Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Summer Vacation at its Best
The past month has been filled with lots and lots of travel. At the beginning of February mom and dad came to visit me in Chile! I met mom and dad around 8:30 am at the Santiago airport and from there we took off for a jam-packed 10 day trip throughout Chile. We started off by spending a day in Santiago exploring important places such as the central market, Plaza de Armas, La Moneda (Presidential Palace), Cerro San Cristobal (a huge hill with a great view of Santiago) and the Bellavista (artsy) neighborhood. The next couple days we spent in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso which are about 2 hours northwest of Santiago on the coast. I got to know these towns quite well during my study abroad semester because it was living and going to school in Vina del Mar. The first day we spent exploring Vina del Mar and literally walked all over the town! We saw the university I went to during study abroad and the neighborhood where I lived (my apartment building, the sporting center where I would run and the lagoon where I learned to row). Then we went down to the beach and enjoyed the sunset while having some snacks. We then explored the boardwalk by the beach where they were lots of artesian stand set up as well as several people doing amazing sand sculptures. For dinner we ended up at an empanada restaurant where you can get pretty much any kind of empanada that has ever been dreamed of. I got one with spicy sausage and cheese and another with manjar (caramel type spread) and walnuts. Both were great! The next day we spent exploring Valparaiso which used to be the most important port in South America (before the Panama Canal was built). We started by taking the metro to the port where we enjoyed the view and looked at all the goods for sale. Then we took off to explore the various hills of Valparaiso. A trip to Valparaiso would not be complete without a ride up an acensor (funicular) so we took one up Cerro Artilleria and were greeted by an amazing view of the entire bay!! We decided to walk down the hill and found some cute shops and cafes to stop in along the way. From there we went to the famous J Cruz for a lunch of chorrillana. This is a typical Chilean food that consists of a pile of French fries topped with fried onion, scrambled egg and strips of beef. It may not sound like the greatest meal but trust me, it’s very tasty :D After a very filling lunch explored Cerro Concepcion and later had dinner with a friend I made during study abroad. It was great to see each other after more than 2 years! Early the next morning we headed down to Talca which is where I’m currently living and working. After 5 hours on the bus we were more than ready for a nice lunch with my host parents. In the afternoon we went and explored a bit of Talca and then came back for a yummy dinner of homemade bread called “tortilla” and “chancho en piedra” which is a mixture of tomatoes, garlic, oil and salt and is absolutely delicious! The next day we went to the women’s center and orphanage that I work at. At the women’s center mom and dad got a tour of the building and got to meet some of the women who are working on the mosaic in the back patio. At the orphanage we spent a couple hours playing with the kids and then gave them a few of the books mom and dad brought down for them (I have a whole pile sitting in my room so I can bring a few each time I go). The next day we went up to Vilches which is up in the mountains about 1 hour from Talca. Kym, the other volunteer with my program, lives and works up there as well as Ted, Maruja and Annita who all have ties to my program and/or Domodungu (women’s center in Talca). We got to spend time with all of them as well as go on a short hike at a park reserve in Vilches. After a great time in Vilches we headed back to Talca to get ready for our next adventure: Pucon. After about an 8 hour bus ride to Pucon and settling into our hotel we went into town for dinner and to look into activities for the next couple days. The next day we spent exploring the town, enjoying to beach and in dad’s case marveling over the volcano. The following day we went on a tour of the area and stopped at a bunch of different places. We saw Lake Caburgua, three volcanoes, the Blue Lagoon, 3 Waterfalls and ended up at the thermal hot springs for a couple hours. It was a full day but definitely lots of fun. After 2.5 days in Pucon it was time to go north again. We stopped in Talca for the night and were greeted by a barbeque at my house. It was a lot of fun (not to mention delicious) and my host brother came over so mom and dad got to meet him as well. That night I packed my bags for Ecuador because I would be leaving the morning after mom and dad flew out. Back in Santiago we went to the Memorial Museum (a new museum about the dictatorship in Chile), Cerro Santa Lucia (Saint Lucy Hill) and did a little more shopping at the artesian stands. On the last day we went to Cousino Macul for a vineyard tour which was neat and of course we got to taste some wine as well :) That night I said goodbye to mom and dad and went to meet up with Kym because we flew out early the next morning.
Ok, so that trip summary got a lot longer than I anticipated… Ecuador will be more consise…
Kym and I took our last summer trip to Quito Ecuador where she had a friend volunteering at the “Center for the Working Boy.” When we got to the airport we were greeted by a flock of little girls from the center. Kym’s friend couldn’t get anyone to cover his class so he took the kids on a field trip to come pick us up at the airport! During our trip we spent some of the time at the center going to and helping with various classes and the other time we spent sightseeing. I’m really glad we got to spend time at the center and see what all goes on there. The center includes the entire family and everyone receives and education and meals. The kids also learn useful skills (cooking, crafts, and many others) and work part of the day (many kids go out and sell candy or shine shoes). For our sightseeing we went all over Quito and saw the basilica (and climbed way up into the towers), Panecillo (a hill with a statue of the Virgen and a great view of the town), lots of churches that I don’t remember their names, Plaza Independencia, the presidential building, the artesian market, the teleferico (like a gondola that brought us to the top of a hill with a great view) a couple parks and some other places I can’t recall at the moment… at we pretty much explored the entire city. Our other journeys took us to the Equator, Mindo and Otavalo. We actually went to 2 equators… this is because the first one was calculated a couple hundred years ago and apparently isn’t completely accurate. The second one was calculated by GPS about 10 years ago. The first equator had a huge statue, restaurants, shops and lots of space. The second equator was more nature focused, had artifacts from the past, explained lots of history and did some small experiments. Both equators are only 200 meters from each other so it’s not like the first people were way off. Mindo is a small town about 2 hours from Quito. We went zip lining and just relaxed while we were there. It was a lot of fun to go zip lining through the jungle and we got to do all sorts of “tricks” while zip lining. “Tricks” are things like going double or going upside down :D Our last trip was to a town called Otavalo which is famous for its market. Kym and I spent a couple hours there buying gifts and such before rushing back to Quito in order to make our flight back to Chile. To make a long story short there was no reason to rush back to the airport because we ended up spending the night in Quito. A plane from the day before couldn’t go out so those people all got on our flight and we (along with many others) got bumped off… luckily we got put up in a nice hotel, got fed dinner and now have a voucher for the airline that will hopefully take us somewhere else in South America. All in all it was a great trip. It was more relaxed and less rushing around like in other trips which was a nice change.
Since getting back to Chile I’ve been spending my time at Domodungu. March 8th was International Women’s Day so we were very busy. In the morning some of us from Domodungu attended a breakfast in the Plaza de Armas that was put on by a National Women’s Organization, the in the afternoon we had a celebration at Domodungu including a history of women’s rights in Chile, discussions and snacks and finally in the evening there was a presentation in town in which various organizations from Talca participated and put on skits or sang songs.
I’ve also been busy working on the mosaic at Domodungu. The original goal was to have it done for March 8th but that clearly didn’t happen. Lately everyone seems really motivated though and we have made tons of progress! It is looking really good and now our goal is to have it finished for March 28th when classes will start and the center will be open for the semester. At this point it seems like an attainable goal since everyone has actually been working hard and not only talking :D
Pictures will be posted soon
Ok, so that trip summary got a lot longer than I anticipated… Ecuador will be more consise…
Kym and I took our last summer trip to Quito Ecuador where she had a friend volunteering at the “Center for the Working Boy.” When we got to the airport we were greeted by a flock of little girls from the center. Kym’s friend couldn’t get anyone to cover his class so he took the kids on a field trip to come pick us up at the airport! During our trip we spent some of the time at the center going to and helping with various classes and the other time we spent sightseeing. I’m really glad we got to spend time at the center and see what all goes on there. The center includes the entire family and everyone receives and education and meals. The kids also learn useful skills (cooking, crafts, and many others) and work part of the day (many kids go out and sell candy or shine shoes). For our sightseeing we went all over Quito and saw the basilica (and climbed way up into the towers), Panecillo (a hill with a statue of the Virgen and a great view of the town), lots of churches that I don’t remember their names, Plaza Independencia, the presidential building, the artesian market, the teleferico (like a gondola that brought us to the top of a hill with a great view) a couple parks and some other places I can’t recall at the moment… at we pretty much explored the entire city. Our other journeys took us to the Equator, Mindo and Otavalo. We actually went to 2 equators… this is because the first one was calculated a couple hundred years ago and apparently isn’t completely accurate. The second one was calculated by GPS about 10 years ago. The first equator had a huge statue, restaurants, shops and lots of space. The second equator was more nature focused, had artifacts from the past, explained lots of history and did some small experiments. Both equators are only 200 meters from each other so it’s not like the first people were way off. Mindo is a small town about 2 hours from Quito. We went zip lining and just relaxed while we were there. It was a lot of fun to go zip lining through the jungle and we got to do all sorts of “tricks” while zip lining. “Tricks” are things like going double or going upside down :D Our last trip was to a town called Otavalo which is famous for its market. Kym and I spent a couple hours there buying gifts and such before rushing back to Quito in order to make our flight back to Chile. To make a long story short there was no reason to rush back to the airport because we ended up spending the night in Quito. A plane from the day before couldn’t go out so those people all got on our flight and we (along with many others) got bumped off… luckily we got put up in a nice hotel, got fed dinner and now have a voucher for the airline that will hopefully take us somewhere else in South America. All in all it was a great trip. It was more relaxed and less rushing around like in other trips which was a nice change.
Since getting back to Chile I’ve been spending my time at Domodungu. March 8th was International Women’s Day so we were very busy. In the morning some of us from Domodungu attended a breakfast in the Plaza de Armas that was put on by a National Women’s Organization, the in the afternoon we had a celebration at Domodungu including a history of women’s rights in Chile, discussions and snacks and finally in the evening there was a presentation in town in which various organizations from Talca participated and put on skits or sang songs.
I’ve also been busy working on the mosaic at Domodungu. The original goal was to have it done for March 8th but that clearly didn’t happen. Lately everyone seems really motivated though and we have made tons of progress! It is looking really good and now our goal is to have it finished for March 28th when classes will start and the center will be open for the semester. At this point it seems like an attainable goal since everyone has actually been working hard and not only talking :D
Pictures will be posted soon
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