Today a group of us went rafting about an hour outside of Santiago at a place called Cascada de las Animas. Cascada has a bunch of outdoor activities like rafting, hiking, and horseback riding and its not that expensive. It was so much fun and I definitely want to go back!!! The views were beautiful and although the water was cold, the guides were really nice and the rapids were fun! Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me and don't have any pictures.
The only not so good thing about today was a conversation that I had with a man at the bus stop this morning. He was telling me that I shouldn't wear shorts early in the morning because it can give people the wrong idea, he also told me to call some friends because again it was too early for me to be out alone. This all happened a little after 7am, when it was completely light out, not really an unusual time to be on your way somewhere. I'd have to say so far the thing that is the most difficult to get used to here is that I feel less independent then at home, which bothers me a bit. My host mom has told me many times to not go somewhere alone at night, especially because I am a girl. Although I understand this, early morning doesn't seem to be a dangerous time to me to be wearing running shorts. Maybe its something that I just have to get used to and embrace as something that is different than the US, but it is something that I miss.
However, he did ask me if I was Chilean, so I was pretty proud of that! And we had an amazing time rafting today and exploring Chile in general so I'd say that more than makes up for it!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Cerro San Cristobol, La Moneda, and Other Adventures in Santiago
I have now been in Chile for a full week! So far my days consist of a Spanish class and/or orientation activities usually in the morning and then exploring Santiago in the afternoons. My birthday was on Wednesday and when I woke up my host mom, Claudia, had made breakfast including cake! We visited the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (Museum of memory and Human Rights). The Museum was focused on the human rights violations that occurred in Chile when Pinochet was in power (1973-1990) so although it was very interesting and I learned a lot it was a little sad also. After this some friends and I went out for a drink and then I went home for a birthday dinner of delicious empanadas with Pisco Sour and MORE cake!
Natalia and I on my birthday:
One of the really cool places that we visited this week was Cerro San Cristobal. It is a hill in Santiago with a Church and statue of the Virgin Mary on top. It also has amazing views of the city! Although it was smoggy the day that we were there, we were still able to take some good pictures and have an awesome view of Santiago!
La Cordillera:
The Andes:
Santiago:
Another place that we went to was La Moneda, the presidential palace.
I love that we have time to explore different parts of Santiago, and I'm excited that many people on the AU program want to travel to the same places that I do while we are here! I am looking forward to an awesome semester, but I'm not quite ready for classes to start yet.
Natalia and I on my birthday:
One of the really cool places that we visited this week was Cerro San Cristobal. It is a hill in Santiago with a Church and statue of the Virgin Mary on top. It also has amazing views of the city! Although it was smoggy the day that we were there, we were still able to take some good pictures and have an awesome view of Santiago!
La Cordillera:
The Andes:
Santiago:
Another place that we went to was La Moneda, the presidential palace.
I love that we have time to explore different parts of Santiago, and I'm excited that many people on the AU program want to travel to the same places that I do while we are here! I am looking forward to an awesome semester, but I'm not quite ready for classes to start yet.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Pictures!
I have officially started my exploration of Santiago and so far I love it! Santiago is split up into different areas, kind of like the different neighborhoods in DC. I am living in an area called Providencia and the University where I will be taking classes is in Santiago Centro. It only takes me about 30 minutes to get to school in the morning, which is nice especially since many of my friends have a much longer commute. Each area is a little bit different and I am looking forward to visiting many more places. Here are some photos of where I am living!
My room:
And here are some pictures of the outside of the apartment:
Universidad Diego Portales (UDP)
All around Santiago:
Simone and I at lunch:
The dog that followed us around for a few hours on Monday. In Santiago there are tons of street dogs. They all seem really friendly (although we don't touch them or pet them) and don't seem to bother anyone, sometimes they just follow people around. Of course I feel really bad for all of them but they look pretty happy.
I am feeling much more comfortable in Chile now that I have been here for a few days and have had some time to adjust. It is exciting to be here and try so many new things. Today I had my first Pisco Sour! Pisco is a drink that is only produced in Chile and Peru and there is a debate over which country can claim it. Fue muy rico! (It was very good!)
My room:
And here are some pictures of the outside of the apartment:
Universidad Diego Portales (UDP)
All around Santiago:
Simone and I at lunch:
The dog that followed us around for a few hours on Monday. In Santiago there are tons of street dogs. They all seem really friendly (although we don't touch them or pet them) and don't seem to bother anyone, sometimes they just follow people around. Of course I feel really bad for all of them but they look pretty happy.
I am feeling much more comfortable in Chile now that I have been here for a few days and have had some time to adjust. It is exciting to be here and try so many new things. Today I had my first Pisco Sour! Pisco is a drink that is only produced in Chile and Peru and there is a debate over which country can claim it. Fue muy rico! (It was very good!)
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Chilenismos
I have been in Chile for two days now and am starting to feel a little more comfortable. It didn't really sink in that I would be living here for almost six months until I was getting on the plane on Thursday night. I have never felt so many things at one time. I am so excited to be here but at the same time very nervous, since this is an experience like none that I have ever had.
I am living in a part of Santiago called Providencia with my Chilean host mom, Claudia, who is teaching me a lot about Chilean culture. Being here has made me realize how different it is to speak Spanish in class versus in everyday life. There are a lot of words and concepts that I don't understand unless they are explained to me. Many of these are called Chilenismos. Chilenismos are words or phrases that are unique to Chile. There are a lot of them but Claudia is always willing to explain them to me until I understand.
One of the first Chilenismos that I learned was palolo. Palolo is the word that people in Chile use for boyfriend. The word that we have always been taught is novio but its not really used here.
Some other things I have learned about Chile so far:
In grocery stores everything is sold in much smaller quantities. The largest bottle of orange juice that you can buy is smaller than the smallest container you would find in an American store. I don't know if this is universal in Chile but it's what I have noticed so far.
Also my host mom thinks that I don't eat enough. Although I love the food so far I can never finish the portions that I am served. Mealtimes are also different. Breakfast isn't a big deal but lunch is the largest/most important meal of the day and is eaten later than I am used to in the US. We also eat dinner really late, and it isn't the big meal of the day.
Today when we returned to the house after being out all afternoon, we found that the lock had broken when we closed the door and we couldn't get inside! We went to the neighbors house and the man who lives there along with his son had to take off the window from the outside so that we could get inside. I'm not really sure what this means in terms of leaving the house since the lock is still broken on the front door but the whole experience reminded me of the many times that things have broken or gone wrong at home. It was an oddly familiar experience!
It is definitely hard to think in Spanish all the time and I have to pay close attention all of the time to understand everything that is going on. There are many times when I just nod and say "si" but I think people catch on that I don't understand. However, even though it is an adjustment I am having a lot of fun!
I am living in a part of Santiago called Providencia with my Chilean host mom, Claudia, who is teaching me a lot about Chilean culture. Being here has made me realize how different it is to speak Spanish in class versus in everyday life. There are a lot of words and concepts that I don't understand unless they are explained to me. Many of these are called Chilenismos. Chilenismos are words or phrases that are unique to Chile. There are a lot of them but Claudia is always willing to explain them to me until I understand.
One of the first Chilenismos that I learned was palolo. Palolo is the word that people in Chile use for boyfriend. The word that we have always been taught is novio but its not really used here.
Some other things I have learned about Chile so far:
In grocery stores everything is sold in much smaller quantities. The largest bottle of orange juice that you can buy is smaller than the smallest container you would find in an American store. I don't know if this is universal in Chile but it's what I have noticed so far.
Also my host mom thinks that I don't eat enough. Although I love the food so far I can never finish the portions that I am served. Mealtimes are also different. Breakfast isn't a big deal but lunch is the largest/most important meal of the day and is eaten later than I am used to in the US. We also eat dinner really late, and it isn't the big meal of the day.
Today when we returned to the house after being out all afternoon, we found that the lock had broken when we closed the door and we couldn't get inside! We went to the neighbors house and the man who lives there along with his son had to take off the window from the outside so that we could get inside. I'm not really sure what this means in terms of leaving the house since the lock is still broken on the front door but the whole experience reminded me of the many times that things have broken or gone wrong at home. It was an oddly familiar experience!
It is definitely hard to think in Spanish all the time and I have to pay close attention all of the time to understand everything that is going on. There are many times when I just nod and say "si" but I think people catch on that I don't understand. However, even though it is an adjustment I am having a lot of fun!
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