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
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Summer is in Full Swing!
Well it’s not exactly Christmas season anymore so I’d say it’s time to update my blog again…
In January I went up to Vilches twice. The first time was just for fun because Lia (Santiago volunteer) was in Vilches for a few days so I decided to go up too since she didn’t have much time left in Chile. We had a great time hiking, swimming in the river and just hanging out. The second time I went up to Vilches was to help at La Leona which is a project of Domodungu. La Leona consists of multiple cabins, a garden, and a meeting room. In the summer they open an artisan stand and serve tea, coffee and kuchen. While I was there I hoped mostly with the artisan stand and serving the guests who came for a treat. Some days were really busy and others days were really slow. I was told the business should pick up in February so hopefully it does. It was nice to escape to Vilches for awhile, help around La Leona and relax when we weren’t busy.
In January there is a festival in Santiago called “Santiago A Mil” where they have lots of theater and arts events that are very cheap to attend. A couple events came to Talca and I was able to go see one of them. It was really cool! First these three giant “dolls” came rolling through the crowd and entertained for a bit… then came a bunch of drummers who eventually were suspended really high into the air and there was a trapeze artist who performed (also suspended high above the crowd).
A couple weeks ago I got my Chilean Identification card. We were required to apply for them after getting our Visas. The whole process was quite interesting and frustrating at points. The worst of it was when I went to pick up my card (for the second time b/c the first time I went it wasn’t ready yet) I was told that it still wasn’t there and that for some reason my information wasn’t in the system so I waited… and waited… and waited… about 1.5 hrs later I was told that all my papers had been lost and that I should come back on Monday morning at 8:30 am to re-do my application. That news did not make me very happy but nevertheless I went back on Monday morning with all my photocopies and paperwork only to be told that my ID card was in fact there!! Given the date of emission on the card, I’d say it was there before and the people who told me that everything had been lost really didn’t have a clue what they were talking about!
Since mail seems to move like molasses when coming to Chile, I continued to receive many Christmas cards and some Christmas packages over the past month :D Even though everything was late it was fun to spread out the Christmas cheer a little longer.
My new favorite food is “porotos con masamorra” (white beans in a corn and squash “sauce”). Other tasty summer foods include hummitas (like tomales but made only with corn and onion… eaten with either tomato or sugar) and pastel de choclo (casserole made with meat, onion, hard boiled egg and creamed corn) … if you notice all these foods include corn… it’s corn season so we eat lots of it!
The last week on January I went on a trip with Kym to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Uruguay. It was a great trip and we saw a ton. While in Buenos Aires we saw a ton of sites including (but not limited to): La Casa Rosada (think White House but pink), The National Art Museum, The Recoleta Cultural Center, The Recoleta Cemetery, Several churches/basilicas/cathedrals, La Boca Neighborhood, the Defensa Sunday Market, the Botanical Garden and a Tango show. I really enjoyed exploring Buenos Aires but the only bad thing was the heat and humidity! When we landed it was in the 90s with 75% humidity and I believe it stayed that way for our whole trip! Talca has been hot but it’s nothing compared to Buenos Aires! Another great thing about Buenos Aires was the food. There are tons of little Italian restaurants with the most amazing food! There were lots of Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires and for that reason they have really good Italian food. To get to Uruguay you just have to take a boat across the river. It was really easy and I’m glad we went! We didn’t spend much time in Uruguay but it was definitely worth it! First we went to Montevideo where we wandered around looking at different plazas, the ocean, etc and then spent about 5 hours at the Carnival parade (which still had at least an hour left when we decided to leave). The next morning we spent time at an artisan market before heading to Punta del Diablo which is a cute little beach/fishing town. We really enjoyed the change of scenery from a big city to the little ocean town :D
I’ve been spending lots of time with my host family and their extended family. It’s been fun getting to know more of the family and other friends. I’ve also spent time with Kym and a few other friends going to the Saturday markets, hanging out and going out for Happy Hour.
Even though Domodungu is not technically open at the moment I have still been going with others to work on the mosaic. I just finished putting down all my tiles so I’m very excited but I still need to fill in all the cracks… unfortunately I don’t think we will be done for March 8th like we were hoping… there is still a ton left to do and only a month left. I personally won’t be around much due to travelling with mom and dad and then going to Ecuador.
Below are lots of photos: La Leona and Vilches (3), food (3), Santiago A Mil (2), Buenos Aires (4), Uruguay (5) and Family time (2).
In January I went up to Vilches twice. The first time was just for fun because Lia (Santiago volunteer) was in Vilches for a few days so I decided to go up too since she didn’t have much time left in Chile. We had a great time hiking, swimming in the river and just hanging out. The second time I went up to Vilches was to help at La Leona which is a project of Domodungu. La Leona consists of multiple cabins, a garden, and a meeting room. In the summer they open an artisan stand and serve tea, coffee and kuchen. While I was there I hoped mostly with the artisan stand and serving the guests who came for a treat. Some days were really busy and others days were really slow. I was told the business should pick up in February so hopefully it does. It was nice to escape to Vilches for awhile, help around La Leona and relax when we weren’t busy.
In January there is a festival in Santiago called “Santiago A Mil” where they have lots of theater and arts events that are very cheap to attend. A couple events came to Talca and I was able to go see one of them. It was really cool! First these three giant “dolls” came rolling through the crowd and entertained for a bit… then came a bunch of drummers who eventually were suspended really high into the air and there was a trapeze artist who performed (also suspended high above the crowd).
A couple weeks ago I got my Chilean Identification card. We were required to apply for them after getting our Visas. The whole process was quite interesting and frustrating at points. The worst of it was when I went to pick up my card (for the second time b/c the first time I went it wasn’t ready yet) I was told that it still wasn’t there and that for some reason my information wasn’t in the system so I waited… and waited… and waited… about 1.5 hrs later I was told that all my papers had been lost and that I should come back on Monday morning at 8:30 am to re-do my application. That news did not make me very happy but nevertheless I went back on Monday morning with all my photocopies and paperwork only to be told that my ID card was in fact there!! Given the date of emission on the card, I’d say it was there before and the people who told me that everything had been lost really didn’t have a clue what they were talking about!
Since mail seems to move like molasses when coming to Chile, I continued to receive many Christmas cards and some Christmas packages over the past month :D Even though everything was late it was fun to spread out the Christmas cheer a little longer.
My new favorite food is “porotos con masamorra” (white beans in a corn and squash “sauce”). Other tasty summer foods include hummitas (like tomales but made only with corn and onion… eaten with either tomato or sugar) and pastel de choclo (casserole made with meat, onion, hard boiled egg and creamed corn) … if you notice all these foods include corn… it’s corn season so we eat lots of it!
The last week on January I went on a trip with Kym to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Uruguay. It was a great trip and we saw a ton. While in Buenos Aires we saw a ton of sites including (but not limited to): La Casa Rosada (think White House but pink), The National Art Museum, The Recoleta Cultural Center, The Recoleta Cemetery, Several churches/basilicas/cathedrals, La Boca Neighborhood, the Defensa Sunday Market, the Botanical Garden and a Tango show. I really enjoyed exploring Buenos Aires but the only bad thing was the heat and humidity! When we landed it was in the 90s with 75% humidity and I believe it stayed that way for our whole trip! Talca has been hot but it’s nothing compared to Buenos Aires! Another great thing about Buenos Aires was the food. There are tons of little Italian restaurants with the most amazing food! There were lots of Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires and for that reason they have really good Italian food. To get to Uruguay you just have to take a boat across the river. It was really easy and I’m glad we went! We didn’t spend much time in Uruguay but it was definitely worth it! First we went to Montevideo where we wandered around looking at different plazas, the ocean, etc and then spent about 5 hours at the Carnival parade (which still had at least an hour left when we decided to leave). The next morning we spent time at an artisan market before heading to Punta del Diablo which is a cute little beach/fishing town. We really enjoyed the change of scenery from a big city to the little ocean town :D
I’ve been spending lots of time with my host family and their extended family. It’s been fun getting to know more of the family and other friends. I’ve also spent time with Kym and a few other friends going to the Saturday markets, hanging out and going out for Happy Hour.
Even though Domodungu is not technically open at the moment I have still been going with others to work on the mosaic. I just finished putting down all my tiles so I’m very excited but I still need to fill in all the cracks… unfortunately I don’t think we will be done for March 8th like we were hoping… there is still a ton left to do and only a month left. I personally won’t be around much due to travelling with mom and dad and then going to Ecuador.
Below are lots of photos: La Leona and Vilches (3), food (3), Santiago A Mil (2), Buenos Aires (4), Uruguay (5) and Family time (2).
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Once again it’s been three weeks since I’ve updated my blog… don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about all of you at home, it’s just been a busy holiday season… I’m sure you can all relate!
Since writing last I have acquired a bike (and a helmet of course) and have been biking around town as my main form of transportation :) I love to bike so I’ve been quite content pedaling my way to and from work, town, etc.
In the weeks before Christmas Sarah and I were busy making Christmas cookies. Here in Chile they do not have the tradition of making cookies for Christmas. Pan de Pascua (Christmas bread aka a type of fruit cake) is the main Christmas sweet here but people generally do not make it at home, instead they buy it at the grocery store or a local bakery. So in order to keep the US tradition alive and share it with our Chilean friends and families Sarah and I made a variety of cookies including frosted sugar cookies, peanut butter kiss (actually chocolate stars) cookies, peanut butter balls, Mexican wedding cakes, melting moments, ginger snaps, snickerdoodle and biscotti. We frosted the sugar cookies with a group of Chilean friends who had never decorated cookies! They all had a good time and I think they may do some cookie decorating of their own in the future :) Our baking extravaganza ended in cookies being distributed and enjoyed by many Chileans and gringos alike. We even got many recipe requests as well as people asking if we sold the cookies! Maybe in the future… but for now we were just keeping the tradition alive.
On December 21 we had the re-inauguration of the library at Domodungu. There are many reasons why it was the re-inauguration including the fact that the library was damaged during the earthquake and also that Domodungu won a grant allowing them to buy over 150 new books (books in Chile are extremely expensive due to a special book tax). The re-inauguration did not have a huge crowd but seeing as it was almost Christmas and everyone was busy, there was a decent turn out. The re-inauguration consisted of a few short speeches, 2 songs but the choir group from Domodungu, a group circle dance, a slide show and refreshment.
In the past couple weeks I got my year long Visa, registered with the international police and filled out paperwork to get my identity card. So after many trips to the city center, waiting in several long lines and getting all my finger prints taken I will have my identity card in about a week more :D
Tennis has been going pretty well but I’m really enjoying playing so that’s what’s important. I played in a tournament a couple weekends ago but it didn’t go very well at all… I mean I had only played three times before the tournament so I couldn’t really expect too much but I still wish I had played a little better… oh well, next time I will do better! Unfortunately tennis is now over for the summer because the coach goes back to his hometown.
Christmas Eve was spent with my host family and some of their extended family. First we went to Milton’s house (my “host brother” who lives with his girlfriend) for dinner and gifts. Dinner consisted of roast beef, salads, potatoes and wine. It was all delicious and everyone left the table stuffed. We then sat around talking until midnight (dinner started aroun10:30/11:00 so we didn’t sit around too long). At midnight everyone went around giving a hug and kiss to everyone else wishing “Merry Christmas.” Then it was time to open gifts. After all the gifts were passed out everyone just opened their gifts all at once, it was a much faster process than what we normally do but you also didn’t get to see everything that everyone else got. After all the gifts were opened we went to my host mom’s sister’s house for a secret santa exchange. In addition to exchanging gifts we spent about two hours talking and snacking before heading back to Milton’s. In the end we got home around 6:00am.
Christmas Day I was woken up when Maruja called me around 11:45 saying they’d be a little late picking me up because they hit traffic. It’s a good thing they were late and she called because clearly my alarm for 10:30 am didn’t help much in waking me up! 45 minutes later we were on the way to the beach where I spent Christmas day. Ted, Maruja and their daughters always go to the beach on Christmas day (they have a friend who live there), what a different tradition (at least for those of us who live in the land of snow and ice)! After enjoying a barbeque lunch I went to the beach and napped with Ted and Maruja’s daughters while the “adults” went on a walk down the beach. When I got back from the beach I was able to talk to lots of family celebrating at both grandparent’s houses :D It was great to talk to everyone on Christmas!!
On New Year’s Eve I had dinner with my host parents at 11:00 pm (Evelyn was invited to spend New Year’s with a friend who lives out of town so she wasn’t home)… after dinner we put out snacks in case any visitors came (nobody came this year but in past years people have come visiting). We stayed home talking and listening to the radio until about 1:45 am when we left to go visiting. The first stop was at my host dad’s brother’s house. We stayed and talked for a little while and then left (with the brother) to go to another relative’s house where there was a big group gathered in the back patio dancing, talking and having a good time. We didn’t stay too long but did get some dancing in. The intention was to return after visiting my host mom’s sister because her family would go to bed earlier. In the end we didn’t make it back to the other house because my host dad started falling asleep… in his defense it was at least 4am at this point but probably later. It took awhile to find a taxi at this hour and by the time we left the sun was already up and we made it home around 6am again. All in all it was a good New Years although I was hoping we’d make it back to the “dancing house” again…
The following are pictures from around town, the beach from Christmas day and Christmas cookies.
Since writing last I have acquired a bike (and a helmet of course) and have been biking around town as my main form of transportation :) I love to bike so I’ve been quite content pedaling my way to and from work, town, etc.
In the weeks before Christmas Sarah and I were busy making Christmas cookies. Here in Chile they do not have the tradition of making cookies for Christmas. Pan de Pascua (Christmas bread aka a type of fruit cake) is the main Christmas sweet here but people generally do not make it at home, instead they buy it at the grocery store or a local bakery. So in order to keep the US tradition alive and share it with our Chilean friends and families Sarah and I made a variety of cookies including frosted sugar cookies, peanut butter kiss (actually chocolate stars) cookies, peanut butter balls, Mexican wedding cakes, melting moments, ginger snaps, snickerdoodle and biscotti. We frosted the sugar cookies with a group of Chilean friends who had never decorated cookies! They all had a good time and I think they may do some cookie decorating of their own in the future :) Our baking extravaganza ended in cookies being distributed and enjoyed by many Chileans and gringos alike. We even got many recipe requests as well as people asking if we sold the cookies! Maybe in the future… but for now we were just keeping the tradition alive.
On December 21 we had the re-inauguration of the library at Domodungu. There are many reasons why it was the re-inauguration including the fact that the library was damaged during the earthquake and also that Domodungu won a grant allowing them to buy over 150 new books (books in Chile are extremely expensive due to a special book tax). The re-inauguration did not have a huge crowd but seeing as it was almost Christmas and everyone was busy, there was a decent turn out. The re-inauguration consisted of a few short speeches, 2 songs but the choir group from Domodungu, a group circle dance, a slide show and refreshment.
In the past couple weeks I got my year long Visa, registered with the international police and filled out paperwork to get my identity card. So after many trips to the city center, waiting in several long lines and getting all my finger prints taken I will have my identity card in about a week more :D
Tennis has been going pretty well but I’m really enjoying playing so that’s what’s important. I played in a tournament a couple weekends ago but it didn’t go very well at all… I mean I had only played three times before the tournament so I couldn’t really expect too much but I still wish I had played a little better… oh well, next time I will do better! Unfortunately tennis is now over for the summer because the coach goes back to his hometown.
Christmas Eve was spent with my host family and some of their extended family. First we went to Milton’s house (my “host brother” who lives with his girlfriend) for dinner and gifts. Dinner consisted of roast beef, salads, potatoes and wine. It was all delicious and everyone left the table stuffed. We then sat around talking until midnight (dinner started aroun10:30/11:00 so we didn’t sit around too long). At midnight everyone went around giving a hug and kiss to everyone else wishing “Merry Christmas.” Then it was time to open gifts. After all the gifts were passed out everyone just opened their gifts all at once, it was a much faster process than what we normally do but you also didn’t get to see everything that everyone else got. After all the gifts were opened we went to my host mom’s sister’s house for a secret santa exchange. In addition to exchanging gifts we spent about two hours talking and snacking before heading back to Milton’s. In the end we got home around 6:00am.
Christmas Day I was woken up when Maruja called me around 11:45 saying they’d be a little late picking me up because they hit traffic. It’s a good thing they were late and she called because clearly my alarm for 10:30 am didn’t help much in waking me up! 45 minutes later we were on the way to the beach where I spent Christmas day. Ted, Maruja and their daughters always go to the beach on Christmas day (they have a friend who live there), what a different tradition (at least for those of us who live in the land of snow and ice)! After enjoying a barbeque lunch I went to the beach and napped with Ted and Maruja’s daughters while the “adults” went on a walk down the beach. When I got back from the beach I was able to talk to lots of family celebrating at both grandparent’s houses :D It was great to talk to everyone on Christmas!!
On New Year’s Eve I had dinner with my host parents at 11:00 pm (Evelyn was invited to spend New Year’s with a friend who lives out of town so she wasn’t home)… after dinner we put out snacks in case any visitors came (nobody came this year but in past years people have come visiting). We stayed home talking and listening to the radio until about 1:45 am when we left to go visiting. The first stop was at my host dad’s brother’s house. We stayed and talked for a little while and then left (with the brother) to go to another relative’s house where there was a big group gathered in the back patio dancing, talking and having a good time. We didn’t stay too long but did get some dancing in. The intention was to return after visiting my host mom’s sister because her family would go to bed earlier. In the end we didn’t make it back to the other house because my host dad started falling asleep… in his defense it was at least 4am at this point but probably later. It took awhile to find a taxi at this hour and by the time we left the sun was already up and we made it home around 6am again. All in all it was a good New Years although I was hoping we’d make it back to the “dancing house” again…
The following are pictures from around town, the beach from Christmas day and Christmas cookies.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Turkey, traveling, tennis and more
Well it’s been three weeks since I’ve updated… I will highlight important things from each week… I still did plenty of the day to day normal activities such as recording books in the library, working on the mosaic, entertaining little kids and spending time with my host family but each week also had special, out of the ordinary activities as well.
The week of November 22-28 was “the week of parties” for me. The first of three parties was on Thanksgiving. I went up to Vilches for the annual Thanksgiving feast there. Ted and Maruja generally host and other US volunteers always attend. This year there was a small crowd partially due to a march for non-violence against women that many of the volunteers who would have come were participating in. In the end there were 6 of us. I’m told on a normal Thanksgiving there are about 20 people. We still had all the necessary foods such as turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, various salads, pumpkin pie (made from scratch by yours truly, it was very good if I may say so myself) and turkey cookies (they were a hit, see picture below). After stuffing ourselves full of delicious food Ted and I set up a couple hammocks in the woods and I enjoyed an afternoon napping in a hammock :D Oh yeah, and we ate our Thanksgiving meal on the patio under a grape arbor with a great view of the surrounding hills and forests. Before heading back to Talca we stopped to play with the kitties across the street. They have grown sooo much!
The next party was more of a closing ceremony/end of the year celebration at Domodungu (the women’s center). At this celebration there was sharing/reflection on the different workshops, we did a circle dance, a candle lighting ritual and ended with snacks (homemade bread with pebre (Chilean salsa), chopped up tomatoes (eaten with bread), tea and coffee).
Then there was Kym’s birthday party. She came down from Vilches and we went to a feria with a couple friends. After looking at all the treats, arts and crafts and other things for purchase we headed to the grocery store and bought food to prepare. We then went to one of the friend’s houses for a night of cards, dancing and of course good food. Like any good party we didn’t stop until 4:30 am.
The next day I pulled myself out of bed around 1:15 in order to make it to Sarah’s house for my second Thanksgiving. Since she wasn’t able to go to the Thanksgiving in Vilches she decided to host one of her own. When I got there a little after two we started with appetizers- crackers and cheese, veggies and ice cream (kinda odd I know but I’ll eat ice cream whenever you give it to me!). It soon became apparent that the turkey wasn’t going to be done anytime soon so we ate salad, some mashed potates and green beans. After everyone had their fill we sat and talked and soon started playing UNO. A few hours later (around 6:30) the turkey was finally done and we all had stuffing, turkey, more potatoes and pumpkin pie. After more chatting we had ice cream again and then all headed home around 9 pm. I never imagined I’d have two Thanksgivings in the same year while in Chile!
The week of November 29 – December 5 included lots of travel. The first traveling took place on Wednesday December first when I went to a local campground for the Domodungu end of the year outing. At least 50 women (probably more) went and we took over the picnic table area. It was surprisingly cold and a bit windy at the campground which was disappointing b/c they had 2 pools. A good number of people did go swimming and said the water was nice but if I’m not hot, I don’t really like to go swimming. Anyway we spent the day talking, eating, napping and going for walks.
Then on December 3 we headed to Vina del Mar for the weekend. There were many objectives on this trip- to meet up with the study abroad group from CSB/SJU, to see Chilean friends from when I was in Vina 2 years ago and of course to have fun. In the end we accomplished 2 of these objectives. On Friday we got off the bus in Valpariso and immediately bought tickets to Algarrobo (we got on the bus 2 minutes before it pulled out) where we meet up with the study abroad group at the World’s Largest Pool. It was a really nice place and we were immediately welcomed by the group. Throughout the night we explained many times who we were and what we were doing in Chile. It was fun getting to know the group, here where they lived, what classes they were taking, and share stories of fun times in Vina. The next day we all headed to the pool. After getting sufficiently warm by laying in the sun I ventured to the pool… it was freezing!!! I guess one shouldn’t expect the World’s Largest Pool to be like a bathtub but I was surprised by how cold the water was… after a few minutes you got used to it and as long as you kept moving it was fine but if you stood too still it got chilly. Never the less it was fun to play in the world’s largest pool… you can even rent kayaks, sail boats and paddle boats to use in the pool. Talk about crazy! After soaking up some more sun we headed back to Vina. Once we had checked into our hostel we headed to the beach and walked around for awhile looking at all the vendors until we got hungry. At dinner we met some other gringos who were volunteering in Vina and we ended up spending the rest of the night with them. Sunday we spent wandering around Valparaiso and also went to the beach for a little bit. We were going to meet up with a couple of my Chilean friends but all our plans ended up falling through so in the end we hung out with our new friends from the night before. After hitting up Starbucks for breakfast on Monday we took made the nearly 6 hour bus ride back to Talca. The ride home seemed much longer than the ride up! (and on the way up we even hit some traffic so it actually took longer…). All in all it was a good weekend and sometime within the next year we will be making a trip or two back to Vina!
This past week I went with the greenhouse group to Constitución, a seaside town about 2 hours away. On the way there we took an old 2 car train. The train was slow and made many stops along the way so it took about 3.5 hours to get there. Once off the train we headed straight to the beach where we stayed the entire day. It was a pretty windy day but as long as you were in the sun it was warm. Just like on the Domodungu end of the year outing we passed the day chatting, eating and napping. One of the ladies, Marcela, really wanted to play in the water and brought 2 swim suits so Sarah and Marcela played in the ocean for a little bit. They had a good time but I was content just watching. We headed back to Talca around 7:00, getting there around 9:00 pm. Before heading to our houses, Sarah and I stopped at Annita’s (member of the greenhouse group) and each got a bag full of little plums from a tree in her back yard. They are very yummy and I snacked on them all the way home.
I’ve started playing tennis at the Talca Country Club where my host dad works. Typically only the really rich people can go to the Club but since my host dad works in the little club house by the tennis courts he knows the tennis coaches and they said I could come and play. I borrowed a racquet from Ted and have now gone three times. I’m certainly a bit rusty but it’s great to be playing again! The coach says he can tell I’ve played before and that in not too long I should be playing really well. The courts are clay which surprised me at first. Since I’ve never played on clay before it took a little getting used to but now it isn’t odd at all… I just leave with my shoes and ankles covered in reddish orange dust!
Yesterday was a lazy rainy day. It was great to just lounge around and do nothing all day long! The last three weekends have been full of traveling and parties so I’m happy to just hang out at home this weekend. My host dad said that it was unusual to have rain in December… I guess it often doesn’t rain at all during the summer! The last time it rained was about a month ago, just after I moved to Talca.
Hope you are all enjoying the snow and getting ready for Christmas! I have a baby pine tree that I got from the greenhouse at Domodungu and is going to be my Christmas tree this year. My family has been talking about finding their fake tree but so far it hasn’t appeared. Other than that there aren’t any decorations up around the house but there are decorations around town and the orphanage is getting in the Christmas spirit as well.
Pictures are as follows: Kym's birthday, closing ceremony at Domodungu, Thanksgiving in Vilches (2 photos), end of the year outing with Domodungu (3 photos), Thanksgiving at Sarah's, Constitucion with greenhouse group (5 photos), World's Largest Pool (2 photos), my baby Christmas tree, a few of the little girls at the orphanage, a beach in Vina del mar and Valparaiso (2 photos).
The week of November 22-28 was “the week of parties” for me. The first of three parties was on Thanksgiving. I went up to Vilches for the annual Thanksgiving feast there. Ted and Maruja generally host and other US volunteers always attend. This year there was a small crowd partially due to a march for non-violence against women that many of the volunteers who would have come were participating in. In the end there were 6 of us. I’m told on a normal Thanksgiving there are about 20 people. We still had all the necessary foods such as turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, various salads, pumpkin pie (made from scratch by yours truly, it was very good if I may say so myself) and turkey cookies (they were a hit, see picture below). After stuffing ourselves full of delicious food Ted and I set up a couple hammocks in the woods and I enjoyed an afternoon napping in a hammock :D Oh yeah, and we ate our Thanksgiving meal on the patio under a grape arbor with a great view of the surrounding hills and forests. Before heading back to Talca we stopped to play with the kitties across the street. They have grown sooo much!
The next party was more of a closing ceremony/end of the year celebration at Domodungu (the women’s center). At this celebration there was sharing/reflection on the different workshops, we did a circle dance, a candle lighting ritual and ended with snacks (homemade bread with pebre (Chilean salsa), chopped up tomatoes (eaten with bread), tea and coffee).
Then there was Kym’s birthday party. She came down from Vilches and we went to a feria with a couple friends. After looking at all the treats, arts and crafts and other things for purchase we headed to the grocery store and bought food to prepare. We then went to one of the friend’s houses for a night of cards, dancing and of course good food. Like any good party we didn’t stop until 4:30 am.
The next day I pulled myself out of bed around 1:15 in order to make it to Sarah’s house for my second Thanksgiving. Since she wasn’t able to go to the Thanksgiving in Vilches she decided to host one of her own. When I got there a little after two we started with appetizers- crackers and cheese, veggies and ice cream (kinda odd I know but I’ll eat ice cream whenever you give it to me!). It soon became apparent that the turkey wasn’t going to be done anytime soon so we ate salad, some mashed potates and green beans. After everyone had their fill we sat and talked and soon started playing UNO. A few hours later (around 6:30) the turkey was finally done and we all had stuffing, turkey, more potatoes and pumpkin pie. After more chatting we had ice cream again and then all headed home around 9 pm. I never imagined I’d have two Thanksgivings in the same year while in Chile!
The week of November 29 – December 5 included lots of travel. The first traveling took place on Wednesday December first when I went to a local campground for the Domodungu end of the year outing. At least 50 women (probably more) went and we took over the picnic table area. It was surprisingly cold and a bit windy at the campground which was disappointing b/c they had 2 pools. A good number of people did go swimming and said the water was nice but if I’m not hot, I don’t really like to go swimming. Anyway we spent the day talking, eating, napping and going for walks.
Then on December 3 we headed to Vina del Mar for the weekend. There were many objectives on this trip- to meet up with the study abroad group from CSB/SJU, to see Chilean friends from when I was in Vina 2 years ago and of course to have fun. In the end we accomplished 2 of these objectives. On Friday we got off the bus in Valpariso and immediately bought tickets to Algarrobo (we got on the bus 2 minutes before it pulled out) where we meet up with the study abroad group at the World’s Largest Pool. It was a really nice place and we were immediately welcomed by the group. Throughout the night we explained many times who we were and what we were doing in Chile. It was fun getting to know the group, here where they lived, what classes they were taking, and share stories of fun times in Vina. The next day we all headed to the pool. After getting sufficiently warm by laying in the sun I ventured to the pool… it was freezing!!! I guess one shouldn’t expect the World’s Largest Pool to be like a bathtub but I was surprised by how cold the water was… after a few minutes you got used to it and as long as you kept moving it was fine but if you stood too still it got chilly. Never the less it was fun to play in the world’s largest pool… you can even rent kayaks, sail boats and paddle boats to use in the pool. Talk about crazy! After soaking up some more sun we headed back to Vina. Once we had checked into our hostel we headed to the beach and walked around for awhile looking at all the vendors until we got hungry. At dinner we met some other gringos who were volunteering in Vina and we ended up spending the rest of the night with them. Sunday we spent wandering around Valparaiso and also went to the beach for a little bit. We were going to meet up with a couple of my Chilean friends but all our plans ended up falling through so in the end we hung out with our new friends from the night before. After hitting up Starbucks for breakfast on Monday we took made the nearly 6 hour bus ride back to Talca. The ride home seemed much longer than the ride up! (and on the way up we even hit some traffic so it actually took longer…). All in all it was a good weekend and sometime within the next year we will be making a trip or two back to Vina!
This past week I went with the greenhouse group to Constitución, a seaside town about 2 hours away. On the way there we took an old 2 car train. The train was slow and made many stops along the way so it took about 3.5 hours to get there. Once off the train we headed straight to the beach where we stayed the entire day. It was a pretty windy day but as long as you were in the sun it was warm. Just like on the Domodungu end of the year outing we passed the day chatting, eating and napping. One of the ladies, Marcela, really wanted to play in the water and brought 2 swim suits so Sarah and Marcela played in the ocean for a little bit. They had a good time but I was content just watching. We headed back to Talca around 7:00, getting there around 9:00 pm. Before heading to our houses, Sarah and I stopped at Annita’s (member of the greenhouse group) and each got a bag full of little plums from a tree in her back yard. They are very yummy and I snacked on them all the way home.
I’ve started playing tennis at the Talca Country Club where my host dad works. Typically only the really rich people can go to the Club but since my host dad works in the little club house by the tennis courts he knows the tennis coaches and they said I could come and play. I borrowed a racquet from Ted and have now gone three times. I’m certainly a bit rusty but it’s great to be playing again! The coach says he can tell I’ve played before and that in not too long I should be playing really well. The courts are clay which surprised me at first. Since I’ve never played on clay before it took a little getting used to but now it isn’t odd at all… I just leave with my shoes and ankles covered in reddish orange dust!
Yesterday was a lazy rainy day. It was great to just lounge around and do nothing all day long! The last three weekends have been full of traveling and parties so I’m happy to just hang out at home this weekend. My host dad said that it was unusual to have rain in December… I guess it often doesn’t rain at all during the summer! The last time it rained was about a month ago, just after I moved to Talca.
Hope you are all enjoying the snow and getting ready for Christmas! I have a baby pine tree that I got from the greenhouse at Domodungu and is going to be my Christmas tree this year. My family has been talking about finding their fake tree but so far it hasn’t appeared. Other than that there aren’t any decorations up around the house but there are decorations around town and the orphanage is getting in the Christmas spirit as well.
Pictures are as follows: Kym's birthday, closing ceremony at Domodungu, Thanksgiving in Vilches (2 photos), end of the year outing with Domodungu (3 photos), Thanksgiving at Sarah's, Constitucion with greenhouse group (5 photos), World's Largest Pool (2 photos), my baby Christmas tree, a few of the little girls at the orphanage, a beach in Vina del mar and Valparaiso (2 photos).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)