Finalllyyy, a Blog Update

Hello boys and girls!

I am sorry for being a terrible blogger recently. I could blame it on lack of Wifi during our excursion in Temuco, but really, I just kind of forgot to update for awhile. 

Anyway, we our officially in the Independent Study Project portion of the program. I am super stressed about this because I am not still not exactly sure of my research question, nor exactly how we are supposed to go about carry out our research. I feel like there is a ton to do, but at the same time I can't do very much until my research question is set in stone. So, I went to the beach today. (My work strategy is very different here in Chile than it is in the U.S..)

Jenn gets a surf lesson from our friend Mijahel

Woo-hoo! She's upright!

Jenn, me, and Mijahel. Don't be deceived by the wetsuit-- I did not surf, just wearing it for fun!

One would think I actually went surfing...

...but in fact, I spent most of my time playing with my beach dogs Sonny and Cher.

Who needs extreme sports when there are stray dogs to divert one's self with?

Mijahel, Jenn, me, and Sebastian. (With Sonny and Cher nearby as always.)

Still in Temuco

Learning lots about the Mapuche. 


 As I have already alluded to, the South is way more verdent than the North of Chile. While my dusty, little Arica is beautiful because it is my home here in Chile,it was nice to get a break from all the sand.

 

In addition to be lovely and green, the South is also quite cold. Each of our "cabanas" (suites) had a fireplace that was supposed to keep us warm. Too bad neither I nor any of my dear cabana-mates knew how to start a fire.

Jenn and Maria try AGAIN to build a fire.

Jenn and Maria fail AGAIN at building a fire.

Leo, the assistent director of our program, comes to save us.

Like all of the other girls in our program (and like the boys, too, I think!) I have a litttttle crush on Leo.

 

Arrival in Temuco

Rain and greenery!!!

Straight out of the airport

The only salt lake in Chile, Lago Budi!

Me with my "compañera de cuarto," or roommate, Maria

Traditional Mapuche dwelling

En el Aeropuerto Santiago

In the Santiago Airport

First things first: I just had a granola and yogurt parfait from Starbucks!! After leaving Arica at 5:00am this morning to catch an early flight to Santiago (Remember, I can't sleep on planes. No exceptions.) I can't express the joy I felt upon seeing that towering symbol of American consumerist culture. :)

Right now I am in the Santiago airport with the rest of my group. We have a five hour layover here, and then another short flight to Temuco. I am actually super excited for this excursion to Temuco, but not for the reasons you might think. The purpose of this trip is to learn about Mapuche culture and medicine. That's all well and good, but what I am really excited for is the RAINNNN. It is raining in Temuco right now! After living for about two months now in one of the driest places on earth, I have realized how much I really miss rain. It's so bad that sometimes I wake up in the morning and hear someone watering plants and think that the water hitting the ground is rain. And sometimes, I hear a loud truck in the distance and think that it is thunder. I am actually hallucinating for lack of rainfall! So you see, this excursion is much-needed. If only they also had Kraft macaroni and cheese in Temuco I would be all set....

Cena de Despedida

Goodbye Dinner

Last night was our "goodbye" dinner with the host families. Some of the people in my group will be traveling to other cities for the ISPs, where they will be living in hostels or in apartments. Of course, I will be staying right here in Arica with the family during the ISP period, so  it wasn't actually a "goodbye" dinner for me. Still, it was a nice photo opp...

Abuelo, Abuelita, Cote, Felipe, and me

Los Abuelos, Ivan, Cote, me, and Jessica

Trionfo Sobre la Enfermedad

Triumph Over Illness


I am allowed to go out into the world and be with people! But I have an oral exam today. Blech.  


On an unrelated note, Mary Poppins speaks Spanish. So does Burt:
CLICK HERE for Supercalifragilisticexpialodocious en Español

Estoy Enferma :(

I am sick :(

There is a nasty stomach bug tearing through my group and I think I contracted some kind of mutated verison of it yesterday. My stomach was only bothering me for a short time, but then I was left with a cough/sore throat. And last night, when I had a fever and felt dizzy, my host mom Jessica insisted on taking me to the clinic. Personally, I would've been content to wait it out, but apparently the whole "Mom knows best" thing is not just an American phenomenon. So we went to the clinic and 46 mill pesos later I have amoxicilina, ibuprofeno, and a promise from Dr. Álvarez that I will, indeed, survive. Well that is good news. 

I feel a lot better this morning but still super tired and obviously not in classes today. My host mom is a great nurse and brought me tea and toast in bed this morning, and I also found the WB on t.v. so I've already watched Friends and Two and a Half Men. I might just have to bust out Mary Poppins this afternoon.

Galletas!

COOKIES!

I have been starved for normal desserts here. Chileans know how to eat but that don't have a clue how to do dessert. And their "cookies" are such sorry excuses for the real thing (with the one exception of RigoChoco) that it makes me want to cry. Today I finally broke down and brought home a Betty Crocker mix from Hiper Lider, the local Target equivalent. I really want to do more baking projects but the ovens are different here, so I am kind of scared...

Abuelo pronounces the cookies "rico"

Oh, you've been out of my life for too long <3

Corte de Pelo

Haircut

I was worried before I got here that I wouldn't meet Chileans my own age since we don't actually have classes with university students. (To clarify, our classes are in Spanish and with Chilean lecturers, but they are classes for our program specifically.) That is so not the case. Between the "jovenes" from our orientation and all of the host siblings, we are never lacking in Chilean company. But my BEST Chilean friend is Rebeca. As is fitting for a BEST Chilean friend, we met my first day of dance class at the gym, and we have been bosom buddies ever since.

Me with Rebeca (right) and her sister Stefhanni (left)

 Our most recent adventure has been going to get haircuts together. I was super nervous to get a haircut in a country where I was not sure if I could clearly express the sentiment "just a trim," but Rebeca brought me to this teeny, tiny hole in the wall place in the Centro, and I got the exact same haircut I get in the U.S. for 3 mill pesos, or 6 American dollars. Can you believe it?? A fraction of what I pay in the U.S.! I think I am feeling brave enough to wax my eyebrows here...

 

On the Border

Sometimes I forget that I am in South America. I have a real life here: I go to school, I go to the gym, I do homework, I hang out with friends, etc. I am not always thinking about the fact that I am doing these things IN CHILE. I'm just going about my daily routine. And then, there is a moment. A moment that makes me say to myself, "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas (or New Jersey, for that matter) anymore." Sometimes that moment is when I see a boy leading a donkey on a rope through the center of town trying to sell its milk. Sometimes that moment is when I hear Reggaeton in the super market. And last week, that moment was when my group crossed the border from Chile into Peru.

The border

 Last week we had a three-day excursion to Tacna, Peru to learn about the Peruvian public health care system. (Unlike Chile, Tacna does not have universal health care.) I've heard Tacna described as the "Las Vegas" of South America. I don't know how true this comparison is because I have never actually been to Las Vegas, but there you have it. Tacna is also known as the place to buy incredibly cheap knock-offs of major brand products. To be honest, I couldn't get back to Arica fast enough. Unlike Arica, which I consider an idyllic place to live, you couldn't have paid me to stay in Tacna. Granted, I was only there for three days so maybe I judge too harshly, but there was a ton of traffic, a ton of noise, and felt like I was literally breathing in dust or other pieces of tiny matter every time I inhaled. Plus, everyone and their mother in Chile had warned us that Tacna can be dangerous for tourists in terms of muggings and pickpocketing, so I felt like I had to be on my guard the whole time.

Aside from the city itself, I really enjoyed the content of the Tacna program. One day we went to a "health fair" in the poorest neighborhood of Tacna, which was basically just a mobile clinic set up in a dusty lot offering free medical services. For many of the attendees, the health fair would mark their first encounter with a medical professional. I spent most of my time in the exam room with one of the doctors-- a well-dressed 30-something-year-old woman who was probably about seven months pregnant. We saw about five patients during the course of an hour, and she spoke to each one for a few minutes, performed a cursory examination, and then wrote out a prescription.

That afternoon we went to a Community Center where a nurse was giving a talk on HIV/AIDS prevention to a group of young mothers. Afterward, each of the mothers took a rapid HIV test. One thing that is way different in South America than in the U.S. is the concept of privacy within health care. It's just not a priority here. I was shocked when I realized that they were going to perform the test in a room full of people, and even more shocked when I realized that they were going to deliver the results in a room full of people. What if... God forbid... someone had the virus?  What then? HIV is more common in South America than in the U.S., but I couldn't imagine that it is any less horrifying to find out you have it. Certainly not the kind of news you want to hear in front of all of your friends/neighbors and 25 strangers from Gringolandia. 

I was freaking out, but the weird thing was that the women who were about to be tested didn't seem to mind the very public nature of the whole thing. Nor did they mind letting us, a bunch of undergraduate students, do the tests. I actually asked the director of our program Rossana about the ethics of this, because I wasn't sure whether the women realized that we are not medical students, and it seemed to be like there should have been some kind of informed consent form or something. She assured me that it was okay, and that they would actually rather have us do the test just on account of the novelty factor. I know this wouldn't fly in the U.S., but I suppose Rossana knows best when it comes to Chile/Peru.

Me performing a rapid HIV test

All negative

Excursión a Tacna

Leaving for an excursion to Tacna, Peru. Be back Monday evening!

Mi Roncha

My Rash

Today I got to experience Chilean healthcare from a whole new perspective-- that of a patient! First things first: I AM TOTALLY FINE.  What happened was that yesterday I woke up to find little red bumps on my arms and tummy. Not pretty, and they itched. After briefly considering, and then disregarding, the idea that that could be pulgas (flea bites! eww!) my Chilean mom diagnosed me with an allergic reaction. Luckily my American mom sent me off with plenty of Benadryl, so we decided that I would take some Benandyrl and put off going to the clinic unless mi roncha stuck around until the next day.

As luck would have it, mi roncha made its big comeback today at approximately 2:30pm, just before my afternoon class. (I swear I didn't plan it this way.) Seeing as how we have an excursion to Tacna, Peru this weekend, Jessica and I decided that a visit to the clinic was in order. Honestly, as a student of the Chilean healthcare system, I couldn't have been more thrilled! We are always visiting public hospitals and health centers, but this would be my first time in a private health center. And plus, maybe the itching would stop.

At the health center, the doctor tells me that it is, indeed, an allergic reaction to something I ate. I have no idea what, because I don't remember eating anything new in the past few days, but I will take his word for it. He gives me an injection of antihistamine and gives me an anti-allergy medication called CAM that I am to take for the next 5 days. He also advises me to avoid fish, eggs, bananas, and chocolate, as these foods all have the potential to agitate a roncha. The chocolate thing will be tough, but I will do my best.

For now, seeing as how I am full of antihistamines, a siesta...


If anyone is curious, this (CAM) is the website of the medication I was given.

Le Quiero a Mi Vida Chilena

I love my Chilean life.

We have alpacas that live in a pen at the university.

We live in a beach town-- and a beach town in which the stray dogs are super friendly!

 

Problemas con la Comunicación

Communication Issues


Here are some of my most memorable errors of the past few days:


1. "How was pilates?" my Chilean mom asks me. "It was great," I say, "except my men hurt a little bit." For the record, the words for shoulders (HOMBROS) y men (HOMBRES) are deceptively similar.  To clarify, it was my shoulders that were hurting a little bit after pilates. 


2. I am trying to coordinate the purchasing of concert tickets with a friend. I say, "Ugh, I don't have any change because I went to the ATM the other day and when I tried to take out money the machine spoke to me..." My poor, dear Chilean friend looks terribly confused. I have to explain to him that what I meant to say was that the machine gave me (ME DIO), not that it spoke to me (ME DIJO). The machine gave me only 20s, and that is why I have no change.  


3.  Leaving the library, I accidentally scream at my friend, "Be careful!!!" when I try to use the Chilean equivalent of the phrase "Take care." He looks to the left and right and then goes, completely straight-faced, "Of what?"


Such is the life of a gringa. 

The Miners

According to the lead story on the news today, everything will be in place to save the Chilean miners trapped underground in just 15 days! Not that the miners will actually be rescued in 15 days, but all of the construction on the rescue tunnels will be finished then-- which is pretty awesome considering that the project was predicted to finish up around Christmastime. I know I'm not ACTUALLY Chilean, but I can't help feeling super proud right now. Chile was basically considered a third world country just a few decades ago, but today the country is so efficient, and its infrastructure so solid, that it has been able to deal with two major crisis within the past year-- the February 2010 earthquake, and now the mine fiasco. I don't want to get all political in this blog, but I can't help but compare how Chile has handled their most recent national emergencies with how the U.S. handles national emergencies. Here in Chile, the first question was, "What needs to be done fix this?" In the U.S., I think the first question would have been, "Whose fault is this?" I don't presume to be an expert on Chilean politics, but the news is on everyday during almuerzo and I haven't heard one person use the mine incident as an excuse to cast blame, spew accusations, and/or badmouth political opponents. I know Chile's not perfect, but I'm just sayin'... Viva Chile!

In case anyone has no clue what I am talking about, here are some links. :)

NYTimes: Chileans Will Work to Sustain Miners

NYTimes: Facing Long Mine Rescue, Chile Spares No Expense

Backtracking: Fiestas Patrias

As I mentioned briefly in a previous post September 18 is Chilean Independence Day, or "Las Fiestas Patrias." While Las Fiestas Patrias are a big deal every year, this year happened to be extra special because we were celebrating Chile's bicentennial! In 1810 Chile gained independence from Spain and all the people rejoiced and stopped speaking with a lisp. Today, we spent four days eating and drinking red wine and dancing! Specifically, we dance La Cueca, which is Chile's national dance, and which, I have to admit, I loathe. Compared with other latin dances it is just so... unsexy. Why not make Salsa the national dance? Or Rumba? Or Pachanga? Sadly, no one asked for my opinion on the matter, and so the last day of classes before the long weekend, our Spanish teachers insisted that we learn La Cueca. There is a short video below of Spanish class, followed by a longer video of my Chilean family dancing La Cueca at our Fiestas Patrias party, or "carrete". The last video is also from the carrete at our house. Check out abuelo in the green sweater in the back!

Back in Arica

Hello, and thank you for your patience!


What I failed to mention in my last post about Putre is that it is located at 3500 meters. For those of you who, like myself, have no point of reference when it comes to altitude, that's high up! Naturally, our director Rossana wanted to make sure that none of us experienced altitude sickness during the drive up, so rather than go directly from point A to point B, we stretched the 2 1/2 hour trip from Arica to Putre over the course of 5 hours. We also chewed "hoja de coca," which happens to be same plant that cocaine comes from. I was a little skeptical at first that chewing on a leaf would actually help the pressure in my head, but it did-- and almost instantaneously. So we may have dabbled in illicit drugs, but on the bright side, no one threw up! 


The altitude does have it's advantages, and one of them is a sky so clear and blue and beautiful that you don't even care that tilting your head back to look at it makes you a little dizzy. I tried to take pictures of the sky, but my pictures don't do justice to the real thing. If Elisa were here, I'm sure she could've done something way more artistic. Instead, here are a few of my amateurish shots.

Most of these pictures are from the last day of our trip, when we visited
the highest lake in the word, Lago Chungara.

To be honest, I don't know the name of this mountain. But I will find out!

How gorgeous is this!

That would be a llama and alpaca crossing sign

Just one of the many beautiful sunsets

A dip in the "piscina" (pool)  before getting into the hot springs

I am on the left wearing sunglasses

While we were "bathing" Rossana, Veronica, and Leo were preparing lunch for us--
they even brought peanut butter and whole wheat bread because they know how we
gringos love that stuff (of course they can't understand why!)

Putre sin Internet

Putre Without Internet


Dear gentle readers, 
Please accept my deepest apologies for being out of touch for so long. I am alive! My group is currently on an excursion to the city of Putre, where Internet is apparently difficult to come by. Llamas, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen. Alpacas, too.


Over the past four days, we have been visiting rural health outposts and meeting with members of the indigenous Aymara community, including the medicine man and the midwife. The population of Putre is just over 1,000 people, 90% of whom are Aymara, so the medicine here is strongly influenced by traditional Aymaran practices. Still, traditional Aymaran practices are slowly becoming less and less prevalent, as evidenced by the fact that the Señora Fausta (the midwife) has no apprentice. 


So much more to write, but today is our last day in Putre and we are visiting the hot springs so I have to get going! I will be back in touch this weekend with more details about the excursion and about the Fiestas Patrias. Promise!

¡Fiestas Patrias!

This weekend we are celebrating las Fiestas Patrias, or Chilean Independence Day!!! It also happens to be the bicentennial! Pictures forthcoming. 


Also, I killed a giant spider last night with a sandal. My first and dear God I hope last. Eww. 

¡Que rico!

How rich?

How flavorful?

I don't even know... 

I am not sure exactly how the phrase translates, but every time my family members try a new food they all say, "¡Que rico!" At first I thought it meant a very hearty, filling food (like a meat and potatoes type dish), and then I went through a phase where I thought it meant sweet (like a dessert), but now I've come to the conclusion that is just a blanket expression used to convey one's satisfaction with a particular dish. 


Anyway, the food here is excellent, but the eating schedule is very different than what I am used to at home. Thee first meal of the day is a breakfast that consists of "pancito" and tea. 

Pancito. Clearly Dr. Atkins never made it big in Chile...

Lunch, or "almuerzo," is the biggest meal of the day, and it is very much like the American dinner. The whole family come home from work or school midday to have lunch together. I think the high schools have a slightly different schedule because I don't cross paths with my siblings when I come home for lunch, but Iván comes home from work every day for almuerzo.  He also sometimes takes a siesta before going back to work-- makes my day every time I hear him snoring! 


Then there is Las Once eaten at about 6pm, which is very similar to breakfast, and finally La Cena, eaten at around 10pm, which I have not really been able to figure out yet. I have heard that some families treat the La Cena as if it were a mini-almuerzo, but in my house La Cena is more of a glorified snack-- fruit, yogurt, etc. 


Overall the system works for me. The only thing I have modified to suit my American tastes is breakfast. Rather than pancito and tea, I have Cheerios and tea, and save the pancito for Las Once. My Chilean family was fascinated when I brought Cheerios into the house. ("So you eat it with milk? Hot or cold milk? Plain milk or strawberry milk?") The first time I actually ate the Cheerios Jessica was there, Abuela was there, and even Cote came in to see what was going on. I was able to cajole them into giving it a try, but I don't think anyone will be partaking with me. I didn't hear any exclamations of "¡Que rico!

How to Fake It

When you are living among people who speak a language other than your own, there is bound to be some confusion. Normally, I would advocate asking for clarification if you don't understand something, but sometimes you  just don't feel like asking for clarification for the zillionth time. In times like these, the idea is to convince whomever is speaking that you are following the conversation when, in fact, you are not. Most gringas just stick to nodding and repeating, "sí," but I have developed a few other mannerisms that are much more convincing in my opinion. As Ursula the Seawitch once said, it's all about body language, so you want to lean forward slightly as if you truly are engaged, and you also want to purse your lips and furrow your brow a bit so it appears as if you are really considering everything they are saying to you. Also, I like to alternate between "sí" and "ah" just to keep things interesting. This formula works especially well if someone (for instance, a parent) is explaining something to you or telling you a story-- in other words, in conversations in which the other person does most of the talking and you are the listener. I would not recommend using these strategies when someone asks you a pointed question. And I CERTAINLY would not recommend this strategy with possible jotes.* If a boy/man says something to you that sounds like a question, there is an entirely separate set of mannerisms you need to learn. Do NOT employ the "nod and sí." In these instances, you smile very sweetly and say, "Lo siento. No Entiendo," or "I'm sorry. I don't understand." Then, as you wait for them to repeat or rephrase the question, you look at them expectantly and widen your eyes to show just how eager you are to understand whatever it is they are trying to communicate. This will no doubt endear you to them even more.

Me entiendes? No? That's okay.  

Some of us gringas with Alfonso, age 3. 

When I asked who was on his sweatshirt he said, "Mi amigo Pooh!"

*jote= creeper

La Romi