Spring has Sprung in Chile!!

Hello all, it is finally springtime, I thought the cold would never end! I technically had two winters, coming from winter in the U.S. But the weather has finally decided to warm up and flowers have started blooming which has been a nice change despite the horribly hot and miserable bus and metro trips. So, I've realized that it has been about 3 whole months since I've been here in Chile!! Sometimes it seems like it has flown by so fast and others that it has really been a long 3 months. I'm pretty sure this is the longest time I have gone without being home, and without seeing my family and I know it will just continue, even though I am going to see my mom in about 3 weeks! I decided to write this post tonight, because it seems that all of my previous post have been about all the new things, exciting adventures and travels, and all the crazy and fun things I've been doing. I decided to write this post now, to show you it is not always all about the new things, the traveling, and the adventures. Eventually things start to settle in, a routine is formed and here I am on a tuesday night dreading my quiz and super long day I have tomorrow with a class that I don't particularly enjoy for 4 hours and my internship (that I have to travel over an hour and a half to) immediately after. I wouldn't say I've necessarily been homesick, but there have been times when I have been sitting around, missing my parents, my brother, seeing the rest of my family at events and such, as well as my friends that I am used to seeing and talking to a lot. I know that there is no where else I'd rather be but here right now, in Chile, having this experience, but these days are bound to come around, as they always do, when I'm just in a "funk."

It is so interesting being here in Chile for me. I have learned so much about South America, that I would have never learned in a textbook or from taking a class. You can really learn a lot spending time somewhere, living with natives, taking classes with the students, and immersing your self in the everyday life. I guess this is one reason why I particularly wanted to stay the entire year, because I see the potential for how much can be learned after you get past the "tourist" phase where everything is new and foreign. My friends from California have helped be so much to become comfortable here and supported me when I felt lonely or when I needed a piece of home. I spend a lot of time with them and am creating strong friendships with them. I started to feel nervous or anxious for when they leave, and I am still here, but I also think it is a good thing, cause after the 6 months I will be more comfortable here with the language, the culture, and more prepared to really make friends in Chile and establish myself here. In addition to getting more from my classes from having more experience with reading, understanding lectures, and writing. I have been asked by many different people, "why did you choose to come to chile?" and every time I am asked that question I find myself stuck.  I came here because it is somewhere I never imagined myself coming, a place that is different from where I am from, it is a bonus that they speak Spanish and that is what I'm studying, but I came to discover a place I new little about besides the fact that it is a really skinny country in South America. I have come to love and appreciate this country for its uniqueness and the people I've been able to meet who have shown me great hospitality and kindness. The land outside of the city is absolutely beautiful and there is so much to discover.  It is interesting for me to compare the US and Chile  and see what works and what doesn't work so well in terms of the government and politics, our differences in how we go about certain problems, and how we are dealing with them, sometimes with similar things or other things very distinct and unique to our own country, Something changes in you when you have the opportunity to see another place and how another world functions the good things and the bad from politics and poverty to the norms of families and friendships. You see that all systems have their faults and if it is not one thing then it is another. One last interesting fact I've encountered while here and thought about several times is the people who are born and grow up here are Chilenos. When someone asks me what am I, or where I am from, I am "Estadounidense" or American. In the U.S. someone asks you what ethnicity you are, it suddenly becomes a laundry list of countries where your parents and parents parents are from. I have come more to appreciate the fact that I am an American, and even though we all may have lineage from different places, we all have this one thing that binds us and makes our "American Community" unique and something to fight for and be proud of. Being here has inspired me and made me want to learn more about our country and the problems we face, as well as what I can do to do my part in making our country a better place for all Americans as well as visitors who are trying to learn about our culture and history.

Fiesta Patrias!

Feliz Fiestas Patrias Todos!! (Happy Independence Day Everyone!!)

Sunday September 18th was Independence Day in Chile, so Monday we had a holiday!! The whole week before and on the weekend there were parades, carnivals, and lots of barbeques with families and friends. People did traditional Chilean things, just like we do on the 4th of July, from eating asado (BBQ) to dancing and watching the Queca (national dance). It was so cool to see the city decorated in red, white, and blue. Each day I would see more Chilean flags pop out from hiding and it was a really festive environment in the city. My host mom even decorated the house, I blew up the balloons :). Last Wednesday I went to my internship in El Monte in the afternoon to celebrate at the coorporation with the elders who go weekly. They had a big asado, and I helped cook and serve (what I could do). There was one point when the ladies were slicing onions, in the air without a cutting board, and I felt useless and told them I could do it, then I started slicing and lets just say that didn't last very long.... Then as they were cooking the chicken thighs on a grill that they had made on the ground, every time the coals would catch on fire, this man would throw drops of water to put it out so the chicken didn't catch on fire and the ladies would yell "NOT TOO MUCH" so that the coals wouldn't become cold. Lets just say it was a pretty entertaining display of cooking. THEN as I was standing there not doing anything, the boss lady Magdelena called me and her daughter and we walked up the street, down an ally, and into a random looking house which had about 7 older people sitting around a television watching the Simpsons on an old fuzzy tv in spanish and she said "HEY WHO WANTS TO COME TO THE PARTY" and one lady said "ahhh Magdelena, its been so long, i want to go!!" and the other said "I'll go if my sister goes"... and her sister wanted to go, so we got them in their wheel chairs and the 3 of us pushed them to the party, up the alley, down the street, over a few curbs and brought them to the party. I think my wheel chair had a flat tire and when a car would wait for us to pass, the ladies would say "Hello, excuse us!". hahahha it was pretty funny. 

Then, the weekend before that Bladimir, who is the guy who is evaluating us for our internship invited us to go horseback riding in El Monte with a friend he has who has horses and we all woke up early sunday morning, headed to el monte and got to ride past the dirt roads and into the mountains! It was awesome, there were a few prickly bushes we had to duck and dodge but other then that it was great. We got to the top of this little hill and they BBQ'd choripan, which is chorizo (or sausage like meat) in side a piece of bread.... we eat a lot of that. But it was really good and they were really nice! And I was talking to the man who took us and he was telling me about how we could go again anytime which was great for me :) I think Bladimir wanted to do it as a sort of thank you because they appreciate us so much going and helping in their schools because the kids there don't see much outside of El Monte. We were surprised to find out that a good number have never even been to Santiago, which is just an hour by bus which comes by about every 10 min. On that bus, I've been getting a lot of reading done which is great. A few of my friends here really like to read and we all rotate books which is really fun. 

For those of you who are thinking, "man does this girl do any school work at all?!?!" ....This morning, I had my first, semi-big test! I studied a lot the past weekend and filled out the study guide we were given on Friday (over the holiday). I was really nervous cause the readings were pretty tough but my teacher said I would be able to do the test in English which was great for me. When I got to the test it was all pretty much the same things that were on the study guide so I was so happy I took the time to fill it out and I think the test went well!!! So stay tuned, and I'll let you know how I did ;)

Well I think thats about it for now, I'm getting ready for my mom to come visit me in a couple weeks so I'm starting to get really excited about that!!! :D Talk to you all soon!

I forgot to mention, we visited South America's largest copper mine, which was kinda cool, but it was a realllllllly long day. I think from the picture, you can tell what was Favi and my favorite part of the day... :)

This is our table decorated for Fiestas Patrias, sorry to have to flip your head. My host mom put little flags in the oranges, it was really cute! Her mom keeps giving us more oranges then we can eat so we got creative putting them to use!! 

Cultura Chilena #101

In most homes in order to use hot water you must turn on the "calefon" (not sure if thats the right spelling, but its how you say it) by lighting it. They used to be in bathrooms but a lot of people were dying from carbon monoxide poisining if there was a leak and they were in the shower, so they were moved to a different part of the house and now are newer and safer. Ours is behind a door that has a window to the outside and my host mom turns it on if I need to use it. 

Hi :)

First off, I hope the background change didn't freak anyone out but I started getting sick of the other one and  felt like something more happy so I went with the flower. It could change though, so I'm warning you now. So in the past couple weeks I have been going to school on the days I have school, started going to my internship, traveled to the snow, Valparaiso (the beach), and Villarrica (a city about 10 hours south). Recently the spotlight has been somewhat removed from the strike because a few days ago there was a tragic plane accident with an airplane in route to a small island off the shore of Chile. All 21 people in the plane died, including a popular man from one of the news stations here in Chile. Someone explained the significance of the death to me as if Oprah had died in the US. The city is slowly starting to be more and more decorated with flags and other patriotic things for the "Fiestas Patrias" coming up September 18th. This is the independence day of Chile and it is full of fiestas and dancing of the national dance "the cueca."

For my internship I have been traveling to a small city outside of Santiago called "El Monte." It is very poor because of the lack of jobs because of the agricultural influence. Many people have jobs during the harvest, but for the rest of the year are out of work. The only down part about the internship is because I have to leave 2 hours before I have to be there in order to arrive on time. To get there i have to take the public bus, or "micro" to the metro, where I take Line 5 then transfer to Line 1, to get to Estacion Central, where I walk to get on the 50 min bus to El Monte. (If you don't get on a bus that says "autopista" or freeway it can take 2 hours) Luckily I haven't made that mistake yet. The second time we went there, my friend Favi and I went to the school where we are going to work to observe the students workshops and just see the school when it is in session. Today, Favi and I returned and after getting to the school the teacher brought about 6 out of the 10 kids we are going to work with who are between the ages of 14 and 18, them in a circle and said "go ahead" (but in spanish of course). And Favi and I looked at eachother with wide eyes cause we had no idea we were supposed to have something prepared!!! Something there was lost in translation. BUT it ended up being fun because we did a little English workshop where we went over some words and conversed about words they wanted to know and practice. So, it looks like Favi and I are going to be running a class for an hour two times a week where the objective is to work on the social skills of these timid and reserved kids who are getting ready for the working world. Although I'm pretty nervous I'm also really excited, because it is a really good opportunity to get to basically do anything I want in a class room for about 10 weeks. Favi and I have already brainstormed activities, games, presentations, and ice breakers. Its going to be a challenge, but really fun.

Another thing I wanted to mention, if you all didn't already know is that I have officially decided that I am going to stay the whole year here in Chile. Lucky for you all, my blog will continue for an entire year ;). I realized that 6 months wasn't going to be enough time for me to gain everything I want to gain from this experience and now is the perfect opportunity to spend the whole year here. I hope that after this year I will feel more confident living on my own in a foreign place with a greater sense of independence and ability. I want to continue to volunteer and gain more experience through internships as well as become completely confident with my Spanish. I also hope to read and learn with more ease in my classes and be able to express myself better with an expanded Spanish vocabulary. I hope to continue to feel confident when traveling and see more of South America. After this trip most of all my goal is to be proud of my accomplishment with the feeling that there is nothing I can't do and that I have the skills be a candidate for any job that interests me.

Me at the hotsprings "Los Pozones". You can't really tell but all the pools are below down a bunch of stairs. 

Artwork at the lake. Water comes out of the center of the eye. 

Me in front of the lake in Villarrica. This is a different day, i'm just wearing the same thing....

The group at the Hotsprings. 

- Stay Tuned for pictures of El Monte...

Also I forgot that in my other posts I was writing more about Chilean Culture. 

Cultura Chileana (Forgot what number I'm on): Most kids in Santiago live at home for a lot longer then those in the U.S. Usually until they are married, especially for the men because in most situations the women do the cooking and cleaning. 

I can't believe its been 2 months already.

Hello Everyone!! I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while. At first I hadn't updated it cause, I didn't do much and thought it would make a boring blog post, and then I didn't update, because I got really busy and didn't have time. haha. Last Wednesday and Thursday there was a 2 day national strike. I heard that they played it on the news in the US and wanted to clairify somethings first hand since I know some of you have been worried. It is true that is was a big strike and a lot of people participated. Some police and civilians were hurt in the action. The people in Chile mean buisness when they say that they want the constitution to be changed for more affordable education without business profits. They have been on strike many times in the past but usually the promises from the government are not followed through with and things end up the same as they were in the past, so now they are not settling with the proposals that they are getting and want action. I have learned that the situation is different then the U.S. because protesting and striking for your rights when you are unhappy with the government is more a part of the culture. If the people are unhappy the cause disruptions to be heard and make change. The socialist movement of elected president Salvador Allende and then military dictatorship of Agosto Pinochet are political events of the very recent history that the country is still dealing with and healing from. The protests have been somewhat violent and dangerous in certain areas, but with that said it is very easy to avoid the protests. We always know when there is going to be a big protests because the word is out and we know what areas to avoid at those times. I have been completely safe. My family also supports what they are fighting for but avoids all major protests and doesn't agree with the destruction of kids who just want to cause destruction. We have agreed that that doesn't solve any problems and makes things worse because then the city has to pay for the repairs. I have been emailed that our classes are going to resume this week so that is good, but also I am aware there is a chance for them to be cancelled as in the past, because in reality  noone knows what the following days will bring. The protests are always full of surprises.

With that said, I have had a fun past few days. On Thursday I went up to Valle Nevado, which is apparently the best ski resort in South America. I went snowboarding with the international club on my campus. The day was beautiful and I had a great time. On Friday, we had a field trip to Villa Grimaldi, which was a torture center in the 70s during the military dictatorship of Pinochet. It was very interesting, and really sad. Also, the man who gave us the tour was someone who suffered in that camp and then was forced to leave the country for 15 years. He moved to New York and then San Francisco and when Pinochet died he moved back to Santiago. His story was really sad and he was very emotional showing us that place. There they did horrendous, tortourous things to the people similar to how i would imagine a Nazi concentration camp. He said there are other ones also, and he had been to 3 at the time. He was a university student about the same age as me. After, he took us to the Cemetario General where President Allende was buried in addition to other important people, as well as regular citizens. The whole trip was very informative and helped me understand the recent history a little bit better. I had been confused because I heard about people who supported Allende and others who opposed him and didn't know if he or his policies were good or bad, the same with Pinochet. And it was then I realized that I am always thinking of history and people of the times in black and white. They were good or bad. But that is not the case and there is more to this story, and after Friday that all became more clear. I enjoy learning these types of things and being able to see them first hand, and the people who were effected is just incredible and more valuable then any cancelled class at my university.

On Saturday, some of my best friends and I got up early and left for Valparaiso! This city is about an hour and a half away and right on the ocean. It is known for its uniqueness with its large hills, vibrant colors, small streets, stairs, murals, the harbor, and much more. It was amazing. We were only there for one night but it was one of my best trips. The group I went with was so great and we had a really relaxing time. It was a beautiful place. At night we went dancing to one of the famous discoteques, it was really fun! They played all spanish music and it was pretty much all Chileans which was really cool.   The only bad thing is that when I came home I realized that my wallet was either lost or stolen. So I have been dealing with that process which is no fun at all :/ I realize that these things happen even if you are extra careful.

Finally here are a few pictures of the past couple weeks....

driving to Valle nevado, if you look close you can see the windy road!

Me and my friend Cammy, who so kindly waited for me all day as I snow plowed down the mountain :)

lorena vs. the andes

view from the chair lift, there are no trees!!!!

Harbor in Valparaiso!!

MIA!!! my bestest friend in Chile/ big sister/ neighbor/ coolest girl ever 

Valpo

It was such a beautiful day

There is artwork all over the city. Here is a little taste.

I love these girls, best traveling buddies!

Chilean Education Strike Updates

Week 2 of school down. Slowly figuring out how things work, but one major problem… the strikes/ marches for free education are growing and my school is starting to join in. On Tuesday, there was a “Paro Nacional” which means the whole country was on strike in support of the students. Both of my Tuesday classes were cancelled. I had class Wednesday, and then Thursday one was cancelled. Every week the students and faculty are going to vote if they want to be on strike or not. This is called “paro indefinido” meaning that each week can be different after the vote that week. Every “facultad” or major votes for itself, so for example the school of political science can be on strike, while chemistry is still in school. This is all at Campus San Joaquin which is where all of my classes are. There are 3 main campuses. Campus Oriente which is by my house, and where our ILP program was, is completely “En Toma” right now. Which means its taken over by the students. They put the desks in the gate blocking all the entrances except for one where there are always students so that no one can enter. It is completely closed down and has been for the past week. They are going to vote again next week to see about the next week. The problem with that is, our EAP office where the advisors for our program work is at Campus Oriente and they haven’t been able to get to their office. So in addition to all this confusion, we haven’t been able to contact our EAP advisors. SO basically this means at this point, I have no idea what is going to happen, if classes are going to continue or if San Joaquin is going to end up En Toma as well and if it does, for how long? It is all very exciting to be here at this historical moment but at the same time very frustrating because I came here to study and get credit. So that’s basically the recent news on school other then that things have been great.  I went hiking with a couple friends last week which was really fun and this thursday I'm going snowboarding at Valle Nevada with the foreign exchange group on campus!! And its supposed to rain all week which means FRESH POWDER!! Also, last weekend, I went with my host family to their grandparents house for their weekly family lunch and it was really nice. We just spent the day eating, relaxing, and playing cards and dominos. Very much like my family gatherings at home which was nice. 

Cultura Chilena #3: No one buys textbooks for their classes. Here there are no copyright laws, so on each syllabus there are lists of books and what chapters we will have to read for the semester. There is a photo copy place for each “facultad.” For each of my classes I just go to the photocopy place and tell them what class I’m in and which reading I need and they print it for you. Each reading, depending on how long it is, is about 50 cents. I got all the readings for one class and it cost about $6. Pretty cool. (when I said its been difficult figuring out the systems at school, this is one example in particular… but I got it now!)

Cultura Chilena #4: about $470 Chilean Pesos = $1 US Dollar (This Fact= Lots of Fun Math)

Hike up to Cerro San Cristobal (a huge hill in the middle of town)

View from the top of the Cerro, oh hey Santiago! The clearness of this day is very rare. We went the day after it had been raining on and off for a few days. That low brown looking cloud is smog.

This is at the top of Cerro San Cristobal, when your in town you know where you are by which way the statute is facing.

Hike in La Reina at the bottom of the Andes. This day was not as clear as the day before, and yes I'm wearing the same thing....

The Front of Campus Oriente.

If you look close you can see the chairs in the gate blocking the entrance.

Another First Day of School.

August 5, 2011

The first week of school has passed. I’ve been sick for the past few days, which has made things difficult but I’m feeling better each day. I went to a lot of different classes to try and figure out my schedule and I think I now finally got it. I’m only taking 3 classes and working on getting an internship, which also counts for units. I originally wanted to get an internship helping in a school either tutoring or teaching English, but since all the schools are on strike (including elementary and high schools) it doesn’t look like that is going to be an option. But I emailed a place that works with children in bad situations with their families and what not so hopefully they get back to me soon. I am excited because I was able to work my schedule to only have class Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, which is going to be really nice for traveling and internship stuff. My school is really nice and has been extremely welcoming to foreign students. There have been so many times that I have felt like a lost puppy wandering around a big campus but some how I’ve figured things out. I’m going to take an education class, which should be really interesting with everything that’s going on right now. That class is good because there aren’t a lot of foreign students, there is just one other from Spain, which forces me to speak Spanish. Also some Chilean girls already came up to us to be in their group for our group assignment, which was really nice and comforting. My other classes are a sociology class and a psychology class both with a lot of foreign students with topics about Latin American Society and Culture. Hopefully they will be a challenge but not to difficult. I’m not really too sure how the tests and quizzes are going to go, but I guess we’ll just see what happens. There is a group on campus specifically to help foreign students. They set up a table on campus to help us if we have any questions. They also have a BBQ planned tonight and have a program called “Tandem” where we can get paired up with a Chilean student to just talk and work on our Spanish while helping them work on English. Everything is still going good at home, the first month has gone by really fast. I paid my first months worth of rent since the very first month was paid for by our study abroad program. It’s crazy that I am paying the same I paid in Irvine, but have my own bedroom and bathroom and get all my meals and laundry done. Plus the whole experience of being a part of a family, which is great. I guess that’s it for now, no big trips planned at the moment but I’m sure there are many to come J

~ Lauren

Cultura Chilena 101

#1: There is no toilet paper in public restroom stalls. If you plan on using toilet paper you have to make sure to grab some on your way in, that is if they provide any at all. This fact has got me into some trouble….

#2: When greeting someone, whether its meeting for the first time, seeing an old friend, or saying good night to your family always give 1 kiss on the cheek. 

Mendoza

Well, since I was able to change Universities I had a week off between ILP and the start of my classes at my new school, La Catolica. So last week I decided to visit Mendoza, Argentina with a few friends. Mendoza is located in the western central part of the Argentina just right over the mountains. It was only a 7 hour bus ride and also a very pretty one with all the snow in the mountains. Mendoza was a really cool small town. The people were very nice and I loved the way it was set up with the main plaza in the center with a promenade and all the houses and apartments around the center. Every night there were tons of people strolling and hanging out. There was also an arts and crafts fair where I was able to talk to some locals and buy some fun souveniers. In Mendoza we stayed in a hostel for 4 nights. There were a lot of people staying there and it was fun talking to everyone and going to the social events. The bedroom I stayed in had 8 twin beds in the walls, like cubbies, with a little "privacy" curtain. Although you don't get much sleep through all the hustle, it was still a really fun experience. The first day we walked around the town, had dinner and then ate some really good ice cream! Argentina is known for its beef, and I don't think I've eaten that much consecutively, ever. The next day we went on a horse back riding excursion for the whole day. In Mendoza there were all sorts of out door excursions to choose from which was really cool. I'm so glad we went horse back riding though because it was soooo fun! We got to ride in the middle of nowhere for the whole day and got to hear about the political and economic history of Argentina, which is really fascinating. The history is very rich and recent and it was so fascinating to hear about it from someone young who lived through it. It was an amazing day and I never wanted it to end. The next day we went for a long walk to this huge park and hiked up a small hill where we were able to see the town and the stadium where some of the Copa America games were played. After we went wine tasting, because Mendoza is known for all of its wineries. We went to two places and then a place where you try different olive oils. Now I'm back in Santiago and classes start on Monday so I'm working on trying to figure out my schedule. It was difficult enough to figure out all of the UCI systems and now trying to learn a new one in Spanish is even worse! It will be nice in a couple weeks once all of that gets settled. Other than that things are still going great and I'm having an awesome time.

The bus ride

Lots of parks and plazas!

Driving into Mendoza

Cabalgatas (Horseback Riding)