Not Likes but Loves

First off, I’d like to say that I’m sorry for not keeping everyone updated day to day like an actual blog is supposed to do. It has been crazy busy here so basically every night, when I finally got home, I would just knock out.

SOOOOOOOO

I’ve decided that I’m going to do three posts right in a row. In this one, I'm going to be telling you all the things that I didn't just like about the trip but the things that I LOVED about the trip.

Let’s get started! Where should I begin?!

Chile is such an amazing place. I highly recommend everyone to travel here at least once in their life. In all honesty, I highly recommend all of the places I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to. Traveling just opens your eyes in a way that words can’t even describe. It brings a whole new outlook on life and depending on where you travel to, you’ll discover something new each time.

I’m going to start with the weather.

Oh.

My.

God.

When we first arrived in Santiago, it was a little hot but I didn’t mind because it wasn’t the freezing cold that was back home. However, we did a couple three-hour walking tours around the city. Now, don’t get me wrong. I really did enjoy them because they were very informative and interesting. But let me tell you, I was sweating like a pig by the end of it. Who am I kidding? I was sweating throughout the whole thing. I quickly found out that the little coins that you accumulate throughout will become your best friend because one coin can be worth 500 pesos which you can buy a bottle of water (SIN gas) with. But in all seriousness, I highly recommend Tours4Tips because you can have your tour be done all in Spanish, English, or a combination of the two. They are very nice and very informative as well and will answer any question you have.

Our first three days were jam packed with walking tours, exploring, and learning a lot about the history of Chile. We did have some free time where we could do whatever we wanted to do. Most of us went to go and try the food (shocker right). But after those few days, we took a bus to Vina Del Mar.

Let me just tell you. Vina is freaking gorgeous. The weather was sheer perfection, it was right on the coast and within walking distance to the beach.

While here, we met the other students that we would be working with to plan this summer camp for kids ages 7-12 give or take. Everyone was super nice and welcoming. I met some lifelong friends within a very short period.

The planning part was a little stressful at times because there were so many ideas being thrown around that it got a little chaotic sometimes. However, it all worked out because the camp went so smoothly!

I absolutely loved the summer camp. The campers were so much fun to be around. They had this attitude towards everything that made you happy and smile. They really wanted to learn as many things in English but also wanted to teach us some things in Spanish. Mixing cultures like that is what I live for! I love the fact that even though there is somewhat of a language barrier, you can still communicate with others and still make friends and memories, amazes me. It was super hard to say goodbye to them. I can’t even tell you the amount of hugs were exchanged between everyone at the camp.

The day after the camp ended, we went back to Santiago. We visited this memory museum and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was very hard to take it all in because of how real it is. There were times as I was walking around that I would start to tear up. I couldn’t even imagine living through that or anything like that. One of my favorite parts of the museum was when you first walk into the building. There is a wall that has pictures hanging up and you notice that it makes out worlds. It isn’t until you actually walk up to it that you see that the pictures are actual pictures of people being tortured and killed. I had no words.

All in all, the trip as a whole was really great. It was very memorable and makes me want to go back in the very near future!

Welp… That’s it for this post!

Stay classy my friends : )

Much to Learn

So far, this trip has been amazing. The weather is super super nice. I've already gotten a little sunburnt but it's okay because it'll turn to tan.

For this blog post, we were asked to discuss something that we've learned and reflect on it.

One thing that I thought was very interesting was when we went to Cemetario General de Santiago. We were on a walking tour (three hours remember...) and the tour guide stated that this particular cemetery is larger than over 100 football fields.

Just the thought of how large this place is was incredible to me... Mostly because I would one hundred percent get lost.

But anyways, after the tour, we returned to the cemetery after lunch. Our professor, Dr. Rojas, took us to Violeta Parra's resting place. It had many flowers around in and after hearing her story it was very interesting. If you don't know much about Violeta Parra, I highly recommend looking her up and also listening to her music. Also, if you ever get the chance to travel to Chile, you should visit her museum in Santiago.

The next resting place we visited was Victor Jara's. We saw his original burial, which is still kept up. The outside is painted red so it stands out. After the war was over, they transferred his body to a bigger tomb. And let me just tell you, it was incredible. The amount of little things people left for him and how it was all put together and kept neat.

We also saw a few other famous graves throughout walking around. This place was incredible. Granted, a cemetery is definitely not incredible. However, I think because of the size and the amount of people and how it is all kept up is just amazing. I was very impressed.

This experience really stuck with me because it was incredible to see. We don't have anything like that in the United States as far as I know.

Even though we have already learned a lot, there is still so much to take in.

Until next time...

Stay classy my friends : )

Critical Incident

For this blog post, we were asked to talk about a critical incident that has occurred so far on this trip using the DIE model.

For New Year's Eve, Missi, Liv, and I went to the beach in Vina Del Mar to watch the fireworks. We had bought tickets earlier in the day to this club/party after the fireworks. However, we found out a little too late that in order to get to the party we would have to take multiple different means of transportation. We also found out that we wouldn't even arrive to the party until about 2:30 or 3 o'clock in the morning.

We had heard that Chileans party until very early in the morning on New Year's, however, we were definitely not expecting this. So at first we thought "well we already bought the tickets so let's go." But when we were trying to get on the second micro (it's basically a public bus), people were pushing and shouting and (in a way) fighting to get on. After that, we said no way and decided to go home.

In this critical incident, I learned that because of the language barrier and the different culture, we should be clarifying a lot more. We didn't ask the right questions and we just assumed which definitely was not the smartest.

But all in all, my time here in Chile has been amazing so far. I can't wait to start working with everyone! So until next time...

Stay classy my friends : )

Chilean Art

For the next assignment, we were asked to look at different artists. We also had to see how they differed from each other in their techniques and such.

The different artists we were asked to look into were:
- Jorge Tacla
- Papas Fritas
- Ignacio Valdes
- Roberto Matta

One of the first ones that stood out to me was Ignacio Valdes. He put on a show of the series of sculptures that he made from the rubble and other fragments of houses. The rubble and fragments of the houses were the cause of the earthquake that occurred in February 2010. Ignacio Valdes is quotes saying

"As an artist I try to create with the materials... I think that all these woods and pieces were very expressive with all these nails retaining or encapsulating a lot of energy."

I also really like the artist Papas Fritas. I really liked the story of how they took all of the college students' loans and set them on fire. He then made a piece of art with the ashes. Like no joke, that would be lovely because then there would be no record of anybody's student loans.

Chilean Music

For another assignment we were asked to listen to different Chilean artists. Some of the genres that are on here, I personally don't really listen to but I thought I would try them out.

One of the artists, Ana Tijoux, I thought I would like a lot because she is a hip hop artist. She was born in France because her parents were living there in political exile from the Pinochet dictatorship. A lot of her music has very feminist ideals and anti-capitalist ideals.

The first song I listened to was "1977". I'm going to be honest. I had some high hopes for this song but it did not really do it for me. It started out pretty well with the nice beat. However, when the she started singing the lyrics, I got a little confused. It didn't really work for me. I'm really not a huge fan.

The thing about music in different cultures is that it is pretty much the same anywhere you go. There is always the same type of genres and the type of meaning between songs. Different artists discuss major issues going on in each of their societies. I'm excited to be walking around the streets of Chile and hear the different music around me.

Bear Story Review

The Bear Story was a pretty good short film. However, I didn't really understand it at first. It starts with the father bear walking around his house and you see a spot on the bed next to him, so you assume that his wife is somewhere in the house. Then he walks into his son's room but the bed is perfectly made, which is strange. He is holding two dolls of a mother bear and a baby bear. The father bear then goes and eats breakfast by himself at the table. You see two chairs, one regular chair and a high chair for the son, but they're empty.

At this point, I was pretty confused. I kept asking questions. In all honesty, the questions that kept popping in my head were "Where is his wife?" and "Where is his on?" and "What happened to them? Are they dead?"

It then really confused me as to why he was standing on the corner ringing a bell with a box next to him. When the young bear comes over to watch it, you see the whole back story of this father bear's life. It explained how he was taken into the circus unwillingly and forced to leave his family. He then escapes after a little bit and heads back to his house only his family is no where to be found.

This short film was good, however somewhat depressing. It really just made me want to go hug all of my family members because I would never want to leave them.

Chilean Cuisine

I don't think I mentioned in my first entry that this blog will be used for both keeping my friends and family updated while abroad, but also for completing my assignments for the course.

With that being said, our next assignment is relating to food... And who doesn't like food??

The first video, Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown episode focusing on Chile, it was really interesting watching him travel around trying the different foods. One thing that I found intriguing was how there are SO many different food options and they aren't usually similar to each other. At one place, he tried a sandwich called "El Lomito." It looked quite tasty. The classic version of this sandwich is made with avocado, tomatoes, and a generous amount of mayo topped with a huge portion of pork on a frica bun. Looking at it in the video, it looks pretty tasty. However, I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes... or avocados... Okay, on second thought, maybe not. But hey! I'll try it if we go somewhere that the Lomito is offered because you only live once right? 

Another dish that I thought looked really different was the completo. He stated that there are different variations of this but he tried the classic version. It's a twelve inch hot dog with sauerkraut, chopped pickled vegetables, tomatoes, a huge helping of guacamole, and topped with another large slathering of mayo. In all honesty, I don't think I would go with the classic version as my first choice. I would probably change it up and see what other toppings they offer.

As for the Youtube video of a typical Chilean snack, it looks pretty good and I really want to try it. It might sound gross but I guarantee if you watch this video or Google it, you'll feel the same way as I do. This snack is called Chorrillana. It is similar to the Canadian poutine but it has a Chilean twist. On the menu, it is listed as an appetizer or a starter for one person but it looked quite big in the video. It's a pile of french fries topped with tenderloin, onions, and scrambled eggs. They did say, however, that depending on where you go to order this dish, each place makes it slightly different.

Okay. I'm going to be the one to say it. I am SO excited to try all the food in Chile.

Oh. My. Gosh.

(I really like food, can't you tell?)

Even though I'll eat quite a bit of food, there are somethings that I really don't know if I could stomach. I'm really not into tomatoes whatsoever but if it's absolutely necessary, I'll try it. I'm also not a huge fan of really spicy things. I like when food has a nice flavor to it and if there is some spice, then that's not too bad. But I really don't like extremely spicy foods.

I'll let y'all know how the food is in a later blog when I'm there. But until then...

Stay classy my friends ( :

(^that's my new signature)