Week 13

While it was ill-timed being on the weekend, the rain that came this week was incredibly refreshing. Santiago is in a valley, and as such collects smog for weeks and weeks, but rain 'washes' it away and gave me a gorgeous view of snow-capped mountains, previously only shadows.

Friday morning I got up to go with a friend to Barrio Patronato, an area filled with discount clothing stores in huge abundance. While it was a neat atmosphere, the amount of merchandise available was overwhelming, and I didn't end up buying anything.

Friday afternoon was a required field trip for my Spanish class to the Cementerio General de Chile. Filled with historic graves, monuments, and myths it was an interesting way to experience one of the marked historic sites of the city and to learn more about the graves and culture from my guides. (Aka the Spanish teachers.)

Saturday a group of friends and I took a trip to the nearby vineyard Concha y Toro, which is one of the largest and famous producers of wine in the world. We did a tour and tasting, which included a trip into the famed "Casillero del Diabolo" (Devil's wine cellar) where it is told an evil spirit lived, guarding the owner's best wines. It is also one of the best structures to be in during an earthquake, so I felt quite safe there despite any local legends!

Sunday morning a friend invited me to go to a Lutheran service with him, as Schubert's G-major mass was part of the program. It was interesting to get to see this new aspect of religion in Chile, as I have previously only been to Catholic services. I felt right at home among familiar hymn tunes and printed music, so it was an overall very enjoyable experience.

The week itself was (clearly) very typical, but enjoyable as always.

Week 12

This week I experienced my first hailstorm, power outage, and fall foliage for my time in Chile. While the week progressed fairly uneventfully, I took a trip this weekend out to Chillan, a small town about 6 hours South of Santiago. The town itself is pretty inconsequential, with the typical Latin American set-up: a bunch of businesses surrounding a central plaza, fanning out into residential area the further out you go. On the principal plaza there was a cathedral that, while hideous on the outside, was a gorgeous structure within, consisting of a tunnel of high arches and bright light. (See pictures.)

Much of the produce in Chile is grown in the South, and because of this the fresh fruit and vegetables were a treat! Chillan has a farmer's market/artisan market that we made sure to visit, and we ended up getting food to make dinner with from there. Other than the market, the town has very little to offer, but was filled with clean air and tranquility, leading to a wonderful night's sleep!

Saturday we took a bus to the nearby town of Valle La Trencas, a tiny town in the middle of a gorgeous no-where. Since we had no information on this area other than what the lady in the tourist office of Chillan had given us, we asked the bus driver to let us know when we were in the town. He laughed at us, because, as we found out, there really isn't a town, just a collection of cabanas and restaurants. (We ended up asking to be let off at a hostel, which worked out really nice.) It rained all day, and even turned to hail, so we didn't stay outside for too long, but it was still a beautiful, peaceful area.


Saturday night we had just started eating dinner when the power went out. A lovely candlelit dinner followed, reminding me very much of home. Contrary to NH in the winter though, the power was back on within a few hours, so we weren't roughing it too much!

The skies cleared on Sunday, and we went for a hike up to a viewpoint, where we were rewarded with amazing views of the surrounding mountains, valleys, volcanoes, and fall foliage. It was breathtaking and a great way to spend the day before heading back to smoggy Santiago.

Week 11

This week I decided to stay in Santiago and visit with friends, spend more time with my host family, and work to pass my classes! While not as exciting as some of my previous travels, it was a lot of fun.

Tuesday I meet with my second and third tandems (intercambio) partners. One is an English Language major and other is a Civil Engineering major. We chatted about life, food, and Chile in English and Spanish, which is always a good time. I am still continuing to meet with my original tandem partner as well: for our weekly meeting on Thursdays I made an apple pie to share with him and a mutual Chilean friend. Neither had had it before, but both enjoyed it!

 

Friday was a sleepover for IES participants! We all brought food, ranging from guacamole to popcorn to a manjar-frosted cheesecake (provided by me.) It was a lot of fun to get to hang out with friends and watch movies all night with the director of our program.

Saturday I ventured out with a few friends to climb cerro Santa Lucia. The remains of the fort originally situate there are present, as is a palace-like structure that was built more recently. Unfortunately the smog was HORRIBLE so visibility was severely limited, but it was a good hike nevertheless. While there, we also visited the Santa Lucia artisan market. On the way back home we passed by a dance performance of traditional Easter Island music and dance. It was really cool to see the culture, even as we just passed it in the park. 

As always, I’m loving it here in Chile and hope that the next few months continue to be as rewarding as the ones that have passed. 

Week 10

This week in Chile was relatively calm, the most outstanding thing being a day off on Tuesday. Here in Chile, when there is a day of class/work between a weekend and a holiday (this Tuesday was the federal holiday of labor day) they call it a "Sandwich". Unfortunately, I had class that I needed to go to, but a lot of people take the day off and have a 4-day weekend. The interesting thing is that when there are extended weekends or vacations, the city seems to empty. Traffic during rush hour is significantly less on both the streets and in the metro. This lightening of traffic was a nice change and a much better start to my Monday!

The other exciting event for the week was a trip to La Piojera, a bar famous throughout Chile for their "terremotos". I was told that the drink originated there, and that famous people from throughout Chile and the world will visit to try one of these drinks. They were ok, but quite a mess-to save time, cups are lined up on the bar and the giant jug of wine (see previous blog entries) is simply poured over all of them, causing some spills. While I don't think I'll be going back, it was a fun atmosphere for an afternoon!




Other than getting a second tandem (intercambio) partner this week, nothing else new has really happened this week. I'm still loving Chile, and adjusting to the daily life better and better each day! The pictures for this post are from other weeks, as I don't have anything specific to this week.