A whole new world!

Over the weekend I had my first opportunity to really travel here in Chile. And it was incredible. Amazing. Que wow. 6 friends and I left Thursday night at about 8:30 pm from Vina on a bus that would go first to Santiago then to Temuco. We got there about 7 am, and had to head over to a rural bus station to get on another bus to head to Icalma. We originally thought this bus ride was going to be about 1 1/2 hours but we had been sadly misinformed. This second bus ride was about 5 or 6 hours long, and we didn't arrive in Icalma until 2 that afternoon. The whole time we were on the rural bus, I was terrified. I had no idea where we were getting off, I just knew there was a lake. All of my friends fell asleep, and I felt obligated to stay awake in order to make sure we all got off. I'm not really sure why I thought I would be any help. But as the hours ticked by I got more and more nervous since I still thought this bus ride should have ended after 1 1/2 hours. However, after talking to the bus driver we figured out our stop and everyone (aka me) was able to relax.

It was 1000000000% worth the incredibly long bus rides. Icalma is unbelievably beautiful. After we arrived, the 7 of us headed over to the lake to find the ferry which would take us to the house of our contact. We were incredibly lucky. 2 of my friends had talked with our profe about a good place to go camping. He suggested Icalma and offered to put us into contact with a member of the local Mapuche community. He told us that there was a possibility we would be able to stay in his spare guest cabin for free. We brought with us wine, chocolate, and fruit to share with the family as a thank you. Anyway, back to the ferry. We had to wait about 30 minutes before the ferry took off so we sat on the edge of the lake and after about 16 hours with minimal food, enjoyed an extremely satisfying lunch of peanut butter and bread (or for us cool celiac's pb and rice cakes).

We got onto the ferry with only the vague idea that Gaston and his family lived somewhere near the ferry's dock on the other side of the lack. We quickly learned that the ferry dropped people off at a wide variety of docks throughout the lake, many right in front of peoples houses. As we discussed this on the boat, the women sharing the ferry with us overheard our final destination. To our luck, she turned out to be the wife of our contact (she just happened to be on the ferry). With her help we made it to Gaston's house, and the cabin where we would be staying the next few nights.




The cabin was actually incredibly nice, and simple. There was no electricity and no heat, but we were fortunate enough to have a gas stove to cook on, and a wood fire to keep us warm. Gaston turned out to be the leader of his local Mapuche community and the combined leader of the 14 communities in the area. He was incredibly interesting to talk with and eager to answer any types of questions we had about Mapuche life. He, his wife, and their three children were very helpful and tried their best to make sure we had everything we needed.

The first night we attempted to sleep under the stars, but all but one of us returned inside during the night because it was too cold. I have never seen stars like that before in my life. The sky was so full of brilliant lights, and one could easily see the milky way. It was incredible (I seem to be using that word a lot). We woke up early to watch the sun come up over the mountains that surrounded us, and did a little bit of yoga on the dock.


After that we headed over to the Hidden Lake. This was about a 45 minute hike to find a smaller lake that was connected by a river to Lake Icalma. The water was so clear. You could see all the way to the bottom. Our profe told us that it is the last uncontaminated lake in Chile (or something like that). We hung out for several hours at the hidden lake, relaxing, wading in the water, enjoying all the animals wandering around, and collecting a type of wild pine nut for our profe (his price for his amazing contacts).

We spent a lot of time just wandering around the area enjoying the simplicity of the world we had found ourselves in. The animals all wandered freely over the land, eating and resting wherever they desired. This meant we got to hang out with chickens, pigs, cows, sheep, horses, and even goats. For me, this is how animals should live. They should be allowed such freedoms even if they are eventually going to end up on someone's plate.



Our last day there we got up early again to greet the sun. Afterwords we had to clean up the cabin and pack up to leave. We had to hike what we were told would be 1 1/2 hours around the lake to arrive back at the bus stop. We decided to leave extra early, which turned out to be for the best. It took us two hours to get around the lake (and we went the short way!). But it was sooooooo worth it. I was constantly reminded of two important things as we walked. 1) Next time we go backpacking I will pack less (who needs clean clothes? one outfit is fine!) and 2) the Mapuche communities which we were walking through live a life that is extremely distinct from all of my previous life experiences. The land is respected, borders are not so heavily defined, and communal ties are strong.

To return, we had to get back on the rural bus, and I learned just how many people they can pack onto one of those things. On Sundays there is only one bus that travels on that route so its popular. We were nervous because the only bus left at 3:30 in the afternoon and we were crossing our fingers that it would arrive on time for us to catch our next bus back to Vina. In the end after spending 5 1/2 hours on a bus that was so jammed that I literally had someones backpack resting on my head for a while, we arrived early for our next bus.

Overall, I was so happy with how the weekend turned out. We choose a location that not a lot of gringo tourists go to, and were rewarded for our daring. I was transported into a whole new world that I was unable to believe existed before.

I was challenged to remember the pure simplicity of a world largely untouched by the modern world. Most of all, I was lucky enough to get to know a family who just wanted to share their world with others.

ALSO! I made a flickr! Because I didn't want to put all of my photos on facebook. Most of them are there. But... if you are looking for some more awesome pics (thanks to the amazing camera Steve Conger picked out for me), go check it out!
 https://www.flickr.com

Cake, Cats, and Camping

I am now 21! I a can legally drink in the United States. Which really isn't a big deal here. I am looking forward to the gluten free beer a certain father of mine is making me though. Here, for my birthday, I celebrated with my friends on the actual day. I also celebrated by getting my student visa. I can now legally stay in Chile for up to a year! On the Saturday after my birthday, my family and I had a cookout. We grilled out and my family got me a Raspberry ice cream cake that had meringue inside. It was quite tasty. My host family gave me some amazing gifts, including several handmade items. They made sure it was a great birthday for which I am extremely grateful.
As amazing as my birthday was, it also was a low point. We had to put our cat to sleep :( He had liver failure. (I think, I'm not entirely sure of the Spanish word for liver). He was the cat that had been sleeping with me ever night, so it was difficult for me.  However, my entire family stuck together, and supported each other through the day.

On a little happier note, my class schedule is pretty much set. I have one class that I think will quickly become my favorite. It's called "Body and Sexuality in the Ancient World." The profe seems really knowledgeable and the class talks a lot about cultures. It's a nice chill class that seems super interesting.
This weekend I am going camping with some friends. We are going to lake icalma and possibly sleeping out the open. Or in the cabin of a friend of one of our professors. Either way, I'm sure its going to be a great adventure and I'm pretty excited. It's a bit further south than I live now. We are hoping on the bus tonight at 8:30 pm and getting to Temuco at about 7 am. After that we have another short bus ride to our camp site. I borrowed a backpack, sleeping bag, and mat from the CIEE office, so I am pretty well equipped for this adventure. I simultaneously feel that I am bringing way to much, and also fear that I am forgetting something essential. Like a towel. Or the first aid kit.  

Climbing Mountains (sorta) and other such adventures

This has been a very eventful week! Mostly all good, some terrifying and a little bit frustrating.

Friday we went on our first excursion. We road a bus out to Rabuco, a flower farm. There we each got to do different workshops, one was cooking food, another was plant lore, and I chose the Mandales (art). I really wanted to learn how to make the sopapillas but as they are made with wheat flour, I think it would have ended up being more tortuous than fun. In my workshop we were given string and two sticks and taught how to make various designs. Mine... is not the ugliest that has ever been made. But neither is it the most beautiful. And you know what? I'm okay with that. We went on a tour of the farm but the small area we visited didn't have that many flowers actually, which was weird. I think a whole bunch had already been har
vested for the Dia de los Mujers (Women's Day).


Saturday was a free day, which I spent... not doing homework? It's been hard to get back into the swing of doing school stuff, not going to lie. But don't worry family, it did get done. Eventually.

Sunday, we went hiking. Which was not I was expecting. The night before we left my family was telling me all these tales of caution, like it's easy to get lost on there, a gringa girl died there a few years ago, ya know, the usual. Which may have not been a good idea. But regardless, I left my house with tons of water and sunblock around 7:45 am to meet up with 30 other students from my group. We got on a bus and arrived at Campa Campana about an hour later. At 9:30 we began the arduous 8k journey. I did pretty well at first. We were walking through vegetation, so although I was super aware we were going up, I felt like the trees could save me if I fell. Then we got a point where literally it was just rocks, and you were going up  and some of them were kinda loose. And I just froze. I literally could not move. Luckily I was with the 2 group so the third group came up behind us and the guide (who works with CIEE) was wayyy better equipped to handle my issues. So I got moving again at a very slow pace, with lots of encouragement from the other 10 in my group. The third group caught up with the second group again because a rock fell on a girl and she ended up needing to get the cut  cleaned. Which may have freaked me out a bit. But we continued on at our nice slow pace.
 Every step was sheer terror for me, but I did not know how to stop. I kept thinking about how I was going to have to do this all over again, but coming down. Finally, we ran into another girl from our group who slid/fell about 3 feet with about 30 minutes to go until the top. She was so freaked out that she had no desire to continue so I decided to stop and wait with her.  We were sitting in a spot that made me feel uncomfortable and like I had to hold onto a rock the whole time to feel secure. Which is silly, because I was perfectly fine. But we moved to a ledge that had more room for the both us and we sat and ate lunch. We also saw a fox(?) which came super close to us. The view was gorgeous, so really, what did I need to go to the top for anyway? Finally, the rest of groups started to come down and I got begin another hour of terror for the first part of the descent until we were in the trees again. Our guide Cesar sent the others ahead and there was about 5 of us in the super super slow group. Parts of it I literally sat down and scooted down the mountain on my butt. I have the nice scratches to prove it. We finally got back into the trees and I could breath again. We finally finished around 7:45 pm and then had to ride the bus back home and then walk back another 15 minutes up some hills to my house. I arrived back around 9:30 pm. All in all an extremely long day. But I'm glad I went (I think). It was really cool and there was a great view even if I didn't make it all the way up. I was super soar for days though!

This week I had two new classes, which both changed times on me. This means I walked an hour to the location of the class (cause I wanted to experience the area). I got to the first class 20 minutes late because I got a little bit lost, meaning I walked about 30 minutes extra before I figured out where the turn was. But I got there and finally found the classroom... but my class wasn't there. I wondered around and found a class in which the profe had a guitar and went in and was like is this my class? (Spoiler alert: it wasn't.) Finally I went and found the building secretaries and tried to figure out if my classroom had been moved, which it hadn't. So finally, I just had to turn around and go home. At the end, I found out that the class was actually an hour earlier than I had thought. Which sucked. Same thing happened to me on Wednesday, the class was moved to be an hour earlier, which means I can't take that class anymore either since I have another class 30 mins away that ends at the same time as this new start time. Come on Chile! Get it together! Or maybe... Maybe I should just not take classes. I think that would probably be for the best.

In other news: This week I'm feeling a little bit under the weather. I have a small cold that is more of annoyance than anything else. I hope it goes away before my birthday!

There has been a lot of drama in my family this week, mostly health related. It's been tough on us, but I am hoping it all ends out for the best. This morning we had to take the family cat, Guaton, to the vet. He's not doing well but we will find out tomorrow. I hope he gets better! I'll miss my cuddle buddy.

First week of classes!

This week was notable because it marked the beginning of classes at the PUCV (Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso). Classes however, did not start off well. The very first thing a Chilean profe said was that it wasn't probably a good idea that I take his class. Which considering that there is like 300 pages of reading to do every week might be good advice. I have a mixture of classes working on things like grammar, history, and general education. I'm planning to take about 16 credits worth of classes, because I don't want to be overwhelmed. Currently I only have classes three days a week (which means more travel time!) I'm fairly excited to start classes but also still changing my schedule a bit. The first two weeks are pretty flexible time periods. My classes buildings are located in both Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, so it means a lot of traveling! Luckily, I just bought my student Metro card, which means I can ride on the Metro which runs between Vina and Valpo for a greatly reduced rate (yay!).

 

 

I finally had time this week to spend a good chunk of time at the beach. I heard it snowed recently back home. Not that I'm rubbing it in or anything. Don't worry Mom, I put on sunscreen. Unfortunately I may or may not have still gotten sunburned.  Only a little! I promise.I love that I get to live so close to the beach! It's about a twenty minute walk from my apartment. School is starting up for everyone here, so hopefully the beaches will be a little less full then! Right now the beach we go to is kinda tiny, and there is a ton of people there, so people are constantly kicking sand at you. Plus tons of venders are running around yelling about their goods, so it's not a great place for a relaxing nap. But hey, it's a beach I can't really complain.






For those who are curious this is my family! Minus my mom in the photo in the bookstore (where my Dad Ronnie works).

Camilia, Me, Ronnie, Andrea

 We're a bit of a crazy bunch but I've really enjoyed my time with them so far!

House being built like a castle? I'm a little confused on this.

My street! With a view of the cereo in the back!

Here in Valpo and Vina there a tons of hills, we're actually rather well know for them. Each large hill/cereo is separated into it's own neighborhood. I live on the cereo that's called Recreo. The problem is walking up and down them. It's not as bad going down, but going up is kinda the worst thing in the world. Mostly because it's my return from classes and my tired, but man, I am out of shape! The short cut to my house goes up this HUUUGGGGEEEE hill (it's probably not as big as I think). I just keep telling myself I just have to get up that hill and it gets better from there, but really I still have to keep going uphill for another 3 or 4 minutes. It's got to get easier. I hope.

I saved the best picture for last! My bright and cheerful house!

My house, which is home to a kindergarten

Friday we're going on a trip to a flower farm and Sunday we have plans to go hiking! I hope to have great stories about how I didn't fall down the mountain for you next week!