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.