Since I last updated I’ve gone back to Santiago for a week but now I’m back in Vilches. Our return to Santiago couldn’t have been much more eventful… When we got to Judy’s house (where we stayed before) we found it completely dark and were without keys (who knew we were suppose to take a set with us!)… Judy was gone for the weekend and the lady staying at her house was apparently gone as well… So I hoisted my camping backpack over the fence and we headed to Lider (the local grocery store) to buy some food in hopes that when we returned somebody would be home. Well, as you may have guessed nobody was home when we returned from our shopping trip so we sat down on the curb and waited. After listening to some music on Kym’s laptop, taking silly pictures and playing with Judy’s cat (who was also locked out of the house) a neighbor noticed we were locked out and invited us in for tea and cake. They were super nice and the grandpa was worried somebody would take the stuff we had thrown over the fence so he stood guard while we were inside. Eventually we got a hold of Judy’s son who also lives in Santiago and he was nice enough to come over and let us in. By this time it was nearly 11:00 pm so we had a quick dinner and went to bed.
I went back to Santiago with every intention of visiting new organizations and seeking out further volunteer options but I didn’t quite get that far… I spent time researching and looking up possible organizations but since Kym and I decided to go to another retreat our trip was short and I didn’t get around to going to any of the organizations I looked up. Kym and I did get to two museums while in Santiago. First we went to the Contemporary Art Museum which was pretty interesting and then we went to the Memorial Museum which was just recently built and is all about Chile’s dictatorship. I found the Memorial Museum more interesting than the art museum and learned a lot more about the dictatorship. I already knew a good amount from the last time I was hear but nevertheless I learned a lot from all the displays, videos and artifacts at the museum. We spent a good amount of time exploring and wandering the streets of Santiago. During our wandering one day we happened upon a display in a plaza behind the presidential building... At first it didn’t look like much but upon further inspection we noticed that it was the capsule that they had used to rescue the miners! It was very exciting to see up close and personal. I have to say it looked a lot smaller than I imagined.
Another important thing happened while in Santiago this time- I felt my first tremor… well, saying I felt it would be incorrect but saying I noticed it was happening would be more like it. Actually if it hadn’t been for Kym and Judy I wouldn’t have noticed it at all. Kym and I were watching a movie one night and the window started rattling… Kym noticed and commented that there was a tremor… I noticed the window rattling too but just thought it was the wind or a big truck passing by… in reality it wasn’t windy and there weren’t any trucks going down the street… it was a tremor… I never checked the newspaper to find out the strength of the tremor or where it came from but I can now say that I have consciously experienced a Chilean tremor. (There have been several since I’ve been here and there were many when I studied abroad but I never felt or realized they were happening before).
A week after we came back to Santiago we were on a bus and headed back to Vilches for a retreat. At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to the retreat or not but in the end I decided to go. There was going to be a lot of people from Talca and since Kym decided to stay in Vilches, Talca became a new option (mostly because nobody liked the idea of me staying in Santiago). Talca is about 45 minutes- 1 hour from Vilches and is the closest big town to Vilches (if that makes sense… there is a small town between Vilches and Talca but that’s it…). Since I was now going to look at Talca it was a good idea to get to know some women from Talca. The retreat was on Circle Dance but it was done in such a way that it connected bible passages where there were dancing women to different circle dances. The title of the workshop was something like “There is a time for everything… I time to lament and a time to dance.” It was actually really nice and a good combo of moving around and sitting/listening. I also met a lot of nice people from Talca (and other cities) too so that was good.
This past week I spent three days exploring Talca. The first day I went to two different “hogares” or orphanages and a women’s center called Domodungo. We also tried to find an environmental organization that is always looking for volunteers but due to earthquake damage and lots of businesses/organizations moving we were unable to find it. Hopefully as time goes on we’ll find out where it moved to and I can do some work there too. The second day I spent getting to know Talca and the women’s center. At the women’s center I helped with their library project and also helped bake muffins for a bake sale/fundraiser. Both were fun and I met a lot of really nice women. On my third day in Talca I spent about six hours at one of the hogares (San Jose). This orphanage is set up like a little community and has about 8-10 houses each with 15-20 kids. The houses run like a family and each house has several house moms that work in shifts (morning, afternoon and night). I spent all my time in a house with little girls (ages 2-7). They were very loving and the moment I stepped in the door had about 5 little munchkins wrapped around my legs! They gave me a tour of the house and for the next 6 hours I played with them and answered about 5,000 questions. Next week sometime I will move in with a host family and start forming a work schedule. For the time being I will spend my time at Domodungo and Hogar San Jose.
After spending some time in Talca I returned to Vilches and have been hanging out. It has rained the past couple days so we haven’t been able to work outside so I have been happily passing the time reading and doing other indoor activities. Today I went to a community meeting where they talked a lot about a new project called “Vilches Without Garbage.” It was interesting to hear about all the different ideas and initiatives that could possibly be put into action. I also saw some snow today! Vilches Alto is higher up than where I’m staying (Vilches Centro) and it snowed a bit this morning so when we went to the meeting we saw some of the lingering snow :D
Well, that all for now folks!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Pictures
Here are the pictures for my last blog update. The first two are from the National Park in Vilches. The yellow building is the small school in Vilches Alto and the rest are from our adventures in plowing and bee keeping :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Two more weeks flew by...
The past two weeks spent in Vilches were full of experiences and we learned a lot! Vilches is a small town in a mountainous area. It is very beautiful with lots of trees, farms and of course a good view of the mountains at all times.
Just like the other cities we visited two schools which we could potentially volunteer at. One of the schools is very small and only has about 10 students while the other has about 75 (I believe). They were both excited and open to the idea of us working with the students in the months to come. We also visited a National Park which is in Vilches Alto and could use help, especially during the summer when there are more tourists. Nobody there speaks English (or any language other than Spanish) so we could certainly help in that sense but there are other opportunities there as well. It seemed like a neat place to work. We also saw an environmental learning center where we could help with any number of things but mostly for when groups came to the center.
In addition to seeing all those places we did lots of work outside. Ted is part of a bee keeping group so we helped him check on his bee boxes one day and learned all about bees. We are pretty much experts now, haha. We also helped plow a small field with Ted and the neighbor. This consisted of guiding the plow which was pulled by Ted’s two horses while the neighbor guided the horses. It was actually pretty fun. We also helped at a retreat center with planting their vegetable garden (carrots, corn, beans, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, etc) and digging terraces for a bunch of rose plants. It was fun to get our hands dirty and help with this kind of project. It’s always nice when you can see the immediate results of your work!
One afternoon we went to Talca which is the closest city to Vilches (45 min to an hour away) and went to a feria of types… it reminded me of the MN state fair but on a much smaller scale. We just went around to all the different craft/artesian tents and looked at all the neat stuff. I did make a few purchases but they are gifts so I will refrain from mentioning what I purchased. Ted and Maruja had an appointment in the evening so Kym and I just wandered around the town a little bit which was fun. I really love being able to simply walk around and explore, it’s really one of the best ways to get to know a new area!
A very exciting thing that happened while we were at Vilches- after nearly 70 days of being trapped underground the miners were rescued and everyone got out safely in less than 24 hours! Ted and Maruja unfortunately don’t have TV and I wasn’t feeling good while all of this was going on so I haven’t seen more than a few video clips online but nevertheless it was a very exciting event (as I am sure many of you know because apparently the whole world was watching as it all unfolded).
Even though I enjoyed my time in Vilches I think it’s safe to say that I don’t want to stay there for the next year. I know there is great need and there are many good places to work but I would like a place with a little more action and not to mention, people my own age might be nice as well! So for now it’s back to Santiago to see what it has to offer :D
*It is late now so I will post pictures tomorrow…
Just like the other cities we visited two schools which we could potentially volunteer at. One of the schools is very small and only has about 10 students while the other has about 75 (I believe). They were both excited and open to the idea of us working with the students in the months to come. We also visited a National Park which is in Vilches Alto and could use help, especially during the summer when there are more tourists. Nobody there speaks English (or any language other than Spanish) so we could certainly help in that sense but there are other opportunities there as well. It seemed like a neat place to work. We also saw an environmental learning center where we could help with any number of things but mostly for when groups came to the center.
In addition to seeing all those places we did lots of work outside. Ted is part of a bee keeping group so we helped him check on his bee boxes one day and learned all about bees. We are pretty much experts now, haha. We also helped plow a small field with Ted and the neighbor. This consisted of guiding the plow which was pulled by Ted’s two horses while the neighbor guided the horses. It was actually pretty fun. We also helped at a retreat center with planting their vegetable garden (carrots, corn, beans, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, etc) and digging terraces for a bunch of rose plants. It was fun to get our hands dirty and help with this kind of project. It’s always nice when you can see the immediate results of your work!
One afternoon we went to Talca which is the closest city to Vilches (45 min to an hour away) and went to a feria of types… it reminded me of the MN state fair but on a much smaller scale. We just went around to all the different craft/artesian tents and looked at all the neat stuff. I did make a few purchases but they are gifts so I will refrain from mentioning what I purchased. Ted and Maruja had an appointment in the evening so Kym and I just wandered around the town a little bit which was fun. I really love being able to simply walk around and explore, it’s really one of the best ways to get to know a new area!
A very exciting thing that happened while we were at Vilches- after nearly 70 days of being trapped underground the miners were rescued and everyone got out safely in less than 24 hours! Ted and Maruja unfortunately don’t have TV and I wasn’t feeling good while all of this was going on so I haven’t seen more than a few video clips online but nevertheless it was a very exciting event (as I am sure many of you know because apparently the whole world was watching as it all unfolded).
Even though I enjoyed my time in Vilches I think it’s safe to say that I don’t want to stay there for the next year. I know there is great need and there are many good places to work but I would like a place with a little more action and not to mention, people my own age might be nice as well! So for now it’s back to Santiago to see what it has to offer :D
*It is late now so I will post pictures tomorrow…
Monday, October 4, 2010
Possibilities
Last week was full of adventures. We went to a lot of different schools that are possible volunteer sites if we decide to stay in Chillan. First we went to San Rafael which is a school for young adults with special needs. The school focuses on teaching the students skills so they will be able to get a job and work. It seemed like a great place and all the students were very nice. When we visited a lady who also goes to Casa Ursulina was teaching them some crafts which not only provides them with the knowledge of how to make the different crafts but it also improves their fine motor skills. Later in the week many of the students came to Casa Ursulina to present a dance they had been working on. It was the anniversary week at the school and one of the activities was to go perform to an audience outside the school.
We also went to a public High School in San Nicolas which is a town about a half hour from Chillan. Many students come from the country to go to the school and it recently won an award as a “Bicentennial School of Excellence.” While we were there we helped with the eleventh grade English classes. We helped review a test that the class had taken and also had conversations with the students. In one of the classes we took a mini field trip to the plaza which is a couple blocks from the school and the students had to point out important things along the way and tell us what they were in English. All in all it was a good day but a bit tiring.
The third school we went to was for children of all ages (infant to young adult) with disabilities. It is an amazing place and there are lots of possibilities for volunteer work. We could help with computer classes, I could teach cooking classes to a group of young adults or the group of mothers who come to a special workshop a couple times a month, we could do art projects, etc… the director of the school just kept listing off thing after thing that we could help with. She was clearly very passionate about her work and the school!
The last school we visited was El Libertador which is a public school a couple blocks from Casa Ursulina. It serves a poor neighborhood of Chillan and previous volunteers have worked there. Some possible options for this school are to teach English or tutor children who need extra help. We met with the director briefly and he seemed like a really nice guy.
On the 29th we started to celebrate my birthday! The celebration at dinner with longanizas (a type of sausage that is very popular in Chile and Chillan is said to have the best longanizas!), chips and dip and artichokes (they eat lots of artichokes in Chile, not just the hearts but the whole artichoke). I really like all of these foods so I was quite pleased. Then we had cake. Mimi, Ruth and Kym sang Happy Birthday both in Spanish and English. It was a great way to start celebrating. The next day began with birthday cake for breakfast. We lit the candles again and sang to Ale (a lady who helps around the house except on Wednesdays (the 29th was a Wednesday and her birthday)). Mimi says she likes nothing more than sweets for breakfast so we continued eating the cake for breakfast. I wasn’t going to argue with that! The cake they got was called Nogales and was a walnut cake with manjar (caramel) frosting between the layers. It was definitely good but adding some chocolate somewhere wouldn’t have hurt either :D Later that night we went out with Ale and one of her sons to a bar called Kactus. It wasn’t very crowed which was good because it meant it wasn’t very smokey. We could have gone out a Friday instead but it would have been really busy and very smokey so I decided that would not be as fun. We had a great time laughing, dancing and talking. Later Ale told us that it was one of her best birthdays in a long time! On Friday the celebration continued (for my birthday and Ale’s) when we went out to lunch in town. We would have gone out on Thursday but there was an extra morning workshop so there wouldn’t have been a lot of time to go out to lunch and return in time for the afternoon classes. The restaurant we went to serves typical Chilean food. It is really good, has big portions and is cheap! I got an Ave Palta (chicken and avocado) sandwich and it was great!
During the week we went to more of the classes at Casa Ursulina and I learned how to set up a loom and weave. Over a span of three or four days I set up the loom and knit a scarf (light blue and navy blue). If I may say so myself, I did a great job, especially considering I’ve never done any weaving before (unless you count weaving in fourth grade art class which is a bit different…).
On Saturday afternoon Kym and I took the bus to Talca where we met Maruja. From Talca we went to Vilches and will spend the next two weeks here. Ted and Maruja are a couple who have been Mary Knoll Missioners for a long time. They just closed the Chile branch (and many others) of the Mary Knoll program but they have decided to stay here. Vilches is a small, rural town. We haven’t seen much yet but over the next two weeks I will be able to tell you much more about life in Vilches.
Unfortunately the internet here is not great so I will not be able to post any pictures for the next two weeks. Also Skype dates are out of the question…
We also went to a public High School in San Nicolas which is a town about a half hour from Chillan. Many students come from the country to go to the school and it recently won an award as a “Bicentennial School of Excellence.” While we were there we helped with the eleventh grade English classes. We helped review a test that the class had taken and also had conversations with the students. In one of the classes we took a mini field trip to the plaza which is a couple blocks from the school and the students had to point out important things along the way and tell us what they were in English. All in all it was a good day but a bit tiring.
The third school we went to was for children of all ages (infant to young adult) with disabilities. It is an amazing place and there are lots of possibilities for volunteer work. We could help with computer classes, I could teach cooking classes to a group of young adults or the group of mothers who come to a special workshop a couple times a month, we could do art projects, etc… the director of the school just kept listing off thing after thing that we could help with. She was clearly very passionate about her work and the school!
The last school we visited was El Libertador which is a public school a couple blocks from Casa Ursulina. It serves a poor neighborhood of Chillan and previous volunteers have worked there. Some possible options for this school are to teach English or tutor children who need extra help. We met with the director briefly and he seemed like a really nice guy.
On the 29th we started to celebrate my birthday! The celebration at dinner with longanizas (a type of sausage that is very popular in Chile and Chillan is said to have the best longanizas!), chips and dip and artichokes (they eat lots of artichokes in Chile, not just the hearts but the whole artichoke). I really like all of these foods so I was quite pleased. Then we had cake. Mimi, Ruth and Kym sang Happy Birthday both in Spanish and English. It was a great way to start celebrating. The next day began with birthday cake for breakfast. We lit the candles again and sang to Ale (a lady who helps around the house except on Wednesdays (the 29th was a Wednesday and her birthday)). Mimi says she likes nothing more than sweets for breakfast so we continued eating the cake for breakfast. I wasn’t going to argue with that! The cake they got was called Nogales and was a walnut cake with manjar (caramel) frosting between the layers. It was definitely good but adding some chocolate somewhere wouldn’t have hurt either :D Later that night we went out with Ale and one of her sons to a bar called Kactus. It wasn’t very crowed which was good because it meant it wasn’t very smokey. We could have gone out a Friday instead but it would have been really busy and very smokey so I decided that would not be as fun. We had a great time laughing, dancing and talking. Later Ale told us that it was one of her best birthdays in a long time! On Friday the celebration continued (for my birthday and Ale’s) when we went out to lunch in town. We would have gone out on Thursday but there was an extra morning workshop so there wouldn’t have been a lot of time to go out to lunch and return in time for the afternoon classes. The restaurant we went to serves typical Chilean food. It is really good, has big portions and is cheap! I got an Ave Palta (chicken and avocado) sandwich and it was great!
During the week we went to more of the classes at Casa Ursulina and I learned how to set up a loom and weave. Over a span of three or four days I set up the loom and knit a scarf (light blue and navy blue). If I may say so myself, I did a great job, especially considering I’ve never done any weaving before (unless you count weaving in fourth grade art class which is a bit different…).
On Saturday afternoon Kym and I took the bus to Talca where we met Maruja. From Talca we went to Vilches and will spend the next two weeks here. Ted and Maruja are a couple who have been Mary Knoll Missioners for a long time. They just closed the Chile branch (and many others) of the Mary Knoll program but they have decided to stay here. Vilches is a small, rural town. We haven’t seen much yet but over the next two weeks I will be able to tell you much more about life in Vilches.
Unfortunately the internet here is not great so I will not be able to post any pictures for the next two weeks. Also Skype dates are out of the question…
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A week in Chillan
The week started out with a walk to Chillan Viejo which is where the center of Chillan used to be before it was flattened by an earthquake in the 1930s. It’s less than a mile from where we live and there is a plaza, a park and a small museum/cultural center. It was nice to see where Chillan Viejo was since I’d heard it mentioned many times. Later that day Sister Mimi was cleaning out the freezer and showed me three 9x13 containers full of frozen raspberries!! So naturally I went and looked up a recipe for raspberry crisp and made one to have with our dinner. It turned out great and hardly lasted 2 days! (I’d say that’s a sign that the others liked it too!)
Tuesday classes started again at Casa Ursulina (after the break for the independence day celebrations). In the morning there was a wool working class where the women spin yarn from wool. It was interesting and we helped get some of the wool ready to spin. After lunch we went out to the rural town of Piedra Lisa where every other week Sister Mimi and a couple women from the house take projects and teach the women different skills. They have been teaching weaving for a little while now and the women are getting quite good. They teach the class in a rural school that has about 18 students. Kym and I met the students and if we stay here in Chillan will most likely go out there and do activities with them. On the way home we road part way with one of the women in her two wheeled horse drawn cart. It was a fun, new experience.
On Wednesday I played in the Sala Cuna (daycare room) with all the little kids that come with while their moms go to classes. It was a lot of fun and we did a lot of different activities: coloring, playing with legos, reading stories, playing with dolls, etc. The kids are very cute and for the most part well behaved.
On Thursday there was a reflexology class. I went to see went it was all about and was made a “victim” meaning someone practiced the reflexology techniques they had learned on me and as a result I got a really nice foot massage :D In the afternoon there were classes for weaving, home decoration (wall hangings, embroidered cushions, etc) and policromÃa (not sure what the English translation would be but they take statues, boxes or other things, apply a layer of plaster and sometimes texture of some sort and then paint the object). I spent time in each of the classes and ended with weaving were they were celebrating one of the women’s birthday with the hugest cake I’ve ever seen! (it was not only impressive to look at but also very tasty!)
Friday morning we worked in the greenhouse (a very small one by the side of the house) with Ale and planted tomatoes, lettuce and green peppers. After planting everything we ripped up some cabbage leaves and spread them around our newly planted plants in hopes that this will keep the snails away! If this doesn’t work, the snails will get more of a feast than we will :( Later that day Kym and I went to town. We wandered through the central market and then went looking for shops. Oddly Chillan is filled with thrift stores that sell nothing but American clothes! The prices for the most part are good, I only got a light sweatshirt but envision myself going back in the future as I discover what my clothing needs are. After dinner we watched Forrest Gump. I had never seen it before and thought it was very good.
Yesterday we went to a mass for a priest (Raul) celebrating the 60th anniversary of his ordination. After the mass there was a reception where Raul said a few words and then gave this toast “Drinking makes you happy, when you are happy you don’t sin, and by not sinning you are saved… so if drinking makes you happy, and when you are happy you don’t sin, and when you don’t sin you are saved, LET’S DRINK!” After that the crowd burst out laughing! Apparently after his first mass 60 years ago, another priest gave this same toast. After that we went over to Maria Erica’s house for lunch. She teaches the baking class at Casa Ursulina and is a good friend of the Sisters. We started out with coffee and cookies right after we got there. A little while later came punch and little fried cheese empanadas, of course they made about a million of these little empanadas so each of us ate a lot! Then for the actual meal we each had a huge piece of fish, potatoes, salad and bread. Everything was delicious. After we had eaten our fill Maria Erica brought out ice cream. Of course I thought we were done at this point but I was wrong. She then came out with a Tres Leches cake so we each had a piece of that. Needless to say we pretty much rolled home after all that food !
This morning I woke up to the wind howling outside my window. The news had been predicting lots of wind and they were right! Sister Ruth made French toast for brunch. It was amazing plus I smothered mine in raspberries so it was extra delicious. In the afternoon we went over to the church about a block away from the house to wait for the procession that would be coming through town. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patron Saint of Chile and today there was a procession through town honoring her which ended in Chillan Viejo with a mass in the plaza. We started at the church and walked behind the priests and others carrying flags and a cross all the while singing and praying the rosary (there was a load speaker hooked up to a truck leading the group). When we got to the main procession route we waited there until the rest of the procession came by. Other churches had joined the procession along the way, each carrying banners and/or flags. By the time the procession came by where we were standing it was raining pretty hard. Most of the people in the procession did not have umbrellas but kept walking anyway. Unlike most of the others in our group, we did not join the procession but instead headed home after the end of the procession passed by.
This week I started running again. It has been a very long time since I have run on a regular basis so it felt great to start running again. This week I ran four times. Even though I was hoping to run more, it’s a good starting point. As soon as I get settled somewhere I am going to look for some other activity to join… something to get me out of the house and involved in physical activity and meet friends. Perhaps rowing, circus or tennis.
The pictures are as follows: making empandas (me), Casa Ursulina, the church we go to (we can't actually enter the building shown because it was damaged in the earthquake but it's a national monument so it will be restored, mass is held in a partially finished community hall next to the church), pictures from the procession, a typical picture from the artesania part of the central market in Chillan, Kym and I in front of a church in the center of town, pictures from the plaza in Chillan Viejo.
Tuesday classes started again at Casa Ursulina (after the break for the independence day celebrations). In the morning there was a wool working class where the women spin yarn from wool. It was interesting and we helped get some of the wool ready to spin. After lunch we went out to the rural town of Piedra Lisa where every other week Sister Mimi and a couple women from the house take projects and teach the women different skills. They have been teaching weaving for a little while now and the women are getting quite good. They teach the class in a rural school that has about 18 students. Kym and I met the students and if we stay here in Chillan will most likely go out there and do activities with them. On the way home we road part way with one of the women in her two wheeled horse drawn cart. It was a fun, new experience.
On Wednesday I played in the Sala Cuna (daycare room) with all the little kids that come with while their moms go to classes. It was a lot of fun and we did a lot of different activities: coloring, playing with legos, reading stories, playing with dolls, etc. The kids are very cute and for the most part well behaved.
On Thursday there was a reflexology class. I went to see went it was all about and was made a “victim” meaning someone practiced the reflexology techniques they had learned on me and as a result I got a really nice foot massage :D In the afternoon there were classes for weaving, home decoration (wall hangings, embroidered cushions, etc) and policromÃa (not sure what the English translation would be but they take statues, boxes or other things, apply a layer of plaster and sometimes texture of some sort and then paint the object). I spent time in each of the classes and ended with weaving were they were celebrating one of the women’s birthday with the hugest cake I’ve ever seen! (it was not only impressive to look at but also very tasty!)
Friday morning we worked in the greenhouse (a very small one by the side of the house) with Ale and planted tomatoes, lettuce and green peppers. After planting everything we ripped up some cabbage leaves and spread them around our newly planted plants in hopes that this will keep the snails away! If this doesn’t work, the snails will get more of a feast than we will :( Later that day Kym and I went to town. We wandered through the central market and then went looking for shops. Oddly Chillan is filled with thrift stores that sell nothing but American clothes! The prices for the most part are good, I only got a light sweatshirt but envision myself going back in the future as I discover what my clothing needs are. After dinner we watched Forrest Gump. I had never seen it before and thought it was very good.
Yesterday we went to a mass for a priest (Raul) celebrating the 60th anniversary of his ordination. After the mass there was a reception where Raul said a few words and then gave this toast “Drinking makes you happy, when you are happy you don’t sin, and by not sinning you are saved… so if drinking makes you happy, and when you are happy you don’t sin, and when you don’t sin you are saved, LET’S DRINK!” After that the crowd burst out laughing! Apparently after his first mass 60 years ago, another priest gave this same toast. After that we went over to Maria Erica’s house for lunch. She teaches the baking class at Casa Ursulina and is a good friend of the Sisters. We started out with coffee and cookies right after we got there. A little while later came punch and little fried cheese empanadas, of course they made about a million of these little empanadas so each of us ate a lot! Then for the actual meal we each had a huge piece of fish, potatoes, salad and bread. Everything was delicious. After we had eaten our fill Maria Erica brought out ice cream. Of course I thought we were done at this point but I was wrong. She then came out with a Tres Leches cake so we each had a piece of that. Needless to say we pretty much rolled home after all that food !
This morning I woke up to the wind howling outside my window. The news had been predicting lots of wind and they were right! Sister Ruth made French toast for brunch. It was amazing plus I smothered mine in raspberries so it was extra delicious. In the afternoon we went over to the church about a block away from the house to wait for the procession that would be coming through town. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patron Saint of Chile and today there was a procession through town honoring her which ended in Chillan Viejo with a mass in the plaza. We started at the church and walked behind the priests and others carrying flags and a cross all the while singing and praying the rosary (there was a load speaker hooked up to a truck leading the group). When we got to the main procession route we waited there until the rest of the procession came by. Other churches had joined the procession along the way, each carrying banners and/or flags. By the time the procession came by where we were standing it was raining pretty hard. Most of the people in the procession did not have umbrellas but kept walking anyway. Unlike most of the others in our group, we did not join the procession but instead headed home after the end of the procession passed by.
This week I started running again. It has been a very long time since I have run on a regular basis so it felt great to start running again. This week I ran four times. Even though I was hoping to run more, it’s a good starting point. As soon as I get settled somewhere I am going to look for some other activity to join… something to get me out of the house and involved in physical activity and meet friends. Perhaps rowing, circus or tennis.
The pictures are as follows: making empandas (me), Casa Ursulina, the church we go to (we can't actually enter the building shown because it was damaged in the earthquake but it's a national monument so it will be restored, mass is held in a partially finished community hall next to the church), pictures from the procession, a typical picture from the artesania part of the central market in Chillan, Kym and I in front of a church in the center of town, pictures from the plaza in Chillan Viejo.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Fiestas, Food and Fun
Last Wednesday we went up the street to the church where the abuelitos (elderly people or “grandparents”) eat lunch once a week. Previous volunteers have gone to spend time with them, chat and play games after they have lunch. They seemed like a fun bunch and if we decide to stay here in Chillan we will most likely spend time with them.
Later that day we went to a neighbor’s house because it was one of her daughter’s birthdays. Sister Mimi is her godmother and has a really good relationship with the family. When we got there the birthday girl (Camilla) and all her friends were playing Uno so Kym and I joined in. After awhile all the kids left and we sat around eating snacks and talking. It was a very low key party but it was definitely fun spending time with the family and getting to know them. Everyone was very nice and I look forward to getting to know them better.
On Thursday we went to town with Ale (a woman who helps clean and does other things at Casa Ursulina). She showed us where the important places are such as the post office, banks, theather, etc. We also went to the market and bought all sorts of good stuff: avocados, clementines, lemons, lettuce, artichokes, etc. It was fun to go into town and I look forward to going another time when it isn’t so crowded (everyone was in town preparing for the weekend’s festivities).
On Friday we went out to the campo (country) to visit a lady (Sandra) who attends workshops at Casa Ursulina in Chillan but spends her weekends in the campo. The town is only about 45 minutes away so it didn’t take too long to get there. On the farm there were a bunch of baby lambs, chickens, ginny hens and goats. Before lunch we walked around the farm, caught a baby lamb to hold and talked with Sandra’s daughter. After a huge lunch we all took a siesta which was very nice. After everyone had woken up we went back out to see the sheep and goats because it was time for them to come into their pen for the night. I thought it was really cute how the lambs cry out when they get separated from their mother and then the mom and baby proceed to play a version of Marco Polo until they find each other in the clump of sheep, it’s hard to explain but very amusing to watch! Before leaving we had onces- tea and coffee, bread with jam and cookies.
Saturday was a big day! September 18th is Chile’s independence day and this year is the bicentennial! Viva Chile!! In the morning we went into town and watched a parade. It was pretty much your average parade but with short presentation of La Cueca (the national dance) and lots of Huasos (Chilean cowboys). After the parade a big military helicopter flew overhead and dropped what looked like a ton of confetti but it was actually a bunch of bicentennial bookmarks. Later that night around 8:30 we went over to Carola’s house (same family we visited earlier this week for the birthday) to help make empanadas. Kym and I made lots of empanadas which was fun. Other people were busy making salad, potatoes and grilling meat. Around 10:00 or later everyone (at least 25 people) sat down at a huge table out back to eat. After 3 empanadas, a huge helping of mashed potatoes and salad I was ready to burst! It was all very good and I have to say they were the best empanadas I’ve ever eaten! It may have to do with the fact that these empanadas where fried whereas all the others I’ve eaten have been baked in the oven but I also feel like this dough was extra good and different from what I’ve eaten in the past. As soon as everyone finished eating the dancing began. There was lots of Cueca to begin with but later it was “free dance" time. I eventually danced a little and Kym and I learned (more or less) how to dance la Cueca. It’s not terribly hard but I can’t say I’m any good at it. After lots of talking, dancing and laughing Carola and her husband walked Kym and I home around 4:30 am. It was a great night and fun to meet lots of new people.
Below are pictures of the sheep and goats (the goats reminded us of the story "Three Billy Goats Gruff"!), dancing la Cueca (the little girl in pink has a twin sister and they really can dance!), friends from the party, Carola's relative dressed as a Huaso (Chilean cowboy), and Kym with her first empanada (she has pictures of me making empanadas on her camera but she is sleeping so those will come later...)
Later that day we went to a neighbor’s house because it was one of her daughter’s birthdays. Sister Mimi is her godmother and has a really good relationship with the family. When we got there the birthday girl (Camilla) and all her friends were playing Uno so Kym and I joined in. After awhile all the kids left and we sat around eating snacks and talking. It was a very low key party but it was definitely fun spending time with the family and getting to know them. Everyone was very nice and I look forward to getting to know them better.
On Thursday we went to town with Ale (a woman who helps clean and does other things at Casa Ursulina). She showed us where the important places are such as the post office, banks, theather, etc. We also went to the market and bought all sorts of good stuff: avocados, clementines, lemons, lettuce, artichokes, etc. It was fun to go into town and I look forward to going another time when it isn’t so crowded (everyone was in town preparing for the weekend’s festivities).
On Friday we went out to the campo (country) to visit a lady (Sandra) who attends workshops at Casa Ursulina in Chillan but spends her weekends in the campo. The town is only about 45 minutes away so it didn’t take too long to get there. On the farm there were a bunch of baby lambs, chickens, ginny hens and goats. Before lunch we walked around the farm, caught a baby lamb to hold and talked with Sandra’s daughter. After a huge lunch we all took a siesta which was very nice. After everyone had woken up we went back out to see the sheep and goats because it was time for them to come into their pen for the night. I thought it was really cute how the lambs cry out when they get separated from their mother and then the mom and baby proceed to play a version of Marco Polo until they find each other in the clump of sheep, it’s hard to explain but very amusing to watch! Before leaving we had onces- tea and coffee, bread with jam and cookies.
Saturday was a big day! September 18th is Chile’s independence day and this year is the bicentennial! Viva Chile!! In the morning we went into town and watched a parade. It was pretty much your average parade but with short presentation of La Cueca (the national dance) and lots of Huasos (Chilean cowboys). After the parade a big military helicopter flew overhead and dropped what looked like a ton of confetti but it was actually a bunch of bicentennial bookmarks. Later that night around 8:30 we went over to Carola’s house (same family we visited earlier this week for the birthday) to help make empanadas. Kym and I made lots of empanadas which was fun. Other people were busy making salad, potatoes and grilling meat. Around 10:00 or later everyone (at least 25 people) sat down at a huge table out back to eat. After 3 empanadas, a huge helping of mashed potatoes and salad I was ready to burst! It was all very good and I have to say they were the best empanadas I’ve ever eaten! It may have to do with the fact that these empanadas where fried whereas all the others I’ve eaten have been baked in the oven but I also feel like this dough was extra good and different from what I’ve eaten in the past. As soon as everyone finished eating the dancing began. There was lots of Cueca to begin with but later it was “free dance" time. I eventually danced a little and Kym and I learned (more or less) how to dance la Cueca. It’s not terribly hard but I can’t say I’m any good at it. After lots of talking, dancing and laughing Carola and her husband walked Kym and I home around 4:30 am. It was a great night and fun to meet lots of new people.
Below are pictures of the sheep and goats (the goats reminded us of the story "Three Billy Goats Gruff"!), dancing la Cueca (the little girl in pink has a twin sister and they really can dance!), friends from the party, Carola's relative dressed as a Huaso (Chilean cowboy), and Kym with her first empanada (she has pictures of me making empanadas on her camera but she is sleeping so those will come later...)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Adventures in Santiago
Last week we had our first visit to the women’s center in Renca (a neighborhood of Santiago). I don’t have the information with me right now but they have workshops and other services such as social workers, counseling, etc. The focus of the organization is for women who have lived or are living violence. Part of our time there we went to the local feria (farmer’s market) and passed out flyers. I love to go to the ferias and see all the fresh fruits and vegetables :D Later that day we went to another part of town to a community center where Lia teachs a class to teens about HIV/AIDS. We also visited with a group of women who bake and sell bread weekly. They save their bread money to take a vacation. Of course we bought a bunch of bread and it was wonderful! On Thursday we had another free day which was great. After sleeping in we took off to explore the city. We got off the metro near La Moneda which is the Chilean equivalent of the White House. In a plaza behind La Moneda there was a circus show going on so we sat down and watched that for awhile which I really enjoyed! Later that day we went and wandered around the Bella Vista neighborhood and found Pablo Neruda’s house (famous Chilean Poet). We were both quite tired by this point (we had been walking around Santiago for nearly 6 hours) and didn’t tour the house but might go back another day. On our way home we stopped at Blockbuster and rented a DVD. This was an interesting experience… of course we don’t belong to Blockbuster in Chile (or the States) and so we had to sign up before we could rent a movie. Pretty much the only information I could give them was my name… I didn’t have my cell phone on me so I didn’t know the number for that and I didn’t know the address to where we were staying (smart I know…) so they just made up information and let us rent the DVD, hehe. The next day we went back to the jardin to teach English to the little kids. They were practicing dancing La Cueca for their independence day performance, it was adorable! This coming Saturday is a huge day here in Chile because it is their independence day, similar to our 4th of July but this year is the bicentennial so it’s a really big deal! After the jardin we walked around the neighborhood and hung up posters for the women’s center we had visited earlier that week. On Saturday we went over to Gretchen and Lia’s and were going to cook lunch but their floors were being repaired so we ended up going out for pizza and had a good time chatting. After lunch we hung out in the park and later went out to ice cream with Rachel and Chago, it was great to see them :D The next day we did laundry and went over to Gretchen and Lia’s and made the lunch we were planning on making the day before. We made pasta with pesto sauce, broccoli and salad. It actually turned out really good so we were all happy. On Monday we went back to the jardin. The kids are really getting good at animals, colors, clothing and members of the family. They really love singing songs like Old McDonald had a farm (Gretchen and Lia made up a translated version called Tio Sam) and playing games. One of their favorites is “Caminando por el bosque” or Walking through the forest. They put a bunch of toy animals, dolls or other objects on the floor and one kid walks around the circle while everyone sings a song, at the end an English word is called out and they have to pick up the right object. It is really quite funny and the kids love it! After the jardin we went over to Margaret’s house and made lunch. She does a lot of alternative healing for people in the community and has served as a mentor and resource for Gretchen and Lia. It was fun to meet her and we had a good time preparing lunch, even though we did manage to burn some of the rice, oops. Yesterday we spent a long time packing and cleaning up our stuff because we took the 12:45am bus to Chillan. We actually almost missed the bus because it did not say Chillan on it but it was in the same parking place as our bus was suppose to be and had the same departure time… apparently it was continuing further south past Chillan so it had that town listed because it was the final destination… another 10 minutes and we probably would have missed the bus which would have been bad because all transportation going south is pretty much sold out by now due to the independence day celebrations. Anyway, after about five hours of sleeping on and off we made it to Chillan and then took a taxi to Casa Ursulina. Our driver was very nice and waited to make sure we got in the house before he took off. Today consisted of lots of rest. For the past four days I haven’t had much of a voice… other than that I’ve been feeling fine but it’s been a bit annoying not being able to talk normally. Kym felt a little under the weather today and Sister Ruth is getting over being sick so all of us napped, watched tv and otherwise rested pretty much all day. We will actually get a good night’s sleep tonight so that should help. The weather has been a bit chilly and rainy over the past few days but it is suppose to be better for the rest of the week and through the weekend.
Picutres are as follows- the first 3 are of the circus show, the next one is of some decorations for the fiestas patrias on the 18th, then the ladies making bread, the second picture is of their "oven" which heats/cooks from the bottom and top, the next 3 are of the feria- food, holding a sign for the women's center and Kym enjoying a sopaipilla she bought, the green house is where we have been staying in Santiago, next are the little kids learning to dance at the jardin, then there is a picture of one of the metro stops we use a lot and last is a picture of a little playground- seriously these playgrounds are everywhere!
Picutres are as follows- the first 3 are of the circus show, the next one is of some decorations for the fiestas patrias on the 18th, then the ladies making bread, the second picture is of their "oven" which heats/cooks from the bottom and top, the next 3 are of the feria- food, holding a sign for the women's center and Kym enjoying a sopaipilla she bought, the green house is where we have been staying in Santiago, next are the little kids learning to dance at the jardin, then there is a picture of one of the metro stops we use a lot and last is a picture of a little playground- seriously these playgrounds are everywhere!
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