I Learn by Going Where I Have To Go

Cascadas de las Animas

2010-04-02T02:11:00.001-03:00

Cajon del Maipo is a river valley located on the south eastern part of Santiago where people can go camping, hiking, rafting, ect. There are many campsites and hostels to chose from, and our Chilean friend Daniel told us to go to Cascadas de las Animas, Waterfalls of the Spirits. So we did and we camped there for a night and it was gorgeous! It felt like we were so far away from the city when it was only a train (40 mins) and a bus (40 mins) ride away.

Our campsite was nestled right between these two large mountains

Rio Maipó

Suspension footbridge that we would cross the next morning

Our campsite ....with my beautiful boyfriend ;)

One of my favorite things about camping

An overnight stay at Cascadas de las Animas comes with a free guided waterfalls hike

I would have gone under the waterfall too if the water wasn't so cold. Mark was the only one out of the 20-ish people in our group... crazy gringo!!

Mark's sword skills at the mirador (overlook)

La Serena

2010-03-31T00:58:00.000-03:00

Mark and I went on a six-day vacation with our buddies Alejandro and Hans in Region IV of Chile. We rented out an apartment in La Serena and toured around the area.

There was a hot hair balloon event when we arrived at the beach

puesta del sol

The beach was covered with clams!

A good handful of them where alive. I love this shot!

This kid was so funny with his sand bigote!

The port city of Coquimbo

We rode one of those ferry boats that took us a couple of kilometers out into the city.

Video of Our Captain

Pastel de Jaibas - a delicious Chilean dish in which crab meat is baked in a dish called paila

The moon was really low!

We went to Mamalluca Observatory, which is about an hour away from La Serena. This area of Chile is said to have the cleanest atmosphere in the world, and therefore many observatories are located there.

This is the start of Valle del Elqui is where pisco is made.

This is an instrument that uses the vibration of the wind to make sounds.

Us four at the dam.

So strange- grapes are cultivated on random areas of hills and mountains

A small beach/fisherman town of Tongoy where we stopped to have lunch with Alejandro's brother.

Life at Plaza Italia

2010-03-29T01:52:00.001-03:00

I've passed my halfway point here in Chile. It's the four-month stretch now.

The other day, we (my roommate Melissa and I) heard some loud drumming outside the window. We went to check out and saw about thirty people carrying all sorts of drums; djembes, surdos, timbals, ashikos, ect. They settled at Parque Bustammante and drummed samba beats, and with the drum line were capoeira dancers. I regret losing the video footage I took of the drum line and capoeira dancers. It was such a trip to have that kind of cultural experience right outside your window.

I love living at the cultural center of Santiago, Chile. I'm dreading being aburrido when I return to the middle-class suburban life. I will yearn for the cultural diversity of Santiago.

This is a video of Samba Drumming at Brazilian Day in New York. It was similar to this except it was outdoors and there 40-50 drummers and several copoeira dancers.

phew What A Summer!

2010-03-14T20:09:00.004-03:00

Obviously, the highlight of my summer was Mark, my boyfriend of a year and a half. Doing a long-distance relationship hasn't been the funnest thing in the world, but when you love someone so much, obstacles can be overcome and it's worth every minute of waiting. He came down here for my summer vacation and shared this experience with me. It was his first time out of the country and I'm so happy, glad and honored to share that with him. I'm also glad that he was here with me when the earthquake happened. Now he is back in New Jersey working and I am here finishing up my last four months in Santiago. Here is a highlight of some summer favorites:

This is one of the three giant puppets that a French artist, Jean-Luc Courcoult, brought over to be viewed in Santiago. The giant puppets are operated by several humans and they walked around the streets of Santiago.

This is a video of the Tio walking in front of us.

gotta love their patriotism

Meet the chacarero. This is Mark's favorite of Chile. It's roasted beef, green beans, tomatoes, and spicy red Chilean sauce called ají. I like mine with avocado.

He is a happy man.

We had dinner at Los Vikingos and they let us wear their armors!

Having humitas at Alejandro's place.

Valentine's at Como Agua Para Chocolate. Food there is AMAZING.

Valpo

bowling

taking a break from our bike day with crystals and mojitos

mark biking

Mark bought himself an Indio Picaro, Naughty Indian

And then our trip to La Serena and Cajón de Maipo.

Terremoto... not just a drink this time.

2010-03-10T20:10:00.004-03:00

It was a Friday night in Santiago when the huge earthquake hit. Mark and I were over at our friend Alejandro's apartment building, fifteen stories up at the balcony, talking and drinking with two of his Chilean friends.

I hadn't notice the shaking until Alejandro said, "Stop. Do you guys feel that?" Then I felt it and waited for it to stop. I thought it was just one of those tremors Chile receives every once in a while. However, this one did not stop; it only became stronger.

"Shit we gotta get outta here," Alejandro said.

We quickly got up and made out way out of the door. One of our friends Sebastian was in the bathroom and his fiancée Oheña went to get him, but he was in the middle of peeing so he didn't come out right away. I took my purse and left the apartment with Alejandro by my side. People from the apartment across us opened the door and we saw a couple in a state of panic. The woman was crying, scared out of her life. They came out of the apartment, ran for the stairs and disappeared.

As Alejandro and I stumbled through the hallway, the lights went out and we couldn't see anything. I called for Mark and heard his voice calling my name from behind. We found him under the door frame of the apartment and all five of us gathered under the door frame and waited while the building shook and rocked.

What was I thinking for during those 30 seconds of rocking? "It's okay. It's okay. It's going to stop. This is a new building. It's earthquake proof. It's going to be okay."

Mark was thinking, "What's going to happen if this building were to go down?"

Ojeña was crying and saying, "Mi Padre! Mi Padre!"

And then it stopped.

We all let out a sigh of relief. We came back in the apartment and half of the furniture had fallen on the floor; plants, books, bottles, ect. His TV was face-down on his bed; it had fallen off the shelf. I went out to the balcony and the city the dark and dusty. Ambulance, cop, and fire sirens filled the air.

Mark and I walked back to our apartment since none of the taxis were picking up anybody. Through our walk, we encountered debris that had fallen off buildings.

We came back to our dark apartment and saw Melissa come out from her room. We all hugged each other. We shared our stories and experiences and went to bed shortly thereafter. I woke up in the middle of night and felt a swaying movement. I looked at the closet ahead of me and saw it moving.

I tried to wake Mark up, "Babe, do you feel that?"

He let out a, "Huh?" but went back to sleep. I figured it was just a minor aftershock and went back to sleep. The next morning, Melissa told me that there was another earthquake in the morning that measured 6.9.

Since then, life hasn't been still. Today, almost two weeks after the big earthquake, three strong aftershocks hit Santiago- the first 6.9, second 6.7, and the last 6.0. This time, I was at work in Maipú without my friends and loved ones. Some students were upset and others exhilarated. I saw that one of the teachers started crying while others tried to comfort her.

I just recently started to feel calm and safe again and after today, I feel more shaken up than ever because I've realized it's not over. Hell, the epicenter has only moved closer to Santiago. I don't know what to do. Just be prepared I guess.

Our Argentinian Adventure!

2010-02-06T14:07:00.001-03:00

Needless to say, I was nervous about traveling to Mendoza and Buenos Aires because I speak very limited Spanish. Mark, my other half, knows only a couple of words and phrases so I was practically his guide. Well, half way through the trip, I surprised myself of how much Spanish I was understanding and speaking. Of course, it helped a lot that many Argentineans can speak some English.

So, our adventure began when we crossed the Andes. It was such a spectacular sight- raw Earth and its natural colors, untamed and untouched, so massive and grand.

This road was out of control. It was so scary doing a 180° turn on the edge of the cliff.

Although it's summer, some snow still remain on the apex of some mountains.

As amazing some of these photos are, it doesn't capture enough of the Andes' beauty.

We arrived in Mendoza in the afternoon. Once we got to our hostel, we napped and rested. Then we went out and had ourselves some meat. Argentina is famous for its beef and gauchos and has the highest consumption rate of beef! Well, on our second day in Mendoza, we did the winery tours on bike. We rented a bike from Bikes and Wine and biked through several wineries in Mendoza. It was hot and tiring. I haven't gone biking in over ten years and it was brutal for me.

Aww.

Boy, let me tell you... wine, bike, sun, and heat do not make a good combination.

Well day two and last day, we planned to go to Termas de Cacheuta which is a water park (they also have a hotel and spa) that uses the natural hot springs of Mendoza River on the foothills of the Andes. BUT, when we arrived at the bus terminals to catch a bus, they told us all the buses that go there were full, so... we couldn't go. We were so upset to hear it because it was our last day in Mendoza and it was the only thing we had planned. So, we improvised and decided to check out the enormous park in Mendoza called Parque General San Martin. This park was off the hook.

Bathing is prohibited.

Mark eats a hamburger the size of his head. It was apparently good.

On our way back to the hostel, we found ourselves in Plaza Chile.

Our hostel Hostel Empedrado had so many ripe grapes vines growing!

So, sixteen hours later, we were in Buenos Aires! When we arrived at our hostel, we were greeted by the lovely faces of Melissa, Ben, Lee, Phil, Andrew, and Jon! I can't believe we all made it happen to meet up in Buenos Aires! They've all been traveling around South America and for us to meet up was soooo awesome.

Finding our way to La Boca

La Boca Stadium

Mmm Parrillada

Mark getting ready to eat blood sausage... I had a bite too and it was disgusting.

Of course, the tango. Ben did alright for his first try.

(We're better at the naked tango)

More of La Boca neighborhood

walking back to our hostel...

Oh, how I've missed you, Guinness!

The next day, we went to the Buenos Aires Zoo...

"Se llama, llama" ... they are so cute!

"Do it like they do on the discovery channel..."

Mark and Melissa

Argentinean empanadas are delicious.

So are their ice cream.

Obelisco de Buenos Aires

Chillin'

Avenida Corrientes from our hostel balcony. We were pretty much located at the Broadway of Buenos Aires. Theater after theater are on this street.

at the "Botanical Garden" ... it wasn't really much of a botanical garden.

Mark made a friend ;)

Japanese Garden

Recoleta Cemetery

This place was like a labyrinth of tombstone after tombstone

Some were nice and new, others old and creepy.

Mark touching a coffin

El Ateneo - an old theater turned into a record/book store.

(panoramic photo courtesy of Mark's camera phone!)

Believe it or not but we actually had one of the best pizzas is Buenos Aires.

This is how much Argentinians take pride in their meat industry.

Solar Flower

Leather cuffs from an Argentinean leather craftsman.

So remember when we were so bummed from not being able to go to Termas de Cacheuta? Well, turned out that we had a ten-hour layover in Mendoza so we decided to spend that time in Termas de Cacheuta and we did! It worked out so perfectly.

Perfect.

Oh Yeah, New Year's in Stgo

2010-02-01T12:50:00.001-03:00

Well, it was AWESOME because my boyfriend Mark arrived New Year's eve at 8pm, just in time to do some catching up after six months in waitig and then going out on the streets to see the fireworks at La Moneda. We didn't party too hard, just champagne on the streets and loud cheering with the locals.

"reunited and it feels so good..."

Eating his favorite Chilean dish, Chacarero, which is roast beef, green beans, tomatoes and spicy ají sauce.

We went to one of the Chile's biggest and most important wineries called Concho y Toro. You've probably have had one of their wines.

the old mansion at their beautiful estate

our guide explaining to us about their grapes

workers tend the vineyard

in the cellar

descending into casillero de diablo (cellar of the devil)

Back in the day, the man who owned Concha y Toro kept getting his best wines stolen from his cellar by his workers. Instead of scolding at them, he told them that there is a devil living in the cellar and if they steal any more wines, the devil will come at them. Since then, no has stolen wine from him again. Thus is the legend of Casillero del Diablo.

On to the best part... tasting wine!

Salud!

Cerro San Cristobal

2010-01-30T15:32:00.001-03:00

After five months in Santiago, I finally made it up to the top of Cerro San Cristobal. It was brutally hot but it was well worth the hour and a half hike to see the sunset from the top.

Halfway up the hill.

We encountered some deliciously ripe plums all over the hill.

Stgo at dawn.

Stgo at night.

A Darker Side of my Experience

2009-12-19T16:43:00.000-03:00

"Te gusta Santiago?" someone will ask me.

I usually answer, "Si. Mucho. Hay muchas cosas que hacer aqui," but that's it really. I've met some really cool Chileans, but I've bumped into a lot of unpleasant Chileans.

I've recently gotten my iPod nano pick-pocketed while climbing up the bus. It really sucked. I bought that iPod right before leaving for Chile. It was six months old! It makes my stomach sick thinking about someone enjoying my stolen iPod. I know it could've been worst. I know I should've been more careful. I've learned my lesson, I know. I know it's just a thing. I'm over it, but I'm not over the fact that this city is filled with petty thieves. I fuckin hate it! I've been to big cities. I went to NYC regularly and I've never had to worry about petty thieves. I hate Santiago for their fleites.

And it's not just the fleites. People here are kind of rude. They cut in front of you and take advantage of extranjeros. It's all man for himself here, and I'm starting to acquire that attitude. Ugh. Is this how all big cities are? My Chilean student lived in Toronto for three months and he expressed how Toronto is a friendly and safe city while Santiago is the opposite. People on the streets hardly smile at you. They just look at you with a stare. I've started to have staring contests with strangers in the bus and subway. I don't want to taint the rest of my experience here but that fleite asshole who took my iPod has. It's his fault. It's his parents' fault for raising him a fleite. Seriously. I'm so surprised how much of the kids here lack discipline.

Well, at least I got that out of the way. In 12 days I will have a new iPod and my boyfriend here in Santiago. He will most definitely enhance my Santiago experience.

Summertime Here, Wintertime There

2009-12-18T21:33:00.001-03:00

Well, while everyone up North is freezing their asses of, we here in Chile are enjoying the lovely beach weather. Monday, we went to a beach in Viña del Mar called Reñaca to soak up some sun. Unfortunately, some of us soaked up a little too much sun.

mas allá es Valparaiso

rico

Mel & Brea

whoops. alguien ha olvidido poner sunblock. pobresita mel

Fun beach day with the ladies.

It's been tough tryin to get into the Christmas spirit here. We've put up Christmas lights in the apartment and I've walked through shops and malls and.... U.S. still does Christmas the best. I also think it's because back in the states, we're too busy shopping and spending and running into traffic. We become so stressed out that we just want to get to Christmas already to alleviate all the stress. Here, we do not have that kind of stress, so we don't look forward to Christmas so much.

corner of San Pedro de Valdivia and Providencia

December in Santiago

2009-12-06T20:57:00.000-03:00

It's December now and it just doesn't feel like the holidays are coming. Streets and stores are decorated, but where is the cold and the snow?

It snowed in NJ the other day.

My nephew Gabe enjoying the first snowfall of the season.

Much Has Happened

2009-11-24T20:43:00.000-03:00

But first.... Halloween in Santiago, Chile fue muy divertido! Halloween is new to Chile, about five years old. Also Chile is a Catholic country therefore not many agree with its pagan practices. My colegio was one of the only few schools that celebrated it.

The seniors had a classroom decoration contest, and I believe this is the classroom that won.

My favorite girls, Emilia, Josefa, y Sofia of Pre-Kinder

The kids are ready to head over to the seniors to go trick-o-treatin'!

"Dulce o Travesura?"

Check out all that candies!

These kids went all out- I love it!

Casa del Terror turned out to be very popular. Kids lined up to enter it!

Over the weekend, a couple of us gringos went camping south Santiago with Chilieans for Halloween. Us roomies and Ben's friend were Los Flintostones!

Meet the Flintstones!

Que épico

Half the campers haven't even woken up yet and Phil has already started his day with a can of beer.

Wes ready for a brawl.

USA win the Chile vs USA soccer game

La Piojera

2009-10-28T23:52:00.000-03:00

La Piojera is a bar in Santiago, whose name literally translate to a flea's nest. Apparently, the name was coined by a former Chilean president Arturo Alessandri in 1922 during his first visit, in which he asked, "What is this place, a fea house?" Well, La Piojera is as Santiago as it gets.

You will run into people singing with guitars and/or random percussion instruments. The night we went, a group of people were singing and dancing using an old pan as percussion.

Table full of empty teremotos cups

Terremoto ("earthquake") is first made by putting a scoop of pinepple ice cream in a cup, then filling the glass with pipeño (fermented white wine). The ice cream floats to the top is finished off with a black liquor on top.

salut!

Futbol Celebraciones

2009-10-22T01:22:00.000-03:00

On October 10th, Chile played against Colombia and it was quite an important because if they won it, Chile would be in for the world cup. Needless to say, they won the game and are going to the World Cup 2010! We watched the game at our apartment and then celebrated with the Chileans right outside our apartament at Plaza Italia.

celebrating a goal with the people outside our window

Carabineros are ready for the mob.

When we went outside after the game, this was the scene

Celebrating with my gringo friend Phil. So funny how people took pictures of us.

Our crew of gringos and Chileans.

Either the Chileans really enjoyed celebrating with the gringo or they huddled around him solely to steal something from his pockets, because a friend of ours was pick-pocketed the next game.

So much energy in the air... and so much confetti!

If they could climb it, they did. That man is on top of a Plaza Italia sign.

We spent the rest of the night at our building's patio

Plaza Italia at around 9pm

A montage of that night.

San Pedro de Atacama

2009-10-04T19:47:00.000-04:00

We took our first major Chile trip a couple of months ago in the northern part of Chile; the Atacama desert.

The Atacama Desert is a virtually rainless plateau in South America, covering a 600-mile strip of land on the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world. The rain shadow on the leeward side of the Chilean Coast Range and the Andes keep this over 20 million-year-old desert 50 times drier than California's Death Valley. (Wikipedia)

I have never been to a desert and was therefore looking forward to experiencing a very different and unfamiliar landscape. We spent three days in San Pedro and one day in Antofagasta- a mining city of north Chile.

on our way into San Pedro

San Pedro is a quaint little town in the dessert filled with hostels, tour companies, artisan shops, and over-priced restaurants ($8 USD for a vodka tonic!!)

View from our hostel. That is the vulcano, El Tatio

Sand boaardddiiiingg!

We had to hike our way up on the dune and it was quite exhausting, but totally worth the view

Valley de la Luna. "This valley is famous for its resemblance to the surface of the moon, owing to its different stratification and the salt formations that are caused by natural environmental factors."

Amphitheater- The actions of wind and water upon this geographical formations have created a sequence of peaks, similar in outline to the bellows of an accordion.

Amazing desert sunset.

We woke up at 3am in the morning to see the sunset at El Tatio Geysers.

natural hot spring

I love these bushes. They are called paja brava.

We saw some vicuñas on our way back. "...one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas..."

un rio valle

I simply cannot get enough of the Andes.

llamas, obvio po.

the travel group at Laguna Piedra

We went into this freezing salt lake. "Laguna Piedra" debido a la gran concentración de sal en el agua, cualquier cuerpo que se introduzca en sus aguas flotará ineitablemente.

driving into nowhere...

Laguna Cejar, where we watched another amazing sunset.

Atacama Desert's mars-like terrain

"As the sun advances, the lagoons 'Cejar' and 'Piedra' change colors showing a turkish green radiance in its waters. A natural spectacle of great scenic beauty."

a beautiful puesta del sol

five hour bus ride back to Antofagasta

Antofagasta is a mining city in the north. They mostly mine copper

La Portada de Antofagasta.

This is a geomorphological and geological feature of sedimentary rocks and fossil remains that has been eroded by the wind and the sea for thousands of years. These agents have given shape to caverns and cliffs and have carved the great arch of La Portada with perfect detail. ( WelcomeChile.com)

my dried-out reptile-like skin by the end of the trip.

Oh, the burdens of being a teacher!

2009-10-02T09:09:00.000-04:00

I really enjoy my pre-kinder to eigth grade classes because they don´t ask me questions like, ¨What´s a blow-job?¨ or ¨What´s a hand-job?¨

When I was leaving my ninth grade class, a student standing by the door said, ¨Hi, Miss!¨ I knew he was one of the sassy-er students but I decided to be nice and patient with him by asking him what he was listening to in his mp3 player. I didn´t understand the name of the group but he said it´s ¨hìp-hop¨or ¨ghetto.¨ Pues, I said, ¨Ciao¨ and walked away. Then he yelled, ¨What´s a blow-job? What´s a hand-job?¨I just continued to walk and ignored it. What was I suppose to do or say? ¨They are terms that you already know and therefore requries no explanation from me.¨

Chapa Verde

2009-09-28T23:55:00.000-04:00

About three weeks ago, Melissa and I went to a private mountain for an overnight ski trip- gratis. Melissa has befriended her school's librarian who invited us to come with her and her friends to Chapa Verde where we snowboarded for free! Chapa Verde is south of Santiago, about three hours away. We only intended to stay for the day but we were invited to stay overnight and so we took up their offer! We met such awesome and wonderful Chileans that night and had a such a great time.

Leaving Rancagua

The mining town of Sewell

I'm ready to tackle the Andes

Strapped in.

The wonderful Chapa Verde crew! We partied that night...

Melissa & I with the Chapa instructors

Melissa, Cathy and I

Dance party up in heerrrr

party in the mountain

Lovely.

aquí está un video de Chapa Verde

Month Three of Living in Chile

2009-09-25T00:29:00.000-04:00

I still can hardly believe that I'm living in Chile. I really do have the ability to surprise myself because since senior year of high school, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go to college right away, but I did at my local community college. During my three years there, I wasn't sure if I would make it to a four-year college, but I did. I went to Montclair State and it was good but I still hadn't found my path. When I graduated July of 2008, I decided I wanted to live abroad. After doing much research for programs abroad, I finally applied to Thailand and Chile to teach English. My fantasy became more tangible. Then I received the call from TeachingChile in May 2009 and I exuberantly accepted. And so here I am, an expatriate in Chile. I love it. It's turning out better than I could imagine. So so so much has happened in the last few months, and I am so proud of myself for bringing myself here all on my own.

Plaza de Armas

The Plaza again

by Parque Bustammante

Our living room

Coming soon: pictures from snowboarding and San Pedro de Atacama

Everybody is inlove in Santiago

2009-09-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

Be it in a park, restaurant, bus, mall, subway, or bar, everyone is makin' out in public. Enserio. Tongue and all, head clasped in hands, booty-grabbing- the whole shebang. It's amazing! All of us gringos were quite surprised by the amount of PDA here. From teenagers to adults, everyone is tonguing! It's just accepted here, unlike back in the States. How many times have Mark and I been scolded because of our affections toward each other. I don't think the phrase, "Get a room" exists here in Chile.

China! (pronounced CHEEH-nah)

2009-08-11T21:44:00.000-04:00

One of the first words I heard as I entered my 1st graders' class is "China!" In South America, china is synonymous with Asian. Of course I educate them and tell them that I am not Chinese but that I am Filipino.

One of the first days in kindergarten, I told the students that I do not speak nor do I understand Spanish. Yo hablo poco Español. Then a girl from a kindergarten class said in Spanish, "We have to teach her then!" How adorable is that? The language barrier is a huge challenge for me, but I am slowly but surely learning. I find myself getting better everday now that I am actually working with my students. I am forced to learn Spanish.

I'm still getting used to the affectionate manners of students towards their teachers. The pre-k and kindergarten, most especially, like to come up and give long hugs to their teachers, and I'm no exception. I get caught off guard but it's so heartwarming when they do.

These are some of the second graders ready to go the National Museum of Natural History

Eager young minds! As I waited for the English teacher I work with, these first graders showed this English book to me and started reading what they knew.

I know it's been a while since I've updated so here is a potpourri of more Santiago photos---

At a Santiago Metro stop. Santiago Metro is South America's most extensive metro system. The metro system serves the city of Santiago, Chile. The system carries around 2,400,000 passengers per day. (wikipedia)

Bowling in Chile! As nice as the bowling alley was, their lanes were pretty dried up. It was still fun!

Right after bowling, the three of us roomies decided to go to Pub K.O.K. (pronounced in Spanish Keh-oh-Keh but we like to pronounce it like 'cock' because we are mature like that. Oh the endless kock jokes!)

So desperate for some quick eats, I had this unusual concoction.

Fries, fried TRIPE, eggs, and toast. Yes, I actually did eat it, but did not enjoy it enough to take it home like Ben did.

With the roomies in our awesome oldschool elevator!

the chicas for Nathan's birthday dinner at La Boheme.
(l-r) Brooke, Brea, Me, Melissa

Nathan and his ceviche.

Mmmm my salmon.

At the TeachingChile welcome lunch at Mercado Centrál; the best place to get the freshest and cheapest seafood in Santiago.

Mercado Central is filled with restaurants that will cook any seafood for you.

That's Bruce, the head director of TeachingChile, the person whom we've all entrusted our lives to... double fisting! OH YEAH! A Chilean red in his right and pisco sour in his left.

Ben dances the national Chilean dance, La Cueca.

Gettin' our burrito fixin' at Mi Jugo in Mercado Franklin; the largest persa or flea market in Chile.

Yum-o!

This is mostly the eating area. Mercardo Franklin consists of several blocks of stands selling odds and ends, knick-knacks, and such.

Sunday Aug 9 was Dia del Niño, Day of the Childen. The park was filled with activities for the kids, such as this puppet show at Parque Bustammante.

Melissa and I had our own fun.

There were lots of these mounted Carabineros de Chile at the park.

Skate park at Parque Bustammante. Believe it or not, there are some pretty skilled skaters in Chile. I've seen girls pull tricks at the plaza in front of our apartment.

He landed this too.

Love this tree.

ALMOST like home

2009-08-03T19:10:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates but I've finally moved out of the hostal and moved into an apartment with two other lovely teachers from the TeachingChile program! Unfortunately, the apartment does not yet have internet connection and therefore it has become difficult for me to update. For now, I shall post pictures of our new flat right on Baquedano, which is central Santiago. All three of us are 100 feet away from the bus stops and metro stations. It's sweeeet.

This is Baquedano, and our building is the first yellow building on the left.

Almost moved in. We're getting settled slowly and surely. I will post more later once I have a connection in the apartment, which will hopefully within the next two days. I will be working more with my classes (pre-kinder to 7th grade) this week and hopefully I will have pictures of the kids. They are so adorable and warm and so curious!

almost like home.
and so I leave you with a Pablo Neruda poem:

I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.

I hunger for your sleek laugh,
your hands the color of a savage harvest,
hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,
I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.

I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,
the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,
I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,

and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,
hunting for you, for your hot heart,
like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.

Weekend 2: fiesta, frisbee, y mas fiesta!

2009-07-27T00:25:00.001-04:00

Haha. On the cigarette box is a picture of an old man strapped to a breathing tube.

Ben and I are huddle around the heater for heat.

These guys are so talented and musical!

Phil warms up his huevos.

I am all bundled up after two liters of Crystal.

I am lights-out.

I had a liiiiittle too much to drink. But it does not stop me. The following afternoon, we headed to Las Condes to play some frisbee and soccer at parque Araucano, which is a large park.

Lee & Wes toss the frisbee across the street on our way to the park.

Las Condes is a wealthy area of Santiago located uptown.

We are closer to the mountains here. Apparently, the closer the area is to the mountain, the nicer/wealthier it is.

Our playing field!

Soccer wasn't allowed on the field. Hah!

These guys sure can chuck a frisbee. Here is a minute and a half video I took.

Cool shot of Ben catching the frisbee in the air between the legs.

Mine and Mel's filthy feet from running around barefoot on the grass.

That evening, we got ready to go out and party at a friend's sweet ass pad.

Teaching a Chilean the art of American beer pong.

air guitar, harmonica, and the moon walk

Phil & Lester sure know how to cause a distraction.

Lee got a liiittle out of control with the pants off.

buenos noche!

Week 1 in Chile!

2009-07-26T22:45:00.000-04:00

I have been thoroughly enjoying myself here in Santiago so far, and thoroughly enjoying the new friends I've been making here. My Spanish is still very limited but I'm gaining more and more confidence on exploring and doing things on my own here despite the language barrier. The Chileans are very nice and have been accommodating to us. Tomorrow, I start work at Instituto O'higgins de Maipú (IOM), which I am very much looking forward to. I will be working with another American girl there, Brea, who showed me the commute to the school and who will serve as my guide at IOM. And now, for the pictures!

That's Marcos. He works here at the hostal and as you can see, he isn't use to the coldness we've experienced here so far.

Ben & Wes leaving Castillo Hidalgo where we partied for After Office: the castle basically turns into a night club. It was preeettttyyyy sick.

Our cab driver home should really get his teeth checked.

Front view of my school. I didn't get to go in because it was closed.

Plaza de Maipú. Maipú is the name of the neighborhood.

Bus ride home from IOM.

Kids skateboarding at Plaza Baquedano

Sunset at Baquedano.

Future roomies in search of an apartment.

Baquedano again.

The sunset gives the mountains a reddish tint.

Estación Central

I got on this bridge an took these two panoramic images.

Recoleta.

Hostal Oveja Negra's common room.

Pablo Neruda & Mariscos Dinner

2009-07-24T13:33:00.000-04:00

That is our room in the hostal. It's cute and comfortable.

Ben dancing to MJ on the street, hustling for money.

Santiago is very colorful. The streets are filled with graffiti.

This is a mural leading our way to Pablo Neruda's house.

more murals

One part of his house. Photography of the interior is prohibited so I don't have any photos of the interior.

Neruda's bar.

Awesome lookin' house. I forget what it's used for.

Pio Nono street in Barrio Bellavista is filled with bars and restaurants. It's been wet and cold here.

At the fish market.

Ben & Melissa buying our dinner. 3 kilos (6.6 lbs) of mussels and shellfish for $6 USD!

cold and dreary

Brooke, Melissa, & Ben steaming mussels in garlic white wine broth. Mmmmm

Epic.

Oh yeah. It's was huge.

(l-r) Me, Ben, Melissa, Brooke, Gary (Jen's father), & Jen

First Weekend in Santiago.

2009-07-19T20:12:00.000-04:00

My street corner. I am at Purisima 93.

At La Vega Central, a huge farmers market with the freshest fruits and vegetables in town. There are also local eateries here. That is a Peruvian woman serving some Peruvian spices and marinade. Peruvian food is big in Chile.

I'm with Ben who is also in the TeachingProgram with me and Alejandra who lives and looks after us at the Hostel.

Heading over to a Peruvian Restaurant where we got some delicious ceviche.

Cooking dinner with the hostal-mates Brooke, Ben, and Melissa

Ben & Lee showing their disgust for Chilean pudding.

Two panoramic shots of Patio Bellavista, a square with cute little shops, art galleries, and restaurants.

Lee and Wes jam to some Tom Petty tunes. Click on this link to see a clip from the evening.

And yet another awesome dinner.

I'm still trying to get acquainted with the area, and because of the high robbery rate here in Santiago, I'm still not comfortable taking my camera out all the time to take pictures of the city. So far, I am enjoying myself in Santiago and the people I'm with.

Ciao!

18 Hour Travel Time.

2009-07-19T13:04:00.000-04:00

Taking off from Kennedy Airport during the sunset was sweet.

12 hour layover at Mexico City... not so sweet.