PATAGONIA

I just got back from a 5-day backpacking trip in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia.  I went with 3 other girls from my program, Kelly, Allie, and Becca.  Not only were we the only group of all girls backpacking the trail, but we were also the youngest ones we encountered.  When we got back to Santiago our entire program was SO surprised that we'd survived... the W-Trail (the trail we'd backpacked) had absolutely no faith that we'd be able to fend for ourselves for a week.  The fact that I could come back to Santiago alive and well to tell the tale of the first group of our program to backpack the W made me feel so accomplished.  

It was an amazing trip!  Unfortunately, though, my camera was stolen by the airport.  After what seemed like years of intense arguing, the airlines offered me US$50 as compensation.  I was so mad and frustrated, especially because they told me that it was my fault for keeping my camera in my checked bag.  I know it wasn't the best idea to keep it there, but maybe I just had blind hope that my valuables wouldn't be stolen by the airline.  To top it off, though, the jerk also stole my 3 Snickers bars I had bought for about $2 each for the trail!  

It would be hard, though, to describe everything that we'd done that week... so much intense backpacking, gross amounts of food, and amazing scenery to describe.  I will, however, post as many pictures as Blogspot will allow:

Making our way into the park:

At the start of the W:

Day 2: The torres of Torres del Paine.  We saw the sunset up there and the torres turned red:

That was also the day of our 12-hour hiking adventure:

Day 3: Hiking in Valle de Frances.  At the top we had a 360 degree view of the lake, the back of the torres, and the entire valley we'd just scaled.  I could've stayed up there forever. :

Days 4 and 5: backpacking to Grey Glacier. :

The weather was amazing and I hiked in t-shirts and shorts the whole time.  I couldn't believe when I had to come back to Santiago to go back to school and live in the congested city!

Pucón and Valdivia

This past weekend I went to Pucón and Valdivia, two cities in the Lake District of Chile.  Pucón is famous for its Villarica volcano, which tourists can climb on an intense 12-hour hike.  However, we happened to go during one of the rainiest weekends in Pucón, so no company would allow for us to hike the volcano.  We were disappointed, but we filled up our 2 days there with other activities, like zip lining and lots of hot springs.  The Lake District feels like a complete other world compared to Santiago... the scenery feels very pure and untouched, and everything is super green.

Ziplining scenery:

Waterfall tours:

Hot springs:

All in all, Pucón was super beautiful and reminded me a lot of Alaska or northern Washington.  It was disappointing that we weren't able to climb the volcano but we ended up filling our time with other activities.

After spending 2 days in Pucón, we headed over to Valdivia, which is a 3-hour bus ride to the west.  The weather cleared up in Valdivia so it was amazing!  Valdivia is surrounded by rivers in northern Chilean Patagonia.  In Valdivia, we took a Calle Calle river tour, a brewery tour, ate lots of sea food (I can check eating half-digested algae off my Chile to-do list), and went hiking along the beach in a neighboring town.

Fish market in Valdivia:

Giant sea lion at the fish market:

River tour:

Las Molinas, a small fishing town about 20 min from Valdivia:

After Valdivia, we took an overnight bus back to Santiago... just in time for my presentation on Tuesday morning!  Que bueno!

Fantasilandiaaaa!

So I realized today that the name of my blog, "Adventures in Santiago", isn't necessarily fitting because I rarely post about my time IN Santiago.  However, most of my "adventures" within Santiago have been sad and boring tales of difficult tests and getting lost in sketch parts of town that look exactly the same (ok, not true, but that's what the past week has consisted of haha).  In any case, in order to conform with the theme of my poorly-named blog, I will start to post here some pictures of things to do in Santiago if you ever find yourself here on a connecting flight to Buenos Aires, Easter Island, or somewhere else that is actually exciting :)

This past week I went to Fantasilandia, the theme park in Santiago.  I knew that it was going to be sketch because it only cost $15 to get into the only amusement park in Chile--but I wanted to go anyway.  There were 2 roller coasters and about 20 other rides, all of which were complete with cheesy decorations and failing safety regulations.  There was no way that any of the rides at Fantasilandia would fly in the United States.  One roller coaster goes around and honestly almost hits itself on its way down, workers don't come around to make sure everyone is wearing their seat belt (or lack thereof), and rides stay upside down for almost twice as long as rides in the US--to the point where I was saying to myself, "When is this going to be done?" as all of the blood was rushing to my head.  

So although I don't have any good pictures of Fanstasilandia itself, I did let my friend take pictures with my camera on the most unsafe ride ever (afterwards I was honestly surprised that all 6 of us were still alive), and these are some of the gems that she captured while we were there:

...aaaand my favorite because Mallory looks SO terrified... hahaha:

South American theme park... CHECK!  I wonder what flaite things Santiago will give me to do next? :)

Gracias a Dios que los mineros son vivos!

After spending more than 2 months half a mile underground, Chilean miners were finally brought to the surface last week.  While the entire country is overjoyed with their recovery, there have been major issues over President Sebastian Piñera's coverage of the miners.  Piñera is the third richest man in Chile and one of the richest men in the world, and there has been upheaval over the politics of his term as president since he came to office earlier this year--he is pretty conservative and owns major holdings in some of Latin America's largest corporations.  In any case, I don't want to go into his politics much further because I feel like I can't be one to truly judge his presidency (especially without getting myself into an intense political discussion with any Chilean I have ever met or had a class with), but in my opinion Piñera's over-the-top coverage of this occasion has the stench of political gain all over it.  I am, however, happy for the miners (you should have heard and seen the streets after the 33rd miner was rescued!) and pray for their safe--and hopefully smooth--return to their families and normal lives.

If you'd like to read more, feel free to read the link below:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/chile/101010/mining-copper-rescue-pinera

"Studying" Abroad: A learning experience

Things I've learned from this experience so far:

1) School in other countries is not the same as school in the United States.  Studying for a "very very important" test COULD mean that that test will not be administered until 5 weeks after the initial exam date.  Case-in-point: my Sociología Económica class has not met for the last 3 weeks and we were supposed to have our first test the first week of September.  Fail.

2) Never ask your professor if he "ha visitado el huevón" when trying to ask about an important monument in Valparaíso.  This literally translates to, "Have you visited the big testicles?"  Fail.

3) Make sure to check foreign exchange rates before going abroad.  I don't wish for Chile's economy to do poorly... well, actually, that's a lie.  I don't wish for Chile's economy to do poorly after December.  Until December, it would be nice for it to start failing so I can get more pesos for my dollar until then.

4) PDA in the parks, subway, streets, and stores is pretty typical... don't get too close to the couple in question, because they won't stop; instead, they'll just push up against you and make you even more uncomfortable.  Hey, thanks!

5) The Chilean diet will not give you your nutrient quota... I've been wondering why people wear scarves, boots, and long pants even in 80 degree weather... it's because they're not getting all their fresh vegetable nutrients!  Haha, but I can't even tell you how many crazy looks I've gotten when I tell people I prefer to not eat meat... usually the conversation goes something like this (aka, a typical day in the house of my host family): me, "No como carne." Host mom: "Jamón?" Me: "No como animales." Host mom: "Pollo?" Me: "No, pollo es carne." Host mom: "Pescado?" Me: "No como pescado tampoco." Host mom: (looks confused): "Pollo." Me: (sigh) : "Sí, pollo."

6) One of the most important things I've learned: sand is not good for your camera :(.  Do not bring your camera out while sandboarding during a sandstorm in the Atacama desert or it will get ruined!  I had to learn this one the hard way, but luckily I found someone who is more than willing to fix it for a small price. 

7) Do not feed the stray dogs!  Especially if they follow you and the rest of your foreign friends in packs of 8.  They will never leave you alone and may proceed to throw up said food right in front of you 30 seconds later.

...Ooooh, Chile.  I may not have learned many school-related topics, but that can be a little difficult when your classes are canceled every other week and you have fear of being tear-gassed if you happen to accidentally cross a picket line (again, learning from experience here).  The 4-month anniversary of my time here is coming up, and I started to get a little sentimental as I come realize this experience is over half finished.  I initially thought almost 7 months would be way too much time away from home and that I wouldn't be able to handle speaking Spanish for such an extended amount of time, but I'm now realizing that I am just starting to settle in and become fully comfortable here.  While I never experienced "culture shock" in Chile, I am positive that I will feel it when I return to California.  But, I'll think about that in a few months.  Until then, I'm going to go out and enjoy spring in Santiago... without crossing any picket lines :)

Mendoza, Argentina

Last weekend I embarked on yet another weekend adventure to Mendoza, Argentina.  It was a short vacation, but it was still a wonderful weekend!  We left Friday morning and didn't get to Mendoza until almost 8 pm because it took more than 3 hours to get through customs that afternoon.  We spent that night in Mendoza eating and exploring, then got up early on Saturday morning to go on a bike tour of Mendoza.  The "tour" was optional, so the 8 of us that went just got free maps and biked ourselves around to wineries and food establishments that were affiliated with the bike company.

Passing over the Andes into Mendoza:

Bike tour!:

Delicious samples... mmm:

Mendoza was a really cool, touristy town with tons of stuff to do.  On Sunday morning we all got up early and explored for a bit before half of our group left to come back to Santiago before the weekend was over.  It took a little less time to get over the border but it still took forever AND I didn't think about the fact that we were going to be passing over the snowy Andes so I wore shorts and ended up standing in the cold for 2 hours before getting my passport stamped.  Maybe that explains this terrible cold I have now!  In any case, it was a really fun weekend and although I wish I'd stayed longer what I'm really looking forward to is exploring more of Argentina after my program is over! 

Hello, my name is MEGAN

One of the biggest problems I've been having in Chile so far has been my pronunciation of Spanish words.  People are constantly asking me, "Oh, where are you from?" (usually in English) after I say one word.  One guy asked me before I even opened my mouth... is it really that obvious that I'm not Chilean?  I feel like I should be having less problems than my super white and blonde friends, but that's not the case at all.  Chileans are said to speak the worst Spanish of Latin America because most of their words are slurred together and they often drop the last letters of their words (for example, "cómo estás" becomes "cómo estai") and they speak faster than I have ever heard anyone speak before.

Also, my name is no longer Megan.  People ask me, "What is your name?", I say, "Megan", and they say, "Megan Fox?".  No lie, someone says that to me every.single.day.  I have just gotten to the point of replying, "Yes.  Megan Fox." because I am tired of giving disapproving looks and correcting people.  I am now either referred to as "Megan Fox" or "Meh-gone" because most people can't actually pronounce the hard G sound (another consequence of people slurring their words all of the time).  It's not that big of a deal that people can't fully pronounce my name, but it can become a problem because many times I can't understand whether or not I'm being spoken to. 

Sometimes, I just make up a name to tell people... I've been liking Maria lately.  It has a nice, Latin-yet-still-possibly-gringa spin to it.  

Iquique

After an overnight bus from San Pedro de Atacama, Marissa, Kate, Liz, and I arrived in Iquique at 5:30 am.  We checked into our hostel early and took naps, then woke up a few hours later, showered, ate breakfast, and went out to explore the city.  Iquique is completely different than San Pedro, as it's right on the beach, chilly, windy, and more of a city than San Pedro is.  It was absolutely beautiful, though, and after a few problems with getting bus tickets we went and had a picnic on the beach.  We spent the rest of the day exploring at eating at the market.

Iquique:

Cool graffiti!:

Getting ready for Fiestas Patrias:

The next day, we got up and went... paragliding!  It was absolutely amazing (I'm beginning to realize I use this to explain everything, but it's the truth!).  We spent about 40 min/person flying over the city of Iquique.  It's said that Iquique is the best place in South America to paraglide, so of course we had to jump at the opportunity!

Liz getting ready to jump:

In the air:

We spent the rest of the day going to artisan markets and exploring a little more.  That night, we took yet another overnight bus to Copiapó, Chile (this is the northern city where the 33 miners are stuck underground).  Copiapó was pretty lame... except for me almost getting robbed by a gypsy!  Because our buses were messed up, we all ended up having to take different buses to get back to Santiago.  I was sitting on a bench reading my book when all of a sudden this gypsy lady comes out of nowhere and sits next to me... she starts talking to me in Spanish about money, and I specifically told her that I didn't have anything to give her.  She's said, "Please? I can read your hand!" And then proceeded to take my hand and kept being like, "oh yes, una vida larga" about my palm, and when I tried to grab my hand away she just tightened her grip, takes her other hand, and starts feeling up my pocket on my left hip. She was like, "oooh, I feel money in there" and starts to take the things out of my pocket (which by the way was just a bobby pin and a bus ticket) and I got SO freaked out and told her to stop bothering me and to go away!  I finally grabbed my hand away and I told her to stop bothering me a few more times, when she finally went away but then went and huddled with this elderly gypsy and her small child, who were looking at me and pointing... I got soo freaked out and I grabbed all my stuff and ran to a cafe. I got harassed by a few more people who tried to read my palms but after that I just didn't make eye contact with people.

Copiapó:

That night, after meeting up with my friends and their different buses, we took yet another overnight bus back to Santiago.  Out of the 8 nights we were up north, we successfully only spent 3 of those in hostels... I was dirty and tired by the time I got back, but I was happy to say that I did everything I wanted to without spending too much money... haha!

San Pedro de Atacama

I just got back from a super epic trip to the Atacama desert in the north of Chile.  I went with 3 friends: Marissa, Kate, and Liz.  After a 24-hour bus ride, we were advised to spend as little time as possible in San Pedro because it's super expensive, so we packed as much as we could in our 2 days and 2 nights there!  Some pictures from the trip:

Our hostel:

Geyser/hot springs tour that meant getting up at 4 am:

Our tour guide also took us on a "special hike" that lead us through the desert to a waterfall:

...and to a town of 40 people with wild llamas!

That same day, we did a tour of Lagunas Cejas, which have so much salt in them that you literally just float as soon as you jump in.  They were FREEZING but so cool!

The next day, we borrowed bikes from our hostel and rode around in the morning, and then in the afternoon we went sandboarding!  Besides from my camera getting severely messed up, it was soo fun!

Bike riding in San Pedro:

Valle de la muerte:

...and sandboarding!

And finally, the sunset at Valle de la Luna:

It was a trip full of no sleeping and lots of activity, and we were in the driest desert in the world!  So cool.  We made our way up to Iquique after our packed trip at the desert... pictures soon!