San Pedro de Atacama

The trip was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen anything as beautiful in my life. I've also never been as completely dried out as I was there. My skin is thanking me that I'm back in Santiago. I'm just going to put up pictures with captions because I don't think I can describe the trip.

We got off the plane and saw:

After dropping our bags off it was back into the desert to explore:

View from the top of the Valley of Mars:

Trekking:

Conquistadora:

Then off to the Valley of the moon (named because there is so much salt it makes the entire valley white like the surface of the moon):

Just before sunset, a picture filled with gringos:

Sunset over the desert:

Our guides suprised us with wine and cheese to help us enjoy the sunset:

What happens when you need a bathroom in the desert? You use one made out of adobe. However, no matter where you are in the world there WILL be a line:

Though Catholics did convert most of the population they maintained aspects of their own religion. What is this church missing?

A belltower. They have to be built seperately to keep opposing forces in balance. The church is feminine and the tower masculine:

Lakes at 4000 feet above sea level:

How do you get better than that last picture? Add me, of course:

I made a new friend:

Then off to see the geysers at sunrise:

Brrr, it was cold:

15 minutes later we were in our bathing suits swimming in a geyser pool:

Back at the hostel I was a Pregliasco and won a few card games:

Congrats on making it through all of that. I had over 150 pictures so I had to cut it down a bit. I hope you enjoyed it.

Tonight I'm off to a free concert at La Moneda to celebrate Chile's independence day (which is technically tomorrow).

Bueno Bye!

Bueno Bye for a while

Tomorrow morning at 4 AM I will head off to San Pedro de Atacama. It's a city that's in the northern part of the country, meaning it's along the Atacama Desert (the driest place on earth). My Chilean guide book describes San Pedro as "...the Oasis village of San Pedro de Atacama. In the vicinity are ancient pre-Columbian ruins, thermal springs, salt flats, and dramatic geyser fields."

A picture of a hand sculpture in the Desert:

I'll let you know my impression when I return. I'm off for a 4 day trip. There will be pictures!!

Also, I survived September 11th in Chile with no incidents. I didn't notice anything different, but I was taking precautions not to be in areas of town where trouble could arise. Thus far there have been no incidents today.

Bueno Bye for a few days.

September 11th, 1973

September 11th is a pretty monumental day in Chile as it is in the US. It's the day in 1973 when there was a successful military coup against the democratically elected President Allende. This began the 18 year long Pinochet regime. If you ask a Chilean about Pinochet you are sure to get mixed results. Although most will acknowledge the human rights abuses, some won't. A number also won't completely cast him off as his economic policies brought Chile to be the modernized economically stable country it is today.

There are protests every year on September 11th. They occur for a number of reasons. Some people want the human rights abuses to be acknowledged and perpetrators to be prosecuted, others are protesting foreign involvement in Chilean politics, others their current disputes with the government.

There shouldn't be any sort of major incidents. Occasionally the protestors are sprayed with tear gas when things get rowdy. The protests occur in the center of Santiago. The University I'm attending is about a mile away and to ensure nothing happens we only have class on Friday morning and at a location farther away from the center of the city. We also leave for the North at 4 am Saturday morning so none of us will be going out on the town Friday night. I just wanted to let you all know I'll be completely fine and our program is taking extra precautions.

Here's a good quote to show how the two events on September 11th compare:

"So, let’s imagine how [the September 11th attacks] could have been worse for example. Suppose that on September 11, Al-Qaeda had bombed the White House and killed the President, instituted a murderous, brutal regime which killed maybe 50,000 to 100,000 people and tortured about 700,000, set up a major international terrorist center in Washington, which was overthrowing governments all over the world, and installing brutal vicious neo-Nazi dictatorships, assassinating people. Suppose he called in a bunch of economists, let’s call them the 'Kandahar Boys' to run the American economy, who within a couple of years had driven the economy into one of the worst collapses of its history. Suppose this had happened. That would have been worse than 9/11, right? But it did happen. And it happened on 9/11. That happened on September 11, 1973 in Chile. The only thing you have to change is this per capita equivalence, which is the right way to look at it. Well, did that change the world? Yeah, it did but not from our point of view, in fact, who even knows about it? Incidentally, just to finish, because we [the U.S.] were responsible for that one." — Noam Chomsky.

*Note the economic collapse mentioned is true, but it was a total overhaul of the system to institute an open economy that has boomed in the last 15 years.

**Also, today Chile is considered to be the most stable country (economically and politically) in Latin America.

On a far less serious note: I'm off to the mall with some friends. We read over the itinerary for our trip to the desert and discovered that the list of things to pack read: heavy winter coat, gloves, hat, shorts, sandals, bathing suit. Because of the lack of water the desert's temperature is below freezing at night and hot during the day. I'm off to get something to wear under my jeans for our 4 am hike to see some geysers.

Bueno Bye!

The Post Without Hills

FINALLY a post that doesn't include me walking up a hill! This one will be more about my daily life as I'm starting to settle into the routine of classes.

Classes: They started Friday. They all seem interesting. The only problem is that our teachers are Chilean so not only do they only speak in Spanish, they speak without breathing. The good news is that they all seem very nice and understanding. When we constantly raise our hands to ask for clarification or ask them to slow down a bit, they do so willingly and thank us for reminding them to slow down. There are only 8 of us in the program and we can choose between 5 classes and an internship; so one of my classes only has 4 students!

Graffiti: It's everywhere in Santiago, even in super nice neighborhoods. Some of it is really beautiful. A lot of it is just tagging that ruins otherwise beautiful sights.

Dogs: There are stray dogs throughout Chile. They just kind of wander the streets. They don't harass you at all, but it's really sad to see so many of them. None of us have been able to figure out why there are so many of them.

Likes/Dislikes:

Like: Public transportation only costs about 75 cents a ride (this includes a bus and a metro)

Dislike: I have to take public transportation daily as I do not live on campus

Like: That you can buy an empanadas half the size of your head for a dollar

Dislike: This amazing rate does not apply to all foods, especially if you are in a touristy area

Like: Beverages are fairly inexpensive here

Dislike: You have to pay for water and cannot just ask for tap water at restaurants (you also must specify that you want water sin gas AKA flat)

Like: My bed has a switch that I turn on to heat it

Like: My estufa (a small gas stove) that keeps me warm

Dislike: The absence of central heating in homes or buildings

Like: Santiago is in the same time zone as Eastern Time in the US, making talking to family and friends easy

Like: My host family is super nice!

Like: Putting together puzzles with my 8 year old host sister

Like: Hanging out with my 19 year old host sister and her friends

Like: My host sister gives me rides just about anywhere if we're both headed out

Like: The food at home!

Dislike: Our large meal one the weekdays is dinner, at 8:30. It's hard not to snack before then

Like: I didn't have to pay for a Chilean cell phone as the student before left it for me

Dislike: It's pink

Like: How many amazing people I've met

Like: The amazing sights I've already seen

Like: How much my spanish (or chilean anyway) has improved

Like: The experiences that I can't even begin to explain

Dislike: Being away from you all

Like: How good it will be when we are reunited!

Bueno Bye!

Another 42 hills?

WARNING: This post has a number of pictures that may be unsuitable for those unnacustomed to vibrant colors.

On Wednesday and Thursday my program took a trip to Isla Negra (Pablo Neruda's house on the shore), Viña del Mar, and Valparaiso. The general idea was to let us see parts of Chile that are fairly close to Santiago. We drove in a bus to Isla Negra. Later, in the afternoon, we headed to Viña. The following day we took public transportation from Viña to Valpo and from Valpo back to Santiago. Now we know how to take the bus to get to the beach! Round trip it's only about $10.

This is the entrance to the eclectic home of Pablo Neruda:

It was a pretty strange place with collections of the maidens on the front of ships, a stable built for a ceramic horse, a room dedicated to the collection of seashells, and with a 180 degree view of the sea from the bedroom.

Here's his boat:

We had some time before our tour of La Isla Negra started to we went to the beach:

We all climbed around on the rocks and even found a mermaid:

Then we headed to Viña del Mar, which is a very new city with a number of hotels, restaraunts, discos, and even a casino. It sprang up in the 70s when Valparaiso's economy was tanking. The rich from Valparaiso just moved about 2 miles up the coast.

A typical looking hotel in Viña:

The casino where I lost all of the money I brought with me for the entire semester (mom, a little help?):

A restaurant made to look like a boat:

A castle made to look as though it's in Germany (there is a large German immigrant population in Chile):

Finally to wrap up our day in Viña we watched the sun set over the ocean:

We spent Thursday on a walking tour of Valparaiso. It is a city that stretches across 42 distinct hills (as if I don't have enough posts about hills already). It's this old city that was never planned out so most of the streets are really alleys that turn every which way. It's a port city that had a thriving economy throughout the 1800s. But in 1914 the Germans invented man made gunpowder and Chile's supply of saltpeter was no longer necessary. In the same year the Panama Canal opened, meaning ships from Europe no longer needed to stop in Valpo to gather more supplies while rounding South America to get to the Western Coast of the United States. The economy really tanked and by the 70s it was the poorest city in Chile. Recently there has been a movement to rejuvenate the city. A number of old homes were purchased and turned into lofts, hotels and restaurants. Our tour was mostly through the revitalized part of town.

Originally this was where ships would pull in to unload (the land has since been expanded with land fill):

Pictures of some of the many hills:

A view of the port:

There was art everywhere in the city. There are murals on almost every wall (albeit with a large amount of graffiti too) and even some on sidewalks:

As though that wasn't enough of a feast for our eyes, all of the houses are painted in vibrant colors:

Right before we headed home we had lunch at a cafe that translates to "The one-eyed cat." It was atop of one of the hills and the glass walls provided an excellent view of the houses down to the ocean:

I know that was a long post, but so it goes. I'll write more about normal life and classes (which started on Friday) next time. I just didn't want to overwhelm.

Bueno Bye.

Another hill?

In the last post I described Cerro (Spanish for hill) San Cristobol. This time the featured hill will be Cerro Santa Lucia (CSL). For class on Monday I went with another student with the task of taking pictures and learning all we could about the hill solely by talking to Chileans. Then today we had to give a presentation to the class on it. It was neat to talk to Chileans and finally mostly understand... they slowed way down to accomidate us, but none the less.

CSL is much smaller than CSC. CSL is just east of the main part of downtown Santiago. It's just a short walk from La Moneda (Chilean White House) and La Plaza de Armas (see earlier post). CSL was where the city of Santiago was founded. Pedro de Valdivia chose the hill as the location to start the city. The hill gave added protection against the natives. At the top of the hill is the old fort. Along the hill are a number of small terraces to stop and catch your breath/admire the view as you climb to the top.

A map of the hill marked with the many terraces and historical buildings along it:

As you start the climb you enter and immediately go up a set of stairs that leads you to The Neptune Terrace (named for the statue in the fountain):

At the base of the hill is a mural dedicated to Gabriela Mistral, a Chilean who won the Nobel Prize in Literature:

Also on the first level is a craft fair of indigenous crafts (If you want a wool hat, this is your place):

A statue of Pedro de Valdivia along the climb:

The fort at the top of the hill (they fire a cannon from it every day at noon):

The view from the top, albeit on a rainy day, and my partner for the day (Helene a Belgian exchange student). Note she is not thrilled about the requirement that each of us appear in a photo:

Afterwards I headed to La Plaza de Armas to meet up with some friends who were assigned that location. Then we all headed to El Mercado Central. A large tourist spot where FISH is the number one thing to buy:

It's a huge tourist location and if you want less expensive fish/fruits/veggies you can head one block over to La Vega. Same set up, but with less Gringos. However a fun fact is that when visiting, President Clinton ate at one of the restaurants in El Mercado Central (though I'm not sure why as the fish smell is overwhelming) and they renamed the restaraunt La Clinton.

The inside of El Mercado Central:

...and just for fun before I go:

When you hear an ice cream truck in Santiago and run outside with a few hundred pesos in your hand, this is what you encounter. It's a cart where someone turns a crank organ to play the music. Instead of ice cream, you buy toys! The 5 year old in me LOVES this concept!

Bueno Bye.