Acensores y Temblores

Sorry it's been a little while since I've posted anything. I fear that I'm drawing close to the crashing point of culture shock where I begin to hate everything and anything about the place I must now call home. Plus a whole tornado of personal issues from back home. Feelings, am I right?

Anyway, I have so much to talk about. First of all, I finally got my opportunity to explore Valparaíso and I have to say that I could not have chosen a better place to come live. Last Thursday we had a 9 hour walking tour of the entire city, and while it was long and incredibly hot and my nose looked like Rudolph for the next week because I missed a spot with the sunscreen, it was without a doubt the best day I've had here so far.

Me and Valpo!

Our tour guide's name was Leo, and he had some incredibly insightful things to say about the city, and a lot of them have continued to stick with me. Some of my favorites:

“Valparaíso looks like you could kick out one support and the whole thing would come crashing down, but it never does. And here, we have earthquakes.”

“Chile is the end of the world. I love saying that. We live at the end of the world.” 

“If fishermen and men from boats come here, bars will open. If there is alcohol, there will be women. If there are women, there will be poets. If there are poets, there will be music. And if there is all of that, there is Valparaíso.” 

“It might be a world heritage site but people here are born in an old and dirty city, and they live it.”

He was a very insightful guy. And he was completely right. There's just something about the city that strikes a chord with me. It's dirty and messy and dangerous as all hell but there is no doubt that it is absolutely beautiful. I can't really describe it, but there's just some part of me that connects to the way people view and live their lives here. At first there was a part of me that regretted not going to Spain, just because it's Europe, and it has that reputation of being cultured and sophisticated and all that jazz. But there's something quirky about Valparaíso that just fits right into my soul and somehow manages to fill that little spot that's been empty for a little while.

Ah! How could I have forgotten? We also went to Pablo Neruda's house, and holy goodness was it beautiful. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was like the perfect mix of ocean and pops of colors with random stained glass doors I loved it.

The physical city itself is absolutely incredible. Street art is legal, anyone can ask you to paint their house and it has turned into the most fantastic collection of colorful buildings ever. Also, since the city itself is spread across 43 hills (or 47, depending on who you ask), they have these really cool acensores that are basically elevators to take you up some of the hills. We got to go on the oldest one in the world, originally constructed in 1883. Don't worry, it's been restored, perfectly safe. Well, pretty much safe. It's South America, nothing is perfectly safe here. And I love it that way.

Probably the best graffiti I've ever seen.

I've got plans with some of the girls to explore some parts of the city tomorrow after we stand in line for hours registering our visas so we don't get deported. Very important, but at the same time I have to get up at like 8 am and that I'm just not feeling.

Classes have started! I'm still (anxiously) waiting to hear back from Wheaton about how my credits are going to transfer. I could potentially have to take more (and more challenging) classes than I would like to. Yes, I realize I am here to "study" abroad, but at the same time there's no point to me going halfway around the world if I'm just going to be stuck doing work the entire time. Of course, I could just go to a hilltop café......

I'm also going to Patagonia! There are six of us total, leaving on the 14th and coming back the 21st, hiking a trail called "The W" in Torres Del Paine. It's one of Chile's largest national parks, and it's going to be spectacularly beautiful. And very, very cold. But totally worth missing a complete week of class. It's still the add/drop period, attendance isn't real until the 27th. And when's the next time I'm going to be in Chile?

What the week after next will look like.

Danielle and I also have plans to go to Mendoza, because I haven't been drinking nearly enough wine and I really need to get on that. That sounds bad. But the wine is so cheap here and it's so good so how could I not drink as much of it as I can?

I'm really enjoying the girls I came down with. We had to say goodbye to Emma, which was absolutely heartbreaking, but we're all becoming really fast friends and I'm so glad I've been given the opportunity to get to know them all.

Hannah and Kayla!

There have also been so many earthquakes! Well technically they've only been temblores (tremors) because Chile is so hardcore that it only counts as a terremoto (earthquakes) if it registers as a 7 or higher! My Spanish teacher told us that Chile is actually nervous, because it's been almost 30 years since their last really big earthquake. I guess the one in 2010 didn't count?

Anyway, I realize I've written a lot, but there's a lot to talk about! I'm making some Chilean friends. Not as many as I'd like to, but it's only been a few weeks. I'll let you know how that goes.