Here is a list of things I have learned about Chileans, it is a work in progress, but a list nevertheless.
1. They love the Simpsons a lot, as in more than I thought anyone could.
2. They need a lesson in central heating.
3. They eat a lot of sugar and salt.
4. They know how to move their hips.
5. It is nearly impossible to have a conversation that is not full of passion. Sometimes this results in yelling during class, which is startling, but entertaining.
6. The circuses feed the street dogs to their animals. This breaks my heart and makes me think I would be the crazy dog lady here.
7. They love their families a lot.
8. They watch really bad telenovelas (soap operas) that I can't get into, but love to pretend I am.
9. Chilenismos are huge here which means they speak a little Spanish and a lot of Chilean.
10. Mi casa es su casa is actually the truth here. I have never felt more at home in a place that is not my home. They are extremely gracious and kind about including me in their lives.
11. They love Chile. They have so much pride for their country it is awesome!
I shall update this list every so often. I hope you are all doing well.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
A little bit of this, a little of that, and a surprise!
Congratulations to my brother Ben! He has completed his career as a high school students and will be moving on to bigger and better things at Missoula, Montana (Ben you can thank me for answering that question before you were asked 1.3 million times by all my blog followers). I am sure we will all be reading about him in the future because that kid is going places. Also, happy birthday to my sister, she is turning the big 3-0, I am so lucky to have such great siblings (including Caleb, obviously).
I am sick again, the same dizziness, etc. I went to the doctor on Thursday night, I had an appointment for 9 p.m, but didn't actually see the doctor until 12. I guess that is Chile. He was very nice and must have been exhausted, I sure was. I watched two episodes of "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" Chilean style and realized I am definitely not. On the upside, I understood everything that he told me. He took special note that I was an American, I think he automatically knew I was from a family of attorneys because he was thorough. He put me on some medicine, made an appointment for ten days, forbid me from working for 10 days, and wished me the best. I think I will be feeling like new in no time. I will be productive throughout this time, I have already planned my lessons, whoa! I hope they actually work considering I planned them in less than stellar condition.
Now, for the surprise, this is what I saw on my walk today(I know, I know, bed rest, but I was going crazy). It was the size of my hand ( I have small hands, but even still, you can imagine this was huge). I am so glad I do not suffer from arachnophobia or else I would have nightmares for days, I would also like to thank my mother for not allowing me to see the film Arachnophobia, she saved me from years of living in fear in our basement.
.
I am sick again, the same dizziness, etc. I went to the doctor on Thursday night, I had an appointment for 9 p.m, but didn't actually see the doctor until 12. I guess that is Chile. He was very nice and must have been exhausted, I sure was. I watched two episodes of "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" Chilean style and realized I am definitely not. On the upside, I understood everything that he told me. He took special note that I was an American, I think he automatically knew I was from a family of attorneys because he was thorough. He put me on some medicine, made an appointment for ten days, forbid me from working for 10 days, and wished me the best. I think I will be feeling like new in no time. I will be productive throughout this time, I have already planned my lessons, whoa! I hope they actually work considering I planned them in less than stellar condition.
Now, for the surprise, this is what I saw on my walk today(I know, I know, bed rest, but I was going crazy). It was the size of my hand ( I have small hands, but even still, you can imagine this was huge). I am so glad I do not suffer from arachnophobia or else I would have nightmares for days, I would also like to thank my mother for not allowing me to see the film Arachnophobia, she saved me from years of living in fear in our basement.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Turn your attention this way, please.
My little brother is a superstar, even though he is anything but little. I am so proud of him!
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/education/article_5e63f8d6-6951-11df-903c-001cc4c03286.html
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/education/article_5e63f8d6-6951-11df-903c-001cc4c03286.html
Monday, May 24, 2010
Since I gave up scrapbooking before I started I put it on my blog.
This montage of beauty is from Puerto Varas, enjoy!
Photos taken by Kelsea Anderson, the great.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Driving, Swimming, and Eating
Chileans really love driving and Jorge is no exception. This has greatly been to my benefit considering that I have seen some truly beautiful things since I have been living with la familia Flores. This weekend I went to some thermal hot springs, on a tomato hunt, and to little Italy.
Friday was a national holiday (Glorias Navales) because according to my host father, Arturo Pratt (who liberated Chile and won the northern town of Iquique) fell off a boat. I am not convinced that is the whole story, but it was confirmed by my students as well, so who knows. It does seem like the Chileans love to celebrate anything, I am submitting a day for me. Anyway, because of this we decided to take advantage of the day off and relax in some thermal hot springs. I was fully expecting to drive to some remote little area, hike a bit and indulge in mother nature's treat, but instead found myself at one of Chile's finest resorts. It was glorious, we relaxed, lunched, and relaxed some more. I even made a friend who invited me to her home next weekend, which proves that Chileans are among the most hospitable in the world. The drive was beautiful, the time delightful, and the water was a dream. I did get stared at quite a bit due to my pale nature, and little kids were really into trying to touch my skin, it was hilarious.
Chile is full of little surprises: hot springs, earthquakes, Puerto Varas, pigs that live on the street and little immigrant communities. Today I visited a little Italian community, Capitan Pastene, about an hour from Angol and that boasts the best Italian in Chile. Once inside the restaurant you would have no idea you were in a country that worships hot dogs. It is seriously delicious. I didn't really believe my family when they were talking about it, I was like, "Yeah, yeah, you think my cooking is delicious, I'm not really going in with high hopes." I was pleasantly surprised. The ambience of the restaurant was absolutely delightful and the noodles and sauces are made right in front of you. We happened to run into a priest that they know so we broke bread (literally) with a priest while talking about the Vatican, it was so Italian. It was absolutely delicious and the women were very anxious to serve me (just like Italian mothers in films, it was so cliche).
The Resort
Pasta Factory
Another view
The Plaza and the earthquake (Lorna was very nervous about us posing on this).
Friday was a national holiday (Glorias Navales) because according to my host father, Arturo Pratt (who liberated Chile and won the northern town of Iquique) fell off a boat. I am not convinced that is the whole story, but it was confirmed by my students as well, so who knows. It does seem like the Chileans love to celebrate anything, I am submitting a day for me. Anyway, because of this we decided to take advantage of the day off and relax in some thermal hot springs. I was fully expecting to drive to some remote little area, hike a bit and indulge in mother nature's treat, but instead found myself at one of Chile's finest resorts. It was glorious, we relaxed, lunched, and relaxed some more. I even made a friend who invited me to her home next weekend, which proves that Chileans are among the most hospitable in the world. The drive was beautiful, the time delightful, and the water was a dream. I did get stared at quite a bit due to my pale nature, and little kids were really into trying to touch my skin, it was hilarious.
Chile is full of little surprises: hot springs, earthquakes, Puerto Varas, pigs that live on the street and little immigrant communities. Today I visited a little Italian community, Capitan Pastene, about an hour from Angol and that boasts the best Italian in Chile. Once inside the restaurant you would have no idea you were in a country that worships hot dogs. It is seriously delicious. I didn't really believe my family when they were talking about it, I was like, "Yeah, yeah, you think my cooking is delicious, I'm not really going in with high hopes." I was pleasantly surprised. The ambience of the restaurant was absolutely delightful and the noodles and sauces are made right in front of you. We happened to run into a priest that they know so we broke bread (literally) with a priest while talking about the Vatican, it was so Italian. It was absolutely delicious and the women were very anxious to serve me (just like Italian mothers in films, it was so cliche).
The Resort
Pasta Factory
Another view
The Plaza and the earthquake (Lorna was very nervous about us posing on this).
La Iglesia (and the earthquake damage).
Friday, May 21, 2010
Falling in Love
Some love develops over time and some love happens so quickly it's as if you have only blinked your eyes and there you are, deep in that I CAN'T-BELIEVE-THIS-IS-REAL type of love. This is the love I have for Puerto Varas. Leaving there was the hardest thing I have done in 2010, I am only being semi-dramatic. I am convinced that all the stars aligned and rewarded me for something I did in a past life because the weekend was incredible. I just wish futuristic email had existed then so I knew what it was and could repeat the cycle.
We (being my friends Kelsea, Honni and I) started our journey a bit tired because we stayed out dancing all night the night before but we had plenty of time for napping because the bus ride was about 5 hours. We are still unsure of why the bus couldn't drop us off in the actual town, so we started the journey on the side of the highway but were soon hitchhiking/walking ourselves into what we hoped was the right direction. Chileans keep proving to me that they are genuinely kind people because we were soon picked up by a really sweet music teacher who dropped us off in the town plaza. The stars aligned again because the hostel that had been recommended to us just happened to be sitting there waiting for our weary selves to walk right in and take over. We dropped our stuff off and began our grand adventure.
Puerto Varas is a lovely little German establishment that is right on a gorgeous lake with a view of two large volcanoes. We awed and oohed over the view for quite a while and then decided to try our hands at being voyeurs and checked out the neighborhoods. The architecture was unbelievable. It was straight out of a fairy tale, what I picture Hansel and Gretel to be like (before the witches and cooking of children, etc) and there were various houses offering freshly made kuchen, pies, and cakes. It may be heaven on earth.
We stumbled upon this ridiculous looking home turned into a museum(Pablo Fierro Museum). It looked like a Tim Burton creation, but it said it was free and who am I to pass up a free museum? We walked into the most bizarre world of trinkets, antiques, paintings, and drawings. We were completely clueless about who this eccentric genius could be and dumbly asked, "Who is Pablo Fierro?" We were expecting him to be some dead guy, but alas he was the living breathing man in front of us. He led us around, told us about his vision, and let us wander around his world. He was so incredibly kind and had the most gentle eyes. We wandered around and I picked out some decorations for my future home (which leads me to a far more loaded question, what should I do after this adventure? I am open to most suggestions, I can't believe I just asked that on my blog, my mom is going crazy trying to gather all her suggestions).
We ended our near perfect day (the only blunder being we were nearly attacked by a gang of stray dogs) by dancing our hearts out and relishing in the beauty of Chile.
We spent Saturday wandering around Puerto Varas and falling victim to the many handicrafts, I can't resist handmade sweaters for my nieces, especially not when the women are telling me that it will look so cute on them. I know they have no idea what she looks like, but I also know that my nieces are darling in anything, clearly I am still justifying my actions.
We also went on a beautiful walk along the river to the next town over. We also stopped along the way to admire the houses and were offered a tour of one of the houses. It was gorgeous and made us all wish we worked for House and Home so we could tour gorgeous lake houses all the time.
I know this is a bit lengthy, but I am clearly in deep love and cannot stop myself.
Unfortunately I was completely absentminded and forgot to buy batteries so I have very few pictures, but check out pablofierro.cl and enjoy the few photos I have.
At the Pablo Fierro Museum.
I fell in love with this home (that is a volcano in the background).
This church is awesome and made out of corrugated tin, I'm sure the priest loves giving his homily during the rain (and yes, it does rain a lot).
We (being my friends Kelsea, Honni and I) started our journey a bit tired because we stayed out dancing all night the night before but we had plenty of time for napping because the bus ride was about 5 hours. We are still unsure of why the bus couldn't drop us off in the actual town, so we started the journey on the side of the highway but were soon hitchhiking/walking ourselves into what we hoped was the right direction. Chileans keep proving to me that they are genuinely kind people because we were soon picked up by a really sweet music teacher who dropped us off in the town plaza. The stars aligned again because the hostel that had been recommended to us just happened to be sitting there waiting for our weary selves to walk right in and take over. We dropped our stuff off and began our grand adventure.
Puerto Varas is a lovely little German establishment that is right on a gorgeous lake with a view of two large volcanoes. We awed and oohed over the view for quite a while and then decided to try our hands at being voyeurs and checked out the neighborhoods. The architecture was unbelievable. It was straight out of a fairy tale, what I picture Hansel and Gretel to be like (before the witches and cooking of children, etc) and there were various houses offering freshly made kuchen, pies, and cakes. It may be heaven on earth.
We stumbled upon this ridiculous looking home turned into a museum(Pablo Fierro Museum). It looked like a Tim Burton creation, but it said it was free and who am I to pass up a free museum? We walked into the most bizarre world of trinkets, antiques, paintings, and drawings. We were completely clueless about who this eccentric genius could be and dumbly asked, "Who is Pablo Fierro?" We were expecting him to be some dead guy, but alas he was the living breathing man in front of us. He led us around, told us about his vision, and let us wander around his world. He was so incredibly kind and had the most gentle eyes. We wandered around and I picked out some decorations for my future home (which leads me to a far more loaded question, what should I do after this adventure? I am open to most suggestions, I can't believe I just asked that on my blog, my mom is going crazy trying to gather all her suggestions).
We ended our near perfect day (the only blunder being we were nearly attacked by a gang of stray dogs) by dancing our hearts out and relishing in the beauty of Chile.
We spent Saturday wandering around Puerto Varas and falling victim to the many handicrafts, I can't resist handmade sweaters for my nieces, especially not when the women are telling me that it will look so cute on them. I know they have no idea what she looks like, but I also know that my nieces are darling in anything, clearly I am still justifying my actions.
We also went on a beautiful walk along the river to the next town over. We also stopped along the way to admire the houses and were offered a tour of one of the houses. It was gorgeous and made us all wish we worked for House and Home so we could tour gorgeous lake houses all the time.
I know this is a bit lengthy, but I am clearly in deep love and cannot stop myself.
Unfortunately I was completely absentminded and forgot to buy batteries so I have very few pictures, but check out pablofierro.cl and enjoy the few photos I have.
At the Pablo Fierro Museum.
I fell in love with this home (that is a volcano in the background).
This church is awesome and made out of corrugated tin, I'm sure the priest loves giving his homily during the rain (and yes, it does rain a lot).
Monday, May 17, 2010
Bedbugs
There are not just a cute little saying like I thought, they really do bite and cause terrible itchiness. I don't know what Chilean bugs have against me, but I would like to call a truce. Now. I am not terribly upset by these buggers yet though because I am still on cloud nine love from my weekend in Puerto Varas. I will write more about that later, but until then, I hope you all are well, sleep tight, and DON'T let the bedbugs bite!
Kathy, thanks for the sweet letter, it arrived today and made my whole day! 17 days is not bad for the South American continent, I'm impressed considering it takes 2 hours to buy meat.
More later, until then, ciao!
Kathy, thanks for the sweet letter, it arrived today and made my whole day! 17 days is not bad for the South American continent, I'm impressed considering it takes 2 hours to buy meat.
More later, until then, ciao!
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