So, I flew back from Buenos Aires, Argentina in the early morning. I had finished my final draft of my thesis paper, but needed to get it bound in Santiago so that I could turn it in to the professor. I got off the plane and headed for the bus that would (cheaply) take me to the center of the city. I got on the bus and we started off for the center of the city. I felt in my pocket and my passport wasn't there. I was so frightened since my passport was always in my front pocket. I had the bus stop and get my stuff off the bus. I hitch-hiked back to the airport and ran to the information desk to see if there was any chance they had found a passport. They looked and, thank God, the passport was there. I gave the man who found the passport on the floor (it must have slipped out while I was going through my pockets). I boarded the bus again for the center of the city. My flight got in with enough time (including losing my passport and finding it again) for me to go into the center of the city and take the thesis to the printer to get published. After running a few errands, I went back to the airport to pick up my mom. By now all of the taxi drivers knew who I was and that I was looking for my mother... not to mention they all wanted to "help" take my mother and me to our hostel (for a price of course). My mom's flight got in around 12:30pm, however it took over 2 hours for her baggage to come to the carousel... so I waited nervously for her to come out of the international arrivals terminal. There is a window area where people who are waiting for people to get their bags can peer down to try and see their loved ones arriving. I went there to try and see if mom was there and I couldn't find her. Later, mom informed me that she was there and had seen me. When we finally saw each other the first thing mom said was "Look at your hair!" I started crying... I didn't realize how much I had missed my mom.
We let a taxi driver take us into the city to our hostel. When we got to the hostel mom told me that I had to take a shower (my flight left very early from Buenos Aires and I didn't have time to take a shower). So, I took a shower and then we were off to explore Santiago. We first went to pick up my published thesis paper and turn it in to my professor. We also stopped at the IFSA office to turn in a copy of the paper to the IFSA office. It was nice to introduce my mom to the people I had spent so much time with over the past few months. Mom was hungry so we had a very late lunch at a little cafe by the COPA office. She had a hamburger like sandwich and a couple beers, I had a natural juice. We walked through the Catholic University central building after lunch. It is a nice little courtyard with water fountains and a statue of pope john paul ii.
After Catolica, we went to Cerro Santa Lucia (Santa Lucia Hill). It is a small hill that has beautiful fountains, and a nice view of the city. We had planned on attending the ballet the next night, so after the hill we walked to the ballet ticket office, however it was closed. Since it was closed, we grabbed some ice cream and walked to the presidential palace. There were people who were setting up for what looked like a public concert. They also placed flowers at the statue of Salvador Allende (the president who was deposed by the military dictatorship in 1973)... so I think it was a rally of some sort. It was nice to see the sunset.
After sunset we took the metro to my host family's house for dinner. Mom met Veronica and Rafael and we had a very nice meal. After dinner we chatted for a little while, but took a bus back to our hostel where we both fell exhausted into bed.
According to mom we both slept like rocks. We slept in a little later then planned but went to the Consino Macul vineyard a little ways outside of the city. We took a combination of taxi and metro to get there. The vineyard was very nice and we tried a couple different wines and got to keep our glasses. I had to drop off my library books. Since we bought 4 bottles of wine, we went back to the hostel to drop off our wine. We took our extra luggage to my host family's house so that we didn't have to carry it around Chile as we were traveling. We went to the central market to have lunch. We ate a really nice lunch with lots of interesting entertainment from people who stopped by to talk to us. After lunch we walked to the central plaza to see the plaza, the cathedral, and to eat some ice cream. We went to the ballet to buy our tickets. We had "once" or tea at a little bakery and then went to the ballet. The ballet was very, very good. It included two more modern ballets and a classical one. After the ballet, we walked towards our hostel where we grabbed some 'liquids' as mom likes to call them, diet coke, juice, etc. We then watched some dancing water fountains that were lit up at night. It was very fun to see them. Mom felt pretty cold, so we ended up going to the hostel and going to bed.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Guest Blogger: Samuel Friedman, Carleton College
I’m filling in for Matt on this post because Matt loves democracy and things like voting. He would have liked to experience this if he hadn’t had reservations to Robinson Crusoe Island.
Sundays are usually quiet in the residential community of Ñuñoa, with most stores closed and people generally relaxing or doing household chores. But there was a full-blown taco (traffic jam) outside my door when I went to accompany my host parents to the municipal elections. A host brother volunteered to shuttle us in the car, but we quickly realized that the 15 minute walk would be significantly slower driving.
Voting is obligatory in Chile –one of the most significant differences between their system and ours. That is, voting is obligatory for people to make the lifetime decision to register. Registered voters who don’t vote receive a traffic-ticket-like citation, and risk paying a fine of a bout US$30-200 if they don’t have a legitimate excuse. The deterrent has influenced plenty of young people I know from registering, at least thus far.
So although this was the type of local election that in the US might get thirty percent participation, here in Santiago it looked like everyone had been motivated one way or another to come out. Luckily it was a beautiful spring day, and most families didn’t seem to mind the civic duty. Walking to and from the polling place we ran into a couple of neighbors that my family hadn’t seen in a while.
Polling places are segregated by sex, another significant difference between the Chilean system and ours; this regulation goes back to the 1930’s when women first received suffrage. Large signs white signs at the intersections assigned voters to polling place. To divide things even more, polling places are assigned by where voters registered, and not by address: among the four members in my household, no one had the same polling place.
My host parents had polling places close to each other, a pair of high schools alongside the Plaza Ñuñoa. They weren’t sure if a foreigner would be allowed inside. I wasn’t sure why I wouldn’t be, but nonetheless walked quickly by the pair of uniformed –but not armed- soldiers who stood outside the high school. They didn’t seem to be controlling who entered the high school
My father’s polling place was fairly large: about a half dozen classrooms, each with a pair of voting stations. The completely male made me think of a urinals and Boy Scout meeting and Magic the Gathering tournaments. But otherwise it didn’t feel very different. The same long tables, and same private polling booths with blue curtains. The poll workers didn’t look any more tired even though their service –unlike ours- is compulsorily and not paid. Poll workers are assigned randomly from among registered voters every year.
It took about ten minutes for my host father to finish everything. Afterwards there was no “I voted” sticker, but the fingerprint he made in the voting register left him with a blue thumb.
Sundays are usually quiet in the residential community of Ñuñoa, with most stores closed and people generally relaxing or doing household chores. But there was a full-blown taco (traffic jam) outside my door when I went to accompany my host parents to the municipal elections. A host brother volunteered to shuttle us in the car, but we quickly realized that the 15 minute walk would be significantly slower driving.
Voting is obligatory in Chile –one of the most significant differences between their system and ours. That is, voting is obligatory for people to make the lifetime decision to register. Registered voters who don’t vote receive a traffic-ticket-like citation, and risk paying a fine of a bout US$30-200 if they don’t have a legitimate excuse. The deterrent has influenced plenty of young people I know from registering, at least thus far.
So although this was the type of local election that in the US might get thirty percent participation, here in Santiago it looked like everyone had been motivated one way or another to come out. Luckily it was a beautiful spring day, and most families didn’t seem to mind the civic duty. Walking to and from the polling place we ran into a couple of neighbors that my family hadn’t seen in a while.
Polling places are segregated by sex, another significant difference between the Chilean system and ours; this regulation goes back to the 1930’s when women first received suffrage. Large signs white signs at the intersections assigned voters to polling place. To divide things even more, polling places are assigned by where voters registered, and not by address: among the four members in my household, no one had the same polling place.
My host parents had polling places close to each other, a pair of high schools alongside the Plaza Ñuñoa. They weren’t sure if a foreigner would be allowed inside. I wasn’t sure why I wouldn’t be, but nonetheless walked quickly by the pair of uniformed –but not armed- soldiers who stood outside the high school. They didn’t seem to be controlling who entered the high school
My father’s polling place was fairly large: about a half dozen classrooms, each with a pair of voting stations. The completely male made me think of a urinals and Boy Scout meeting and Magic the Gathering tournaments. But otherwise it didn’t feel very different. The same long tables, and same private polling booths with blue curtains. The poll workers didn’t look any more tired even though their service –unlike ours- is compulsorily and not paid. Poll workers are assigned randomly from among registered voters every year.
It took about ten minutes for my host father to finish everything. Afterwards there was no “I voted” sticker, but the fingerprint he made in the voting register left him with a blue thumb.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
New Flickr Photos
Okay, yes I have been bad about blogging, I am sorry. I have a lot of draft blogs that are piling up and I need to sit down and finish them. Don't worry they will be coming soon. In the mean time, I have new pictures that are being downloaded on to the flickr site. Again, you can access these pictures from this link or from the slideshow on the right section of the blog, or the link that says "flickr" on the right side of the blog.
Have a great week!
Have a great week!
Trekking El Morado National Monument
Well, I did it! I bought a new tent here in Chile. It is a backpacking tent that is about 5.5 pounds and can be put up in just about 5-10 minutes. It hold two people. It was a pretty exciting purchase!
So, when one makes a purchase such as this one, what does it mean. Well, you have to go backpacking of course. That is exactly what me and Will Lessard (from Virginia) did this past weekend.
We did our planning on Friday and then went to the grocery store to buy our food. We bought stuff to make sandwiches and of course lots of snacks. After the store, I got into contact with Amy who earlier had called me asking if I wanted to go to a movie and get pizza with her. I thought this was a great idea. We ended up going to a movie called La Buena Vida.
It was a fantastic movie and most importantly it was the first all Spanish movie that I understood really, really well (which is very exciting). The movie basically goes with the premise that we are all much more interconnected then we think we are. It is a Chilean movie. I learned that Chilean films are subsidized by the government because otherwise the movies wouldn't be competitive here or in other places in the world. While this at first was strange to me, I think the truth is there could be better movies because of the subsidies. Instead of having just lots of sex, drugs, violence, and other stuff in movies, they can really attack important issues of the day.
After the movie Amy and I went to Pizza Hut (yeah not very Chilean) and ate pizza there that was SO good. I have missed pizza a lot since coming here. I have tried to fill the whole with empanadas, but the truth is, it just isn't the same.
After dinner and a long discussion of politics, I returned back to my apartment to pack for the big camping trip! I stayed up until almost 1:30 packing my stuff in my backpack for the trip, which made for a very short night.
The next morning I got and took a shower and headed out to the bus station where we would take a bus to Banos Morales in the mountains and Maipo Canyon region. We got there in time to buy our ticket and throw our bags in the back of the bus. Later we got on the bus and started our long (almost 3 hour) ride up to the little town. When we got there we walked up to the entrance to the El Morado National Monument and there was a big sign that read "No Camping in the Park unless you are climbing a mountain". So we didn't know what we were going to do. Normally, we would have just camped anyways, but to enter this park you have to pay an entrance fee and also explain your plan to the park ranger. We decided to try and convince the guy that we were going to do some practice mountain climbing. That didn't work he asked to see our gear. So we told him that we didn't have the required gear, so he told us we could only spend the day in the park. We paid the fee and started trekking in. The mountain "El Morado" was really cool looking. There are also glaciers in the national park, but we didn't get far enough to see them. We did get to spend some time hiking in the snow though and it was quite a bit of fun.
After a good hike in the park, we went back to the little hut with the park ranger to tell him we were out of the park. He informed us that we could either pay to pitch our tent in the little town or if we walked farther up the road we could find a place to pitch our tent for free. After paying for the tent, free sounded best to me. We walked up the road a little ways and found a decent place to pitch our tent. We got the tent put up (for the first time) and put all our stuff in. After that we ate our dinner we packed and after that we spent most of our time just chilling and going to bed. There ended up being a beautiful sunset that was projected on the mountains. We got some pretty good pictures of it. It had been a lot of hiking. We did play 20 questions for awhile until I lost so many times that I felt embarrassed. So, then I just went to bed.
The night was pretty cold and there was wind. Will had a HUGE sleeping bag that he said he sweat in all night. It is made for up to -40 degrees F. His sleeping bag cost 300 dollars, mine was 40 dollars from target. So, I got a little cold in the night.
In the morning we woke up, climbed a rock to eat breakfast and look at the mountains. It was pretty neat. Then we packed everything up and then started out for our trek. We trekked farther into the national park from the backside. We ended up turning back so that we could reach the little town for our bus ride back. There is only one bus up in the morning and one bus back in the evening, so if you miss it (especially on sunday) you are screwed. The bus only goes up to the banos morales on saturday and sunday.
We got back to the little town and it was time for lunch. We chilled in the town and met a cool kid who came up to the area to trek as well. He was from Tufts University in Boston. We talked about stuff with him. He was on a mountaineering group at Tufts and he, like Will, had come to Chile mainly for the access to the mountains.
The bus finally came, and taking the advice of a local, we got off sooner then we were expecting allowing us to take a closer and faster metro home.
Overall, the weekend was very successful. The tent worked well and I had a great time exploring some of the natural beauty Chile had to offer.
So, when one makes a purchase such as this one, what does it mean. Well, you have to go backpacking of course. That is exactly what me and Will Lessard (from Virginia) did this past weekend.
We did our planning on Friday and then went to the grocery store to buy our food. We bought stuff to make sandwiches and of course lots of snacks. After the store, I got into contact with Amy who earlier had called me asking if I wanted to go to a movie and get pizza with her. I thought this was a great idea. We ended up going to a movie called La Buena Vida.
It was a fantastic movie and most importantly it was the first all Spanish movie that I understood really, really well (which is very exciting). The movie basically goes with the premise that we are all much more interconnected then we think we are. It is a Chilean movie. I learned that Chilean films are subsidized by the government because otherwise the movies wouldn't be competitive here or in other places in the world. While this at first was strange to me, I think the truth is there could be better movies because of the subsidies. Instead of having just lots of sex, drugs, violence, and other stuff in movies, they can really attack important issues of the day.
After the movie Amy and I went to Pizza Hut (yeah not very Chilean) and ate pizza there that was SO good. I have missed pizza a lot since coming here. I have tried to fill the whole with empanadas, but the truth is, it just isn't the same.
After dinner and a long discussion of politics, I returned back to my apartment to pack for the big camping trip! I stayed up until almost 1:30 packing my stuff in my backpack for the trip, which made for a very short night.
The next morning I got and took a shower and headed out to the bus station where we would take a bus to Banos Morales in the mountains and Maipo Canyon region. We got there in time to buy our ticket and throw our bags in the back of the bus. Later we got on the bus and started our long (almost 3 hour) ride up to the little town. When we got there we walked up to the entrance to the El Morado National Monument and there was a big sign that read "No Camping in the Park unless you are climbing a mountain". So we didn't know what we were going to do. Normally, we would have just camped anyways, but to enter this park you have to pay an entrance fee and also explain your plan to the park ranger. We decided to try and convince the guy that we were going to do some practice mountain climbing. That didn't work he asked to see our gear. So we told him that we didn't have the required gear, so he told us we could only spend the day in the park. We paid the fee and started trekking in. The mountain "El Morado" was really cool looking. There are also glaciers in the national park, but we didn't get far enough to see them. We did get to spend some time hiking in the snow though and it was quite a bit of fun.
After a good hike in the park, we went back to the little hut with the park ranger to tell him we were out of the park. He informed us that we could either pay to pitch our tent in the little town or if we walked farther up the road we could find a place to pitch our tent for free. After paying for the tent, free sounded best to me. We walked up the road a little ways and found a decent place to pitch our tent. We got the tent put up (for the first time) and put all our stuff in. After that we ate our dinner we packed and after that we spent most of our time just chilling and going to bed. There ended up being a beautiful sunset that was projected on the mountains. We got some pretty good pictures of it. It had been a lot of hiking. We did play 20 questions for awhile until I lost so many times that I felt embarrassed. So, then I just went to bed.
The night was pretty cold and there was wind. Will had a HUGE sleeping bag that he said he sweat in all night. It is made for up to -40 degrees F. His sleeping bag cost 300 dollars, mine was 40 dollars from target. So, I got a little cold in the night.
In the morning we woke up, climbed a rock to eat breakfast and look at the mountains. It was pretty neat. Then we packed everything up and then started out for our trek. We trekked farther into the national park from the backside. We ended up turning back so that we could reach the little town for our bus ride back. There is only one bus up in the morning and one bus back in the evening, so if you miss it (especially on sunday) you are screwed. The bus only goes up to the banos morales on saturday and sunday.
We got back to the little town and it was time for lunch. We chilled in the town and met a cool kid who came up to the area to trek as well. He was from Tufts University in Boston. We talked about stuff with him. He was on a mountaineering group at Tufts and he, like Will, had come to Chile mainly for the access to the mountains.
The bus finally came, and taking the advice of a local, we got off sooner then we were expecting allowing us to take a closer and faster metro home.
Overall, the weekend was very successful. The tent worked well and I had a great time exploring some of the natural beauty Chile had to offer.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Back to Chile
We woke up at the hostel and all got ready for our long trip (during the day time) back to Santiago, Chile. After getting ready we sat down to eat breakfast and called our cab. After we got done with breakfast the cab came and we went to the bus terminal.
The bus terminal was quiet (as we all were since this weekend had exhausted us). We waited to get on the bus, got on the bus, and Emma fell asleep. I almost did a couple times as well. We purposely took the day time bus because the trip over the Andes Mountains is supposedly marvelous. I can be honest, it was. Leaving the Argentine highlands and going up and up into the mountains only to reach the border (where the same border crossing procedure as before went down). After the border you descend from the snow covered mountains into different ecosystems until finally reaching the central valley of Chile and Santiago. It really was a beautiful ride. Well worth the time we missed hanging out in either city. I highly recommend the trip to people in the region.
It is really odd how when you are abroad (especially a semester abroad) you really get to feel like there is a place you call home or "home away from home". Smog filled Santiago is that to me. When you can look out and see the apartment buildings, the foothills and Andes in the distance. There is something that every time I return makes me feel like I am at home.
The bus terminal was quiet (as we all were since this weekend had exhausted us). We waited to get on the bus, got on the bus, and Emma fell asleep. I almost did a couple times as well. We purposely took the day time bus because the trip over the Andes Mountains is supposedly marvelous. I can be honest, it was. Leaving the Argentine highlands and going up and up into the mountains only to reach the border (where the same border crossing procedure as before went down). After the border you descend from the snow covered mountains into different ecosystems until finally reaching the central valley of Chile and Santiago. It really was a beautiful ride. Well worth the time we missed hanging out in either city. I highly recommend the trip to people in the region.
It is really odd how when you are abroad (especially a semester abroad) you really get to feel like there is a place you call home or "home away from home". Smog filled Santiago is that to me. When you can look out and see the apartment buildings, the foothills and Andes in the distance. There is something that every time I return makes me feel like I am at home.
Mendoza Day 2
We had very good sleep because we were all so exhausted from the past day and a half. We had to get up though so we could get ready for our rafting and 'canopy' excursion. We all took showers and got ready to go. The bus picked us up from our hostel and we drove out to a little outpost on the Mendoza River. There we waited until our group got assembled. We were issued wet suits, helmets, life jackets, and paddles. After this we all had to go down to the boat house and get a tutorial on rafting.
After the tutorial we all got into the van that was going to take us up the river to the part where we would embark from. When we got to the place we got situated in our raft we were off. Rafting was such a neat experience. Sometimes it was relaxing and sometimes it was very exciting. Every few minutes it was different. The water was very, very cold because all of the rivers in Chile and Argentina (well the majority in Argentina) are from ice melt off in the mountains. Thus the water is literally cold as ice!The wet suits really do help you though from becoming too cold in the water. After the expedition we got off on the side of the river and we loaded the boats for our return trip to the area owned by the rafting company.
When we got back some of the groups loaded up to go home (their program was only half a day). We got to stick around because we had a canopy expedition before in the afternoon. The rafting company offered a well portioned lunch for about $10.00. so Emma, Devon and I for lunch ate and chilled out. It was a pretty great lunch just sitting by the river in the sun. Especially after being in the cold water of the Mendoza River the sun felt really nice on my cold body.
After lunch we got fitted for our canopy harness. Canopy is where you wear a belt feeling thing that has a little circular thing on it where you can latch on to a steel cable that is stretched between two areas (for example a Canopy in the rain forest) or over a valley or river (in our case). You thus are hanging from this little harness and you have your hand on the steel cable. The circular item allows you to quite literally fly through the air on this steel cable from one side of the valley to the other. There were about 7 steel cable stretches that we could ride. The guide told us that some of us could go upside down if we were connected to him. Emma, Devon, and I all got picked to try it. I got to go upside down while crossing the largest stretch across the river. It was quite the experience. In general the canopy was one of my favorite things I have done in South America. It was such a free feeling just hanging on to the steel cable.
The pictures from both of these excursions ended up being very great. I bought a cd with both excursions on it with slideshows and everything. I can't wait to show you guys when I get home.
After the canopy activity we got in the van to go back to Mendoza and our hostel. While on this excursion we met some people who recommended a place to eat for dinner, so when we got back to the hostel we made reservations at this place for dinner.
Food in Argentina is so good and so cheap. We arrived at the restaurant and we immediately felt a little out of place. Most people there were dressed up and we were mostly just in our regular clothes. I was wearing my St. Thomas hooded sweatshirt. ;) Classy... I know. We sat down and got the menu given to us. We looked over the menu for a few minutes and soon the head Chef came over to our table to ask us if we had any questions. We felt pretty special. After we made our decision the waiter came over to take our order. We ordered and then after about 5 minutes the "wine expert" came over and asked us if we wanted to order our wine for our meal. We all said yes and he asked us what we ordered. He then recommended the wine that would best go with our pre-ordered meal. After we decided what wine we wanted he came and served us the wine. After going to the wineries the day before we all knew the correct way to test the wine. Soon after the meal came out and honestly, it was one of the best looking meals in my life. I got a steak wrapped in Prichutto. It was so good. I paid $25 dollars for a huge plate of food and a glass of wine at this restaurant. Definitely a good recommendation.
After dinner we walked around the city a little bit more and grabbed ice cream again for dessert, before heading back to the hostel.
After the tutorial we all got into the van that was going to take us up the river to the part where we would embark from. When we got to the place we got situated in our raft we were off. Rafting was such a neat experience. Sometimes it was relaxing and sometimes it was very exciting. Every few minutes it was different. The water was very, very cold because all of the rivers in Chile and Argentina (well the majority in Argentina) are from ice melt off in the mountains. Thus the water is literally cold as ice!The wet suits really do help you though from becoming too cold in the water. After the expedition we got off on the side of the river and we loaded the boats for our return trip to the area owned by the rafting company.
When we got back some of the groups loaded up to go home (their program was only half a day). We got to stick around because we had a canopy expedition before in the afternoon. The rafting company offered a well portioned lunch for about $10.00. so Emma, Devon and I for lunch ate and chilled out. It was a pretty great lunch just sitting by the river in the sun. Especially after being in the cold water of the Mendoza River the sun felt really nice on my cold body.
After lunch we got fitted for our canopy harness. Canopy is where you wear a belt feeling thing that has a little circular thing on it where you can latch on to a steel cable that is stretched between two areas (for example a Canopy in the rain forest) or over a valley or river (in our case). You thus are hanging from this little harness and you have your hand on the steel cable. The circular item allows you to quite literally fly through the air on this steel cable from one side of the valley to the other. There were about 7 steel cable stretches that we could ride. The guide told us that some of us could go upside down if we were connected to him. Emma, Devon, and I all got picked to try it. I got to go upside down while crossing the largest stretch across the river. It was quite the experience. In general the canopy was one of my favorite things I have done in South America. It was such a free feeling just hanging on to the steel cable.
The pictures from both of these excursions ended up being very great. I bought a cd with both excursions on it with slideshows and everything. I can't wait to show you guys when I get home.
After the canopy activity we got in the van to go back to Mendoza and our hostel. While on this excursion we met some people who recommended a place to eat for dinner, so when we got back to the hostel we made reservations at this place for dinner.
Food in Argentina is so good and so cheap. We arrived at the restaurant and we immediately felt a little out of place. Most people there were dressed up and we were mostly just in our regular clothes. I was wearing my St. Thomas hooded sweatshirt. ;) Classy... I know. We sat down and got the menu given to us. We looked over the menu for a few minutes and soon the head Chef came over to our table to ask us if we had any questions. We felt pretty special. After we made our decision the waiter came over to take our order. We ordered and then after about 5 minutes the "wine expert" came over and asked us if we wanted to order our wine for our meal. We all said yes and he asked us what we ordered. He then recommended the wine that would best go with our pre-ordered meal. After we decided what wine we wanted he came and served us the wine. After going to the wineries the day before we all knew the correct way to test the wine. Soon after the meal came out and honestly, it was one of the best looking meals in my life. I got a steak wrapped in Prichutto. It was so good. I paid $25 dollars for a huge plate of food and a glass of wine at this restaurant. Definitely a good recommendation.
After dinner we walked around the city a little bit more and grabbed ice cream again for dessert, before heading back to the hostel.
Mendoza Day 1
This trip to Mendoza, Argentina started with a great Vice Presidential Debate between Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware and Gov. Sarah Palin from Alaska. Like all the rest of the debates the group of students from IFSA got together at the apartment of our program director. We had some wine and watched the debate. I was very impressed by the quality of the debate, especially considering the first debate was really not impressive.
I had to leave the debate early because our bus to Argentina left in the evening. I went to the bus station and waited for my two friends who were going with me Emma Espel (who goes to Gustavus College in Minnesota and lives in Fargo N. Dakota) and Devon Pratt (who goes to Northwestern University in Chicago and lives in California). We got on the bus that was going to take us up over the mountains and across the border to Argentina.
It was long before we all were sleeping on the bus only to be woken up when we reached the border. We all had to get out with our passports and other identification materials. There was quite a difference when we got off the bus though... it was very, very cold! If you know anything about the geography of South America or Chile you will know that the Andes Mountains lie between the two countries. That makes this border crossing one of the highest border crossings in the world. Thus with this increase in elevation you get to experience what feels like winter again (snow and everything). We stood in line to get our passport stamped with an exit stamp from Chile and then literally walked 4 steps to get our passport stamped again by the Argentinian official. The Argentinian passport stamp is unimpressive and quite dull (especially considering the Chilean stamp is very neat). I will have to show people all of the cool stamps I have when I get home.
After waiting for what seemed like forever our bus moved ahead about 25 feet (with us on it). Thinking we were going to keep going to Mendoza, we were surprised to learn that we all had to get off again now to have our hand baggage searched. What confused me more then anything was that they didn't check the luggage that was under the bus. So... if you want to bring anything illegally over the border (which I don't recommend) I would try that method.
After the search process we finally could get back on the bus and go to sleep, however little we would get that night.
We arrived in the morning in Mendoza and we were all droggy from the little sleep we did get. After getting our location figured out we started our "trek" to the hostel. We had booked it the afternoon before online. After getting lost a few times and trying multiple ATMs to get money out for a taxi, we finally found our hostel. The hostel was very, very nice. It was called Lugares and it had a great (typical) South American breakfast and very nice facilities. We talked with the owners of the hostel to see what exactly we should do with our time in Mendoza. After consulting the owner and discussing among ourselves we decided to tour the vineyard areas of Mendoza on bicycles with the company Wines and Bikes. It sounds like a very bad combination and I guess it could be. We also made reservations for a rafting and "canopy" excursion the next day.
The ride for wines and bikes arrived at our hostel an hour or so later and took us on our journey to the beginning of our bike tour. None of us had money so we asked if the driver could take us to an ATM. He wasn't happy but took us anyways. We were very happy that he did because without money our tour would have been a flop. We got to the bikes and wines place which looked like a little shack in the middle of no where. We tested out the bikes and we each picked the bike we thought was best. Then we were off.
We visited a number of wineries, a chocolate store, museums. During our tour we kept running into a young 'lad' from the United Kingdom. His name was Gary Kite. We ended up just hanging out with him for the tour because we were on the trail together. We stopped at a great place for lunch. This place was absolutely wonderful. It was a small Victorian looking home in the middle of the vineyards. The owners of the place were originally from Canada before moving to Argentina. They fixed up this historic house and now ran it as a restaurant. The food was reasonably priced ($10.00 for a good portioned plate) and the service was great. We of course got wine with our meal.
After lunch we kept up with visiting more wineries. Finally, we got to a point where we needed to start heading back to the little shack that rented the bikes to us. So we pedaled our way back to the little store. Our taxi showed up soon after we did to take us back to the hostel.
When we got back to the hostel, I started not feeling very well. I have no idea what it ended up being, but it was my stomach more then anything. I think it might have been the wine I drank all day. I wasn't drunk, I think my body just didn't like all of the different wines that I had put into my system. Even though I wasn't feeling very well, we walked across the city checking out all the little plazas and areas the city has to get to the restaurant we wanted to eat at.
The Lonely Planet book recommended this great pasta place where you choose the type of pasta you like and the sauce. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of options. Because I wasn't feeling very good, it wasn't the best meal I have every had, but I think if I went there again, I would really enjoy it. After riding the bikes all day and getting insufficient sleep the night before we all were tired. We headed back to the hostel (getting ice cream first) and crashed.
In general the first day in Mendoza was great. The wine was spectacular and I had a wonderful time just biking around the vineyards. It felt like a very classic central Argentine experience. If I would have had more time and money I would go back to Mendoza because in general the exchange rate in Argentina is better then in Chile and it was just so much fun. If you make a trip to South America definitely spend a few days there. I spent two there and it wasn't enough, I think 4 would give it more justice.
I had to leave the debate early because our bus to Argentina left in the evening. I went to the bus station and waited for my two friends who were going with me Emma Espel (who goes to Gustavus College in Minnesota and lives in Fargo N. Dakota) and Devon Pratt (who goes to Northwestern University in Chicago and lives in California). We got on the bus that was going to take us up over the mountains and across the border to Argentina.
It was long before we all were sleeping on the bus only to be woken up when we reached the border. We all had to get out with our passports and other identification materials. There was quite a difference when we got off the bus though... it was very, very cold! If you know anything about the geography of South America or Chile you will know that the Andes Mountains lie between the two countries. That makes this border crossing one of the highest border crossings in the world. Thus with this increase in elevation you get to experience what feels like winter again (snow and everything). We stood in line to get our passport stamped with an exit stamp from Chile and then literally walked 4 steps to get our passport stamped again by the Argentinian official. The Argentinian passport stamp is unimpressive and quite dull (especially considering the Chilean stamp is very neat). I will have to show people all of the cool stamps I have when I get home.
After waiting for what seemed like forever our bus moved ahead about 25 feet (with us on it). Thinking we were going to keep going to Mendoza, we were surprised to learn that we all had to get off again now to have our hand baggage searched. What confused me more then anything was that they didn't check the luggage that was under the bus. So... if you want to bring anything illegally over the border (which I don't recommend) I would try that method.
After the search process we finally could get back on the bus and go to sleep, however little we would get that night.
We arrived in the morning in Mendoza and we were all droggy from the little sleep we did get. After getting our location figured out we started our "trek" to the hostel. We had booked it the afternoon before online. After getting lost a few times and trying multiple ATMs to get money out for a taxi, we finally found our hostel. The hostel was very, very nice. It was called Lugares and it had a great (typical) South American breakfast and very nice facilities. We talked with the owners of the hostel to see what exactly we should do with our time in Mendoza. After consulting the owner and discussing among ourselves we decided to tour the vineyard areas of Mendoza on bicycles with the company Wines and Bikes. It sounds like a very bad combination and I guess it could be. We also made reservations for a rafting and "canopy" excursion the next day.
The ride for wines and bikes arrived at our hostel an hour or so later and took us on our journey to the beginning of our bike tour. None of us had money so we asked if the driver could take us to an ATM. He wasn't happy but took us anyways. We were very happy that he did because without money our tour would have been a flop. We got to the bikes and wines place which looked like a little shack in the middle of no where. We tested out the bikes and we each picked the bike we thought was best. Then we were off.
We visited a number of wineries, a chocolate store, museums. During our tour we kept running into a young 'lad' from the United Kingdom. His name was Gary Kite. We ended up just hanging out with him for the tour because we were on the trail together. We stopped at a great place for lunch. This place was absolutely wonderful. It was a small Victorian looking home in the middle of the vineyards. The owners of the place were originally from Canada before moving to Argentina. They fixed up this historic house and now ran it as a restaurant. The food was reasonably priced ($10.00 for a good portioned plate) and the service was great. We of course got wine with our meal.
After lunch we kept up with visiting more wineries. Finally, we got to a point where we needed to start heading back to the little shack that rented the bikes to us. So we pedaled our way back to the little store. Our taxi showed up soon after we did to take us back to the hostel.
When we got back to the hostel, I started not feeling very well. I have no idea what it ended up being, but it was my stomach more then anything. I think it might have been the wine I drank all day. I wasn't drunk, I think my body just didn't like all of the different wines that I had put into my system. Even though I wasn't feeling very well, we walked across the city checking out all the little plazas and areas the city has to get to the restaurant we wanted to eat at.
The Lonely Planet book recommended this great pasta place where you choose the type of pasta you like and the sauce. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of options. Because I wasn't feeling very good, it wasn't the best meal I have every had, but I think if I went there again, I would really enjoy it. After riding the bikes all day and getting insufficient sleep the night before we all were tired. We headed back to the hostel (getting ice cream first) and crashed.
In general the first day in Mendoza was great. The wine was spectacular and I had a wonderful time just biking around the vineyards. It felt like a very classic central Argentine experience. If I would have had more time and money I would go back to Mendoza because in general the exchange rate in Argentina is better then in Chile and it was just so much fun. If you make a trip to South America definitely spend a few days there. I spent two there and it wasn't enough, I think 4 would give it more justice.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Isla Negra and Valparaiso
Like I have probably said before the program that I am with... Institute for Study Abroad through Butler University, a few times in the semester does little day trips to different areas around Santiago in the hopes of helping us learn more about the culture and the country. On this Saturday in November the IFSA program put together a trip to two towns on the coast of Chile, Isla Negra (Black Island) and Valparaiso. Just to clear up any confusion that might already be starting Isla Negra is not actually an Island and to be totally honest it isn't even close to a real Island. I have no idea how it got its name, but I was a little disappointed when I figured this out, so I didn't want to get your hopes up as well.
In my blog about Valle de Elqui, I talked about Gabriela Mistral, the first Chilean to receive a Nobel Prize (literature - 1945). Well, if Gabriela Mistral was the first and not the only, there must be another Chilean Nobel Laureate huh? You are correct. Pablo Neruda, definitely the most famous Chilean author, was the second and final Chilean to receive a Nobel Prize again in Literature (1971). Neruda's poetry is beloved all around this country. My new host mother loves Neruda and has two books that comprise most of his works. Neruda, like most of the poets in Chile was from the left wing of the political perspective. Besides being a well known poet he also worked as a Chilean diplomat and politician. He was a member of the Chilean Communist party. He died shortly after the Chilean coup in 1973.
Isla Negra is famous because it was host to Neruda's beach home which has now been converted into a museum. Neruda had many odd collections in his life and this house has many of the collections preserved and on display. Photos of Isla Negra should be on Flickr if you look.
My criticism of Pablo Neruda is that he didn't practice what he preached. Most communists/socialists try to live simple lives because they believe that wealth should be shared. Well, Neruda had three homes in Chile... one in Santiago, one in Isla Negra, and one in Valapariso. It seems a little extravagant to me especially for a poet. More over these homes had no real practical purpose. It is not like he had to have a Valapariso home or the Isla Negra home. I feel it is different when people have properties because they spend considerable time at each place. For example if a US Senator has a home in his home state as well as a home in Washington DC, because he/she spends a lot of time working in Washington.
After we visited Isla Negra, we visited Valapariso a port city that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We took a tour of the city and learned about its history. The city is quite remarkable really. It is placed on a hill thus everyone lives farther up the hill and works at the lower part of the city. This meant that it was hard to walk up and down the hills every day (especially since Chileans go home for lunch and return to work in the afternoon). Since this was a difficulty Funiculars and Elevators were built around the city. In most places a ride on one of these funiculars costs about 100 pesos or about 25 cents. It is probably one of the main reasons Valapariso was accepted as a world heritage site. They are quite unique.
The city is also very colorful. If you look on the side of the hill, it seems like every house is a different shade of a bright color. This is because historically, the seamen who lived in the city would paint their house a bright color so that when they were out on the boat they could pick it out on the hill side. On the right side of the blog there is a link to the wikipedia site about Valapariso. I hope you check it out because you could see pictures and learn more about the city.
The tour was very nice and that evening we returned to Santiago. I was wore out by all of the traveling, so I ate dinner and went to bed.
It is a little funny because all of my blogs end with me going to bed. The truth is I don't go out that much in Santiago A.) because it is expensive and I would rather spend my money on other things and B.) I just get tired from the days here. It seems like it is so much more work because unlike UST, you have to take public transportation or walk all over the city to get to your classes or really to do anything. This wears a person out!! =)
In my blog about Valle de Elqui, I talked about Gabriela Mistral, the first Chilean to receive a Nobel Prize (literature - 1945). Well, if Gabriela Mistral was the first and not the only, there must be another Chilean Nobel Laureate huh? You are correct. Pablo Neruda, definitely the most famous Chilean author, was the second and final Chilean to receive a Nobel Prize again in Literature (1971). Neruda's poetry is beloved all around this country. My new host mother loves Neruda and has two books that comprise most of his works. Neruda, like most of the poets in Chile was from the left wing of the political perspective. Besides being a well known poet he also worked as a Chilean diplomat and politician. He was a member of the Chilean Communist party. He died shortly after the Chilean coup in 1973.
Isla Negra is famous because it was host to Neruda's beach home which has now been converted into a museum. Neruda had many odd collections in his life and this house has many of the collections preserved and on display. Photos of Isla Negra should be on Flickr if you look.
My criticism of Pablo Neruda is that he didn't practice what he preached. Most communists/socialists try to live simple lives because they believe that wealth should be shared. Well, Neruda had three homes in Chile... one in Santiago, one in Isla Negra, and one in Valapariso. It seems a little extravagant to me especially for a poet. More over these homes had no real practical purpose. It is not like he had to have a Valapariso home or the Isla Negra home. I feel it is different when people have properties because they spend considerable time at each place. For example if a US Senator has a home in his home state as well as a home in Washington DC, because he/she spends a lot of time working in Washington.
After we visited Isla Negra, we visited Valapariso a port city that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We took a tour of the city and learned about its history. The city is quite remarkable really. It is placed on a hill thus everyone lives farther up the hill and works at the lower part of the city. This meant that it was hard to walk up and down the hills every day (especially since Chileans go home for lunch and return to work in the afternoon). Since this was a difficulty Funiculars and Elevators were built around the city. In most places a ride on one of these funiculars costs about 100 pesos or about 25 cents. It is probably one of the main reasons Valapariso was accepted as a world heritage site. They are quite unique.
The city is also very colorful. If you look on the side of the hill, it seems like every house is a different shade of a bright color. This is because historically, the seamen who lived in the city would paint their house a bright color so that when they were out on the boat they could pick it out on the hill side. On the right side of the blog there is a link to the wikipedia site about Valapariso. I hope you check it out because you could see pictures and learn more about the city.
The tour was very nice and that evening we returned to Santiago. I was wore out by all of the traveling, so I ate dinner and went to bed.
It is a little funny because all of my blogs end with me going to bed. The truth is I don't go out that much in Santiago A.) because it is expensive and I would rather spend my money on other things and B.) I just get tired from the days here. It seems like it is so much more work because unlike UST, you have to take public transportation or walk all over the city to get to your classes or really to do anything. This wears a person out!! =)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Exploring your own surroundings...
Traveling over the past six months and living in Santiago, I have come to the realization that exploring the area that you live in is extremely important. Whether you visit another country or the museum in your local town learning more about the area you live in is something that we all can and should do.
For example if you live in Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society has great places to visit all year round. These places are normally pretty cheap to visit and they are a great way to learn about the history in Minnesota. We have national, state, and regional parks in our state that are beautiful and are often overlooked as a possible travel destination. Who needs to go to Napa Valley in California or the Champagne Region of France to do a wine tour when you can do your own wine tour in the bluffs of southeastern Minnesota? There are so many things that you can do and they can be as long as a week, weekend, or even a day and cost little to nothing.
I have learned during this trip that there are many, many ways to cut costs and increase savings to make travel in the United States or even in other countries more affordable and thus more possible. Some of them include looking into cruises. Often cruises are cheap ways to see the world. Sometimes you can find 4 day cruises for 500 dollars and the awesome thing is that it includes almost everything--- food, entertainment, etc. Another item is travel for longer periods of time and less often.
It would be better to save your vacation and your money and take that one month long dream trip to visit Angor Watt in Cambodia. Often times the most expensive part of your trip is your airfare to the other country. Thus if you can find the time spending less money on one ticket and more time in the other country is a great idea, because you will save money in the long run. The Europeans I have met do this. They take a month or two off and visit Argentina and Chile and really experience the country and the culture. Where as many of the Americans I meet are in Chile for 2 weeks rushing to see everything they can. If you can do it, longer trips less often are definitely the way to go.
Another idea is to look into a Round the World Ticket (RWT). Yeah it sounds like it is for the rich and famous, but often times RWT's are cheaper then flights to one destination and back. Thus, if you have the month for the trip of your dreams you can spend $2,000 on a RWT and spend one week in Sydney, Australia; one week in Beijing, China; and finish your trip up with one week in Rome, Italy before returning home. Instead if you visited these three destinations distinctly, your airfare could cost you more then $6,000!!! That is a considerable savings.
If you want to travel on budget and save a lot of money... I mean a bulk of money--- the best bet is to stay in Hostels. Use websites like www.hostelworld.com to find rooms for as cheap as $5.00 a night (usually in poorer countries and for dorms). However, hostels often times have private rooms as well with private bathrooms. Thus the hostel becomes more like a bed and breakfast. These rooms obviously are more expensive --- sometimes $25.00, but at the same time they can still be considerably cheaper then staying at that Hilton or Best Western.
The main goal I want to make clear in this blog is that exploring your world doesn't have to be hard or expensive, with the proper time and planning, you really can do it on a budget and still have a great time. Even if you don't feel comfortable flying to Africa or Europe for a month, just find things in your hometown or state. I feel like Americans need to get up and get going when it comes to seeing their own country and the world. It doesn't have to be hard and it will be extremely rewarding.
Just be careful as they say you can get the travel bug... or the itch to see more and do more, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing! =)
For example if you live in Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society has great places to visit all year round. These places are normally pretty cheap to visit and they are a great way to learn about the history in Minnesota. We have national, state, and regional parks in our state that are beautiful and are often overlooked as a possible travel destination. Who needs to go to Napa Valley in California or the Champagne Region of France to do a wine tour when you can do your own wine tour in the bluffs of southeastern Minnesota? There are so many things that you can do and they can be as long as a week, weekend, or even a day and cost little to nothing.
I have learned during this trip that there are many, many ways to cut costs and increase savings to make travel in the United States or even in other countries more affordable and thus more possible. Some of them include looking into cruises. Often cruises are cheap ways to see the world. Sometimes you can find 4 day cruises for 500 dollars and the awesome thing is that it includes almost everything--- food, entertainment, etc. Another item is travel for longer periods of time and less often.
It would be better to save your vacation and your money and take that one month long dream trip to visit Angor Watt in Cambodia. Often times the most expensive part of your trip is your airfare to the other country. Thus if you can find the time spending less money on one ticket and more time in the other country is a great idea, because you will save money in the long run. The Europeans I have met do this. They take a month or two off and visit Argentina and Chile and really experience the country and the culture. Where as many of the Americans I meet are in Chile for 2 weeks rushing to see everything they can. If you can do it, longer trips less often are definitely the way to go.
Another idea is to look into a Round the World Ticket (RWT). Yeah it sounds like it is for the rich and famous, but often times RWT's are cheaper then flights to one destination and back. Thus, if you have the month for the trip of your dreams you can spend $2,000 on a RWT and spend one week in Sydney, Australia; one week in Beijing, China; and finish your trip up with one week in Rome, Italy before returning home. Instead if you visited these three destinations distinctly, your airfare could cost you more then $6,000!!! That is a considerable savings.
If you want to travel on budget and save a lot of money... I mean a bulk of money--- the best bet is to stay in Hostels. Use websites like www.hostelworld.com to find rooms for as cheap as $5.00 a night (usually in poorer countries and for dorms). However, hostels often times have private rooms as well with private bathrooms. Thus the hostel becomes more like a bed and breakfast. These rooms obviously are more expensive --- sometimes $25.00, but at the same time they can still be considerably cheaper then staying at that Hilton or Best Western.
The main goal I want to make clear in this blog is that exploring your world doesn't have to be hard or expensive, with the proper time and planning, you really can do it on a budget and still have a great time. Even if you don't feel comfortable flying to Africa or Europe for a month, just find things in your hometown or state. I feel like Americans need to get up and get going when it comes to seeing their own country and the world. It doesn't have to be hard and it will be extremely rewarding.
Just be careful as they say you can get the travel bug... or the itch to see more and do more, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing! =)
Jupiter and the Southern Cross
This blog picks up from the Valle de Elqui blog.
After spending the day touring the valley we were left at Vicunia to hang out for the evening. We were suppose to meet the guide at the Mamalluca Observatory offices in Vicunia. We ended up waiting for a pretty long time, when he all of a sudden showed up. We went to the van with the guide and jumped in the van and were off to the races. Literally, the guide drove the van like we were in the Indy 500 through dirt roads. Every turn it seemed as if there was a road block and thus we had to make a quick turn around the corner to miss certain death. The guide informed us that the town always had construction and thus he never knew exactly the correct direction to the observatory since there were detours. It was an interesting ride to say the least. We finally made it to the observatory and we got out of the van in complete darkness. On the grounds of the observatory there were only a few lights where there were steps, but most of the grounds didn't have steps just ramps so that the use of lights was not needed.
Why would there be an observatory in northern Chile for tourists? Why is northern Chile a hub for astronomy? Well, let me tell you. Northern Chile is one of the most clear places in the world in relation to weather patterns and clouds. If you remember from my earlier posts the Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world, thus, as you can imagine there are only one or two days a year with clouds in northern Chile. Also, the desert climate makes human population difficult, thus there are very few lights that cause light pollution in the area. The only other place in the world with these same geographic details is Namibia in Africa. Namibia is not as stable of a government, thus Chile becomes the most desirable place in the world for observatories.
Both the European Union and the United States have their main telescopes in this northern region of Chile. They continue to plan to make more and bigger telescopes in the region. These plans though were put to a halt a few years ago because light pollution had become quite a problem in northern Chile. Thus the foreign governments, mainly the EU and the US, told Chile that unless they enacted a law that required special night time lights that decrease light pollution they would not build their telescopes in Chile. The Chilean government thus accordingly enacted a law that says that people will be fined if they have any outdoor lights that are not of the special night time lights required. You know these lights because we have them in the US as well. The difference is between the clear white lights that you sometimes see and the orange lights that are the special night time lights. In most of the world people have switched almost fully to the special night time lights --- especially local and regional governments. (I know this because my dad works on projects such as these.) I have also always wanted to know there makes a difference between lamp posts that have globes (like in New Prague) versus lamp posts that direct the light down towards the road. It would seem more likely that the lamp posts that direct the light down towards the ground would preserve more light and thus cause less light pollution. If you know you should tell me.
Anyways, our tour was very, very good. We went between stations observing the absolutely clear night sky. In the main observatory we saw stars in the telescope that were 2,000 light years away. This idea blew me away. This light year idea is so amazing. What it means is that the light you see in the telescope was given off 2,000 years ago and we are just seeing it now because it is that far away. Thus, if you were on that star and looking in a very powerful telescope at earth you would see a reflection of earth that would be during the time of Christ. Crazy huh? I think so. We also saw Jupiter, which is much closer to earth compared to these stars. Another thing I learned and thought was extremely interesting is that the most powerful telescopes in the world (well all the telescopes in the world) will only show you the pictures of planets and stars in black and white because our eyes cannot comprehend or register the colors. Which is also extremely interesting. Thus any pictures you see of planets and stars are doctored images not direct images. The images are what you would see if our eyes could comprehend the colors in the telescope.
At another station we were taught how to observe the night sky and find our direction in the south. Unlike the northern hemisphere the south doesn't have a star that is always in the south. Thus you have to use the southern cross to determine the center of the sky in the south. It is so beyond my understanding that from these points our entire sky pivots. I feel like once you understand this concept it is much easier to understand the position of the sky. We were also shown the zodiac star patterns. It was interesting to learn that you will never see your zodiac on your birthday because it is always hidden and not visible to viewers anywhere in the world. Since we went in September I could just see part of my zodiac symbol, Libra (October), but if I went back to the observatory today, I would not be able to see it. We also were able to see very clearly the milky way galaxy.
At one of these stations there was a group of students that were talking about what they were seeing. It was interesting to overhear what they were saying. (I must admit that they were a little ditzy, so that already affected my perception of them, but what they said made me think a lot.) They said that they found everything very interesting but that since they were Christian they didn't believe that these stars were really around for millions of years because God created the earth only so many years ago--- blah blah blah. You know the debate. It was just totally beyond my imagination that someone could think that these scientists who are really smart are just lying and that they really don't know anything. Then it made me start to question the importance of this idea (years etc.) in my faith and whether I could believe science and still at the same time believe my Christian faith.
I would love to hear other people's perspectives on this. My conclusion has been this so far: We can't possibly understand the creation of the universe and the process that God went through. The Bible is definitely the world of God, but it is not necessarily to be taken literally (7 days), something I know my Lutheran faith doesn't agree with me on. The most important conclusion that I came to is that the most important thing I have to believe is that Jesus Christ came to die for my sins and that through his Grace and my Faith, I am saved. The details of the creation of the universe or whether communion changes into the body and blood or is symbolic or is something else are mere details in my relationship with Christ. Maybe I am off my rocker, but I really need some other perspectives on this.
In any case, this tour has been one of the highlights of my entire trip. It was so fascinating and seeing the stars in this clear night sky was absolutely fantastic. If you ever get the chance to visit Chile or more specifically La Serena, I highly suggest it. If you can't visit Chile there is the Mamalluca Website that looks quite interesting as well.
After the tour we were driven back to La Serena and to our hostels. We were very tired from the long day of touring, so we hit the sack.
After spending the day touring the valley we were left at Vicunia to hang out for the evening. We were suppose to meet the guide at the Mamalluca Observatory offices in Vicunia. We ended up waiting for a pretty long time, when he all of a sudden showed up. We went to the van with the guide and jumped in the van and were off to the races. Literally, the guide drove the van like we were in the Indy 500 through dirt roads. Every turn it seemed as if there was a road block and thus we had to make a quick turn around the corner to miss certain death. The guide informed us that the town always had construction and thus he never knew exactly the correct direction to the observatory since there were detours. It was an interesting ride to say the least. We finally made it to the observatory and we got out of the van in complete darkness. On the grounds of the observatory there were only a few lights where there were steps, but most of the grounds didn't have steps just ramps so that the use of lights was not needed.
Why would there be an observatory in northern Chile for tourists? Why is northern Chile a hub for astronomy? Well, let me tell you. Northern Chile is one of the most clear places in the world in relation to weather patterns and clouds. If you remember from my earlier posts the Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world, thus, as you can imagine there are only one or two days a year with clouds in northern Chile. Also, the desert climate makes human population difficult, thus there are very few lights that cause light pollution in the area. The only other place in the world with these same geographic details is Namibia in Africa. Namibia is not as stable of a government, thus Chile becomes the most desirable place in the world for observatories.
Both the European Union and the United States have their main telescopes in this northern region of Chile. They continue to plan to make more and bigger telescopes in the region. These plans though were put to a halt a few years ago because light pollution had become quite a problem in northern Chile. Thus the foreign governments, mainly the EU and the US, told Chile that unless they enacted a law that required special night time lights that decrease light pollution they would not build their telescopes in Chile. The Chilean government thus accordingly enacted a law that says that people will be fined if they have any outdoor lights that are not of the special night time lights required. You know these lights because we have them in the US as well. The difference is between the clear white lights that you sometimes see and the orange lights that are the special night time lights. In most of the world people have switched almost fully to the special night time lights --- especially local and regional governments. (I know this because my dad works on projects such as these.) I have also always wanted to know there makes a difference between lamp posts that have globes (like in New Prague) versus lamp posts that direct the light down towards the road. It would seem more likely that the lamp posts that direct the light down towards the ground would preserve more light and thus cause less light pollution. If you know you should tell me.
Anyways, our tour was very, very good. We went between stations observing the absolutely clear night sky. In the main observatory we saw stars in the telescope that were 2,000 light years away. This idea blew me away. This light year idea is so amazing. What it means is that the light you see in the telescope was given off 2,000 years ago and we are just seeing it now because it is that far away. Thus, if you were on that star and looking in a very powerful telescope at earth you would see a reflection of earth that would be during the time of Christ. Crazy huh? I think so. We also saw Jupiter, which is much closer to earth compared to these stars. Another thing I learned and thought was extremely interesting is that the most powerful telescopes in the world (well all the telescopes in the world) will only show you the pictures of planets and stars in black and white because our eyes cannot comprehend or register the colors. Which is also extremely interesting. Thus any pictures you see of planets and stars are doctored images not direct images. The images are what you would see if our eyes could comprehend the colors in the telescope.
At another station we were taught how to observe the night sky and find our direction in the south. Unlike the northern hemisphere the south doesn't have a star that is always in the south. Thus you have to use the southern cross to determine the center of the sky in the south. It is so beyond my understanding that from these points our entire sky pivots. I feel like once you understand this concept it is much easier to understand the position of the sky. We were also shown the zodiac star patterns. It was interesting to learn that you will never see your zodiac on your birthday because it is always hidden and not visible to viewers anywhere in the world. Since we went in September I could just see part of my zodiac symbol, Libra (October), but if I went back to the observatory today, I would not be able to see it. We also were able to see very clearly the milky way galaxy.
At one of these stations there was a group of students that were talking about what they were seeing. It was interesting to overhear what they were saying. (I must admit that they were a little ditzy, so that already affected my perception of them, but what they said made me think a lot.) They said that they found everything very interesting but that since they were Christian they didn't believe that these stars were really around for millions of years because God created the earth only so many years ago--- blah blah blah. You know the debate. It was just totally beyond my imagination that someone could think that these scientists who are really smart are just lying and that they really don't know anything. Then it made me start to question the importance of this idea (years etc.) in my faith and whether I could believe science and still at the same time believe my Christian faith.
I would love to hear other people's perspectives on this. My conclusion has been this so far: We can't possibly understand the creation of the universe and the process that God went through. The Bible is definitely the world of God, but it is not necessarily to be taken literally (7 days), something I know my Lutheran faith doesn't agree with me on. The most important conclusion that I came to is that the most important thing I have to believe is that Jesus Christ came to die for my sins and that through his Grace and my Faith, I am saved. The details of the creation of the universe or whether communion changes into the body and blood or is symbolic or is something else are mere details in my relationship with Christ. Maybe I am off my rocker, but I really need some other perspectives on this.
In any case, this tour has been one of the highlights of my entire trip. It was so fascinating and seeing the stars in this clear night sky was absolutely fantastic. If you ever get the chance to visit Chile or more specifically La Serena, I highly suggest it. If you can't visit Chile there is the Mamalluca Website that looks quite interesting as well.
After the tour we were driven back to La Serena and to our hostels. We were very tired from the long day of touring, so we hit the sack.
Valle de Elqui
La Serena is a historical city in Chile, but most people go to La Serena because it is the front door to the Valle de Elqui a absolutely beautiful valley formed by the Elqui River. This valley is a prime place for growing grapes because of the winds and perfect light conditions.
We signed up for a Valle tour our first day in La Serena because we knew that is was a must on our visit list. We were picked up by our tour guide in a large van early in the morning from our hostel. After a short introduction to the tour and the local area we were off to the valley. During the tour we stopped a number of different places including a farm for the fruit chirimoya. If you click on the link it will take you to the wikipedia site for the fruit so you can see a picture and learn more about it. It is a very popular fruit in Chile, and I don't believe that there is an equivalent in the United States.
After the chirimoya farm we went to quite a few little towns in the valley which were all quite quaint. Most of them had a church that was very nice looking and of course good views of the Elqui River.
We also visited a dam that was built on the river. it regulates the water in times of floods and provides and excellent source of electricity. At the dam there was a very neat sculpture that had been designed as a gift to the Chilean people. It was a sculpture that had strings tied across it and as the wind blew through the valley and over the dam, the wind would vibrate the strings which were tuned to make a very harmonious sound. It was a really unique item. The dam had a side section that served as an emergency route when high water approached the top of the dam. In this section you could see very large fish swimming. Many people find dams like this to be horrible for the environment and I am sure that they are in some cases, however this dam and a debate on dams in Patagonia for my Spanish class forced me to research dams. The truth is you can actually build dams that do not hinder the ability of fish to spawn and you can create dams that are less envasive on the environment. I am not sure if this dam was built in this fashion, but I hope those fish survive.
After the dam we went to an artisan pisco factory. Pisco is kind of like a whisky however it is made from fermented grapes instead of fermented grain. The factory sells pisco which is artisan, meaning that it is made in small quantities and only sold in special places.. or it could also just be a tourist snag. Either way, I fell for it and bought some of the artisan pisco so that I can bring it home and share it with people. They also produced a special line of mango sour a drink where mango juice and pisco are mixed. I also bought some of this to bring home as well. I tried it and it was very, very good. The mango is a fruit which is grown all over the Elqui valley and thus, mango sour is a nice touch to remember the valley.
Our lunch was included and we went to this little hostel/restaurant that seemed like it was in a little crevice of the valley where no one could find it. The food was very good and after lunch we had the opportunity to chill in their lush green backyard. The people were especially friendly and I had a long conversation with one of the waitresses after lunch.
Pisco Elqui is a town that is named because of the abundance of pisco plants and factories in the valley. It is a famous town for the region which hosts many tourists throughout the tourist season. Rumor has it that the Chilean Government changed the town's name by law to Pisco Elqui in an effort to show that pisco is actually a Chilean invention. This fight between Peru and Chile continues today. Many people on both sides believe that Pisco was originally their drink. Thus there are "pisco" cities, valleys, rivers, roads, etc. to try and make that clear. I will not take a position on this on going fight, I will just say that I very much enjoy a fresh pisco sour now and then. In Pisco Elqui our tour group got about a half hour to enjoy the little town and visit the church and other historical sights.
After Pisco Elqui normally the tour would go the birth place of Gabriel Mistral, however, because our group wanted to visit the Elqui river our guide drove us to the river instead. We all got our feet wet in the river, but it was extremely cold because the water is straight from the snow melt. While it was bone chillingly cold, it was refreshing. After the river most of us fell asleep on our ride to Vicunia one of the larger cities in the valley.
Vicunia is the birth town of Gabriel Mistral, and author and winner of the first Chilean Nobel Prize in Literature. In the town there is a museum dedicated to her as well as just a nice little pueblito (little town). Our group was let off here for a few hours because we had reservations for a Observatory Tour that evening in Vicunia, thus we were allowed to hang out in the city while the others returned to La Serena and the tour guide brought a new group of tourists into the valley. During our few hours of freedom we got dinner and ice cream. It was a fun time just hanging out and the ice cream was delicious. Rumor has it that in Vicunia you can find Avacado flavored ice cream. We looked but didn't end up finding it.
We signed up for a Valle tour our first day in La Serena because we knew that is was a must on our visit list. We were picked up by our tour guide in a large van early in the morning from our hostel. After a short introduction to the tour and the local area we were off to the valley. During the tour we stopped a number of different places including a farm for the fruit chirimoya. If you click on the link it will take you to the wikipedia site for the fruit so you can see a picture and learn more about it. It is a very popular fruit in Chile, and I don't believe that there is an equivalent in the United States.
After the chirimoya farm we went to quite a few little towns in the valley which were all quite quaint. Most of them had a church that was very nice looking and of course good views of the Elqui River.
We also visited a dam that was built on the river. it regulates the water in times of floods and provides and excellent source of electricity. At the dam there was a very neat sculpture that had been designed as a gift to the Chilean people. It was a sculpture that had strings tied across it and as the wind blew through the valley and over the dam, the wind would vibrate the strings which were tuned to make a very harmonious sound. It was a really unique item. The dam had a side section that served as an emergency route when high water approached the top of the dam. In this section you could see very large fish swimming. Many people find dams like this to be horrible for the environment and I am sure that they are in some cases, however this dam and a debate on dams in Patagonia for my Spanish class forced me to research dams. The truth is you can actually build dams that do not hinder the ability of fish to spawn and you can create dams that are less envasive on the environment. I am not sure if this dam was built in this fashion, but I hope those fish survive.
After the dam we went to an artisan pisco factory. Pisco is kind of like a whisky however it is made from fermented grapes instead of fermented grain. The factory sells pisco which is artisan, meaning that it is made in small quantities and only sold in special places.. or it could also just be a tourist snag. Either way, I fell for it and bought some of the artisan pisco so that I can bring it home and share it with people. They also produced a special line of mango sour a drink where mango juice and pisco are mixed. I also bought some of this to bring home as well. I tried it and it was very, very good. The mango is a fruit which is grown all over the Elqui valley and thus, mango sour is a nice touch to remember the valley.
Our lunch was included and we went to this little hostel/restaurant that seemed like it was in a little crevice of the valley where no one could find it. The food was very good and after lunch we had the opportunity to chill in their lush green backyard. The people were especially friendly and I had a long conversation with one of the waitresses after lunch.
Pisco Elqui is a town that is named because of the abundance of pisco plants and factories in the valley. It is a famous town for the region which hosts many tourists throughout the tourist season. Rumor has it that the Chilean Government changed the town's name by law to Pisco Elqui in an effort to show that pisco is actually a Chilean invention. This fight between Peru and Chile continues today. Many people on both sides believe that Pisco was originally their drink. Thus there are "pisco" cities, valleys, rivers, roads, etc. to try and make that clear. I will not take a position on this on going fight, I will just say that I very much enjoy a fresh pisco sour now and then. In Pisco Elqui our tour group got about a half hour to enjoy the little town and visit the church and other historical sights.
After Pisco Elqui normally the tour would go the birth place of Gabriel Mistral, however, because our group wanted to visit the Elqui river our guide drove us to the river instead. We all got our feet wet in the river, but it was extremely cold because the water is straight from the snow melt. While it was bone chillingly cold, it was refreshing. After the river most of us fell asleep on our ride to Vicunia one of the larger cities in the valley.
Vicunia is the birth town of Gabriel Mistral, and author and winner of the first Chilean Nobel Prize in Literature. In the town there is a museum dedicated to her as well as just a nice little pueblito (little town). Our group was let off here for a few hours because we had reservations for a Observatory Tour that evening in Vicunia, thus we were allowed to hang out in the city while the others returned to La Serena and the tour guide brought a new group of tourists into the valley. During our few hours of freedom we got dinner and ice cream. It was a fun time just hanging out and the ice cream was delicious. Rumor has it that in Vicunia you can find Avacado flavored ice cream. We looked but didn't end up finding it.
Chilean Indpendence Day
We woke up around 1:30pm. It was really hard to do, but we knew that we didn't want to waste any time sleeping when we could be exploring the city and most importantly the beach. We took showers and got ready for the day and then we were off to fill our empty stomachs.
EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED. It was their Indpendence Day, I know, however everything was closed. We had all been told that La Serena was the 'place to be' for the 18th of September and the entire town looked like sleepy hollow. We finally found a place that was open for lunch and we ate there. I had a meal that consisted of 3 plates for 5 bucks. It was very good, however the desert was really strange. It was a peach that was in some suguary sauce with little nuts. It tried it and wasn't that thrilled, so I shared it with everyone and got some ice cream instead. The waiter said that this desert was a typical Chilean dessert. I wasn't impressed.
After lunch we went to the beach and the famous La Serena lighthouse. It was so much fun and we just chilled on the beach for quite awhile taking pictures of the sea, the lighthouse, and each other. We had a great time and the best part was that we sat and watched a fantastic sunset over the sea. It was absolutely fantastic seeing both the sunset and sunrise within a 24 hour period.
After the sunset we walked back to the hostel to change clothes and get ready for the Independence Day Fonda (party)! The Fonda was in Coquimbo and we took a very expensive taxi to get there. We first went to a place to eat and I had the best pizza I have had in Chile. It was fantastic. It was in a little restaurant close to where we went out the night before.
After dinner we took a collectivo (a cheaper ride) up the hill to the Fonda. I did´t know waht to expect at the fonda and was really surprised when I got there. It was more like a state fair or city celebration then a party. There were places to buy EVERYTHING from cowboy hats, to shoes, to other items. There were places to play bingo, drink alcohol, eat empanadas, and ride rides etc. It was fun to walk around and enjoy the sights but it wasn´t exactly what I expected it to be. We stayed for an hour or so soaking in the 'traditional' fonda, but we all were tired from our party the night before and new we had our tour of the Elqui Valley the next day. So we decided that returning to the hostel, via bus, was a better idea. We did that and called it an 'early' night.
EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED. It was their Indpendence Day, I know, however everything was closed. We had all been told that La Serena was the 'place to be' for the 18th of September and the entire town looked like sleepy hollow. We finally found a place that was open for lunch and we ate there. I had a meal that consisted of 3 plates for 5 bucks. It was very good, however the desert was really strange. It was a peach that was in some suguary sauce with little nuts. It tried it and wasn't that thrilled, so I shared it with everyone and got some ice cream instead. The waiter said that this desert was a typical Chilean dessert. I wasn't impressed.
After lunch we went to the beach and the famous La Serena lighthouse. It was so much fun and we just chilled on the beach for quite awhile taking pictures of the sea, the lighthouse, and each other. We had a great time and the best part was that we sat and watched a fantastic sunset over the sea. It was absolutely fantastic seeing both the sunset and sunrise within a 24 hour period.
After the sunset we walked back to the hostel to change clothes and get ready for the Independence Day Fonda (party)! The Fonda was in Coquimbo and we took a very expensive taxi to get there. We first went to a place to eat and I had the best pizza I have had in Chile. It was fantastic. It was in a little restaurant close to where we went out the night before.
After dinner we took a collectivo (a cheaper ride) up the hill to the Fonda. I did´t know waht to expect at the fonda and was really surprised when I got there. It was more like a state fair or city celebration then a party. There were places to buy EVERYTHING from cowboy hats, to shoes, to other items. There were places to play bingo, drink alcohol, eat empanadas, and ride rides etc. It was fun to walk around and enjoy the sights but it wasn´t exactly what I expected it to be. We stayed for an hour or so soaking in the 'traditional' fonda, but we all were tired from our party the night before and new we had our tour of the Elqui Valley the next day. So we decided that returning to the hostel, via bus, was a better idea. We did that and called it an 'early' night.
Weekend in La Serena
For the weekend of September 18th (Chilean Indpendence Day) a group of COPA students, including me, went to La Serena, Chile. La Serena is the third oldest city in Chile after Santiago and Arica. I had class on Wednesday, September 17th, unlike most of my fellow students, so I went to my geography class at 8:30am and then I went straight to the bus terminal after class to meet Sarah Reingold, a COPA student who was riding on the same bus as me.
The bus ride was long, but definitely not the longest bus ride I have ever been on. It was 7 hours to La Serena and supposedly by personal car it was suppose to be about 4, so that was irritating, but the ride was beautiful. Especially when the panamerican highway went along the coast and you could see the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the amazing waves crashing along side the coast. It was absolutely gorgeous.
We arrived in La Serena and grabbed a taxi to our hostel. The hostel was very nice and in a part of town that seemed very safe, which was good. After we got to the hostel we called our other friends who were going to meet us in La Serena. We met Carla, Dorien, Amy, and Ruth at the Plaza de Armas after we grabbed some dinner at a little restaurant in town.
La Serena reminded me a lot of the center part of Lublin, Poland or Vilinus, Lithuania. Especially since in these cities like in La Serena the center was extremely developed and European looking, however the outskirts of the town were a little more sketchy/non-developed. Overall, it has been interesting to see the extreme influence of Europe in many of the places I have traveled to in Chile.
We met up with the group and went out to a bar to hang out for a little while because it was pretty early (by Chilean standards). Carla and Dorien knew a Chilean, who was taking a Law classes on Human Rights with them, and lived in La Serena. He got into contact with some of his friends in La Serena and we arranged to go out with them that night. Which was interesting, especially since I didn´t know them (and neither did the girls), but we got together with them and they took us to one of their friends house. It was a good time as we got to know Chileans and such.
We left their house later and went to meet Carla and Dorien´s Law school friend at the bus station since his bus got in around midnight (yeah midnight--- I don´t know how I survive all these Chilean shinanigans.) After that we went to a town nearby called Coquimbo which had a lot of bars, etc. We went to one that was very special because it had dancing.
The Chileans have a national dance named the Cueca. The bar that we went to had people dancing cueca which was fun to watch, however very, very difficult to learn (especially since you all probably know that I am the worst dancer in the world). You can see the cueca in this youtube video. It is quite the sultury dance if I say so myself. The man and woman are not suppose to stop looking into each other´s eyes unless they are turning, creating some very 'hot' moments.
At the bar we also tried Chica a very sweet drink that is taken during the Chilean Independence Day weekend. I definitely tried it, but at the same time was scared to beacuse many people had told me that it was dangerous!! Supposedly, the reason it is so dangerous is because you think that it is just a sweet drink and it is actually a very potent drink. Thus, you end up getting tan barracho muy rapido (very durnk very fast). I had one drink glass and thought I would die (due to the warnings), so I didn't have anymore. Other people just kept drinking it and never did get sick... so I guess its just another thing Chileans get really scared about, but really don't know what they are talking about.
We closed the bar (something I didn't think I would ever do in my life and something I will probably never do again) but it was fun. We then went to the beach and hung out there and watched the sunrise over the mountains on the 18th of September (the Chilean Independence Day). I can now say that I have gone 24 hours without sleeping, which again, I thought I never could do. After we saw the sun rise, we returned to the hostel and promptly went to bed althogh I wasn´t really that tired at the moment. It was good to get some sleep though for the next day.
The bus ride was long, but definitely not the longest bus ride I have ever been on. It was 7 hours to La Serena and supposedly by personal car it was suppose to be about 4, so that was irritating, but the ride was beautiful. Especially when the panamerican highway went along the coast and you could see the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the amazing waves crashing along side the coast. It was absolutely gorgeous.
We arrived in La Serena and grabbed a taxi to our hostel. The hostel was very nice and in a part of town that seemed very safe, which was good. After we got to the hostel we called our other friends who were going to meet us in La Serena. We met Carla, Dorien, Amy, and Ruth at the Plaza de Armas after we grabbed some dinner at a little restaurant in town.
La Serena reminded me a lot of the center part of Lublin, Poland or Vilinus, Lithuania. Especially since in these cities like in La Serena the center was extremely developed and European looking, however the outskirts of the town were a little more sketchy/non-developed. Overall, it has been interesting to see the extreme influence of Europe in many of the places I have traveled to in Chile.
We met up with the group and went out to a bar to hang out for a little while because it was pretty early (by Chilean standards). Carla and Dorien knew a Chilean, who was taking a Law classes on Human Rights with them, and lived in La Serena. He got into contact with some of his friends in La Serena and we arranged to go out with them that night. Which was interesting, especially since I didn´t know them (and neither did the girls), but we got together with them and they took us to one of their friends house. It was a good time as we got to know Chileans and such.
We left their house later and went to meet Carla and Dorien´s Law school friend at the bus station since his bus got in around midnight (yeah midnight--- I don´t know how I survive all these Chilean shinanigans.) After that we went to a town nearby called Coquimbo which had a lot of bars, etc. We went to one that was very special because it had dancing.
The Chileans have a national dance named the Cueca. The bar that we went to had people dancing cueca which was fun to watch, however very, very difficult to learn (especially since you all probably know that I am the worst dancer in the world). You can see the cueca in this youtube video. It is quite the sultury dance if I say so myself. The man and woman are not suppose to stop looking into each other´s eyes unless they are turning, creating some very 'hot' moments.
At the bar we also tried Chica a very sweet drink that is taken during the Chilean Independence Day weekend. I definitely tried it, but at the same time was scared to beacuse many people had told me that it was dangerous!! Supposedly, the reason it is so dangerous is because you think that it is just a sweet drink and it is actually a very potent drink. Thus, you end up getting tan barracho muy rapido (very durnk very fast). I had one drink glass and thought I would die (due to the warnings), so I didn't have anymore. Other people just kept drinking it and never did get sick... so I guess its just another thing Chileans get really scared about, but really don't know what they are talking about.
We closed the bar (something I didn't think I would ever do in my life and something I will probably never do again) but it was fun. We then went to the beach and hung out there and watched the sunrise over the mountains on the 18th of September (the Chilean Independence Day). I can now say that I have gone 24 hours without sleeping, which again, I thought I never could do. After we saw the sun rise, we returned to the hostel and promptly went to bed althogh I wasn´t really that tired at the moment. It was good to get some sleep though for the next day.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Wait? I met Boy George? Sweet!
My program director does everything and anything. She quite talented. She has been the official translator for Kofi Annan (the former UN Secretary General) and the Rolling Stones. Not only does she translate, she runs the COPA-IFSA program in Santiago, Chile and Valparaiso, Chile. On top of that, she use to be a professional ice skater, and now she is a judge on a Chilean TV program called, Stars on Ice (a type of program like Dancing with the Stars).
As you can imagine we were all interested to see this in action. The first night of the TV program, we went to a bar and watched it. It was pretty cool and we all decided that we wanted to see it live. Katty arranged for us to go to the program on the 11th of September. We got there really early and we got to hang out and watch them do some pre-recording for the show. Since the Chilean independence day was coming up on the 18th, they had a group of traditional dancers and a popular singer perform. It was neat to see exactly how all of this television magic was done. Later on as the recording was going on, Katty came over and said that we were really lucky and that Boy George was going to be coming to the show to play for the program. It was exciting because we were going to meet some really famous person.
Boy George came and he performed his songs. One of them being "Yes We Can" a song he wrote that gave me chills up my back. (Check out a link to a youtube video of the song.)It was a great song that really reminded me that this election really is about Hope v. The Past. It reminded me of why I am voting for Obama in this election. After he was done recording he came over to the audience and we started talking to him telling him that we were for Obama and that we were gonna vote for him. His response was "Is there really a choice?" It was great fun and a few of us got pictures with him (not me). It was a cool experience.
Being on Dancing with the Stars was fun, but it got boring pretty quickly. We were in the TV studio between 7:30pm and 1:00am. It was a very long night.
As you can imagine we were all interested to see this in action. The first night of the TV program, we went to a bar and watched it. It was pretty cool and we all decided that we wanted to see it live. Katty arranged for us to go to the program on the 11th of September. We got there really early and we got to hang out and watch them do some pre-recording for the show. Since the Chilean independence day was coming up on the 18th, they had a group of traditional dancers and a popular singer perform. It was neat to see exactly how all of this television magic was done. Later on as the recording was going on, Katty came over and said that we were really lucky and that Boy George was going to be coming to the show to play for the program. It was exciting because we were going to meet some really famous person.
Boy George came and he performed his songs. One of them being "Yes We Can" a song he wrote that gave me chills up my back. (Check out a link to a youtube video of the song.)It was a great song that really reminded me that this election really is about Hope v. The Past. It reminded me of why I am voting for Obama in this election. After he was done recording he came over to the audience and we started talking to him telling him that we were for Obama and that we were gonna vote for him. His response was "Is there really a choice?" It was great fun and a few of us got pictures with him (not me). It was a cool experience.
Being on Dancing with the Stars was fun, but it got boring pretty quickly. We were in the TV studio between 7:30pm and 1:00am. It was a very long night.
Remembering the 1973 Military Coup
Well, its a topic that I have to write about, but to be totally honest, it is a topic that I am quite embarrassed to say my country was involved in.
In 1970, Salvador Allende was elected the President of Chile. This was extremely important because Salvador Allende was a member of the Socialist Party and a Marxist. Thus he was the first democratically elected communist president in world history. The United States was not happy with this outcome because they were worried that it could cause an "epidemic" of communist regimes in South America and because the consequences were great for American companies and interests in Chile.
It also needs to be said that this election was a fairly close one. The only reason Allende won the election was because he represented a coalition of three political parties: the communists, the socialists, radicals, and social democrats. This coalition was called the Popular Unity Party (UP). The vote in 1970 was split in three ways between the UP coalition, the Christian Democrats, and the Conservatives. Allende did not win a plurality of votes instead only 36% of the population actually supported the UP coalition. As you can imagine winning only 35% of the population through a coalition of 4 parties makes governing very difficult. He was confirmed by the Chilean Parliament because they worked with the Christian Democrats to gain the votes needed in the confirmation vote.
Part of these negotiations was that all now 5 parties would share in the governing process. Allende was required to have a certain number of people in his administration from each party. This created an administration which was not unified and did not work cohesively. Allende immediately worked to instill his political policies, including land reform (taking land from wealthy land owners and giving it to the poor) and also nationalizing the copper industry (especially the copper mines that were controlled by American companies).
Not surprisingly the United States immediately denounced the new Chilean government and started to raise economic sanctions against the country.
At first the Allende policies had a very good effect on the economy including increased industrial and GDP growth. This did not however sustain itself and by 1972, Chile experienced inflation equivilent to 140%. This coupled with mandated prices set by the government created a huge economic mess. Literally the Chilean system looked to be falling apart at the seams.
If you believe that the country was polarized in 1970 during the election, then in 1973 after the economic crisis you would believe that the country looked super, super polarized. With a stalemate between the three parties and no answer to the economic crisis. The military deposed Allende, who committed suicicde, during a brutal attack on the Presidential Palace on September 11, 1973. Here is a CBS news report from September 11, 1973.
Today, after CIA and White House documents have been released we see that the US was involved in the planning and aid of the military coup de'tat lead by the Chilean military. Here is a good youtube video about the US involvement of the Coup.
This coup de'tat eventually yielded the rule of Augusto Pinochet who became dictator and served as the leader of Chile until 1990. His administration and rule is marked by an application of extremely conservative neo-liberal economic policies and a total disregard for human rights.
Every year on September 11, the country has numerous protests around the city and around the country. In many years Chilean police forces are killed by protesters. Many colleges, high schools, etc. close for the day because the threat of protests are too high to legitimize a normal day.
I did leave the apartment on September 11, 2008 and everything during the day was normal. It wasn't until that night that we saw on television the protests. It looked extremely scary with fires and barricades. It was quite the site to see. When we ask everyone about the protests and why exactly these people protest, they really don't have an answer. The people that are protesting are not protesting the Pinochet government (Pinochet is now dead) or protesting to remember their lost loved ones. Instead these people seem to be protesting for the simple reason that they can. This year 3 Chilean police officers were in the hospital with severe wounds, however I don't think anyone died.
If you want to read more about the Chilean Coup of 1973 here is a link to wikipedia.
In this article you will find quotations by American leaders who helped fund, plan, and aid the Chilean Coup. I included two of my favorite here:
"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves." - Henry Kissinger (Nixon Secretary of State)
"Make the economy scream [in Chile to] prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him" — Richard Nixon (US President to the CIA)
In 1970, Salvador Allende was elected the President of Chile. This was extremely important because Salvador Allende was a member of the Socialist Party and a Marxist. Thus he was the first democratically elected communist president in world history. The United States was not happy with this outcome because they were worried that it could cause an "epidemic" of communist regimes in South America and because the consequences were great for American companies and interests in Chile.
It also needs to be said that this election was a fairly close one. The only reason Allende won the election was because he represented a coalition of three political parties: the communists, the socialists, radicals, and social democrats. This coalition was called the Popular Unity Party (UP). The vote in 1970 was split in three ways between the UP coalition, the Christian Democrats, and the Conservatives. Allende did not win a plurality of votes instead only 36% of the population actually supported the UP coalition. As you can imagine winning only 35% of the population through a coalition of 4 parties makes governing very difficult. He was confirmed by the Chilean Parliament because they worked with the Christian Democrats to gain the votes needed in the confirmation vote.
Part of these negotiations was that all now 5 parties would share in the governing process. Allende was required to have a certain number of people in his administration from each party. This created an administration which was not unified and did not work cohesively. Allende immediately worked to instill his political policies, including land reform (taking land from wealthy land owners and giving it to the poor) and also nationalizing the copper industry (especially the copper mines that were controlled by American companies).
Not surprisingly the United States immediately denounced the new Chilean government and started to raise economic sanctions against the country.
At first the Allende policies had a very good effect on the economy including increased industrial and GDP growth. This did not however sustain itself and by 1972, Chile experienced inflation equivilent to 140%. This coupled with mandated prices set by the government created a huge economic mess. Literally the Chilean system looked to be falling apart at the seams.
If you believe that the country was polarized in 1970 during the election, then in 1973 after the economic crisis you would believe that the country looked super, super polarized. With a stalemate between the three parties and no answer to the economic crisis. The military deposed Allende, who committed suicicde, during a brutal attack on the Presidential Palace on September 11, 1973. Here is a CBS news report from September 11, 1973.
Today, after CIA and White House documents have been released we see that the US was involved in the planning and aid of the military coup de'tat lead by the Chilean military. Here is a good youtube video about the US involvement of the Coup.
This coup de'tat eventually yielded the rule of Augusto Pinochet who became dictator and served as the leader of Chile until 1990. His administration and rule is marked by an application of extremely conservative neo-liberal economic policies and a total disregard for human rights.
Every year on September 11, the country has numerous protests around the city and around the country. In many years Chilean police forces are killed by protesters. Many colleges, high schools, etc. close for the day because the threat of protests are too high to legitimize a normal day.
I did leave the apartment on September 11, 2008 and everything during the day was normal. It wasn't until that night that we saw on television the protests. It looked extremely scary with fires and barricades. It was quite the site to see. When we ask everyone about the protests and why exactly these people protest, they really don't have an answer. The people that are protesting are not protesting the Pinochet government (Pinochet is now dead) or protesting to remember their lost loved ones. Instead these people seem to be protesting for the simple reason that they can. This year 3 Chilean police officers were in the hospital with severe wounds, however I don't think anyone died.
If you want to read more about the Chilean Coup of 1973 here is a link to wikipedia.
In this article you will find quotations by American leaders who helped fund, plan, and aid the Chilean Coup. I included two of my favorite here:
"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves." - Henry Kissinger (Nixon Secretary of State)
"Make the economy scream [in Chile to] prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him" — Richard Nixon (US President to the CIA)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
You asked for it!
Well, I was asked recently by my Aunt Rose if there was any good desserts/food down here in Chile. My response was that the best food I have had was empanadas de pino and Tres Leches Cake (Milk Cake). I found the recipes for these and I am going to post them on here.
As of September 09, 2008 I only have the Tres Leches Cake recipe but I am looking for an empanada de pino recipe. I will put it on here when I get it.
Torta de Tres Leches (Milk Cake)
INGREDIENTS
5 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.) Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
3.) Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
4.) Cream butter or margarine and 1 cup of the sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla extract, beat well.
5.) Add the flour mixture to the butter or margarine mixture 2 tablespoons at a time, mix until well blended.
6.) Pour batter into prepared pan.
7.) Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
8.) Pierce cake several times with a fork. (This allows the milk to permeate the cake.)
9.) Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
10.) Whip whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup of the sugar together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!
Another variation is that you can make two 8" or 9" cakes and stack the two cakes. This is most traditional here. Be careful because both cakes will be "wet" from the milk that they soak up. Put whipping cream in between the two layers, and cover the entire cake with whipping cream. I promise this is amazing. Sometimes a nice strawberry, group of blueberries, or raspberries go well with this cake as well.
As of September 09, 2008 I only have the Tres Leches Cake recipe but I am looking for an empanada de pino recipe. I will put it on here when I get it.
Torta de Tres Leches (Milk Cake)
INGREDIENTS
5 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.) Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
3.) Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
4.) Cream butter or margarine and 1 cup of the sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla extract, beat well.
5.) Add the flour mixture to the butter or margarine mixture 2 tablespoons at a time, mix until well blended.
6.) Pour batter into prepared pan.
7.) Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
8.) Pierce cake several times with a fork. (This allows the milk to permeate the cake.)
9.) Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
10.) Whip whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup of the sugar together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!
Another variation is that you can make two 8" or 9" cakes and stack the two cakes. This is most traditional here. Be careful because both cakes will be "wet" from the milk that they soak up. Put whipping cream in between the two layers, and cover the entire cake with whipping cream. I promise this is amazing. Sometimes a nice strawberry, group of blueberries, or raspberries go well with this cake as well.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Meet my newest host family!
My new host family consists of my mom Veronica and her son Rafael. Veronica works at the Catholic University (Universidad Catolica) with the University of California - Berkley exchange students. Because she works in an environment with exchange students she understands very well the difficulties that I am going though and she helps out a lot. It is really nice to be able to talk to her every night over dinner. She can make some really good food too!
Rafael is 24 years old and is attending school for Business and Trade. He is hoping to go to the United States in December to work at a ski resort in Colorado or Utah through a program for 6 months. I am not really sure exactly how that is going, but I think it is on track.
It is a little odd because young people live with their families until they get married, so sometimes you see people that are 35 years old still living with their parents. It makes for saving a lot of money, but at the same time it is something that I am not accustomed to. Especially since most American students go to college after high school and then only return to live with their parents over the summer or in many cases live in their own housing for the rest of their lives. What is even more extreme is that the parents really do treat their kids like kids until they get married and move out. They cook for them, serve them their food, etc. It is pretty intense. I am not 100% sure, but I don't even think Rafael (24) knows how to do laundry because his mom still does it for him.
Overall, this host family is a ton better then my old host family and I am enjoying being here a lot more. I feel more at home and they are much more welcoming.
I will post a picture of my host family when I get a chance.
Rafael is 24 years old and is attending school for Business and Trade. He is hoping to go to the United States in December to work at a ski resort in Colorado or Utah through a program for 6 months. I am not really sure exactly how that is going, but I think it is on track.
It is a little odd because young people live with their families until they get married, so sometimes you see people that are 35 years old still living with their parents. It makes for saving a lot of money, but at the same time it is something that I am not accustomed to. Especially since most American students go to college after high school and then only return to live with their parents over the summer or in many cases live in their own housing for the rest of their lives. What is even more extreme is that the parents really do treat their kids like kids until they get married and move out. They cook for them, serve them their food, etc. It is pretty intense. I am not 100% sure, but I don't even think Rafael (24) knows how to do laundry because his mom still does it for him.
Overall, this host family is a ton better then my old host family and I am enjoying being here a lot more. I feel more at home and they are much more welcoming.
I will post a picture of my host family when I get a chance.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Independent Study Advisor
I met my independent study advisor for the first time the other day and it was quite interesting. Now I am technically involved with four universities here in Chile: the Catholic University, the University of Chile, Diego Portales Univesity, and the University of Santiago, Chile. It is pretty intense getting to know all of the University campuses and systems because each one is different.
My independent study advisor is Patricio and he is a history professor at the University of Santiago, Chile. He has been an immense help through the process of my research project.
I am writing this about a month later then when I actually met the professor and all I can say is that this project is a lot of work. The University of Saint Thomas wants me to cover world history from 1500 to the present and I am attempting to learn world history through the lens of Chilean Copper and Neo-liberal Economic policies. It has been a challenge to say the least. My paper cannot just be a history paper it has to have a thesis, thus my thesis is that Neo-Liberal Economic policies have helped the Chilean Copper Industry and the Chilean economy over the years. In the mean time I am trying to glean information about mercantilism, globalization, colonization, independence movements, the international system, etc. all through this lens. To be honest, I don't know how I could write this paper and keep it under 80+ pages. I am starting the long process of writing it now. It is due December 5th, so I have about a month to write. I think it is going to be a stressful month, but when I have a document that is more then 80 pages in length all in Spanish, it will be quite an accomplishment.
My independent study advisor is Patricio and he is a history professor at the University of Santiago, Chile. He has been an immense help through the process of my research project.
I am writing this about a month later then when I actually met the professor and all I can say is that this project is a lot of work. The University of Saint Thomas wants me to cover world history from 1500 to the present and I am attempting to learn world history through the lens of Chilean Copper and Neo-liberal Economic policies. It has been a challenge to say the least. My paper cannot just be a history paper it has to have a thesis, thus my thesis is that Neo-Liberal Economic policies have helped the Chilean Copper Industry and the Chilean economy over the years. In the mean time I am trying to glean information about mercantilism, globalization, colonization, independence movements, the international system, etc. all through this lens. To be honest, I don't know how I could write this paper and keep it under 80+ pages. I am starting the long process of writing it now. It is due December 5th, so I have about a month to write. I think it is going to be a stressful month, but when I have a document that is more then 80 pages in length all in Spanish, it will be quite an accomplishment.
One Family to the Other
Well you may have heard. I changed host families. There were some bad situations with my last host family and I really didn't feel all that great about them after we first started to live together. Yes, in my earlier posts I exclaimed that my host family was wonderful, but after a little time, it became quite clear that a change was needed.
Basically to explain the situation, my home itself was not the best place (and I am not just being an American who wants a nice house) my room was constantly damp. I would get in my bed at night and my sheets would even be a little wet. My books felt like they had saturated with water and my bath towel was always wet from the day before. This, I believe, probably led to mold or other problems (which I never saw but expected was there). My clothes would come back from the laundry and they would still be damp as well. It just wasn't very much fun. The house had an electronic gate where you could only access the house if you had the electronic button. This button (only 2 of them at a time) would sometimes and randomly stop working. One weekend I was informed that the button stopped working and that I would be unable to leave the house. I was upset because, I am paying to live in the house and I should be able to leave when I want to. When Saturday came, I wanted to go out with my friends and I talked to my host mom on the phone (they were out partying) and said that I wanted to leave. She was upset and told me "I told you about the key this weekend." I got to go out but it was a hassle and did not make me feel very welcomed. They had 4 dogs as well. These dogs were very skinny and every morning I would take my breakfast of (a bun with bread) out with me to the bus stop. The dogs would jump all over me because they wanted the food. They did not get fed enough at all --- to my standards, and they would sometimes get into fights over the food. When they got into fights, they would then go out and kick the dogs. It was not a place that I wanted to be quite frankly.
Another reason was that my host family smoked. Now, my mother smoked, but I believe that I must have some problem with cigarette smoke, because I was sick for quite some time with this family. I believe it may have been connected with this smoking habit. Even their 8 year old kid had a horrible cough all the time and finally they took him to the doctor and the doctor was like --- well perhaps you shouldn't smoke around him, so instead they would put their kid in the living room and close the door to the kitchen and continue to smoke anyways --- with me in the room. I also didn't spend that much time with them because they smoked after dinner and when they lit up, I would leave --- which they later told me was disrespectful, because I did not hold a conversation well. On top of that was told that I was disrespectful because I did not recognize (as in say hello and how was your day) as soon as my host dad came through the door from work. I believe myself to be very respectful person and to be totally honest, I was quite offended by these remarks.
They had a nana or servant, and they pretty much treated her very badly. Sometimes when the host dad was not happy with her he would call her "fatty". Which I did not like very much, because Pamela worked very hard for them. Another time, Pamela asked for Saturday off (she informed me that under their original agreement she would have Saturday and Sunday off, however they changed that when she moved in with them) and they got angry at her for doing so. She worked from approximately 6 am to 12 pm every night. She was a student at a local university studying tourism. I am keeping in contact with her via facebook. Pamela said that she was just going to leave on her Sunday off someday and never return. This was awkward for me because I knew that she was going to leave at a specific date, but she didn't want me to tell the family. Another problem I had one time was that my host mom let her son stay home from school (because he decided he didn't want to go to school --- which is weird) and Pamela was suppose to go to the grocery store. Well she wasn't allowed to take Jaime to the store with her and she wasn't allowed to leave him home, so she couldn't go to the store. When my host mom called to see if she had went to the store she lied to her and said that she did, in the hopes that I would watch Jaime and she could go to the store later. Well, my host mom asked to talk to me on the phone and at the same time Pamela asked me to lie for her. It was really confusing and eventually ended with my host mom yelling at me over the phone. Yeah, Pamela got into trouble and I was stuck in a bad place.
On the note of Jaime and school, he would just randomly decide not to go to school some days. I started counting how many days he missed of school and it ended up being that out of the 3 weeks I counted, he only went to school about 5 times. I was quite confused at this. Often times as well, Jaime would be so "enthralled" with the television, that his mom would have to feed him with his fork to his mouth the food. Mind you Jaime was 8 years old. It was really awkward for me to be in this environment.
Another main problem I had was with the food situation. I was never full when eating at their house and there was never anything to eat if I needed something in between meals. When we ate our meals if I was still hungry after dinner and I asked for more they would tell me there wasn't any more. Nothing ever changed in this respect either. They made a bean soup every Monday that I tried but hated. I told them that I didn't eat beans and they said that if they pureed it that it would be different. I tried this as well and I still didn't like it. Instead of changing the Monday menu, they kept it the same and told me I could have bread and butter. Another time, they made me dinner knowing that I was going out that night with friends. They didn't eat with me because they said they weren't hungry. I left but forgot something and came back about 20 minutes later. I found them eating Sushi that they had ordered. Pamela later told me that they didn't want to buy Sushi for me because it was too expensive, so they waited for me to leave. It just didn't feel, again, like the environment I wanted to experience.
COPA got in touch with the housing coordinator and I toured three houses/families on a Saturday and I picked one that I liked a lot. (More about my new family in another blog.) I was also told that the housing coordinator would come to the house and tell my family the situation and all I would have to say to them was --- thanks for everything and leave.
When the day finally came to move (I didn't tell my family anything before hand because COPA suggested that I not tell them because it would be better if it came as a surprise and they could not treat me worse because of my decision to move) Janette the housing coordinator called my house to let my family know that she was coming to pick me up and move me. My family was obviously surprised because I hadn't said anything. The process did not go as well as I had hoped. Janette took almost an hour and a half to come and pick me up leaving an hour and a half of awkward conversation with my host family (not to mention they had Muriel's mom at the house and Jaime's parents were on their way over. Muriel came into my room and she told me that Janette was going to come pick me up and that I needed to pack my things. I said okay. She was visibly upset and said she wanted to know what happened. I tried to tell her that the situation was not good for me and I needed something different. She didn't understand. She told me that "Christians don't do this to each other, they talk about their problems first" and "we are a family not a hotel". It was awkward, but I just said I was sorry and she said that it was fine --- but obviously it wasn't fine to her.
I finished packing my stuff and she came back into my room and asked me if they could have a minute with me (Janette still hadn't arrived) and I said okay. They started smoking in the kitchen and it was them on one side of the table and me on the other. It was almost like a little inquisition. They wanted more details of things that were wrong and why it wasn't working. I told them it just wasn't a good fit, which they didn't understand. I told them that their smoking was making me sick and that I just needed a different environment. My host dad told me that the reason I was sick all the time was because I didn't wear shoes in the house and because I didn't dress properly for the weather (which I wore the same clothes here I would wear in the winter in Minnesota--- and it never got below 32 degrees F here). I basically said that I disagreed with them. They drew the Christian card again playing off of my religion and spiritual beliefs and I ended up just telling them sorry and returning to my room.
When Janette came, they acted like everything was fine and nothing was wrong. I gave them hugs and said thanks for everything (which I thought I originally would only have to do). It was really weird. Janette and I left and I went to my new home.
Looking back on it, I feel like the Gonzales were using me as a source of income. They didn't care very much about my experience and instead were worried about making sure they could get the money they needed. I think this is why they were so specifically upset that I ended up leaving. I found out that my host family was being paid $700+ a month for me to live there and when I found that out and compared my service I received, I really knew it was time to move on.
I got into contact with the student who stayed with them last semester (who happens to go to Macalester College only a few blocks from Saint Thomas). She said that she really didn't like her host family that much either and that it probably was a good idea that I moved. This made me feel a lot better because it meant that it wasn't just me being a big dork, they really weren't a good host family.
Well, this has been a rambling rant about host families --- sorry if you are still with me and you are missing the exciting climax. It was an interesting situation. I will write more about my new host family in another blog post.
Basically to explain the situation, my home itself was not the best place (and I am not just being an American who wants a nice house) my room was constantly damp. I would get in my bed at night and my sheets would even be a little wet. My books felt like they had saturated with water and my bath towel was always wet from the day before. This, I believe, probably led to mold or other problems (which I never saw but expected was there). My clothes would come back from the laundry and they would still be damp as well. It just wasn't very much fun. The house had an electronic gate where you could only access the house if you had the electronic button. This button (only 2 of them at a time) would sometimes and randomly stop working. One weekend I was informed that the button stopped working and that I would be unable to leave the house. I was upset because, I am paying to live in the house and I should be able to leave when I want to. When Saturday came, I wanted to go out with my friends and I talked to my host mom on the phone (they were out partying) and said that I wanted to leave. She was upset and told me "I told you about the key this weekend." I got to go out but it was a hassle and did not make me feel very welcomed. They had 4 dogs as well. These dogs were very skinny and every morning I would take my breakfast of (a bun with bread) out with me to the bus stop. The dogs would jump all over me because they wanted the food. They did not get fed enough at all --- to my standards, and they would sometimes get into fights over the food. When they got into fights, they would then go out and kick the dogs. It was not a place that I wanted to be quite frankly.
Another reason was that my host family smoked. Now, my mother smoked, but I believe that I must have some problem with cigarette smoke, because I was sick for quite some time with this family. I believe it may have been connected with this smoking habit. Even their 8 year old kid had a horrible cough all the time and finally they took him to the doctor and the doctor was like --- well perhaps you shouldn't smoke around him, so instead they would put their kid in the living room and close the door to the kitchen and continue to smoke anyways --- with me in the room. I also didn't spend that much time with them because they smoked after dinner and when they lit up, I would leave --- which they later told me was disrespectful, because I did not hold a conversation well. On top of that was told that I was disrespectful because I did not recognize (as in say hello and how was your day) as soon as my host dad came through the door from work. I believe myself to be very respectful person and to be totally honest, I was quite offended by these remarks.
They had a nana or servant, and they pretty much treated her very badly. Sometimes when the host dad was not happy with her he would call her "fatty". Which I did not like very much, because Pamela worked very hard for them. Another time, Pamela asked for Saturday off (she informed me that under their original agreement she would have Saturday and Sunday off, however they changed that when she moved in with them) and they got angry at her for doing so. She worked from approximately 6 am to 12 pm every night. She was a student at a local university studying tourism. I am keeping in contact with her via facebook. Pamela said that she was just going to leave on her Sunday off someday and never return. This was awkward for me because I knew that she was going to leave at a specific date, but she didn't want me to tell the family. Another problem I had one time was that my host mom let her son stay home from school (because he decided he didn't want to go to school --- which is weird) and Pamela was suppose to go to the grocery store. Well she wasn't allowed to take Jaime to the store with her and she wasn't allowed to leave him home, so she couldn't go to the store. When my host mom called to see if she had went to the store she lied to her and said that she did, in the hopes that I would watch Jaime and she could go to the store later. Well, my host mom asked to talk to me on the phone and at the same time Pamela asked me to lie for her. It was really confusing and eventually ended with my host mom yelling at me over the phone. Yeah, Pamela got into trouble and I was stuck in a bad place.
On the note of Jaime and school, he would just randomly decide not to go to school some days. I started counting how many days he missed of school and it ended up being that out of the 3 weeks I counted, he only went to school about 5 times. I was quite confused at this. Often times as well, Jaime would be so "enthralled" with the television, that his mom would have to feed him with his fork to his mouth the food. Mind you Jaime was 8 years old. It was really awkward for me to be in this environment.
Another main problem I had was with the food situation. I was never full when eating at their house and there was never anything to eat if I needed something in between meals. When we ate our meals if I was still hungry after dinner and I asked for more they would tell me there wasn't any more. Nothing ever changed in this respect either. They made a bean soup every Monday that I tried but hated. I told them that I didn't eat beans and they said that if they pureed it that it would be different. I tried this as well and I still didn't like it. Instead of changing the Monday menu, they kept it the same and told me I could have bread and butter. Another time, they made me dinner knowing that I was going out that night with friends. They didn't eat with me because they said they weren't hungry. I left but forgot something and came back about 20 minutes later. I found them eating Sushi that they had ordered. Pamela later told me that they didn't want to buy Sushi for me because it was too expensive, so they waited for me to leave. It just didn't feel, again, like the environment I wanted to experience.
COPA got in touch with the housing coordinator and I toured three houses/families on a Saturday and I picked one that I liked a lot. (More about my new family in another blog.) I was also told that the housing coordinator would come to the house and tell my family the situation and all I would have to say to them was --- thanks for everything and leave.
When the day finally came to move (I didn't tell my family anything before hand because COPA suggested that I not tell them because it would be better if it came as a surprise and they could not treat me worse because of my decision to move) Janette the housing coordinator called my house to let my family know that she was coming to pick me up and move me. My family was obviously surprised because I hadn't said anything. The process did not go as well as I had hoped. Janette took almost an hour and a half to come and pick me up leaving an hour and a half of awkward conversation with my host family (not to mention they had Muriel's mom at the house and Jaime's parents were on their way over. Muriel came into my room and she told me that Janette was going to come pick me up and that I needed to pack my things. I said okay. She was visibly upset and said she wanted to know what happened. I tried to tell her that the situation was not good for me and I needed something different. She didn't understand. She told me that "Christians don't do this to each other, they talk about their problems first" and "we are a family not a hotel". It was awkward, but I just said I was sorry and she said that it was fine --- but obviously it wasn't fine to her.
I finished packing my stuff and she came back into my room and asked me if they could have a minute with me (Janette still hadn't arrived) and I said okay. They started smoking in the kitchen and it was them on one side of the table and me on the other. It was almost like a little inquisition. They wanted more details of things that were wrong and why it wasn't working. I told them it just wasn't a good fit, which they didn't understand. I told them that their smoking was making me sick and that I just needed a different environment. My host dad told me that the reason I was sick all the time was because I didn't wear shoes in the house and because I didn't dress properly for the weather (which I wore the same clothes here I would wear in the winter in Minnesota--- and it never got below 32 degrees F here). I basically said that I disagreed with them. They drew the Christian card again playing off of my religion and spiritual beliefs and I ended up just telling them sorry and returning to my room.
When Janette came, they acted like everything was fine and nothing was wrong. I gave them hugs and said thanks for everything (which I thought I originally would only have to do). It was really weird. Janette and I left and I went to my new home.
Looking back on it, I feel like the Gonzales were using me as a source of income. They didn't care very much about my experience and instead were worried about making sure they could get the money they needed. I think this is why they were so specifically upset that I ended up leaving. I found out that my host family was being paid $700+ a month for me to live there and when I found that out and compared my service I received, I really knew it was time to move on.
I got into contact with the student who stayed with them last semester (who happens to go to Macalester College only a few blocks from Saint Thomas). She said that she really didn't like her host family that much either and that it probably was a good idea that I moved. This made me feel a lot better because it meant that it wasn't just me being a big dork, they really weren't a good host family.
Well, this has been a rambling rant about host families --- sorry if you are still with me and you are missing the exciting climax. It was an interesting situation. I will write more about my new host family in another blog post.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Mountain Resort!
Yesterday... Saturday, August 23, 2008, the COPA program took all of the students who wanted to go to a Mountain Resort called Hacienda Santa Martina. The resort, about a half hour up the mountains from Santiago, is absolutely amazing. Its a lot like a country club where wealthy Chileans pay 5,000 dollars a season to be a member. The resort has pools, hot tubs, tennis courts, basketball courts, a gym, exercise classes, saunas, massages, etc.
I first went to the locker room, which was interesting because everyone was quite... "free" if you know what I mean. Everyone really treated this place as a sanctuary and donned their birthday suits whenever they could. I got ready to spend the day at the resort by changing into my workout gear. They had a scale at the resort and I got on and I thought it was broken because it said that I was 25 pounds lighter then when I left the United States. I told the guys from my group and they tried the scale and said it was right for them. So in other words in the last (almost) 2 months, I have lost 25 pounds. I was quite pleased, I need to keep up whatever I am doing... I guess. I spent a little bit of time in the gym and then I went to a spinning class (cycling class) with some of the other people from my group. Spinning classes are where you are on a stationary bicycle, there is music, and a trainer who tells you how fast to go, how much tension to put on your bike, and pushes you to work harder and stay on beat with the music. If you know me very well you can assume that the instructor was often telling me to work harder and I was always off beat, so he kept trying to get me on beat... which didn't turn out to well in the long run.
After spinning class, I took a shower in the locker room ---- which was amazing. They had extremely hot water (a luxury I don't have at my host family's home) and really good pressure. It was fantastic. Afterward, I got dressed and went down to the restaurant where COPA had paid for a buffet lunch for us --- that was to die for. I had a plate full of some of the best food I have eaten here in Chile. Then we got to go to the dessert bar, which also had fantastic deserts, I had a little bit of a lot of them because they all looked so good. So much for losing 25 pounds. I am lucky this is the only dessert bar they had had on my trip and probably my last. :)
The best was the tres leches cake. I really want to learn how to make it so I can share it with people at home.
After lunch, I changed into my swim trunks and went with the group to the hot tub. I spent the entire afternoon in the hot tub. It was so relaxing and wonderful. The only bad part was that a dense fog had plagued the mountain side resort all day. So we could not see any of the views. We were lucky though because later on in the afternoon the fog began to break and we could see all of the amazing mountains that surrounded us. It was beautiful and stunning. After the hot tub, I took another shower and got ready to go home. It was a wonderful day and so relaxing!
I first went to the locker room, which was interesting because everyone was quite... "free" if you know what I mean. Everyone really treated this place as a sanctuary and donned their birthday suits whenever they could. I got ready to spend the day at the resort by changing into my workout gear. They had a scale at the resort and I got on and I thought it was broken because it said that I was 25 pounds lighter then when I left the United States. I told the guys from my group and they tried the scale and said it was right for them. So in other words in the last (almost) 2 months, I have lost 25 pounds. I was quite pleased, I need to keep up whatever I am doing... I guess. I spent a little bit of time in the gym and then I went to a spinning class (cycling class) with some of the other people from my group. Spinning classes are where you are on a stationary bicycle, there is music, and a trainer who tells you how fast to go, how much tension to put on your bike, and pushes you to work harder and stay on beat with the music. If you know me very well you can assume that the instructor was often telling me to work harder and I was always off beat, so he kept trying to get me on beat... which didn't turn out to well in the long run.
After spinning class, I took a shower in the locker room ---- which was amazing. They had extremely hot water (a luxury I don't have at my host family's home) and really good pressure. It was fantastic. Afterward, I got dressed and went down to the restaurant where COPA had paid for a buffet lunch for us --- that was to die for. I had a plate full of some of the best food I have eaten here in Chile. Then we got to go to the dessert bar, which also had fantastic deserts, I had a little bit of a lot of them because they all looked so good. So much for losing 25 pounds. I am lucky this is the only dessert bar they had had on my trip and probably my last. :)
The best was the tres leches cake. I really want to learn how to make it so I can share it with people at home.
After lunch, I changed into my swim trunks and went with the group to the hot tub. I spent the entire afternoon in the hot tub. It was so relaxing and wonderful. The only bad part was that a dense fog had plagued the mountain side resort all day. So we could not see any of the views. We were lucky though because later on in the afternoon the fog began to break and we could see all of the amazing mountains that surrounded us. It was beautiful and stunning. After the hot tub, I took another shower and got ready to go home. It was a wonderful day and so relaxing!
A Discussion about Summer 2009
Since I am on the topics kick now, I am starting to put up the blog titles before I get the blogs done, so I know that I want to talk about. It is like a foretaste of the amazing blogs you can read when I am done!!! This blog is very important however, because I need advice on future plans. I have talked to my Mom and Carrie about this, but I want some more perspectives. So here it goes.
The Summer of 2009 has a lot of possibilities for me and right now I am having a difficult time deciding what to do.
1.) I have the opportunity to earn 8 Political Science Credits through the University of Minnesota's SPAN program. This program works with a qualified professor, in this case: Dr. Cris Toffolo, former director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program at UST and a Political Science Professor, now she is the director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program at a Illinois Public University. The program would include classes during the spring of 2009 to prepare by reading materials, participating in discussions, and doing preparatory homework for an 8-10 week personal, independent research project in South Africa during the summer of 2009. The course teaches you methods of research, advises you on your research and topic, and ultimately you spend 8-10 weeks in South Africa gathering data and analyzing situations for your research. Then you return and in the fall of 2009 you write a 50+ page research paper which is graded. The cost of the program is $4,000 which is just about equivalent to a 4 UST credits, so essentially I would be getting 4 credits free. The catch is I still have to pay for my airfare, food, lodging, and travel in South Africa which I would budget between 4 and 6 thousand dollars. So, in total, I would get 8 credits, a trip to South Africa, and an amazing research opportunity for about the same cost as going to St. Thomas for the same amount of credits. I could also possibly present this research at conferences around the United States with the help of UST through grants as well. I am pretty much a guarantee in for this program because I have worked with Dr. Toffolo in the past and it would undoubtedly work out.
2.) There is a program on campus for students interested in research. The program pays students $4000 over the summer to spend 40 hours a week researching and working with a professor of their choice on campus. If I kept my schedule at work, I could essentially work during the summer at the City of Prior Lake, earning more money, and also have an amazing research experience on campus. Through this program, I would present my research on campus and I could possibly present my research at other conferences around the region and the US. The catch for this one is I don't receive credit, most likely hampering my ability to graduate a semester early in December of 2009, which means I would need to stay at UST until spring of 2010. In the end I would be ahead financially and also I would have an amazing research opportunity. I would also be able to spend more time with my family compared to this summer. Another catch to this program is that I would need to be selected to get the $4000 grant and to perform research over the summer. I am not sure what my chances are at this, I like to believe I have a good chance, but it is much less certain compared to the SPAN program.
Both opportunities have negatives and positives. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place to choose. Any advice you can give me would be excellent. I don't have to make a choice right away, but I want to spend some time thinking about my options!
Thanks for you input in advance. If you haven't commented on my blogs in the past it is really easy to do!
1.) Click on the comment link at the bottom of this blog.
2.) Write your comment on the right hand side of the next screen.
3.) Choose the "Name/URL" button and type in your name.
4.) Sometimes you have to type what a picture says to ensure original comments.
5.) Finally hit Publish Your Comment.
6.) YOUR DONE! YOU SENT A COMMENT ON MY BLOG! CONGRATULATIONS!
*** This is a disclaimer for those who maybe are not so sure about the internet. Everything currently on the internet is being cataloged by GOOGLE. So everything that you write or put on the internet is being catalog and could be brought back to life in the future. Remember that what you write on a blog is not confidential (if you want to leave something like this you can choose Anonymous instead of the "Name/URL" button in step 3. This is important, for example, if I were to run for office in the future, someone in 50 years could pull up this blog and say I said something that was inappropriate or whatever... just be careful, because I would be terribly sorry if my blog hurt someone in the future! ***
The Summer of 2009 has a lot of possibilities for me and right now I am having a difficult time deciding what to do.
1.) I have the opportunity to earn 8 Political Science Credits through the University of Minnesota's SPAN program. This program works with a qualified professor, in this case: Dr. Cris Toffolo, former director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program at UST and a Political Science Professor, now she is the director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program at a Illinois Public University. The program would include classes during the spring of 2009 to prepare by reading materials, participating in discussions, and doing preparatory homework for an 8-10 week personal, independent research project in South Africa during the summer of 2009. The course teaches you methods of research, advises you on your research and topic, and ultimately you spend 8-10 weeks in South Africa gathering data and analyzing situations for your research. Then you return and in the fall of 2009 you write a 50+ page research paper which is graded. The cost of the program is $4,000 which is just about equivalent to a 4 UST credits, so essentially I would be getting 4 credits free. The catch is I still have to pay for my airfare, food, lodging, and travel in South Africa which I would budget between 4 and 6 thousand dollars. So, in total, I would get 8 credits, a trip to South Africa, and an amazing research opportunity for about the same cost as going to St. Thomas for the same amount of credits. I could also possibly present this research at conferences around the United States with the help of UST through grants as well. I am pretty much a guarantee in for this program because I have worked with Dr. Toffolo in the past and it would undoubtedly work out.
2.) There is a program on campus for students interested in research. The program pays students $4000 over the summer to spend 40 hours a week researching and working with a professor of their choice on campus. If I kept my schedule at work, I could essentially work during the summer at the City of Prior Lake, earning more money, and also have an amazing research experience on campus. Through this program, I would present my research on campus and I could possibly present my research at other conferences around the region and the US. The catch for this one is I don't receive credit, most likely hampering my ability to graduate a semester early in December of 2009, which means I would need to stay at UST until spring of 2010. In the end I would be ahead financially and also I would have an amazing research opportunity. I would also be able to spend more time with my family compared to this summer. Another catch to this program is that I would need to be selected to get the $4000 grant and to perform research over the summer. I am not sure what my chances are at this, I like to believe I have a good chance, but it is much less certain compared to the SPAN program.
Both opportunities have negatives and positives. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place to choose. Any advice you can give me would be excellent. I don't have to make a choice right away, but I want to spend some time thinking about my options!
Thanks for you input in advance. If you haven't commented on my blogs in the past it is really easy to do!
1.) Click on the comment link at the bottom of this blog.
2.) Write your comment on the right hand side of the next screen.
3.) Choose the "Name/URL" button and type in your name.
4.) Sometimes you have to type what a picture says to ensure original comments.
5.) Finally hit Publish Your Comment.
6.) YOUR DONE! YOU SENT A COMMENT ON MY BLOG! CONGRATULATIONS!
*** This is a disclaimer for those who maybe are not so sure about the internet. Everything currently on the internet is being cataloged by GOOGLE. So everything that you write or put on the internet is being catalog and could be brought back to life in the future. Remember that what you write on a blog is not confidential (if you want to leave something like this you can choose Anonymous instead of the "Name/URL" button in step 3. This is important, for example, if I were to run for office in the future, someone in 50 years could pull up this blog and say I said something that was inappropriate or whatever... just be careful, because I would be terribly sorry if my blog hurt someone in the future! ***
Ballet and Opera Plans
I am so excited because I have been researching different things to do around Santiago and I came upon the metropolitan theater is going to be doing some amazing shows while I am here in Santiago. The ballet is doing Sleeping Beauty, by Tchaikovsky --- one of my favorites, the opera is doing Marriage of Figaro, by Mozart. I am so excited and I am going to go with some of the students from COPA. These tickets are a little more expensive for here, but comparatively to the US they are very cheap... around $18-24 bucks for decent seats.
There are also a lot of other arts events around the city. I am going to probably go to a lot of these because you can get seats for around 4 bucks, which in comparison to the Minnesota Orchestra is very, very cheap. It should be pretty amazing and I am going to keep you updated as I go to them on how they were.
I first went to a ballet with Carrie in the twin cities when we saw the Nutcracker, two Christmases ago. I also went to Sleeping Beauty with Sarah, my friend from college, in Vilinus, Lithuania. It was probably the best arts event I have ever attended and was excellent. I hope that the ballet here in Santiago is as good, but I don't know if you can ever beat those Russian and Eastern European dancers, they are so good!
There are also a lot of other arts events around the city. I am going to probably go to a lot of these because you can get seats for around 4 bucks, which in comparison to the Minnesota Orchestra is very, very cheap. It should be pretty amazing and I am going to keep you updated as I go to them on how they were.
I first went to a ballet with Carrie in the twin cities when we saw the Nutcracker, two Christmases ago. I also went to Sleeping Beauty with Sarah, my friend from college, in Vilinus, Lithuania. It was probably the best arts event I have ever attended and was excellent. I hope that the ballet here in Santiago is as good, but I don't know if you can ever beat those Russian and Eastern European dancers, they are so good!
Logic Games and LSAT Prep
Well, I brought my LSAT prep book and Logic Games book to Chile with me in the hopes that in some free moments I would start studying. As you can probably guess, I am having trouble finding the time to do that between studying for my other classes, traveling, and going out with friends, but I have found some time.
I am enjoying the logic games, but I am pretty scared in general for this test. I can do everything in this book very well, the only problem is time. I hope that I can study for this test enough so that by the time I take it, I have become so fast with the logic games --- etc. that I just can wiz through them... but I don't know if that will happen.
I have also decided to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) which if I decide to drop the law school thing (not planning on doing that now mom), but if I do, I can use my GRE score for the Graduate School applications.
Actually the logic games are kind of fun and I wish that I would have played them when I was younger... something I plan on telling my kids to do when they are growing up. Its a lot about organizing information and short term memory.
Here is an example... (this is a great time for you to take an extra break at work and see if you can get the problem done in the 9 minutes allowed per set of questions.
An amusement park roller coaster includes five cars, numbered 1 through 5 from front to back. Each car accommodates up to two riders, seated side by side. Six people—Tom, Gwen, Laurie, Mark, Paul and Jack—are riding the coaster at the same time.
* Laurie is sharing a car.
* Mark is not sharing a car and is seated immediately behind an empty car.
* Tom is not sharing a car with either Gwen or Paul.
* Gwen is riding in either the third or fourth car.
Which of the following groups of riders could occupy the second car?
(A) Laurie only
(B) Tom and Gwen
(C) Laurie and Mark
(D) Jack and Tom
(E) Jack, Gwen, and Paul
If Gwen is riding immediately behind Laurie's car and immediately ahead of Tom's car, all of the following must be true EXCEPT:
(A) Gwen is riding in the fourth car.
(B) Paul is riding in the third car.
(C) Tom is riding in the fifth car.
(D) Laurie is riding in the third car.
(E) The first car is empty.
Which one of the following statements CANNOT be true?
(A) Neither Tom nor Gwen is sharing a car with another rider
(B) Neither Mark nor Jack is sharing a car with another rider.
(C) Tom is sharing a car, and Jack is sharing a car.
(D) Gwen is sharing a car, and Paul is sharing a car.
(E) Tom is sharing a car, and Gwen is sharing a car.
If Paul is riding in the second car, how many different combinations of riders are possible for the third car?
(A) one
(B) two
(C) three
(D) four
(E) five
Assume that a seventh rider is riding with Jack in the first car, but that all other rules remain unchanged. Which of the following is a complete and accurate list of the riders who might be riding in the fifth car?
(A) Mark
(B) Gwen, Paul
(C) Tom, Laurie, Paul
(D) Tom, Laurie, Mark
(E) Tom, Paul, Laurie, Mark
I am enjoying the logic games, but I am pretty scared in general for this test. I can do everything in this book very well, the only problem is time. I hope that I can study for this test enough so that by the time I take it, I have become so fast with the logic games --- etc. that I just can wiz through them... but I don't know if that will happen.
I have also decided to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) which if I decide to drop the law school thing (not planning on doing that now mom), but if I do, I can use my GRE score for the Graduate School applications.
Actually the logic games are kind of fun and I wish that I would have played them when I was younger... something I plan on telling my kids to do when they are growing up. Its a lot about organizing information and short term memory.
Here is an example... (this is a great time for you to take an extra break at work and see if you can get the problem done in the 9 minutes allowed per set of questions.
An amusement park roller coaster includes five cars, numbered 1 through 5 from front to back. Each car accommodates up to two riders, seated side by side. Six people—Tom, Gwen, Laurie, Mark, Paul and Jack—are riding the coaster at the same time.
* Laurie is sharing a car.
* Mark is not sharing a car and is seated immediately behind an empty car.
* Tom is not sharing a car with either Gwen or Paul.
* Gwen is riding in either the third or fourth car.
Which of the following groups of riders could occupy the second car?
(A) Laurie only
(B) Tom and Gwen
(C) Laurie and Mark
(D) Jack and Tom
(E) Jack, Gwen, and Paul
If Gwen is riding immediately behind Laurie's car and immediately ahead of Tom's car, all of the following must be true EXCEPT:
(A) Gwen is riding in the fourth car.
(B) Paul is riding in the third car.
(C) Tom is riding in the fifth car.
(D) Laurie is riding in the third car.
(E) The first car is empty.
Which one of the following statements CANNOT be true?
(A) Neither Tom nor Gwen is sharing a car with another rider
(B) Neither Mark nor Jack is sharing a car with another rider.
(C) Tom is sharing a car, and Jack is sharing a car.
(D) Gwen is sharing a car, and Paul is sharing a car.
(E) Tom is sharing a car, and Gwen is sharing a car.
If Paul is riding in the second car, how many different combinations of riders are possible for the third car?
(A) one
(B) two
(C) three
(D) four
(E) five
Assume that a seventh rider is riding with Jack in the first car, but that all other rules remain unchanged. Which of the following is a complete and accurate list of the riders who might be riding in the fifth car?
(A) Mark
(B) Gwen, Paul
(C) Tom, Laurie, Paul
(D) Tom, Laurie, Mark
(E) Tom, Paul, Laurie, Mark
Vice Presidents
Sen. Joeseph Biden...
I tend to like Sen. Biden a lot, however, I like him much more in the arena of the United States Senate then in the Naval Observatory where the Vice President resides. I like Sen. Biden because he is blunt, tells it as it is, and knows his stuff on almost everything --- especially foreign affairs, where I tend to agree with him the most. At the same time the reason he wouldn't make the best vice president is because he is blunt, tells it as it is, and could overshadow Sen. Obama in the White House Situation Room --- which is supposedly what Sen. Obama wants. Sen. Obama has often said he wants to be challenged when it comes to the tough issues, especially in times of crisis.
Overall, Sen. Biden will help the Obama ticket because he will be able to take the brunt of the foreign policy criticism Sen. Obama has been challenged with in recent weeks. At the same time, he can't take it all. Adding someone like Sen. Biden, who could be a heart beat from being president, to the ticket, doesn't make him the one who has to make the tough and quick decisions, and thus doesn't solve the problem of Obama's inexperience totally. Yes, it helps, but it doesn't make it a slam dunk.
I think that Sen. Biden's life story is one that is extremely compelling. Sen. Biden grew up with humble roots and when he first got elected to the Senate his wife and daughter died in a car accident, his two sons were spared but had to recover for quite some time. Sen. Biden told his sons that he wouldn't leave them and thus he commuted on a train from Delaware to DC every day so he could be with his family. What commitment and honor... look it up on a map, the commute from Delaware to DC is not easy. Sen. Biden is a man with extraordinary character, from what I have read about him, and to be totally honest I am overall glad he was chosen to be placed on the ticket.
On the other hand, I need to criticize Sen. Biden a little more and also criticize Sen. McCain. In the case of Sen. Biden: You can't claim to be Sen. McCain's friend and then go on the attack. You can't claim that Sen. McCain would be a great president and say he has become a right-wing crazy. Sen. McCain, like Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden are all gifted and extraordinary people, people I am proud to call my fellow Americans and people who will do great things if elected to the oval office.
In the case of Sen. McCain you can't expect to make fun of Sen. Obama's popularity in, to be totally honest, ABSOLUTELY pathetic campaign ads calling him the One, and expect people to think you are a honestly nice guy who wants change as much as Sen. Obama. Baloney! Also, figure out how many houses you have and own up to it. The Obama camp rode McCain's behind all week for 'forgetting' how many houses he had... when it was obvious that he didn't know how to put the political spin on the question and answer it. It happens to candidates all the time and it is making me believe that McCain is not running this campaign like he wants to or the way that would be best for him. Its the problem Vice President Gore had and Sen. Kerry had. They didn't run a campaign that reflected themselves. McCain shouldn't have to think, if I say seven then I will get in trouble, so what do I say... oh I will get back to you on that. He didn't forget he didn't know the formulated answer to say and thus did what he could to get out of the situation. To follow that up, I am quite upset with the way McCain has run his campaign because I don't think it is reflective of his character, personality, and best attributes. He is being dictated to by the RNC and the RNC is going to kill their candidate unless they back away and let McCain be McCain and not pander to the right wing of the right wing party.
Although this election seems to be about change (all over), the typical campaigning that is being waged by the candidates is anything but the change I can believe in. It is making me quite upset every time I hear the stupid "change we can believe in" again and again when everything I see is the same. Change starts from day one, it starts from the campaign, it starts with the way you live your everyday life, it starts with your tv ads, it starts with the way you address the other person, its not a slogan that you paste on a bumper stickers.
09/06/08
Well... maybe you have been checking this post for an update on the Sarah Palin VP pick, and the truth is, I have been trying to formulate my opinion on this quite surprising choice. So here it goes for the people who want to know.
I think that Gov. Palin was a obviously surprising choice and I think it will be a big flop or it will be a great choice, and I am leaning towards the great choice side of the debate. She seems to be an intelligent, focused, charismatic, and eloquent individual. I am happy that we have a woman in the race, not for the sole sake of having a woman on a ticket, but because it serves as a sign that our country really is progressing. I was quite impressed with Gov. Palin's ability to give a well presented speech at the convention last week.
I am a little worried that Gov. Palin is a little inexperienced being from a state with a small population and literally geographically isolated from the rest of the American public. Considering I feel like one of our top priorities needs to be to restabilish our world reputation, picking someone who has zero foriegn policy experience is troubling to me as well.
I must say something to the issue of her Daughter Bristol. I think that it is admirable and responsible of Bristol choosing to have her child. I actually have been thinking and praying for Bristol and her boyfriend because that has to be a really tough position to be in, and no one deserves their personal mistakes on the front of national newspapers. I also can't imagine the pressure that they both feel now when making decisions for themselves and their decision's impacts on the campaign, etc. At the same time, I almost think that Gov. Palin and Sen. McCain are using this as a perfect opportunity to bring social conservative issues to the forefront in a hope to get them excited about the ticket and make them vote in November because there had been worry that they would stay home. I think that if this happens to be the case, which I am not 100% sure about, leaning towards the no side actually, then I will have lost a lot of respect for the Maverick and his choice for VP.
On the other hand if we return to issues, I think that Bristol's case shows very clearly that abstinence only education is not a very responsible way of looking at youth sexual education. I hope that we stay away from issues like this however and focus on issues of the economy, foreign policy, health care, and ethics reform for this election --- as I see them as much more important topics.
I do think that Gov. Palin and her entire family are very beautiful and it will be interesting to see how much she impacts the election in the next --- less then 60 days before the election. I am very much looking forward to how well she holds up to Sen. Biden in the VP debate, because everyone knows that he is a skilled politician with great debating skills.
It will be fun.
I tend to like Sen. Biden a lot, however, I like him much more in the arena of the United States Senate then in the Naval Observatory where the Vice President resides. I like Sen. Biden because he is blunt, tells it as it is, and knows his stuff on almost everything --- especially foreign affairs, where I tend to agree with him the most. At the same time the reason he wouldn't make the best vice president is because he is blunt, tells it as it is, and could overshadow Sen. Obama in the White House Situation Room --- which is supposedly what Sen. Obama wants. Sen. Obama has often said he wants to be challenged when it comes to the tough issues, especially in times of crisis.
Overall, Sen. Biden will help the Obama ticket because he will be able to take the brunt of the foreign policy criticism Sen. Obama has been challenged with in recent weeks. At the same time, he can't take it all. Adding someone like Sen. Biden, who could be a heart beat from being president, to the ticket, doesn't make him the one who has to make the tough and quick decisions, and thus doesn't solve the problem of Obama's inexperience totally. Yes, it helps, but it doesn't make it a slam dunk.
I think that Sen. Biden's life story is one that is extremely compelling. Sen. Biden grew up with humble roots and when he first got elected to the Senate his wife and daughter died in a car accident, his two sons were spared but had to recover for quite some time. Sen. Biden told his sons that he wouldn't leave them and thus he commuted on a train from Delaware to DC every day so he could be with his family. What commitment and honor... look it up on a map, the commute from Delaware to DC is not easy. Sen. Biden is a man with extraordinary character, from what I have read about him, and to be totally honest I am overall glad he was chosen to be placed on the ticket.
On the other hand, I need to criticize Sen. Biden a little more and also criticize Sen. McCain. In the case of Sen. Biden: You can't claim to be Sen. McCain's friend and then go on the attack. You can't claim that Sen. McCain would be a great president and say he has become a right-wing crazy. Sen. McCain, like Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden are all gifted and extraordinary people, people I am proud to call my fellow Americans and people who will do great things if elected to the oval office.
In the case of Sen. McCain you can't expect to make fun of Sen. Obama's popularity in, to be totally honest, ABSOLUTELY pathetic campaign ads calling him the One, and expect people to think you are a honestly nice guy who wants change as much as Sen. Obama. Baloney! Also, figure out how many houses you have and own up to it. The Obama camp rode McCain's behind all week for 'forgetting' how many houses he had... when it was obvious that he didn't know how to put the political spin on the question and answer it. It happens to candidates all the time and it is making me believe that McCain is not running this campaign like he wants to or the way that would be best for him. Its the problem Vice President Gore had and Sen. Kerry had. They didn't run a campaign that reflected themselves. McCain shouldn't have to think, if I say seven then I will get in trouble, so what do I say... oh I will get back to you on that. He didn't forget he didn't know the formulated answer to say and thus did what he could to get out of the situation. To follow that up, I am quite upset with the way McCain has run his campaign because I don't think it is reflective of his character, personality, and best attributes. He is being dictated to by the RNC and the RNC is going to kill their candidate unless they back away and let McCain be McCain and not pander to the right wing of the right wing party.
Although this election seems to be about change (all over), the typical campaigning that is being waged by the candidates is anything but the change I can believe in. It is making me quite upset every time I hear the stupid "change we can believe in" again and again when everything I see is the same. Change starts from day one, it starts from the campaign, it starts with the way you live your everyday life, it starts with your tv ads, it starts with the way you address the other person, its not a slogan that you paste on a bumper stickers.
09/06/08
Well... maybe you have been checking this post for an update on the Sarah Palin VP pick, and the truth is, I have been trying to formulate my opinion on this quite surprising choice. So here it goes for the people who want to know.
I think that Gov. Palin was a obviously surprising choice and I think it will be a big flop or it will be a great choice, and I am leaning towards the great choice side of the debate. She seems to be an intelligent, focused, charismatic, and eloquent individual. I am happy that we have a woman in the race, not for the sole sake of having a woman on a ticket, but because it serves as a sign that our country really is progressing. I was quite impressed with Gov. Palin's ability to give a well presented speech at the convention last week.
I am a little worried that Gov. Palin is a little inexperienced being from a state with a small population and literally geographically isolated from the rest of the American public. Considering I feel like one of our top priorities needs to be to restabilish our world reputation, picking someone who has zero foriegn policy experience is troubling to me as well.
I must say something to the issue of her Daughter Bristol. I think that it is admirable and responsible of Bristol choosing to have her child. I actually have been thinking and praying for Bristol and her boyfriend because that has to be a really tough position to be in, and no one deserves their personal mistakes on the front of national newspapers. I also can't imagine the pressure that they both feel now when making decisions for themselves and their decision's impacts on the campaign, etc. At the same time, I almost think that Gov. Palin and Sen. McCain are using this as a perfect opportunity to bring social conservative issues to the forefront in a hope to get them excited about the ticket and make them vote in November because there had been worry that they would stay home. I think that if this happens to be the case, which I am not 100% sure about, leaning towards the no side actually, then I will have lost a lot of respect for the Maverick and his choice for VP.
On the other hand if we return to issues, I think that Bristol's case shows very clearly that abstinence only education is not a very responsible way of looking at youth sexual education. I hope that we stay away from issues like this however and focus on issues of the economy, foreign policy, health care, and ethics reform for this election --- as I see them as much more important topics.
I do think that Gov. Palin and her entire family are very beautiful and it will be interesting to see how much she impacts the election in the next --- less then 60 days before the election. I am very much looking forward to how well she holds up to Sen. Biden in the VP debate, because everyone knows that he is a skilled politician with great debating skills.
It will be fun.
Care Package!
Last week I got the best surprise in the entire world! A carepackage from my parents! It was absolutely wonderful. It had cookies, two pairs of jeans, a pair of sweatpants, mike and ikes, twizlers, and scotcheroos or special k bars as others like to call them. It was a great day booster! The best part was everything smelled like my house... which you may not know, but is amazing when you have been away from home for a long time.
I shared the mike and ikes with my COPA friends in the COPA office. They were addicting and we had them gone by the end of the day! We all decided that the red mike and ikes were the best... go ahead and debate me on that, I know I will win! :)
The special k bars were a hit at home with the family, but I kept most of them for myself because I love them so much! Jaimito, the 8 year host brother, loved the cookies and every day he would ask me for una gailleta (cookie) until they were both gone. Everyone also tried the twizlers, which they had never had before (they being my host family). They enjoyed them and again, Jaimito wanted another.
The jeans have been a huge saver. I brought quite a few pairs of shorts, but I didn't expect it would be so cold, so now that I have 4 pairs of jeans, I feel much more clean, since I can switch them out more often. :) The sweatpants also help a lot especially during the cold nights! burrr.... My mom made the joke recently that "what did I expect I was going to Chilly....!" What a clown. It is pretty true though, it is very cold.
The address to send care packages is on the right hand bar at the bottom, if you scroll down you will see it. My parents sent a rather large package which cost 60 dollars, which was worth it considering the jeans were in inside. However, if you want to write a letter, that would be much appreciated and wouldn't hurt your pocket book to much. If you are intent on sending a package, I highly suggest a bubble mailer with small things in it because a full bubble mailer will cost about 10 bucks... according to my COPA friends. Otherwise, keep reading the blogs, comments are always appreciated, or you can e-mail me at matthewjeldred@yahoo.com. I try to respond back as quickly as possible because I love hearing from people!
Today, Saturday the 23 is the 1st Month Anniversary of being part of the COPA program here in Santiago. On the 5th of September, it will be the 2 Month Anniversary of being in South America... time has already flown by! It is a little sad though to see facebook statuses saying that people are returning to St. Thomas. I love being here, but there is something about St. Paul and St. Thomas that just makes me so happy... especially in the fall. Enjoy it for me if you are returning there... I am quite jealous, just like I will enjoy the 80 degree weather in November and December while the blizzards are going on up there! :) BTW, I bought a new pair of sunglasses today that were 4 bucks and they are white. I think they look pretty cool. When I get a picture of me with them on, I will add it to flickr!
If you haven't checked out the pictures yet, check out the flickr blog from August and it will give you the link to the pictures. They really are fun to look at. You can also comment on the pictures on that site if you wish!
I shared the mike and ikes with my COPA friends in the COPA office. They were addicting and we had them gone by the end of the day! We all decided that the red mike and ikes were the best... go ahead and debate me on that, I know I will win! :)
The special k bars were a hit at home with the family, but I kept most of them for myself because I love them so much! Jaimito, the 8 year host brother, loved the cookies and every day he would ask me for una gailleta (cookie) until they were both gone. Everyone also tried the twizlers, which they had never had before (they being my host family). They enjoyed them and again, Jaimito wanted another.
The jeans have been a huge saver. I brought quite a few pairs of shorts, but I didn't expect it would be so cold, so now that I have 4 pairs of jeans, I feel much more clean, since I can switch them out more often. :) The sweatpants also help a lot especially during the cold nights! burrr.... My mom made the joke recently that "what did I expect I was going to Chilly....!" What a clown. It is pretty true though, it is very cold.
The address to send care packages is on the right hand bar at the bottom, if you scroll down you will see it. My parents sent a rather large package which cost 60 dollars, which was worth it considering the jeans were in inside. However, if you want to write a letter, that would be much appreciated and wouldn't hurt your pocket book to much. If you are intent on sending a package, I highly suggest a bubble mailer with small things in it because a full bubble mailer will cost about 10 bucks... according to my COPA friends. Otherwise, keep reading the blogs, comments are always appreciated, or you can e-mail me at matthewjeldred@yahoo.com. I try to respond back as quickly as possible because I love hearing from people!
Today, Saturday the 23 is the 1st Month Anniversary of being part of the COPA program here in Santiago. On the 5th of September, it will be the 2 Month Anniversary of being in South America... time has already flown by! It is a little sad though to see facebook statuses saying that people are returning to St. Thomas. I love being here, but there is something about St. Paul and St. Thomas that just makes me so happy... especially in the fall. Enjoy it for me if you are returning there... I am quite jealous, just like I will enjoy the 80 degree weather in November and December while the blizzards are going on up there! :) BTW, I bought a new pair of sunglasses today that were 4 bucks and they are white. I think they look pretty cool. When I get a picture of me with them on, I will add it to flickr!
If you haven't checked out the pictures yet, check out the flickr blog from August and it will give you the link to the pictures. They really are fun to look at. You can also comment on the pictures on that site if you wish!
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