To The Club

"Monday night, to the club. Tuesday night, to the club, Wednesday night--what a headache, but i went, to the club. Thursday night, to the club, Friday night--didn't wanna go, then my friend Michelle called me on the phone and so I went, to the club." If you know this song, it is probably because I have subjected you to it, and if not, then I am very proud of you for listening to house music. Curious to know what I am talking about--> Spankox, "To the Club."

So that may be just a little bit of an exaggeration... I only went to the club on two of those nights... although there have only been three full nights so far this week, ha. I see it now, all of the people reading this under the age of 30 are pumped and everyone over 30 is worried that I am making poor decisions. For those of you that are happy about this, I tell you that it has been really fun to go out these past few nights. For those of you waiting for a chance to lecture me when we speak next, have no fear, as this is not going to become a regular routine--if nothing else, my feet hurt from dancing two nights in a row and I cannot take a third!

Really though, I have enjoyed going out these past few nights and seeing what the night life is like. These are the first times that I have gone out clubbing during my time here because I now have met a group of friends with which to do these activities. It is feasible to do now because classes are slow starting up so I am not making any mistakes by having not focused on academics... there have yet to be any! On Tuesday night I was invited to go out with a few friends to a club in Bella Vista, which is a comuna known for both its tourist attraction as well as its night life. The club was fun but fairly small. I also enjoyed that a lot of the music they played was Spanish, however, this meant that I did not know the songs and it is always even more fun when you know the songs you're dancing to. On Wednesday night, my friend Niels (from Germany) invited me to go to AfterOfficeSantiago, a party that is put up every Wednesday from like 7 until 1 AM at the palace on Cerro Santa Lucía, the park that I literally live across the street from. As the title suggests, the crowd was a little bit older on average, and when I saw a little bit I mean the ages ranged from 20's through 40's, ha. Nothing wrong with that, just makes you weary of who is moving in on you since it is hard to tell for sure if they are in your age range... I mean, I definitely got spanked waiting in line at the coat check, and I could not tell if the lady was a student or a business executive since the atmosphere was so disorienting with flashing lights! I also learned that if you ask for a drink con cariños, the bartender adds another shot (although it comes at the price of paying them a big tip!). I have to admit though, the best part of the night was when the DJ played a set of house music that I was all too familiar with. The crowd went wild with Show Me Love, and I was totally pumped when he played one of my favorite songs, World, Hold On, which is my ring tone that many of you know well!

As for school... It has been interesting not having class every day. I do not have class on Wednesdays or Fridays, meaning I am already done for the week! Like I said before, class is going slowly right now because we have not been given any assignments really. I also anticipate that my workload is going to be pretty light (But maybe it just seems that way coming from the block plan where I would have already been 1/4 of the way done with my class by now!). I have also learned that for all of my courses, I will only have papers and will not have any tests which I think is awesome. In fact, the first paper I need to write is a three page reflection on what I have perceived of Chile, and I am thinking I will just translate my blog entries! Ha, I wish. One campus where I take courses is a pretty far distance away from where I live, but the campus that I go to on Tuesdays and Thursdays is only two metro stops away from the apartment. The building must be over 100 years old, it has beautiful architecture, but it has not been kept up well. The interior architecture of the classroom reminds me of being on the third floor of College Hall back at Cornell. One thing I have found interesting is what students do while they are out of class but still in the building. There is a big courtyard area outside of the building with a lot of tables and a few games where students chill out, play music, sing and eat. They are very relaxed and seem to just be enjoying simple things. I never saw much of this at Cornell, but that probably is because everyone lives on campus and can go back to their dorms between classes instead of waiting. I did find it surprising though that they had Reggaeton blasting over speakers, considering that there was class going on inside of the building...

Third Time's a Charm...Or Is It?

So a common modismo in English is, "the third time is the charm," but today I have not been fully convinced that this holds true in Chile.

Today I went to my third and final course that I have enrolled in. I expected that the professor would come and give us a preview of what to expect for the semester, yet, after 20 minutes he did not show. The registrar eventually came in and let us know that the professor was not coming and that we would just meet again on Thursday. It is very surprising to me to not have a professor to just decide to not show up, but I am told that this is pretty common. Nonetheless, it was a great time getting to chat with the other students-- am also glad to have learned that class is optional for everyone involved!

I also made my third attempt to find an English literature book store. I was sure that I finally found a legitimate store. It sounded great, "Books and Bits," I mean, that sounds pretty English to me and it seems like they may sell some books too... I trekked to the store, which was impossible to find (imagine a building that has 6 levels, and me walking around each level from top to bottom looking for it, I eventually found it on a separate wing of the building that I had not idea even existed on the bottom level...) but once I arrived I was very disappointed to find that the store only sold books that are used for students learning English. I guess I should have just broke down and bought an English reader intended for a student. At least it would put me to sleep, as I am trying to find something to read before bed.

The jury is out on the last third attempt... the Starbucks saga. See, I happened to come across a Starbucks near our house on my walk back from the book store, so I decided I should try another Mocha with whole milk rather than skim as I had before to see if the drink was any more satisfying (You may be thinking that this is attempt two and not three, but have no fear because as you read on you will realize that it in fact make sense!). Many of you probably do not think that Starbucks even deserved another chance, but to me that corporation is a black hole, and I have been sucked in past its event horizon (I learned those fancy words from when I took Astronomy, Google it!). After paying for the drink, the cashier realized that he charged me for a drink and a muffin. I guess giving refunds is way too strenuous for humans and computers, so the manager asked me if I wanted the muffin I paid for and I said "no way José." He asked me if they could just give me a larger drink instead so I settled and said yes. The manager changed my drink from a tall to a venti. After watching all 8 people who ordered after me get my drink, I finally was given my massive mocha. The manager was kind enough to give me a coupon for a free drink during my next trip, but at this moment, I declare: After I use my coupon for my free drink, that will be the third and final time, whether or not there is charm!

So What Do You Think About Abortion?

I bet that the title of this entry caught you off guard? I was also caught off guard by this question today. See, I was with a new friend that I met, and literally, we were walking off of an escalator and she asked me this! I was caught off guard because, 1.) normally in the States I have not experienced this topic as being widely discussed in the open, especially with people you just met, 2.) We were in the middle of the Metro station! I would think that discussion of this topic minimally deserves a bench to sit down and chat about it! Ha. My friend explained to me that she saw something in the station that triggered a memory of a poster she saw advocating abortion here in Chile earlier today (see, here it is illegal under most, if not all circumstances). Nonetheless, I got a good laugh out of the incident and we had a great conversation.

There does seem to be something unique about getting a whole bunch of people together from different countries at the same time. Personally, I absolutely love it; if nothing else, there are great stories that come of it. A few nights ago I was hanging out with a group that was from all over the world and the funniest things were said. For example, one of the German students was trying to get a rise out of the French student, so he snobishly proclaimed that he elected to take Ancient Greek in high school rather than having to take French (I thought it was hysterical, but maybe you just had to be there...). The Swedish student did not know that castellano was used in Chile instead of español, so in English he asked us where Castellanean was spoken because he had never heard of it before!

These definitely were not the only times that something was lost in translation... On Saturday I was invited to go to lunch and go to the "country" with family friends Sonia and Carlos. I took this to mean, drive out to the country for the day and have lunch somewhere. Well, I realized that this must have been incorrect because I told to meet for lunch at their house and then they were going to go to the "country" so I thought I must have misunderstood and that actually, we were going to have lunch and then Sonia and Carlos were going to spend a few days out in the "country." It turns out that when I asked them what time they were leaving for their short vacation to the "country" (mind you many people here have homes in Santiago and a vacation home elsewhere), I was given a puzzled look as the why I was asking why they were going to the campo, in which I was told that "country" was short for the Country Club--oops! I now know that "country" is used instead of "country club" as to not sound snooty. As it turns out, after lunch I spent the afternoon at the Country Club with Sonia, Carlos and their granddaughter. The club was beautiful, with tennis courts, a golf course, soccer field, rugby field, hockey field, swimming pools, workout areas, 4 dining areas and a library. There are many different clubs in the city. I am told that they were created as a place for people of a certain cultural descent (groups that colonized the area) to come together and spend time as to not lose their cultural identity. The Country Club is English, and I learned that the first brick laid was by the Prince of Wales nearly 100 years ago.

Today was the first day of classes for the second semester. I had class at 2:30 and definitely cut it close considering that I had never even been to the campus before. I was a little over-zealous and decided to leave at 1 PM to pick up my Carnét de Identidad from the Registro Civil (now I have another ID with an awkward picture to add to my collection). After that I took the Metro, made a transfer to a different line, and then took a bus from the station to the campus. I did not really know which bus to take, where the campus actually was, or which building was for the facultdad de ciensias sociales. I did get to class 10 minutes early nonetheless, although, I learned that being on-time was optional for the profe and her other students! Class went pretty well, I understood more than I anticipated and the topic seems really interesting. The professor also is very nice and willing to work with those of us whom are international students. In fact, she told us we could just write everything in English that we give her, ha. I will not take her up on it but I found it very kind. I was blown away that a student answered her phone in class. I was even more surprised when the professor answered her phone in class! Not sure if this is a Chilean thing, but I definitely noted that it is very different than what I experienced at Cornell... although it was very similar to Cornell to have only like 15 students in the class. It is also very exciting that there are no tests in the class... yes! I think that my favorite part of class would have to be the two times that the professor looked at me and said, "sorry Chris," before she cited examples of US foreign occupations that caused psychological traumas (although she does not mean to suggest that the US is the only country to have done this). I am very interested to better understand the perceptions of others regarding governmental policy because I sense that many people have something to say about it based on today's class.

It turns out that my friend Johanna, the German girl I mentioned earlier, is in my Trauma Psicosocial class--it was nice to have a familiar face in class. Class ended around 5:30 PM and I accompanied her to go see a few prospects for living arrangements. Afterward she and I spent a good amount of time talking over coffee. She is very involved with initiatives of social justice back home and it was phenomenal to talk with someone who had such a great understanding of the topic. We also dug a great deal into what it is like to move to a place of action in social justice work. Definitely gave me a lot of things to think about. I am really happy to have met someone with such similar passions. I guess this takes us full circle, as Johanna asked the question of the day, "So what do you think about abortion?"

The Mystery Is Solved

Finally I was able to select my courses today. Finally! Every day I get asked, "so which courses are you taking?" or, "which facultdad will you have to go to for class?" and my answer is always the same, "no hablo español." Ha, actually, it is more like, "Dude, I have no clue because like I tell you every day, I do not know where I will go for class until I select my courses and we have not selected our courses! ¿Cachai?" (Interesting note: the verb cachar which is used here in Chile is derived from "catch it," you know, like saying, "got it?"). Now with confidence I can go to tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere (like when Jesus Christ was born [props if you got that reference]) that I have selected my courses. I will be taking Imagen de Chile en Pablo Neruda y Gabriela Mistral (Image of Chile in light of Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral [Chilean poets that have won the Nobel Prize]), Chile: Historia, Identidad, y Cultura (Chile: History, Identity, and Culture [I almost chose not to translate that one because, well... I think you get it]), and Trauma Psicosocial: Teoria Terapeutica (Psychsocial Trauma: Therapeutic Theory). I am pretty pumped about the schedule too, I will have class on Monday afternoon, and Tuesday/ Thursday from noon until about 4 with an hour break in between. This means that I will have long weekends every week and can travel! I mean, dude, I can leave Thursday nights and come back Monday mornings. Killer. Before I selected my courses, I had to go to an academic advising session with a professor, which was, well, pointless. I had already decided everything I wanted and knew everything he tried to tell me, so basically he was pumped that I only took like 2 minutes instead of 15 because he was 30 minutes behind. I also accidently landed my first legitimate joke in Spanish. I understood everything he said me to me until he asked, "¿Adónde aprendiste hablar castellano tan bien?" (Where did you learn to speak Spanish so well? Note: castellano = español) and at first I was confused and said, "¿otra vez?" (Again?) and then quickly processed what he said and luckily played it off as a joke just in time! Accident? Yes. Good joke? Yes. We had a good laugh, and I think all of the other students waiting were jealous of my supposed skill, ha.

Earlier this afternoon I finally got to meet some of the international students that are here independently. It was really fun to spend time with some people my age. I enjoyed hanging out with people that are literally from different parts of the world. Let's see who we have reppin' here: Ireland, The Netherlands, Australia, Germany, Sweden, and, well, Wyoming. Everyone spoke Spanish at least pretty well and wanted to speak that rather than English, which makes me really happy because I was nervous they would want to speak English. It will be interesting seeing how friendships develop with this group of students because it seems like they are going to hang out more.

I have been trying to work on some Spanish grammar areas I lack. Right now, I am reviewing prepositional phrases. I know, I know, you're jealous because you want to learn them too. Maybe you will one day be as lucky as I am to submit to the beast that is Spanish grammar (although, at least it follows a pretty consistent set of rules, rather than English which I am pretty sure was just made up to piss off the French).

Right now all of the cousins are out of town meaning I have the place to myself. Too bad I have gotten past the age where it would have been cool to throw a party while the parents are out of town! That being said, when I was in high school I never did that, instead, I had people over on Sunday morning for brunch... Anyways, hopefully I do not burn the place down. I guess if I am able to get on here and make a new post that will be a good sign!

Important Lessons (Take Note!)

Number One: Starbucks in Chile is a disappointment. I am sorry to have to hate on Starbucks considering I probably could solely keep them afloat at home, but it looks like they need a good knock on the head. I went because I needed to buy some type of permanent water bottle to use, rather than using the same Fiji bottle that I bought at the airport in Los Angeles. I was excited to come across the store, however I was turned off by the fact that I had to pay nearly 20$ for a stainless steel water bottle. THEN, the straw that broke the camel's back (clearly this camel is very weak considering it only had two things on its back when it broke!) was the fact that the mocha I bought pretty much did not come close to its counterpart in the states. Sure, part of the problem was probably that I got it nonfat, but this drink was way different than what I have had before. Here, it was pretty much like having espresso, chocolate, and water mixed together. Mmm... I think this is because the milk here simply is, well... not as full as it is in the US. Milk here is sold in liter sized cardboard boxes and is sold warm, not needing to be refrigerated until it is opened.

Number Two: Closing orientation is next Wednesday and not today. I definitely showed up for an orientation that did not exist today and was schooled when the program director told me that I was a week early for the meeting.

Number Three: Cetaphil costs way too much in Chile. Dude, that face wash is basic soap and water and should not cost a whole lot. In the states I bet it costs like $8, well here it cost the equivalent of $30. For spending that much on a cosmetic product, I would expect it to a least come in a more fancy bottle (and make my face look amazing in under 5 minutes!). It took me forever to find the product and I finally did in a pharmacy. The cost, and difficulty to find it makes me think that it is probably more common on the US market making it pricer here.

Number Four: When taking the metro, choosing the far corner adjacent to the door is a bad idea during rush hour. I usually try to stand with my back to the wall so that I can see around me and keep my bag secure, but doing this while everyone was going home from work resulted in me having to fight for my life as I tried to exit the subway at my stop.

I hope that you learn from my mistakes so that you do not have to bare the pain and suffering I did!

English Books and Corn Soup

So I'm back here in the big city. It is pretty quiet here in the apartment since two of the cousins are out of town for winter break. Today has been a rainy day here in Santiago. Maybe I am making things up again, but there definitely seems to be a different mood here when it is rainy. It is a juxtaposition of people seemingly more rushed to get out of the rain, yet there is an undertone of calmness. Now, my favorite thing I saw while I was out recently was a soldier saluting a military officer at the Metro station. See, the building I live in is about 2 blocks away from the Defense Ministry (I guess that means I am either really safe or a target for an attack). I do not know why I laughed when I saw it, but it just seemed so out of context... military personnel saluting at the subway... really? Don't they have boats and tanks to do that kind of stuff in?

Recently I have been feeling a little bit disconnect from the world's on-goings. I do not watch any television here, I do not receive the news magazine I normally ready, and even if I do want to learn anything I have to labor through it in Spanish. I decided to go on a quest to find English language publications and books and figured it would be fairly simple being in a large city. Well, as it turns out: not so much. The first store I went to just simply did not exist as the internet said... The second store I found was closed for inventory but I have a hunch that they are not going to have the type of works I am looking for. Yes, I know, I should be reading in Spanish, and I have been, the thing is that I just want to be able to stay up to date with what's going on in the world and have a book to read before going to bed in which I do not have to spend hours trying to comprehend!

Today we had our group orientation for the University of Chile. There are about 300 new international students that are taking courses this semester. Most of them are doing exchanges as a part of a group from universities in the states so everyone seemed pretty cliquy right off the bat. We only spent 2.5 hours there, which surprises me because you would think there would be more to do but I guess they don't think so. I would have liked it if there was organized time to get to know other students because I left not knowing anyone else. Luckily I have so many family members that I spend time with and meet people through.

And my cultural thought for the day... It has been interesting for me to see how people talk about Agosto Pinochet (supports would say president from 1973-1990, critics would say dictator from 1973-1990). This is a very divisive topic here and something that I avoid discussing because I do not want to create rifts or alliances with anyone--I simply do not know enough about it and only have a short time here. That being said, I do think the topic is very interesting and I have noticed two very distinct and opposing ways that people discuss the topic here based on whether or not they support him. Coming here, I sort of assumed that most Chileans did not support him but that turns out to not be totally correct. This is based on the fact that in the states, whenever I have been taught about it, the discussion has been framed around human rights violations and formation of a dictatorship, but not the policy that he created or the direction he took the country. I do not mean to say that I feel like I have been taught incorrectly or that anyone every had bad intentions, I just think that in the states only one side of the story is told. I imagine this comes from the fact that what he did was not aligned the fundamental belief of democracy held by the United States, and also by the fact that many Chileans that left the country during Pinochet's time were exiled or fled due to Pinochet. The point of this is not to take a stance on either side or denounce what I have been taught. This just served as a really good example of the importance to think critically and understand fact from fiction, or even harder, fact from biased fact. I am interested to do some more individual research into all of this.

The next time I post I should know which classes I am in! I have had the chance to look at some of the courses and with any luck I will be able to take the course I would like. That being said, I would like to end by noting that here it is normal to eat sopa de choclo (corn soup, although the Spanish way sounds more classy) as a meal, which basically is the equivalent of eating a can of creamed corn for dinner, ha.

I Don't Think My Insurance Covers All of This...

On Wednesday night I took an overnight bus six hours south to a city called Los Angeles with my cousin Carlos. Of course, I was unable to sleep on the ride--that would have just been too convenient. During winter break, a lot of the family on my grandma's side gets together at my Aunt Elsa's farm. She has a large farm house that neighbors the factory she owns (they produce canned vegetables/ fruits, frozen vegetables/ fruits, and make delicious jams). At first it was a little intimidating to have so many people around because it can be difficult for me to understand what is going on with so many people talking, but I got comfortable very quickly.

During the first day five of us guys went out on an adventura around the farm with the Jeep and ATV that they fixed up a while back. Now, I do not want to deceive you, I was the awkward and confused fifth wheel that had absolutely no control of the situation. Soon after we went out driving, we got stuck in some mud in the field but were able to get out pretty easily. About a half an hour later though, we again got stuck in some mud that was even worse but managed to get out. Well, boys will be boys (although I was definitely not one of these boys!) and they decided to see of they could still drive through this patch of mud in the field by going even faster through it. Someone never taught my cousins to count their blessings because we finally ran out of them and got stuck for good. It is probably difficult for you to imagine me even in such a rugged situation because it is so out of character, so let me break it down: poor Chris is stuck out in the middle of a wet corn field, in the middle of a mud pit, sitting in the back of a Jeep with a rusty roof and no actual seats in the back where he is sitting, uncomfortable because he cannot stretch out, feeling a little sick from the crazy driving, and will not get out of the car because he does not want to get mud on his Diesel shoes (I know, I know, I am not sure what I was thinking when I chose to bring those shoes instead of hiking boots to a farm--lay off!). Two of the cousins tried for hours to try and get out of the mud while we sat in the back of the truck waiting to get out. In all fairness, it would have been unrealistic for me to do anything anyways considering that the mud was literally a foot deep. Finally, two hours later, when the sun started setting, one of the cousins used the ATV to go and get someone to tow us out of the mud. Once they arrived in a pick-up truck, they quickly got stuck as well. Funny, sort of; getting dark and frustrating, yes. Well, they went for a tractor to pull both of the trucks out, and I am not kidding you, the tractor got stuck. At this point the stars were coming out (although, I will note that I never have seen the stars as I did that night, there were thousands of them and I even saw the via lactica (Milky Way) which I have never actually seen before). I guess in this case, four was the charm and the tractor pulled out all three of the other vehicles. That night I truly learned my lesson that you always needs to take a coat with you, because it got cold very fast (sorry Mom, I know you tried to teach me this millions of times before!). I also learned that Diesel is not the Spanish translation of shoes-to-use-out-doors-when-being-manly.

I spent a lot of time working on a project that I found fascinating--making a family tree. I am still lacking a ton of people, but Elsa and her daughter know a lot of information about their side of the family (Gardeweg--originally from Germany). My great-grandmother was one of eleven children, and was an aunt of Elsa. Anyways, the family tree I am working on is a little bit unconventional because I am trying to include people on all four sides of the family, but it is really interesting to me. That being said, I have about 175 individuals accounted for on the tree and have run out of space (I used a 56 inch wide template on the computer), so I will need to re-group and figure out where to go from here. Some of you out there should prepare for me contacting you about the family lineage!

During this trip and past travels to non-English speaking countries, I actually think it is a unique position to not understand what people are saying to one another at times. This is because there is so much more communication that goes on between individuals besides when they are verbally speaking. I spend a lot more time looking at people facial expressions, their body movements and where they place themselves in a room. Perhaps this is due to my experiences within psychology, but I find myself analyzing which social roles each individual takes in a situation and recognize a lot about what I perceive to be their personality and their motivations at a given time. But then again, for all I know these are false observations and I am just making things up to pass the time!

I have to say that one of the highlights of the trip was all of the amazing food. I do not say this because we always ate elaborate meals, I say it because we always ate flavorful foods and always took time to enjoy them. Every meals that we had was absolutely delicious and extremely fresh. Every morning I ate fresh bread with delicious marmalade that was made at the farm. Lunch was served around 2 and always included a freshly made soup and delicious a postre with coffee or tea to finish off the meal. I think one of the greatest feats I had during my trip was successfully eating an apple sufficiently larger than the size of my fist. Although at first I did not really understand what people were saying during meals, I enjoyed the fact that it was a relaxing time when everyone got together and spent time. Although, this is also an easy way to gain a few pounds!

There was no Internet or cell phone access at the house (I personally find that relaxing during trips), so I definitely had to figure out other ways to spend my time. i ended up doing a lot of, well, studying. I know, I know, what the heck was I thinking! See, I brought with me my Spanish translator, my advanced Spanish grammar book and my little notebook where I write down all of the new words. I cannot believe how many times I was praised for being so smart and studious... ha, someone should probably correct them at some point but the attention was too awesome to resist! It actually was really interesting to the younger cousins that were there and they really enjoyed playing with my translator and looking at my book every day to see which new words I learned. One of them got really comfortable trying to talk to me in English and they enjoyed trying to help me learn new words that I lacked. In terms of spending time with the grammar book, it actually was amazing because it reminded me of so many things that I learned before and I also have been learning a lot of new words and ways to communicate. I have also been able to understand a lot better which areas of my Spanish are lacking: prepositional phrases, adverbial phrases, the use of the subjunctive, and well, vocabulary in general... I do feel more confident in my speaking now, although I still stumble a lot when I try to say complex things. It is not due to a lack of confidence because I have no issue attempting to talk with someone, I think it is derived from my desire to really master my understanding of the language so I spend a lot of time thinking about what I am trying to say.

Right now I am on the bus going back to Santiago. The guy next to me does not really have a sense of personal I suppose, as i am cramped between him sprawled out and the window. I mean, it is great that he feels comfortable resting his arm and leg upon me, but pretty much all I am looking for is the arm rest! I was hoping that it would be more interesting to have part of the drive during the day so that I could see where the heck I was, but I honestly have not seen a whole lot. Don't get me wrong, so many parts of Chile are absolutely breath taking, it is just that seeing highway cutting through fields is sort of the same after a while. Since i will be getting into Santiago when it is dark I bet I will be missing some of the more interesting part of the drive approaching the Andes.

Earlier we drove through a city in which the bus had a stop. In all of my travels i have always sensed that towns had a different feel than in the states but not until now have a though about what these differences actually are. So, driving through this town I jotted down some of the things I noticed: homes and stores are often mixed together a lot--in the states they seem to be zoned in more distinct and separate areas; many homes have stucco siding that has been painted over or a tin roof--in the US homes usually have wood or brick siding and tile roofing; buildings are painted in vibrant colors--back in the states homes usually have subtle earthy colors; areas are landscaped here but there are also a lot of areas that are not landscaped and are dirt--it seems like every part of a town in the states is coving with cement, asphalt or grass; all of the homes and businesses here have some type of gate around the property or a sliding metal door covering the entrance--in the US gated community implies high social status! I definitely do not feel like any of these things are abnormal or uncomfortable, they are just noticeable since they are different than what I have been immersed in my entire life. I do also think that being around all of these new things is a great way for me to become less egocentric and increase my multicultural competency (some of you are probably thinking, "duh Chris!").

Holy cow, this is long. If you even got to this point, I am impressed. I also think it may mean that you need to get a hobby if you had the time to read all of this, haha--just kidding! Orientation at the University starts this week. We do not have a whole lot that we do every day, but we have activities all during this week. Wish me luck! And, oh, did you figure out which parts my insurance does not cover?!

"Auugh! I pierced the toast!"

Earlier I made some toast, and yes, I pierced it. Luckily, I did not shriek as Nathan Lane did in "The Birdcage" (although I know that several of you are sure that I did).

And I bet you thought that the day could not get more dramatic than the toast incident, but you are mistaken! This morning I again woke up early early early and spent a few hours with José Miguel. He has been so great about showing me around. First, we went to the Universidad Católica because he needed to check in with a few people there, but then we walked down the main street (it is referred to as the Alameda) and he showed me some fun parts of town. We walked through an Artesian market as well as a part of town that is known for its architectural resemblance to European buildings (I will add that this is the point in the story where I bash my knee on a post in the middle of the side walk). We then walked toward the Plaza de Armas, which is the point in which the city was founded nearly 200 years ago--in fact, next year Chile will be celebrating the bicentennial and you can tell they are already making preparations for it.

Once José had to get back to work, I accompanied my cousin Carlos out for some errands. I personally enjoy accompanying people out for that type of stuff because I pick up on a lot of new vocabulary and get more familiar with the city. We stopped by the casa central of the University of Chile since it was next to our metro stop. Although there are no classes there, I do need to go there for orientation next week so it was good to know where it was! I am happy to say that I used la micro, the term used for the bus here. It went pretty well, minus the frontal assault by the door and being scared by the clown that attempted to entertain us/ leaned out of the window and yelled ¡te odio! (I hate you!) to a passenger that disembarked. I guess it's all in a day's work... no?

I think I am getting used to some of the Chilean ways of getting things done around here... a lot of them are subtle differences than in the States, but noticeable nonetheless. For example, in the states when you get a cell phone right away they take down all of your information and credit card number, etc, but here, they practically gave me a cell phone with the hopes that I will pay for my service--they do not have my card number or anything to this date (I have come to find that they will send me a bill in the mail in August and I can go into one of their stores to pay it, how different is that!). I have gone into a variety of stores in which everything you want is scattered across the wall and you need to get a store employee to help you with anything you want, rather than grabbing it and taking it to the cashier yourself. I have learned that individuals with disabilities are allowed to sell things on the street, and have found that stray dogs are very well behaved. If I ever find a stray dog selling something, I will be sure to post it.

Take Your Child to Work Day

What a great day! I forced myself out of bed at the crack of dawn (...7:45 AM, ha) so that I could spend the day with my uncle José Miguel. The day was a mix of stopping at some work sites and being shown around different parts of the city. José works at a company that does audiovisual integration into buildings around the city. The products they install are really cool technologies and were pretty fun to play with.

We spent time on the edge of town at a few different private universities. One of them was installing AV systems into classrooms of a new law building they had created. Holy cow there was definitely some money at that school--there was no holding back to make the building architecturally incredible. One thing I noticed throughout the day was that everyone was very bureaucratic. I have mentioned the bureaucratic bologna I had to deal with to get my visa as well as taking care of paperwork once I got here to Chile, but I guess it does not stop at government. Here is an example: At the university I just mentioned, before driving on to the campus José had to present himself to the security guard and explain why he was on the campus. The security guard then radioed someone to verify what he was there for. He then took his name down and took his ID card. Later, we wanted to drive up to the building where he had individuals working on some installations, and the security guard that was standing at the street barricade would not move the barrier on the street until he received approval from someone higher up via the radio...

José was awesome and drove me around different comunas here in the city and taught me about different activities and facts pertaining to each of them. There is an area near the center of town called El Mercado, which is basically an open-air market that sells tons of different foods. And when I say foods, I pretty much mean fruit. There were so many different fruit stands that I would not even know how to begin to choose which one to purchase from--they all seemed the same to me! Well, he wanted me to have the real Chilean experience and took me to a restaurant located on the edge of this market. Now, restaurant may not be the right word. Let me set this up: it was basically like sitting in an extra big stand that faced other stands that were selling food, there were multiple large tables where people sat cafeteria-style (including sharing condiments in bowls, I decided to avoid that!), there was a drunk man sitting at the table behind us giving the waitress a hard time, people walking in and out of the 'dining area' selling Band-aids and chocolate, and two men fighting over a barter of rice for wash-towels (did I mention one of the men was practically deaf and had to be yelled at to understand what they were fighting about?). I was apprehensive eating there because I do not have the... stomach to eat at a place like that but José said it was hygienic so I went with it. The food was very good, I guess very Chilean, and it definitely was a cultural experience! The only thing I regret is that I did not buy any Band-aids from that lady...

After that we spent time in an area called Cerro San Cristóbal, rightly named after me. We took a tram directly up the cerro and had the opportunity to see lots of Santiago. Too bad though, there was smog so it was impossible to even see all the way to the other side of Santiago (I mean, this city is HUGE). As you might have noticed... this is a photo of José Miguel and me near the top of Cerro San Cristóbal, although it is not the most flattering photo (I also wish I would have looked at myself in the mirror before I left this morning, but like I said, it was early! It also looks like I have a left boob that is sagging, time for a bra?).

Overall, the day was great. The only thing that made me want to cry was when I saw Sodexo Food Service at one of the universities that we stopped at. I mean, REALLY? I thought I left that at Cornell, come to find it will haunt me for the rest of my life/ is taking over the world. I mean, who do they think they are--Starbucks?

In Honor of Royce

My friend Royce celebrated his birthday yesterday; hence the title of this entry--happy birthday Royce-ee!

It's been a few days since I have gotten on here to write. Perhaps that is a good sign, showing that I have been getting more busy!

I got familiar with using the Metro which has made me much more mobile. On Friday I took it down to visit an aunt that works at the Universidad de Chile so that she and I could talk a bit about what the University is like. It was interesting walking down the street to where she works because it was chalk-full of different private universities with students hangin' around. In the states when you think of a university, you think of a large campus with tons of buildings, but here it is much different. For large schools, most of them do not have a campus but have buildings located throughout different parts of the city based on the department. It also seemed like some of the schools were just small specialized universities that just had the one building for all of the students in one location.

On Friday night, Carlos, one of the cousins I am living with, invited me to go over to a friend's house where they were going to chill out and make some mexican food (although, spicy doesn't fly much around here. Many people have the misconception that since Chile is in S. America that they eat the same cuisine as in Mexico, but that is definitely incorrect.). It was really fun to go and meet some new people my age. There were 9 people total hanging out at this apartment in Las Condes. I had a great time even though I understood very little of what was going on. See, younger generations talk even more quickly than the others and speak with even more slang. On top of that there were a bunch of people talking and music was playing, so it was basically impossible for me to even try to understand what everyone was saying to each other. Nonetheless, it still was really nice to just relax. Here, I am finding that it is really common for people to spend time together at one's house rather than going out and I personally like that because you are able to get to know people better and do not spend so much money!

Since we did not get home until like 4 AM, I definitely slept in on Saturday morning. I was invited to have tea (called once although it happens at more like 5 PM) with a cousin of my Grandma, named Tio Lucho, and the same aunt that I met with the day before, named Patricia. They also invited one of their nephews and his wife and son. I had a great time chatting with them and also getting out to a different part of the city. Again, I felt very successful taking the Metro there and back, all on my own, without getting lost!

Today I spent the day with the Davids family. We went to Tia Marianna's house for lunch. I enjoyed meeting her 4 kids that vary in age. In total there were 15 people at the house which called for a lot of crazy antics! Although there are times that I miss out on what is going on, I definitely held my own. It is great to feel so comfortable with all of these family members even though I have only met them recently! I hope to have many more opportunities to spend time with them.

One thing that I is fun is that every time I meet someone I get invited to go somewhere or do something. Tomorrow I am going to spend the day with an uncle, José Miguel. I have also been invited to spend time at several family's homes in the south of Chile. On Wednesday, it looks like I am going to Los Angeles with Carlos and will meet a ton of other cousins that will be there for the vacation (right now everyone is on winter vacation). Off we go!

Sights, Sounds, and Smells

If you remember from your pre-school education, there are 5 senses (well, some demented people have 6, but that is not part of today's lesson). Whenever traveling one of the things stays with me the most when I return are the sights, sounds and smells. When I lived in Mexico, I still remember the sound of the bells ringing of the trucks that sold propane, the smell of the exhaust from all of the cars on the road, and the sights of street vendors in the town squares. Here, there are already many different things that have aroused my senses. During the day the air smells fresh and crisp which I personally find invigorating while I walk around the city. I encountered my first protests today, which were full of chanting, blowing whistles, and bull horns--all of the sounds of a grassroots movement, nothing fancy, just people fighting for that which they believe with the little they have. There is also the sound of cars backfiring that I am not accustomed to hearing. Even more startling is the cannon that goes off at noon everyday really close by--I am not sure if it is done at the Military headquarters that is a block away, or if it is done at the old palace that is on the hill next to the apartment. Either way, it always makes me jump out of my seat! The apartment that I am staying in is next to a three lane road that merges into a really large intersection so I have grown accustom to honking. I also was exposed to two hours of cars honking and helicopters flying over when the Universidad de Chile soccer team won some esteemed title (I doubt anyone is surprised that I have no understanding soccer!). I think that some of the younger generations listen to reggaton which you hear whenever walking, and for those of you that are familiar, it has the distinct bass line that cannot be mistaken for anything else. Referring back to my musical knowledge... I guess it is in 4/4 time and has beats on 1, 3, 3 1/2 and 4 (I have no idea if that did anything for anyone but I sure would be curious to know, ha). I guess I have not really mentioned any sights... ha. Um, when I went to bed last night there was a discotec going on in the palace on the hill and the lights were flashing...?

Everything is going well. Today I went out and registered my visa with the Policia Internacional and then went apply for my Carnet de Identidad, the national ID that everyone has. I got everything done without any issues and didn't even get lost! Although, I did have the wait a while for the card because the strike I mentioned earlier was by government employees that I guess are worried about privatization of their jobs (although I definitely do not understand the details!). On my way back, I picked up bread like a good Chilean does and headed back to the apartment.

I am excited for this weekend. Tomorrow I am going to meet a family member that works for the Universidad de Chile and she is going to give me some advice for my time at the University. In the afternoon I am going to prepare lunch for the gang here--I hope that they like it. In the evening I am going to go over to the house of Marianna, my Dad's cousin, and stay the night there. Saturday I am going to hang out with a cousin and her friends.

Jail Break!

Somehow I managed to break loose from the apartment today all on my own! Yikes, I know what you are thinking--how did he fare on his own, in a place where the Spanish sounds like Chinese and the streets change name depending on which part of the city you are in? Well, you are silly to ask because clearly I made it back alive! Really though, it was great to venture out on my own. My goal was to get a map so that I could start getting familiar with the city since I have no sense of where I am. Well, I walked over to the book store and got a map. I also purchased a book that a friend suggested called, "How to Survive in the Chilean Jungle," which is a lexicon of all the chilean and Spanish phrases/ slang I will ever need to know. With these items in hand, I mustered the confidence to mozy on over to the Metro and purchase a pass to use, called a Bip. I now successfully have obtained my Bip and am ready to take on Santiago!

This morning I woke up at the tender hour of 11:30 and accepted the fact that I would need to take a shower very soon. I guess the lady that owns this building is a little... restrictive, and turns of the hot water from 12:30 until like 6. I always dread having to get ready, but this gives me good incentive to shower earlier than later, because I will end out showering in cold water! I think that the water also has a lot of chlorine, because it has been drying me out like it is no one's business. Thank goodness I brought lotion with me because it has definitely has gone to good use.

During the day the I personally think that the weather is very nice. It seems to resemble what would be a very nice fall day in the States, minus the rotting pumpkins on porches and the dead leaves backing up the sewer. Although I did not come across this much, there were some people that were wearing scarves and placed them over their mouths to stay warm. I am very glad that these people were able to stay warm, but someone needs to remind them that it was over 50 F! I mean, I wrapped my scarf around my face sometimes in Iowa when the temperate was -5 F with a bad wind chill... we are far from that here! In the evenings it does get a little bit chilly in the apartment because there is not central heating since the building we are in is, well, let's put it this way--it is on the National Registry of Historic Places. W have a kerosene heater to use here (it is odorless, except for right now because someone spilled) and it does a fine job of preventing hypothermia. I personally like it because it looks like a really really oversized kerosene lamp and makes me feel like I am camping without having to go outside!

It's Sort of Like Being Dropped of at Camp

I realized that in my previous post I did not mention who Sonia and Carlos were. For the first few days that I was here, the room I am to stay in while in Santiago was occupied, so I stayed with family friends named Sonia and Carlos. I spent a lot of time recuperating from all of my travels... aka 11 hour beauty sleeps. Sonia also showed me around some of the different places in her neighborhood including a mall that had every staple restaurant and clothier from the states. Part of me found it comforting to see so many familiar places, and the other part thought that it was sad to see globalization suck the life out of what could be an even more fruitful local culture. We also went out and set up a sim card and service plan for the phone I brought with me (feel free to call me; just let me know you need the number). One fact I found very interesting was that the neighborhood they live used to be all houses, but that many of the houses were purchased, or are in the process of being purchased in order to create high rise apartment buildings like the one they live in. It is a very unique juxtaposition of 20 story buildings and 1 or 2 story homes as you walk down the street.

Last night I had the opportunity to meet some of Sonia and Carlos's family. We ate dinner with the family of their daughter Isabel. It would have been great to have a a british documentary crew to capture my first interactions with kids my age here, like something you would see on Animal Planet. "Look now as the gringo approaches the chilean girl. Ahh, yes, he has chosen to court her with the kiss on the right cheek rather than the handshake. She responds well and it looks like the gringo successfully has been accepted into the pack." I have loved getting to know friends of my family, and it was refreshing to also meet some people my age. One of the daughters, Carolina, is studying psychology here as well so that was definitely a nice connection to start off with. We got along well and swapped information so that we could spend more time once I settle in.

Today, Sonia and Carlos took me out to a delicious restaurant called Chileanzo, and, as they said, it is bien chileno. As I also remember from meals at my grandparents, many chileans enjoy eating lots of grilled beef, sausage and pork-- and in this spirit this restaurant served us a huge pile of meat. I literally ate 3 sausages and 2 steaks. It goes without saying that I have not eaten a single thing since, and it has been over 7 hours since the meal. After the meal, we pick up my bags and headed over to the apartment where my cousins live.

Now I am here, and yeah, it sort of feels like being dropped off at camp. You know, it is the feeling where you know camp is going to be fun but you do not know anyone and do not know to expect so you are a little anxious. I do not mean at all to say that these guys are not kind or are unwelcoming, it is just a little overwhelming jumping into the unknown when I now do not have anyone, well, looking after me like I have for the first day. This is not the first time I have had to be totally independent and responsible for myself, but it definitely is the first time I have had to do so on a different continent with a different language! Everything will be great, it's just all new right now I suppose!

It Really Happened!

Somehow everything actually worked out and I have arrived to Santiago safe and sound. Where to begin?

Everything went well in Los Angeles. I arrived and took the shuttle to my hotel which was about 10 minutes away. I guess the highlight of the evening was having to jaywalk across a 6 lane road to leave my hotel in order to find some dinner. Perhaps with the budget issues that California has been unable to reconcile they have they decided to stop funding crosswalks. I mean, they are only a mere safety measure, totally overrated... Well, the next day I went down to the Chilean Consulate and got the visa. Once they acknowledged my presence after 30 minutes of waiting, they were thrilled that I was from Boulder... because they have been following the trial of a Chilean man that committed murder there over 10 years ago. Not because it is a beautiful place or is in Colorado, but because of my seeming connect with the Chilean criminal. Great. From there I took the same cab back to the hotel, spoke spanish the the Guatemalan drivers, muy amable, spent more on the taxi fare than I did for the hotel, and left to complete my final journey to Santiago.

The flight to LA was uneventful, just spent time reading a book on Chilean culture so that I would have an idea of what to expect. Before leaving LA, in a glutenous state of mind, I purchased my final Starbucks in the states (although, I have already come across a Starbucks here) and boarded the plane. When I got on the plane I had two bags, coffee and my passport in my hand. You know how when you are traveling your check every 5 minutes to make sure your passport and ticket are still there even though you know there is no way you could lose it because you are so careful not to do so? Well, I royally messed up and could not find the passport when I was checking my bag for it in the middle of the night. It obviously was somewhere because I could not board the plane without it, but I absolutely could not find it and the lights were turned out because people were sleeping. 15 minutes later everyone seated in my cabin was awake from all of the commotion from 3 flight attendants, 2 passengers and me searching everywhere for my passport. Well, I found it after I remember that I boarded the airplane and placed my coffee and passport on one bin so I could put my bags in another. Yup, I was that guy. I mean, it gave me something to do though considering that I cannot sleep on those overnight flights even though I tried so hard to rest!

I arrived at around 8 AM in Santiago and was greeted by my Tia Mimi at the airport. We drove back to her apartment and I finally had the chance to sleep after being awake for over 24 hours. At lunch, I met Tia Mimi's children (all adults now!), my dad's first cousins: María Angelica, Marianna, and José Miguel. They all carry the last name of Davids as well. They informed me that I, along José Miguel are the only two left to carry on the Davids name... I being the only in the states. Never even thought of it before--lots of responsibility has been placed on my shoulders! It was wonderful eating lunch with everyone, they took me in as family right away. They also took out a lot of photos from when my Dad and his siblings were children, and also photos from visits they had made to New York. I was caught off guard to see that they had a lot of pictures of me when I was a baby from a visit they had as well. It was just awesome.

On Sunday I will be moving to the center of Santiago to live with three cousins that are my age. For the time being, I am staying with family friend's named Sonia and Carlos. They have been very kind and I have enjoyed talking with them very much, albeit they get much more talking in so far! It has been a low key day, but this is fine by me as I need time to just relax and adjust to my new setting. Other than that, I had to look up how to say the toilet was running, so I guess I am beginning to master my plumbing vocabulary.

And oh, by the way, Sonia and Carlos live on the 18 floor of this apartment complex; I rolled over and woke up to this landscape.

...No complaints here!