Hey! Not a lot has been happening...I think I've felt 2 earthquakes this month? Once while in bed and then another while at school. the one at school was a 5.8, but my professor just shrugged it offf...I guess if it had lasted longer we would have evacuated. Anytime when someone in my class is bouncing the leg...shaking the floor, I have to realize that it isn't an earthquake. I've now felt 4 though, definitely something to brag about. Not a lot has gone on this month. I had a field trip to the beach which was the same as last semester. This time I didn't stay the weekend though so I could celebrate valentine's day. I haven't been dancing that much, but I think I'm still improving. It's not that I've been enjoying it less. Just less opportunities maybe. This time at the beach the sand dunes were too hot to climb and I saw dolphins from far away!
Classes have been good. I really enjoy all of my classes. My short story and essay class is really cool. We get really deep into discussion about important themes/concepts in latin america that are portrayed in writing and it's actually really interesting. I never though I could enjoy a class so much, especially in spanish. Then there's my writing class where we write but also read some trippy stories...that sometimes just don't make any sense. Then I have my latin american cultures class where we learn about the inkas, aztecs, mayans and the spanish conquistadors.
So, I'm going home kind of soon. I'm starting to feel pressured to make the most out of the remainder of my trip. It's weird because Chile has become a second home to me. A way of life that will soon be thousands of miles and dollars away. Chile isn't even that different than the states, but it is. It's been difficult lately because I get excited that I'll get to go home soon....but then I get sad because I realize I'm leaving soon. It is going to be incredibly bitter sweet and as excited as I am, I'm uneasy about it. There are plenty of things in the states that I don't miss...and that's what I think about when I'm missing home. I'll do the same when I leave Chile I guess.
Living in my apartment has been good. Traffic is loud, but it's loud everywhere in Santiago. After this experience I am going to want to travel more, not necessarily to Chile, but to other latin countries. Plus the Spanish is bound to be better anywhere else. I feel like there are many small differences here that I will miss. Like people being more approachable. Being a foreigner here can be terrible for my confidence at times ,but it can also be great for it. They also have hugeeee, parks here...the most beautiful, nice parks I've ever been to. I have more fun here, I've had the most fun I've had in my life. Fun is more accessible and part of the culture I feel like, or maybe it's part of the studying abroad culture. Maybe I'll be better at having it though. Traditional chilean food....mmm nothing I'm going to miss, but I'll miss the cheap market I got to to buy my produce sometimes . I'll miss seeing the Andes mountains everyday ,but I won't miss the smog. I'll miss the metro system. I miss being able to compost. I will miss the big giant windows that I can have open all the time without too many bugs entering, but not the heat that keeps me from sleeping and dehydrates me constantly. I miss more affordable, vegan friendly and thai restuarants. I will miss the incredibly diverse landscape of Chile, but I'm now encouraged and excited to travel and explore more of what the states has to offer me. I miss yummy water. I don't miss the usa media and I love being away from it. I'll miss the clothes that are in style and sold here. Their style is much more fun. I will miss seeing men wearing fashionable scarves. I won't miss being catcalled but I might miss being called beautiful by strangers. I miss paper bags and free public bathrooms.I will miss spontaneous 5 dollar buses that will take me to the beach.I will miss the ability to completely block out noisy conversations ,but I miss being able to understand a language pretty much all the time. I'll miss the salsa, bachata and old school english music they play here. I'll miss the non annoying and pretty birds here ,but I miss the squirrels. I miss having a backyard. I miss actual mexican food and my bed. I'll miss seeing that people love each other in public and graffiti as real art, I miss things being easily accessible. I'll miss everyone I have met here and been lucky to have had this experience with such as David ,the relationships that I've developed in my program, with people in Chile and other travelers , but I miss all of my friends and family more than ever and more than I knew I could. I just know though that it is going to be more difficult adjusting back to things than it was to adjust here.
This week I'm going to the south for about 9 days. I'll be going with 4 other people so I'm pretty excited but have a lot to do. On Thursday we will fly to the south of chile in Punto Arenas and then take transportation to Torres del Paine national park to do the "W" circuit which should be about 4 days. So I'm going to Patagonia pretty much, the Chilean part. Patagonia is also in Argentina. I'll post a picture of Torres del Paine. Today I was going out shopping for warmer/better hiking clothes and totally managed to lock myself out. I have been really great about having my keys on me, but I went running yesterday so I disconnected them from my key chain, not realizing my keys weren't attached when I left. So that was annoying. I went down to reception to see if they could help me in any way and he tried to bust through my door with a plastic thing which didn't work..luckily my roommate was coming back from vacation today and would be back in 3 hours. So I went and did my shopping and it all worked out really well! I was proud for how well explaining my problem to the receptionist worked or just that he understood me and what not.
I've been salsa dancing, but not as much as I had last term. It was cool because David planned an outdoor salsa/bachata event at a park that had a really great outcome. Every now and then I go to couch surf meetings at a bar where travelers/foreigners go to meet eachother and chileans just to chat and mingle. It's a lot of fun and I always meet new people who are patient with my Spanish. I guess I really enjoy these events because they're fun and that I don't feel intimidated or uncomfortable when speaking spanish. So yeah! That's kinda the scoop. Oh and there's the pigeon, that I've already told you all about! she'll probably be traumatized with me leaving the week and get pissed that no one is feeding her peanuts, but maybe her babies will be there when I come back!
Classes have been good. I really enjoy all of my classes. My short story and essay class is really cool. We get really deep into discussion about important themes/concepts in latin america that are portrayed in writing and it's actually really interesting. I never though I could enjoy a class so much, especially in spanish. Then there's my writing class where we write but also read some trippy stories...that sometimes just don't make any sense. Then I have my latin american cultures class where we learn about the inkas, aztecs, mayans and the spanish conquistadors.
So, I'm going home kind of soon. I'm starting to feel pressured to make the most out of the remainder of my trip. It's weird because Chile has become a second home to me. A way of life that will soon be thousands of miles and dollars away. Chile isn't even that different than the states, but it is. It's been difficult lately because I get excited that I'll get to go home soon....but then I get sad because I realize I'm leaving soon. It is going to be incredibly bitter sweet and as excited as I am, I'm uneasy about it. There are plenty of things in the states that I don't miss...and that's what I think about when I'm missing home. I'll do the same when I leave Chile I guess.
Living in my apartment has been good. Traffic is loud, but it's loud everywhere in Santiago. After this experience I am going to want to travel more, not necessarily to Chile, but to other latin countries. Plus the Spanish is bound to be better anywhere else. I feel like there are many small differences here that I will miss. Like people being more approachable. Being a foreigner here can be terrible for my confidence at times ,but it can also be great for it. They also have hugeeee, parks here...the most beautiful, nice parks I've ever been to. I have more fun here, I've had the most fun I've had in my life. Fun is more accessible and part of the culture I feel like, or maybe it's part of the studying abroad culture. Maybe I'll be better at having it though. Traditional chilean food....mmm nothing I'm going to miss, but I'll miss the cheap market I got to to buy my produce sometimes . I'll miss seeing the Andes mountains everyday ,but I won't miss the smog. I'll miss the metro system. I miss being able to compost. I will miss the big giant windows that I can have open all the time without too many bugs entering, but not the heat that keeps me from sleeping and dehydrates me constantly. I miss more affordable, vegan friendly and thai restuarants. I will miss the incredibly diverse landscape of Chile, but I'm now encouraged and excited to travel and explore more of what the states has to offer me. I miss yummy water. I don't miss the usa media and I love being away from it. I'll miss the clothes that are in style and sold here. Their style is much more fun. I will miss seeing men wearing fashionable scarves. I won't miss being catcalled but I might miss being called beautiful by strangers. I miss paper bags and free public bathrooms.I will miss spontaneous 5 dollar buses that will take me to the beach.I will miss the ability to completely block out noisy conversations ,but I miss being able to understand a language pretty much all the time. I'll miss the salsa, bachata and old school english music they play here. I'll miss the non annoying and pretty birds here ,but I miss the squirrels. I miss having a backyard. I miss actual mexican food and my bed. I'll miss seeing that people love each other in public and graffiti as real art, I miss things being easily accessible. I'll miss everyone I have met here and been lucky to have had this experience with such as David ,the relationships that I've developed in my program, with people in Chile and other travelers , but I miss all of my friends and family more than ever and more than I knew I could. I just know though that it is going to be more difficult adjusting back to things than it was to adjust here.
This week I'm going to the south for about 9 days. I'll be going with 4 other people so I'm pretty excited but have a lot to do. On Thursday we will fly to the south of chile in Punto Arenas and then take transportation to Torres del Paine national park to do the "W" circuit which should be about 4 days. So I'm going to Patagonia pretty much, the Chilean part. Patagonia is also in Argentina. I'll post a picture of Torres del Paine. Today I was going out shopping for warmer/better hiking clothes and totally managed to lock myself out. I have been really great about having my keys on me, but I went running yesterday so I disconnected them from my key chain, not realizing my keys weren't attached when I left. So that was annoying. I went down to reception to see if they could help me in any way and he tried to bust through my door with a plastic thing which didn't work..luckily my roommate was coming back from vacation today and would be back in 3 hours. So I went and did my shopping and it all worked out really well! I was proud for how well explaining my problem to the receptionist worked or just that he understood me and what not.
I've been salsa dancing, but not as much as I had last term. It was cool because David planned an outdoor salsa/bachata event at a park that had a really great outcome. Every now and then I go to couch surf meetings at a bar where travelers/foreigners go to meet eachother and chileans just to chat and mingle. It's a lot of fun and I always meet new people who are patient with my Spanish. I guess I really enjoy these events because they're fun and that I don't feel intimidated or uncomfortable when speaking spanish. So yeah! That's kinda the scoop. Oh and there's the pigeon, that I've already told you all about! she'll probably be traumatized with me leaving the week and get pissed that no one is feeding her peanuts, but maybe her babies will be there when I come back!