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!