We made some progress yesterday with Claudio's class, though he still had to have the upperhand and successfully pissed me off yet again. When we walked into his classroom, Ashley walked up and handed him our letter and asked if he could read it. The next five minutes or so seemed to drag on forever as he read it a few times, obviously deciding what he should do. Although he continuously told us he's not upset with us but rather the office that has caused lots of problems in trying to get ahold of the resources, I could tell he was extremely upset that a bunch of gringos would try going against his almighty self. He eventually gave in and said that instead of the 6 page, 3 sources research paper, we only have to read two chapters out of a book of our choosing, then write a 3-4 page summary/response about it. This is extremely great news, though he made a big deal about pointing out all of our points that weren't valid.
First off, concerning us not having resources, he blamed it on us for not sending him an email over the weekend so he could bring us a book, which I did on Sunday evening. I kindly told him this, and he asked me when, and I said around 8 PM, and he responded, "Oh well yeah I'm not up then". How am I supposed to know you wont get it at that time? You told me to email you over the weekend, I did. Don't put the blame on us for not having resources if we're doing exactly what you told us to do.
Second, we have an excursion on Thursday and Friday, our final one for the program. These excursions have been built into the program since day one, and part of the tuition went towards paying for bus and van rentals, the programs themselves, etc. Now after reading that we have this coming up and it will make things difficult for us to get work done, he simply replied "It's your choice to go on the trip, that's not my problem". Um, maybe if you were to check the information the University gave you before teaching the class, you would see that this has been scheduled since day one and that we actually don't have a choice, unless we want to waste a couple hundred bucks by not going. Don't try to make us feel like it's our fault for going on a trip that is included in the trip. If it was our decision, we would still have class on those days. But since we don't, obviously the coordinators feel it's more important than your stupid class.
Finally, just to have the upperhand, he decided to make it due Monday instead of Tuesday. So now instead of being able to relax and enjoy my last Sunday in Chile, I'll be slaving over an essay for his class. Thanks chief, I appreciate it.
No respect. I have absolutely no respect for this man. I cannot stand people who try to place blame on other people for something they can't control. I have managed to stay calm in his class though and haven't actually said anything bad to him, so no worries. I'm not like that, I'll just be sure to leave him a friendly little evaluation before I head off. Man am I stoked for that...
On a happier note, Carlos was finally back! I love his class so much, I literally go from the worst example of a foreign exchange student professor to the best example. He knows how to incorporate hands-on experiences with classroom material, and never makes it overly difficult. It challenges us, but it's not difficult; that's the big difference between his and Claudio's class.
After class, Carlos took all of us on a micro up to the old prison for our final graffiti workshop. It was a really cool place, and we walked through numerous old buildings and passageways before we finally arrived to a back corner of the jail. Graffiti is literally everywhere in the jail, on every wall, bulding, and anything else with a nice surface to paint. Graffiti artists in Valparaíso started out painting the jail, and then from there it spread through the whole city. Charquipunk told us that his plan for us was to have a man holding a camera (drawn by him) and then a long filmstrip would be painted running along the wall and around two different corners. Then, each of us would get to paint whatever we wanted in each of the filmstrip boxes. It was a really cool idea and I stepped right up to paint my background yellow. I initially wanted to paint a monkey, but then I realized the only colors we were using were yellow, blue, green, and white. So instead, I just grabbed a few different shades of blue and green and started painting. I ended up painting something that looks like the sketches I make in my spirals while taking notes. Some people tried reading into it and finding deeper meanings, but I just laughed. I like to keep that stuff to myself =)
After everyone was finished, Charquipunk and Carlos drew the black filmstrip border around all of the boxes and Charquipunk added a few extra touches. The finished product actually looks really sweet, and it was such a cool way to end the workshop. I uploaded photos on my facebook if you want to check them out.
We then headed back down the hill from the prison, and I hopped on a micro and headed home. After eating my once with the family, we watched part of The Simpson's Movie on TV. It's just not the same when it's in Spanish because the voices aren't right...oh well. Afterwards, I went to my room and eventually went to bed.
Today, it's a fairly nice day out and hopefully I'll get my book from Claudio so I can start reading. My goal is to have it read before leaving Thursday so then I can get to work writing it Saturday and Sunday. It's really starting to hit me that I'm leaving soon. I have less than two weeks. It's bittersweet because I of course don't want to leave my family and all of the great friends I've met here. But I'm so ready to get out of Claudio's class and I definitely am so super excited to head to California to be with my Alyssa for a few days. It shall be perfect.
I should get ready to go soon, hope you enjoy your day.
Chao.
14 July, 2009
13 July, 2009
Sand In My Socks
Yesterday was a lazy day, I enjoyed it. I woke up and found out there was no gas so that meant no shower. Great. I knew I should´ve showered when I got back Saturday night.
After getting ready and being served breakfast in bed, we all hopped in the car and headed to Con Con, a city north a couple miles. It was a little ghetto compared to all of the other beautiful cities I´ve been to, but we enjoyed some delicious empanadas at a local shop (empanadas are Chile´s version of calzones).
Next, we walked through a local market and then headed to the beach. Rodrigo Jr. had brought a small soccer ball, and so we started kicking it around. It eventually led to Rodrigo and I on a team versus Rodrigo Jr. and Gabriela in a game of keep-a-way. Gisela eventually joined up with my two siblings because of how good Rodrigo was playing. Rodrigo told me a while back that when he was in high school, he was a really good soccer player and played with some fairly good players. He also told me that many of his friends are now professional players in Europe and he just as easily could´ve gone pro, but he chose to start a family and live a normal life instead. He said he never regrets it, but that it´s interesting for him to think about where he´d be, and that I wouldn´t be here in his house if he had. He wasn´t lying either. Sure he was only playing against kids who haven´t been playing as long as he has, but he definitely has some insane skills. I was amazed watching him play, and could only imagine what he must have been like in his prime years.
After playing for a bit, we headed home and I watched part of a movie as our once was prepared. We all ate, then I had to get to some homework for Claudio´s class. He assigned us 15 pages of fairly difficult reading to do. I can not stand this man. Luckily, I was able to find the same speech online in English so I could actually comprehend what I was reading. Later, I had some time to talk with Alyssa for a while before heading to bed.
Today, I woke up early so I could come to the University early to meet up with some other students. We´re all very worried about Claudio´s 6 page research paper essay he wants us to write using three different Spanish sources. It´s due next Tuesday, and we don´t even have any of the sources yet. I´m supposed to get one today, though who knows if I´ll actually get it. The worst thing is that this Thursday and Friday we dont have class because we have an excursion. Then on Saturday, I´m heading to Santiago with my family. So basically, I have the next few days after class, then Sunday and after class Monday to write the paper. Oh yeah, we also have an oral quiz about anything we´ve covered in that class on Wednesday. Don´t forget the 15 minute powerpoint presentation I have about a short story in Carlos´ class on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Basically, Claudio is trying to cram in a super hard amount of work during our last weekend in Chile, without providing sources for us to use. I don´t want to be sitting in my room reading for hours rather than enjoying my last weekend.
So because of this, our class got together today and discussed what we could do about it. We decided on writing a professional letter to him describing our problem with not having enough time or sources, and then offering some suggestions such as lowering the pages and sources, changing the essay to something easier and more managable, or something like that. We´re going to give it to him today and see what he says, and then if he does nothing about it, we´ll take our case to the coordinators and see if they can help us out. We all admit it´s not the work we´re trying to get out of, it´s the fact that he wants us to write a 6 page research paper without providing us sources until Monday or Wednesday of this week, and then expects us to read through three of them while we have other excursions and work to worry about. I´m so sick of his class, I just hope things work out.
I got to go now, I´ll let you know how things turn out. Chao.
After getting ready and being served breakfast in bed, we all hopped in the car and headed to Con Con, a city north a couple miles. It was a little ghetto compared to all of the other beautiful cities I´ve been to, but we enjoyed some delicious empanadas at a local shop (empanadas are Chile´s version of calzones).
Next, we walked through a local market and then headed to the beach. Rodrigo Jr. had brought a small soccer ball, and so we started kicking it around. It eventually led to Rodrigo and I on a team versus Rodrigo Jr. and Gabriela in a game of keep-a-way. Gisela eventually joined up with my two siblings because of how good Rodrigo was playing. Rodrigo told me a while back that when he was in high school, he was a really good soccer player and played with some fairly good players. He also told me that many of his friends are now professional players in Europe and he just as easily could´ve gone pro, but he chose to start a family and live a normal life instead. He said he never regrets it, but that it´s interesting for him to think about where he´d be, and that I wouldn´t be here in his house if he had. He wasn´t lying either. Sure he was only playing against kids who haven´t been playing as long as he has, but he definitely has some insane skills. I was amazed watching him play, and could only imagine what he must have been like in his prime years.
After playing for a bit, we headed home and I watched part of a movie as our once was prepared. We all ate, then I had to get to some homework for Claudio´s class. He assigned us 15 pages of fairly difficult reading to do. I can not stand this man. Luckily, I was able to find the same speech online in English so I could actually comprehend what I was reading. Later, I had some time to talk with Alyssa for a while before heading to bed.
Today, I woke up early so I could come to the University early to meet up with some other students. We´re all very worried about Claudio´s 6 page research paper essay he wants us to write using three different Spanish sources. It´s due next Tuesday, and we don´t even have any of the sources yet. I´m supposed to get one today, though who knows if I´ll actually get it. The worst thing is that this Thursday and Friday we dont have class because we have an excursion. Then on Saturday, I´m heading to Santiago with my family. So basically, I have the next few days after class, then Sunday and after class Monday to write the paper. Oh yeah, we also have an oral quiz about anything we´ve covered in that class on Wednesday. Don´t forget the 15 minute powerpoint presentation I have about a short story in Carlos´ class on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Basically, Claudio is trying to cram in a super hard amount of work during our last weekend in Chile, without providing sources for us to use. I don´t want to be sitting in my room reading for hours rather than enjoying my last weekend.
So because of this, our class got together today and discussed what we could do about it. We decided on writing a professional letter to him describing our problem with not having enough time or sources, and then offering some suggestions such as lowering the pages and sources, changing the essay to something easier and more managable, or something like that. We´re going to give it to him today and see what he says, and then if he does nothing about it, we´ll take our case to the coordinators and see if they can help us out. We all admit it´s not the work we´re trying to get out of, it´s the fact that he wants us to write a 6 page research paper without providing us sources until Monday or Wednesday of this week, and then expects us to read through three of them while we have other excursions and work to worry about. I´m so sick of his class, I just hope things work out.
I got to go now, I´ll let you know how things turn out. Chao.
12 July, 2009
Portillo
Yesterday was absolutely amazing. Some things you can't just express in words. Check out my photos on facebook to see what I'm talking about.
I woke up dark and early at 4:10, and was ready to go by 4:35. Rodrigo told me he would drive me, and boy is Chile a different world when everyone is still asleep. We were able to take the main road and hit only greens (and also drive as fast as he wanted). We met up at the Teatro Municipal where our van driver picked us up. He was super nice, and even brought juice, coffee, and muffins for us to eat. The drive was about three and a half hours or so, and we were all super tired. To get to the actual mountain, you have to drive around switchback after switchback. When we got close to the main lodge, we went through two different tunnels that acutally go under the longest trail on the mountain.
We kept driving for a while and I looked behind me and realized we had passed the main entrance. The driver then stopped and started to turn around as my friend Grant hopped out and went pee. I then looked up at the sign above the road in front of us and realized it said "Welcome to Chile". We were in Argentina! I knew the border was super close, but I didn't think we'd actual get to cross it. Grant can now say he's peed on Argentina. Although we didn't actually cross through all of the security that was probably just around the corner, we did cross the official border of Chile and Argentina. Neat.
The actual lodge is situated right next to a lake, with the two main mountains on either side of the lake. Completely surrounding the ski area is just mountain after mountain, each one just as huge and amazing as the next. I think the view itself was worth the price of getting here. The lodge also has an outdoor heated pool and hut tub right next to the lake for guests staying at the resort to use (though two of my friends did bring swimming suits and hopped in before the end of the day). Every lift I went up, I was absolutely in awe of the huge mountains surrounding me. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that unfortunately not many people get to experience.
Once we got to the lodge, we rented our equipment, got our tickets, and all headed for the super long trail. Unfortunately, things didn't start out too well for us. It was way warmer than we were expecting (around 50 degrees), and the air was thin and made breathing difficult since we were at around 10,000 feet. The start of the first trail was also very flat, so it made things difficult for the four snowboarders. There was also a girl skiing for the first time, and all of the other skiiers ended up leaving her behind, which ended up causing a miserable time with her. (She couldn't go anywhere and after waiting around for about an hour, ski patrol finally came and put her on a stretcher to help her get down) It was even worse since we had told the workers that she needed help after waiting for twenty minutes or so with her, and yet it took them forever to finally come help. I personally had a difficult time just standing up since I had my backpack on and I was super tired out after finally getting to the main hill. Once I got down, I found my friend David who was suffering from altitude sickness and just rested with him for about forty-five minutes until the others came down the hill.
After eating my lunch, shedding some layers, and getting rid of my backpack, I was ready to try again on the other hill. This is when my day really started to get good. I went up with another friend, but she wanted to take a different trail so we parted ways. I then proceeded to hit the slopes by myself for the next two and a half hours, continuously getting more and more comfortable with my skills. I never have been able to carve very well, but there was one hill where I just went for it and found myself doing extremely well. I probably went down that hill about 10 times throughout the day, each time with a huge grin on my face as I carved back and forth through the snow. I think it made things a lot easier since the snow was powdery rather than the icey snow I'm used to at Mt. Spokane. I only fell a few times during the day, and had an absolutely awesome time checking out the amazing views, listening to my music, and just enjoying being by myself.
At around 4, we all started to check our equipment back in so we could be ready to go by 4:30. The van ride back seemed to take a lot longer, and almost everyone slept for most of the trip. When we finally did arrive back to Viña, the driver was super nice and asked if we wanted him to take us to our houses. I live further away than anyone else so I knew I'd be last, but luckily it was right near his house so I didn't feel bad about making him drive so far.
Once I walked in the door, the first thing my family did was point out my sunburnt face (I did use sunscreen, but unfortunately it wasn't strong enough) and laugh about it. The UV rays are a lot stronger at 10,000 feet, especially when the snow is there to reflect it. When my sister Gabriela walked in, "Hey look at Matthew's burnt face" was the first thing they said. It was funny that they thought it was so funny. I then went to my room and changed out of my wet clothes so I could go eat. I ended up just wearing two pairs of jeans (thank goodness for skinny jeans), and I was fine the entire day. My butt got wet, but I never was cold and the snow was very dry so if I did fall or anything, I could brush it off and it'd be dry within minutes. The gloves weren't waterproof though, so that was a little uncomfortable by the end of the end. Overall, given the fact that I personally had no equipment at all, I was able to stay extremely dry and warm; it was great.
After eating and talking with my family for a bit, I headed to my room and went to sleep. It was an absolutely awesome day, and although the mountain itself wasn't all that great for the number of trails and such, it was definitely worth it to be able to say I've skiied in the Andes Mountains in my lifetime (plus the view was absolutely spectacular).
I've got less than two weeks here, it's weird to think about. My dad just brought me breakfast to my room, I guess they do this every Sunday so I should go now so I can eat. Chao mis amigos. Hope you're enjoying getting burned from the sun as much as I am from the snow.
I woke up dark and early at 4:10, and was ready to go by 4:35. Rodrigo told me he would drive me, and boy is Chile a different world when everyone is still asleep. We were able to take the main road and hit only greens (and also drive as fast as he wanted). We met up at the Teatro Municipal where our van driver picked us up. He was super nice, and even brought juice, coffee, and muffins for us to eat. The drive was about three and a half hours or so, and we were all super tired. To get to the actual mountain, you have to drive around switchback after switchback. When we got close to the main lodge, we went through two different tunnels that acutally go under the longest trail on the mountain.
We kept driving for a while and I looked behind me and realized we had passed the main entrance. The driver then stopped and started to turn around as my friend Grant hopped out and went pee. I then looked up at the sign above the road in front of us and realized it said "Welcome to Chile". We were in Argentina! I knew the border was super close, but I didn't think we'd actual get to cross it. Grant can now say he's peed on Argentina. Although we didn't actually cross through all of the security that was probably just around the corner, we did cross the official border of Chile and Argentina. Neat.
The actual lodge is situated right next to a lake, with the two main mountains on either side of the lake. Completely surrounding the ski area is just mountain after mountain, each one just as huge and amazing as the next. I think the view itself was worth the price of getting here. The lodge also has an outdoor heated pool and hut tub right next to the lake for guests staying at the resort to use (though two of my friends did bring swimming suits and hopped in before the end of the day). Every lift I went up, I was absolutely in awe of the huge mountains surrounding me. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that unfortunately not many people get to experience.
Once we got to the lodge, we rented our equipment, got our tickets, and all headed for the super long trail. Unfortunately, things didn't start out too well for us. It was way warmer than we were expecting (around 50 degrees), and the air was thin and made breathing difficult since we were at around 10,000 feet. The start of the first trail was also very flat, so it made things difficult for the four snowboarders. There was also a girl skiing for the first time, and all of the other skiiers ended up leaving her behind, which ended up causing a miserable time with her. (She couldn't go anywhere and after waiting around for about an hour, ski patrol finally came and put her on a stretcher to help her get down) It was even worse since we had told the workers that she needed help after waiting for twenty minutes or so with her, and yet it took them forever to finally come help. I personally had a difficult time just standing up since I had my backpack on and I was super tired out after finally getting to the main hill. Once I got down, I found my friend David who was suffering from altitude sickness and just rested with him for about forty-five minutes until the others came down the hill.
After eating my lunch, shedding some layers, and getting rid of my backpack, I was ready to try again on the other hill. This is when my day really started to get good. I went up with another friend, but she wanted to take a different trail so we parted ways. I then proceeded to hit the slopes by myself for the next two and a half hours, continuously getting more and more comfortable with my skills. I never have been able to carve very well, but there was one hill where I just went for it and found myself doing extremely well. I probably went down that hill about 10 times throughout the day, each time with a huge grin on my face as I carved back and forth through the snow. I think it made things a lot easier since the snow was powdery rather than the icey snow I'm used to at Mt. Spokane. I only fell a few times during the day, and had an absolutely awesome time checking out the amazing views, listening to my music, and just enjoying being by myself.
At around 4, we all started to check our equipment back in so we could be ready to go by 4:30. The van ride back seemed to take a lot longer, and almost everyone slept for most of the trip. When we finally did arrive back to Viña, the driver was super nice and asked if we wanted him to take us to our houses. I live further away than anyone else so I knew I'd be last, but luckily it was right near his house so I didn't feel bad about making him drive so far.
Once I walked in the door, the first thing my family did was point out my sunburnt face (I did use sunscreen, but unfortunately it wasn't strong enough) and laugh about it. The UV rays are a lot stronger at 10,000 feet, especially when the snow is there to reflect it. When my sister Gabriela walked in, "Hey look at Matthew's burnt face" was the first thing they said. It was funny that they thought it was so funny. I then went to my room and changed out of my wet clothes so I could go eat. I ended up just wearing two pairs of jeans (thank goodness for skinny jeans), and I was fine the entire day. My butt got wet, but I never was cold and the snow was very dry so if I did fall or anything, I could brush it off and it'd be dry within minutes. The gloves weren't waterproof though, so that was a little uncomfortable by the end of the end. Overall, given the fact that I personally had no equipment at all, I was able to stay extremely dry and warm; it was great.
After eating and talking with my family for a bit, I headed to my room and went to sleep. It was an absolutely awesome day, and although the mountain itself wasn't all that great for the number of trails and such, it was definitely worth it to be able to say I've skiied in the Andes Mountains in my lifetime (plus the view was absolutely spectacular).
I've got less than two weeks here, it's weird to think about. My dad just brought me breakfast to my room, I guess they do this every Sunday so I should go now so I can eat. Chao mis amigos. Hope you're enjoying getting burned from the sun as much as I am from the snow.
10 July, 2009
TGIF?
This week was a difficult one classwise. Yesterday, Claudio showed up on time for the first time all week; fifteen minutes early actually. I was shocked. Unfortunately, him showing up extra early can't make up for the minutes he showed up late. But this does mean I'll be showing up next week.
Carlos didn't return yesterday either, and we found out he wont be back till Monday. Sad day. We watched the rest of Machuca. It's a wonderful, hilarious movie with an extremely sad ending. It's supposed to take place in Chile right before the military coup that overtook Allende in 1973. I really enjoyed it, and it was based on a true story.
After class, I had to go explore Avenida San Martín with my partner Erin. When we got there, we just walked along taking photos and observing the impact of globalization on the avenue. There were lots of foreign restaurants including the ever so popular McDonald's. I guess the put avocado on the burgers instead of ketchup and mustard, weird. There's also a huge casino and five-star hotel along the avenue right along the beach. I'll upload my photos when I feel like it.
We then headed to some vendors along the beach so we could be tourists and buy souvenirs. I bought my pelola something that hopefully she'll enjoy. It was really warm at this point, and the sun was beating directly on us as it was setting. I love the ocean. I def want to live near the ocean when I'm older. Zapallar anyone? Ha, I wish...
Next, we headed to her house so we could put the powerpoint together. It was assigned Wednesday and we had to present Friday, not cool. Carlos would've given us the weekend for sure. Her house sits on top of a hill on the opposite side of Viña as my house does, and she had a view of the entire city. I definitely got a case of the jealousy bug. They had a deck that I just stood in awe on. I took pictures of the marvelous city I'm living in so you can see what it's really like in a different perspective.
We finished the project within a couple hours, and after enjoying an once with her incredibly sweet mom, I headed home on the micro.
Today, I woke up and showered, ate, and got ready to leave. As I was leaving, my housekeeper Carolina stopped me much to my surprise, and then proceeded to adjust the collar on my polo for me and then said "Ok, now it's good". Ha, although she speaks way too fast and I rarely understand her, I love how sweet she is.
Class wasn't quite as difficult today, though I did have to listen to him brag about how Chile is one of the most stable countries in the world. It really is a great country, and it's def in my top 3 after studying here of course, but hearing Claudio present the facts in the way that he does just has a bit of arrogance behind it, so I just get sick of hearing about how Chile is the real Holy Land (that's all me, he never would actually say that).
Presentations went smoothly in Carlos' class. After, we discussed the movie from yesterday a bit, and then we were let out early since it's Friday. Nice.
I'm going snowboarding tomorrow morning, and as of 3:30 this afternoon, I had no clothing whatsoever that would be good for the snow. I decided I'd go wander the streets for a bit in search of a thrift store. My main goal, pants. I did find thrift stores, two or three actually. Unfortunately, I need to learn to check out the store before entering. Turns out two of them were just for women. Nice one Matthew. The third one was the jackpot. It had sky (Spanish for ski I guess?) in the window so I knew it would have what I need. Unfortunately, it was way more than I wanted to spend (about $15 for a pair of snow pants I'm only going to wear once is not worth it). I eventually gave up and headed home empty handed, and set out a desperation email to the rest of my gringo friends here.
Later, Rodrigo arrived home and asked me about my luck in finding clothes. He told me to wait a second, and returned with a perfectly sized jacket. He also had a fleece sweater for me to wear that's specifically designed for skiing (it even says ski team on it). Awesome. Then he came back with what I think he said is a neck warmer, and some gloves. Amazing. He also mentioned something about a hat, but I haven't seen it yet. Regardless, I'm super stoked since I went from nothing to everything but pants. As of now, I still dont have any, and I dont know how likely it is that I'll get any before tomorrow. My plan is to either just wear two pairs of jeans, or just deal with being wet all day. Regardless, I'm looking forward to it more now since I have everything else I need. I'm meeting the group at 4:45 tomorrow morning, then we're taking a van to Portillo (google it) about three and a half hours away.
My parents are making me a nice snack lunch to take, and I went out with Rodrigo Jr. tonight to get a big bottle of water. The mountain is around 10,000 feet so we'll get winded very easily and I was told to bring lots of water. I'm really excited, and I should probably sleep now. I'll make sure to take pictures of the beautiful lake that is right at the base of the lifts with the huge mountain peak in the background. =)
Buenas noches amigos. Chao.
Carlos didn't return yesterday either, and we found out he wont be back till Monday. Sad day. We watched the rest of Machuca. It's a wonderful, hilarious movie with an extremely sad ending. It's supposed to take place in Chile right before the military coup that overtook Allende in 1973. I really enjoyed it, and it was based on a true story.
After class, I had to go explore Avenida San Martín with my partner Erin. When we got there, we just walked along taking photos and observing the impact of globalization on the avenue. There were lots of foreign restaurants including the ever so popular McDonald's. I guess the put avocado on the burgers instead of ketchup and mustard, weird. There's also a huge casino and five-star hotel along the avenue right along the beach. I'll upload my photos when I feel like it.
We then headed to some vendors along the beach so we could be tourists and buy souvenirs. I bought my pelola something that hopefully she'll enjoy. It was really warm at this point, and the sun was beating directly on us as it was setting. I love the ocean. I def want to live near the ocean when I'm older. Zapallar anyone? Ha, I wish...
Next, we headed to her house so we could put the powerpoint together. It was assigned Wednesday and we had to present Friday, not cool. Carlos would've given us the weekend for sure. Her house sits on top of a hill on the opposite side of Viña as my house does, and she had a view of the entire city. I definitely got a case of the jealousy bug. They had a deck that I just stood in awe on. I took pictures of the marvelous city I'm living in so you can see what it's really like in a different perspective.
We finished the project within a couple hours, and after enjoying an once with her incredibly sweet mom, I headed home on the micro.
Today, I woke up and showered, ate, and got ready to leave. As I was leaving, my housekeeper Carolina stopped me much to my surprise, and then proceeded to adjust the collar on my polo for me and then said "Ok, now it's good". Ha, although she speaks way too fast and I rarely understand her, I love how sweet she is.
Class wasn't quite as difficult today, though I did have to listen to him brag about how Chile is one of the most stable countries in the world. It really is a great country, and it's def in my top 3 after studying here of course, but hearing Claudio present the facts in the way that he does just has a bit of arrogance behind it, so I just get sick of hearing about how Chile is the real Holy Land (that's all me, he never would actually say that).
Presentations went smoothly in Carlos' class. After, we discussed the movie from yesterday a bit, and then we were let out early since it's Friday. Nice.
I'm going snowboarding tomorrow morning, and as of 3:30 this afternoon, I had no clothing whatsoever that would be good for the snow. I decided I'd go wander the streets for a bit in search of a thrift store. My main goal, pants. I did find thrift stores, two or three actually. Unfortunately, I need to learn to check out the store before entering. Turns out two of them were just for women. Nice one Matthew. The third one was the jackpot. It had sky (Spanish for ski I guess?) in the window so I knew it would have what I need. Unfortunately, it was way more than I wanted to spend (about $15 for a pair of snow pants I'm only going to wear once is not worth it). I eventually gave up and headed home empty handed, and set out a desperation email to the rest of my gringo friends here.
Later, Rodrigo arrived home and asked me about my luck in finding clothes. He told me to wait a second, and returned with a perfectly sized jacket. He also had a fleece sweater for me to wear that's specifically designed for skiing (it even says ski team on it). Awesome. Then he came back with what I think he said is a neck warmer, and some gloves. Amazing. He also mentioned something about a hat, but I haven't seen it yet. Regardless, I'm super stoked since I went from nothing to everything but pants. As of now, I still dont have any, and I dont know how likely it is that I'll get any before tomorrow. My plan is to either just wear two pairs of jeans, or just deal with being wet all day. Regardless, I'm looking forward to it more now since I have everything else I need. I'm meeting the group at 4:45 tomorrow morning, then we're taking a van to Portillo (google it) about three and a half hours away.
My parents are making me a nice snack lunch to take, and I went out with Rodrigo Jr. tonight to get a big bottle of water. The mountain is around 10,000 feet so we'll get winded very easily and I was told to bring lots of water. I'm really excited, and I should probably sleep now. I'll make sure to take pictures of the beautiful lake that is right at the base of the lifts with the huge mountain peak in the background. =)
Buenas noches amigos. Chao.
09 July, 2009
Leather
Today was another warm day. I'm really digging Chile's winters. I'm not digging Claudio Rivero's Social and Political Themes of Chile class though.
Third day in a row of showing up late. If he shows up late the next two days as well, I'm not going to class anymore. I've lost all respect for him. What kind of professor tells his foreign exchange students that they shouldn't say "ok" anymore when it's a bad habit? What kind of professor tells his students not to move their hands anymore when talking? What kind of professor says "You mess up masculine and feminine words all the time"? No crap, we're here to learn and improve our Spanish, not for you to change how we communicate. Very frustrating, but que puedes hacer?
Carlos was out again, but we were told he does not have Swine Flu, just a bad cold. We read some of the confusing story, then we got to watch a very entertaining movie. I'm really excited to finish it tomorrow. Unfortunately, we were given an assignment to go observe a street in either downtown Viña or Valparaíso to see how it's been affected by American culture. Not too hard except that we have a powerpoint presentation to give on it on Friday. Since we had a workshop after class today, it meant that we really only have tomorrow after class to do it. Perfect. My partner Erin and I are heading to San Martin Avenue tomorrow after class, then I'll probably head to her house so we can put the powerpoint together. I like one day presentations. Not.
The leather workshop was really neat. When we arrived, we first practiced pounding the designs we wanted to make onto scrap pieces of leather. In order to do this, we took a hammer and hit metal nails or railroad spikes with the designs on the other end of them. Then we were handed a round piece of leather to make a keychain and a long piece of leather to make a bracelet. I didn't really know what I was going to do, but I just went for it and ended up really liking my designs. Next step was to pick out a kind of stain we wanted to use and then stain it ourselves. I went for a lighter brown color and after getting a button-snap added and the keychain hooked on, I was good to go. (I uploaded photos on facebook from the day)
In the back of the shop was the family's home. It was really cool and chill, and a nice lady with a crazy mohawk and a little two year-old son prepared us an once. I had some really good cookies, complete with honey and two types of jams, and some green tea. I love onces (though I am growing tired of my own familiy's onces since they always only consist of bread).
After everyone finished up, we hopped in the van and went back to the campus. I then headed home on a micro and had another once with my family. After eating, I went to my room to hang relax for a bit. Right now, I'm enjoying watching a stand-up comedian named John Pinette courtesy of my friend David. If you enjoy stand-up comedy, I recommend him. He's pretty great.
Fun fact: My cell phone finally died last night after three and a half weeks of use. I put my cell phone on airplane mode the first day I got here, and only turned it on at nights to use it as an alarm clock, then turned it off the next morning. At this rate, the one charge I did yesterday will be more than enough to get me home. Awesome.
That's about it from me for today. I need sleep. Enjoy summer mis amigos, chao.
Third day in a row of showing up late. If he shows up late the next two days as well, I'm not going to class anymore. I've lost all respect for him. What kind of professor tells his foreign exchange students that they shouldn't say "ok" anymore when it's a bad habit? What kind of professor tells his students not to move their hands anymore when talking? What kind of professor says "You mess up masculine and feminine words all the time"? No crap, we're here to learn and improve our Spanish, not for you to change how we communicate. Very frustrating, but que puedes hacer?
Carlos was out again, but we were told he does not have Swine Flu, just a bad cold. We read some of the confusing story, then we got to watch a very entertaining movie. I'm really excited to finish it tomorrow. Unfortunately, we were given an assignment to go observe a street in either downtown Viña or Valparaíso to see how it's been affected by American culture. Not too hard except that we have a powerpoint presentation to give on it on Friday. Since we had a workshop after class today, it meant that we really only have tomorrow after class to do it. Perfect. My partner Erin and I are heading to San Martin Avenue tomorrow after class, then I'll probably head to her house so we can put the powerpoint together. I like one day presentations. Not.
The leather workshop was really neat. When we arrived, we first practiced pounding the designs we wanted to make onto scrap pieces of leather. In order to do this, we took a hammer and hit metal nails or railroad spikes with the designs on the other end of them. Then we were handed a round piece of leather to make a keychain and a long piece of leather to make a bracelet. I didn't really know what I was going to do, but I just went for it and ended up really liking my designs. Next step was to pick out a kind of stain we wanted to use and then stain it ourselves. I went for a lighter brown color and after getting a button-snap added and the keychain hooked on, I was good to go. (I uploaded photos on facebook from the day)
In the back of the shop was the family's home. It was really cool and chill, and a nice lady with a crazy mohawk and a little two year-old son prepared us an once. I had some really good cookies, complete with honey and two types of jams, and some green tea. I love onces (though I am growing tired of my own familiy's onces since they always only consist of bread).
After everyone finished up, we hopped in the van and went back to the campus. I then headed home on a micro and had another once with my family. After eating, I went to my room to hang relax for a bit. Right now, I'm enjoying watching a stand-up comedian named John Pinette courtesy of my friend David. If you enjoy stand-up comedy, I recommend him. He's pretty great.
Fun fact: My cell phone finally died last night after three and a half weeks of use. I put my cell phone on airplane mode the first day I got here, and only turned it on at nights to use it as an alarm clock, then turned it off the next morning. At this rate, the one charge I did yesterday will be more than enough to get me home. Awesome.
That's about it from me for today. I need sleep. Enjoy summer mis amigos, chao.
07 July, 2009
Sunshine Day
Today was extremely warm (for it being the middle of winter down here). It was about 60 degrees and sunny all day. It was like that yesterday and should be for a couple more days as well. I'm loving it, although it is a little depressing knowing that the highest it gets here is still colder than the low back home. Stupid 95 degree weather....
Yesterday was a pretty good day. First class was still bad, we spent about an hour trying to review stuff we didn't understand yet. I've found that he really is horrible at explaining stuff until he's absolutely exhausted a subject until I don't even care anymore. Then, he'll suddenly explain it in a very simple way and all of us are like "Ohhhhhh!!!" Why doesn't he just start out with simple and then go from there? Goodness...
Second class, Carlos didn't show up and we realized half the class was missing so we called one of the other students and she said he was sick but we'd still have our graffiti workshop later. Neat. Since we had about an hour and a half before then, David and I decided to hit up Jumbo (Wal-Mart of Chile) so he could buy some toothpaste and deodorant. I finally splurged and got myself some snacks. For two chocolate bars, a pack of coconut cookies, vanilla flavored wafer cookies (not to be confused with vanilla wafers), and a liter of Watt's peach juice, it cost all of about 2.200 pesos (that's $4). I love the value of the dollar here.
We headed to the computer lab for exchange students and entertained ourselves by checking out some awkward family photos. You should do the same if you'd like to laugh. Just make sure you click "older posts" at the bottom of each page to continue enjoying more photos. http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com Sadly, I think my family has more than a few that could qualify for this site.
At 3:40, we met up with the rest of the students for the graffiti workshop. This week, we got to watch Charquipunk and a friend of his actually paint in front of us. We hopped on the trolleybus for a few blocks, then met up with him and his friend and headed to a back side street with a nice wall along it. Right away, they got to work painting. I took lots of photos throughout the time and I'll upload them later tonight on facebook if you care to check them out. I purposefully tried taking photos from the same angle every so often so you can see how it unfolds step by step. The finished work was absolutely amazing, I have doubts on our abilities as a group of being able to create something as good next week when we're allowed to give it a shot. These artists are incredible, I was so impressed and in awe just watching them go at it. Within two hours or so, they had turned this blank dirty wall into a beautiful colorful picture. I think graffiti is one of the best things that has happened to Valparaíso.
Quick story: As soon as we arrived, there was a family at the end of the street who noticed us and turned on some music as the kids came to watch up closer. The same song ended up being played about five times, and it became kind of a joke for us to hear it come on randomly after being quiet for fifteen minutes. The kids seemed really cute and nice at first, but boy were we in for a surprise. There was what looked to be like a rarely driven pickup sitting along the street, and the oldest of the kids (about 12) proceeded to use a coat hanger to break into it. They played around in it for a while, until they pulled out a super ball and started bouncing it around. It eventually came our way and seeing as how we were twice their size, some of my classmates started to play keep-a-way with them. It never was mean or too hard for the kids to get it, and they always got it after two or three passes and then they'd run and go get it laughing the entire time. Well, the kids progressively got more aggressive until the younger of the two boys (no older than 7) punched my friend Andrew in the face. I was shocked. So the next time the ball came his way, he threw it down the street rather than tossing it to someone else. Bad news. The older boy then got this really freaky look on his face and just stared at him, pacing back and forth around him. It kind of creeped us all out. They eventually lost interest in us, and then noticed all of the paint cans on the ground and started touching them all. Charquipunk told them to leave them alone, so then they got rocks and started throwing them at the cans trying to knock them over. Again, he told them to knock it off and put them all in his bag. They then grabbed a paint brush and started painting a lightpost and other parts of the wall where he wasn't painting, and once again he had to tell them to knock it off. Luckily, he was just finishing up the last of his painting. I thought the fun was finally over, but as we were walking down a staircase to get to a lower street, I noticed sticks landing around us. I looked up, and sure enough the same little punks were up there throwing sticks and rocks at us. I am usually very patient with children, even when they misbehave and get more than a little annoying. But there's a point where bad parenting (in this case, lack of parenting entirely) is so unacceptable that even I lose my patience and respect for the kids. Luckily I didn't have to deal with them at all.
After heading home, I had my once and went to my room to work on some homework (second assignment I've had the entire time). I finished it, and then was able to talk with Alyssa for a long time. It was really nice, though I did end up staying awake way longer than I should have. Oh well, it was worth it. =)
Today, I woke up and was about ready to hop in the shower until I realized there wasn't any warm water. They have to ignite a pilot light anytime they want hot water, and I guess whoever had showered before me decided to shut it off rather than leave it on for me. Darn.
First class was bad again today. We asked him about our six page paper due the last week of class, and he initially said "Don't you remember what I said the first day of class? I told you all about it then." No, of course we don't remember every single little detail from the first day of class. If we knew, we wouldn't be asking you. We also asked about our oral quiz we'll be having, and if we could know what it will be like since the majority of us have never had an oral quiz before. He just told us that we have to come and take it, and it will be a surprise. Wow. I've lost all respect for this professor. He really doesn't help his case any when he comes in late every day, even though he holds kids after class to ask them why they showed up late just one day. Hypocrisy at it's finest. After wasting another hour talking about this (which once again could have been solved in ten minutes had he explained it in simple terms from the beginning), we finally started covering other material. I'm so stoked to be done with this class. I'm even more stoked to fill out an evaluation.
Carlos was out again today, so we had the head of the foreign exchange programs teaching instead. He said that two of the professors have the swine flu, and three more have the symptoms (Carlos being one of them), so he has to be out for seven days. Darn. Too bad my other professor doesn't hang out with Carlos more, otherwise he could be gone for a week as well. We attempted watching a movie, but the sound didn't work. Instead, we read through a story that not many of us understood. I can already tell this week is going to be a long one.
I came straight home afterwards with plans of taking a nap since I didn't get enough sleep last night, but I got distracted and am now growing very tired very quickly.
Oh, great news. Some friends here are putting together a skiing/snowboarding trip to one of the local mountains. It'll be about $125-140 depending on number of people going, and so I talked to my parents and they told me I should go ahead and do it since I probably will never again have the chance to snowboard in the Andes Mountains. I'm so stoked. I just hope I can find some suitable clothes before I go... The mountain we're going to has a beautiful lake right next to the lodge so wherever you are, you can see it. It's absolutely beautiful and I'm really excited for it.
I'm done writing today. I write too much I feel. Oh well, I don't care. Have a great night everyone, chao amigos.
Yesterday was a pretty good day. First class was still bad, we spent about an hour trying to review stuff we didn't understand yet. I've found that he really is horrible at explaining stuff until he's absolutely exhausted a subject until I don't even care anymore. Then, he'll suddenly explain it in a very simple way and all of us are like "Ohhhhhh!!!" Why doesn't he just start out with simple and then go from there? Goodness...
Second class, Carlos didn't show up and we realized half the class was missing so we called one of the other students and she said he was sick but we'd still have our graffiti workshop later. Neat. Since we had about an hour and a half before then, David and I decided to hit up Jumbo (Wal-Mart of Chile) so he could buy some toothpaste and deodorant. I finally splurged and got myself some snacks. For two chocolate bars, a pack of coconut cookies, vanilla flavored wafer cookies (not to be confused with vanilla wafers), and a liter of Watt's peach juice, it cost all of about 2.200 pesos (that's $4). I love the value of the dollar here.
We headed to the computer lab for exchange students and entertained ourselves by checking out some awkward family photos. You should do the same if you'd like to laugh. Just make sure you click "older posts" at the bottom of each page to continue enjoying more photos. http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com Sadly, I think my family has more than a few that could qualify for this site.
At 3:40, we met up with the rest of the students for the graffiti workshop. This week, we got to watch Charquipunk and a friend of his actually paint in front of us. We hopped on the trolleybus for a few blocks, then met up with him and his friend and headed to a back side street with a nice wall along it. Right away, they got to work painting. I took lots of photos throughout the time and I'll upload them later tonight on facebook if you care to check them out. I purposefully tried taking photos from the same angle every so often so you can see how it unfolds step by step. The finished work was absolutely amazing, I have doubts on our abilities as a group of being able to create something as good next week when we're allowed to give it a shot. These artists are incredible, I was so impressed and in awe just watching them go at it. Within two hours or so, they had turned this blank dirty wall into a beautiful colorful picture. I think graffiti is one of the best things that has happened to Valparaíso.
Quick story: As soon as we arrived, there was a family at the end of the street who noticed us and turned on some music as the kids came to watch up closer. The same song ended up being played about five times, and it became kind of a joke for us to hear it come on randomly after being quiet for fifteen minutes. The kids seemed really cute and nice at first, but boy were we in for a surprise. There was what looked to be like a rarely driven pickup sitting along the street, and the oldest of the kids (about 12) proceeded to use a coat hanger to break into it. They played around in it for a while, until they pulled out a super ball and started bouncing it around. It eventually came our way and seeing as how we were twice their size, some of my classmates started to play keep-a-way with them. It never was mean or too hard for the kids to get it, and they always got it after two or three passes and then they'd run and go get it laughing the entire time. Well, the kids progressively got more aggressive until the younger of the two boys (no older than 7) punched my friend Andrew in the face. I was shocked. So the next time the ball came his way, he threw it down the street rather than tossing it to someone else. Bad news. The older boy then got this really freaky look on his face and just stared at him, pacing back and forth around him. It kind of creeped us all out. They eventually lost interest in us, and then noticed all of the paint cans on the ground and started touching them all. Charquipunk told them to leave them alone, so then they got rocks and started throwing them at the cans trying to knock them over. Again, he told them to knock it off and put them all in his bag. They then grabbed a paint brush and started painting a lightpost and other parts of the wall where he wasn't painting, and once again he had to tell them to knock it off. Luckily, he was just finishing up the last of his painting. I thought the fun was finally over, but as we were walking down a staircase to get to a lower street, I noticed sticks landing around us. I looked up, and sure enough the same little punks were up there throwing sticks and rocks at us. I am usually very patient with children, even when they misbehave and get more than a little annoying. But there's a point where bad parenting (in this case, lack of parenting entirely) is so unacceptable that even I lose my patience and respect for the kids. Luckily I didn't have to deal with them at all.
After heading home, I had my once and went to my room to work on some homework (second assignment I've had the entire time). I finished it, and then was able to talk with Alyssa for a long time. It was really nice, though I did end up staying awake way longer than I should have. Oh well, it was worth it. =)
Today, I woke up and was about ready to hop in the shower until I realized there wasn't any warm water. They have to ignite a pilot light anytime they want hot water, and I guess whoever had showered before me decided to shut it off rather than leave it on for me. Darn.
First class was bad again today. We asked him about our six page paper due the last week of class, and he initially said "Don't you remember what I said the first day of class? I told you all about it then." No, of course we don't remember every single little detail from the first day of class. If we knew, we wouldn't be asking you. We also asked about our oral quiz we'll be having, and if we could know what it will be like since the majority of us have never had an oral quiz before. He just told us that we have to come and take it, and it will be a surprise. Wow. I've lost all respect for this professor. He really doesn't help his case any when he comes in late every day, even though he holds kids after class to ask them why they showed up late just one day. Hypocrisy at it's finest. After wasting another hour talking about this (which once again could have been solved in ten minutes had he explained it in simple terms from the beginning), we finally started covering other material. I'm so stoked to be done with this class. I'm even more stoked to fill out an evaluation.
Carlos was out again today, so we had the head of the foreign exchange programs teaching instead. He said that two of the professors have the swine flu, and three more have the symptoms (Carlos being one of them), so he has to be out for seven days. Darn. Too bad my other professor doesn't hang out with Carlos more, otherwise he could be gone for a week as well. We attempted watching a movie, but the sound didn't work. Instead, we read through a story that not many of us understood. I can already tell this week is going to be a long one.
I came straight home afterwards with plans of taking a nap since I didn't get enough sleep last night, but I got distracted and am now growing very tired very quickly.
Oh, great news. Some friends here are putting together a skiing/snowboarding trip to one of the local mountains. It'll be about $125-140 depending on number of people going, and so I talked to my parents and they told me I should go ahead and do it since I probably will never again have the chance to snowboard in the Andes Mountains. I'm so stoked. I just hope I can find some suitable clothes before I go... The mountain we're going to has a beautiful lake right next to the lodge so wherever you are, you can see it. It's absolutely beautiful and I'm really excited for it.
I'm done writing today. I write too much I feel. Oh well, I don't care. Have a great night everyone, chao amigos.
05 July, 2009
Waves Crashing
Slept in fairly late today, it was nice. When I woke up, I turned on my computer and saw that the Wimbledon tennis final was happening live, so I decided to see if it was on TV since it was a pretty close game so far. Boy was I in for a surprise. I turned it on when Roger Federer had just gone up 2 sets to 1. Andy Roddick won the next set, and things were all tied up going into the final set (guys play best-of-5 sets). Well, normally they play the first to win six games in a set, and you have to win by two games. But since this was the 5th set, instead of a quick tie breaker, they continued playing game after game after game until someone finally won by two games. Well, they literally went back and forth winning games when it was their turn to serve. I thought I'd see Federer win his 15th Grand Slam title within a few minutes, but two hours later they were still playing. He eventually went up 15-14, and Roddick finally fell apart. They played an amazing game, but Federer ended up winning the 5th set 16-14. He now has more Grand Slam Titles than anyone, and I think he's by far the greatest tennis player of all time. I'm not even a big tennis fan, but have become a big Federer fan over the past few years.
When I finally went downstairs, my mom was happy to see I was alive. After watching the end of Home Alone 2 with Rodrigo Jr, we sat down to eat lunch. We had some beef and rice, and it was pretty tasty. They told me that later we'd be going to Reñeca, a town a few minutes north, so I could get to know it a little better.
After lunch, I had a nice Skype session with Alyssa. It was really nice to actually get to talk with her for longer than ten minutes. I'm really looking forward to seeing her. It's been almost two months now, that's two months too long if you ask me...
Later, we hopped in a car and drove along the coast through Reñeca for a bit. The waves were absolutely huge today. At one point, the waves crashed into the rocks and splashed water some thirty five feet or so up into the air and onto the road. I'm not even exaggerating, the road is up above the water about twenty five feet, and there's this one spot where the water would splash ten feet up above the road. We stopped the car at the base of a heavily populated mountain overlooking the water, which had a whole bunch of giant boulders and rocks attached to it. We were able to climb right out on these giant rocks which were essentially cliffs due to the steep edges all around. I took a bunch of pictures and captured some video and we just sat and watched giant waves crashing into even bigger rocks. It was absolutely gorgeous and I'm so glad my family brought me. I'll upload photos later so you can see what I'm talking about.
Later, we drove back through the main part of Reñeca and stopped along the main walkway above the beach. We got out and walked along the path, and I was just fascinated at the size of the waves. Some of the swells must have been 10 or more feet tall. It was really cool when one swell would overtake another swell just as the one in front was breaking, resulting in a huge crash of water splashing way up into the air. I took more pictures and then we got in the car and drove back.
Once home, I watched part of Speed Racer with Rodrigo. After, we had our once (burgers with cheese and tomato, definitely the most legit "burger" I've had so far). Now, I'm considering shaving since I haven't done so in over a week and it's starting to really bother me. I'm not looking forward to my first class tomorrow, it's going to be killer.
Oh yeah, my parents were talking about going to Santiago either next weekend or the weekend after so I can actually get to know the country's capital a bit before I leave. They also asked how I was getting to the airport when I leave and I said I have to find my own ride. They then got really excited because that meant they could take me =) Rodrigo also asked why I'm leaving rather than just staying with them. Ha, they're awesome. Gisela also told me that next time they're inviting me to come, all I have to do is give them a call or shoot them an email before. But she made sure to say that whether I come alone or with Alyssa, that they are inviting me and I am welcome whenever. I love my host family, they're great. If I ever have the money, I definitely will come back in the future.
On a final note, yesterday was my grandpa's birthday (I'm not sure quite how old he is, but I think he's about 87). I mentioned it in my previous entry, but that didn't do him justice. I think it's very fitting that he was born on Independence Day, he is a true American if I've ever seen one. He fought in World War II and got a purple heart after getting hit with shrapnel. He was a farmer for much of his life, until he eventually settled down in Pullman. He was very involved with politics up until a few years ago, always supporting the Grand Ole Party wholeheartedly. He loved his wife with all of his heart and was married for almost 60 years. He suffered a stroke in January of 2008 and unfortunately, he never has recovered enough to remember who I am, but he still never did forget his wife. I was at the nursing home with her one day visiting him, and he just kept staring at her rather than eating. She finally asked, "Why aren't you eating?" He replied "You're pretty." She asked, "What?" and he replied, "You're pretty, I love you." Although my grandma just ignored it and kept helping him eat, I will never forget that moment. Love, still strong and evident some 60 years later. Despite forgetting about most of his kids and grandchildren, he still knew who his wife was and that he was in love with her. I'm still not sure if he was able to comprehend my grandmother passing away last Fall, but I know that deep down he knows something's missing, and he can't wait to be with her again in heaven.
I miss you grandma. I love you and thanks for looking out for me.
That's all I can handle to write anymore.
When I finally went downstairs, my mom was happy to see I was alive. After watching the end of Home Alone 2 with Rodrigo Jr, we sat down to eat lunch. We had some beef and rice, and it was pretty tasty. They told me that later we'd be going to Reñeca, a town a few minutes north, so I could get to know it a little better.
After lunch, I had a nice Skype session with Alyssa. It was really nice to actually get to talk with her for longer than ten minutes. I'm really looking forward to seeing her. It's been almost two months now, that's two months too long if you ask me...
Later, we hopped in a car and drove along the coast through Reñeca for a bit. The waves were absolutely huge today. At one point, the waves crashed into the rocks and splashed water some thirty five feet or so up into the air and onto the road. I'm not even exaggerating, the road is up above the water about twenty five feet, and there's this one spot where the water would splash ten feet up above the road. We stopped the car at the base of a heavily populated mountain overlooking the water, which had a whole bunch of giant boulders and rocks attached to it. We were able to climb right out on these giant rocks which were essentially cliffs due to the steep edges all around. I took a bunch of pictures and captured some video and we just sat and watched giant waves crashing into even bigger rocks. It was absolutely gorgeous and I'm so glad my family brought me. I'll upload photos later so you can see what I'm talking about.
Later, we drove back through the main part of Reñeca and stopped along the main walkway above the beach. We got out and walked along the path, and I was just fascinated at the size of the waves. Some of the swells must have been 10 or more feet tall. It was really cool when one swell would overtake another swell just as the one in front was breaking, resulting in a huge crash of water splashing way up into the air. I took more pictures and then we got in the car and drove back.
Once home, I watched part of Speed Racer with Rodrigo. After, we had our once (burgers with cheese and tomato, definitely the most legit "burger" I've had so far). Now, I'm considering shaving since I haven't done so in over a week and it's starting to really bother me. I'm not looking forward to my first class tomorrow, it's going to be killer.
Oh yeah, my parents were talking about going to Santiago either next weekend or the weekend after so I can actually get to know the country's capital a bit before I leave. They also asked how I was getting to the airport when I leave and I said I have to find my own ride. They then got really excited because that meant they could take me =) Rodrigo also asked why I'm leaving rather than just staying with them. Ha, they're awesome. Gisela also told me that next time they're inviting me to come, all I have to do is give them a call or shoot them an email before. But she made sure to say that whether I come alone or with Alyssa, that they are inviting me and I am welcome whenever. I love my host family, they're great. If I ever have the money, I definitely will come back in the future.
On a final note, yesterday was my grandpa's birthday (I'm not sure quite how old he is, but I think he's about 87). I mentioned it in my previous entry, but that didn't do him justice. I think it's very fitting that he was born on Independence Day, he is a true American if I've ever seen one. He fought in World War II and got a purple heart after getting hit with shrapnel. He was a farmer for much of his life, until he eventually settled down in Pullman. He was very involved with politics up until a few years ago, always supporting the Grand Ole Party wholeheartedly. He loved his wife with all of his heart and was married for almost 60 years. He suffered a stroke in January of 2008 and unfortunately, he never has recovered enough to remember who I am, but he still never did forget his wife. I was at the nursing home with her one day visiting him, and he just kept staring at her rather than eating. She finally asked, "Why aren't you eating?" He replied "You're pretty." She asked, "What?" and he replied, "You're pretty, I love you." Although my grandma just ignored it and kept helping him eat, I will never forget that moment. Love, still strong and evident some 60 years later. Despite forgetting about most of his kids and grandchildren, he still knew who his wife was and that he was in love with her. I'm still not sure if he was able to comprehend my grandmother passing away last Fall, but I know that deep down he knows something's missing, and he can't wait to be with her again in heaven.
I miss you grandma. I love you and thanks for looking out for me.
That's all I can handle to write anymore.
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