Week 21 in Chile

Another phenomenal week in Santiago de Chile. I can't believe I only have a little over 6 weeks left in the country. Where has all the time gone? I am really starting to wish that I could have stayed here for the whole year, but even so, I'm excited to head back to Tufts in January. Gotta love that Boston winter.  Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this week's adventures!

Monday, October 21, 2013

-Went to talk to the program about my phone and found out that I can get reimbursed for almost the entire cost of an iPhone so that's good; I should hear back in another day about the police report and everything, so I guess this situation isn't turning out that poorly; it's still really annoying though
-Had class and learned about Mapuche culture from a Mapuche woman - the first I've met during my time in Chile
-In the evening, I finally planned my end of the year trip to Patagonia/Torres del Paine to hike the W! SO EXCITED FOR THIS ADVENTURE!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

-Class all day and spent the majority of the time working on a presentation that I have due on Thursday; most of my work is starting to be due now, so the end of the year will be hectic. This is different from the US because at American universities, we have work constantly due whereas here it's only reading or nothing and then bam! you are swamped with final papers and presentations and final exams

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

-Class all day and then a meeting at CIEE to get some help on my presentation that I have to give tomorrow; After that I spent the remainder of the evening, working on said presentation and making myself a script so I wouldn't mess up my Spanish in front of a bunch of Chileans

Thursday, October 24, 2013

-Class all day as usual; I spent the majority of the time during the day freaking out about my presentation and writing myself a script so I wouldn't mess up. I was really nervous, but it turned out really well and I was really happy with my presentation. The class seemed to have received it really well too, which is just great! Now I have an 8 page paper about my presentation due in two weeks.
-After dinner and class, I met up with some friends at our favorite bar in Plaza Nunoa called HBH; they brew their own beers which are pretty good actually

Friday, October 25, 2013

-Spent the day home, doing work and planning stuff for my family to do while they are in Chile in a month; I have some applications coming up soon and I need to start planning for summer internships, so that was pretty much what I spent my day on
-After dinner, I met up with some gringo and Chilean friends to head out for the night; we started at a Chilean cumbia bar that was unfortunately not having live music that night, so I will have to go check it out some other time, and then after that we headed to Bellavista to a popular dance club and ran into so many other gringo friends!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

-In the afternoon, I walked with some friends over to Patronato, which is an outdoor clothing market over by La Vega, which is the hugeeee fresh produce market. Santiago has a lot of really awesome markets with lots of really inexpensive stuff. It's awesome! After the market, we all went to dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant in Bellas Artes. Then I walked home. I was really proud of myself because I was able to get us to all of our locations with just my knowledge of the city and the streets. We didn't get lost once. So proof that I actually know what I am doing here. Finally!
-That evening, some gringa friends and I met up with some of my Chilean Red Bull friends and went to a party with them, that just so happened to be at the house of a member of a Brazilian pop group called Axe Bahia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO2OjAU1_VI) WHAT THE WHAT! I didn't learn this until the next day though, but still so cool! We might even go to a show of theirs now.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

-Spent the afternoon with a Chilean friend walking around his comuna of Conchali, which is north of where I live and a very typical Chilean place to live. A lot of people in the program live in the wealthier neighborhoods of Vitacura, Las Condes and Providencia, while I and 3 others live in El Centro, which is still fairly wealthy in the areas where we all live, so it was interesting to explore any area of the city where normal, middle class Chileans live. There were a bunch of feria type things where people were just selling things out of their homes. There were streets and streets of this and also a ceviche and mariscos stand, which according to my friend are the best in Santiago. The ceviche was actually really good though! I didn't try any of the mariscos though, but they also looked delicious. It was definitely a different experience, but one that I am glad to have had. The good thing about having Chilean friends is that they can show you what actual, normal Chilean people do as opposed to wealthy gringo tourists.
-After my adventure in Conchali, I spent the rest of the day at home doing work and relaxing after a long weekend.

Next week, we have a long weekend so I am headed to Chiloe in the south! Can't wait! Soooo, until next time.

Besos,
Lesley

Week 20 in Chile

It's unreal how time has flown by. I can't believe I only have two months left in this beautiful country. I don't think I have time to do all the things that I want to do. It's crazy!

Monday, October 14, 2013

-Spent the day party planning with Nora; she's letting me have a bday party on Wednesday (even though my bday is tomorrow) before Miercoles Po or whatever since Wednesday is a big night to go out; she's really into party planning and is having the Nana come to help clean and we went to buy all these little hor d'ouerves type things today that are going to be delivered tomorrow; she wants my friends to help come set up and we are gonna go buy drinks tomorrow; she's having some of her friends come over too since they all know me as well
-Class and then homework!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

-BIRTHDAY!!!! 21!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!
-Spent the day in class but met up with a bunch of friends at a local bar/brewery to celebrate my birthday and watch the Chile vs. Ecuador game. A win for Chile would mean qualifying for the World Cup. Long story short, Chile won and the whole city went absolutely nuts. When big things like Chile qualifying for the World Cup occur, everyone congregates in Plaza Italia (near my house) to celebrate. So in typical Chilean fashion, everyone headed there to celebrate. There were fireworks and flags and chatting and general debauchery. So much fun!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

-Spent the morning helping Nora set up for my birthday party; Nora is awesome and is letting me have a party here tonight for my birthday! So fun!
-Went to the Museo de la Memoria y Derechos Humanos with my DDHH class; I've already been there 2 times, but there is always something new to look at or discover in this museum. I wish there was a traveling exhibit or something though.
-21st birthday party in my house with so many gringos and Chilean friends and Miercoles Po for my birthday! So much fun and such a great way to celebrate. Not the American 21st birthday I thought I'd have, but a way more fun version in Chile! Nora did such a great job helping me plan everything and it all went off without a hitch. Everyone had a great time.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

-Spent the whole day in bed which is obviously a sign of an awesome 21st birthday!! DUH!!
-Major protest again today and my classes were cancelled because the academic department was on strike for the day, so it was also the perfect day to stay in bed because I literally had nothing to do :)

Friday, October 18, 2013

-Spent the day doing work and hanging around the house
-Met up with my friends to head to the Wisin y Yandel concert! Super fun reggaeton concert. Very different than in the US because it was just the one artist for 2 hours and then the show was over. No opening acts or anything which was a little different
-Went to Plaza Nunoa afterwards since the night was still young with my gringa friends and then some Chilean friends came and met up with us for a little. I really like Plaza Nunoa, such a fun and relaxed area with lots of great bars!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

-Spent the day hanging out with a friend and doing some homework
-Zombie Walk in Santiago and encountering people dressed up as zombies on the metro
-Went to my soccer where we won 2-1 in a very tough game! The other team was super aggressive and pushy and pushing our team for no reason. So at the end of the game, one of the girls from our team elbowed the meanest girl on the other team in the face and a full on Chilean girl fight broke out. It was so funny and startling at the same time. That girl totally deserved it. She was awful.
-After the game and dinner, I headed to La Reina to meet up with some Chilean friends for a pregame and then we all headed to a party after but what was a good night turned into an awful night because when I headed home I got my iPhone stolen by the taxi driver... I'm fine and nothing else was taken, so it's more annoying than anything. I had been so careful for so long and so I'm really mad that this happened, but at least I'm not the only getting stuff stolen. This week people had their phones and wallets stolen in a park. Ugh Santiago.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

-Spent the majority of the day at home doing homework and talking to friends, but in the evening, I met up with a Chilean friend so I could go file the police report for my iPhone. I explained to him what happened and he told the police so they could understand it and get it right. So now they have all the information and the license number for the taxi, so hopefully something good comes of it or that driver gets fired. They said they are gonna call me about it!

So that's all for this week. All in all a great week spent celebrating my birthday, except for that minor hitch of having my iPhone stolen. Regardless, I'm still loving Santiago!

Besos,
Lesley

Week 19 in Chile

This week wasn't that busy or anything, but I felt like I did nothing and everything at the same time. I spent a lot of time at school doing work, but I also spent a lot of time out meeting awesome new people and making new Chilean friends. All in all a really stellar week. Now I am gearing up for my 21st birthday on Tuesday!

Monday, October 7, 2013

I worked on a paper and a presentation all day for my human rights class. It wasn't really an eventful day, just a busy one.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

I had class all day, but I ate lunch with my friend Phyu-Sin and her friend Matias who is from Argentina but has lived in Chile for the past 20 years. He speaks really great English and loves being friends with gringos and practicing his English. I hung out with him for a while after Phyu Sin left for class and then I ran into him out on Friday night too. How funny!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

I had class all day per usual but for lunch I walked with my friends to a  a lovely park in Providencia. Santiago has a great park system and the weather is finally getting to be really nice and warm! Spring time! In the evening, I went out with some girls from my program and some of my friends from the Tufts program. It was really nice hanging out with all the Tufts people cause they know where I am coming from and we could talk about how much we miss being at school.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

As always, I had class all day. Contrary to common belief, I do a little studying as party of my study abroad experience. I actually have quite a bit of work coming up too. So annoying. After class, I went to soccer practice for the first time in a while. We did a fitness training in this beautiful park. It was really nice. I was stretching and looking around and it was a beautiful night and I finally had this overwhelming feeling of being at home. It was really great. After practice, I went home and showered and went back out to meet up with some friends at a favorite local brewery in Plaza Nunoa.

Friday, October 11, 2013

I don't have class on Fridays, so I spent the day catching up on sleep, cleaning up my room, and doing some homework. Later in the afternoon, Nora had some girlfriends over to watch the Chile vs. Colombia game. It ended up being tied 3-3, meaning Colombia advances to the world cup but Chile still needs one more win. My roommate from Colombia was really excited about this especially cause I was hard core trash talking her when Chile was up 3-0. Unfortunately that lead dissipated. Chile's next and final games is on Tuesday against Ecuador. VIVA CHILE!!!! After the game, some Chilean and gringo came over for a bit and then we went to meet up some other friends in Bellavista to meet some people from our program's significant others who are visiting from the US. So great to meet them after hearing so much about them for the past few months.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

As I do most weekends, I spent my time sleeping and doing homework and hanging out with my awesome host mom. In the evening, I met up with a friend to go to a party at her Chilean friends house. They were really nice guys and all spoke great English so we were able to teach them some great slang like "struggle bus." Fun night. Fun weekend.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

After a busy and fun filled week a friend and I were craving a Sunday filled with American football and BBQ wings, so we headed Sunday Funday at Bar California to enjoy just that. When I arrived in Chile in June, people from work told me that I should go to this gringo bar called Bar California. It took me a while to get around to going, but once I did I was happy about it. It's a fun place and a great little taste of home.

Well that's all for now folks. I have a busy week ahead of me with my 21st birthday coming up on Tuesday. Time to celebrate Chilean style!

Besos,
Lesley

Week 18 in Chile

Another whirlwind week in Chile! Enjoy!

Monday, September 30, 2013

-Dermatologist appointment at 2:30; got there on time, but the doctor wasn't there yet and there were like 10 people waiting in front of me. As soon as I saw this I just started cracking up. Only in Chile.
-DDHH class at the office where we talked more about our upcoming papers/projects about memorials in Santiago. Mine is about Londres 38 (www.londres38.cl) which was a center of repression and extermination during the first years of the Pinochet regime. The scary part about this place is that it's located right in the heart of the city and new one even knew it existed. It's less than a 5 minute walk form my house, so literally it's in such a central area. It's crazy how well it was hidden and how well all of those types of places were hidden. So much of the Pinochet regime is so mystifying to this day. After that class, we had a make up class with a different teacher, but we got to go on a field trip with her to the Sede Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos (AFDD), which is a center for the families of people who were detained or disappeared during the Pinochet years. We heard a women speak about how her husband disappeared and to this day almost 40 years later she still has no idea what happened to him. She doesn't know where he is or if he is alive or dead or anything. Nothing of his body was ever recovered. Because of her uncertainty about her husbands whereabouts, she still considers herself married and thus has remained faithful to her husband and never remained or loved any other man. What a sad and tragic story. If I get to come back down here for research next summer, I would love to talk to her more in depth about her experience as well as other women who are involved in the center. Feel free to ask me about my research ideas, if you are interested! I love blabbering about women's rights and Chile haha.
-After class, I grabbed sushi with a few friends and caught up and had some girl talk, always good to catch up with people from the program who take classes at different universities and such

Tuesday, October 1, 2013 & Wednesday, October 2, 2013

-Both days were generally uneventful and full of going to class and other school related things
-On Tuesday, I finally met my Tandem partner, which is a language partner assigned through La Catolica. His name is Felipe and he is a Chilean engineering student. We are supposed to meet once a week and practice Spanish and English with each other.
-Wednesday night, half of the CIEE group left for La Serena, but we didn't arrive until Thursday morning, so that's really when the trip started.

Thursday, October 3, 2013 - Sunday, October 6, 2013

-Over the weekend, half of the CIEE group and I travelled north to La Serena, Valle de Elqui, Pisco Elqui, Vicuña, and Punta de Choros for a wonderful excursion exploring the beautiful region. We biked lots through the almost desert, saw adorable penguins in the wild, ate lots and lots of delicious fish, learned about pisco production in the region, and had and amazing time. Below are some pictures from my trip!

PENGUINS

SEA LION ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB ROCK

MORE PENGUINS

Until next week!

Besos,

Lesley