Well it has been a long time since I have been on here, but I have been busy getting back into the routine of the home-life/work-life apart from the life in Santiago. I have been home for a month now, coming back into the US on July 7th. Today is my 21st birthday and right now I kind of wish that I could celebrate it with everyone that I met in Chile as well as my friends here.
I have been working at my old summer job off an on over the last four weeks while getting ready for school to start in 2.5 weeks. I have just finished my online classes for the summer and that means that I have finished my history minor. The approaching time of graduation (in may...long ways away but still close) is in the back of my mind. I have done so much in the last 3.5 year that I have been in college and for all the support I am forever grateful.
I have been able to volunteer, work with the Upward Bound/Trio program, taught elementary students spanish, completed 3 years of college, completed a history minor, and spanish major, travel abroad and learn so much and grow. By stating these few thing that I have done it blows me away by how much I have accomplished. But doing all these things did take hard work and a lot of time from me and those who continuously support me.
I have been running into many people back home who have heard about my travels and also those who have been reading my articles in the local paper. It is very encouraging when people give me feedback and tell me that they are proud of me for doing what I have done and that everyone in our community is backing me on this endeavor. I am in the process of writing my last article and making the last of my video blog movies. I would like to make a movie also to reminisce about my experiences and how I can hopefully encourage other people to strive for what they want. I would not be here talking about this without the Gilman scholarship and for that I am in their debt. They helped me immensely and I am finishing up my follow up project to raise the awareness of this scholarship and how so many people have and can benefit from this program.
So this month has been filled with visiting family and friends, catching up on lost times, wedding events for friends and family members, working, finishing summer classes and now enjoying the last bit of my free summer before my final year of college starts. I wish to revisit Chile someday and am hoping to reunite with many of my new made friends in the near future. I have a spring break this year that I am using for my pleasure and hoping to go see some girlfriends from my abroad trip and within the next few years hopefully just a short time getting out to Europe.
These friends with always hold these memories with me and I will cherish them forever. I have friends from all over the world and wouldn't change it for anything. I love what I have been given, who I have met and what I have done. Only thing now is I want to get back into practice speaking and listening to Spanish because it is hard coming back to an area where I am no longer surrounded by the language and culture and I miss this the most. So here is a thanks to everyone and everything. Viva Chile y saludos a todos mis amigos mundiales.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Holy Smolies
Wow time has flown by fast. I know I have been saying that for a while, but holy right now I have 7 days until I leave to go back home! I am super pumped and can't wait to get home, but of course I will miss Chile. It has been my home for the last 6 months, where I have made lifetime friends, shared stories, and had the time of my life. But like the others who just left for travelling I am not feeling that sentimental yet. I think it is because I am so excited to get home, that it hasn't really hit me that I will not be coming back to Santiago for a LONG time.
I made a last dinner for my Chilean family the other night and it was so good! Did it American style and they loved it. I will miss them so much, they helped me that first month and the next 5 so much. I felt homesick, but they helped me through it and worked with me with the spanish language. I am forever grateful to those who have helped me to the level of spanish speaking I am at today. I am scared to go home for this matter. I am not going to be around a lot of spanish any if that when I get home and it will be 1 month until I get back home. So the looming fear is that I am going to forget everything I learned here. I need to figure something out to keep working on it.
But just finishing things up here in Santiago. I have said a log of goodbyes and the last of them mainly will be this week. I am also at midterm and final time for my online classes which happened to be in my last week here. So for sure it will go quite fast. I am going to Atacama this weekend, friday after my final, and come back on the 4th. I am a bit sad to not be home on the 4th, but will be home just a few short days later!
But I don't have much to write about, just homework and more homework and goodbyes. I will cherish this time forever and am so thankful of the help I got while being here. Viva Chile!
Ciau from Santiago
I made a last dinner for my Chilean family the other night and it was so good! Did it American style and they loved it. I will miss them so much, they helped me that first month and the next 5 so much. I felt homesick, but they helped me through it and worked with me with the spanish language. I am forever grateful to those who have helped me to the level of spanish speaking I am at today. I am scared to go home for this matter. I am not going to be around a lot of spanish any if that when I get home and it will be 1 month until I get back home. So the looming fear is that I am going to forget everything I learned here. I need to figure something out to keep working on it.
But just finishing things up here in Santiago. I have said a log of goodbyes and the last of them mainly will be this week. I am also at midterm and final time for my online classes which happened to be in my last week here. So for sure it will go quite fast. I am going to Atacama this weekend, friday after my final, and come back on the 4th. I am a bit sad to not be home on the 4th, but will be home just a few short days later!
But I don't have much to write about, just homework and more homework and goodbyes. I will cherish this time forever and am so thankful of the help I got while being here. Viva Chile!
Ciau from Santiago
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Uffdah!
Well it has been about 2 weeks since the last time I wrote, but it is only because I am staying busy. I am just shy of finishing one online class, but the other is what is taking up most of my free time. I am behind in reading and just don't know how to motivate myself to get back on. I am getting stressed out a bit lately. I am done with classes here in Santiago, but still have 2.5 weeks until I get home. It is not a lot of time which is stressing me out. I sometimes feel that I have not done all I can here in Santiago, but if I think about all the things I didn't do I will forget all the things that I did do. I have 17 days left in Chile and I need to make them count. But I am also scared of going home. I am so ready to be home and know that I have been wanting it for a bit due to homesickness sometimes, but scared of being with all those I know again. It has been so long and while I have been here I have only talked to a handful of people. The fact that while I am here experiencing and don't hear from a lot of those I know makes me scared to go home. Like it matters. I haven't seen people for 6 months and just nervous to see them again...pretty much reintroduced into their lives after being absent for almost 6 months.
I have friends leaving here tomorrow..and tonight will be a lot of goodbyes. Possibility of a goodbye bash with classmates will have me saying goodbye to those who have made me feel comfortable here. Do I want to stay or go home. Here I practice my Spanish and have improved so much and my confidence has increased tenfold, but scared to go home, where am I going to practice and with a month away from school I am so scared that I will forget it. What happens then? All this for nothing? This is important to me.
Other than nerves and an ever changing mindset I am finishing my time here in Santiago. Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart, cling to them as you would your life...For without them, life is meaningless.. This deals with me when I chose things over those who are right in front of me. Life is full of surprises and I am finding them everyday in my life. It is what makes life worth living. This opportunity has opened my mind to the goals that I can reach in my life. I am worth it, I am significant, and dang it I will succeed at what I do.
I will finish off my weeks here, with goodbye bashes, goodbye dinners, shopping, new restaurants, and a trip to the Desert. Now is the time to do it in the present. I will hopefully get another blog or two in before I fly out. 6th of July is the day I leave Chile, with hopes of coming back one day while making and sharing my experiences again.
I have friends leaving here tomorrow..and tonight will be a lot of goodbyes. Possibility of a goodbye bash with classmates will have me saying goodbye to those who have made me feel comfortable here. Do I want to stay or go home. Here I practice my Spanish and have improved so much and my confidence has increased tenfold, but scared to go home, where am I going to practice and with a month away from school I am so scared that I will forget it. What happens then? All this for nothing? This is important to me.
Other than nerves and an ever changing mindset I am finishing my time here in Santiago. Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart, cling to them as you would your life...For without them, life is meaningless.. This deals with me when I chose things over those who are right in front of me. Life is full of surprises and I am finding them everyday in my life. It is what makes life worth living. This opportunity has opened my mind to the goals that I can reach in my life. I am worth it, I am significant, and dang it I will succeed at what I do.
I will finish off my weeks here, with goodbye bashes, goodbye dinners, shopping, new restaurants, and a trip to the Desert. Now is the time to do it in the present. I will hopefully get another blog or two in before I fly out. 6th of July is the day I leave Chile, with hopes of coming back one day while making and sharing my experiences again.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Busy...Busy...little bee
Well it has been a few days longer than I wanted to write this, but as I wrote: busy, busy. I recently started my second summer class through the internet and this has filled up all of my free time that I had. I have much to read as this class will finish my history minor and is challenging. My courses are about American Indians and the Crusades. I have to admit that I am a bit of a history nerd and like learning about this stuff, so it is interesting to me I just have to get into it. Other than summer classes through my university in South Dakota, things in Santiago are starting to wind down. I have 3 weekends left in Santiago until I take a trip to San Pedro de Atacama the just days before I leave. The time has gone by fast and I know I will have mixed feelings by the time its all done. I am ready to get home, but when am I going to have this opportunity again and then there are those people who I have bonded so greatly with in the last 5 months. But other than that things are happening at home. Summer vacation is there meaning summer sports, SUN, swimming and much more. This is what I am pumped for...WARMTH.
This week has been eventful in Santiago. Sunday I went running...28 minutes only one one minute stop!! and when I got back the consierge told me that there was an emergency alert for Santiago. The 'contamination' smog in the air had reached a critical level that running was not suggested and people were recommended to stay home. I realized that something was different for when I was running, it was extra hard to breathe and now I know why! So as I have 8 runs left in 30 days I WANT to finish...working up to 5k...so I'll figure it out. Other than that type of exercising I have started to attend Yoga classes. You know after my body gets stretched out and feels so relaxed it is such a nice thing to do. So I try to exercise everyday..but Wednesday's those are my relax days!! Got to watch the great..bread and typical Chilean food for a bit...again b/c its summer back home!
Today I went horseback riding for 2 hours with a few girls and we had a picnic afterwards. It was a great day and so fun. The thing I know I will have withdrawals from is the view of the mountains. The sights I saw today were just breathtaking and I know I couldn't get a just picture. I am trying to do stuff every weekend to make the time count. Tomorrow I will be going to Ruby Tuesday's here in Santiago..to compare...and then to see the new Hangover movie. Should be an eventful night again. The next event will be next thursday where I organized a group dinner for a bunch of us who have known each other since the first day, this will be at a famous restaurant here in town so cross fingers its worth it.
Nothing else besides homework and getting ready for final exams here. I do know my speaking has improved because people tell me all the time. Although I don't believe them a lot, they assure me that I speak like I have been here for a long time. So I got that going for me. Also it is quite funny to look back at my first videos to now and see the improvement. I have been watching baseball live on the internet and it is nice to finally see it again...even if I am jealous at the nice weather.
So time is winding down and I am becoming a little more busy with classes so I will try to keep these updated as much as I can. Thanks to those reading I appreciate it so much. Until later, Ciau from Chile.
This week has been eventful in Santiago. Sunday I went running...28 minutes only one one minute stop!! and when I got back the consierge told me that there was an emergency alert for Santiago. The 'contamination' smog in the air had reached a critical level that running was not suggested and people were recommended to stay home. I realized that something was different for when I was running, it was extra hard to breathe and now I know why! So as I have 8 runs left in 30 days I WANT to finish...working up to 5k...so I'll figure it out. Other than that type of exercising I have started to attend Yoga classes. You know after my body gets stretched out and feels so relaxed it is such a nice thing to do. So I try to exercise everyday..but Wednesday's those are my relax days!! Got to watch the great..bread and typical Chilean food for a bit...again b/c its summer back home!
Today I went horseback riding for 2 hours with a few girls and we had a picnic afterwards. It was a great day and so fun. The thing I know I will have withdrawals from is the view of the mountains. The sights I saw today were just breathtaking and I know I couldn't get a just picture. I am trying to do stuff every weekend to make the time count. Tomorrow I will be going to Ruby Tuesday's here in Santiago..to compare...and then to see the new Hangover movie. Should be an eventful night again. The next event will be next thursday where I organized a group dinner for a bunch of us who have known each other since the first day, this will be at a famous restaurant here in town so cross fingers its worth it.
Nothing else besides homework and getting ready for final exams here. I do know my speaking has improved because people tell me all the time. Although I don't believe them a lot, they assure me that I speak like I have been here for a long time. So I got that going for me. Also it is quite funny to look back at my first videos to now and see the improvement. I have been watching baseball live on the internet and it is nice to finally see it again...even if I am jealous at the nice weather.
So time is winding down and I am becoming a little more busy with classes so I will try to keep these updated as much as I can. Thanks to those reading I appreciate it so much. Until later, Ciau from Chile.
Monday, May 23, 2011
I can't breathe
So this has been the most frustrating last week or so...I HATE the post office and customs here in Chile. Thank you for holding on to my package for 3 weeks...then scanning it in to say it had arrived only when we started to search for it. As I am taking one summer class right now, the items in that package are very important to my class. The package has my textbooks for the class I am in right now and one that I start next week. Great so I have to reorder my books if they do not come this week. I have no option. Also to reorder and ship books here the fastest way possible...books that cost about $30...will cost me over $150 to get it here, if they don't get stuck in customs again.
This is the most frustrating thing ever. I can call and get told that my tracking number doesn't exist and that it is probably in customs and they can hold it however long they want. Oh and I think I have to pay if it ever arrives b/c it has been there so long. Seriously this is stressing me out and makes me miss just being home when I never had to worry about this nonsense. I hope it gets here soon but I am not going to hold my breath. With this it has ruined my mood and I do not feel like doing anything...studying or anything. Whats the point?
The title for this post comes from the air outside. This is a HUGE place and pollution is everywhere. This is the worst time of the year if someone wants to go running. Let me tell you it is so hard to breathe with all this smog and just bad stuf for the environment. And the other reason for the name is SMOKING! Wow back home I can pick where I want to go to avoid smoking, but here it is everywhere. KIDS...kids who are in school...like maybe 12 if that...smoke all the time. Outside of the school during the day and in front of so many people. But I don't think that it is a big situation here, but to me its disgusting that kids start so early, that I cannot go out at night without running into it or coming home smelling like it. Wow just wow.
Well if there was anything good that came out of this week or so was skydiving. I did this on Saturday and it was a blast. I still don't really know how to explain it, because it just takes time understanding what it was. I would highly recommend it to anyone...don't worry about screaming I did it quite loud and no one heard it.
But with classes going on a role now and these annoyances still here I am still passing the time here in Chile. I don't have much time left, and I hope that this HORRIBLE experience with my mail doesn't ruin my whole memory of my trip. Ahh so I am going to go and cook dinner and possible go to Yoga class to work off some anger.
Ciao
This is the most frustrating thing ever. I can call and get told that my tracking number doesn't exist and that it is probably in customs and they can hold it however long they want. Oh and I think I have to pay if it ever arrives b/c it has been there so long. Seriously this is stressing me out and makes me miss just being home when I never had to worry about this nonsense. I hope it gets here soon but I am not going to hold my breath. With this it has ruined my mood and I do not feel like doing anything...studying or anything. Whats the point?
The title for this post comes from the air outside. This is a HUGE place and pollution is everywhere. This is the worst time of the year if someone wants to go running. Let me tell you it is so hard to breathe with all this smog and just bad stuf for the environment. And the other reason for the name is SMOKING! Wow back home I can pick where I want to go to avoid smoking, but here it is everywhere. KIDS...kids who are in school...like maybe 12 if that...smoke all the time. Outside of the school during the day and in front of so many people. But I don't think that it is a big situation here, but to me its disgusting that kids start so early, that I cannot go out at night without running into it or coming home smelling like it. Wow just wow.
Well if there was anything good that came out of this week or so was skydiving. I did this on Saturday and it was a blast. I still don't really know how to explain it, because it just takes time understanding what it was. I would highly recommend it to anyone...don't worry about screaming I did it quite loud and no one heard it.
But with classes going on a role now and these annoyances still here I am still passing the time here in Chile. I don't have much time left, and I hope that this HORRIBLE experience with my mail doesn't ruin my whole memory of my trip. Ahh so I am going to go and cook dinner and possible go to Yoga class to work off some anger.
Ciao
Friday, May 13, 2011
Ooops...My bad
Oops is all I can say. With trying to stay busy, the website not working, and forgetting its been a while since my last post. It is almost the middle of May...what is that!! Wow time does fly when you are having fun...or when you want it to stop. I am actually not sure that a lot has gone on in the last two weeks besides normal school stuff. I did end up going to a festival that I mentioned in my last post and it was quite fun.
May day here was full of festivals of religion or the national dance. As I was at the fruit market that day I actually ran into the parade of the Cuasimodo festival in Santiago. This was the religious festival of the weekend. Also later that day I travelled on the metro tren to San Bernardo. At the San Bernardo plaza, community known for folklore, there was a large festival going on. There was no way that I could have gotten lost on the way from the metro tren to the plaza, but of course I made sure to ask someone to be certain, and the lady chatted with me to the plaza and was so sweet. There were probably thousands of people there and they were all participating, had participated, watching or getting ready to jump in. This was the festival of the Cueca Mil. Starting at midday on Saturday and continuing on Sunday until the goal was reached of 1000 Cuecas danced.
This dance is the national Chilean dance therefore pretty much everyone in Chile knows how to dance it. No I did not participate in the dance, because I do not know how to do it, but for my Culture class we had to interview people and investigate certain festivals and this is the one that I chose to do. I took many pictures, videos of people dancing. Now these people did not just dance in one area...too many people for that...but rather people danced anywhere and everywhere they could. The people that I actually interviewed began dancing right next to an ambulance...no pun...and did it because they love this dance. I learned a lot from the people I interviewed...and even received a little souvenior that I will have forever reminding me of this time.
Since this event nothing too amazing has happened...well i guess I did just buy myself a ticket for something that is going to be amazing...SKYDIVING. I am going next saturday at about 1:00 here (noon at home). I am super excited b/c it didn't work out in Argentina and I got it for a good price here!! So I have to go buy a ticket to take a bus there and then off I go!! I am super pumped and I am sure it is going to be a good time. Also this sunday I decided to have a good portion of my friends over to have breakfast for dinner. It is funny for those people who have never done that and think it is a strange idea. :) 20 people with french toast...eggs...and bacon..yummy and to have it followed with a movie.
I turned in my paper today about the Cueca mil....we are now playing instruments in class and it is fun to play trumpet again. I was supposed to have a debate two weeks ago...then this week and now I have to wait until next week. I just started one online class that I will be taking throughout the rest of my stay here in Chile. It is just the amount of time that I have left here so should go fast when I have something to do. I am starting my second online class at the end of this month.
So other than that...not much here..homework...trying to keep a schedule of running regularily...skipped this week...getting ready to feed 20 people and take my online classes. I have 7 weeks lefts and they are going fast. I would like to go visit a few places yet that I have not fully seen and to revist some of the other ones. But with that I am going to head and talk soon...hopefully it won't be so much time in between.
Ciau!!
May day here was full of festivals of religion or the national dance. As I was at the fruit market that day I actually ran into the parade of the Cuasimodo festival in Santiago. This was the religious festival of the weekend. Also later that day I travelled on the metro tren to San Bernardo. At the San Bernardo plaza, community known for folklore, there was a large festival going on. There was no way that I could have gotten lost on the way from the metro tren to the plaza, but of course I made sure to ask someone to be certain, and the lady chatted with me to the plaza and was so sweet. There were probably thousands of people there and they were all participating, had participated, watching or getting ready to jump in. This was the festival of the Cueca Mil. Starting at midday on Saturday and continuing on Sunday until the goal was reached of 1000 Cuecas danced.
This dance is the national Chilean dance therefore pretty much everyone in Chile knows how to dance it. No I did not participate in the dance, because I do not know how to do it, but for my Culture class we had to interview people and investigate certain festivals and this is the one that I chose to do. I took many pictures, videos of people dancing. Now these people did not just dance in one area...too many people for that...but rather people danced anywhere and everywhere they could. The people that I actually interviewed began dancing right next to an ambulance...no pun...and did it because they love this dance. I learned a lot from the people I interviewed...and even received a little souvenior that I will have forever reminding me of this time.
Since this event nothing too amazing has happened...well i guess I did just buy myself a ticket for something that is going to be amazing...SKYDIVING. I am going next saturday at about 1:00 here (noon at home). I am super excited b/c it didn't work out in Argentina and I got it for a good price here!! So I have to go buy a ticket to take a bus there and then off I go!! I am super pumped and I am sure it is going to be a good time. Also this sunday I decided to have a good portion of my friends over to have breakfast for dinner. It is funny for those people who have never done that and think it is a strange idea. :) 20 people with french toast...eggs...and bacon..yummy and to have it followed with a movie.
I turned in my paper today about the Cueca mil....we are now playing instruments in class and it is fun to play trumpet again. I was supposed to have a debate two weeks ago...then this week and now I have to wait until next week. I just started one online class that I will be taking throughout the rest of my stay here in Chile. It is just the amount of time that I have left here so should go fast when I have something to do. I am starting my second online class at the end of this month.
So other than that...not much here..homework...trying to keep a schedule of running regularily...skipped this week...getting ready to feed 20 people and take my online classes. I have 7 weeks lefts and they are going fast. I would like to go visit a few places yet that I have not fully seen and to revist some of the other ones. But with that I am going to head and talk soon...hopefully it won't be so much time in between.
Ciau!!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
¿Como Manejo?
My friends and I left for Mendoza Argentina last Thursday for the Easter holiday weekend. We left during the night to avoid the cost of staying in a hostel and we were planning on arriving in the early morning, but that is not what happened. We left Santiago at about 10:30 pm and we did not get to Mendoza unitl 10 the next morning. A 200km trip throught the mountains was a lot longer than anyone could have expected and the reason wasn't even bad...too many buses. We arrived at the border crossing at about 1AM, and we were told that we might as well get comfortable because we would not be getting through until at least 8AM!! What!?!!
This long, boring, cold wait was due to the Easter weekend. The amount of people that were crossing the border was very large. When we arrived there were 12 buses in front and 15 behind us. We waited for 5 hours at the border and finally got through and got to Mendoza at 10AM. When we got there we decided to walk around and get breakfast, but the town seemed like a ghost town...no one there. At this time of the morning there was almost no one on the streets and the stores were not open. We figured that it was due to it being Good Friday and that the shops would open on Saturday.We walked around Mendoza, had coffee, ice cream, chocolate, smoothies and finished the day off with an Argentinian steak. Lets just say the meat is great.
On Saturday we decided to do a wine and bike tour excursion and only had one small problem before we got to the vineyard....the vehicle broke down on the off ramp. I was so happy when I found the 'How am I driving' sticker on the van, priceless. 'Como Manejo' Of course this would happen to us and when we were actually close to the place, but we were not the only ones with problems. There were two other vehicles that broke down just down the ramp or on the side of the highway. Wow..it was quite an experience and just made the day more interesting. The vineyards were quite interesting the for the most part the wine tasted great.
Easter Sunday I sat in the hostal waiting for the skydiving company to pick me up...I had talked to them numerous times before and even the night before, but waited all day and they didn't come...Shitty. I had McDonalds for Easter dinner and we just hung out in the hostal. We were going to try to go out at night, but with the amount of food we ate and the fact that the people in Argentina don't go out until 3AM at the earliest there was no way. The trip was a success and on the way back the border only took about an hour. We went during the day and we able to see the Andes Mountains from the inside. The views were magnificent.
Spring semesters are over back home, graduations are approaching and I would like to wish all of them congratulations and good luck with the next step. Also have a great summer, I will be able to get in on the end of summer right after the 4th of July. I will be ready to see some familiar faces and it will be great. Today I am hopefully off to go see some festivals today, but we have to see how homework is going. I will be starting my summer classes in a week so here we go.
Ciao from Chile!
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