Return to Lota, Plus Valparaiso and Vina del Mar

So last weekend we stuck around Concepcion, except for taking a day trip back to Lota to interview various people for our project. I interviewed my "hermana"'s mom, who is a schoolteacher in Lota. It was overall very interesting, discussing politics, education, etc. She was wonderfully welcoming, and unexpectedly fixed us all a feast of a lunch!

Last week during the week we had an evening performance of all of our poetry/interpretive dance performances for our Chilean literature and theater class (we do study literature as well, but this part was more interpretation of poetry-- more free form). They closed a restaurant for all of us to perform, and it was great to see what everyone else had done. Ours turned out very well, the highlight probably being Dipika playing her clarinet.

This past weekend we went to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, on the coast parallel to Santiago (so North of here). Valparaiso is Chile's third largest city (after Santiago and Concepcion) and its most important port. Vina del Mar (about 20 minutes away) is where Santiago's elite have their summer homes on the beach.

We took the night bus Thursday night, and arrived early Friday morning. We found a hostel then set off to see Pablo Neruda's home in Valparaiso (San Sebastiana), winding along the hills and seeing the sights of the city (too bad it was such a foggy day). Valparaiso reminded me a lot of San Francisco, with all of its steep hills, colorful homes, and nearby bay. We then went out to lunch at a lovely restaurant and in the afternoon headed for Vina. We went to the National Botanical Gardens just outside of Vina then to the Reloj de Flores (Flower Clock) and the famous Hotel Del Mar (luxury hotel and resort on the water).

Saturday we set off for Isla Negra (an hour and a half from Valparaiso), Pablo Neruda's most famous home. Our guide was wonderful, slowing down a bit for us and talking to us all about our experience in Chile. She also allowed us to take photos in the home, even though it was prohibited! So, please enjoy these extra special photos! In the evening we went to a flamenco show in Vina's gorgeous theater. We got cheap (less than $4) student tickets, so we were way up in the rafters. But we could see just fine, and it was a lovely show!

We then took the night bus back Saturday night because today (Sunday) was election day here, and as voting is mandatory ($70 fine for not voting), everything is closed. It's a good thing we did because we could not sleep at all on that bus (due to changing our tickets at the last minute, we had seats in the very back next to the bathroom). So, I slept till mid-afternoon here. We just studied and hung out most of the rest of the day. By the way, the elections here were purely local elections, so there aren't any huge results to report (not that most Americans even know who the President of Chile is anyway-- by the way, she is Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist). But, the Mayor of Concepcion will remain the same-- she is a moderate conservative, which makes my host dad happy but my host mom very unhappy-- she wanted the Socialist man to unseat her.

Basically that's all from here for now. We are halfway through the program now, which is already making me sad to leave my family here. We have a packed schedule for the remaining weekends, so let me keep you up-to-date. This weekend to Santiago with Karen, my host sister. Next weekend we go to Pichilemu, a small coastal town, with the program. The weekend after we are off to Atacama, the driest desert in the world, which is in the very North of the country. The following weekend we head to Pucon, a volcano which also has nearby hot springs, to stay in the cabin of one of Karen's friends. We will then stay here one weekend to hang out with/say goodbye to our families. Finally, we will spend Dec. 5-10 (after classes end) in Torres del Paine, at the Southern tip of Patagonia, to see the famous national park and penguins and such. I'll be back in the US on December 13th! Yikes!

Finally, with 8 days left to go, Obama-Biden '08!

Lebu, etc.

This past weekend we went to Lebu, a small mining and fishing town which is also home to the poet Gonzalo Rojas, a couple hours South of here. This was a mandatory trip organized by the program in order for us to see the poorer, rural side of Chile. We were placed randomly with high school students from Lebu for the weekend-- they guided us around Lebu, and we stayed at our homes. Basically, I think this trip could have been a lot of fun, but my student was a real jerk. He was just incredible immature and inconsiderate, which made the trip very annoying, given that I had to stay with him most of the time. But, parts were fun (mostly the parts without him). We went to the beach there, which is gorgeous and as these amazing caves that open up right on the ocean. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. We also all went out to a club, which was quite fun too (because all of the students were there). Finally, my student's sister, who was also my roommate, was very nice, and I talked to her for several hours. Overall though, it's not an experience I want to relive much, which is perhaps why I've been delaying writing this block. I think many parts of the experience reminded me roughly of the difference a Chilean would see in visiting UC students and visiting high school students in say, Tappahannock, Virginia (just to refer to somewhere I actually know). But, I must admit I learned a lot.

This week has been pretty busy as I'm settling in. School is getting busier, but more importantly other things are picking up. I am starting to volunteer two days a week in a school for children with Down Syndrome. I went to my orientation on Monday and will start right away. We also now have seminars one or two afternoons a week, discussing various topics about Chile (health, law, etc.). Today I went on a tour of a free community health clinic in a poorer part of Conce-- this is part of a three part tour of this clinic, the public hospital, and a private hospital. The tours are run by the director of this clinic. It was overall very interesting and pointed out what even a poorer country can do if it is committed to public health (as we are not in the US).

This weekend I am staying in Conce, except for a day trip to Lota to conduct interviews for a project. I think I need a break after all my traveling! Anyway, hope this finds all of you well and that Obama wins the debate tonight! FYI, daylight savings has already happened here-- we are now 4 hours ahead of California.

Settling In, Then Chiloe!!

So last week was rather uneventful, mostly just settling into the routine. Monday night we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant for a girl in the program's birthday, and I met one of Karen's best friends. Tuesday we went to "Day of the Translator" at the Univ de Conce, which wasn't that fun, but then we went out to a bar afterwards-- me, Evan, Evan's "hermano," Juan, and two of his friends. They are all really cool, and we talked a lot about US politics, Chilean politics, racism, American culture exported overseas, impressions of Chile and the US, etc. Unfortunately most of this was in English, but the subject was so interesting that I didn't feel too, too bad. Wednesday night I went out with Karen and two of her girlfriends, which was a lot of fun, and we spoke in Spanish the whole time (and they complimented me!), so overall great. Thursday night a small group of us gringos found a really nice cafe near the university which has hot chocolate (where they give you a chocolate bar and steaming hot milk and you melt it yourself), coffee, and delicious snacks and desserts. Later Thursday night, we left for Chiloe!

So 12 of us from the program went to Chiloe this past weekend. Chiloe is an island (the second-largest in South America, the largest is Tierra del Fuego) in northern Patagonia (but nine hours south of here). It is known for its incredible beauty and strong Mapuche (indigenous) culture. So, we left Thursday night and spent the whole night on the bus, arriving in the morning in Chiloe. Chilean buses are very nice (unlike most American buses), as they are the main means of transportation for the middle class. It reminded me much more of Amtrak than say Greyhound. Part of the busride was actually on a ferry, and this part was in the morning, so we got to go out and look around. The hostel owner picked us up at the bus terminal in his van and drove us to the hostel, which was very nice and close to the city (Castro).

In the afternoon we went to Achao (a smaller island but considered part of Chiloe) to see the oldest church on the island. These churches are famous because they are very old and made completely out of wood. To be honest, the town was farther than we had thought the hostel owner said and the church not as interesting as promised, so everyone was somewhat grumpy (after an all-night busride, an hour and a half more wasn't so welcome). We went to a restaurant there, which had decent food but terrible service and was overpriced (we joked they had brought us the separate gringo menu!). But while there we did see the most gorgeous rainbow! My slides are finally up, so you can check it out for yourself. You'll notice that some things were so amazing that I took quite a few pictures! I think it's that the pictures didn't quite measure up to the real thing, so I kept taking more. Oh so after the rainbow things got better, we went back to the hostel, bought some food and drink, and played mafia for a couple hours.

The next day was what made us feel the long busride had been completely worth it. We paid the hostel owner a bit to drive us and be our guide in the National Park. We went hiking through the forest, but the best was the beach! I can't quite describe it, but there is something different about the lighting here (Southern hemisphere, more towards the poles-- maybe like Alaska somewhat?). I think the pictures will describe it better than my words, but the pictures certainly don't capture it either. The entire scene was magical-- the ocean, the countryside, the mountains, the lighting. And to top it off it's springtime here, so we saw calves and ponies too! They were up close and so, so cute! You can see again that I took quite a few pictures of them. Also, two people in our group had a bet with a hostel owner up north in Valparaiso that they couldn't go swimming in Chiloe, so they did! How brave!

After the national park, we had a delicious, cheap lunch (always go with a local!) and shopped in the artisanal shops. At night we went to a party in the country. It was basically a lot of local country people, including some indigenous, playing folk music. It was very interesting, but very cold (sort of inside this wood shelter). We got back late, slept little, and woke up early Sunday for the long, long busride back to Conce. Overall, it was very much worth it! Please enjoy the pictures, now that I finally have them up (this trip definitely motivated me to do that).