Has it been this long!?!?!?!?!

Oh em geee! I didnt think it had been this long since I posted something haha. Well lets seeeee....last week, I had my interview with the SNA, the Sociedad nacional de agricultura en Chile, kind of like the USDA. It went pretty well, in spanish obviously haha, but I really liked my interviewer. His name is Francisco Gana, whos boss turns out to be my comercio exterior silvoagropecuario teacher (weird!), a nice guy who studied at Harvard some time ago, so if I ever needed to say something in english that I couldnt think of in spanish, he would try and help me. Basically the program I am most interested in is international food trade stuff, but the program also has other sectors to it. One of the sectors is about schools and classes specially designed for students who are planning to become farmers after they graduate and aim to teach them about the newest technology and how the markets outside of the their farms work. Another thing that I thought was cool that they do is here, after football, rodeo is the second most popular national sport. One job of the SNA is to test the horses for the rodeo to make sure they are Chilean horses, oooo, by a hair sample and some other tests. So hopefully they get back to me this week, I think that would be cool to work for a relatively large company like that. Then friday, as a required field trip, we went to Villa Grimaldi, which used to be a torture center during the Pinochet era, and El Cementerio General, which is well, a cemetery. Before our tour, we met at Casa Central, which is the main campus of my school, La Catolica, to have a lecture from someone we hadnt met before about the history of the era. Unfortunately, I couldnt hear much of the lecture because the students outside in the hallways were doing a mini-protest with pots, pans and drums, as is the usual protocol, but all is well. So we went out to Villa Grimaldi, which is a pretty small, well-fenced area in the outer parts of Santiago that supposedly was surrounded by nothing but fields 40 years ago, but is now is surrounded by houses and has bus lines running though it. The place itself is full of monuments and those little stone mosaic things on the ground because after it was used, Pinochet had it destroyed so as to symbolize that the torture didnt happen, but it has since been rebuilt so that the time period is not forgotten about. So we are going through this tour, sad and vivid of course, and I start thinking, wow, this guy sure does know a lot about the details of what happened to this prisoners. Well, turns out he was a student in the law school of the La Chile during the Pinochet era, and was in fact a prisoner who was tortured and then exiled to the United States, New York and California, for 13 years. I cant even believe that I was able to meet someone who went through what he did, let alone have him give me a tour of the place! Although sad and depressing, so interesting and worth the trip. Afterwards, we then went to el Cementerio General to look at the grave of Salvador Allende and also notice the stratified society of chile. The first part of the cementery is filled with huge statues and giant tombs of families and just everything covered with details. As we got further towards the back, you can just see the number of people grow and the quality of the tombs diminish, until one point they are just steel frames, rusted and broken, in a field. Some families cant even afford a plot of land and have to rent it out as long as they can until the bodies are removed and then placed somewhere else. Another thing that was interesting was for the family tombs, if there isnt an empty cell for a new body, the family will look at the oldest coffin, take the remains of the body, and put them in a smaller box with the new coffin in the same cell - called a reduccion. So overall an interesting field trip, ended by an old man singing "oh, linda linda linda linda linda" as I walked by with a friend. It was a nice change from whistling and car honking.
Ive also realized that once I return to school in english, I will be very happy. I took a quiz last week composed of 6 short answer questions, where 2 of the questions I didnt even understand, soooo well see how that goes haha. Thats about it for right now, Im gonna be thinking of anything I missed on my metro ride home, which oh god is going to be crowded. Oh! One time; I took the metro, and was reading Water for Elephants, and I got to this crazy stampede scene, and I started hearing all this commotion and women screaming and crying, and thought wow this is a vivid book, until I realized that the train had stopped and the screaming was because a boy had fallen under the train...sad.
Oh, and also went to mass for the first time in a long while. There is obviously a big church on campus...like really, right in the middle and they hold mass everyday from 1-1:30, so I decided to check it out. The place was full by the time 1:00 came around, people sitting in every pew, standing in the back, sitting on the side, everywhere. For the most part I could understand a lot of the sermons and what not, but couldnt really participate in the prayers, kind of just mumbled along haha. 2 of my classes dont start till 2:00pm, so if Im ever on campus earlier, like today, then Ill probably go to mass, sometimes just a nice place to think and take everything into perspective.

August 1st: SCHOOL BEGINS!

OKIE DOKIE! sorry its been a dynasty, but got back on Friday from an absolutely awesome trip up north!!!! Left friday night to take a plane up north to Antofagasta, a city along coast and a heavy mining area. Kind of boring, but had some really really good seafood. So we got in at 11pm, and our first destination was San Pedro de Atacama. Thats right, THE Atacama desert. Anyways, so instead of flying again, its usually a lot cheaper to bus everywhere. But who knows why, but our bus didn't leave till 7am. Soooo spent some quality time hanging at the bus stop for 8 hours haha. But the first bus ride went super well. It was warm, i had no one in front of me, and woke up to a cool view of riding into the atacama :). BUT! i do have to say that using the bathroom was quite the challenge....WHO PUTS A SPRING SEAT IN A MOVING BUS!? Just saying. ok! So we get there and the hostel we are staying at was waiting with a little van to take us, even though the town of San Pedro turned out to be super small! Ok so we got there at noon, and at 3 we were told there would be this tour of valle de la luna, a beautiful desert place to watch the sunset on the andes/volcanoes and see how dry Atacama is. P.S., its super dry. Like literally, no wind, no bugs, no life. But the sunset was gorgeous! Such a pretty place. So that was the first day. The next day! We got the pleasure of waking up at 4am to drive up the the Geysers of Tatio, the highest geyser plane in the world. And did not know there was going to snow......did not know. Sooooo my toes were a little bit chilly, but survived because getting to watch the sunrise through the geyser steam and the snow covered mountains. and theeeeeen, we decided to take a swim a thermal pack after seeing a pack of vicunas!!!!!!! there were so cooool. And so were the hot springs. soooo coool. We also had an awesome driver all day! Instead of being in a van with the rest of tourists, we got a pretty big jeep for the 5 of us. Have to say, it was so worth it to travel in a small group. Made things sooo easy and made so good friendships, hooray! Ok anyways, thennnn the next day we went to see a flamingo reserve, which had 3/5 known flamingo species! And afterwards, we saw the lagunas chaxa and cejar : ) SO PRETTY! When we got there, there was a photoshoot going on for a store called Paris down there. They seemed less than thrilled to have us yelling "GET IN THE WATER! WE HAVE PISCO!!!!!" but ohhhh well. So yes, lagunas here are like the dead sea, there is soooo much salt, you just float without effort. HOWEVER!!!!! the top layer is about 40 degrees, only when your feet hit water fully submerged is it warm...and you float. sooo that was interesting,, but so worth it to be swimming in pristine blue waters, with flying flamingoes and snow-covered mountains in the background. We also had the chance to stop in a little pueblo and went into this cool shop where they made llama/alpaca things, at first didnt seem that interesting, but then....THERE WERE LLAMAS! Dont, worry, I got to feed some llamas. Soooo cute! Ok, so after that, we wanted to head up north to Arica, which is the farthest point in Chile on the coast. Like actually, debated taking a taxi to peru for the day. But anyways! This bus ride was 12 hours long!!!!!! And absolutely terrible. First, it smelled. It was 90 degrees. and then the man in front of me so kindly put his chair on my legs so that i couldn't move. good stuff. but we made it! and saw the oldest mummies in the world!! A couple thousand years older than the egyptians. Annnnd climbed a hill that a cool view of the city. Stayed in a hostel with a 3 person bunk bed. Safe, right? But we did get to go out with the people at the hostel, so that was a good way to pass the time. Then the next day, meandered round the city before our 2nd bus ride back to Antofagasta. Don't worry, it was just a bad. Because after my reliable benadryl, got woken by the man on a bus saying "hey, get off the bus and take your stuff" at 5 am. greeeeat. turns out we had to stop at a military checkpoint. So after they opened my bag and poked some dirty socks, back on miserable bus we went. But I did feel worse for my friend next me, because everytime they had to return our ID's to us, who knows why, but they would only wake up her and give her my things haha. Oh welllll. Antofagasta was, well, not that exciting haha, but a relaxing day before heading back to Santiago.
OK! So today I started my classes at La Catolica, and have to say it was a pretty good first day. Really interested in this Commercial Exports of Agriculture class, the professor made sure we knew it was an easy class. He also asked who isn't in the department, and I raised my hand to say I am an exchange student, told him I went to Davis, and what did he say? "Davis is the best school". HOORAY! And afterwards, he asked me if I understood anything, which was pretty minimal, but he made it did say that he more than willing to help if I didn't understand, send an email or something, and then another student chimed in and said he would be willing to help too, so that makes me feel a little better. THEN! I emailed the volleyball coach yesterday bout joining the team, and I got to practice with them today! Felt so good to play again, even though I was wayyyy out of shape, but for the most part the girls were really nice, cept they did get a little mad when I would yell in english and they would mess up, they would just point and say "she doesn't speak spanish! she doesn't speak spanish!" haha, ohhhh well, so hopefully I am able to play on the team with them, have to send the coach my info but nonetheless it was fun today. Ok! That should be enough for now, now time to drink some tea and get ready for more classes tomorrow :)
Chao!

Day something or other, 3rd week maybe?

hola! ok, hmmm, what's new. Oh! I have seen some pretty good movies lately in our spanish classes. So far we have watched:


1) La Nana - very interesting film about the life of the nannies/housekeepers who live in the homes they work for. It exposes some of the issues such as inability of the nanas to have their own families, heirarchies within the houses, dependency of the work provided the nanas, competition from other immigrants for the jobs. I reccomend it for sure

2) El Chacotero Sentimental - short, quirky and pretty light hearted movie about the problems of a married couple who has to move into their families apartment with their kids because of financial situations. Although not as serious as La Nana, does give a good insight on the overcrowding problems in poverty stricken neighborhoods and how if affects the daily life of its residents.

3) Mi Mejor Enemigo - pretty dark and serious, about the territorial conflicts between Argentina and Chile concerning the southern end of the countries near Patagonia. War movie about how the soldiers of either side and the cultures of the two countries interact. Interesting, but kind of sad.

Also good songs:
-Color Esperanza
-La Joya del Pacifico
-Que levante la mano
-Por que no se van


Soooooo, what else is there. I basically love my host family. The other night I went out with my host brother to a cool cumbia place and learned to dance, poorly, but I managed. That was preeeetty cool. And last night went out to pretty cool and swanky bar/restaurant to watch some cueca dancing and live music. Also got to take a mini tour of La Moneda, where the president works. Going wine tasting tomorrow, hooray for cultural activities!!! Taking a day trip to the Andes this weekend. Bought my ticket to Antofagasta to see Atacama, annnnnd hopefully booking my Inca Trails trip for September. Oh, and Chile beat Peru in overtime last night. Nice. Ciao!

Things I will never understand about Chile

1) Why so much mayonnaise? Why?
2) Why no pepper? I have been to eat at places very fancy, very cheap, and even at home, and yet the pepper has yet to present itself...why?
3) Where the dogs on their streets get their sweaters
4) Coca-cola, why must you be EVERYWHERE in the store? Really, even next to the ham? The bread? The checkout? Ev'rywhereeeee
5) Why the bus drivers are actually insane. You're automobile is not tiny. Please remember
6) If I look you in the eyes because you are staring at me, please do not continue to stare me, my goodness it's getting uncomfortable.
7) Bread. Oh the bread. It's not necessary for every meal, it will still be there for tomorrow, I have a feeling the world isn't going to end the next day, it's ok to not eat it for a day.

I'm sure there are more things that I will discover and not understand over the course of my stay, these so far are the ones that have stuck out to me the most.

Day 10

Sooooo this past weekend/first part of the week has been an adventure of course. Algarrobo was soooooo much fun and so beautiful! Its about 2 hours outside of Santiago by bus and the drive there was really cool. We passed by a lot of wineries and hilly areas that remind me a lot of california, but this beach was so pretty! The water was so clear and blue, very clean beaches and semi-warm weather that was a nice break from the negative degrees in Santiago haha. Although a lot of the time was spent in meetings learning about the program, how to prepare for school, and the preparation for the spanish, it was still a lot of fun to have time to walk along the beach and get to know all the people in the program. Everyone was very easy to talk to, shared the same feelings about being in Chile, and overall I've been so happy with the people that I have been able to meet. Oh, and did I mention I saw the worlds largest swimming pool? :) thats right haha. Anyway! So after returning from our retreat, July 3rd, the American Embassy told us that they were hosting a 4th of July celebration at a place called California Cantina, hooray! This place was so cool! It looked like a regular bar downstairs, but upstairs was a little patio area with lights, and pictures of california painted on the walls and a lot of other americans there, so a good way to celebrate. Then! The next night, Chile played Mexico in the Copa America.....and who do you think won? CHILE!!!!! Downtown was really cool to experience, lots of cheering and celebrating, and may I add that the Chilean flag colors are red white and blue....so it was basically another 4th of July celebration. All was fun until the tank drove by, so we know thats when it was time to go. Not only was it a celebration, but due to a lot of discontent and demonstrations by the students, the large gathering had some undertones of political statements. Not too much has happened this week, just going along with my 4 hours of spanish today. Oh, well we did watch this movie called "La Nana", which was really interesting. It depicted the lfe of a nanny/housemaid that is very common to see in south america and the effects that this lifestyle has on the family, but more importantly how it affects the nannies. But for now, that's all. My hands are getting too cold to type, hasta luego!

Day 5

Sooooooo as the title would suggest, this is my 5th day in Chile...and its pretty freaking chilly. Like seriously haha. Anyway, so far I have loved it here besides the weather! Flight here went pretty well and I successfully made it to the Che Lagarto hostel in downtown Santiago after my flight. I´ve never stayed in a hostel before but it was a pretty cool experience. This particular hostel has locations all around South America and very good reviews and I can see why. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and speaks English haha. I stayed in a dorm type room with 5 bunk beds and a bathroom. Most of the people who were staying at the hostel were a little bit older that me, usually around 24-26, and traveled in small groups of around 3-5. Luckily, 3 other people in my program were staying at the same hostel, so it was nice to have someone to talk to and go out with for the first couple nights. The first night I met a group of Brazilians who were friendly and invited me and another friend to go out with them to a place called PatioBellaVista, which is a cool little downtown area that has good restaurants and bars. The second day I went with two other girls on a free walking tour of  Santiago that the hostel suggested and I´m so glad I did. We started in a place called Plaza de Armas that has a huge cathedral and old buildings from the time when Spain controlled Chile. Our tour guide Felipe was so good, he showed us all the major government buildings and gave us the basic facts of the Allende and Pinochet governments, with some Chilean context of how it affected the country and the people. The tour was 4 hours long, but most definitely worth it. And we got a free dinner out of it! While on the tour, I met two people from the US, one of whom went to Davis law school. One was a District Attorney and the other a Federal agent who invited us over and made us a delicious pasta with sea food. Hooray!
The next day, Wednesday, was the official start date of the program. We were told that we needed to meet at La Catolica, the school I will be attending in agosto, but we needed to find our way there. Santiago has a well set public transportation system, but since we had our luggage, the 4 of us from the program who were at the hostel decided to take a taxi...which didn´t out so well. We didn´t know which direction the campus was and only until the taxi driver asked us if we flying an international flight did we realize that he is was taking us to the airport in the opposite direction of where we needed to go. Worried that we would be dismissed from the program from being late, the ride there was a little stressful, but thankfully our host mom´s were waiting for us and greeted us with open saying "ay! mi hija!". So for the next month we will be living with our host families and I love them! My mom´s name is Sandra who has a son Ricardo who lives there and there is another student from Ecuador, Renato, who is going to the University of Chile for 2 years. Oh, and Catalina, the very cute perro :) The host family´s typically live pretty near the campus, mine is about a 5 minute drive, and in a pretty safe and calm part of town. Also, the families don´t speak any English, which obviously has its advantages and disadvantages. Of course, I get a total immersion of the language, but at the same time, Chileans speak very very very fast and with a lot of chilenismos, or slang. But for the most part, my host mom understands that she needs to speak slow and clearly with me because she has hosted I think about 5 girls before me from the program in past years. I understand her for the most part, but I feel bad that I have to concentrate so hard on what she is saying that I think I only say two words - si or no. But classes start next week, so the spanish will come I know.
This weekend we are going to Algarroba, a beach about an hour ago for our retreat con the program. There are about 45 kids in the program and from almost all the UC´s, excpet for UCLA. Should be fun and a good experience to meet all the new people.
P.S. I´m pretty sure I´m progressively getting worse at speaking English each day lol.

Hola!

Helllllllllloooo! So this is my first attempt at "blogging" as some may call it or anything like it really. But! Thought since I will be in another country for 6 months, this is the best time to start. So I leave tomorrow, hooray!, and seems like packing is almost done, but does it really matter? I know I will get there and forget something anyways haha. Alriiiiighty, so that's it for now! Can't wait to arrive at the hostel in Santiago!