Hi everyone. It's 3:20 and we just got done with lunch. I have studied for my upcoming final all morning, so now I am taking a break. I have a million things to remember for this test, so I'm staying in all weekend to memorize as much as possible. A lot of my friends are going out, having barbecues, going to soccer games, and trying to visit places in Santiago previously unseen. I think that is wonderful, however, I know that if I were to join them, I wouldn't be able to study as much. I'll do all those things after I get done with my exam on Tuesday morning. I will then have 2.5 days to bum around the city with nothing to do before my flight on Thursday night. Yes, everyone - we are at T-minus 5 days until I fly out of the southern hemisphere. Well, it is 6 if you count the rest of today. It is a little sad that this trip is ending, but at the same time, it is good to move on as well.

This week, I haven't done a lot except study. Although, I started a photo scrap book on Shutterfly.com which I'm really taking a lot of time making. I am transferring all my blog entries into it, as well as putting captions on a lot of pictures. I have 50 pages completed so far, and hopefully can fit the rest of my trip in the next 50. I think it will be nice to have a whole book to commemorate my trip to Chile.

A couple months ago, Cecilia asked me what I normally like to cook and eat when I am in the states. I told her my norms: spaghetti, enchiladas, soup, salad, tacos, etc. So last night, we were having dinner and she tells me that she would like to throw a small party for me tonight, because it is my last Saturday in Chile. And she was so excited to tell me that she is making... tacos! I think it's really sweet that she remembered a dish that I said I liked and that she never makes.

Since I haven't written in a while, I should probably give some updates as to what I have been doing. Last Friday, Kate and I went to Vina Del Mar and Valparaiso to visit my friend Sarah who is from Chicago. She teaches English in Vina, and was so happy to give us a place to stay on Friday. We arrived in Vina, after dark, by bus. The bus systems in Chile are amazing, because they go every where and at convenient times. For example, to Vina it is 6 dollars, it only takes 2 hours, and buses leave every 20-30 minutes. Sarah picked us up at the station, and we walked about 20 minutes to her apartment where she lives with her boyfriend and two of his friends. After we got settled, we went to dinner at a bar in Valpo and ate pizza. All of the bartenders and waitstaff watched us the whole time, were super nice, and invited us to an asada (barbecue) the next day. We didn't go, of course. Americans aren't uncommon in Chile, but you feel like a celebrity sometimes (not all the time), because you are treated differently. For instance, Kate found a tiny hair in her drink, so the bartender made her a new one, free of charge. Now, this wouldn't be weird in America, but in Chile??? That is absolutely unheard of! Normally, if you want a new one, you have to pay for it. So it was nice to have better service than we are used to. An example of normal Chilean service? Sarah said that a week prior to our visit, her roommates ordered 2 pizzas. After the delivery, they opened the box to one very cold pizza, and one pizza that was completely uncooked. They called the pizza place, and discovered that they could order more pizza and pay for it, but there would be no replacements.

After dinner, we met one of Sarah's friends, also an America, who is teaching English in Argentina. We went to a small bar that serves wine smoothies which is basically jugo natural (freshly squeezed juice) mixed with wine. They also serve hot wine, but we didn't try any. After finishing our pear and banana wine smoothie, we headed to another bar where we danced until 4 am. The other girls wanted to stay out later, but Kate and I were getting tired. We all talked about it and decided to go home, because Sarah's big plan was to go out even later the following night. By the time we got some McDonald's and walked home it was after 5:30!

The next afternoon, we took the bus back to Valpo to walk around and try to see the sights of the city. Valparaiso is a little town, built into the hill with windy roads, colorful houses, and a great view of the ocean. Well, the ocean is there, but it was so foggy that we couldn't exactly see it. I took some really beautiful pictures that I plan to turn into photo art at home. After lunch, we made it back to Sarah's apartment, and Kate and I decided to go back to Santiago. We were both so worn out from Friday, that we couldn't do another crazy night again. Plus, Kate's parents were coming in the next day, so it was a good excuse to go home. Sunday I slept in, watched a couple movies, and did homework. It was a really relaxing day. This past week of school went by super fast. I went out to lunch a couple times with friends, had dinner with Kate and her parents, and also went to the USAC program dinner on Wednesday. I bought some wine yesterday to take home with me, and that leads me up to today. I cleaned my room, and tried to start organizing my bags for my trip home. Anyway, I should get back to memorizing. Miss you and love you all! Emily

Hello

Hi everyone. I know I haven't written in a while - because my last entry was about how I had 29 days left in Chile - and now I have 16....

Tristan Prettyman's new album (called Hello) came out today. It is better than her first two. Everyone needs to buy it. $5.99 on iTunes. I don't know if that is a promotional price or not.

Well. I actually haven't been doing a lot around here. A lot of tests, not a lot of studying. A lot of class, not a lot of socializing. A lot of sleeping. Yes, I am getting more sleep now per day than I have ever gotten before. The sad part is that I don't think I will ever get this much sleep again (on a regular basis) ... until I retire.

Last week we visited the Chilean National Cemetary. Let's just say that it is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is divided up into sections according to how much you pay for your plot. It is a good physical example of the classism that is normal here.

This is for the rich people:

This is for the middle class:

This is for the lower middle class: More materialistic about their dead than any other class.

This is for the lowest:

Another example of the classism is the way people apply for jobs here (I think for college as well). Along with your resume, it is required to send "headshots" or photos with your application. So if you have dark skin, are very short, have distinguishing features, or anything else that is considered unattractive here - you won't be able to get a job. Another thing is if you have a last name that isn't considered a "good name" you aren't able to find work or do things. Also, depending on where you live, you can be discriminated against. It is actually really really sad.

Speaking of... I have officially applied to 5 jobs, like with writing cover letters, references, and the whole shebang - I don't know if it is because I am still in Chile, haven't technically graduated yet, or something completely random, but I haven't been contacted yet for any of them. No one has offered me a well paying job with great benefits yet. 2 of the jobs I applied for today... so I am very impatient with my expectations set pretty high, but I have never not gotten a job I applied for. I feel like it should be easier than it probably is in reality.

Last night I couldn't sleep, and I turned on my tv (with some effort, but I'll get to that)... and I figured out that after 3 a.m. I can get un-scrambled International CNN (usually it is scrambled). It was really nice to watch the news in English and not from BBC. BBC spends too much time showing you the weather and the time in parts of the world, and too little time reporting actual stories.

Tonight, I think my television officially died. For a while, it has been acting crazy - when you push the Power button, you can hear the electricity running through it. However, it doesn't turn on. It is as if it doesn't have sufficient energy. I used to be able to hold down the power button and then pull the power plug in and out of the wall. This would work sometimes, but now... no. It is kind of depressing, but I'm sure I will survive.

I learned 3 new crochet stitches and have made 2 shawls, one scarf, and a coozie (for cans) so far... Yarn isn't expensive here - and I have so much time. I have been to the "Lana" store at least half a dozen times in the past 2 weeks. With my tv dead - I'm really going to need more yarn. Anyone want anything?

I think I am going to start a new section for my Blog.

Things I will miss about Chile:

My host family.

Napping, because, according to Cecilia, learning a language makes you tired.

Cecilia washing my clothes every day, making me breakfast every morning, and making my bed.

Walking to school.
Being in a class with only 3 other students.

Spanish subtitles.

Avocados.
Jamon, Tomate, y Oregano Empanadas from Universitario Santiago.

Espanola Pizza from Voraz Restaurante.

Wine without preservatives (sulfites).

No responsibilities.

Things I will NOT miss about Chile:

The metro (though it is efficient and very clean - sometimes it's hot and crowded)

The milk. It is boxed and reconstituted. They don't really have cows here like they do in Iowa.

Nescafe. There is no real coffee here.

Commuting an hour to get anywhere.

The exhaust from the cars as you walk anywhere.

People smoking around you as you walk anywhere.

Skype dropping my video calls.

Sharing a bathroom with 4 other people. I can never get in when I really need to!

Seeing homeless dogs everywhere. It's so sad, I wish I could adopt all of them.

I might add more to this list as I think of more items.

I have to do some homework. My assignment is to write the story of Cinderella in Spanish. The problem is - I don't remember some of the details. It has been a couple years since I have seen the movie. Her evil stepmother/stepsister locked her in the attic/basement/a room when the prince was looking for the foot to fill the glass slipper?

Miss you all, I can't wait to come home! Lots of love, Em

29 days left

That's right... I have only 29 days left in Santiago.

It's a little weird to think that I have so little time left in Chile. I know it will go by very quickly. Everyone at school is starting to discuss how they feel about going home and I'm getting mixed emotions from everyone. Many of my younger friends aren't ready yet to go back to the states, but the older ones are getting to the point where they are counting down the days. Those students (like me) with definite plans after studying are itching to get back to their normal lives.

Well, I haven't been doing a whole lot since I wrote last. I was sick last week, but went to the doctor and I got on antibiotics. I'm much better. I took a midterm on Monday and did very well, which surprised me, because I didn't study a whole lot. We have 6 chapters to get through in my Spanish class before our final (we spent two months doing 8 chapters, and we have 29 days to get through the last 6, you get the picture) so I have begun really hunkering down to cram in all that I can for my last 3 exams. I want to get really good grades so that I can bump up my final GPA number that will define my entire undergraduate college grades.

Yesterday, I uploaded my resume on a couple job hunting websites, however the sites with better jobs for the Iowa City area, do not work in Chile. It is kind of annoying. Actually, a lot of U.S. websites don't work outside the country. So, I won't be able to apply for a lot of jobs until I get back home. Good news: I was contacted last week for an internship with Summer of the Arts in Iowa City, but I haven't heard anything since I told them my availability for a phone interview. The internship is unpaid. I'm sure I'll be able to help them in some way... it'll look good on my resume too.

Anyway, I'm going to get some homework done. Chao! Emily

Back to Santiago!

Well - Spring Break is officially over and I'm really glad that I took the time to go home to the states. I got a lot done around the house, took care of some administrative tasks at the university, did my taxes, and of course got to see a lot of different people. I feel like I accomplished a lot and it was really great.

I had some adventures on my way back to Santiago. I had three flights to catch: Minneapolis to Chicago (50 min layover) to Miami (1 hr 5 minute layover) to Santiago. If all the flights would have been on time, I wouldn't have had any problems, however that never happens. My flight from Chicago was delayed 45 minutes. When we landed in Miami, I had 30 minutes to get to the plane to Chile. Then we sat on the runway for 15 minutes, because another plane had mechanical issues and was blocking the alley we had to go down. Once we finally got off the plane - I RAN faster than I have ever ran before to get to my gate. A couple from Germany and another from Chile were running with me. It was so scary, because they had shut the door and the plane was going to pull away. When the airport guy saw us, he quickly opened the door and ran down the hall to catch the plane. Finally, we were able to board the plane. I recieved 4 phone calls while I had been running. It was crazy. Sorry Erin and Jenn - I wasn't able to talk really. I was so stressed out by the time that I got to my seat. I did manage to send a couple texts when I sat down, but the attendant made me shut off my phone.

Anyway. The flight was fine for the most part. In the middle of the night, a woman in the row over from me was really sick. I don't know what she had - she wasn't throwing up or anything. She was just moaning a lot and then fell asleep after a while. The flight attendants even had to interrupt the entire plane (trying to sleep) and ask if there was a doctor on board. It was crazy, and kept me awake for a while. The flight wasn't all bad. I sat next to a really nice 27 year old grad student from Chile who goes to Harvard/MIT for some engineering degree. We ended up chatting on the whole flight, because I couldn't sleep and he had work to do on his computer. He was really interesting, and told me stories about how he has a presentation for the U.S. Secretary of Energy next week, because he is working on a huge research project for the states on how to build more energy efficient systems or something. He was visiting Chile for a wedding and had been delayed an entire day by canceled flights. He also gave me a bunch of places that I have to visit in Santiago and lots of advice about traveling back and forth between the two countries. Like how to make sure I can bring some wine/pisco home to the states. His dad was picking him up at the airport, so he insisted on giving me a ride to the metro station. It was going to save me like 30 bucks, so I was incredibly thankful. His dad was so nice and drove me all the way to the Borquez's apartment. I saved a lot of time and energy. Chileans are sooooo nice.

Anyway. I slept yesterday from 8 am to 6 pm, then from about 2 am to 8 am this morning. Then I came home from school today and slept from 3 pm to about 7 pm. I hate jet lag. I'm still tired.

Tomorrow I have class for six hours instead of three, because my teacher is getting married on Thursday night and wants to have no class on Friday. She insists on making up the extra time. I'm thinking it is going to be a LONG and tiring day. So I'm going to go to sleep. Talk to you all soon hopefully. Emily

Hi, its me again

Hola! Yo estoy en el aeropuerto. Tengo que esperar por mi vuelo. El aeropuerto tiene wi-fi y estoy muy feliz.

That means:
Hello! I am in the airport. I have to wait for my flight. The airport has wi-fi and I am very happy.

Can you tell I'm bored?

Carlos, Cecilia, and Francisca took me to the airport just now. I'm glad they did, because I was originally planning on taking a taxi until yesterday. They saved me like 30-40 bucks, even though I was willing to pay for it. They are such a sweet family. They all came inside the departure area with me, and stood in line with me to check in. I ended up not needing their help translating at all (yay for me), but I was glad they came. We chatted while waiting. Gotta love Chileans - the people with all the power like to take their time with everything. So the people at the DMV, grocery store clerks, bank clerks, and of course, airport check-in attendants take their sweet time no matter how long the lines are. The line wasn't too long, but it was incredibly slow. Anyway, so that leaves me here and now with about an hour before we take off. I am quite sure that I am in the right place. Yes, I'm looking at my tickets and I'm at the right gate. However, I think that it's for an hour later than I originally thought. This is probably due to the day light savings time catastrophe I have encountered. This is a whole different story.

So remember how I told you that daylight savings time would put Chile in the same time zone as US Eastern? Right - that's what I thought. However the government of Chile had different plans. They up and decided to postpone the daylight savings time until March 29th. Their reasons make sense. There is an "energy crisis" in Chile and the government decided that changing the DST would save energy and money. I see their logic. The only thing is - no one told me about this, so my computer changed time and I thought "Oh it's my computer, it must be right!" Right??? Nope. Wrong. So I was an hour late to class on Monday. So if my e-ticket from Travelocity says 8:55 and my boarding pass from LAN Chile/American Airlines says 21:55 - It must be because of this stupid DST thing. It's a little frustrating. No wonder no one else is sitting in my gate getting ready to take off - I'm now two hours away from boarding, not one. Who knows... I just hope that I can make my connection flight in Miami to Minneapolis. If we arrive one hour later, I'm going to be annoyed.

Well, since I have time, I can catch everyone up on what I have been up to. My weekend was great. I went to school last Friday like normal and got an invite to go to Pichilemu (peachy - lay - moo) for the weekend. My amigas from class had a friend coming in from the states, but her flight was canceled from Dallas because of bad weather. So in case she could get on a flight, some of my friends decided to stay in Santiago - freeing up space in the cabanas for me! So I went spur of the moment to this little coastal town that is world renowned for surfing. There are only about 12,000 people in the actual town, but during the high summer season the town has usually over 50,000 people in it. That's a lot of surfers. We were there the weekend after the town emptied out, so it was nice and peaceful.

Sarah, Erin, and I stayed in a cabin that is owned by a young couple from California who opened up a language school three years ago. Chris and Valerie are both are avid surfers, good business people, and decided to move here after they spent 6(!) months in South America on their honeymoon. They live this really cool green lifestyle taking care of the cabins, teaching English, and surfing. They have two chickens for eggs and even compost their own food! You would think that they would have dread locks and smell bad, but they are very attractive people. They just had a baby who might be the cutest baby in all of Chile. I don't think that I could do everything that they do - however, I would like to walk in their shoes for a couple months before going back to my life. They were just fascinating people. I highly recommend the Buenos Vistas Cabanas in Pichilemu for anyone who travels there. I really want to go back.

We arrived in Pichilemu (we call it 'peachy' for short) on Friday evening, unpacked our stuff and quickly found one of the most delicious meals I have had in all of Chile at this restaurant called Casa Luna. It was a huge salmon filet over spicy mashed potatoes with fresh vegetables sauteed in a thai sauce. I'm not kidding - the best dinner I have had here I'm pretty sure. After dinner we went to the only bar in Pichilemu which was a hole in the wall and wasn't as cool as I wanted it to be. It was small and had a lot of spray paint on the walls. I ordered a drink called a Kahlua Colada (because I like Kahlua) but it was horrible and expensive. We left the bar pretty quickly because it was really smoky and we were all really tired. We got back to the cabin and OMG - I have to tell you - the stars were amazing! I haven't seen that beautiful of a night sky in a super long time. I could have slept outside just to watch the stars if it wasn't so cold at night. I also saw three shooting starts. How awesome, right?

Saturday was a good day. We got up and went to surfing lessons!! We got to wear dry suits and everything. I was ready to try anything. We carried our huge surfboards down to the beach and practiced on land for an hour before going into the water. I was so pumped to stand up on my board and not fall down... however I was not prepared for how nauseous I would be during the whole thing. And how difficult it was to paddle in the water. It is a different kind of paddling movement from swimming and the waves were pretty big at times. I gave it my all, but HATED surfing! Once I was out on the water - I realized how hard it was to stand up on the surfboard. They are a lot more unstable than I was ready for. It was really hard to paddle in the water and the waves push you sideways, not towards the beach. When you are out, far from the beach, where the waves haven't started to crash yet, it is like a bad carnival ride. I was soooo incredibly queasy. Then of course, my mind wanders, so I started imagining sharks and jellyfish underneath me. After about 45 minutes, I told the instructor I couldn't do it anymore - so he helped me paddle in. I figure I tried my hardest to like it. My only regret is that I didn't get one picture of me in a dry suit... so their is no record of my attempt.

After surfing, we ran into Chris on the beach who offered to give us a ride back to the cabins after we went grocery shopping. He was so nice! So we picked up a bunch of food to make guacamole, spaghetti, garlic bread, and breakfast for Sunday. I was so excited to cook! It was the first time that I had prepared any food since being in Chile. The girls didn't like cooking so it was even better for me. We spent the afternoon recovering from surfing, reading, and eating guacamole. We decided to take a collectivo (which is a cab that only goes to certain places) to this place called Los Lobos, to watch the sunset. It is this very small peninsula that juts out into the ocean and is basically a big cliff. The waves are HUGE here and so it's a big surfing spot. It was beautiful.

These are the Los Lobos - The Wolves.

After the sunset, I got to make dinner and it was so delicious. Erin promised that she was going to call James to let him know what a great cook I am - and how lucky he is. Ha.

Sunday morning we slept in, went shopping, had lunch, and went back to Santiago which brings me to this week. Monday was pretty boring and yesterday I found out that I got an A- on my last final. So I am halfway through my Spanish class, but more than halfway through my trip. It's an interesting time to be on spring break. I only have 5 more weeks left of class, but still have 2 out of 4 sections of my class left. I know I will miss this place when I'm done. Chile is pretty awesome and I'm glad that I have had the opportunity to be here. I've started a mental list of things that I would tell anyone who plans to live here for a while. University of Iowa put a link to my blog up on their website, so I feel as though I need to give out advice to anyone who is traveling here.

Ok, I'm going to go get a drink and kill some more time in the aeropuerto. Chao for now! Love you all and miss you! Wish me luck on the flights! Emily

Halfway!

Hi everyone! How are you doing? I'm doing well, just trying to kill time. I fly to the states in exactly 4 hours. I think we are going to the airport in an hour or so... Then I'll have some time to kill there. I just hope that I can manuver through the airport with my espanol skills. I feel pretty good about speaking in Spanish and everything - but there are always things that you encounter, but aren't prepared for. And it's so much harder to explain yourself if you don't know how to in another language. I'm pretty positive I will be fine ---


Cecilia just knocked on my door. She wants to take me to the airport now. Ha. Wow... I'm going to have a long time to bum around the airport.

So I will write about last weekend, this week, and my tests/school later. Miss you love you all! Em

busy week!

Hi everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while, but I have been pretty busy with a lot of things. Since I last wrote, I did my normal school things, but I also took a trip to the really cool city of Pucon. It is pronounced: poo-CONE. The town is a ten hour bus ride south of Santiago in the middle of volcano country. There are lakes, a river, hot springs, and of course, volcanoes. The region is full of activities for the outdoorsy and adventurous type. I stayed with 4 other girls in a hostel and we did a canopy tour, went white water rafting, enjoyed hot springs, the beach, and a horseback riding tour. It wasn't overly expensive by US prices, but for Chile - it was "muy caro" (as my host family would say) - it was expensive.

Because we didn't have school on that Friday, my friends and I decided to take advantage of the 3-day weekend, and leave Thursday night. The bus pulled away from the station in Santiago at 11:25 pm. I swallowed a Dramamine to fight any nausea, and to make myself a little more drowsy for the 10-hour ride. We paid a little extra to have a Semi-Cama bus. This meant that the seats leaned back a bit more than they do in - like- a normal airplane seat. Cama means bed. The seats were still pretty uncomfortable, so even with the meds, I only got maybe 3-4 hours of sleep. We made a lot of stops along the way in tiny Chilean towns. Halfway through the trip, I woke up and looked outside. I could see different parking spots that were numbered, Anden 6, Anden 7, Anden 8, Anden 9, etc. One of the girls wondered out loud, "Where are we?" and I said, "We are in Anden!" All my friends started laughing, because "anden" means platform in espanol. I didn't hear the rest of it for a while. :)

We pulled into Pucon on Friday morning at 8 am. We were pretty sleepy, but ready to get to the hostel. Ecole was a great hostel. Run by Americans, it has a hippie vibe, is very clean, has a vegetarian restaurant, and lots of connections for things to do in town. For $13 a night, I was really pleased with the place. Our room had two sets of bunk beds, one regular bed, two tables, and a couple of ceiling lights. I guess we didn't need any more. The bathrooms were clean for the most part, and every time I took a shower, it was warm. In each bathroom are little signs with a couple rules/guidelines for the bathroom. You aren't allowed to flush your tp down the toilet. This is really common all over Chile, because many places don't have great plumbing systems. It also said stuff like keep the place clean and dry the shower off after use. My favorite rule said something to the effect of "Take quick showers to conserve water (or shower with a friend!)".

Friday afternoon we did the canopy tour. Canopy is a series of zip lines strung from trees at least 10-20 meters off the ground and you get to the next one by climbing up a series of ladders. It wasn't as safe as courses in the US, but this sport is still pretty new in Chile. I think they have only had it for 10-15 years. Because of summer camp, I know all the bad things that can happen to you. Here, they didn't take as many safety precautions as I would have liked, but I survived.

You can see the platform that everyone is standing on and the instructors are in red shirts. They just climb like monkeys all over the course - sometimes clipped in and other times not! The platforms and the trees sway a little, but it is part of the thrill. The trees aren't going to fall over, but it is still a little scary. Well, five minutes after we finished the course, the sky opened up and poured rain. We became soaking wet while waiting for the van to pick us up. I haven't seen any form of precipitation since being in Santiago - and I LOVED the rain. It was so nice to be cold for once! Santiago is still the hottest place ever. I am made for cold weather... Anyway, we rode back to town with our instructors who invited us to their house that evening for drinks. They all are from Santiago and do this job in the summertime. Since the season was ending, they were celebrating being done with the summer. The girls and I went back to the hostel and ate at the restaurant in the hostel. I had this delicious vegetarian lasagna... it was so good. Pucon was an awesome city, because they knew how to cook with flavor! On Sunday morning, I had these whole wheat, oat, and nut pancakes with fresh fruit, fresh blackberry jam, and plain yogurt. Then we had pizza that night - with garlic!!!! I was in eating heaven. (Santiago restaurants don't have any flavor -or at least, I haven't found any yet). So Friday night, we went over to hang out with the canopy instructors. It was really fun and I got to speak Spanish with native Chileans.

Saturday morning we woke up and went river rafting! I had never been before and I loved it! We had a great time with our guide. We were all suited up in helmets, wetsuits, life jackets, and water shoes. We didn't have a camera - but I wished we did, because we looked hilarious. The river was a level 4 which means that there are some pretty hefty falls and lots of big rocks. Our guide would always yell "Fuerte! Fuerte!" which means strong - so paddle strong! One part of the river is a level 6 - so we had to get out and walk through the brush to get around it. The end of the path is at a cliff overlooking the rushing water. Down below, our boat is waiting for us - and when we walked up, one of the guides says "OK, who is first?" I thought they were kidding. They told us it was about a 4 meter jump. It was pretty intense. It took me about 20 seconds of standing on the edge, before I had the nerve to leap. The jump was fine but the water took a long time to get to. I remember thinking how "I'm still falling, but I should be in the water right now!" And then BAM! You are deep in this freezing cold water! When you surface, you have to quickly swim to the boat, where your guide grabs you by the life jacket, and throws you into the boat. It was hilarious!

We kept paddling for a while before we got to this part of the river that is a pretty dangerous part. There is a one big rock that if you hit it - you could flip the raft over! So- we tried to paddle around it, but got stuck on a different rock! Then we got unstuck from that rock, only to be stuck between two rocks and water rushing over the sides of the raft! It wasn't really dangerous... just tricky. Our guide wasn't angry with us, but just annoyed because he had to do some extra work. So he helped us to climb to the side of the river (thank goodness the water was a little low) and we had to get out and climb once again, but this time there wasn't a path. The rafts are self draining, so we finally got everything figured out and went down the river. It never was dangerous - just took a little more time than planned. We like to think we got our money's worth out of the excursion.

After the rafting trip, two of the girls napped, while Kate, Christine, and I went to the beach. The lake was gorgeous and the sand was little black volcanic rocks. Isn't it gorgeous? The pictures don't really do it justice, but it still is beautiful.

That evening, the girls went to the hot springs, but I didn't feel well - so I decided to save the twenty bucks and stay in the hostel. I ended up borrowing this really good murder mystery book called The Survivor's Club. I haven't finished it yet, because Christine wanted it back on Sunday, but I only have 50 pages left and it's really good so far.

So our last day was Sunday, and Christine and I went horseback riding. It was run by some English/Spanish speaking Germans who were really super nice. I got to ride Esperanza and she was a fun horse to ride. She loved to run (which scared the hell out of me each time because I was just hanging on for dear life) and was generally really good. She was a big eater too. We would be trotting along the path and she would lean over and take a big bite out of a bush every chance she could get. It was really funny. I would worry that something was wrong with her, if I didn't know that all the horses are really well taken care of. Here is me and Christine on the horses in front of Villarica - the closest volcano.

Isn't it so pretty!!! I wish the horses would have posed better, but this was the best we could get them to do... I'm pretty sure that the pic was snapped while Esperanza was walking to that bush - to eat it. So it's Wednesday now... and my legs still hurt, especially my inner thighs. OW!

I put up all the pictures from my trip on Facebook again. The link for you to check them out is: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2234202&l=8cf80&id=14811972

We got back from Pucon at 8:30 in the morning on Monday. I was glad to be back, but I was exhausted. I didn't do much except sleep then and yesterday. Again, I have another test this Friday so I need to study, but I'm procrastinating. I got a big care package from James today which I was so excited about. It had CD's, magazines, books, food, and candy inside. All my classmates were totally jealous. So I have been playing with everything in there all afternoon.

I fly home a week from tonight... I hope I can see some of you while I'm there! I plan on doing some resume work and applying for jobs - but also having a fabulous break from thinking in espanol all day.

This upcoming Sunday is Daylight Savings Time, and Chile "Falls Back" and the states "Spring Forward" - So that means we will be in the same time zone as Eastern! Isn't that a weird phenomenon? I didn't know that other countries did DST too.

Anyway, I have to go. I miss you and love you all!

We have no fridge...

Hi! How are you all doing? Well, I'm doing better. Since I last wrote, I've been a little sick. My throat and head hurt on Thursday, Friday, and yesterday. It wasn't like I was incredibly sick, but I really didn't feel good. Cecilia swears the only reason why I was sick, because I sleep on top of the covers of my bed. However, how would she know where I sleep in regards to the sheets and blankets? She isn't in my room when I'm sleeping! I ... actually do sleep on top, but only when it is 100 degrees in my room. When it dips below 75, you'd better believe I'm cold and have to get under the covers. I think it's really funny that she keeps telling me why I'm sick. She is very sweet - she always offers me a "pill" to make me feel better. I think it's just an aspirin.

So I stayed home from school on Thursday to study and to sleep. I ended up sleeping pretty much all day. We didn't have any water for part of the day, because the all the apartments are under plumbing construction. I slept during the break. Then, at around 8:45 pm - we lost all electricty in our apartment! I looked outside though, and it was just ours. Every other apartment was all lit up! Apparently, we blew a fuse. I'm not surprised though because we all had our tv's on, all 3 computers were on, fans, and Cecilia was making dinner. I was watching the end of a movie on TV and checking my email when it happened - I still have no idea how the movie ends. Anyway, Carlos ran around the apartment and tried to fix everything when we had no electricity. He had this little box that poked at each outlet, and he was switching fuses, but we couldn't get the lights to stay on. Somehow during the electricty thing - the refrigerator broke! So now we haven't had a fridge since Thursday. It is ok, but I feel bad for the family. After Carlos tried to fix it, they had to call a repair man on Friday. That guy couldn't fix it for less than it would cost for a new one! So it must have been really broken. Now we are going to get a new one, but they can't order it until Monday. In Santiago, there isn't a place like Best Buy that can deliver a refridgerator any time you want. So we have to wait. Sometimes I like chilean culture, because it is relaxed, but other times? You just want your food to be in a cold fridge. Oh, and the lights work again.

Yesterday, I had a midterm. I think it went fine. I did as good of a job as I could, and I will find out the results on Monday. I decided to stay in Santiago this weekend, because there wouldn't be anywhere to stay. I am going to go to Vina to see Sarah in two weekends probably. Oh and I found out the name of the place that I'm going to next weekend is Pocone - (but I don't know how to spell it, Puhcone?).

Today, I studied a lot all day and made flash cards for my upcoming chapters in espanol. It is tiring. It is so strange, because studying a language takes a lot out of you. I have never known concentration like this before. Throughout every other subject that I have ever studied, I have never gotten physically tired. However, if I study for even a couple hours, my brain is exhausted and I literally need a physical break from it! Does that happen to anyone else? I don't get it, maybe I don't get as much oxygen in Santiago as I do in the states, and this is a side effect.

Tonight Cecilia and I went to the movies to see In the Land of Women. It has Meg Ryan in it and Cecilia just loves her, but she says "Me gusta Meg Ryan, pero sin el Botox." She doesn't like her frozen face and big lips. Ha. The movie was ok - it wasn't a great movie, but it wasn't horrible. Cecilia and I did have a pretty great conversation about relationships on the ride home and during dinner. I found out that she and Carlos have been married for 27 years. She was married once before, but she was very young during that marriage. She told me how she used to be very timid and insecure about herself which played into how she acted in her relationships. She says she really loves her life now, so she wishes that she could go back in time, knowing what she knows now, and change things. Normally, I only speak in Spanish about superficial things, and they speak very little English to me, so tonight was nice. It was mostly in Spanish and a little in English- when I couldn't understand, Cecilia would try to say it in English. It is really nice to talk to her about things that are real and meaningful, rather than simple topics.

Tomorrow, Cecilia invited me to hike the San Cristobal hill and do some "dancing" at the top for exercise. I don't know that it is really dancing, because I have a feeling it is more like aerobics. She is going at 10 am, so we will see if I am awake for it. It would be nice to get up and get around. Otherwise, I probably will just stay in and work on more stuff for school. I also need to start applying for jobs. Part of me thinks I need to really do this quickly, and part of me is thinking that I have so much time before I graduate that it isn't a big deal. Also, I don't know companies will react to me being here. Here is my other problem: I have never not gotten a job that I have applied for! I know that it is silly, but I want to apply for one perfect job and then get it - which is so unrealistic. I know, I will go on many, many job interviews and not get those jobs. It is a little scary to think about sending out my cover letter and resume for this job that I think I would want and never get called about it. I was reading a Time magazine that mom sent me in my last care package, where there was an interview with Susan Sarandon. She said in the interview she "suffers from inertia," and I really like that quote. I think it applies to me sometimes. Without something pushing me, I sometimes can't get going on a project or an idea. I just don't want to start job hunting, until I get over this initial obstacle. I just thought of something else. For another quote: I don't have "the fear" yet! In Friends, Chandler tells Rachel she needs the "fear" to get to where she wants to be in her career. So Rachel quits her job at the coffee shop without an idea about what to do next. The fear. Layne knows what I'm talking about.

On Wednesday it was the lunar eclipse and I got a couple good pictures of it. I wish I could have zoomed in more, but alas, this is the best my camera could do. I thought the eclipse was only for the southern hemisphere, but apparently, everyone could see it.

I am excited for the next couple weeks, because I am traveling a lot and doing a lot of things. I have spring break in 18 days. I can't wait, because I think I need a break from the hustle and bustle of this life here. I do really like things here though. Well that is all for now. I am going to watch some tv and probably fall asleep early. It is only 11:47, but my brain is tired.

Monday, Monday, ba da, ba da da...

Hi all... it is 5:41 on Monday afternoon. Today is Maria Jose's birthday and so Cecilia has gone all out. She has been cooking since this morning and the table has all the fancy dishes set out. We are going to start drinks and appetizers at 8, and then dinner later. It's just going to be the family, I think, and maybe Maria's boyfriend. I'm not totally sure. It should be fun and a good change of pace. I got her a card and some chocolates. I think that is a good gift for the situation. However, I don't really know the customs of gift giving here - so at least I'm prepared.

Well, I have another test this Friday, but it is just a midterm. It is over the first five chapters in the book, and I think it will be ok. I have to continue studying everyday. I don't want to make any dumb mistakes that will just cost me points.

After the test on Friday, I might be heading to Vina del Mar to visit my friend, Sarah, from the states. I would have to find a hotel/hostel to stay in, because she doesn't have an apartment yet. She has been staying with her boyfriend in his one room apartment, so she told me that it would make sense if I got a place. This is a problem though, because there is a huge music festival in Vina this week and all the places to stay are probably booked. The music festival has been sold out each night since the middle of January, so I'm assuming the tiny town is at capacity. If she doesn't find an apartment or if I can't find a cheap enough hostel - I'm just going to save my money and go down a different time.

The following weekend, we have a three day weekend off from school, so I'm going to some place in the south of Chile to hike a volcano, go rafting, and do other things. I can't remember the name, but it is a ten hour bus ride down there. The name of the town starts with a P. I'm going with 4 other chicas and we are getting a decent hostel. It should be really fun. It won't be cheap, but I have heard that it is completely worth every penny.

Alright, nothing else really going on. I'm counting down the days until spring break. It is 23 days until I can drink some really good skim milk and think in English instead of Spanish. It isn't that I don't love and appreciate Chile, but there is no place like home!

Miss you, love you! Emily

looking into the future...

Hi, it's 11:14 at night, and Back to the Future III just started on TV. Volver al Futuro III. Literally, it means to return to the future. It is in English with Spanish subtitles. It is really hard to watch movies you have seen before that have been dubbed over. Just the different voices, and they change the meanings of what the characters say. They dumb down the writing to the bare bones of what they need to get across. It isn't as fun to watch if it is dubbed.

Well, my trip to the south of Chile was officially canceled, so I'm going to take the opportunity to come back to the states and try to find a job for after graduation. I know, I know, I should travel in South America while I'm here, but I can do that when I get older and have people to travel with. I have heard that finding a real job around Iowa City is really difficult, so I feel like I need to start now. Plus, it should be a nice vacation. And it is cheaper than traveling to countries around here - and much safer.

Today was a good day. A few classmates and I ate at a T.G.I. Friday's today for lunch and then we went to Starbucks to do our homework. It was pretty fun and completely for the sake of how those places are American. We eat and drink everything Chilean all the time, but it is really nice (once in a while) to do something familiar.

I don't have a whole lot of plans for the next couple weeks. Just studying and going to the gym every once in a while. I didn't go today, because the gym doesn't have air conditioning - and yes, it is still 89 and sunny during the day. It isn't fun to do the eliptical machine in such heat. Actually, I never think it is that fun - but it's good for me.

Here is a picture of me in Isla Negra. I really liked it. So I figured I would put it up on the blog. I think pictures make the blog more interesting.

Isla Negra & Pomaire

I just got back from the class trip to Isla Negra and Pomaire. It was a good trip and I'm glad that I was able to go. Pomaire was literally two streets and they only survive on tourist dollars. I bought 3 pots for only 2400 pesos which is about five American dollars. So inexpensive!

Somewhere between getting off the bus in Isla Negra and going to Pablo Neruda's house - my camera battery died. But there were many other classmates with cameras, so I am going to copy some of their pics later. I did however manage to take a couple pics of the ocean view from his house.

I just tried to add a photo... and I'm not sure it worked... So if it doesn't work, it and more pictures are on Facebook. This is the link: http://iowa.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2228652&l=0c288&id=14811972

Miss you all and love you lots! Emily

Another day...

Hi! It is Wednesday night and I have my first final exam tomorrow morning at 11:15. I studied for 3 hours earlier today, and I plan on studying more after I write some here. You might call it procrastination, but I call it relaxation. It is 10:42 pm here so I have some time before my test.

Well, I wrote a few comments under my pictures from this weekend on facebook. But, I'll go over what I have been doing.

Friday- Took a field trip with my Spanish class to Pablo Neruda's house in Santiago. He was this incredibly famous Chilean poet (who I had never heard of before) who won a Nobel prize and was an ambassador to all these countries. He was really strange, married but had a mistress, and his houses are really intersting to visit, because they were so sixties inspired and wierd. You know those machines that people used to try to lose weight with - where you put the big strap over your midsection and the machine wiggled you back and forth? Yeah, he had one. His house had 3 seperate buildings, with wierd windy staircases, low ceilings, and tons of artwork. I wasn't allowed to take any pics inside. This Friday, we are going to Isla Negra, to visit another of his houses.

Saturday and Sunday - I went with the family to a baptism in Vina del Mar/Valparaiso. The pictures tell the story. The baptism was completely fancy and totally different than I thought it was going to be. The towns are great and I will probably go back later in the semester.

Monday - I had class and then afterwards, I joined a gym. Since I don't have anything to do in the afternoons, I can work out now. It is really inexpensive and only 3 blocks away from the apartment. I also signed up for a personal trainer. Get this - it is only $12/hour for a personal trainer here (in Iowa City, a personal trainer was over $75/hr, I think, and more expensive in other places, so I figure this is a great opportunity). So on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will work with Oscar to get into shape.

Tuesday - Class, then had a consultation with Oscar to figure out what we will be doing during my workouts. It was really interesting trying to talk with him, because he doesn't speak any English and I only speak a little Spanish. Trying to tell him things like: this is too heavy, I just want to tone my muscles, and not bulk up, or should I do it again?- was really difficult. But it is all ok, because I'm slowly learning the language.

That brings me up to today. I had class and we reviewed for the final tomorrow. I had a meeting at 3:45 about our class trip to the South of Chile. The plan is to visit a ton of places in 5 days and the school plans it for us. I have already paid for it, but not a lot of other people are interested in going with the school. So only 9 people are signed up right now, and I know some of them are considering not going, and the trip will be canceled if 10 people aren't signed up. If it is, I won't have anything to do on spring break. I would have 11 days with no plans, so I don't know what I will do yet. Part of me wants to go visit other places here, but I can't travel by myself. Who knows...

After the meeting, I went to the gym and Oscar told me that we would do a complete workout tomorrow. I'm excited, but I can already tell that I am going to be really sore afterwards.

Anyway, I am going to study and then get some sleep. Miss you and love you all! Emily

Estoy cansada...

Hi, I'm a little tired. It has been a big long weekend. I need to sleep, so I promise to write more later...

The good thing is, I paid attention to the note on the bottom of my facebook photo albums and I can share them with you regardless if you have facebook or not. These are the links:

Chile Uno
http://iowa.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2223058&l=5181f&id=14811972

Chile Dos
http://iowa.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2225279&l=c08b1&id=14811972

Chile Tres
http://iowa.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2227187&l=df3c3&id=14811972

I'm pretty sure it works... Now everyone can see all my pics!

Love you, miss you all! Emily

It's Wednesday night...

Hola! It is 10:43 pm on Wednesday night. That means that I have been here for 3 weeks. I don't know exactly how I feel about that. Part of me feels like the time has flown by, and the other part of me feels like the time is creeping by and I have a whole 3 months left.




Another part of me is shocked that in only 3 weeks I have learned enough espanol to get an A on my midterm... Yes, I got an A. So there is hope that I will pass the entire semester. The test wasn't as hard as it could have been - but it covered a lot of material. I got a few things wrong that I shouldn't have. I forgot to change 2 words to their plural form and I had a hard time writing a paragraph that was gramatically correct about myself. The sentence structure in espanol is hard for me. Anyway congratulations to me.

Yesterday, after our test, my classmates and I, took a metro - to a bus - to the really big mall in Los Condes. This mall is very americanized. It has 4 levels and a million stores and restaurants including, a Ruby Tuesday, a TGI Fridays, a Bennihanna, and a Starbucks. We went to Taco Bell in the food court. Oh, and James you will love this, there are two (!) Dunken Doughnuts. I bought a fan (finally) for my room. Today the weather cooled down. Now that I have a fan - I don't need it... but I'm really glad I got it. It is really nice. I'm definitely going back to the mall whenever I need a taste of home.

This weekend, I am going with the family to a baptisim in Vina Del Mar. It is Cecilia's grandchild - I think. Sometimes I lose information in the translation. A couple other students have gone with their host families to other baptisims and they said it was a huge crazy party and a big deal. So I will bring my camera and let you know what happens.

I have to tell you about the Borquez family pet. This is their fish. It doesn't have a name, but it is the craziest fish I have ever met. In the 3 weeks I have been here, it has laid eggs twice (those white dots in the corner of the tank). Yes, twice - what a crazy fertile fish. The problem is that it is the only fish in the tank - it killed the male fish a couple months ago. The first batch of eggs disintigrated a couple days after I got here. So now it just swims up and down the corner of the tank where the unfertilized eggs are and moves really quickly (because it is mad) anytime anyone walks by the tank. It is not very entertaining otherwise.

Alright, I will write more later! Miss you and love you all! Emily

My 3rd Saturday in Chile

Hola! It is my third sabado in Chile. Well - I never got totally sick. I slept a lot and I think I fought it off... I had a cough for a day, but that went away. I love having enough time in my day to rest.

Well, the week went by really quick. On Wednesday some classmates had heard about a Mexican restaurant that was supposed to be close to campus. We were all craving some sort of flavors from home, so we embarked on a long journey to find the Mexican food. It took us over 45 minutes to figure out that it was about a 10 min walk from campus - but we had been given bad directions. Once we found it though - oh the food was so good, it was all worth it.

Thursday and Friday were fine. I studied some each day, because I have my first midterm on Tuesday. I think I will be ok, but tomorrow and Monday, I am going to lock myself in my room until I have all the vocabulary memorized. How exciting...

Today, Kate invited me to her ex-boyfriend's mom's cousin's house in Chile. Anne Rachel is a woman who studied abroad here when she was in college and fell in love with a Chilean man who she then married and now they have 3 kids. So then we went to their friend's house which was super super nice. I had a blast. They have a pool and 5 kids of their own. A lot of the wealthier families in Chile have maids, and they did - so we had this amazing food and service all day. It is so different than in the states. It was great. We ended up staying for 7 hours, and could have stayed longer. Anyway, I took a lot of pictures and I will put them all up with captions on Facebook (for those of you who can see those).

Anyway, So this is Kate and I at the house. Can you tell Kate is from California? I think it is quite obvious. The little girl in the picture is Natalia, the youngest daughter of our hosts. She is 4 and totally fell in love with me. She kept coming up to me, climbing in my lap, clinging on to me, singing songs to us, "selling" us cheezy poofs, and calling me Mia! Mia! which means mine! Adorable!

I love you and miss you all so much!

update

hi!

So it is Tuesday night, 10:11 pm and I think I am coming down with a virus - like the nasty cold that makes your nose all drippy while it is dry and red? I can feel it starting in the back of my throat right now, and I am dreading it coming on. I just put an Airborne tablet into some water and I am going to try to fight this thing off. Time will tell if I can avoid days of sickness.

I know how I got sick... in Santiago, you are in close proximity to everyone - everywhere you go. I live with 4 people in a small apartment with one bathroom, though Cecilia is extremely clean. I know it is not from them. However, when I go to school - I ride a bus to the metro station and then the metro to school. I have never ever had to be that close to so many people at one time. It is so incredibly crowded! Yesterday, one of the metros was so jam packed full, that I couldn't get on! So I had to wait for the next one. As the doors on the train closed, I looked at everyone's faces. They looked so miserable to be in there. Oddly, I had flashbacks of photos of the Holocaust in my history books - you know when the Germans made all the Jewish people get on those trains to the concentration camps?

So anyway, I probably got sick, through holding onto part of the train while I am riding them. Or because I was breathing. I know they ventilate the place, but the metro is underground. I keep sanitizer with me and use it all the time, but even still, I feel like I am going to get a nasty cold.

So there are some interesting fashion trends in Santiago. It is normal for men to have greasy mullets. It is normal for men to wear fanny packs. It is normal for girls to wear tapered pants. Big earrings and gaudy jewelry are in - no one wears real jewels. Even wedding/engagement rings look like fashion jewelry... if they are real, they are really small. Most people, even though it is 90+ degrees outside wears pants or a jacket. I find it strange. It is interesting to be in such a different culture.

Ok, time to watch some tv and then sleep some. I slept for 5 hours this afternoon, but I have class at 9:35 am tomorrow. I should try to rest. Miss you all! Love you!

Emily

Check out the view!

Hi everyone!

I made it through my first week of school successfully and so far everything has gone pretty well. I have figured out the metro system to the best of my ability and know how to get to school, the mall, and back. I can pretty much buy whatever I want with no problems. I still kind of rely on the cashiers to either write down how much things cost or show me with how many fingers they hold up, but that is fine. When I am in a restaurant, now can tell people what to put on my sandwich or salad and it comes out pretty close to what I ordered. I am amazed with my progress.

Well, yesterday my classmates and I made plans to go rafting in the Andes mountains... however too many people bailed on the plans, so we had to cancel that. Cecilia woke me up this morning and told me to get ready quickly to leave for San Cristobal. It is this really famous statue on the top of a mountain in Santiago. So we left. It was hot out, but not too bad, about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Here is a picture of the Virgen del San Cristobal.

So this is the statue. It is very very big. You can go inside the base and it is a small chapel. To get there, we took a ride up a lift to the top and walked down to get back. The view is the reason to go. It is absolutely beautiful from the top although the smog is thick. Carlos tells me that because Santiago is surrounded completely by mountains, the pollution just sits on top of the city because the wind can't reach to carry it away. It is like we are in a big bowl. So here are some of the views: (I took like a million pictures, but I only have a little bit of space for pictures on this blog, so I wanted to save some room).

See the smog? It is pretty bad - you can't see the skyline... or the huge mountains that are right there. But, it is really cool to see this much of the city.

I will write more some other time... For now, things are wonderful and I have few complaints. Miss you all. emily

Hola, Como Estas?

It is eleven o'clock at night here and I am excited to go back to sleep tonight. I have started to take a nap in the afternoons, because it is so hot (it was in the upper 90's today) and the days are very long. I mean the sun doesn't even go down til nearly 10pm.

This morning, Cecilia and I continued on the quest for my Chilean ID. We arrived at the place for ID's at 8:00 this morning and the line was very long. It was worse than the lines at the bars in the ped mall in Iowa City on a Friday night of a home football game. Chilean people do not need as much personal space as Americans do, so the line (even though it was on a street) was pushed up towards the door and about 2-3 people side by side, just trying to get in faster. Seriously, don't come to Chile if you get mad if people try to budge in line. Especially at cash registers, grocery stores, etc. What I couldn't believe is that people were crazy about pushing ahead in line and the place didn't even open until 8:30! So when the doors opened, it was a mad dash for the room with the numbers. Does anyone remember those red round things that dispense the triangular shaped pieces of paper that numbers you? Yeah, they use them every where here. I think its okay, or people like me would never get in to do administrative things. Anyway, we registered my passport and I went to school.

Yesterday and today were my first classes. There are only 4 students (including me) in Track 1 which is awesome. Track 1 is like Spanish 101. We have a young woman named Catalina for our instructor. She speaks mainly in Spanish, however allows us to clarify all our questions in English if we need to. I feel really privileged to have this kind of education. I mean in Iowa, I was in a Spanish class with 35 people trying to learn the language. Here I am learning a lot more and in a shorter time span. I get credit for 4 semesters of Spanish at a college level in just one semester which means that I have 4 midterms and 4 final exams. My first midterm is on the 29th already. Cecilia and Carlos have helped me with my homework each night. Well - I have completed my homework and they look it over. I haven't gotten one wrong yet. It is also nice, because they give me more to think about in Spanish.

Yesterday, when I came home from class, Cecilia had made my bed like normal, washed my clothes, and cleaned my room. It is so different to me that the women in this culture do all this work. She is a cleaning-aholic. Anyway, she also found my TV remote and left it on my desk. I have no idea where it could have been, but I am not going to say anything in case it was in a wierd place.

Hey everyone, James and I were able to talk on Skype. It worked! Even the webcam! I can talk to you all, on there.

Alright, well I'm going to head to sleep. I will try to write more tomorrow or later.

Emily

My first weekend in Chile

Hi Everyone! It is 10:35 on Sunday in Chile. I haven't written in a couple of days so I have a lot to talk about. First of all, it has been hot. I mean really hot. The sun is crazy strong. I was in sunlight for 10 minutes (with 30 SPF on) and I have a tan line on my shoulders. There were a bunch of my classmates who went to Vina Del Mar (sp?) which is a popular beach area in northern Chile this weekend and they are all fried apparently. Even the nights here are really warm. I hope that it cools down just a little bit soon.

Well Friday started off with a trip to the police station to register our student visas to get a Chilean ID card. Then we took a bus tour of Santiago to all of the important landmarks. I forgot my camera to take pictures... but it was a short tour so I plan on going back anyway. Then Friday night I met up with Kate, a classmate, at her host family's house to go check out some of the bars in her area. She is about 15 minutes from my house by bus or car in an area called Nunoa. We sat down at one bar and had one drink which was good. The food in Chile is cheap, but the drinks are more expensive than they are in Iowa. For one drink it was 6 American dollars. Then Kate wanted to make a phone call to her parents so we had to find a pay phone which was an adventure because the phone wasn't working. Finally, a nice Australian named George came over and helped us and then bought us one more drink. Then we took a cab back to her place and I took a cab home. I didn't get home until 4:30 am because... well - I had dinner with the fam until 10:30, then it took a long time to get to Kate's, so we didn't get down to Nunoa until after midnight. Then we left around 3:30 and it took an hour for everything else. Chile is just more relaxed and everything is so late. It is so weird.

Yesterday, I woke up and was supposed to go to museums all day with classmates, but there was some confusion about where we were meeting and no one was where I was - and I don't know enough Spanish to ask a local directions - so I just ended up going home. The whole thing was a bust. Then on the way home, I stopped at the super market to get some food. I just wanted some chips and salsa, but I couldn't find any salsa. So I asked "Donde esta la salsa, por favor?" The chick working there brought me to the marinara sauce. Apparently, they don't have salsa. Then some jerk American dude showed me where it was, but it isn't normal salsa, it is very runny. I finally left with my food only to get lost inside the gates of our neighborhood. See the apartment building we live in is next to all these other similar looking apartment buildings that has a maze of sidewalks connecting them. I finally made it home and I was pretty bummed, but I guess everything is just a learning process. Things can only get better, right?

So after that catastrophe, I had dinner with the family, and Kate came over to see my place and to go out again, but this time it was with Francisca who is like my host sister. We walked to a place that was about 10-12 blocks from the apartment (its pretty close in comparison to the city) and had a really great time with each other. She took Kate and I to some places that had good drink specials and fun atmospheres. We took a cab home, and again didn't get home until like 5am. Kate stayed the night and we woke up at 1 pm. I can't be doing this every weekend, its too tiring!

Well today, Kate and I had some lunch at this place that is 2 blocks away called the Hemingway, named after Ernest. I think he ate there a lot when he was in Chile, but I can't be sure. It took forever, but the food was fine. I didn't know what a lot of the menu items were, so I ordered the Hamburguesa Hemingway which was a hamburger with cheese, tomato, a small pickle, and an olive - no bun. The mustard here is not like French's at all. It is bright yellow but has black flecks in it and has no flavor. Oh well, just something else to get used to.

Cecilia picked me up from lunch and took me to another one of her daughter's house in Las Condes. Her daughter's name is also Cecilia and she has two daughters, Emilia and Antonia, 4 and 5 years old. The house they have is gorgeous. It is on the side of a mountain and the neighborhood has all the houses like on the hillside. They have a pool and it was really fun to be there. I will take pictures next time I am there. The girls were really funny. They kept trying to talk to me in Spanish because they don't know hardly any English. They knew two poems that they kept making me repeat back to them - but they wouldn't ask me to do it directly. They would whisper in Cecilia's (my host mom's) ear. The cutest poem was this: (said rhythmically) One, Two, I love you. One, Two, Three, Do you love me? One, Two, Yes I do. One, Two, Three, I love you and you love me. That was it. They were cute.

I can't wait for school to start tomorrow. I will finally be able to have something to do. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I am excited for homework, because it will help me pass the time. Since I don't have a job, I have a lot of free time. It is very weird. My classes are: M, W, F 9:35 am - 12:35 pm and T, Th 11:15 - 12:35 and that is it. I don't know what I will do with myself. Maybe sleep a lot? Watch a lot of TV?

Right now I cannot find my remote for my TV in my room and I feel like an idiot because of it. I have a very small room and it's quite clean right now. Where could it have gone? Ah, wish me luck. Otherwise I'm going to buy a new one, but I don't know how to do that yet!

Alright, I miss you all and I hope that the next few months fly by so that I may see you soon! I will write more later!

Emily

My first day with the Borquez Family

Hola! So I made it through my first whole day in Santiago. After orientation today, I didn't have to take the Espanol placement test, so I took a short nap and then we waited for our host families to pick us up. We were all incredibly nervous to finally meet these people who we will live with for the next few months. I dragged my heavy bags from room 109 to the lobby and as I entered, one of my classmates mouths to me: She is here for you! I turn the corner and there is a tiny woman whose face lights up as I see her. Brenda, the USAC coordinator, introduces us and that was it. I was in the hands of Cecilia. We take my bags outside to meet her husband Carlos with the car. It wasn't a very long drive to Providencia, the area where they live. Santiago is broken down into neighborhoods with different names. Mine is quite close I'm told to the Universidad. I have to tell you about driving in Santiago. People drive very fast, the roads are very curvy, everyone tailgates, and they use their horn a lot. The Borquez car needs new brakes and it makes this horrible screeching sound when they stop. Not a squeak, but a 'oh my god, will it stop in time?' sound.

The apartment is on the 4th floor of the building and there are no elevators. The stairs are outside which is fine because it was 85 degrees today. No air conditioning but it is breezy so I am in heaven. I love the warmth. The apartment is very small but it accommodates everyone very well. Their living room has two couches that are 6 inches from the small coffee table between them. It is more of a reading room, because there is no TV. The TVs are in everyone's bedroom. Opposite the living room is the dining room and kitchen. Then down the hall are three bedrooms. Francesca and Maria Jose live in one, Cecilia and Carlos, in another, and then mine is next to the bathroom. Actually everything is next to everything, because the apartment is small. I took some pictures and as you can see my room is small but it has everything that I will need.

They have given me a pretty much anything that I could ask for. They also feed me like crazy. Big meals and oh... yes we had tea time at 6pm. Cecilia gave me juice (which she calls ooss) and three(!) pieces of bread with tons of fresh avocado mash on top. It was delicioso, but filling. Three hours after that we had dinner. I will have to work on my ability to only ask for a little. Cecilia and Carlos know a lot of English, however their accents are so thick that I am having trouble understanding them no matter what language they are speaking. Also, Chileans have their own way of speaking. They typically do not say the ends of words and they combine a lot of them. So for instance instead of saying "Como estas?" which is how are you? They say something like "Comtoy?" I have a lot of work ahead of me.

So after I arrived and before tea time we went shopping for me. I exchanged my American dollars to Chilean pesos. Then I needed to get a cell phone which I did. It took a while to get it. People in Chile take their time with customer service. I picked out the phone, paid for it, and then we waited for them to bring and activate the phone for like 20 minutes. My number is 85859328. I don't know the codes you dial from America. And here you have to dial different numbers before land lines, cellphones, and depending on which way you are calling. Eh, you don't have to call me on that number, just email me. Then I bought a watch because I didn't have one. Again, with the waiting to receive the actual purchase. The last thing we did was to buy a Bip! card so that I can ride the metro and buses. It is called the bip card, because when you scan it, the scanner goes beep! and in espanol - its spelled bip.

Mom - the family loved the gifts. Cecilia was crazy about the candles and the girls loved the necklaces. Carlos was bragging about his Vikings sweatshirt. It was great. They were surprised.

Anyway I leave you all with the best part of my room. The view.

I'm settling down for the night

Ok everyone, I am back from orientation and so I have some time to write. It is after 9 right now and we just got done with dinner. Chileans have breakfast at 8:30am, lunch at 12, tea time (like with bread, slices of avadaco, and tea) at 5 or 6 and then the actual dinner at 9 or later. No one goes out to the bars until after 1 or 2 am and they live this lifestyle on very little sleep. Other odd things I learned in orientation: Chileans consider themselves to be European rather than Latin American (from their Spanish roots, naturally). If I were called a grina, gringet, or other names it is not necesarily bad. No one in Chile wears glasses. Never wear gold jewelry, you'll be a target for theft, however silver jewelry is totally fine to wear. There were other things too, but I can't remember.

Ok well I have to tell you all that the flight was really long, and my day today was really long too. It doesn't seem like I got here today. After watching an entire season of Friends in the Miami airport, I walked to my gate and found three girls from USAC right away. We waited for a bit and found more people while we were boarding the plane. The plane was huge. I was in 39C which was an aisle seat on the left side of the plane in the middle section. The seats were tiny and did not recline very much. The flight attendants served drinks 5 times throughout the 7 hour flight and two meals. It was so much that I couldn't really pull out my computer to watch anything. So I tried to sleep, but alas, it was very uncomfortable. I only got maybe an hour or two the whole night.

When we landed, we went through the extensive customs in the airport which took over an hour. I was so excited because both of my bags made it. A few other girls were not so lucky. I feel bad for one of the girls that I am rooming with tonight because they lost her bags somewhere. Supposedly she is getting them back tomorrow. So we took a 30-45 minute bus ride to our hotel where I am staying with 3 other girls. Our room has one bathroom and is small but not too small. This is a picture of my bed. It is not exactly huge but I am making do by crawling over everything.

And down below is a picture of where we eat dinner. There is a little buffet table off to the left and there are some really attentive waiters who open Coca-Cola Light or Mango Nectar or Aqua for you out of glass bottles and clear your dishes immediately.

For lunch today, we had grilled salmon, mashed potatoes, mixed greens, vegetables, bread, and fruit and sorbet. For dinner, it was either chicken or beef dish things (so good), with rice, corn, rolls, and some desserts that were like a whipped fruit mousse (we couldn't figure out the fruit, one girl thought it was a persimmon mousse), peaches and cream, and sapayyo (sp) the dessert that is fried little wafers with syrup on them.

Anyway, so the Chilean lifestyle is very relaxed. Tomorrow we are getting up, having breakfast, then a break, then going to have an hour meeting for more orientation information, a break, then tested on our Espanol, and then have another break until our host families come to pick us up. Right now, a lot of the girls went out for a couple drinks, but I am just too tired. So I am going to try to sleep before too long. I don't know if I will have wifi at my host family's place but I will try to write a lot. Everyone stay on your AIM and Skype so that we can all chat! Love and miss you all! Hasta pronto! That means see you soon!

Arrival to Santiago

Hi Everyone, I successfully made it with all my bags to Chile. Other than lack of sleep and homesickness, I cannnot complain much. The weather is gorgeous. I can see mountains. The people are very nice and the accomodations are just fine. I have only been here for 8 hours though. I hope that things are going to be fine. I have to run - but first:

I have 4 minutes before I have to run to an orientation session, so I am just going to post what I wrote yesterday morning on the plane from Minneapolis to Miami.

January 8, 2008 8:14 am

I have been up since 4:25 this morning when I was supposed to have woken up an hour earlier. I quickly brushed my teeth and rushed my last bags out to the car. Mom and I left at 4:40 am and had to run to the bank before leaving for the airport. It was so foggy this morning that I honestly thought we would be late, but as it turns out we were right on schedule. It took me fifteen minutes to check in and go through security so I had over an hour to wait to board the plane. So here I am, sitting in 18C which is an aisle seat, next to an elderly looking woman and who I assume is her daughter. I am not sure that they speak any English because I said hi to them when I sat down and they just stared at me. Granted, I took the other seat in their row thereby diminishing any chances of them being able to spread out. But I can’t spread out either! This flight is really full. I can’t see any open seats. The last time I flew, I was able to have an entire row to myself. I wish I could again, but alas, no.
It is 8:20 and now we are over Rockford, Illinois. I know this because the pilot told everyone. We are having a lot of turbulence and so he keeps reassuring us that he is trying to find a smoother airspace. Apparently the storms in Missouri that produced all those tornadoes are giving us some headwind. It also is delaying our landing – which is fine by me, because I have to wait until 11:25 tonight to fly to Santiago. I wouldn’t mind being in the airplane just a little longer to put off my endless layover.
They are playing The Nanny Diaries on the screens, but the volume control on the armrest only lets you listen either super loud or super quiet. I am going to try to ignore this turbulence and get some sleep.

Pictures of my hotel and room and more stories to come!

Lots of love,

Emily