Que Pasa?

Since my travels ended at the end of February, there has been some other happenings.

Firstly, I had a St. Patrick's Day party over here. People came over here a little later than I had planned, but there was plenty of BBQ (my roommate had just bought a grill) and booze. I also made a play list with a bunch of Irish folk songs. It was a great time, and after most people left, I went to go dance Cumbia with a few friends at one of my favorite clubs, La Fonda Permanente. The next day around 12:30 p.m., I got three consecutive calls from my roommate. I finally woke up and answered despite my excruciating hangover. He said there were some problems. The sink in the kitchen had overflown (not sure how that happened), and the neighbors downstairs were angry that a bunch of beer cans and cigarette butts were in their yard. Of course, as soon as I got off the phone I heard a knock at our door and sure enough, it was our neighbors. The man was clearly not happy and asked if I threw a party last night, I said "Yes." Then he mentioned the mess in his yard. I tried to assure him that I didn't see anyone throwing anything over our balcony to his yard (which was true) and that the wind often takes empty beer cans and cigarette butts that are laid at the edge (also true). However, I couldn't remember the word for "wind" so I made snake-like movements with my arms and made a whistling sound with my mouth. The man looked at me like I was crazy. I apologized for not being able to speak better Spanish. Anyway, I grabbed some empty plastic bags and headed downstairs where his wife was waiting, similarly unhappy. I picked up everything I could and when I came back through their door, I assured the woman that it was accident to which she was incredulous. She practically scolded me and said, "Es una mala costumbre" (It's a bad habit) and "Se falta su educacion" (You lack a good upbringing). Not feeling the greatest, I took it all in the stride. Then I cleaned up my own mess in our apartment. Fun Saturday, not a fun Sunday.

I went to Lollapalooza a couple of weeks ago. This is a festival that started in the mid-90s in the USA. They are known for having a lot of mainstream alternative rock bands. Initially, it was a touring festival, but in more recent years they have elected to just make it a one-off festival in Chicago. Last year, the first Lollapalooza outside of the USA was in Santiago, Chile. Fortunately for me, due to the success of last year's event, they decided to have it again this year!

Around half the bands playing were Chilean while the other half were from United States or UK. I don't mean to come off as ethno-centric, but since I had at least heard of almost all of the US and UK acts, those are the bands that I saw.

On the first day, I went with my friends Andrew, Sina, Franny, and Luke. We met at Andrew and Sina's house (they live with several other people in a very cool Victorian era house literally next door to the location of the festival) and had a couple of beers. Then we trekked to the festival. Surprisingly, the festival was dry (except for the VIP section)! I couldn't believe it! Good for my pocketbook, bad for my thirst. Anyway, we briefly met up with our other friends, Rodrigo, Boris, Mark, and Mark, but quickly lost them when we decided we wanted to see different performances.

I won't go into describing the individual performances of the various bands that I saw, but surely the highlight of Saturday was when Franny and Sina accidentally walked into the VIP section. It was only after they walked in unobstructed did they realize that they were actually inside. They decided to have some free beer and free food. Later on, Luke, Andrew, and I nonchalantly walked in as well (like we owned the place) and the five of us gorged ourselves on free food, Jack & Cokes, and beer.

My favorite act of the weekend was by far the Icelandic vocalist, Bjork. Despite there being thousands of people in attendance for the headliner on Saturday night (Bjork), everyone was practically silent. Well, except my friend Andrew. While enjoying some of Bjork's more minimalist and tranquil material, Andrew was drunkenly yelling/talking in my ear, "I don't know, man. Bjork's just not my thing. It's like what Larry David said, 'Why do I have to like pesto just because everyone likes pesto?' Bjork is my pesto!" I repeatedly told him to shut up, but to no avail.

The next day of the festival, we met up with the whole gang (as seen in the pictures). This included me, Andrew L (from before), Sina, Franny, Luke, Belen, Emily, Boris, Rodrigo, Mark, Leslie, and Andrew C. Unfortunately, this crew didn't last long either, but thus is the way of the music festival! In any case, the music was even better on Sunday and I had a wonderful time.

More recently, I went to Valparaiso last weekend. I haven't had a chance to go back since the New Year's Celebration and see the sites. After none of my friends seemed keen on the idea, I took up the banner myself, and rode to Valparaiso with pride and glory (in my bus). I stayed at a hostel called Casa Valparaiso, which was excellent! I mostly walked around to all of their famous hills. I also went to the Naval Museum and La Sebastiana (the Valparaiso house of Pablo Neruda). I wanted to go to their modern art museum, but I guess it was STILL closed for renovation. La Sebastiana was definitely the highlight. I have visited his house in Santiago as well, La Chascona, which I think I wrote about in a previous entry. Neruda was a very interesting and complex individual, as well as a Nobel Prize-winning poet.

Some highlights from the tour:

- Pablo Neruda loved social gatherings and would often host parties at his house. At these parties he would wear disguises and would change disguises throughout the night.

- He had a real knack for naming things. For example, his comfortable leather chair that overlooked the sea was called "Cloud" and he would often reference in letters when he was abroad. Specifically, how much he missed sitting in it.

- Neruda's houses are filled with tons of paintings, antiques, and other souvenirs. Each has its own story. For example, there is a painting of a woman from 17th century hanging on one of the walls. On the opposite wall is a painting of a man from around the same period. He initially bought the former, but then bought the latter so the woman wouldn't feel lonely.

I need to make a point to read more of his work!

Another highlight from walking around in Valparaiso was the star-filled and full-mooned view from one of the hills. I love looking at the stars. I also love looking at city lights from a high vantage point. It never makes me feel "small" as someone people say they feel. Rather, it always gives me an undeniable sense of wonder. I think to myself, "Where is life going to take me next?" Slightly trite, I know, but it's the truth!

I also thought about how moments like this are often deemed romantic, and I started thinking why that may be. I thought that a lot of it might have to do with the way in which romantic movies and T.V. shows have constructed a hyper-real narrative dictating to us what "romance" and "relationships" should be.

I also thought that maybe it's just the fact that you're with someone else is that you're sharing in a mutual sort of "wonder" about life and all it has to give and offer.

My cynical self would probably choose the former, but another part of me says it's probably a combination of the two. In any case, most people would probably say I think too much about everything.

In my hostel, I met a few German girls (including a girl who works there*), a New Zealand girl, and an Argentinian guy. The group of us went out together both nights. In actuality, the second night included everyone else from our hostel (probably at least 20 people). Unfortunately, that group consisted of some very stuffy and obnoxious English guys. Now, I know that I harsh judge of character when I first meet people, but my judgements were soon confirmed by the German girls and the Argentinian guy who didn't have many good things to say about them. Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with them as we got separated when we arrived at the monstrous club named El Huevo ("The Egg"). It has five stories plus a rooftop patio. Each story has a different style of music being played: Salsa and Cumbia, 80s, Rock, etc. Drinks were cheap, and clients were happy. Apparently, my group LOVED my dancing, so I danced until almost 5:00 a.m. both nights.

Lastly, one of my good friends, Jeff, left Santiago this last Tuesday. We went out for his "despedida" (going away party) on Tuesday to my favorite Chilean dive bar: La Piojera. In Jeff's case, I think he got sick of all the financial instability that comes with being an English teacher here (students canceling class, privates being flaky, etc.)

*The German girl who worked the hostel was very sweet. She was all but 19 years old, but had the maturity level of someone much older. The fact that she was about 6'2" certainly helped the assumption that she was older. She was on her "off year" which a lot of Europeans do: basically you take a year off between high school and college to go work and travel abroad. Not everyone can afford it, of course, but I feel as though it allows one to experience what living on one's own is like before arriving to the madness of university life. Also, you get valuable insight into another culture, and thus expand your world view. Furthermore, it allows you to take a fresh breath before you decide what to do for the rest of your life (i.e. choosing an area of study). I wish this was common practice in the US, because even if the youngsters of the middle-class and high class are the only ones who could afford it, at least it would broaden their horizons a bit.

Vacaciones en Verano: Isla de Chiloe

My last stop on my vacation was Isla de Chiloe. This little island just off the coast of Chile purportedly has some mythical qualities to it. Adding to this characteristic is the expansive folklore surrounding it's history. Of these mythological stories and creatures, my favorite is the story of Trauco. He is an evil forest gnome with great powers that allow him to easily seduce versions. Thus, in older days, Trauco was often blamed if young, single maids were suddenly found to be pregnant. Of course, there was no man to share the blame in the unwanted pregnancy, because IT WAS TRAUCO!!!

My first stop on Isla de Chiloe was on the northern tip in a town called Ancud. Our bus ferried across the strait and, by happen chance, my hostel was right next door to the bus station. The hostel was called 13 Lunas and it was probably the best hostel I've ever stayed at in terms of cleanliness and the condition of the physical building. I felt like the staff could be a little more friendly, but that place was sure was immaculate.

During my first (and only full day) in Ancud, I simply walked around the coast of the island, visiting an old fortress, went to a museum detailing some of the history of the island, and finally went to gorge on some curanto.

Now, let me tell you about curanto. If there were ever a more meat and potatoes dish, I've never heard of or seen it. Of course, curanto can vary restaurant to restaurant, but what I got at the particular restaurant I went to was three kinds of potatoes, chicken, pork, beef, and about 30-40 shellfish and mussels with a side of broth (which was probably from the same pot they cooked the shellfish and mussels in). I prepared myself by not eating that much all day long, and I ended up eating ALL of it! After living mostly on nuts, raisins, and fruit the previous week and a half, that was some much needed nourishment.

The next morning I took a bus to the very center of Chiloe, Castro, and then I took another bus to Nacional Parque Chiloe (Chiloe National Park). I camped there for three nights. Retrospectively, I really only needed two or so days there as there weren't sufficient enough trails or sites of interest to last more than that. It's well known that it rains all the time on Chiloe, so luckily, it only rained on me a little bit while I was camping. There was some interesting fauna and some great, scenic views, but beyond that, Nacional Parque Chiloe didn't have as much to offer as I would have hoped. They also had some trails that led to their seemingly never-ending beach on the Pacific Ocean side (pictured above).

One other thing I want to mention about my travels is that I had a few "it's a small world after all" experiences. I met a guy from the United States on a bus from Pucon to Valdivia. When I was hiking in the Chiloe National Park, who did I happen to cross paths with? The same guy! We talked for a little while about what we had done since last seeing each other. There were also times where I saw Chileans and foreigners alike in one town, and then saw them in another town. I think most people follow a similar path to the South, so it's not incredibly surprising.

After my time in the Park, I took a bus back to Castro, then a bus back to Puerto Varas, and finally an overnight bus to Santiago. Home again!

Vacaciones en Verano: Puerto Varas

Well, this one is going to be short and sweet. I spent a total of two days in Puerto Varas and it rained both days. In fact, as I walked into my hostel, soaked only after a three block walk from the bus station, I asked the German at the front desk what the weather looked like for the next couple of days. He pulled up the 2-week weather forecast and it was nothing but rain. Then, as if to emphasize that fact, he said in a deadpan, heavily accented voice, "Yea, it looks like a lot of raining." "Well, OK, we'll see what happens," I thought.

One thing that is awesome about Chile (among many) is the fact that because it is such a long country running North and South that it has an very wide variety of landscapes. In the North you have desert, the Central has mountains, and in the South you have beautiful, lush forests. Unfortunately for the South, that also means a lot of rain year 'round.

Puerto Varas is similar to Pucon in that it has the small Colorado resort town feel and look to it. Additionally there are several outdoor sports (canyoning, rafting, hiking) you can do when the weather isn't bad.

My first night I met a British couple in their early thirties who are on sabbatical from work and traveling around the world for a year. Pretty cool if you ask me. I didn't even know that the British got sabbaticals from corporate jobs. Lucky bastards!

There was a free concert going in the town center so we went to that. It was a really famous Chilean (well, famous here), but I forgot their name. Not exactly my type of music, but I appreciated their professionalism.

The next day I woke up and it was relatively clear outside, so I decided to take a bus out to Petrohue, a small town about an hour away from Puerto Varas. It is supposed to be a beautiful area...when it's not extremely cloudy. In Petrohue you can hike around Volcano Orsono. Unfortunately for me, once I stepped off of the bus it started drizzling. I decided to muscle through it, and I hiked for about an hour and a half before it starting pouring off and on, so I decided to return and took the bus back. Because of the cloud cover, I couldn't see the volcano, or too far across the beautifully turquoise lake.

Later that evening, I made dinner and spent the remainder of the night chatting up the British couple from the previous night as well as a Dutch couple.

The next day, I was off to Isla de Chiloe!

Vacaciones en Verano: Valdvia & Niebla

After Pucón, I made my way to Valdivia. Valdivia is a city that lies on a river, slightly inland from the Pacific Ocean. The south of Chile is known to have some German influence here and there, and Valdivia is pretty much at the epicenter of that. There is a clear German influence in the architecture and food. Unbeknownst to me, there was a festival, Noche Valdiviana, the very weekend I was coming that resulted in their being no hostels available. So, I elected to camp in a town 20-30 minutes away on the Pacific coast, called Niebla. I found a campsite that was essentially someone's backyard. There were about 15 other couples and groups that were at the campsite. It was only a 10 minute walk from a beautiful beach. The first day in Niebla, it rained (but most drizzle) all day long. Still, that was not going to stop me. I took a ferry to an island called Corral which has one of the oldest and best kept fortresses from the War of Independence that Chile had against Spain. I walked around the hilly town a little bit and then decided to eat a seafood stew for lunch, which was indescribably delicious. Corral made me think of what small towns on the Northwest coast might be like, maybe in Oregon or Washington. (I know I keep comparing Chilean towns to places in the United States, but I just can't help it since I have the most perspective from living in the States). Then I took the ferry back and went to Kuntsmann Brewery, which is the most famous artisanal brewery in Chile.

While I was sipping beers, two guys sat down next to me and I overheard them speaking English. Then I heard them speaking French...and then Spanish. Finally, I asked, "Where are you guys from?" The shorter one said he was from the United States and is teaching English in Santiago. The taller one said he was from France and is a student in Santiago. I told them that I was teaching English in Santiago. After we got to talking for a while, they invited me over to their table for beers where I met the shorter one's Chilean girlfriend, as well as two girls they are friends with, one from England and the other from South Africa. Quite the international crew!

I exchanged contact information with the shorter one and I actually went to a party he hosted last week. Pretty funny how that worked out.

The next day, I went to the beach immediately after waking up and spent a couple of hours walking up and down it, as well as sunbathing. I would swim but the ocean water is ghastly cold in Chile, unless you're far up in the north. Then I went to this humongous indoor fair (for lack of a better term). Every vendor was selling food and drinks in celebration of Noche Valdiviana (more on the celebration later). At this fair, they also had performers singing traditional Chilean songs and dancing traditional Chilean dances. While most of my trip I was eating tuna, nuts, and fruit, I decided to indulge at this fair, because all the food looked so damn good! I bought salmon stuffed with parmesan cheese, tomato, and sausage (only the Chileans would think of a way to make something like salmon UNHEALTHY for you) with potatoes and a side salad. Then I bought two miniature, seafood-stuffed empanadas. Finally I had kuchen for dessert. I was stuffed silly, but it was all delicious.

After I got back to my campsite, I started to talk to some young Chileans. Three of them were from San Antonio (on the coast and southwest from Santiago), and the other was studying in Valparaiso. Two of them were 18, one was 20, and the other 23. They were all musicians and they had a vast library of Chilean folk music at their disposal. They played all of the time in the campsite and I never heard a song repeated. I can't remember the last time I met four people so full of life! In some way, and in lacking a better way to put it; everything seemed so big and important to them. It was less than 10 years ago that I was still a teenager, and I can't even remember having those types of feelings about the world. Spending time with them didn't make me nostalgic as I was more prone to do a few years ago, as much as it made me reflective of where I was and where I am today.

Anyway, Noche Valdiviana is the biggest annual festival in Valdivia, and it features a parade of boats with various float designs, street performers, and fireworks. We walked around admiring everything. Once it was time for the boat parade, we got some beers and sat on the dock while watching the boats go by. Afterwards, we danced inside one of the drum circles until the fireworks started going off around midnight.

When we got back to the campsite, there were other people around that were still partying and we talked and played music. The next morning I packed up and headed to Puerto Varas!

Vacaciones en Verano: Pucón

My first stop in my trip was Pucón. I had heard a lot about Pucón from friends who had visited and a friend whose father lives there. My first impression of Pucón was that it reminded me of small resort towns in Colorado. My hostel was literally right across the street from the bus station and arrived EXACTLY at the time that I had listed as my arrival time, which completely amazed the nice woman at the front desk. She was Dutch and spoke near perfect English.

That was actually one of the themes from my travels: meeting Dutch people that spoke near perfect English so much so that I assumed they were either British or North American. The only thing that makes me realize whether or not they are Dutch is that when they say a word that includes "th", especially at the beginning of a word like "the", they can't pronounce it correctly. Instead, "the" sounds like "da". When I was discussing this topic with a Dutch couple and a British couple, the Dutch woman said, "No one learns our language, so we have to learn other languages." I suppose that is certainly true!

Anyway, the day that I arrive in Pucón, I decide that I'm going to climb a volcano! Specifically, Volcano Villarica (over 9,000 feet high) just outside of Pucón. An active volcano that last erupted in 1971. We woke up at 3:30 a.m. to meet at 4:00 a.m. There was a group of about 12 of us, all from my hostel. There were about 6 Germans, an Irishman, an Englishman, one Dutch woman, two French women, and myself. I started off behind the rest because I couldn't find the gloves they had provided us. I ended up being the last one in our long line throughout the entire journey, but I wasn't beat up about it or anything. For the most part, everyone else seemed to be in better shape than I was and I certainly realized that. One of the guides, a girl named Isara, stayed with me most of the time and kept on tell me, "Todo esta aqui" ("Everything is here") and would point to her head. As much as I'd like to believe my exhaustion was all in my head, I certainly had a hard time believing it.

Once we got to a certain part of the volcano, we had to attach crimpers (spiked add-ons) to our shoes, because there was a large portion that was ice and snow. We were also given an ice pick. I knew then and there that this part was going to be serious business. Our guides advised us on the various safety measures that we should take. We followed lightly made trails in the snow and switched back and forth all the way up. It was odd, because the sun was beating down hot on us, but the cold winds were enough for me to put a second jacket on.

Once we reached the top I admired the view, took some pictures, unavoidably inhaled some fumes from the smoking volcano, and promptly laid down and took a nap. That's right. Not only can I say that I climbed a volcano now, but I also took a nap on top of one. While most of the other crew was off taking pictures with a Chilean flag, I was laying down for a cat nap.

The way down, we'll say, was a tad different than the way up. We slid the entire way down! There were pre-made slides carved into the ice and snow and we used our ice picks as "brakes". I say "brakes" with quotation marks because the slides were so slick that we could hardly stop ourselves at all. We all got done more or less unscathed, but there were a couple of crashes on the way down.

Unfortunately, and I can say this now since I have safely climbed and descended and there is no more need for Mom and Grandma to worry, it was just a week ago that two people died while trying to scale the volcano with a certified company in Pucón. Not sure which company, but hopefully they give climbers a bit more training beforehand in the future.

When we got back to our hostel, I drank water, coffee, and beer as well as ate some empanadas. Just what I needed after close to 9 hour trek up and slide down the mountain.

After I was done eating and taking a shower, a curious thing happened. Right next to the outdoor sink of our hostel, the wall suddenly came crashing down. Behind the wall was a bus who had just backed into the wall. Thankfully, no one was in front of the wall when it came down. A Chilean (actually one of our guides from the volcano) was at the hostel at the time and came out to survey the damage. He nonchalantly said, "Welcome to Chile" as the bus driver stood by his bus with his forehead in his hand and shaking his head.

After that one night in the hostel and the volcano climb, I decided that I wanted to camp for a few nights in a national park right outside of Pucón, called Parque Nacional Huerquehue. It's a humongous and gorgeous area with trails probably covering no more than 10% of the area (probably due to the low funding that National Parks receive in Chile). I camped pretty much right next to the lake. The first day I took it easy and climbed a trail that took me a 2 or 3 hours. It had a great, grassy view from the top where I could say the volcano I climbed as well as one or two more. The next day I did a 5 or 6 hour hike that led me to some beautiful lakes and areas within the park. It was so peaceful and relaxing (except for the mess of people on occasion). On the clearest night I was there, I laid on the picnic table in my camping space and watched the stars come out. Then I just watched the stars for about 30 minutes. It's always an amazing sight when there aren't any major cities around for miles and miles.

I wish I could have the opportunity to go back to Pucón at some point. I think it has been my favorite place so far in Chile, and I felt like there was a lot to do there that I didn't get the chance to (like white water rafting for instance).

Mi Cumpleaños y Otras Cosas

It's hard to believe my time in Chile is already 2/3 of the way over! It has certainly gone by fast! I remember when I was at this point in China. I had just gotten done traveling for a month and a half during the winter break and my disparate friendships were starting to form into a solidified group of friends.

I feel relatively in the same place now. I'll be going on vacation for two weeks starting next weekend to the south of Chile. I plan on going to Pucón, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Isla de Chiloé, and hopefully I'll get as far south as Punta Arenas. I'm not going to do too much planning, which is the way I traveled in China for that month and a half. I had a "go with the flow" kind of attitude and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. People (Chileans and Gringos alike) have told me that Southern Chileans are some of the nicest, most hospitable people you'll ever meet. A girl I'm friends with here said she and a friend hitchhiked all the way south and back without any problems whatsoever. It's probably not going to be my mode of transportation while I travel, but I think it's a good indication of the amiable manner of the Southern Chileans.

I'm also at a similar point with my friends here. What makes it different is that only a few of my friends left halfway through my year in China. My closest friend, Dustin, left at the end of December. A good friend of mine, Stephen, left today. Two other friends (and brothers) Rodrigo and Diego will leave at the end of February. It does kind of suck, but people need to follow their life's path, whatever that may be. Despite the departures, I still have a lot of friends here, so I'm not worried about sitting in my room all alone crying all of the time, haha.

*****

I had my Birthday Party a couple of weeks ago. I had about 20-30 people over here for cocktails and then we went to watch a Cumbia show. I think the thing I like most about having Birthday celebrations is getting all of my friends together. They might not really know each other, or hell, not ever met before, but it's always a good time. The funniest part was when we were out on my balcony and my friend, Logan, brought out his phone and said, "Can you text Rick the address, because..." and as soon as he started trying to text on his phone he fumbled and it slipped from his hands, landing in the garden below us. A garden which is completely surrounded by fence. The only way to get to it is through the apartment of an elderly, handicapped woman below. So Logan and one of our Chilean friends, Seba, went down there to ask her if they could look for it, and she said, "Come back tomorrow." Haha. I guess before we left to go to the Cumbia show, Logan decided just to jump the fence and grab it, haha.

We got to the Cumbia show and we just turned it into a giant dance party. Not much else to report besides that. I think the pictures say it all, really.

****

Last weekend was a pretty nutty weekend as well. I had an asado and swam with two of my friends, Rick and Jeff. Then our friend Alvaro came over. We hung out for a while and then went to a house party with a lot of French people (I have no idea, so don't ask). The next day I went to an asado with some Chilean friends that Jeff introduced me to (many pictured in the photos of my Birthday) such as Seba, Sebastian, and Simon and some of their friends. THEN, I went to the despedida (going away party) of my friends I mentioned earlier, Stephen, Diego, and Rodrigo. On Sunday, I went to a Super Bowl party at my friend, Andrew Cook's place. A couple of Chileans were there and occasionally would ask questions that were quite logical, considering the labyrinth of minute rules that American Football has. Some questions include, "Why do they call it FOOTball? They almost never use their feet!" and "Why do they have to have two feet inbounds for it to count as a completed pass?" Well, it comes back to that whole FOOTball thing, obviously. No, but seriously. I've never thought about how complicated American Football is until I watched it with a foreigner. It has to be one of the most confounding games for someone who has not watched it their entire life.

****

Last night, I went to my first Chilean soccer match. One of my students invited me to go with two of his friends. My student works at BHP as a mechanical engineer. He's about my age and he's real cool and laid back. His favorite team is Universidad Catolica which is one of the best teams in Chile, and is the team that we saw. The match was just as I expected: lots of yelling and cursing. Some of the rudest and foul utterings I've heard in a public space were dispensed from the mouths of the fans. To give you an idea, the majority of cursing was in reference to the private parts of the mothers of the members of the opposing team. Also, I probably heard the word "weon" (alternatively meaning 'dude' and 'asshole', sometimes both) probably close to 5 million times. I told this to my student and his two friends after the game and they started laughing. One of them replied, "It's sort of like a meditation...er...what's that word...mantra! Yes! Our mantra!"

Also, the team they were playing was a team from Bolivia. Bolivia used to own what is North Chile and then sold it (I think) to Chile. It ended up being an awful decision for them, because they lost their only connection to the sea, and the north of Chile has several extremely profitable copper mines. Towards the beginning of the game, the Chileans started chanting something along the lines, "You don't have sea anymore!" or something along those lines to the Bolivians.

****

I started taking Spanish lessons at my institute with two other English professors, one of whom being my good friend Chris. The level that we're at is below mine, but I think it will help just forcing me to speak Spanish. Our Spanish teacher, Liliana, is hilarious and is exploding with energy all of the time. It blows my mind how someone can have so much energy. My Spanish has improved quite a bit since I've been here, especially my vocabulary. I still have a lot of trouble with listening comprehension and forming grammatically correct sentences (with the verb tenses and whatnot). Being a visual learner is certainly not advantageous for learning a second language!

****

I think I've become an immensely better cook while I've been here in Chile. Just this week I made roasted vegetables (plus cantaloupe!) with an aioli sauce, a beet green-centered pasta dish, a vegetable puree (mainly beets) mixed with polenta (which was mixed with raisins and greek olives), gazpacho, and spicy thai noodles. I'm sure my former roommate and chef extraordinaire, Jay, would be thoroughly proud of my progress.


****

Last thing: last year I participated in the Record Producing Month challenge (RPM challenge) during the month of February. The challenge is that you have to record (and if you want to take it a step further, write) an album within a month. That is 10 songs or 35 minutes of music. I decided to participate again this year but I'm at a bit of a handicap since I'm leaving for vacation a week and a half before the end of the month. I have four songs recorded already, and hopefully will get two more done this afternoon. I'll post a link to hear my album once it is finished!

Noticias, El Año Nuevo, y Otras Cosas

- About a month ago, I was invited to a cocktail soiree that my institute has annually for one of our best clients, Ernst & Young. I had a class at Ernst & Young, thus the reasoning behind my invite. One of my students was also invited, but I wasn't sure why she was invited and none my other students were. At the soiree, they started giving awards to the students, and it turns out my student was awarded for her attendance and most improved. Pretty cool! This happened to be the same night that I had planned to got out with some of my students. My student, Elizabeth, and I stayed at the party for a little and then met with the other students. We went to a place called Jota Cruz where I finally had chorrillana (big pile of fries topped with eggs, steak, and onion). We had a nice time together and I tried my best to keep up my end of the conversation with my Spanish. I have some pictures posted above

- On Christmas, I had a little potluck over at my place. Nothing too special. I made mashed potatoes and vegetarian chili, while my friend, Dustin, made a salmon and vegetable casserole. My friends Andrew and Jordan, along with Jordan's girlfriend, Camila, all came over for dinner. THEN, around ten or twelve more people arrived after dinner was over for drinks. I guess they didn't catch the whole "potluck" part. Turned into a nice little get together.



- For New Year's Eve, I went to Valparaiso with my friends Adam, Stephen, and his girlfriend Belen. We didn't bother getting a hostel or some place to stay because prices were as much as 7x the amount they usually were for that weekend. This is because Valparaiso has the biggest firework display in Latin America. After a cheap seafood lunch, we took a funicular to the top of a hill. That particular hill, although it had a great view, was more family-oriented and we were looking for something with a younger crowd. We ended up on this open area on a hill with TONS of young people. As soon as the clock struck midnight, people went crazy throwing confetti, spraying tons of champagne, and making out everywhere. The fireworks started at midnight and they were marvelous. They seemed to last forever (or maybe that was just the pisco I was drinking, hah!). As we came down the hill after the fireworks, there was a humongous crowd in the central plaza all partying and dancing to a concert that was going on. We stayed in Valparaiso until about 3:00 a.m., and then our sober friend, Boris, drove us back to Santiago. It was quite a night! I have some pictures posted above, but didn't get very many good shots of the fireworks. I am going to go back to Valparaiso for a proper weekend probably at the beginning of February.



WARNING: This is a big, long, pseudo-intellectual rant:

Being an English Literature major, I have a recreational interest in Linguistics. More specifically, I have an interest in Semantics, which is the study of meaning in words, phrases, sentences, etc.

For those that don't know, every noun in Spanish is designated as feminine or masculine. For example, "the table" is "la mesa" ("la" being the feminine definite article) and "the dish/plate" is "el plato" ("el" being the masculine definite article). I've known this since I first started learning Spanish, and it's probably the most basic thing you can possibly know about the Spanish language. As an English speaker, it's difficult to think of inanimate objects as having gender. I mean, who's to say that a floor is masculine and a chair is feminine!? Even things that one would expect to be masculine or feminine are actually just the opposite. For example, "war" is feminine (la guerra) and "womb" is masculine (el útero). I actually asked one of my students who determines gender when a new noun comes into the Spanish language. According to her, there is a language academy/committee similar to the French L'Académie française who determines whether a noun is considered feminine or masculine.

At some point, I started thinking about how the language of a people informs the culture and vice versa. Specifically, what does it mean for the cultural perception of gender if EVERYTHING in the language inherently has gender. What I think it means is that gender here is viewed through an essentialist lens. Meaning that men and women are viewed as having fixed traits rather than socially constructed ways of "performing" gender.

Maybe it's not solely or directly as a result of the language, but I think it's a contributing factor to the fact that there are still concretely defined roles for women and men in Chile. Of course, there are in the United States too, but I think to a lesser extent.

Eh, I'm going to go ahead and just stop here.

What originally got me thinking about this is that at my institute, our folders (that contain work schedules, etc.) are separated by gender. I guess our Australian head teacher once asked the secretaries why we couldn't just put them altogether, and they told him, "Absolutely not. This is how it should be done."


Other observations:

- Chileans seem to lack all sense of direction and I just can't explain why. My friend brought up an interesting point about this. He thought it might be because Chileans are more conservative and don't venture off too far from their homes and communities. Therefore, they are not familiar with the geography outside of their area. I'm not sure if I agree entirely with his point though. In any case, I am regularly asked for directions on the street. Not only this, but many times the directions I'm asked for are absurd. For instance, I was once asked how to get to a particular Los Leones street. I said (in Spanish), "We're on Los Leones right now...". I have driven in cars with Chileans who have lived in Santiago their entire lives, and they still "mix up" extremely well-known and busy streets.

What makes this even more ridiculous is that people are awful at GIVING directions here. When my ex-roommate and I were trying to find the Pre-Colombian Art Museum, we asked for directions from at least 3 or 4 different people and we got 3 or 4 different answers. So, in this case, either people have no sense of direction, or there is some cultural norm or attitude where it is better to give "a" direction rather to give "no" direction at all.


- I found that Chilean men really objectify women, which of course, happens in the United States, but to a lesser extent, I think. I think it's generally less public in the United States (excluding advertising, etc.). For example, men here will stare at women as they walk by and whistle at them. A couple of my female friends here have even been stopped by men who have either said everything from the really cheesy, "I think I just saw an angel" to the very lewd. The trade-off, from what I understand, is that Chilean women demand a whole helluva lot from their Chilean men in relationships. Of course, that is still no excuse for their behavior. I often wonder how that sort of objectification of women has contributed to the sort of cultural psyche of women here.



Can't think of too much else to report. I'm planning on traveling to the South at the end of February and beginning of March. Tentatively, I am planning on hitting Pucón, Valdivia, and then Patagonia (but I have to figure out where exactly in Patagonia).