Note from the Floja

Sorry peeps.

I have had a crazy past 2 months and lack of google to properly display my thoughts.

No more I promise.  Hope you have some time because I have a lot of blogging to do.  I should be doing homework (hah what homework in Chile....such a joke), but alas google finally works again.

It's a long story.  Or three.  But I will get there.

Get ready to read.

Besos,

Amanda

Patagonia

So end of March, I went to the south of Chile.  I flew into Punta Arenas and took a bus to Puerto Natales.  The plan: hike in Parque del Torres.  We planned on doing the "W" trail, which is the harder but quicker trail, but do the lower case version.  The first night, six of us stayed in this awesome hostel, Erratic Rock.  They were awesome, they rented us almost all our gear (tents, stoves, sleeping mats, etc.).  We had to take a bus to the entrance.  From there, we paid for a catamaran (not cheap mind you) to the Camp Pehoe.  This was probably my favorite camp.  It had this gazebo that we could cook our food (spaghetti with sauce) and drink box wine.  Fun times.  The next morning, we hiked to half way to glacier grey.  Glaciers are so weird.  They look like sugar rocks.  

After seeing the glaciers, we went back, cleaned up camp and set for a long day of hiking.  We left Pehoe around noon and arrived in Camp Italiano around 4.  Then a couple of us went up part way to the Mirador Frances.  Great views, very calming.  That night was fellow campmate Elizabeth's 21st b-day, but alas it was a calm celebration.  It was also the worst night weather-wise, with rain throughout the night.  However, it was mild by comparison.

The next day was our BIG hike day.  We were hiking to Refugio Chileano.  It was a 6-8 hour hiking day.  Not the easiest hike.  We ran into another group of ISA kids on the way and found another group at Chileano.  Definitely the longest day I had.  That night, we relaxed a bit with rum + cokes, and the game spoons.  A nice fun night before the big finale.

The next morning, we hiked to the Torres.  Alessandra, Ben, Elizabeth and myself woke up early (5ish in the morning) and started the big hike.  With Alessandra leading, we made the 2 hour hike in 1 hour and 45 minutes!  It was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen.  I have pictures on facebook.

Definitely one of the best experiences of my life.  Really showed me how strong I am, both physically and mentally.

Pucón

From March 13-March 16, ISA took all of us to Pucón. For those not familiar with this touristy area, think Lake Geneva + any tourist spot in Colorado. Basically, it was Gringoland, and sometimes, ISA land. Its a 12 hour bus ride from Viña, so we got there bright and early Friday morning. We went on this big tour around the hot spots of Pucón. We saw two very beautiful water falls, Salto Palguin y Salto La China if I'm correct. Then we went to the Ojos del Carburgua, very pretty. Sat on the top of one of the waterfalls and just took in the views. From there....we trekked to the hot springs. If you ever get a chance to visit a hot springs, do it. It was so amazing. There were 2 hot springs we preoccupied. One was a nice warm temperature, and kind of shallow. The other was hotter, but deeper. We were all taking turns going from one to another, and then into the river! What a refreshing afternoon.

The next day, I went to the Parque Nacional Huerquehue. I ended up going with my friend Daphne, it was really nice and relaxing. I trekked on my own for a bit and got some sweet shots.

On the last day, I went rafting! Definitely a blast. I did bajo, which is the beginner version, but I definitely think I could have done the more intense version. After that, I relaxed for a little bit, found a sweet park and swung on the swings. Definitely a awesome weekend.

Spanish Lesson

The slang and vocab here is by far one of the most interesting parts so far. They say that if you master Chilean Spanish, you can speak Spanish everywhere because Chilean is the most difficult. I'm still getting a grasp on what words they use here instead of those that have been drilled into my brain since 5th grade Spanish. Here are some of the basics:

gringo(a) - This just means foreigner here. It is not a mean term, just more of a statement. Many moms here will say "mi hija gringita," and use it affectionately.

pololo(a) - The term they use here for boyfriend and girlfriend. They don't really use "novio" here.

luca - One thousand pesos....which is about $2 American.

guagua - baby, bambi

This weekend I'm off to Pucón. Its in the south, a nice long 12 hour bus ride.

Universidad y Familia

Finally started back schooling today. It was so weird because I haven't had regular classes since mid-December. At UAI (Universidad Adolfo Ibañez), there isn't even a map! So I get there 30 minutes before my class starts and I'm so lost. Ask the guy at the desk, but still couldn't figure it out. Finally saw some gringo mates....and felt much better.

There were only about 8 of us, all from ISA in the class....so it was pretty confortable. The prof was kind of nervous...she's straight out of grad school and was having some trouble with her English. Luckily, I had my Spanish Dictionary to help her out. The class was to go from 11-2, but we had a half hour break in between which was nice. I have another class today, a class in Spanish, con Chileanos. I'm not gonna lie, kind of nervous for it. I changed this class from my previous time so I could have it with mi amiga gringa, Stephanie, but from what I've heard from the others, not the easiest thing. What's different here is that I don't ever buy my books. All of us have to get photocopies, which is definitely new. And sooo much cheaper. However, because its once a week, that means I have a book to read per week.

In casa news, my wireless internet that I had been secretly using has failed me. I think they figured it out and locked it up on me. Its such a sad story. I am working on borrowing an ethernet cable, which would be super sweet. I just need to figure out after that where I can plug it in.

The other day at lunch, mi familia preceeded to tell me all the mugging stories of their previous students. One was mugged in the day time in front of the Congress building. One was mugged in Mendoza. No wonder they never had a phone to give me! I figure though....I won't go out for a drink taking a purse full of valuable and such. As long as I'm responsable and aware...I should be fine. My family is so cute...they are always telling me "¡con cuidado, con cuidado!" I went out for a drink with my sister last week; she's so sweet. She's a lot more badass then she comes off.

Chile and The Fam

For those of you planning on visiting Chile, do what the books say. Santiago was fun, but I saw everthing I needed to see in 3 days. The Presidential House was sweet, the views were amazing, and the night life was interesting (Santo Secreto....think Mad Ave on crack). Definitely worth a visit, but I though Santiago wasn't really special.

Now Viña del Mar y Valparaiso....yes. These places have character. I live in Viña, right next to the border to Valpo, so I get a good view of both cities. Valpo is a rougher....more grungy (but in a good way). It's got this run down, I don't care kind of attitude that I really like. I haven't seen much of it yet (the navy, some stores, the other university), but I'm sure that'll change.

Viña is way ritzier. In the downtown part, it reminds me a lot of California. The downtown isn't too ritzy, just very busy and very cool. Its further down, closer to the malls where Viña is very chic. There were little palm umbrella for people, many vendors, and unfortunately, corporate America (Pizza Hut is neighboring Dominos).

My family is really great. My older sister (23) and my dad understand my Spanish the best and have been acting as translator for the rest of my family. My madre is so sweet, and she laughs very easily. My younger siblings (15 year old sister and 8 year old brother) were more shy at first and are slowly warming up. They just started school on Wednesday, and I haven't seen them as much as the others.

Today, I'm going to some beaches (Renacca and such). Hopefully I can even out my awkward burn tan that I'm rocking right now. School starts Monday, but I don't have class until Tuesday, so it'll be a nice weekend for me. I promise pictures will come! I happen to be one of the few without wireless (even my US fam has wireless now!), so I need to just go to a wireless cafe and upload for hours.

And the adventure begins...

Today has been the longest day of my life.

Having spent the first nine hours on a plane, getting rather uncomfortable sleep and worrying about blood clots, I was very glad when we finally landed.  Despite past experiences, customs was a breeze, with the only long part being the line.  I got my luggage (yayyy!!) and headed to meet the rest of the group.  It was an absolute zoo.  There were somewhere between 50-60 of us arriving today and the rest of the group (about 10 more) joined us at the hotel.  After waiting for my hair to grey, I was finally given a room.  I'm currently rooming with two of the girls from my group (Cynthia & Michelle) and we all get along so well.  We spent the first hour just talking as Cynthia was here for intensive month, so she knew all the answers to our burning questions.

We (the collective ISA group) spent the day being all touristy and riding up an ascensor up to take in the views of Santiago.  As beautiful as it was, the smog took some of the beauty away, and the intensive month students were all moaning on the wonderful views of Valpo and Viña.

After all that, I am rather spent.  I'm already mourning some of my American luxeries I took too easily for granted (leave-in conditioner, peanut butter, big breakfasts, red bull).  Speaking of Red Bull, I really need to get some energy source soon.

I promise to add pictures next time.

Cheese Plaza Burgers and Puny Bouncers

Last week was my last hurrah in Madison. It's still hitting me that I'm not going to be back for more than four months! And for those I didn't get to see before I left, I promise, we'll go all out in July when I come back.

I did get my last Plaza experiences in. I'm trying to memorize every inch of the Plaza and scene, because my big goal in Vina and Valpo is to find the Chilean Plaza! Especially if it comes equipt with a Peter Petigrew.

One thing I won't miss about Madison is being able to just order a glass of wine without any hassle! And since the nightlife in Chile is the same as mine (based on what I've read), Thursday-Saturday, I should have no problem adjusting to that.

So probably the biggest news I have is about my family. I only got a description, no picture or anything, but based on the description, I'm really excited. My family owns a school! And I have three siblings: an older sister (that'll be a first), a sister Emma's age, and a little brother. What's nice about having an older sister is that she'll really be able to show me the local scene.

Tuesday, I get my VISA (finally!!!). After that, is basically getting all the rest of my stuff together. While I will miss the good life of working out/reading/drinking wine/sleeping, I am sooo ready to just leave the country already and travel!

Amanda 9.0

I have always wanted to study abroad. Ask anyone who knew me when I was 15, it's always been my game plan. I didn't always know when or where, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't.
So now, here I am, five years later, and in less than one month, I will be off to Valparaíso and Viña Del Mar, Chile to live, travel, learn, and change my life so to say.

I am excited, sure, but also completely terrified. I'd say my Spanish skills are better than some, but living in a country where I will have to depend on them, well, you could say I'm not jumping for joy. I am looking forward to improving my Spanish language, so if that means I have to embarass myself in the name of becoming fluent, so be it.

My goals right now:
1. Become a fluent Spanish speaker and maybe even reader.
2. Learn the ways of business done in Chile and South America.
3. Travel - I just read about the coach buses that go to cities in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, etc. My ultimate dream would be to travel all over South America, but likely I'll be able to travel to the safe parts at least.
4. Meet people from ALL OVER.

As of right now, my concerns involve one tricky visa, too much clothing, not enough money and knowlege of my family and classes. I kind of feel like I'm in purgatory right now. My friends not abroad started school last week. My friends who are abroad have left for their destinations of France, Ireland, Spain, England, Italy; which means I'm left to look at all their photos and wish I was in Chile already.