It's a little delayed, but it had to be coming at some point. After a week and a half back in the states, it's time for the semester retrospective.
Places visited in South America:
La Serena
El Colorado (skiing)
La Ligua
Pomeire
Isla Negra
La Campana
San Pedro
Antofogasta
Punta Arenas
Puerto Natales
Pucón
Valdivia
Cajón de Maipo
Mendoza
Buenos Aires
Santiago
and of course, Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, my "homes"
hours spent on busses:over 107
hikes: (contrary to popular belief, only) 3
hostels stayed in: 11
occasions of luxury (aka, rediculously nice places stayed in due to parental visits, paid program trips, and crazy-low prices in countries in economic crisis): 6
Everyone should get to go to a country where they're considered gorgeous
It's a real confidence-booster. I'm thinking we need to set up an international database so taht each person can find and visit that location where everyone thinks they're drop-dead gorgeous. I, for example, am returning a few pounds heavier, yet with several outstanding marriage proposals from random men on the streets of Chile.
In Chile, you're blonde
we all are.
Prescriptions are SO overrated
Why bother with doctors if you can just bully pharmacists, like Ashley's host mom? Or, you could send your host kids accross the border to Argentina with a wad of cash which they will then exchange for drugs at a leather store. 'cause that's not shady (nor has it ever happened to me, of course).
Valparaíso was the perfect place for me to study abroad
I realize I never wrote much about it, so here's the short description of my home abroad. Valpo is an industrial port city built on hills rising right up out of hte Pacific. There is not a single Starbucks in the city, and no one knows what bagels are. Its neighboring city, which it literally touches, Viña del Mar, is the most touristic city in Chile because of its beaches. Neither city is particularly wealthy or clean. The area houses some of the best universities in teh country. The culture and architecture are fascinating (if occasionaly frightening - houses buit on hills appear to be more hanging, waiting to fall). The lifestyle of these cities was unlike any experiences I had had before.
I hate dogs.
Perhaps canines and I will have our day of reconciliation, but not today. After carefully picking my way around the many stray dogs of Chile and their resulting bodily functions in the streets, and after the creature that lived in my house shat on my bed and vomitted in corners in the house, I've decided that I hate dogs, and will now for some time.
Use sunscreen
Turns out that song was right. SPF = good, hole in the o-zone right over Chile = bad.
My favorite Chilean game: spot that college t-shirt
Rest assured, your clothing drive donations are reaching those in need. All kinds of college, city, and sports team paraphernalia can be found all over South America. More points are given for more specific institutions (Dormitory t-shirts instead of University - Ashley did spot her freshman year dorm in Chile), and bonus points given if you yourself own the shirt.
The award for all-time best t-shirt find: Ashley's spotting of a t-shirt from our town's local young girls' basketball league.
Chile's favorite American import:
On the music scene, that is. Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved". They also love a song that I believe is called "The Shadows", but I'm pretty sure the band is European.
Favorite Spanish adition to my iTunes Library: (song)
"Salir Corriendo" by Amaral, which is a pretty awesome band all around. I highly recommend checking out their CD, Estrella del Mar.
Favorite Spanish addition to my iTunes Library: (band)
Bacilos. Even better if you can get your hands on their music videos. "Pasos de Gigante" is especially cute, and a really fun song.
Music video most re-inforcing of all previous Latin Music stereotypes:
David Bisbal's "Oye el Boom". Imagine a muscular man with long curly hair on a desert island surrounded by a hundred women in small brown bikinis. Add dancing, wet bodies, and a few strange pelvic thrusts, and you've got an accurate image of the music video driving millions of Spanish-speaking women wild.
An amazing semester has come to an end. It was difficult, interesting, crazy, and loads of fun, and I couldn't be happier I did it. Just look at all the culture I've gained from my 5 months (half naked men on desert islands aside). ;) Thanks for putting up with all my ramblings. It was a good way for me to remember everything I did, since it all seemed to happen pretty fast.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Sunday, December 19, 2004
a story from my favorite MIT nerd
"i took my resume to the career center for them to look over and they asked me if i knew any languages and i said, yeah, i list them right there: c++, html, -- oh, you meant like, real languages!"
Tales from the end of the world
It may seem like cheating to be updating about a trip in Chile when I’m not in Chile anymore, but in all fairness to me, I’m not yet home either. I’m writing this from somewhere over the Caribbean Sea at 3:30 in the morning because I just woke up and mysteriously can’t sleep. Plus, I still have not posted anything about my last, and quite possibly my best, Chilean adventure.
Exam season in Chile was a bit of a nightmare for me, so as soon as it was over, I was ready to take off on my final trip. I had two free weeks after finals ended, and was originally going to be traveling for both of them. In the end, though, I decided I would rather one shorter trip and then a last week on the beach before I headed home, a good move since it also gave me some more time with my awesome host family before I left. The place I chose for my remaining one week of travels: Chilean Patagonia.
As my friend Lauren (mihijita!) said when she went, “it’s not just an outerwear company”. For this last exciting adventure, I had decided to travel alone and test my independence skills after a semester abroad. I started out in Punta Arenas, a city on the Straits of Magellan. I ended up meeting another exchange student down there and sharing a hostel room with him for two days. While he hung out in the hostel and watched TV, preparing for his hike of Torres del Paine, I went on the Pinguinos tour (translation: penguins) and did some shorter hiking in a national reserve nearby, which was complimented by some unknown flirting with the park ranger. Yeah, I didn’t realize what I was doing until my taxi had pulled up to take me back to my hostel and he was giving me his e-mail address and MSN messenger name. Oops!
After two days in Punta Arenas, I hopped a bus to Puerto Natales, 3 hours north. Puerto Natales is the touristy town on the Fjord of Last Hope and the gateway to the Torres del Paine Park, so to speak. Torres del Paine is supposed to be up there with one of the 10 best hikes in the world, and I’ll believe it. I only had time to do the one day bus trip into the park, but I desperately want to go back some day and spend at least 4 or 5 days hiking in the park. (I know what you’re wondering, but don’t worry, I haven’t completely turned nature girl while here in Chile. I’m still mostly a city-mouse.) The Park is absolutely gorgeous with lagoons and waterfalls and mountains rising up out of the water and into the clouds. The weather in Patagonia is even more changeable than Martha’s Vineyard, and I used to think that was saying something. Every day I was alternately rained on, freezing, and sweating at least once. All this creates very uncertain weather and cloud cover conditions, however, which some find disappointing because of the difficulty in planning anything, but I felt just added a lot to the almost mystical feel of the park.
The Park was definitely my favorite part of the trip, but my boat of the glaciers definitely came in a close second. I took a tour on a boat (oh, how I had missed the feel of ocean under foot, hehe) to see two large glaciers near Puerto Natales. We sailed right up next to one, and the other I was able to walk to. The second was particularly beautiful, with several pieces breaking off and floating into the lake surrounding it. There was, again, some unknowing flirting with the tour guides (I have to start realizing when this is going on), that I was this time unaware of until one of them started touching the neck of my sweater while complimenting me on my Spanish-speaking abilities. I feel like my subconscious must get lonely when I’m traveling alone, even while conscious Caitlin is having a fantastic time. Either that or I just have that nature girl vibe that really reels in the guys. Oh, how crunchy I am. Hehe.
My last night in Puerto Natales was spent in a lovely hostel that I finally got a bed in after two nights in the hostel from hell. (It was next to not one, but two discoteques. Late night karaoke, anyone?) When traveling alone it’s virtually impossible to actually be alone, since the traveling culture really does seem to be one of living together and sharing, and true to form, I met some really cool people all over my travels. Among the many things I learned from them: working papers in Chile are really not a necessity, so if I ever wanted to come back and make some money, I’d be set. (Just kidding, Mom.) In all honesty, though, I did meet amazing people doing amazing things. It made me hope that this is not, by far, my last international adventure. I ended my trip to the “end of the world” relaxing, chatting, and reading in my hostel, and flew back home the next day for a week of beach-ing and goodbyes. My Chile trip ended fantastically, and I am so excited to come home and see all the people I care about!
Exam season in Chile was a bit of a nightmare for me, so as soon as it was over, I was ready to take off on my final trip. I had two free weeks after finals ended, and was originally going to be traveling for both of them. In the end, though, I decided I would rather one shorter trip and then a last week on the beach before I headed home, a good move since it also gave me some more time with my awesome host family before I left. The place I chose for my remaining one week of travels: Chilean Patagonia.
As my friend Lauren (mihijita!) said when she went, “it’s not just an outerwear company”. For this last exciting adventure, I had decided to travel alone and test my independence skills after a semester abroad. I started out in Punta Arenas, a city on the Straits of Magellan. I ended up meeting another exchange student down there and sharing a hostel room with him for two days. While he hung out in the hostel and watched TV, preparing for his hike of Torres del Paine, I went on the Pinguinos tour (translation: penguins) and did some shorter hiking in a national reserve nearby, which was complimented by some unknown flirting with the park ranger. Yeah, I didn’t realize what I was doing until my taxi had pulled up to take me back to my hostel and he was giving me his e-mail address and MSN messenger name. Oops!
After two days in Punta Arenas, I hopped a bus to Puerto Natales, 3 hours north. Puerto Natales is the touristy town on the Fjord of Last Hope and the gateway to the Torres del Paine Park, so to speak. Torres del Paine is supposed to be up there with one of the 10 best hikes in the world, and I’ll believe it. I only had time to do the one day bus trip into the park, but I desperately want to go back some day and spend at least 4 or 5 days hiking in the park. (I know what you’re wondering, but don’t worry, I haven’t completely turned nature girl while here in Chile. I’m still mostly a city-mouse.) The Park is absolutely gorgeous with lagoons and waterfalls and mountains rising up out of the water and into the clouds. The weather in Patagonia is even more changeable than Martha’s Vineyard, and I used to think that was saying something. Every day I was alternately rained on, freezing, and sweating at least once. All this creates very uncertain weather and cloud cover conditions, however, which some find disappointing because of the difficulty in planning anything, but I felt just added a lot to the almost mystical feel of the park.
The Park was definitely my favorite part of the trip, but my boat of the glaciers definitely came in a close second. I took a tour on a boat (oh, how I had missed the feel of ocean under foot, hehe) to see two large glaciers near Puerto Natales. We sailed right up next to one, and the other I was able to walk to. The second was particularly beautiful, with several pieces breaking off and floating into the lake surrounding it. There was, again, some unknowing flirting with the tour guides (I have to start realizing when this is going on), that I was this time unaware of until one of them started touching the neck of my sweater while complimenting me on my Spanish-speaking abilities. I feel like my subconscious must get lonely when I’m traveling alone, even while conscious Caitlin is having a fantastic time. Either that or I just have that nature girl vibe that really reels in the guys. Oh, how crunchy I am. Hehe.
My last night in Puerto Natales was spent in a lovely hostel that I finally got a bed in after two nights in the hostel from hell. (It was next to not one, but two discoteques. Late night karaoke, anyone?) When traveling alone it’s virtually impossible to actually be alone, since the traveling culture really does seem to be one of living together and sharing, and true to form, I met some really cool people all over my travels. Among the many things I learned from them: working papers in Chile are really not a necessity, so if I ever wanted to come back and make some money, I’d be set. (Just kidding, Mom.) In all honesty, though, I did meet amazing people doing amazing things. It made me hope that this is not, by far, my last international adventure. I ended my trip to the “end of the world” relaxing, chatting, and reading in my hostel, and flew back home the next day for a week of beach-ing and goodbyes. My Chile trip ended fantastically, and I am so excited to come home and see all the people I care about!
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Dusting the desert dust off my shoes
(Still can't get my pictures working sorry! But I'll try to get them up as soon as I'm state-side and every little thing on the computer doesn't take forever minutes!)
Grand apologies for the long break in blogging. I could make excuses, but no one wants to hear about them. Instead, here comes a quick account of my trip to the driest desert on earth…much more interesting!
San Pedro de Atacama is a small tourist town in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile. It is a tourist town because it is the only thing close to four major tourist sites of the desert: lakes in the mountains nearby, the world’s third largest salt deposit, El Tetio Geysers, and Death and Moon Valleys. It’s small because, being the only town for miles, there is no competition to cause it to experience any drastic change. It doesn’t have an ATM in town, though a truck drives through (with a frequency I’m unsure of) with an ATM that accepts only MasterCard. The food is one thing that is really quite affected by tourism, which meant it was some of the best food I’ve had since arriving in Chile.
Most people, to get to San Pedro, fly through Calama, the unappealing mining city about an hour and a half drive away. Ashley and I like it the hard way…we found a deal flying through Antofagasta, an even less appealing mining city located 5 hours away by bus. Through the desert. Antofogasta is on the (west) coast of Chile, it’s one saving grace (yes, I learned it’s possible to have a city that is both in the desert and on the sea… it’s like endless beach). San Pedro is on the east side of Chile. Hence, we had to cross the desert to get from point A to B. But it still got us to there, so no harm done.
We left on a Thursday bright and early and arrived in San Pedro just too late to take any tours. We checked into a great hostel with llamas in the yard and headed for the Native American ruins located just a kilometer outside of town.
img src=”IMGP1471.JPG”
playing in Atacamian ruins
The next day we took a full day tour that went to the salar (salt deposit) and the lakes. Both were amazing, and we also got to meet some cool Brazilians in the process (and some unfortunately boring Slovaks). The group also stopped in a couple of very small towns, and we were able to momentarily and superficially glimpse into rural desert life. Cool (and a little frightening)!
img src=”IMGP1481.JPG”
lots of salt and flamencos
img src=”IMGP1497.JPG”
in front of one of the two lakes
That night we got to go on one of the cooler “tours” I’ve done in Chile: a tour of the night sky. A French man came to the Atacama because of its incredibly clear skies and started giving tours in English, French, and Spanish. He has several high-powered telescopes and plenty of knowledge, so two hours were quickly filled with interesting facts and beautiful sights. It was especially nice to finally have someone point out for me exactly what I am seeing for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere sky (aka, the whole part of the sky we miss out on up North). Yay for Magellanic Clouds!
The next day, Saturday, we checked out the museum and got to see some Native American mummies. That night we went on the tour of Death and Moon Valleys. I walked through Death Valley, apparently where many early explorers died because they greatly underestimated the distance between one oasis and another due to the ability to see so much further in the desert than in most places. We watched the sunset over Moon Valley, more impressive sounding than it was, I assure you, but beautiful nonetheless.
img src=”IMGP1510.JPG”
standing above moon valley
img src=”IMGP1537.JPG”
getting ready for sunset
The next morning Ashley and I woke up at the late great hour of 3:30 am to catch our 4 am tour to see the “near-by” El Tatio Geysers. I suppose 4 hours away is near-by in the desert, and it was certainly worth the trip. The geysers are best seen in the morning when the difference in temperature between the water and the outside air is enough to cause them to spout, obviously an important part of the event. (The Atacama Desert, I should mention, is quite cold at night since the lack of cloud cover keeps in no heat, and, obviously, very warm during the day. The coldness of the night, however, explains why one has to leave very early to get to the geysers when it’s still cold enough outside.)
img src=”GeiserGrande”
The geysers was a great end to our fantastic trip. We gently urged our tour guide, the same one we had for every tour, to please hurry up so we could make our bus to Antofogasta. (Our guide’s name was German, but we decided his nickname should be “puro chile” since he was a Chilean bumpkin to the core, complete with traditional Chilean dance music as the soundtrack in our desert van trips.) Our bus ride to Antofogasta, through the desert, was almost unbearable since it didn’t have air conditioning, but we arrived all in one piece, if a little lighter from the sweating. We spent a rather dreadful night in Antofogasta (but really, who likes industrial desert towns anyway?), and headed home the next morning.
All in all, it was one of my favorite trips of the semester. I had never been to the desert before, and it was fascinating. I don’t think I could ever live there; the lack of water was constantly felt and was, I have to admit, a bit scary, but it was absolutely gorgeous and completely different from anything I had ever seen before. A truly amazing trip!
Grand apologies for the long break in blogging. I could make excuses, but no one wants to hear about them. Instead, here comes a quick account of my trip to the driest desert on earth…much more interesting!
San Pedro de Atacama is a small tourist town in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile. It is a tourist town because it is the only thing close to four major tourist sites of the desert: lakes in the mountains nearby, the world’s third largest salt deposit, El Tetio Geysers, and Death and Moon Valleys. It’s small because, being the only town for miles, there is no competition to cause it to experience any drastic change. It doesn’t have an ATM in town, though a truck drives through (with a frequency I’m unsure of) with an ATM that accepts only MasterCard. The food is one thing that is really quite affected by tourism, which meant it was some of the best food I’ve had since arriving in Chile.
Most people, to get to San Pedro, fly through Calama, the unappealing mining city about an hour and a half drive away. Ashley and I like it the hard way…we found a deal flying through Antofagasta, an even less appealing mining city located 5 hours away by bus. Through the desert. Antofogasta is on the (west) coast of Chile, it’s one saving grace (yes, I learned it’s possible to have a city that is both in the desert and on the sea… it’s like endless beach). San Pedro is on the east side of Chile. Hence, we had to cross the desert to get from point A to B. But it still got us to there, so no harm done.
We left on a Thursday bright and early and arrived in San Pedro just too late to take any tours. We checked into a great hostel with llamas in the yard and headed for the Native American ruins located just a kilometer outside of town.
img src=”IMGP1471.JPG”
playing in Atacamian ruins
The next day we took a full day tour that went to the salar (salt deposit) and the lakes. Both were amazing, and we also got to meet some cool Brazilians in the process (and some unfortunately boring Slovaks). The group also stopped in a couple of very small towns, and we were able to momentarily and superficially glimpse into rural desert life. Cool (and a little frightening)!
img src=”IMGP1481.JPG”
lots of salt and flamencos
img src=”IMGP1497.JPG”
in front of one of the two lakes
That night we got to go on one of the cooler “tours” I’ve done in Chile: a tour of the night sky. A French man came to the Atacama because of its incredibly clear skies and started giving tours in English, French, and Spanish. He has several high-powered telescopes and plenty of knowledge, so two hours were quickly filled with interesting facts and beautiful sights. It was especially nice to finally have someone point out for me exactly what I am seeing for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere sky (aka, the whole part of the sky we miss out on up North). Yay for Magellanic Clouds!
The next day, Saturday, we checked out the museum and got to see some Native American mummies. That night we went on the tour of Death and Moon Valleys. I walked through Death Valley, apparently where many early explorers died because they greatly underestimated the distance between one oasis and another due to the ability to see so much further in the desert than in most places. We watched the sunset over Moon Valley, more impressive sounding than it was, I assure you, but beautiful nonetheless.
img src=”IMGP1510.JPG”
standing above moon valley
img src=”IMGP1537.JPG”
getting ready for sunset
The next morning Ashley and I woke up at the late great hour of 3:30 am to catch our 4 am tour to see the “near-by” El Tatio Geysers. I suppose 4 hours away is near-by in the desert, and it was certainly worth the trip. The geysers are best seen in the morning when the difference in temperature between the water and the outside air is enough to cause them to spout, obviously an important part of the event. (The Atacama Desert, I should mention, is quite cold at night since the lack of cloud cover keeps in no heat, and, obviously, very warm during the day. The coldness of the night, however, explains why one has to leave very early to get to the geysers when it’s still cold enough outside.)
img src=”GeiserGrande”
The geysers was a great end to our fantastic trip. We gently urged our tour guide, the same one we had for every tour, to please hurry up so we could make our bus to Antofogasta. (Our guide’s name was German, but we decided his nickname should be “puro chile” since he was a Chilean bumpkin to the core, complete with traditional Chilean dance music as the soundtrack in our desert van trips.) Our bus ride to Antofogasta, through the desert, was almost unbearable since it didn’t have air conditioning, but we arrived all in one piece, if a little lighter from the sweating. We spent a rather dreadful night in Antofogasta (but really, who likes industrial desert towns anyway?), and headed home the next morning.
All in all, it was one of my favorite trips of the semester. I had never been to the desert before, and it was fascinating. I don’t think I could ever live there; the lack of water was constantly felt and was, I have to admit, a bit scary, but it was absolutely gorgeous and completely different from anything I had ever seen before. A truly amazing trip!
