Pablo Neruda to Tear Gas: A Post of Randomness

It’s hard to believe that I’m finishing up my second week in Chile. Last week seemed to have gone very slow but this week has flown by. Which means, I only have a little over four weeks of my South American adventure left. I know that’s a ton of time and I have so much more to look forward to, but I am always looking at things in terms of numbers which makes me annoyingly futuristic. I need to work on living in the present so that I can enjoy every single moment of it. 

Contradicting the first paragraph, I’m going to live in the past momentarily. The past days have been wonderful and challenging all at the same time. Last week we took a tour of both Valparaíso and Santiago. Our first stop in Valparaíso was the home of Chile’s very own Pablo Neruda—a Nobel Prize winning poet:

 
We all spent time walking one of the more well known streets in Valparaíso called Conception. The reason it’s called this is because back in the day, it’s the street that the prostitutes used to wander... But now, it is filled with tons of small boutiques, cafés, art galleries, hostels, bars, pubs, etc. Wall art is everywhere and contributes to the character of Valpo:

To finish off the day, we had a boat tour, which was so beautiful! The water was so blue; there were baby penguins, sea lions hanging out with their friends, ships, etc. I might have felt a little queasy and had the tour gone fifteen minutes longer, I probably would have vommed...

Saturday we had our tour of Santiago, which is about an hour and a half away. I slept for the entire bus ride. Santiago isn’t anything like Valpo or Viña in terms of its beauty, but it’s still an incredible city—and GINORMOUS! The day was rainy so it was hard to fully enjoy it, however, it intensified the splendor of the mountains. We went to the moneda, which is their equivalent of the white house. We were able to see the guard change—which in my opinion, took longer than necessary:

We continued the day walking to the cathedral, some museums, an artisan village, and went to Santa Lucia (which looks over the entire city—it was breathtaking): 

                                    

In between all of our tourist activities we had lunch at the fish market. My plate was bigger than my head. We were able to choose from a variety of foods (chicken, fish, soup, etc.) and I started placing my order in English. Then the waiter had to call someone over who spoke English before I realized that I am perfectly capable of speaking Spanish. Honestly, I forgot that I was not in North America for a solid five minutes (yet another awkward moment). I ended up ordering the fish and it was ginormous—but delicious—and naturally, I got mashed potatoes to go with it:

                                 

[End Tour.]

Remember those awkward middle school and high school dances? Well, that’s what we ended up doing Friday night. It wasn’t a school dance, but it definitely felt like one. We went to a Chilean disco tec. Much of the music was in English and we were all pretty much the only one who knew the lyrics. Or at least knew what they meant. And, naturally, everyone was staring at the gringos who are not capable of moving their hips. So, we looked super awkward for reasons other than our height, hair, and eye color. But despite the awkwardness, it was still really fun!

Sunday Claudia took me to a boardwalk along the beach and afterwards, we went to lunch at my other sister’s club. I’ve never felt that full in my life—not even on Thanksgiving. First, we had a vegetable lasagna type thing. Then we were served soup. Followed by our entree—which was buffet style. And then salad. And then dessert. After all I ate, they still asked me if I had hunger. What the heck?!

Tuesday our group met at a coffee shop (Puro Café) a few blocks from the U where we were able to converse with Chilean students. It was great. Afterwards we went to a pub and just hung out. It made me anxious to be 21 and to just be able to go get a beer with friends.

And then there was Wednesday. The weirdest day yet. We got to class, where we were turned away because of all the student protests that are going on here in Chile. The students had taken over parts of the University and built a chair barricade:

When we found out that class was cancelled, some of us decided to walk to Puro Café. However, we had to walk through all the tear gas. It was worse than peeling an onion. And it burns your throat. And I made the mistake of rubbing my eyes... We then went to Lydia’s house where we made chocolate chip cookies for her family—the first time they have ever had them! They were a hit. We then were going to go on another tour of the city with our new Chilean friends, but they never showed up (due to protests). So then we decided to go to a movie. But the movie was sold out. And at this point, it was like 7 PM. Nothing had gone according to plan. Oh, and I made up a joke:

Why did the pepper jack need the number for 911?
IN QUESO EMERGENCY.

...

Even though I spend the days in class, it doesn’t feel like I’m in class. The groups are very small, and they all happen to be from Eau Claire. There’s six of us in my Chilean literature class and five of us in my Chilean sociopolitical class. Both of my professors are incredibly intelligent—one seems more like our friend while the other demands more respect from us.

The biggest challenge I have been faced with in Chile is being myself. It’s been difficult for me to be at my fullest ALtential in a foreign language. Things don’t translate the same and I often find myself shutting everyone out. Pablo Neruda once said, "La timidez es una condición ajena al corazón, una categoría, una dimensión que desemboca en la soledad." Or in English, "Shyness is a condition outside the heart, a category, a dimension that leads to loneliness." But at the same time, I am often listening to the conversations around me so that I can learn from them. It’s hard to be focusing on so much all the time. I also feel discouraged at times when speaking Spanish with my family because things are not always understood.  However, tonight changed my outlook on it all a little bit. My other sister, Lorena, came over with her two kids Emy and Dario. Emy is three and Dario 10. Let’s just say that Emy and I are new best friends. And I was able to help Dario with his English homework. So being able to converse with them and Lorena was refreshing and allowed me to focus on other things. I don’t know if it’s just living with an older couple where communication is a bit different or if it’s just me not fitting into the culture? It’s been a battle but I know that I’m not the only one going through it. After all, my main reason for being here is to improve my Spanish immensely.

Emy and I hanging out. She is the cutest 3 year old ever.