Valpo Voyager

Page 86 of 124

Adventuring, partying, gringo-ing.

November 4, 2012 / Micaela Johnston / 0 Comments

All right, so a LOT of things have happened since my last post:

Mendoza

I have a tourist visa instead of a student visa, which means that I have to leave the country before 90 days or I’ll be illegal and since Mendoza, Argentina is just across the border, I thought I would take a nice weekend trip there. I asked a few weeks before if anyone wanted to go with me, but everyone had plans…so I went solo (which sounds sad, but no worries; this story has a happy ending!) 90 days was October 29th, and I bought my tickets for October 25th: close call much.

I strolled on over to the bus terminal to purchase my ticket with my passport in hand to verify that I could cross the border. They examined my passport and then proceeded to ask me for my visa, where I flipped open to the page with a little piece of paper stapled; they told me that wasn’t my visa. They told me it was a yellow piece of paper that they had given me coming into Chile when I arrived at the airport and asked me if I had it. I said yes, thinking to myself “why would I throw that away, it must look important enough, right?” I went back home and started looking…and eventually destroyed my room not finding it anywhere. I realized that when I moved houses, I had thrown away a lot of things, including that yellow piece of paper that turned out to be my visa. I was under the impression that it was just a receipt for the transaction and the paper that they stapled to my passport was my visa…reverse that. Now I was stressed; I was supposed to leave for Mendoza the next day and I didn’t have a visa to cross the border to Argentina so that I wouldn’t be illegal in Chile. I had to change my ticket for the day after and scrambled to find everything I needed to get my visa (which is another novel in itself…I’ll spare you the dirty details because this blog is going to be painfully long as it is). After a long day of taking the metro to Valpo, dealing with the receptionist, hopes being crushed, thinking I would be illegal in Chile and be evicted from the country, going back to the bus terminal, going to the police station, feeling hope on the horizon, almost being a criminal and getting Carlos (director of the UVM) in trouble for not having a student visa, and explaining to many officials how I accidentally threw my visa away, I finally ended up with one, beautiful, clean, new visa in my possession. I don’t think I can tell you how relieved I was.

I arrived at the terminal with only the phone number of a family friend whom I was supposed to call when I arrived to show me around the city a bit and help me find a hostel. I changed my money and searched for the information center to find a map and a phone. The gentleman there assisted me in getting a hold of who I needed to get a hold of, and after a nice conversation with him, Maria de la Luz arrived to show me around. She and her friend (and now mine as well) Ivana walked around the city with me, showing me some plazas and finding me a safe, clean, and cheap hostel to stay at for the night. We got along immediately. Mendoza is known for its leather, so after Luz had to go to class, Ivana, her boyfriend, and I went shopping. She continued to show me around the main streets and I got a good feeling for Argentinians and their culture.

Later that night, Luz came to the hostel with her boyfriend Pipi, and we went out for some light drinks and conversations a nearby bar. We talked for hours about the differences between Argentina and Chile, the USA, soccer, and life in general. Then we went over to Ivana’s apartment and played a board game until 4 a.m. Great night.

Relajando en el Parque San Martin; Relaxing in San Martin Park

The next day I woke up at 8:45 a.m (don’t ask me how…), ate some breakfast, chatted with some French guys who stayed in the hostel the night before, and then packed up my stuff to go over to San Martín Park. The park is gigantic! There’s a zoo, garden alongside a lake, sporting fields, and lots of beautiful statues/fountains. I simply wandered around leisurely. I found a spot under some trees, took out my Bible to read and napped in the shade.

Luz and Pipi invited me to an asado at their house, where we had some delicious Argentinian BBQ and watched Zorro. I tried mate for the first time, which is absolutely delicious traditional tea in all of South America. We also had a sweet jelly (I forgot what it’s called) with cheese later before I left. Then I departed for the terminal, and it seemed like I hadn’t spent enough time there…so we agreed that I had to come back! Which I will in the coming weeks to get to know the city more and go rafting and bungee jumping. Excited 🙂

Soccer Championship

Campeonas!; Champions!

And so here we are, UVM going against la Universidad Católica in the championship game. After some incredible shots, a red card losing one of our fastest players, and plenty of aggressive play, we ended up claiming our champion title for the 4th year in a row. We won 3-0 and proudly posed for newspaper photos (you can see the article here).

The celebration really started when we got back to the locker room.

There was plenty of noise; chanting, singing, laughing, banging the locker room benches and walls. Then, of course, everyone had their turn to be drenched in trash bins filled with water. After, a few of the players tried to have a nice mil hojas cake with manjar but ended up throwing it in our coaches face and savagely grabbing at the remains to gnaw at.

Craziest celebration of a soccer win I’ve ever experienced…can’t wait to start traditions like this when I get back.

Halloween Party

The same day of the championship day was Halloween, and Olivia and I decided to invite some friends over to have a small get together. With the gracious permission from our host parents, we expected about 9 or 10 people to come over for some snacks and Halloween movies. What it ended up being was almost 20 people in the living room, most with costumes ranging from Edward Cullen to a gangster to plenty of cats. Everyone brought along something to share, so we had lots of chips and cookies; cheap college kids. One of the girls brought karaoke, so we all jammed out and sang along to every song. Then, of course, the Chilean touch of dance. Everyone wanted to dance, so with some rearrangement of furniture we created a makeshift dance floor, and after some people left there was enough room to have Bachata lessons (which I failed miserably…but with some practice I’m sure I’ll get better!…maybe). Great Halloween!

La Sebastiana

…in Valparaiso was incredible. Olivia, Oscar (host brother), and I visited another one of Pablo Neruda’s houses with a stunning view in the heart of a beautifully dysfunctional city. Walking around the city afterwards was awesome, and full of plenty of new discoveries and passing a few art galleries along with all the beautiful graffiti and murals.

Almuerzo Gringo

Que rico! YUM!

Olivia and I had cravings one day for some good ol’ USA style breakfast. Therefore, the idea came that we should make some for our host family. With the help of Alison (also in the program) and Scott (gringo host brother) we put together a giant gringo-style breakfast (that was more like lunch because we didn’t eat until almost 3 in the afternoon). Bacon, sausage, french toast, and a giant stack of waffles. The family loved it and decided we needed to make waffles again. You can be sure that we most definitely will.

Cachagua

Only an hour and a half ride from Viña, we took the micro at 10 a.m on a Saturday morning. I slept the second half. When we arrived we all stretched and walked to the beach; a walk we imagined would only be a few blocks…ended up being much more than that and up a hill. Finally, when I was at my point of almost frustration, we arrived at the peak and could see the bright turquoise water, the soothing waves, the white beach: absolutely unreal. I felt like I was in one of those seemingly photoshopped pictures that automatically come with a new computer it was so incredibly breath-taking. We took our places on the sand and then Emma (another student) and I decided to go for a swim. The water was not just cold, it was ice…but we swam anyway. “Getting used to the water” meant not being able to feel your body entirely, which was fun. We would brave the sea for a bit, and then clamber back on shore praising God that He made the sun to warm us. We did this 5 or 6 times.

Olivia and I also found a path along the side of the bay with boulders and cliffs that led all along the edge of the coast and went on for, what seemed like, ever. There was one bridge and waterway in particular that reminded me a lot of Pirates of the Caribbean; so cool. The waves were wild, the salty mist refreshing. Ahhhh…

And then we waited for the micro home. When it finally got to us, there weren’t enough seats for all of us, so a few of us (myself included) stood for the hour and half ride back to Viña del mar (which ended up being 2 hours thanks to the tourist weekend traffic). The driver was insane. As there were no more seats in the micro, the more people he picked up had to stand…and it got more and more full…and just when you thought it was full enough, he would stop to pick up more people. So, to entertain ourselves, the other gringos and I sang songs to pass the time. We would cheer when people would get off (both in relief that there was more space and in happiness for their freedom from the seeming death trap) and groan when more people would pile in. Entertaining ride to say the least. And for the last 20 minutes, enough people got off that we were able to have seats. Nice.

Lot of adventuring lately. Can’t wait to do more!

The Luck of the Irish

November 2, 2012 / ayatakahashi / 0 Comments

This past week was my second break and what did I decide to do last minute? Yes, go to Ireland.
Ireland was a country that I really wanted to go to this fall, but looking at my budget for the rest of the semester, I wasn’t quite sure if I could squeeze it in.
But it was probably the best last minute decision I have made, and I am SO glad to have done it!

One of our C-90 group members Holly and I decided that we’ll do a random travel – not have anything specific planned but just do what we want to do at that moment.
It was a great plan at the start, but we did realize later that maybe we should have done a little more thinking when we did our hostel bookings…something to keep in mind for future travelers!

Our journey started off early in the morning since we wanted to take the ferry to Ireland. We took trains up to Northern Wales where our ferry port was. We were able to see some great views of Wales on the way! The ferry was very nice too; I wouldn’t mind cruising for a few weeks on this ferry!

After about a 3 hour ride, we arrived in Dublin. Dublin wasn’t a huge interest to either of us, so it was just a stop on the way until we headed for Galway the next morning.

And let me tell you, Galway was absolutely AMAZING. I think that it could be one of my favorite towns that I have been to so far, with Venice and Cambridge as close seconds.
I don’t know exactly what it was about it, maybe it was the Irish spirit, but even just walking around town not doing so much was enjoyable.

Our hostel that we stayed at was very welcoming too. The staff were really friendly and the accommodations were great! We met and chatted with our roommates who were visiting their friend studying in Galway. They were from France!
It gave us a bunch of options that we could look into during our stay in Galway. We decided that on the first night, we would go on the pub crawl, and on the second day take the tour to Cliffs of Moher.

The pub crawl wasn’t necessary as crazy as I thought it might be (but maybe that’s because we weren’t partying with the Irish!), but Holly and I had a great time. We met a group of three, who graduated school recently and were traveling before going into grad school, or into the horrifying “real world”. It was nice talking to Americans and hearing their stories on why they were traveling.
(I don’t know if any of you guys reading this are Glee fans, but one of those guys looked like a brunette version of Cameron Mitchell from the first season of The Glee Project. I am a huge Glee fan, and of course, I was thrilled with that.)
The pub crawl ended at a club, which I was pretty excited about. As I went to the club though, I realized that the music was different from the ones that I have been used to at Cambridge. Cambridge clubs tend to play mostly music similar to what we Americans listens to. There are a couple British songs, but most of them I can recognize. But this club in Galway, had maybe two or three songs that I knew during the hour or so that I was there. We came to the conclusion later that the Irish like American music that was popular in the 80s and 90s. So any Americans travelers around their 40s-50s will probably have a blast at these clubs!

The next morning we went on the tour to Cliffs of Moher with our two French roommates.
The tour guides we had – on the bus and when we went on a little hike – both knew exactly what they were talking about. I love the fact that it is actually fun to learn about the things they were telling us because they have so much passion in their history that they want to share. What I liked about Ireland in general was how much Irish are proud of their culture and history. They want to continue to remember and pass down that history which gives them their identity. And you can really tell how much pride they have. I think that’s what makes the Irish spirit so special.
Our tour headed to Cliffs of Moher with a couple stops on the way, such as the Burrens and a little town called Doolin. But I do have to say that the Cliffs of Moher was my favorite destination out of them all. Although it was absolutely terrifying to stand so close to an edge that was unbelievably high, the beauty was haunting.

There are a few films that have been filmed here too. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan so hearing that a scene in the Half-Blood Prince was filmed here (the part where Harry and Dumbledore go into the cave to destroy the horcrux) got me really excited.
I also watched Leap Year right before going to Ireland, and the proposal scene was filmed here as well. And for those of you Princes Bride fans, this was “The Cliffs of Insanity”!

The tour was about 7 hours and it was a great opportunity for us to be able to see some major sites. It was only about 18 euros (about 23 euros) so I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of going to Ireland. Which I think everyone should do anyway (:

I mean, just look how beautiful it is!

Although we were pretty tired from the tour, it was Halloween so we figured we needed to go out in town this night. We decided to go out with the French roommates and their friend studying in Galway. As we walked into the city centre, all 5 of us were astounded by how CRAZY it was. It was nothing like I’ve seen before! Everywhere I looked there were people dressed in costumes; it seemed like EVERYONE was dressed up!
None of us knew that Halloween was such a significant event in Ireland and we were bummed that none of us had costumes. But it’s the spirit that matters, right?
We had a great night going to a pub and a club (this time with more music that I actually knew!) and met a couple Irish people!
It was definitely a very memorable Halloween.

This Ireland trip feels special to me because of the connections that I made with other people. Since it was only Holly and I traveling together, it might’ve been easier for other people to approach us and for us to join with others. It’s weird to think that I probably won’t see any of the people that I met this past week ever again, but having that experience and time spending together with someone from another country is such a great perk of being abroad.
I think that this was a great experience, and I am definitely convinced that I will be returning to Ireland – hopefully sometime in the near future!

The tea I ordered, which I can't recall the name of... 好喝! (Delicious~)

A touch of Valpo in Hangzhou

October 30, 2012 / gloriallenos / 0 Comments

Last Wednesday, H-23 had the priviledge of having dinner at one of the most well-known teahouses in the Zhejiang province. It was sort of a bittersweet event: we were there to greet Professor Lin and former basketball coach Homer Drew who would be in Hangzhou for a few days. It was a pleasure talking with the two of them and slightly relieved our homesickness- even if just a little bit. But the dinner also marked our last night with our resident director and his family. At the beginning of the trip we knew that they would be leaving about two months earlier than us, since their children needed to return to school and the parents had to return back for important work matters. But honestly, I can’t think of any better way to send them off back to the US.

Only some of the many snack plates

We first started off with plates filled with different sorts of nuts and fruits. And each time we cleaned off a plate, the waitresses would waltz in and bring us snack after snack. It seemed like the food would never end! We snacked for a least an hour before we were given the tea menus to look at. I couldn’t believe my eyes..most of the tea prices ranged from 150-350 yuan! That’s about $24-56! H-23 was really getting treated that night.

We each ordered our own individual teas, and they came in their own sets. I cannot remember what tea I ordered specifically, but I do remember it was delicious! In addition to our tea, we were given a menu that had about 6 items that we could endlessly order…probably because of the price on the tea. After gorging ourselves on snacks for the past hour, I was by no means hungry..but I couldn’t pass up more food. We ordered noodles, dumplings, rice and all that good stuff. By the end of the night I was more full than I EVER have been in my life. We bid farewell to Prof. Lin, Homer Drew, our resident director and his family. I was really lucky to have this opportunity to dine at such a nice teahouse and sharing it with such wonderful people. (FYI: I was still full the next day..)

The tea that Kate ordered

So now we are all preparing for our upcoming mid-term exams. We will be taking an exam for each class in about two weeks- I am slightly nervous but I know my Chinese has improved greatly since taking these classes. All the classes are taught in Chinese and at times it is difficult to keep up and understand everything completely, however, I feel that you really need to be immersed in the language in order to have a better feel for it. Side note: I am super bummed that I am missing out on the Halloween fun back in the US. Halloween is not really celebrated here in China- actually, when I talk to my fellow international students from all over the world, it doesn’t seem like Halloween is a big deal anywhere besides America. There are a few bars and clubs in Hangzhou that are having costume/Halloween parties, but it is still not the same as the US! So a few of us are planning on dressing up later that night and maybe hopping around the city in our costumes to see if we can find our own Hangzhou Halloween fun.

Decolonizing the Mind

October 29, 2012 / samanthafrisk / 0 Comments

“Decolonizing the Mind.” When I received the program manual with this phrase on the front I thought I had an idea of what this meant and what I would be studying during my semester abroad, but after my rural homestay I have truly been pushed to breakdown my previous conceptions and challenge the ways I once classified people.

It was hard to acknowledge that before my rural homestay I had equated rural with poverty. I had taken a look at all the material things I have and judged households against this standard. By creating this category of “have”, my mind consequently narrowed in on what others did not have. So, admittedly, driving past farms, tin shacks, and mud huts there was a sympathetic wrenching in my stomach. At one point I considered volunteering in such communities, but I worried about my limitations or the negative effects of my “aid”. My first step toward reconciling these thoughts was to learn about “impoverished” communities.

My week on the Inhoek farm in Khorixas abolished all my previous conceptions and reasoning for wanting to learn from this rural community. From the first moment I stepped out of the CGE van, I began to look at this community for everything that they have, not for what they do not. Those things that I might have thought were lacking before had now dissipated and I began to admire their wealth of immaterial things. I even wondered if the absence of physical possessions that I saw was the reason for their strong sense of community, lively nature, and conservation of resources.

My host family lives in a small, two-room, cow dung hut that sits on a farm with several other families. The farm has no electricity, nor sewage, and a water trough that you carry water from and it is shared by the animals making the water unsafe at times. I imagine that for my host family there is a shortage of food, when me and my box of food aren’t staying with them, so there is a physical reality of problems that my family is facing and I don’t doubt that, if asked, there may be aspects they want to improve. However, these were never the focus of my thoughts while I was there and I didn’t worry about my host family because of the support the received from their neighbors.

Throughout the week, I never ate a meal with only my host family. I found myself at the neighbor’s house or children from the community at our home sharing what we had. Many of the families on our farm, who were more well off and had houses in the city, had goat and kudu meat that they contributed, while my mother would cook and share her fatcakes. It seemed that whatever you had, you shared. This unspoken expectation was incredible to me because even the families with little would divide up their food for the number of children that wondered over to their house. Fellow CGE students would mention that they would leave their house with one child and return with four, that they would then share dinner and the children would stay for the evening.

The fluidity of the community was another aspect I came to appreciate. Not only did I find myself with neighbors for dinner, but at every time of the day I was at a different house with different people. I was weird to me that I felt completely comfortable walking right in and felt welcome at any house on the farm even if they hadn’t met me yet. With the grannies that I couldn’t communicate well with, I was still always greeted and invited to sit and have some food or a drink. Even people who drove onto the farm to visit would stop their cars, talk to us and tell us to please enjoy our time. And this wasn’t just their fantastic hospitality, members of their community treated each other this way too. While my host father was gone, teenage boys were always at my house helping my mother with whatever she needed—they were especially great with my one year old little brother. Likewise, my mother frequently visited her neighbors each day to see if they needed help or just to offer some company.

At night we gathered together for conversation, games, singing and dancing and during the day we found even more to do. It is amazing what fun you can have when you don’t have a television to rely on. We hiked the mountains as a big family to watch the sunset, rode horses and chased the goats, played games, made our own swimming pool to take a break from the heat, and even pulled all our beds together and slept under the stars. There was never a moment that I wasn’t the happiest I have ever been. People worked very hard on the farm, but they played hard too. Throughout everything they seemed carefree, despite problems they could have been facing. My favorite memory is everyone singing a song in Damara entitled, “!Gâi tsedi Iguidi” meaning “Good Days Only,” and I feel this embodies their outlook and attitudes. Everyone got up and danced around, clapping and singing loud and everyone was really connected.

I truly admired them for this and for so many other things. Their values impressed me and their creativity inspired me. They somehow found the strength to forgive after every despicable thing they have been put through and focused on treating each other and guests with love and respect, regardless of who they are. Children on these farms built incredible toys and adults fashioned all kinds of tools out of recycled products and minimal resources. They use what they needed and didn’t waste and living here for a week makes me realize the obscene amount of things that I consume needlessly. With everything, I felt they were living a life that was kind to others and didn’t infringe on their way of life and a life that didn’t use more than their portion of this world. If looking at things like this, they are helping others more than anyone could ever help them and I thank them.

When I step back and look at their community I am in awe. I also realize that the industrialization that the Namibian government talks about or the international aid that countries offer could be detrimental to this. Before people go in and begin giving what they think these people need, one should think deeply about how it will change them. My advice is that we begin living lifestyles that are kind and don’t harm others, instead of trying to counteract that by then fixing them or sending what we think they need. Consider the reasoning behind the need for aid. More importantly, before pinpointing every “need,” take a step back and take in all there is to gain from places different from our own. I truly believe a better service to society would be appreciating communities like the one I stayed in, releasing our judgements and absorbing the lessons they can teach us.

One of the host fathers shared how much he appreciated us coming to his farm and learning about his family. This left me speechless because I could never begin to describe everything I have gained from spending just one week with them.

Hungry?

October 25, 2012 / samanthafrisk / 0 Comments

Throughout my time in Southern Africa there has been one food that I have been fed everywhere I go—fat cakes! These little balls of fried dough were served at my homestay in Johannesburg for breakfast with dried fish, minced meat and cheese. I’ve had them multiple times at our house in Windhoek as they are Sara’s (the house’s head cook) favorite food and you can find them at any market or street vendor around Namibia. Now, after learning how to make them with my host mother in Khorixas, I am so excited to share the recipe with you—here’s how to make them at home:

Ingredients:

6 cups cake flour, 1tbs salt, 10 gram instant yeast, 1 cup sugar, 1tbs vinegar, 3 1/2 cups water, Oil for frying

Makes 20-25 fat cakes

Directions:

First, mix flour, yeast, salt, and sugar together. Then, mix vinegar into water and pour over the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix these into a soft dough and be sure to mix well so that there are no lumps (Add water as needed).

Cover dough and leave in a warm place until it doubles in size.

Finally, fry them up! Heat the oil in a heavy base sauce pan. Dip a large spoon into the oil then use it to take spoonfuls of the risen dough from the bowl (or you can form them by hand like I did at my home stay). The balls are normally about the size of a plum, but could be smaller or larger depending on your preference. Drop these spoonfuls of dough into the hot oil and fry until the fat cakes are a nice brown color on one side and then flip them over.

You can roll these in cinnamon and sugar—one of the group favorites—or eat them with peanut butter like the kids on the farm I visited liked. They are good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and definitely dessert!

Sara and my resident advisory, Janessa, recorded some videos cooking these and you can check them out at the CGE website: http://cgesouthernafrica.blogspot.com/

I don't mind jogging to this view.

Impressive.

October 23, 2012 / Micaela Johnston / 0 Comments

The weather has been funky. One day it started out grey and cloudy then turned in the late afternoon with some sun and clear skies, and that night it rained cats and dogs. Well, at least it keeps me on my toes! I’m always prepared with extra layers, but didn’t think so much about rain before I came here. Nonetheless, I’ve gotten my fill of puddle jumping and nights coming home sopping wet. This might be why I now have a stuffy nose…hm.

I’ve also been busy accustoming myself to my new home and family as well as working on midterm projects, rehabilitating my ankle and playing Capoeira.

Since I haven’t been able to play soccer, I’ve been trying to find alternatives to things that will restrengthen my ankle and body. I unwillingly turned to jogging; it doesn’t require much ankle flexibility but…I really just don’t enjoy it in the least. However, I needed to do something active or I would go crazy.

I don't mind jogging to this view.

So a little background, I have never ever ever liked running. I do it anyway, but with much moderation; never more than a mile and a half. Well, living in the new house is amazing, but it’s a lot farther from the beach. Olivia told me that she jogs on the main street, Alvarez, to the beach and it’s about 6 miles there and back. Immediately dismissed the idea of taking that path, and decided to take a different way along Uno Norte towards the beach by the Casino and San Martin; it seemed much shorter. Thus, I began to jog along and jammed out to some good tunes as I tried to remember exactly where I was. My thought process was something along the lines of this: “Ah, yes I recognize this place. It’s just around the corner…oh wait, I forgot about this plaza, now it’s just around the corner…shouldn’t it be on this block?…where am I?” and finally, I found the beach. I sat, relaxed for a few minutes, and then jogged back. Knowing that it was much farther than I had expected, I looked up on google maps how far it was. Turns out I ran about 5 miles round trip. I had impressed myself to say the least. I felt incredible, almost invincible, after. My plan is to do that at least 4 times a week; it’ll make up for all the bread and sweets I’ve been eating…no regrets; they’re delicious.

I also started Capoeira, which does require ankle strength but it helps work other muscles and flexibility as well, so it’s been more of a help than a hurt…and my ankle has actually been feeling better after all this activity.

Capoeira at Mil Tambores

For those of you who might not know, Capoeira is a beautiful Brazilian martial art that is a mix between self defense and dancing (not ballroom, more like break/street dancing). How it came to be was through the Brazilian slaves centuries ago who disguised the fighting style as a dance so the slave owners wouldn’t know; they also would practice in the Capoeira (short grass). For those of you who also might not know, I’m absolutely in love with Capoeira. The capoeiristas that I saw at Mil Tambores are the same capoeiristas that I’m taking classes from now. They’re really impressive and intimidating. We also play the traditional Brazilian instruments/sing the music of Capoeira. I’m slowly improving not only in Capoeira, but also in flexibility. I can touch my toes with no problem 🙂

I’ve also booked my big trips remaining this semester; Mendoza and Brazil. Having a tourist visa, I have to leave the country before 90 days. Luckily, Mendoza, Argentina is only 8 hours on a bus. Since everyone else already has plans for this long weekend, I’m taking this trip solo across the border to re-legalize myself. Should be a nice personal retreat. I also have my plane tickets to leave on the 20th of December for Rio de Janeiro to spend Christmas and the New Year with my dear Brazilian friends from VU. Absolutely can’t wait…well I can, I love my Chile, but I am rather excited!

Because I’ll be spending time in Brazil, I’ve also been picking up some Portuguese lessons from the family friend, Basilio. It’s very similar to Spanish in a lot of ways, but definitely not the same. I can speak in Spanish to my Brazilian friends and they’ll understand me. We even tried to have a conversation where I would speak in Spanish and he would respond in Portuguese, and it worked out that we could understand each other, which was so cool. I’m also studying up Michel Telo, known for his song “Nossa, nossa.” If nothing else, at least I can sing along to some of his songs.

Olivia and I have also discovered some sort of insect is biting us in the night…it’s either pulgas (fleas), zancudos (mosquitoes), or something called a manga…so we’ve bundled up in plenty of layers upon layers so they don’t bite us until we torch our sheets tomorrow. (Just kidding; we’ll just wash them thoroughly. Extreme thoroughness.

Feeling so funky, feeling so fresh, feeling so fly. Love my life in my Chile.

Hello, York!

October 21, 2012 / ayatakahashi / 0 Comments

Last Friday, one of my C-90 mates, Angela and I decided to use our 3 day weekend as an advantage and went on a day trip to York!

Traveling wasn’t bad at all. It took us about 2.5 hours and we only had to switch trains once.
The first thing I noticed as we got there was that it was super COLD!
Cambridge had still been in the high 50s – 60s, so we haven’t experienced anything really cold yet.
I thought that wearing a blazer would be fine but I ended being cold the entire day that day.
I should’ve known, since York was much more north than us…I’ll keep this in time for next time I decide to travel up north!

That was the only bad thing though. York was a pretty small town and it was a great place to come for a mini day trip.
From the train station, we walked across a bridge, which showed a beautiful view, and we were already pretty much in the city centre.
There was a beautiful cathedral that Angela climbed up and got this beautiful view of.

A lot of the buildings were made of bricks, which I love! I feel like brick buildings can even make a simple strip mall look pretty darn cool (:

(like this!)

There were a bunch of market places here too. It seems to be a trend in the UK in general!
They always have so much variety with “stores” in these market places. This time I saw things from vegetables, to clothing, to books, to handcrafted decorations, and even pet things!

I think that there must’ve been a field trip to come to York this day because I saw so many children in uniforms.
Seeing them wearing little uniforms was adorable!

These were children probably around 2-3rd grade, but I even saw some kids that looked like they were 3 or 4 wearing the same uniforms, except tiny versions. It was absolutely adorable!

My favorite part though was probably walking on the city wall, which was built way back in the day. I don’t remember when exactly the wall was built, but it was restored in 1889, so must’ve been built even before that!
It wrapped most of York, and would have been quite a walk if we had walked the entire wall.
We just did about 2 km but the view from the wall was great!

(part of what the wall looked like)

We ended our day by going into a garden that was beautiful. The sun was starting to set, which was a great view for us.

(you can see me sitting on the bench!)

It was a long day of walking in the cold weather, but overall it was a great experience.
York was a small, but very homey and cute, town and it was a great way to spend a relaxing day.
Hopefully this prepared me to be able to do day trips on my own because that’s what I’m planning on doing for our upcoming week of fall break!
My plan is to visit castles all around the UK, and I can’t wait because I absolutely love castles. Not to mention that I booked my flight to go to Munich, Germany to see the Fairytale castle for the end of November. SUPER EXCITED! (:

One more week of midterms until the long awaited fall break. At least that gives me motivation to work hard on my school work!

跟小朋友们玩

October 17, 2012 / gloriallenos / 0 Comments

During our time in Hangzhou, we have been fortunate enough to have many natives and locals help us around while we are here. One professor named Cherry has been especially helpful, basically showing us the ropes and answering any questions we may have since the day we arrived. This past Saturday, Cherry’s daughter and her class invited all of H-23 to hang out with them! Finally, some people whose level of Chinese is about the same with mine! (though theirs is still better obviously) So we grabbed some taxis and made our way to the other campus, which was actually very reminiscent of Valpo for me. Cherry herself said so as well- maybe it was how spread out things were and the beautiful outdoor scenery (though I do think this campus beat out Valpo…)

The pretty campus scenery~

Once we arrived the children (about 10-11 years old) shyly greeted us. At first they mostly kept to each other and would giggle or whisper excitedly about the foreigners visiting them. We all started off bouncing a volleyball around in a circle, sort of like an icebreaker to show the kids that we were here to have fun with them. Soon enough, game after game ensued and we ended up having a lot of fun with the kids! We played badminton, jumped rope and even had a three-legged race. There was also a game where everyone sat in a circle and played a game of hot potato. Once you lost, you had to stand up and either sing, dance, show a talent or speak Chinese/English [obviously not the one that is your first language].

The kids had a blast with the jump rope!

Almost everybody lost. There was everything from Tai Chi demonstration to beat boxing. What more can you ask for? Seriously though, it was so much fun being able to just relax and spend time with the kids. Once they felt comfortable, they were more than willing to play games with you or make small talk. It was a good opportunity for H-23 to have an active day as well.. we have been missing sports severely!! And while our campus has a lot of areas where you can play different sports, we have just been overall too busy/slightly lazy. So I think it was a good opportunity for both parties! (Note: In case you wondering, the title of this post is “跟小朋友们玩” (gen xiao pengyoumen wan)/ “Playing with the kids”)

...so did our big kids.

Rollin’ in the new

October 15, 2012 / Micaela Johnston / 1 Comment

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated, but things have been a bit topsy-turvy here so I’ll just highlight a few things.

Last Saturday our group went to Isla Negra which is not actually an island, but the name of one of the houses of Pablo Neruda. When we arrived, we had to wait for our tour at 3, so we got lunch and then went out to the ocean. The day was grey and cool, but that almost added to the feel; the ash grey sky with the steel blue ocean and the bright white foam of the waves that came rolling into the ominously black rocks that made up the shore.

: The beach at Isla Negra

When we walked over to the house/museum for our tour, we noticed a lot of what looked like governmental cars outside. It was the president of Ireland visiting the house of Pablo Neruda! Being a poet himself, he gave a speech as to how Pablo Neruda has influenced him and the world for the better. Though I didn’t get to meet the president himself, I talked to a few of his bodyguards. I love Irish accents.

Finally after the speech and interviews, we went on our tour. We weren’t allowed to take pictures indoors, but the house was meant to be as if you were living on a boat. The doorways were low, everything was made of wood, and the views from the bay windows were spectacular. Pablo had a lot of collections; unique shells, pipes, colorful glasses, miniature ships in bottles, and of course, figureheads (the carved statues of typically woman that go on the front of ships). The entire place was so beautiful and it was easily seen how someone could write poetry in a place like that.

Another big topic: my host family. I changed host families just yesterday. My old host family and I were never on the same schedule and it became difficult to live in a house that seemed always empty when I was there. I had been spending a lot of time, therefore, outside of the house enjoying time with friends and exploring Viña more, specifically spending more time with my friend Olivia and her host family. It was strange how naturally we all melded together, and I began to notice that I really loved spending time with them. Olivia told me that whenever I would leave, they would always ask her when I would be coming back; I felt a part of their lives already.

Then a few days ago, they asked me if I wanted to stay and live with them. Being that I wasn’t completely satisfied in my other host family, I was more than willing to make the change to a more active and comfortable place, but I felt bad and didn’t want to offend my original host family. They explained to me that these things happen and people switch around all the time; it’s normal. So after talking to my host family and the director, I moved my things yesterday into my new room with my new roommate, Olivia. What a difference it’s made already! I have Oscar and Christopher (my Chilean host brothers), Scott (gringo brother), and then of course Olivia (gringa sister) along with my new host parents (who I call Mamá and Papá instead of their first names) and Basilio (a very good family friend who’s secretly a superhero and can do basically anything and is teaching me Portuguese). I feel so appreciated here and there’s always someone to talk to; I think it’s safe to say I made the right decision.

: Dancing in the streets; bailando en las calles

After putting all of my things in my new room, we rushed out to enjoy the rest of the sunshine, Oscar, Olivia and I went to a festival called Mil Tambores. It’s basically a bunch of bands of drummers parading around the streets of Valparaíso. People painted their faces and bodies, dressed up in costume, and brought their own drums to join in on the celebration. They walked on stilts, performed tricks with fire, played Capoeira. There were plenty of beats, chants, singing, and of course, dancing. We danced with the brigades on the shoreline for miles through the sunset and into the night chanting along with the community that was there. It was absolutely incredible.

Now I’m sitting in my almost completed room (just missing a few pictures on the walls) in front of a window spilling sunshine and relaxing before I start my homework. Isn’t life just a peach?

Ciao! Scusi? Grazie!

October 11, 2012 / ayatakahashi / 0 Comments

Those 3 words were probably used a billion times during my 6 day trip to Italy last week.
Now let me just tell you, Italy was absolutely amazing!
I didn’t realize though, that English was not very prominent in Verona where 2 other group members and I decided to stay at.
We learned Ciao pretty quickly since we heard it everywhere. It’s neat that it can be used both as hello and good bye. How convenient is that?

I personally was a little spoiled in thinking that I would only need to know ciao (hello/bye), scusi (excuse me), and grazie (thank you) in order to make it through my week just fine – I had assumed that English would be pretty well spoken there.
I was wrong.
As soon as we got to our B&B where we stayed for 4 nights, we realized our assumption was wrong. The B&B was more like experiencing a stay with a host family. It was a large, beautiful home owned by an old Italian couple. And they spoke barely any English. This was a problem to us since the city centre of Verona was actually about a 25 minute car ride away and we couldn’t figure out how to get there at first. However, the couple were such sweethearts (we decided to call them our host grandpa and host grandpa amongst ourselves!) and they appreciated every effort we made in speaking Italian.

The first night that we flew in to Italy, we were all so exhausted that we didn’t do a whole a lot. But on the second day there, we had planned to take a day trip to Venice! At the Verona train station, we met up with 3 other more members of our C-90 group and all 6 of us headed to Venice together. Being in Venice was a bit more of a relief since the language barrier wasn’t as big here. Most shopkeepers came up to talk to us in English, and flatter us so that we will buy their things haha. None of us had specific monuments or buildings that we wanted to see in Venice; we all just wanted to wonder around and take it all in. And Venice was just absolutely beautiful. It really is a town that’s floating on water, and the houses are all so colorful and adorable!

I’m not a huge fan of tourist-y areas, but Venice gave you the feeling of home but at the same time it was a complete foreign place. It really was a magical time being there!

On the second and third days, we spent it in Verona.
The bus system from our B&B (Negrar, Italy) to Verona was very confusing and we didn’t really understand it during our entire stay there. But we did figure out how to get to Verona’s city centre so that was a relief. Verona was also another adorable city. It didn’t seem as ancient as Venice, but still had the look of having long history behind it. Although the buildings were older, there was a main street with lots of modern stores, mostly for clothing and accessories. Those were definitely fun to window shop at (:

A group of us decided to go see a castle on top of a hill, and the view was absolutely beautiful! It was a long way up, but definitely worth it. Not to mention we also got a little bit of nice, warm sun!

On our 4th morning, we bid adieu (or ciao in our case) to our host grandparents to head to Florence. Even though we didn’t get to have long conversations with them, we were able to communicate in bits and pieces and that was such a great feeling. Going to a country not knowing the language, but still being able to connect to someone can bring such happy feelings!
I decided to travel to Florence by myself while the group left a little bit before me because of train situations. It was only traveling by train, but it was a great feeling traveling by myself in a foreign country. The other group members made sure I was okay, and we met up once I got to Florence. Now Florence was a little different that Venice and Verona. It has a bit more contemporary feel to it. The buildings looked a bit different and there were many more English speaking people. My highlight in Florence was probably seeing the duomo. There were so many intricate details on the building I couldn’t even imagine someone creating it.

I only spent about 3 hours there but it was great. That night we headed to Pisa, our final destination.
On our final day, we spent the day in Pisa. Of course we had to go see the Leaning Tower. And it really was leaning! I didn’t realize this, but there were also 2 other church related buildings right next to the leaning tower.

We were all pretty tired this day since we had to carry around our heavy backpacks. There was a nice patch of green grass next to the leaning tower of Pisa and we decided to take an advantage of that and laid out and enjoyed the almost 80s weather. I’d like to think that I was able to get a bit of tan on! The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was such a great moment and the best way to end our amazing week at Italy.

I was able to see some beautiful buildings, views, and adorable houses during my trip and also learn the struggles of a language barrier which was a great experience for me. I enjoyed every minute of my stay in Italy and I definitely want to go back again! Next time, I will hopefully know a little more Italian though (:

Cheers until next time!

Aya

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