First blog since the fire

My best guess is that at the moment I must be having a classic breakdown.  It has been 10 weeks since my house caught fire and was destroyed, not by the flames, but the water that put out those flames.  It was surreal, to stand and watch the roof burn and catch more fire and you have not one ounce of control.  All you can do is stand there and cry.  Our beautiful home.  The one we all lived in for the past 22 years and swore never to move.  Now, when you walk through the once majestic restored Victorian it looks like a battlefield, like a bomb went off inside and just left the shell of a house.  

I'm not complaining, mind you, but this is not the first tragedy to hit us.  It is the most recent in a series of challenges we have faced starting in late 2006.  I have been wanting to blog for a long time, but something always had to be done first, now I am going to focus on the thought and put it into words.  Express the way I was meant to express, with passion and conviction.

I am not sure where or how to start except to say that I have a lot to talk about and hopefully if my experience can help someone facing challenges then that is why I am doing it.  no other reason.  Just to reach out and share my self.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Over the years I have been faced with critical, life changing experiences which introduced me to people and new thoughts and ideas which helped me grow spiritually and emotionally.  I learned not to take anything for granted and count my blessings every day. 

Growing up Irish Catholic in a tight knit family on the NW side of Chicago gave me a certain....attitude.  We had to be tough and we were.  Had to be.  We basically grew up hanging around the neighborhood, during the early to late 70's.  The infuence of "gangs" at that time was just starting to inch it's way North from the South and the parents could not wait to get the hell out of dodge.  I was exactly 20 years 4 months when I got married, the first time.  Within months my parents sold that house and moved waynorth to the burbs and never looked back!  I still love Chicago and get there whenever possible.  I only live in Evanston for heavens sake.

When I was 18 years old I almost died.  The reason I say that is becasue for several nights in a row I was writhing in pain, thinking I was going to die.  Finally at around midnight on the 3rd or 4th night my parents finally took me to Northwest ER and a few hours later the surgeon was cutting me to see what it was.  He explained to me prior to the surgery that he was going to perform a new technique, a "bikini" cut which was the new way they did C-sections at that time.  He assured me my scar would not be visible.  I was so sick I did not care, just get whatever it was, out.  He was thinking it was a ruptured appendix since the major pain was on my right side.

What they found when they went in was hundreds of tiny ovarian cysts, many that had burst and that was making me septic.  There was nothing they could do surgically so they closed me up.  Gave me a bunch of antibiotics,  and told me I should have kids while I was young,  just in case.

This was the main reason I wanted to get married young, to have kids, so they could drive me crazy and I would end up writing a blog when they moved out.  So, now that the tiny first part of my story is out there, very boring, but it gets better.  I think I am just trying to set the stage for the time when I do or say something totally off the wall I can refer back to one of the things which fundamentally changed the way I think.

Right now, I am being summoned, which is the basic reason I never had time to blog before...now I am going to make the time and tell that story.

xo mama d

Week 10

Like many of the other weeks during our three months study abroad, this week in Chile flew by quickly. Time passes quickly here mainly because we have many entertaining activities going on. On Tuesday we visited El Museo de Bellas Artes. Then on Wednesday most of the group went paintballing in the forest, which ended up in a lot of people getting painful bruises, but overall everyone had a great time. On Thursday it was Launa’s 20th birthday. We played soccer right after school, and then most of us went to a beautiful Thai dinner. (Yes, we had Thai food in Chile, strange I know). Launa made a toast and said, “this has been my best birthday ever, thanks to you guys”. It makes me really happy to know that it is our presence on her birthday that made it such a special night. Later that evening Becka’s mother and sister visiting from San Diego joined us after dinner. We’ve all come to know one another, so it’s a really cool experience when we get to meet each other’s parents.

Probably everyone’s favorite day in Chile thus far, was Saturday. We went white water rafting an hour outside of the city. It was overcast and the water was freezing, but it was an amazing experience! Rafting really helped us bond in ways that we haven’t before. Sunday was a perfect way to end the week. We all went to see the famous Chilean author, Pablo Neruda’s home in Isla Negra. We studied Neruda’s work in our literature class, and this was the third house we have visited during our stay in Chile. This house was by far the most interesting of the three and the most beautiful. It sits perched directly above the ocean in a small beach town.

We’ve already been here two and a half months, and sometimes it feels like we’ve just arrived yesterday. Often, however, it’s easy to forget, and sometimes take for granted, what a truly unique and amazing experience we’re having right now. Every single person has contributed to our collective memories here, and it wouldn’t be the same without each and every person on this adventure. We’ve become each other’s family. I cannot believe we only have two weeks left, and that soon I will have to leave this beautiful country. Most importantly, I don’t know what I’m going to do without my new family by my side everyday.

-Krystle Quilala & Laura Selzer

La Serena

Becka and Sarah’s Blog
After a week of rigorous Spanish, Literature, and cultural studies, the weekend was greatly welcomed and our group embarked on yet another exciting endeavor. Munching on junk food, sleeping, and laughing for six hours is surprisingly exhausting. When we arrived at La Serena, a remote beach town north of Santiago, mid-afternoon, we were all happy to be off the confined bus. We split up in to groups of seven and our cabins reminded us of slumber parties and summer camp. We spent time at the beach before dinner and the fresh breeze and warm sand made us feel closer to home. Many of us sat just mesmerized by the sound of the waves, while others walked along the sand or attempted to juggle a soccer ball. Dinner was highly anticipated, and as usual we struggled ordering in Spanish, however it was worth it, as fresh seafood, hot pasta and bread were served. The next day we were joined by several other students from our Spanish school and we traveled an hour away to Vicuna. Unfortunately, the infamous Chilean poet, Gabriela Mistral’s (who we’ve studied in literature class) house was closed, but we explored the isolated, extremely hot town and visited a local church. Then we went for a pisco factory tour and learned about all of the detailed steps to making the notorious Chilean pisco. For lunch, we experienced a once-in-a lifetime, unique restaurant. We went to a solar kitchen called Elqui Solar, where they cooked all of the traditional Chilean food (rice, three types of meat, salad, bread, and flan) with the heat of mirrors reflecting the sun. Later that night we had the privilege of visiting an astrology observatory. The stars have never felt so close and tangible and the tour guide explained in Spanish many of the constellations and wonders of the galaxies. The next day we all slept in and enjoyed a group barbeque before we had to say goodbye to yet another brief glimpse at another South American city.

Week 7

The end of Spring Break has started all of us thinking how little time we have left here in Santiago. On a positive note we have as much time as we did in Buenos Aires, but time here flies so quickly that we can not take one day for granted. For my break, I traveled to Bahia Inglesa and had an amazing and tranquilo time laying on white sand beaches and swimming in the clear blue waters for a week. We have been talking in our class a lot about landscape and coming back to Santiago after being away has really made me realize what a beautiful city this is. I cannot get over looking up at the snow-covered mountains and being able to walk three blocks to go from being in a bustling city to a quiet park along the river. Right now we are reading works by Gabriela Mistral and discussing how she incorporates landscape into her works. We are all excited to visit her house and hometown this weekend when we go to La Serena, and have a lecture on site! Learning the political history of dictatorship in the country has helped me understand why the culture here is so conservative. At the same time, I am very thankful that I live with a host mother who is very open-minded. It is hard for me to imagine what it will be like returning to the United States and conforming back to our liberal lifestyle in California; without people constantly staring at our group everywhere we go like we are from another planet, and being in a constant state of confusion. Words cannot describe how great it is to experience another way of life and I know all of us will appreciate our freedom a lot more when we return to the States.

Week 7

As we returned into the swing of things this week, after a one week break, we were all looking forward to reuniting and sharing our stories.

For the break, some students went to explore the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, some went to rural areas of Lima, Peru, others to bare the elements of freezing Patagonia, and many vacationed at the beaches of Vina del Mar and Bahia Inglesia. Some students relaxed in the tranquil lakes region of Pucon, which is where I ventured out to with Sabrina and Sarah W.

This week was off to a slow start as some of us were still recuperating from break, but with much anticipation we resumed discussing Chilean literature in our Literature class and Chilean culture and history in Culture class. Most of us have even been able to apply the material we are learning in class to our discussions with our Chilean families.

Although some students have noticed that their home-stay families are a little reserved to talk about the controversial topics of Chilean politics, being in the city and hearing stories about its history opens up a whole new perspective for us as Americans about Santiago. And speaking of perspective, this week we also started paying attention to the landscapes of the city, both physical and metaphorical.

“Landscape” will continue to be the focus term for our literature course, as we read the works of great Chilean authors.

On Tuesday, after school, we walked and walked and took two metros to the Museo de Precolombino. We were lucky to have Darah’s mom, and her friends, whom were visiting from California join us. The museum featured ancient art and artifacts of the indigenous culture of Chile, the Mapuche which gave us another new perspective of Chile. It was amazing to hear about the way the Mapuche lived!

Plans to play soccer with Carlos on Wednesday promised a good time even though healthy competition turned into a little bloodshed and a few battle wounds. With that being said, it was a blast and exercise for those of us who have been slacking in that department.

On Thursday, Becka, Clara and I were lucky to be invited by Kelsey to walk dogs at the animal shelter where her home-stay dad works. This gave us a chance to walk happy dogs, and chat while seeing more of Santiago.

The school week ended with a get together with Clara at an outdoor café at the base of San Cristobol Hill. It was a beautiful sunny day and all of us got to share our experiences and travel stories from Spring Break!

Chile has treated me well with warm weather, mostly clear skies, a beautiful landscape of the mountains and the city, and of course my incredibly hospitable and fun Chilean family. And from what I’ve heard from everyone else over the past few weeks, I am not the only one who has had such great experiences here.

In terms of improving in speaking and understanding Spanish, we have all improved vastly since our first days in Buenos Aires and even just since we arrived here in Santiago. We’ve had the chance to practice with our home-stay families, with Clara, at school and everywhere in between.

The countdown of our days left here has already begun. We have all been experiencing a little bit of mixed feelings about going home in four weeks. However, I think we are all trying to find a way to experience every moment in South America for what it is and not take it for granted. We learned early on in this trip that culture shock is not as cut and dry as we were told. Being away from our home country and immersed in a new culture is a process of varying emotions and experiences. For those of us anxious to get back to seeing our friends and families who await us, driving our cars freely and to our beautiful campus on the seaside of Santa Barbara, and for those of us who are already feeling sad about leaving our new life, we are all going to make the most of everyday we have left here. With that we have no doubts that by the end, we will have gotten everything we wanted out of this experience.

By Erin McGovern

Week 6

Week Six
Kelsey Lewis:
This week we had our first group vacation in Chile. We all met at the school and got on the bus for the short scenic ride to Vina del Mar. We were all so happy to be back by the beach! It had been six weeks since we had seen the ocean and it was so nice. The familiar smell of seaweed and salt lingered in the air and there were seagulls everywhere. We stayed in a nice hotel very near the ocean and all had lunch together that first day. We then took the scenic route around town, walking along the waters edge. We also got to see a clock made entirely of fresh flowers! The weather was a little cold, but it was still a great day.

After our walk around town, we returned to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We all went to a Chinese buffet, which was good but a little rough on the stomach. After dinner, some of us trekked to the local casino for a little gambling. Only a few people got lucky and the rest of us just watched. The next day, we awoke early and had breakfast at the hotel; the ham, cheese and butter sandwiches were very interesting. We took a bus to the next town over called Valparaíso. We got to ride an ascensor (elevator) that was different from any elevator we had ever seen! It was like walking into a small room made entirely of dark wood. The ascensor rises up the side of a small hill. There was a great view of Valparaíso and Vina del Mar from the top of the hill. We explored a little art fair and then took the stairs back down to the town plaza. The descent down the hill exposed us to walls covered in all sorts of graffiti art.

While in Valpo we were able to tour Pablo Neruda’s home. We had visited his home in Santiago that week too. His houses are very unique and interesting. The drive to the house and back down gave us a very good view of the streets of Valparaíso. The houses are varieties of bright colors and very beautiful. We ended the trip with a group lunch at a seaside restaurant. On our way home, some people got dropped back off in Vina del Mar to start of the week of spring break. Everyone else returned to Santiago. For the break, some people are going to Peru, some to Uruguay, some to Argentina, and others are traveling throughout Chile. It will be weird not seeing everyone for a week, but it will be wonderful when we are reunited and can share the stories of our adventures!
October 27, 2009 3:03 PM
anaisinelconosur said...

Week Six
By Jamie Cisar:
Thursday we had a day of service learning at el Jardin de Ninos. It is a daycare for children from low income families. The entire experience was extremely fulfilling. We left the school at 9 a.m. We were all full of anticipation, as we did not know what we were going to be doing as volunteers. As Carlos led us to the outskirts of Santiago, we were able to see our first glimpse of the landscape of Chile. It is quite similar to the agriculture and landscape of California, as there are vineyards and common landscape—such as poppies, prickly pear cacti, and eucalyptus trees—throughout the countryside. The ride passed quickly and soon enough we arrived at el Jardin de Ninos.

Personally, I was extremely nervous before interacting with the kids because I do not have much experience around younger children, but I surprised myself as I had a really meaningful experience. Even though I fell in love with a few children—and honestly wanted to adopt this one particular four year-old girl—I also had a rare encounter with a seemingly distressed young girl. As I tried to cheer her up by placing her on my lap and giving her a horse jiggle, I felt something warm spread across my entire femur on my right leg. I continued to try to speak to her in Spanish and make her smile until I realized I should get up and play with another, more willing, child, which would hopefully motivate her to play with us. As I took her off of my lap, I looked down to see that my pants were soaked with a familiar smelling liquid. At first, I could not believe she would just go around peeing on people, until I realized I probably caused her to pee by giving her a horse lap ride by jiggling my leg. One of the women who worked at el Jardin de Ninos changed her clothes and told her not to pee on anyone again, but that instead she should ask to use the bathroom. After she did what she needed to do, her mood improved considerably as she was laughing and playing the rest of the day. I found other children to play with and became increasingly exhausted as the day progressed. Because of the children’s high energy, the group seemed to take shifts with play time. Half of us played with the kids until we became tired, while the other half prepared food. This routine continued for most of the day.

We played an organized balloon food eating contest with the children, prepared food for them and ate with them, and played individually with them. The day went by quickly and before we knew it, they were giving us a hand-signed thank you card before we had to leave. All of us were happy to spend the day with these balls of energy and found it extremely rewarding to interact with such innocent and lively children.
October 27, 2009 3:04 PM