This past week has zoomed on by...making me realize how important it is to enjoy the last few weeks I have here. On Wed. I went to the elementary school to help out for aobut 2 hours. The kids are starting to be more comfortable around me and I even got to talk to the majority of them. After talking to them I was really hit with how precious life is and how blessed I've been. To make conversation I would always ask about their families and siblings. Out of about 28 kids at least six that I spoke with had a brother or sister in "el cielo (heaven)" I was shocked. After our group left, we were talking on the bus about how its obvious that these kids dont' get the attention they need....something that really frustrates me.
On Wed night I met two of my chilean friends at a concert in Valpo. We then went to their house to cook dinner and watched 80s music videos while I helped them translate their work into english. THEN I got a 2 hour lesson on the history of valpo from the tourism major. Made me realize how much I miss just being able to hang out with people rather than having to go out all the time.
As I am writing this I am on a bus in the middle of the Andes mountains waiting to cross the border between ARgentina and Chile. It's snowing and the view is AMAZING. The border is literally on a mountain in the middle of the Andes. Anyways, we left for mendoza on Fri and ended up spending 3 hours at the border...which wasn't a problem because it was so beautiful. AFter crossing the border we finally made it to Medoza and were met by two hostal owners. We ended up getting a ride with one of them...a 16 yr old who ran every red light we crossed. ANyways, his hostal was in a sketchy part of town where all the transvestites hung out. We were told not to walk alone into the central. Needless to say, we changed hostals the next am. on sat. we rented bikes and went on a winery tour. The first place we went was really interesting and went through the whole process of making wine. The second place was a chocolate shop and winery and at the end we went and ate empanadas before taking the bus back. That night we ate at a buffet. AMAZING. I will need to post pics when i get them. THis was quite the experience. WE waited in line for 1 hour before we were seated. This buffet had everything...even an amaizng salad bar! We ate until about midnight (got there at 11) and headed back to the hostal. Apparently people don't go out until about 2:30 in argentina. We went to this cafe that had acoustic music and were there until about 6. A little different than my life at luther.
I suppose that's all for now. I love argentina....the people, the food, the scenery. everything. hope you are all doing well
Love
Cristina
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
Monday, 14 May 2007
Where to Begin???
Where to begin? It's been about 2 weeks since my last blog and I'm trying to remember where those two weeks have disappeared to. SO, I'll try and remember to the best of my ability and update you on my life.
Last weekend after the Santiago trip (see below) we had a baby shower at the house for the girlfriend of my host brother. Our small living room was filled with middle aged women oohing and ahhing over all of the gifts. The baby shower went to 4am!!! I don't know ONE mom in the US that likes to stay out past 4am chatting with friends. Yet another huge difference in culture. Anyways, I left the shower at about 11:30 to meet up with some friends in Valpo. I arrived about 30 min later and reached for my phone to call the group I was meeting to let them know I was there. Well, my phone was out of minutes...and I was alone at night on a sketchy street in Valpo wondering what to do next. So I asked someone where the closest place was to catch a bus back home...it was 3 blocks down a dark side street....not something I wanted to be doing alone at night. At this point I was a bit worried, luckily when I turned around my friends I was meeting were standing outside looking for me. After that we went and danced, and I AM actually getting some rhythm. Shocking I know.
On Monday I had an essay worth 40 % of my grade in my psych class. I got up extra early to correct it one more time and print it out. When I arrived at class the 2 other gringas looked just as frazzled and worried about the essay. After looking around I realized that there were about 8 other people in the class that had never been there before. THEN when we turned in the essays only about 6 people had them to give to the prof...the rest of the students "didn't understand the assignment" or "couldn't find information" or "didn't have time" SO the prof listened sympathetically and told them they could turn it in when they get the chance. A little different than Luther. THEN I went to my nutrition class ready to take an oral exam...they like that type of testing here. SO I walked into the profs office a bit nervous seeing as I still have trouble speaking. I sat down and all he asked was to tell him what I have learned...so I did, we conversed , and that was that. Easy A. Such a different world down here!
On Tuesday I worked for the first time in a public high school . WOW. There were about 50 kids in the class between the ages of 14 and 18. The prof was sweet but had no control. In the 2 hours we were there they got one exercise done. This school is for kids who's families can't afford university...Its sad how their future is decided at 14. ANYWAYS, I introduced myself and of course some of the 14 yr old boys made comments...another thing that wouldn't occur as much in a school in the US. Later I was talking to one of the girls and she asked me how old I am. I told her 20 and she started laughing. I asked her why she was laughing and she said that her boyfriend is 24...she's 14. After the class at the high school the prof and I ran to the next school for the next class...she runs from school to school from 8:00 AM a 8:00 pm. Kids go to school in 2 shifts, 8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm. What a late day for little guys....and teenagers too for that matter. The public schools are in such bad shape...its sad to see.
On Thurs. a guy from Luther who is studying in Buenos Aires came to visit us here in Chile. We went out and it was good to talk to someone from Luther who was somewhere else besides Chile. On Saturday we went on another excursion to Pomaire and Isla Negra. Isla Negra is where Pablo Neruda is buried. It is BEAUTIFUL . On Sunday we celebrated mother's day by eating massive amounts of food. haha.
As it gets colder here, all dogs that are pets are seen wearing bright new sweaters and hats. Not joking. Its hilarious!! I'll try and get some pics sometime. I guess that's all for now! I promise to be better about updates!
Love you all
Cristina
Last weekend after the Santiago trip (see below) we had a baby shower at the house for the girlfriend of my host brother. Our small living room was filled with middle aged women oohing and ahhing over all of the gifts. The baby shower went to 4am!!! I don't know ONE mom in the US that likes to stay out past 4am chatting with friends. Yet another huge difference in culture. Anyways, I left the shower at about 11:30 to meet up with some friends in Valpo. I arrived about 30 min later and reached for my phone to call the group I was meeting to let them know I was there. Well, my phone was out of minutes...and I was alone at night on a sketchy street in Valpo wondering what to do next. So I asked someone where the closest place was to catch a bus back home...it was 3 blocks down a dark side street....not something I wanted to be doing alone at night. At this point I was a bit worried, luckily when I turned around my friends I was meeting were standing outside looking for me. After that we went and danced, and I AM actually getting some rhythm. Shocking I know.
On Monday I had an essay worth 40 % of my grade in my psych class. I got up extra early to correct it one more time and print it out. When I arrived at class the 2 other gringas looked just as frazzled and worried about the essay. After looking around I realized that there were about 8 other people in the class that had never been there before. THEN when we turned in the essays only about 6 people had them to give to the prof...the rest of the students "didn't understand the assignment" or "couldn't find information" or "didn't have time" SO the prof listened sympathetically and told them they could turn it in when they get the chance. A little different than Luther. THEN I went to my nutrition class ready to take an oral exam...they like that type of testing here. SO I walked into the profs office a bit nervous seeing as I still have trouble speaking. I sat down and all he asked was to tell him what I have learned...so I did, we conversed , and that was that. Easy A. Such a different world down here!
On Tuesday I worked for the first time in a public high school . WOW. There were about 50 kids in the class between the ages of 14 and 18. The prof was sweet but had no control. In the 2 hours we were there they got one exercise done. This school is for kids who's families can't afford university...Its sad how their future is decided at 14. ANYWAYS, I introduced myself and of course some of the 14 yr old boys made comments...another thing that wouldn't occur as much in a school in the US. Later I was talking to one of the girls and she asked me how old I am. I told her 20 and she started laughing. I asked her why she was laughing and she said that her boyfriend is 24...she's 14. After the class at the high school the prof and I ran to the next school for the next class...she runs from school to school from 8:00 AM a 8:00 pm. Kids go to school in 2 shifts, 8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm. What a late day for little guys....and teenagers too for that matter. The public schools are in such bad shape...its sad to see.
On Thurs. a guy from Luther who is studying in Buenos Aires came to visit us here in Chile. We went out and it was good to talk to someone from Luther who was somewhere else besides Chile. On Saturday we went on another excursion to Pomaire and Isla Negra. Isla Negra is where Pablo Neruda is buried. It is BEAUTIFUL . On Sunday we celebrated mother's day by eating massive amounts of food. haha.
As it gets colder here, all dogs that are pets are seen wearing bright new sweaters and hats. Not joking. Its hilarious!! I'll try and get some pics sometime. I guess that's all for now! I promise to be better about updates!
Love you all
Cristina
Friday, 4 May 2007
Santiago
This week has been pretty low key. I've been studying a lot for the first time this semester and a bit worried about my upcoming tests and projects. On Tuesday some friends and I went out to pizza hut with 3 chileans. Afterwards we walked by the water. The waves were so big that they
were hitting the rocks and splashing over the boardwalk which was about 10 feet up from the beach . It was crazy and a lot of fun. I've never seen such big waves. The pic above is from that night. On Wednesday I went to a school with my group in social geography. Each Wednesday we will be playing games with the kids and teaching them about Valpo. It was quite an experience. Many of them had never seen anyone from the US before and consequently I was swarmed by 30 eight -year olds. Literally had kids hanging on my arms and around my waist asking me to speak english. It was fun but a bit overwhelming for our first visit. Its funny what people think of the US after watching many movies in english as well as MTV. I've talked with at least 2 chileans about what it is really like in the US. People really think that we live like MTV, big houses, parties, romantic dramas, and in general obnoxious. Its interesting to hear their perspectives.
Today was a great day. I went to Santiago with ISA to visit 3 important places in the history of the country. First we went to a center that holds the majority of the accounts and records of the disappeared. The disappeared are people who were taken during the dictatorship (1973-1990) and their bodies were never found. There are still families today looking for their lost loved ones. The next place we went to was the national cemetery. It was probably one of the most impressive sights I've seen in chile. The family tombs were HUGE and beautiful. Many dated back to the 1800s. It was interesting to see the change in social class as we walked through the cemetery. Slowly the tombs got smaller and smaller until they were just piles of dirt with rusted crosses. One area was covered in crosses and during the dictatorship had been a hole where bodies were thrown. The government did their best to identify the bodies but many of the crosses do not pertain to the correct body. The last place we went was a concentration camp in santiago. Our tour guide was tortured for 30 days when he had 19 years and was put in prison for 3 years following the concentration camp. I got goosebumps being in a place where so many people had suffered and died . I won't include details, but some of the torture tactics were unbelievable....and to think it was only 16 years ago that the dictatorship ended. The longest anyone lasted in this camp (which was known as the worst camp) was 16 months. Our guide said that one day of torture in the camp was worse than 3 years in prison. The camp was in a neighborhood and the neighbors thought that it was a institute for the mentally ill. It was only 3 years after when they started to question what really happened in the area now known as the park of peace. I talked to the director for a while about the attitudes today towards the dictatorship. She said that it is not talked about as a part of the history of Chile. It is kept out of the news, out of schools, and in general out of public discussions....something that I find sad. I've attached some pictures in the next blog of the places we visited
were hitting the rocks and splashing over the boardwalk which was about 10 feet up from the beach . It was crazy and a lot of fun. I've never seen such big waves. The pic above is from that night. On Wednesday I went to a school with my group in social geography. Each Wednesday we will be playing games with the kids and teaching them about Valpo. It was quite an experience. Many of them had never seen anyone from the US before and consequently I was swarmed by 30 eight -year olds. Literally had kids hanging on my arms and around my waist asking me to speak english. It was fun but a bit overwhelming for our first visit. Its funny what people think of the US after watching many movies in english as well as MTV. I've talked with at least 2 chileans about what it is really like in the US. People really think that we live like MTV, big houses, parties, romantic dramas, and in general obnoxious. Its interesting to hear their perspectives.
Today was a great day. I went to Santiago with ISA to visit 3 important places in the history of the country. First we went to a center that holds the majority of the accounts and records of the disappeared. The disappeared are people who were taken during the dictatorship (1973-1990) and their bodies were never found. There are still families today looking for their lost loved ones. The next place we went to was the national cemetery. It was probably one of the most impressive sights I've seen in chile. The family tombs were HUGE and beautiful. Many dated back to the 1800s. It was interesting to see the change in social class as we walked through the cemetery. Slowly the tombs got smaller and smaller until they were just piles of dirt with rusted crosses. One area was covered in crosses and during the dictatorship had been a hole where bodies were thrown. The government did their best to identify the bodies but many of the crosses do not pertain to the correct body. The last place we went was a concentration camp in santiago. Our tour guide was tortured for 30 days when he had 19 years and was put in prison for 3 years following the concentration camp. I got goosebumps being in a place where so many people had suffered and died . I won't include details, but some of the torture tactics were unbelievable....and to think it was only 16 years ago that the dictatorship ended. The longest anyone lasted in this camp (which was known as the worst camp) was 16 months. Our guide said that one day of torture in the camp was worse than 3 years in prison. The camp was in a neighborhood and the neighbors thought that it was a institute for the mentally ill. It was only 3 years after when they started to question what really happened in the area now known as the park of peace. I talked to the director for a while about the attitudes today towards the dictatorship. She said that it is not talked about as a part of the history of Chile. It is kept out of the news, out of schools, and in general out of public discussions....something that I find sad. I've attached some pictures in the next blog of the places we visited
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