Field trips

Now that I've stolen photos from facebook friends of the CIEE trips, I figured I'd update everyone before I head off on another adventure and get too far behind.

A long time ago, we went to Rabuco, a small town? area? in the country. We got to tour a grape farm (not quite sure what you call places that grow grapes but aren't vineyards)...the fields and the sorting and packing and everything. They were packing them in Dole packaging so I'm not sure if it's a private owner that sells to Dole or if Dole owns the entire thing, which is more likely. I asked how much they get paid for picking and I don't remember exactly how much it was but I remember being bummed out because it wasn't much. It was by the box, 70 pesos I think and the boss guy told me that a really experienced worker could pick 150 boxes a day (they aren't that big) so...something like 150 x 70 = 10,500 pesos which is around $22 a day USD, give or take. Each person has a number and a specific task, whether it be picking, weighing, sorting, packing, etc. and each task has a different pay rate. It was really interesting to see exactly where our fruit comes from and how it's grown and talk a bit with the people who grow it.

Afterward we played some football/soccer, ate some empanaditas, and watched/learned the cueca, a traditional chilean dance that they pretty much only do at festivals and celebrations and stuff. They basically trot around in a circle and then go toward each other and back and then trot around again in a different pattern in a slightly different step. More complicated than just trotting, but that's kind of what it looks like.

Then, a few weeks ago, we went to Pucón, an overnight bus ride south of here. It's a beautiful, touristy town with a lake and an active volcano. There's loads of adventure tourism: river rafting, mountain biking, climbing the volcano (and snowboarding/skiing down during the winter time), hiking, horseback rides, etc. The program put us up in cabañas (cabins) that were super nice, like flat screen tv, jacuzzi tub, food and impeccably made beds appearing miraculously kind of nice, which was odd but fun. The first day there we went to Currarehue, a smaller town nearby. We went to a Mapuche museum (the Mapuche are Chile's largest indigenous group) and ate a lunch of their traditional food...absolutely delicious (quinoa, squash, piñones from a tree that grows in the area, tuber/potato things). Then we went out into a field/forest area nearby and hung out with some Mapuche women and their kids. They showed us how traditional weaving is done, how to play a traditional game that was like field hockey, how to do one of their dances, etc. Then we just hung out and talked and at the end made maté and sopaipillas over a fire (also really really good, but they make their maté with the cup full of leaves and stems so it's super strong and bitter). It was a nice change from visiting museums and going on tours -- more interesting and fun but still informative.

The next day we all chose different activities in the town. I went with the g roup who did river rafting and it was so fun! They made us wear ridiculous outfits (picture to the right somewhere) and taught us basic instructions, row forward, backward, kneel on

the inside of the boat and hold on for dear life, stuff like that. The water was pretty cold but not too bad with a wetsuit and the scenery was really beautiful. At one point we got to walk around a rapid that was too big to go down with everyone in the boat, jump off a little cliff, and swim like mad to the boats before getting swept away...good fun :) The last day we went to see waterfalls and swam in some hot springs before taking an overnight bus back.

cosas generales

I just realized that I haven't really written about what my daily life will be like when I actually settle into a schedule, which is starting to happen now that I've registered for classes and gotten used to getting around Viña and Valpo.

So...breakfast is whatever you want whenever you get up because everyone does different things in the mornings. Sometimes Marce works, Wale goes to do her residency, Maca has classes or sleeps in, and Pame always has school. There's only instant coffee here, I've seen one coffee brewer deal since I arrived -- in the CIEE office in Viña. They also don't really understand why anyone would want cold coffee, so iced coffee isn't an option unless you make it yourself.

I'll have class starting next week Monday through Thursday. They all start at 14:00 or 16:00 except for one at 8:15 on Tuesdays (everything here is done according to the 24 hour clock system except for when you're talking with someone...more or less). I'm taking a course on Globalization and Chilean Identity through CIEE (the independent study-abroad program), Comunicación y Cultura Chilena (through PIEE, the exchange program at the university), Historia Urbana y Regional de Valparaíso, Cultura y Literatura Brassileña, Historia del Arte Chileno, and Geografía Social (which, from what I know so far, is a lecture once a week and then excursions to teach children in the community).

Claire, a friend from the program, and I also signed up to work with Un Techo para Chile. It's a government-sponsored program whose goal is to eliminate encampments by the year 2010. They build mediaguas, which are buildings shared by the community for classes, town meetings, or whatever, as a basis for community-initiated growth in the future. Volunteers also work with the community to help them realize whatever goals they feel most important,working toward the formation of a strong community and integration into broader Chilean society. Anyhoot...

I'll be commuting to Valparaíso for some of my classes, but it's easy; I just take a micro (bus). The history building is right by our apartment and it's amazing. It looks like a castle...I'll take pictures soon.

Lunch is between 1 and 3pm and is a big deal. Salad or vegetable of some sort, bread (basically 70% of food that's eaten here), a main course, and dessert. 'Once' is between 7 and 10 and is usually tea or coffee, bread (of course) with jam and butter or simple sandwich fixings.

If I have the afternoon off I can go jogging by the water, to the beach, or exploring. Nothing is very far away -- walking and buses are all you need. However, I'm expecting to have a lot of reading and prep during the week because classes are way more self-directed here than in the states. My PUCV classes only meet once a week and everyone has told me that it's up to the student to read everything on the reading list on their own time and prepare for whatever they think will be on exams.

Then it's the weekend! So far, that means hanging out with my host family, then going out with my host sister and friends or a few students from CIEE. Sometimes we just hang out at friends houses until 2 and are back around 3ish, but usually we go dancing...for hours and hours and hours. Then sleeping...not very much. It's actually pretty ridiculous...I'm always amazed at how many people are out, even during the week. But the hours and hours of dancing are great :) I've met some really nice people around our age and am a bit nervous (but also excited!) to start classes and hopefully meet some more friendly people. It's really challenging to understand everything that's going on when I'm in a big group of people all talking at once, but it's always a good time and I'm sure it'll get easier in the coming months...

I'm off to make tortillas with the familia. Tortillas here = a quiche-like dish, so I'm making them tortillas gringo-style :P ¡ciao ciao!

Carreteando y la playa :D:D:D

carretear = slang for going out with friends (to dance or do whatever I think)

A few nights ago my oldest sister's pololo (boyfriend) played with his band in the basement of el huevo, one of the main clubs in Valparaíso. They play classic rock and were really good. They're called malmenor (click on the name to go to their myspace, Emilio is the guy playing guitar). Afterwards las gringas (white foreigners), Solveig (who is Norwegian and Swedish and also really tall and therefore impossible to lose), Claire, Kate, and I went upstairs to dance in el huevo. It's genius: four different floors (I think) each with different sections and music. They play reggaetón, eighties, electronica, hip-hop, banda (that's what it's called in Mexico at least. I think they're called rancheros here, but I'm not sure) and salsa on the roof. We met a salsa teacher named Rodolfo who spun me around like crazy and dipped me to the floor...the whole enchilada but I was only able to pick up the basic basic step and just followed as best as I could. Muy muy entretenido==>fun.

The only bad thing about going out here is that you can't count on getting any sleep. From what I've seen (which isn't much), if you're meeting up with friends first, it might not be until 2/2:30am until you actually go somewhere to dance and el huevo stays open until 5am most of the time. So I'm guessing that getting home between 5-7am is pretty normal. I'm not sure if that's the Chilean m.o. but as of now, I'm counting on more than enough time on the dancefloor but a super messed up sleep schedule. We'll see...

Other fun stuff = the beach!!!! Finally! Today we went to Ritoque, a beach about an hour away. Fernando (Marce's boyfriend from Santiago) and Emilio came and it was really fun. Marce drives kids to school (not sure if I said that yet) so we used the big yellow van. We picked blackberries on the way and picnicked and walked on the beach. There were waves, jellyfish, things called aguas muertes (dead waters) that were like clear pieces of gelatin but I don't think they're animals, and sand/sea fleas!!!They're so disgusting! You could feel them under your feet in the water because there were so many. It was super cold anyways but still really gross. These were the jellyfish that had washed up. They're huge with curly tentáculos and stripey stuff on top.

I'm choosing classes tomorrow in Valparaíso. It's going to be crazy confusing because the system's a bit different here but it should be fun. I'll probably take a bunch of art classes so I'm not too overloaded. I'll post pictures of the beach on the side panel =====>

chocopandas y pokemones

Mullets are cool in Chile!!!! I was seeing a lot of them and I asked what they were called and Vale told me an interesting story that goes like this: street vendors get on buses to sell sweets and ice cream and drinks and then get off to sell their stuff on other buses. Pretty standard stuff, but they were the ones who originally had mullets. A popular ice cream is called a chocolito and the brand is panda, so they would yell "chocolito, cien" or "chocopanda, cien" and now kids of the middle and even upper class have stolen their hairstyle and it's called a chocopanda. They aren't like, over-the-top mullets but are definitely short on top longer in the back, genuine mullets. Dreadlock one are also pretty popular.

Another thing I've been trying to learn are the different stereotypes here. One is a 'pokemón' which is someone who dresses a certain way (straight, emo-ish hair and hats. They listen to reggaetón)...I'm not quite sure what else, but it's fun to say. They also told me that 'flaites' are people who think they're gangster. There are also emo (pronounced: "eh-mo"!) and hardcore :P That the kids here would have their own stereotypes is something that I never thought about but makes a lot of sense and is really interesting. Hopefully I'll figure it all out :)