Chiloe and Puerto Varas

After school and my volunteer job teaching english at the local elementary school finished up, three friends and i decided to see more of Chile. After weeks of discussing all the potential locations, planning bus tickets and hostals, and making lists of things to see, Caitlin, Gina, Margo, and I got on a bus to Chiloe.
The bus system in Chile is awesome because you can get anywhere in the country for little money and relatively quickly. The bus to Chiloe was an over night bus and about 15 hours long. We were very excited when we finally got there. After wandering around a bit we found our hostal, showered, and set off exploring the town of Castro. We found a craft market selling blankets, baskets, dried seaweed, local liquor, and jewelry.
We spent the rest of the afternoon looking around Castro and taking pictures of the unique houses on stilts. That night we found a cafe on the water and we tried eel. We went to bed pretty early that night because we were tired from our long bus ride the night before.
The next day we took a bus into the National Park, and spent the entire day hikeing around. We hiked on a deserted beached that must have streched 10 miles. There was so much to see in the park, that we wished we could have spent a couple of days backpacking through it. In our one day there we hiked on the beach, the dunes, by a lake, and a little bit in the forest. Everything was absolutely stunning. That night we came back to our hostal tired, hungry, and slightly sun and wind burned. We decided to make spagetti and veggies in the hostal, and we all agreed that it was the best food we had eaten in a while.... probably just because we had spent the entire day hikeing but still.
The next day we headed over to a nearby town to look at a historic church and sample some curanto en hoyo (a typical chiloean stew with seafood of all types, potatoes, meat, and a corn cake thing). After that we caught another bus to Puerto Varas which is a town on a lake with alot of German influence. Arriving in Puerto Varas was so wierd because it literally felt as though we had left South America and flown to Europe. The only thing reminding us that we were still in Chile was the fact that the people around us were speaking in Spanish.
That night we checked into our hostal and then wandered around the town, still in a state of bewilderment at how different this place was then the rest of Chile. The next day we had breakfast at a German cafe, and then walked around the historic part of town. We saw all of the old houses and the church in the center of the town. Besides trekking all over the town, we also rented kyaks and got out on the water. I have never seen water that clear and blue in my life. After that we got some german pastries which the town is known for, and then got back on our bus to Vina del Mar.
Going to Chiloe and Puerto Varas with three of my best friends was an amazing end to my stay in Chile. When we returned back to Vina I only had four days until my flight back home and those days went way to fast. I had to say bye to some of the most amazing people that i have ever met. After a while I learned how to say hasta luego instead of adios because i will most definitly be returning to Chile sometime hopefully soon.

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A Tale of Three Thanksgivings

I lucked out this year. I got to celebrate Thanksgiving three times. The first time was with the professors and other exchange students from the Universidad Vina del Mar. Every exchange student was supposed to bring in a popular dish from their native country. I brought in cornbread, and some other American students brought in mini burgers, baked beans, and cheesecake. A student from France brought in different cheeses, and a Australian student brought Pavlova which was delicious!
Directly after leaving the "Thanksgiving" feast at the University i met up with some friends and my host mom drove us to CIEE's Thanksgiving dinner. All of the CIEE students were there and we consumed turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and of course pumpkin pie in mass quantaties. It was a delicious meal, but a bittersweet night because we had to start to say our goodbyes to one another.
Two days later my host family decided to celebrate Thanksgiving again, and so we drove to my Uncle's house in the countryside near Santiago. I made pumpkin pie for everyone to try, and it was an instant hit. We ate the pumpkin pie right at the begining and then start making empanadas. I think now I am an expert at making empanadas! After eating a huge lunch of pie and empanadas we walked around and picked cherries nearby. We drove back to Vina that night full of delicious food and ready to spend the next day at the beach.

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Color Cafe

This is my favorite cafe in Valparaiso. It serves the best manjar pancakes that i have found anywhere!

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Valparaiso

Valparaiso is the city of color and art. The houses are brightly colored, and the graffiti on cerro alegre is intricate and beautiful.

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Asado

My brother Christian is the Asado master! Here he is grilling beef, chicken, and chorizo for our weekend Asado.

La Cueca

This couple competes every year in the national Cueca competition. La Cueca is the Chilean national dance, and it simulates a rooster and a hen. Different regions of Chile have different versions of La Cueca.

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Photo Edition

Hola! It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words so welcome to the photo edition of my blog. I have always loved photography, but in Chile my hobby became more of an obsession. I now have thousands of pitctures from my time in Chile. I picked some of them that really show the country, people, and culture of Chile to share with you. Enjoy!

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Todos Juntos

Todos Juntos... those are the words that first come to mind when i think about the 18th of September.
The 18th of September is Chile's independence day, and this year was their bicentenary. Chileans joke that they have been preparing food, parties, and music for this day for 200 years. After witnessing the celebration, i believe them!
I started out my celebration on the 16th when all of my extended family arrived from Santiago to stay with us. There were around 15 of us living in our modest home throughout the entire holiday weekend. Once everyone arrived, we immediatly began eating. I have noticed that in Chile meals and food are ways of showing affection. If you really love someone and are happy to see them make them a ton of food of course! I am definantly not complaining about this, as my host mom is an amazing cook.
After the huge meal i went with some friends and my host brothers to a Ramada. A Ramada is pretty much a huge fair with different tents set up serving all kinds of food and drinks and separate tents for dancing of every sort imaginable. Throughout Chile there are Ramadas every year for the 18th and they are very distinct in different regions of the country. We got some more food (of course) and then headed to a dancing tent blasting reggaeton music. I went home that night tired, full of empanadas, with a Daddy Yankee song stuck in my head.
The next day was devoted to cooking sweets of various sorts and just spending time as a family. I baked cornbread for my family and it became an instant favorite. That night my mom and i went to go see a Los Jaivas concert in la Quinta Vergara (a huge amphitheatre). A word about Los Jaivas: first of all, their music is really good, but besides that they are legendary in Chile. They are a band that started in the late 60's and quickly gained fame by using native instruments to make rock music. During the years of the Pinochet dictatorship they left the country because their music spoke out against the dictatorship. During that time they traveled around various parts of the world, and their music gained recognition across South America. When they returned to Chile they were seen as heroes and pioneers.
So pretty much while i was watching Los Jaivas i felt like i was hearing and seeing history, not simply great musicians. Los Jaivas most famouse song is called "Todos Juntos," and every Chilean knows the words to it. They sang that song last, and the entire theatre with thousands of people was singing. At that moment i felt so proud and happy to be there. It was an undescribable feeling to be singing with that many people.
The Los Jaivas concert got us all feeling very patriotic for the next day. The morning of the 18th, my family and I went to Valparaiso and took a boat ride. Getting that many people on public transportation and onto a boat was a challenge but well worth it. When we returned we immediatly began cooking empanadas de pino. My grandma taught me how to make them and i will definantl be bringing the recipe back to the US with me! Besides the empanadas we consumed large quantities of chori pan, and more cornbread.
That night we watched the fireworks over the ocean, and then all of us went back to the house and talked politics late into the night.
Over those couple of days i learned so much about chilean culture, my host family, and country pride. I learned what juntos really means. Todos Juntos (everyone together) with family. Todos Juntos with love for their country. Todos Juntos celebrating Chile's bicentenial.

 

Hola!

Hola!
I have been in Chile for three weeks now and I am in love with it.
My first impression of Chile was how cold it is here. Prior to coming here i did alot of research on Chile and so i knew that it was winter, but i was still not expecting it to be so cold! I stepped off the plane in true Oregon fashion wearing birkenstocks and a t-shirt, and quickly noticed that everyone around me was in fluffy winter jackets, scarves, and hats.
Once i met up with the other CIEE students, we headed to Vina del Mar for orientation. We stayed in a hotel in the center of the city and got to know each other, and learned about the city and how to get around. There are around 35 of us CIEE students, and it never ceases to amaze me how even though we are all from completely different schools and parts of the country we all became instant friends in those first couple of days.
After being in Chile for 3 days, we all got to meet our hosts families. We were all so nervous to meet our Chilean families! As soon as i met my family, they all gave me big hugs and began driving me around the city and pointing out landmarks. In my Chilean family, i have two brothers around my age, and a younger sister. My first day with my family was so busy and so much fun! My family took me to the sand dunes in the nearby city of ConCon where we could see a view of the entire bay. Standing up there and looking back at Vina del Mar and Valparaiso was the moment when it all became real for me. This is my home for the next 5 months. wow. I never dreamed it would be so beautiful and alive here.
Last week i started classes at the Universidad Vina del Mar. I am taking three classes for exchange students, and one class where i am the only non-Chilean. My classes for exchange students are very interesting, and of course all in spanish. My class with all Chileans is a European history course, and it is going to be a challenge! the professor talks so fast, but the other students are very friendly and help me out alot during breaks and after class.
Today the weather here is much warmer and i am considering going to class without a scarf today.
Chao!