Thanksgiving (part 1)

Last night I decided I wanted to do something special to celebrate Thanksgiving. Having a normal Chilean dinner and speaking Spanish just didn't seem right. So Tara and I went out to eat, which is a real treat as meals with our host families are free... and being college students we take advantage of this. My Thanksgiving at Sushi House:

Tara with our plate of sushi:

Me with our rice:

What made this particular Thanksgiving feel anything at all like Thanksgiving? The turkey!

I know I said I'd be done with classwork today, but I'm in Chile. Chile is where I have learned nothing goes according to plan. Once my host sister asked if I wanted to go to a flea market. I said yes and we went to the dentist office and had lunch in the mall's food court instead. Along these lines, we all showed up for our final presentation in our poverty and development class today to find there was no professor. Said class has been rescheduled for next Wednesday. The good news is that all of my work is done and I'm ready for it... the bad news is that it doesn't occur until next Wednesday.

I'm off to rest a bit before our Thanksgiving dinner with the program.

Bueno Bye!

Thankful

It's officially Turkey Day by Chile time. I thought I'd list out things I am thankful for:

1. My family and friends waiting for me in the States. I love you all a ton.

2. That I have been able to have this abroad experience

3. That I have 2 stress free weeks left to enjoy Chile

4. That I still have one awesome trip in front of me (Easter Island)

5. How amazing my host family is

6. How close our group of 8 gringos has become on this trip

7. My host mom's cooking (she uses far less salt and mayonaise than the average Chilean)

8. That my Spanish has been able to improve so much

9. That I've gained a better understanding of what it is to be an outsider and unable to fully express yourself in another language

10. That at the end of these 2 weeks I will be surrounded by loved ones

That's all for now.

I'm off to bed.

Happy Turkey Day to those of you in the States!

Bueno Bye!

Fall

As it is Spring/Summer here I'm having some trouble remembering that it's supposed to be Fall or that it's actually November.

A friend passed this link to me as a reminder. It's a really cute interpretation of Fall leaves:

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/bio-diversity/

Bueno Bye!

SOBREVIVIR (to survive)

So I have survived the better part of my finals. I only have a presentation on Friday and one more paper. (But this last paper is in English as it's a recap of my internship and my advisor in the states has to be able to read it.) Basically, from here on out it's smooth sailing.

Despite being terribly boring the last few weeks in this blog, I did do some really cool things around the city. For the next few days I'll use my new found freedom to update you. Today's post will be some pictures from our tour of the inside of La Mondeda (the Chilean White House).

My personal tutor... or a guard at La Moneda:

The orange plaza (named for the orange trees), where receptions are held and high society can literally eat the fruits:

The place where Allende died during the military coup (the light brick was part of the palace that had to be rebuilt because of bombing and the dark brick is original building):

Because we're in Chile the presidential palace has a chapel:

Me wishing to pass my finals:

That's all for now. I hope all of you are having a good Thanksgiving week. It's a little hard for me to believe that it's that time of the year as it's about 85 degrees here.

Bueno Bye!

Finals

I'm in the midst of finals here. My brain feels completely wrung out. My paper and presentation are ready for tomorrow, but another paper, 2 tests, and a presentation await me next week. My apologies for being so boring lately, but really I'll I've been doing is going to class and then studying until bed.

The good news is that next Friday I will be done with IT ALL. Friday night we're all having Thanksgiving dinner together (it can't be Thursday as we'll all still be studying). After that I will have 2 weeks left in Chile, which I intend to spend at the beach when I am not with the program at Easter Island!

Bueno Bye for now, I'm off to review my notes for the presentation.

WINS!

+1 Win: I am done with my paper!!!

-.5 Minor loss: I turned it in earlier today and don't have to think about it... until next Monday when I get it back for the rewrite.

+1 Win: In the last 8 days I have been asked twice if I am Chilean and once if I am Brazilian. I think I'm really getting the hang of this.... or I just look Chilean and keep my mouth closed so they can't tell.

-.5 Minor loss: Although I just finished with my paper I don't get the day off as I have another one due Friday :(

The score for today stands at Quinn: 2 Chile:1

I'm off to write my other paper now and will continue my life of FOMEness. Bueno Bye!

FOME (chilean slang for boring)

My apologies for being so fome lately. Unfortunately it's finals time, and the next 2 weeks I will be buried under books, as I have been much of the last week. The day after Thanksgiving is my final exam and then it's 2 weeks of the beach until I return home!

I've been able to do some pretty interesting things lately such as take a visit inside of La Moneda (the Chilean White House), take a tour of Villa Grimaldi (one of the worst torture centers during the Pinochet regime), and generally enjoy the beautiful spring/summer weather here.

Proof that I am in fact still alive: the other night we were tired from studying but had to be up early the next day so we decided to make some AMERICAN FOOD (mac and cheese) and have a movie night.

Tara and Alex enjoying the fruits of our labor:

Alex and me... I'd already chowed down:

Caitlin was SUPER excited:

That's all for now. I'm off to finish up my 15 page paper on the failure of economic integration in South America. :) Can you say fome?

Bueno Bye!

Mass

Sunday Tara and I headed up to the top of Cerro San Cristobol (the highest hill in Santiago with the virgin at the top) to attend Mass. There's a really huge one in the outdoor sanctuary December 8th to celebrate the Feast of the Virgin, but we'll be in Easter Island, so we'll miss it. Sunday was the mass to kick off the month before the Feast, so we decided we could go to this one instead.

It was a beautiful day and hovered around 72 degrees. Sitting outside listening to mass with the city of Santiago spread out below you wasn't a half bad way to spend the day. It was a little weird hearing the Creed and Hail Mary in Spanish. I actually understood the whole sermon, which was pretty cool.

The Sanctuary:

The view from our pew/bench:

The many priests:

The congregation which includes tons of tourists and a number of chileans in dress of colonial days to celebrate this special mass:

The view from the side:

Late Sunday night I got sick to my stomach, which was no fun. I went to class yesterday not feeling very well, but gave my presentation for Environment. When I got home I told my host mom that I might not be up for dinner as I wasn't feeling well. She freaked out and asked me 100 questions about where I'd been and what I'd eaten. For dinner she made me some chicken and rice soup and I had some bread. She also made me some jello for today. Finally over the course of the evening she fixed me 3 cups of mint tea (the official chilean remedy to upset stomachs). It's really nice when I'm so far away from home to have a host mom to fret when I'm not feeling well... maybe I could find a DC host mom...

The good news is I'm feeling much better today. I'm certainly not going to go eat an empanada right now, but I'm ready to tackle the rest of my final work!

Bueno bye!

Wins and Losses

Win:

Last night while dancing with a young man he asked if I was Chilean. I laughed and said no. He then proceeded to ask, Columbian? Apparently in low lighting with loud music I pass as a Chilean! Score!

Loss:

Within the next 20 days I have 3 presentations, 2 tests, and 2 10 page papers... ALL in Spanish. I think I'll be a little boring for the next few weeks.

Win:

After all of that ends I'll have 2 weeks before I leave to spend at the beach and Easter Island!

Loss:

For my faithful readers as this is the end of this post.

Bueno Bye!

Half birthday!

Today is my 1/2 birthday! Because there are only 8 of us in the program, we decided that we need to celebrate one fractional birthday of each person before we leave. In honor of my 1/2 birthday, after class we all went to McDonald's to get McFlurries. Before you judge us, Chilean McDonald's serve huge McFlurries with Rockets (giant M&Ms) and chocolate sauce on top for no extra charge.

Bueno Bye!

Dulce o Truco!

How do you say, "Trick or Treat" in Spanish? Dulce o Truco.

Last night after Mom left I came home and started setting up for the Halloween party at our house. Then Nacha and I took Panchi and her cousin Dani Dulce o Truco-ing. Finally we were ready to come back and enjoy the fun that happens when you mix chileans and gringos!

Panchi and Dani:

Responsible adult #1:

Responsible adult #2:

The cutest Mini Mouse EVER:

Dan and I dressed up as Chilean Candy bars:

It was indeed a sweet Halloween.

Bueno Bye!

Mama Pregliasco

This past week I got to enjoy having Mom, Aunt Dee and Aunt Dee's friends, Michelle, Meg, Phyllis, Jackie, and Doris with me in Santiago. While I was in class for the first few days they enjoyed Chilean wine country, Valparaiso, and Viña del Mar. I met up with them Wednesday. Thursday we all did a city tour and then Mom and I had dinner with my host sisters. Friday I had a midterm so Mom enjoyed the Los Dominicos market during the day. After class Mom took the 7 other students in my program to get gelato. We then spent Saturday at Cerro Santa Lucia. Here are some pictures from her time here (she and Aunt Dee have many more):

Mom and me in front of La Moneda, the Chilean White House:

Mom enjoying a super sophisticated Chilean meal (the problem with only having 2 of us was that the photos are always of one of us or the other):

Mom at the bottom of Cerro Santa Lucia:

Mom having made it to the top of Cerro Santa Lucia:

Now Mom is a real Chilean:

By the time she had it all figured out and had become a real Chilean it was time for her to leave:

It was really great to get to see Mom and to share my life here with her. She got to meet the people I talk about constantly and get a taste of Santiago. I was sad to see her go, but the good news is that we've already been apart for 10 weeks and now there are only 6 more.

Bueno bye!