a hostel in Valparaiso, a charming, antiquated port city about an hour from Santiago.  Valparaiso is the oldest city in Chile and according to history was never founded but rather simply found.  There were already signs of civilization here when the Spaniards stumbled upon it.  It’s a winding cluster of old buildings and colorful murals with beautiful views from the top of the cerros, or hills.  I almost wish I had come here to study!  This is my first experience in a hostel and I will definitely be staying in hostels from now on.  I don’t know why you wouldn’t!  They’re incredibly cheap, cute, and personable.  You win all the way around.  In the words of Alex, the hostel “is like a cute dorm!”  Alex and I were proud of our trip-planning skills.  Brad, Alex, Bobby, Megan, Evan, John, and I decided to take off and explore a little of Chile outside of Santiago so here we are!  We’re heading out to investigate a bit…more later…

 

March 31, 2009

 

Sometimes, when I stop to think about it, life just seems surreal.  I’ll be walking along Simon Bolivar from the metro stop when all of a sudden the complete normality of what I am doing hits me, as well as the realization that simply where I am is so completely out of the norm.  Each day I go through a series of normal activities, living a normal life, but it isn’t my normal life.  At the same time, I don’t feel so out of place. 

             I was talking to Loreta yesterday about a flower shop I had passed and the amiability of the shopkeeper to me when I entered to look around.  “Todas las mujeres les gustan a las flores,” ella me dijo, “en todo el mundo.”  Translation: “All women like flowers, everywhere in the world.”  And it’s true.  Women have common denominating factors all over the world and I would be willing to bet that receiving flowers from a loved one is one of them.  It’s the little things that enable us to connect.  Even though I don’t speak the same native language as my host sister Nati, she understood what I was trying to convey when I gave her a few flowers as a get-well present.  She, by the way, ran into a post over the weekend and dashed open her chin with spike.  She had to have stitches.  I wasn’t with them because I was in Valparaiso with my friends.  Speaking of the trip, it was a great weekend.  We explored, ate, drank, and danced until we simply couldn’t do any more.  Many people from Santiago dislike Valparaiso because they feel it is dirtier and poorer but I say that Valparaiso has character.  Following the suggestion of a woman we met at breakfast, we went in search for a market supposedly near the hostel.  We found it, and what we found was a fish market!.  Mountains of fresh shellfish, rough-looking fisherman filleting the day’s catch, and crowds of milling shoppers were crowding the small street where the fish market was.  We debated briefly buying fish and cooking it at the hostel but a better idea seemed to be to find the restaurants that receive that fish we were watching be filleted before our eyes.  Therefore, we sent Brad on a scouting mission.  He approached one of the fishermen and asked where we could find a restaurant where he sells his fish.  To our surprise, the man immediately laid down his knife and told Brad to follow him.  He took off at a rapid pace for the entrance of the big warehouse lining the street of the fish market and disappeared inside.  After looking at one another for a split second as if questioning the wisdom of following a strange man inside a scary-looking building, we followed him inside.  Up we climbed, 3 flights until, without warning, we spilled out onto the third floor where we were immediately overwhelmed by the noise and smell of cooking food.  On the third floor of the building were about 20 tiny restaurants all serving the delectable seafood we had seen out on the street.  The man led us to one particular restaurant and called out the proprietor and informed him to take care of the gringos, which he did gladly and with enthusiasm.  What followed for the next three hours was one of the best and most fun meals I’ve ever had.  We ate an obscene amount of food, were entertained by folk guitarists, and made friends with the owner.  It was altogether a fantastic experience!

 

April 10, 2008

 

This week is Holy Week, or as they say here the Semana Santa.  It is the most important and profound week of the year on the liturgical calendar.  I have thinking of my real family and how we normally celebrate Easter with careful attention and reverence.  Here, they don’t just celebrate Easter, they eat, drink, and breathe religion for 7 days.  It’s the topic of all conversation, thoughts, television programs, and how we go about daily life.  Even if you didn’t want to know anything about Catholicism, you do now.  I”ve never seen anything like it.  The people are consumed by holy week and with emotion for God.  I attended the Last Supper service last night and this afternoon I went to the Stations of the Cross.  The two masses were beautiful, intimate, and with an expression of fervor that I rarely see from the average Catholic.  I have been spending a lot of time in church, but also a lot of quality time with my Chilean family, which to me is invaluable.  I am the first practicing Catholic they’ve had and it is a true bonding experience to be able to experience Easter with them.  It is something very important to the both of us.  Honestly, sometimes I feel sorry for people that have little faith or conviction.  They don’t know what they’re missing out on.

 

April 14, 2009

 

I have a cold.  Although, it is much worse to have a cold in Syracuse where you need to go to class, trudge through the cold, and take care of yourself anyway.  Here, my Chilean mom is very worried about me, insists that I stay in bed, and brings my hourly installments of some kind of lemon tea.  I realized recently that Chileans are much more preoccupied about their health than Americans.  They’re practically paranoid about illness or injury.  Loreta and Maca, my oldest sister, informed me that the sure cause of my cold was the sudden change in temperature and the fact that I insist on running in the 50-degree weather.  Hmmm, I don’t think I agree but they’re very cute. 

            For some reason, as I’ve been lying here on the coach, I’ve been thinking about the typical foods of Chile and not only the “typical” dishes like pastel de choclo or  sopaipillas but foods that we eat every day.

1)   Crucial to existence is BREAD.  One time we ran out of bread and because it was a national holiday all of the shops were closed so we MADE bread because they couldn’t not have it.

2)   Tea is another big one.  I think I drink 4-5 cups a day.

3)   Mountains of fresh fruit and vegetables, especially apples, bananas, avocado, tomato, kiwi, and lettuce.

4)   Yogurt

5)   Nescafe (it’s disgusting)

6)   SALT, they put it on everything including lettuce. I think they would salt their bread if that weren’t against the laws of nature.

7)   Beets

8)   Ham and cheese

9)   Marmalade

10)          Rice

11)          Zapallo, a type of squash

12)          Powdered juice

13)          Manjar, another name for dulce de leche

14)          Pebre, a salsa made with cilantro, onion, garlice, tomato and whatever else you want to put in it.

There are five women in this household so naturally they are very concerned about calorie intake.  We don’t eat a lot of meat (although this is not the norm for most Chileans, they are very much a meat and potatoes culture), and everything is prepared in a healthy manner.  During the week I take salad and rice to school for lunch and when I get home I eat once, consisting of bread, ham, cheese, and tea.  When I’m home for lunch, I eat a main dish accompanied by lettuce, tomato, and avocado.  I enjoy all the food except for the fact that spicy food is an absolute foreign concept here.  They don’t even use ordinary black pepper in anything.  

 

May 29, 2009

 

I haven’t written anything in forever!  And I had plans to fill this entire journal by the end of the trip.  I think when life is routine and you slip into a normal procession of things in the day-to-day, there is less motivation or need to write.  Maybe this is my cue to shake up my routine!  Really, there are no excuses except for my lack of concentration.  I guess one good thing is that I feel that my life here is normal.  I don’t feel like an outsider.  I have been integrated!

            Especially in the last three weeks, I have felt that I have an increased ability to communicate and more confidence as well.  There are so many things to catch up on!  All right, for starters, since Easter, my relationship with my family couldn’t be better.  We’re like a real family.  My host dad, Roberto, likes to take me places with him and introduce me simply as his
“daughter” and watch the incredulity of his acquaintances as they take in his 6 foot “daughter” standing next to her 5’6” “father.”  I also have a lot in common with the eldest daughter, Maca, we both have strong opinions about faith, religion, social issues, and life in general.

            I have met a lot of people in the last month and am now frustrated because it’s only a month and a half until we leave!  I need more time.  6 months is not enough to really experience a culture and form lasting bonds.  I spent the first 4 months just getting over the language barrier!  I’m afraid I’m just going to forget all my Spanish when I get back!

 

June 12, 2009

 

“Quiero ser libre, libre, libre, como el viento!”  A line from one of my favorite songs.  It’s a great salsa song.  I’m going camping tomorrow outside of Rancagua with Brad, Emily, and Pablo.  Should be fun! 

 

Later that same day…

 

I’m sitting by the campfire in the Andes Mountains, watching the fire and listening to Pablo sing Chilean folk tunes to the strumming of his guitar.  We’re full of good food, good wine, and in good company.  Life doesn’t get any better than this.  It’s nice to escape from the city once in a while and see the surrounding region.  We arrived at the campsite after various challenges with the road and the car and the long hike but it was worth it.  Of course, Brad brought his huge drum that he takes everywhere with him, but there is something soothing about the rhythmic beating of a drum in the middle of the mountains. 

 

June 22, 2009

 

I just got back from the movies with Roberto, Nati, and Nacha.  We went to see “Duplicity,” which I loved but I think the complicated dialogue was lost on the sisters.  I really don’t know what I would do without my Chilean family sometimes. Go crazy I’m sure.  I had some bad news yesterday.  Apparently my mother has been sick for the past month or so with a heart condition.  She’s going to be fine, it’s not fatal but it was still tough to hear it when I’m thousands of miles away.  Anyway, I was distracted obviously and Roberto is used to me being always happy, always smiling, so to cheer me up he decided to take us to the movies and insisted on buying me ice cream.  He instructed Maxi that I needed extra hugs because my mama was sick.  They were a huge help.  Although to my surprise, apparently my sister has stepped up to the plate in my absence and really helped out around the house.  She informed me that she even cooked dinner for the family for a whole week all by herself.  And no one got sick from it.  I will be sad to leave Chile but I am ready to see my real family.  Six months is a long time. 

           

June 23, 2009

 

Ok, it’s official.  Chileans are more suspicious and superstitious of anyone I’ve ever met in my entire life.  I just went into the kitchen to say good night to Loreta and the girls, and got embroiled in conversation Nacha and Loreta were having about death.  Morbid, I know.  Nacha, naturally as a 16 year-old, is afraid of death and is afraid that it is going to hurt.  Loreta, in response, told her a story about a severe miscarriage she had had before her pregnancy with Nacha.  She had been bleeding and bleeding until suddenly, she felt herself leave her body and she was able to survey the scene from above feeling no pain at all.  Loreta said that the mind works to protect the body from pain and extreme shock and that was the reason that she had left her body.  I don’t know about that.  I’m not a huge believer in the whole people being able to leave their bodies and choose whether to reenter them or die thing.  I mean, I guess it could happen, I wouldn’t know.  I don’t have any experience with these things and Loreta is a very religious and spiritual woman.  I would be more inclined to believe her if I didn’t already know the Chilean tendency for exaggeration.  They like mysticism and the supernatural and are much more inclined to believe all manners of gossip and fantastic stories that I automatically dismiss as ridiculous.  Well, Loreta’s story is definitely an interesting one although I don’t know if Nacha is any less afraid of dying now. 

            On a lighter note, I’m going skiing tomorrow!

 

June 30, 2009

 

I’m finishing up my semester work! I’ve been working more than usual with my two major projects regarding HidroAysén and Mauricio’s class.  For Mauricio I’m doing a journalistic investigation into the sentiment and living memory of different generations of Chileans concerning the dictatorship.  It’s been an interesting investigation so far.  I’ve interviewed Roberto, his daughters, Agnes and Pau.  I still need conservative points of view, but those might be more difficult to obtain.  I need to get most of it done before I leave for…Chiloé!  Brad, Emily, Alison, Danielle and I are leaving for the south of Chile on Wednesday.  We’re going to Valdivia first, known for its chocolate and beer, and then we’ll continue onto the island.  I’m excited!

 

July 7, 2009

 

I’m not sure that  I can capture the mystical beauty that characterizes Chonchi in words.  In contrast to other mornings (namely in Achao), where there were torrential downpours of rain, cold rain, this morning dawned clear and bright.  The sun is just barely peeking over the horizon even though it’s already 9:00 in the morning.  Emily and I went to the fish market next door after deciding that collecting our own mussels and clams might prove as fruitless as last night.  We bought some filets of pejerrey to fry up with some eggs, onions, tomatoes, and some outstanding bread from the panaderia around the corner.  Brad was ecstatic.  We’ve been making good use of the kitchen, after paila marina and salmon a lo pobre, we came back here and mulled wine to share with this guy from New Zealand who also stayed here last night.  Chonchi has most definitely been a find.  It has a uniqueness and quirky charm that the other places have not had.  It helps that we are staying beachfornt and have an exceptional view of the bay where we saw dolphins jumping this morning.  Castro was also a lot of fun but definitely more what you would expect being the capital city of Chiloé.  The palafitos and mercado were the highlights of Castro.  Alison, Emily, and I bought wool ponchos and homemade wine after trying raw sea urchin.  Alison and Danielle had to leave to go back to Santiago yesterday, but Brad, Emily, and I have been having a fantastic time just the three of us.  We have a crazy hostel proprietor named Charles Grady who is definitely not from South America but in response to our question clamed he was from the second planet from the sun and his next door neighbor is a witch with ten dogs.  We’re allowed to throw rocks at the dogs apparently.

            Fortunately, I think our weather is going to hold today.  Our plans right now are to inquire in town as to whether the Isla Lemuy is worth a trip or not.  If it is, we’ll hike down to Puerto Huichas and catch the ferry across to the island.  Maybe there will be hiking or something around.  I’m grateful for the sun now after such rainy days and an absolutely FREEZING night.  I had upwards of nine blankets on my bed.  There’s no heat in this place and it’s winter.

 

July 8, 2009

 

We’ve arrived at the end of a fantastic experience and a beautiful week.  Good company, nights around the fireplace, and unique expeditions were undertaken every day.  We ended up going to the Isla Lemuy to enjoy the views and we discovered…the Shire from Lord of the Rings!  The island was the prettiest and most tranquil place I’ve encountered yet in Chile.  We hiked around for more than three hours before we ran into three Chileans from Quellón waiting for a bus to come by (one didn’t).  So we hitchhiked with them back to Chonchi.  Today, I’m heading back to Santiago.  I can’t believe it.  One week from tomorrow I’ll be on a flight back to New York City and my real life.  It’s unreal to think about it. 

 

July 17, 2009

 

Here I am.  The opposite side of the world.  I’m with my real family at our camp in the woods.  I don’t think two places could be more different than upstate New York and Santiago de Chile.  According to the literature, I’m in the process of “reentry” into my own culture.  Honestly, it’s not that difficult.  This is my home and I haven’t forgotten how to interact my own family in only half a year.  I feel a little funny just because my siblings have grown and matured and the family has adjusted to me being away, but all in all, it’s good to be home.