A Room of My Own

Back in the U.S.A

2009-07-16T15:29:00.006-04:00

Well, after five months of studying in Chile, I am now back in sunny Minnesota. I finished off the program with my trip to the DESERT* sorry for the typo in the last entry.. its a hard word to spell! Although, it could kind of be considered to the dessert to top off my trip to Chile. My last trip was incredible, to recap all that we did I am going to copy down some excerpts from my journal.

Day 1: We went to Valle de la Luna and Valle de la muerte. The terrain is so hard to explain, it is a really dry desert but is topped with salt formations that look like crstals. We went through a cave that was twisty and windy but really cool. We saw rock formations called the three marias that were supposed to look like mother mary's praying. We made our back to the sand dunes of Valle de La Luna (Moon Valley) for the sunset. I meditated for a moment focusing on my feet gorwing into the earth, connecting me to this mysterious world with mountains that peak and sun that shines.

That night we went to the SPACE tour into the freezing desert night to learn about the constelations of the southern sky. The main guy explained to us about the southern cross and how to find scorpio and also told us that the nearest star to the earth would take 80,000 years to get to with the fastest rocket ship we have to day. Even if we traveled at the speed of light it would take 4.4 years to ge there.

Day 2: We went on a tour of the Flamenco conservatory, salt flats and Laguna Miscanti. It was crazy to see flamingos even though we weren't very close. It was also crazy to see the salt formations up close, it looked almost like quartz, they were so intricate. It wassuch an incredible place, you could turn in a full circle 360 degrees of complete beauty, mountains enclosing. The lagunas were beautiful in color, vibrant blues and greens that contrasted well with the desert terrain.

Day 3: We had a free morning so we woke on our own, did some yoga in the courtyard of our hostel, and made our way into town to do a little shopping in the overpriced touristy stores. Then we went to the local museum where I learned a lot about the history of the place. First of all, I learned that all native south americans came from Asia through the bearing straight as many as 40,000 years ago! Later, I learned that the influence of the Bolivians incorporated relgious and spiritual concepts. They cherished the sun as a deity and used the "Puerta del sol" or "door of the sun" which were tablets used for halucinating and coming in contact with the higher powers. I also learned about the Incas and how much terrain they actually conquered. They made their way down through about the middle of Chile, where the mapuche indigenous tribe foughtt hem off.

Later in the afternoon we went on another tour to Lagunas Cejas, which ended up being my favorite tour. Our first stop was a salt lagoon in the middle of nowhere, where you could swim but without having to kick your feet or move your arms. You floated with the water. It was such a cool feeling! Next, we went to a second lagoon which was basically like a mirror the water was so flat and reflected all the the mountains around it. Lastly, we arrived to the third lagoon which was bigger than the others and lined with big white salt deposits all around it. Here the sun was starting to go down and we saw some of the most spectacular views I have ever seen. The red mountains reflected in the lagoon as we watched the sun set and the moon rise. It moved my soul. After the sun went down, we piled back into our car and drove back to the town. The tour guide played pink floyd as we drove what seemed like a path to nowhere, watching the stars appear in the sky I felt more love for the world than I ever knew possible.

Day 4: Our last day of tours we got up at 3:30 in the morning for the Geyser tour. We got on a tour bus and drove about 2 hours up steep elevation to reach the top of a mountain where 64 gurgling geysers are located. It was incredible to see water boiling in the ground and shooting up like a real life waterfall. We watched the sunrise over these geysers, which was incredible, but my friend Kathleen got really sick with altitude sickness, which was scary! We went over to the other side of the geysers to this place where you could go swimming and I was struck again by the beauty of the world. The ride home from the geysers was incredible, full of wildlife and small little villages that you would never belive someone could actually live in. We stopped at one of these small villages and ate llama on a stick!! It was actually delicious :) After what seemsed like a really long day, we got back into the town around 12:30, I guess when you start your morning at 3:30 time seems different.

We ended the trip at this little coffee shop, playing cards and reminiscing about our favorite moments from Chile. It was an AWESOME trip which I will remember for the rest of my life.

The last three days of the trip were fairly rushed but I had a great going away dinner with my host family at a little seafood restaurant in Concon and got to spend a few quality moments with the friends I had made.

It seems like too big of an entry to write my reflection of my whole experience here now, so you will just have to wait a few days for a reflection of my experiences. All i will leave you with is that if you ever have the chance to study abroad or live abroad or go abroad, TAKE IT! It will honestly change your life.

Sending love from Lake minnetonka where I am currently laying out in the sun :)

Vanessa Lynn.

Volvemos a la energia del amor en nuestra madre tierra.

2009-07-03T17:05:00.002-04:00

Friends and family

I know its been too long since I've updated with my life. I just finished up my last week of classes in Chile! Which is crazy to think about, I turned in all of my last essays and took my last tests and to be honest feel a great sense of relief today. Although, when i left the campus of my school yesterday, I thought to myself how unbelievable that i would never return there as a student. I took pictures of the buildings and a few videos of my bus ride to school, because I think it is so beautiful.

Last night I had my very last celebration with my group of girlfriends here. We all met up at a hostel in Valparaíso, which was decorated really cool! Each room had its own theme with paintings of the city and really beautiful art work. It was a really cool old house, which no one else stayed in, so we had the whole house to ourselves. We made some tacos and brownies, drank some wine and just enjoyed each other's company. I have truly found something with these girls, they have seeped into my skin and my bones. We stayed up late talking and listening to music, all in one bed. Today I had to say goodbye to Maggie, as she goes on to Ecuador and Brazil for the rest of her summer. The rest of us girls are going on a trip this weekend though!

Today I am packing up to go to San Pedro Atacama, Chile's dessert. If you search on google for the "driest place on the planet" it will come up with this dessert. We are leaving early tomorrow morning, so we are sleeping in the Santiago airport tonight and then flying from there. We have a pretty busy schedule of events for the next couple of days, checking out massive sand dunes, salt flats, flamingo habitats and geysers! I can't wait to be in touch with the our mother nature (nuestra madre tierra).

I'll be back on Wednesday afternoon, and I will have until Saturday night here in Viña del Mar, before leaving to go back to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!! I can't believe that after almost 6 months of living outside of the country, I will be returning in just a little over a week.

I feel just about every emotion that exists about this. I am so happy to be going back into summer and seeing my family and my friends! But this place has become part of me, part of my soul. It will forever be in my heart...

Oh boy, well I'm off to enjoy a wonderful 5 days with darling friends in the dessert. It will be weird to have the 4th of July tomorrow, i feel so distant from that celebration. But i WILL celebrate for the love of my country :) Will update with pictures from this awesome trip when I get back.

Hope this finds you happy and full of love,

Vanessa.

A piece of Art.

2009-06-26T14:58:00.003-04:00

El amor lo cura todo

2009-06-23T17:28:00.004-04:00

Hi Guys :)

I am so sorry that I haven't updated in awhile. I am reaching the end of my program here, so I am swamped with homework assignments and trying to fit in all of the last things I want to do before I head back to the United States. I will be home on July 12th, which is about two and a half weeks from now! Sort of hard to imagine, but I am sure looking forward to being home. Mostly, I am excited for the warm weather :)

Since I am still swamped with school, I don't have a lot of time to write an update, but I would like to share some photos that i have taken over the past couple of weeks. Here they are:

Valparaíso is truly a beautiful city. These are some photos of the Valparaíso port, an ascensor (which is kind of like an elavator to go up all of the hills), some more local graffiti and a snapshot of AMELIE (a character from my favorite movie)

I've been living a lot, trying to take advantage of the beauty around me. This place has helped me grow so much, it will forever be in my heart. All of the things I have learned here and all of the people I have met... will forever by in my fondest of memories.

Off to write more of a paper so that I can make it to Salsa Dancing tonight!

Sending love and a kiss :)

*Nessagirl*

Ps -

"No hay mal que por bien no venga"
Roughly translated: Everything "bad" that happens causes some form of good.

FUTBOL!

2009-06-15T00:00:00.003-04:00

This past week was excitingly busy. I busied myself with all different types of fun, none of which included doing homework and now I find a million things piled up before me.

Most excitingly, i went to a soccer game between CHILE and BOLIVIA. This was such an awesome experience because Chile is actually doing really well this year. They are currently in third place in all of south america, and slowly creeping into second place. We left on wednesday afternoon around 4 to go into Santiago to the national stadium. We dressed in our newly purchased chilean soccer jerseys and hats and flags, etc. On the bus there we met a really awesome group of chileans who taught us a lot of the cheers and about the traditions of chilean soccer games. At the stadium, I learned more swear words than I new possible and just about lost my voice screaming one of the many cheers. Chile ended up winning 4 to 0, so needless to say it was a game full of excitement. There was a war between Chile and bolivia many many years ago over land in the north of chile. Bolivia was fighting for the territory that touched the ocean, because they wanted parted of the shoreline. Chile also wanted this land and ended up winning. For that reason, many of the cheers at the soccer game were about this war. For example, one cheer says..

" Ole ole ole, ole ole ole ola
los que no saltan no tienen mar'

or "those who aren't jumping don't have an ocean" and then all of the chileans start jumping up and down. When the cheer is over, the WAVE begins, starting at one end of the stadium all the way around. Just re-emphasizing that we have the ocean and they do not.

It was a great cultural experience and a ton of fun.

Another fun adventure of this week was yesterday when a few friends and I went into the Casablanca region to go wine tasting. Casablanca is about 45 minutes from here and has a lot of beauty in this small town. We went to a vineyard called Casa de la bosque. We learned a lot about the different types of wine, and how to tell what different scents each wine has. We tasted five different wines and then afterwards bought a bottle of one we hadn't tried yet. After the tour, we spent the afternoon drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers and chatting. All in all it was a fantastic day overlooking beautiful mountains and other scenery.

It is Sunday night now and I am exhausted so I am off to bed.

HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!!!!

*Vanessa*

Abrazame

2009-06-07T16:40:00.003-04:00

Amigos!

Sunday morning here, woke up to the sound of men walking on the road outside my window yelling.. "PALTA, PALMERA, PALTA" meaning he is selling avocado and these deliciously sweet pastry things. I can actually still hear him yelling. Oh chile...

I had a very restful and relaxing weekend. It started thursday night, since I don't have classes Friday (which is seriously the best thing ever) I went down to Cafe Vienes, which is this little bar down the street from my house. It has a great atmosphere because there are paintings hung on all of the walls and there is almost always a jazz group playing. It is a really nice atmosphere, other than way too much smoke. So I went down there with Elizabeth, Cali and Cali's friend who is visiting from the United States. We drank Pisco Sours, which is Chile's traditional drink. Ooo it was tasty! We talked about girl things and laughed a lot and went home relatively early.

Friday I didn't do much of anything, I woke up and had a video chat with Ryan, which was lovely. He leaves on Tuesday to go back to the United States. It is weird that he is leaving to go home, he feels weird about it too because Spain has been such a big part of his life and all of the sudden he just has to go home, back into his old life. It is like reverse culture shock. I'm so proud of all that he has done though. He has traveled so much through Europe and met so many new people. I like that boy.

I also cooked for most of the day with my host grandma. I wish i had a picture to post of her and I, we have become really good friends lately. Family ties here are incredible. My host grandma and host mom don't even get along that well, always bickering over small things, YET anytime my host mom needs help around the house my grandma is here to make dinner, clean the house, whatever she needs. And that is just the way things are here, you just do that for the people in your family. It is sort of beautiful really.

I don't really feel like giving a night by night recap of my weekend, but instead telling you how blessed I am with the friendships i have made here. I don't know how I got so lucky.. I think the world heard my calling before I left for Chile about the need for new wonderful people in my life. (Not that the old people aren't wonderful too!) But I have met the girls who have truly melted themselves into my heart. Girls who are so strong and capable and goofy and loving. Girls who are so smart, intelectually and emotionally, but have no problem going wild, laughing until they cry or talking about poop for hours (its a strong asset).

I spent a lot of time with them last weekend and this weekend as well, and couldn't be more thankful. Thank you world for blessing me with lifelong friendships.

Love,
Vanessa.

Open Air Museum

2009-05-30T18:45:00.003-04:00

On Thursday my friend Sarah and I took a walk through the "museo del aire libre" or Open air museum which is a collection of murals and paintings on the walls of these streets. The point of the museum is to get lost in the city's beauty, so it doesn't really have a set out order. It was great to be inspired my the talent of Valparaiso.

These are just a few of many inspirational photos from this incredible place.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend :)

*Vanessa*

Valparaiso, Mi Amor

2009-05-24T21:02:00.005-04:00

Queridos Lectores (dearest readers)

I've been living up some cultural/touristy things in Valparaiso lately.. trying to soak up all that I can in my last two months here. I will write you a little list of all of the fun things I have done.

1. Lancha Tour of Valparaiso Bay: Kathleen and her boyfriend who was visiting from the U.S invited me to go out on a boat tour of the bay of Valparaiso. We took a "collectivo" boat, which means that is full of all different families and people. The tour was only about a half an hour long, but we went by a lot of naval boats, boats that ship out Chilean fruits and vegetables, some sea lions, and we saw some beautiful views looking back on Valparaiso. This little boy, no older than 13 gave us our tour, explaining to us a little bit about the history of Valparaiso. He was very cute and a really good worker. It was cool to be out on the bay for several reasons, one because that is where all of this area was started. Valparaiso started as nothing more than a port town, where boats would stop on there way around the southern tip of South America and come up to the other side of the Americas. Also, it was cool because a lot of the literature written about Chile takes place in that bay. So many of Pablo Neruda's famous poems are about that bay, as well as Manuel Rojas. So that was neat to be there.

2. Chorillana @ Casino Social J. Cruz: A Chorillana is one of Valparaiso's typical foods. It is a greasy plate of french fries, covered in steak meat, onions and an egg. It sounds as delicious/gross as it is. The place where we went is supposedly the very first place to invent this meal. It took as awhile to find it because it really is a hole in the wall.. impossible to find because it is down this little alley. When we walked in, it was covered with random photos and extremely awkward statues. Haha, it was an interesting place. The food was wonderfully disgusting but there was no way we could finish all of it.

3. Celebration of 21 de Mayo: The 21st of May is a huge celebration in chile, i believe it celebrates the winning of the war against peru for the top part of land that is now considered part of Chile. Anyway, it is a huge celebration of all of the military forces and the president comes to Valparaiso to give a speech. She gave her speech (bc chile's president is a woman, how cool!) But then there was basically a HUGE parade around the city, full of all types of military men and women. It was complete caos to be honest! People running from one street to the next, trying to find where the other part of the parade was. Very chilean, if you will.

4. Flamenco Show at Teatro Municipal de Valparaiso: Last night I went to a show of flamenco dancers in a really old theater in Valparaiso. The theater was filled with character and little quirks, I really loved the design. The dancers were beyond incredible! A woman who works at my study abroad program was actually one of the dancers, she was also probably the best dancer out there! The colors were incredible as were there movements. A couple of times throughout the show the had spanish guitarists and spanish singers, ooo it actually brought a tear to my eye it was so beautiful. I don't have any photos yet

So those are just a couple of things I've been up to here in this city. Lately I have kind of had the home bug, meaning i've kind of wanted to be home... I gotta snap out of it because there is so much to see and so much to do here, I need to just live it all up!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, more updates to come :)

*Vanessa*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

2009-05-20T11:23:00.002-04:00

I´m sorry, I hate to give away your age.... but today my dad is turning 50!!!!

He is currently out being adventurous like always, hiking the grand canyon and exploring more of Arizona. He is always on some kind of an adventure!

Five little things I love about my dad
1. He still opens every door for me when we are out together.
2. He calls me bubba and always refers to himself as ¨pops¨ (even though i´ve never called him that)
3. He always wants to go out for breakfast at the original pancake house
4. He consistently reminds me to ¨not take this day for granted¨
5. He reminds me at least once weekly how much he loves me and proud he is of me.

I LOVE YOU DAD! I hope you have a FANTASTIC 50th BIRTHDAY FULL OF CELEBRATION!

Wish I could be there with you today, but I did happen to pick you up a little chilean birthday present, so when I get back it will be coming your way.

Sending all of my love,

Vanessa.

Dr. Dr. Sick in Bed

2009-05-14T17:29:00.002-04:00

So it has been far too long since I've updated. It has been a crazy week and half that seemed to have flown by, without really being conscious of it. I guess for starters a couple of big things happened.

1. When I returned back from my trip to La Serena, a large sum of money was stolen from its hiding place in my room and all of the signs pointed to the fact that our maid took it. So that was a really hard week because it was an awkward position of accusing people and feeling taken advantage. In the end, we fired the maid and my host mom is paying me back for the money taken. (Since I was not given a secure locked box to hold important documents, which was required by my abroad program)

2. I somehow got super sick! I was feeling not 100% on Tuesday, but figured I was just sleepy and bogged down with a lot of work. But when i woke up Wednesday morning I knew something was up, I had an exam Wednesday morning and so I took it and then came home and slept all day long (for 6 hours) When my host mom came home we took my temperature and it was 101.3! Which is pretty high for an adult. So anyway I just took it easy and got a ton of sleep. Today I woke up feeling just as bad and went to the doctor and it turns out i have tonsilitis! I know this is gross, but I came home and looked at my tonsils in the mirror and There were huge and had big white dots on them. Eeew!

So I guess I would say I have good reason that I haven't updated! Other, less somber things... last weekend I went to a really fun party on the beach, a discoteque with a bunch of friends. I also went to Olmue (small village where host mom's boyfriend has family cabin) for Mother's day on Sunday.

HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY MOMMA! (i know we talked, but did you get my post card and email?)

Other than that, I went to the regular Tuesday night salsa sessions, and I think I'm getting pretty good. Haha, that might be my biased opinion someday I'll take video and pics of the event. It is so much fun! I love doing it!

Oh, and I went on an excursion with a bunch of girls from my study abroad group and we went to this museum and had a really nice afternoon in Valparaiso. Here are some photos:

So I'm supposed to stay in bed pretty much until I feel better, so this has the possibility of being a super boring weekend, haha.

Sending a restful and healthy weekend,

Vanessa.

La Serena, Vicuña y Valle de Elqui

2009-05-04T18:05:00.005-04:00

I was fortunate enough to travel again this past weekend. I traveled with two girlfriends, Cali and Elizabeth and we traveled north up the coast. It was fun to be on an adventure and fun to explore! We learned a lot in these three short days of traveling.

We left friday morning at 8:00am and were on the bus alll day until about 5:0opm when we got into La Serena. We checked into a cute little hostel, with a really quaint family feel. We explored the town a little bit, found some really cool art shops and then had a nice dinner in town. We also got ice cream after which always makes for a great day. The town was pretty upscale, but the buildings were very old, which was a really nice feel.

Saturday morning we explore La Serena a bit more, and then took a 2 o clock bus to Vicuña, which was a fairly small town, which felt very much in the countryside. Everything was just a little smaller and a little slower there. We really liked the feel of it though, the people were very friendly and we were surrounded everywhere by mountains. We checked into another hostel, which was a house owned by an older german woman. She was so friendly! No one else was staying there so the three of us girls got reign over the kitchen, the living room and our really comfy room and bathroom. We explored the town a bit and visited the museum of Gabriela Mistral (famous chilean poet) For dinner, made a delicious stir fry (which we bought all of the ingredients for 3 dollars since it was all vegetables and we were in farmlands) then Saturday night we went to an Astronomers Observatory. This was rated one of the 6 best places in the WORLD to view stars, given the caliber of the telescope and clarity of the sky. It was an incredible experience! We were up in the middle of nowhere for about 2 hours which just 6 other people and two guides who knew EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING. The coolest thing was seeing the moon up close through the telescope. i REALLY liked that part. We learned so much in that short 2 hour period!

Sunday morning we got up and ate a delicious meal served by our Germany hostel lady, then we took a bus into Valle de Elqui... the bus ride in was incredible, passing the greenest vineyards surrounded by the mountains and the bluest sky. We took a tour of a pisco vineyard (pisco is a type of alcohol that is typical to chile and peru and is made from the fermentation of grapes) The tour was really interesting and gave us some free taste testing and then an entire pisco sour at the end. We took all of our tours in spanish, and it was a really great way to practice. it was also cool that we were learning so much in a hands-on way. I really enjoyed my time there. After the tour, we took a little lunch break where we are out picnic we had packed for ourselves (sandwhiches with fresh avocado, tomato and cheese - again purchased lunch for under 3 dollars in TOTAL) Then we embarked on about a 1.5 mile walk through the Valley into another small town, Monte Grande. This walk was so gorgeous and filled with natural beauty. In Monte Grande we viewed Gabriel Mistrals house and then took a bus back to get our stuff in Vicuña, ate another delicious dinner with some friend we met in the hostel, and took the bus back to La Serena.

Unfortunately, the trip ended a little bit on a bad note. We thought we had tickets for the middle of the night 1am on sunday night or monday morning, but we had been confused and the tickets were actually for Sunday morning at 1 am, meaning saturday night... so we were stuck in the bus terminal without a way back. We waited another 2 hours, until 3 in the morning where we boarded a bus back to Santiago, (because none were going to our place) and then took a 2 hour bus back to Viña del mar. Needless to say I am very tired today!

But all in all it was a great trip! Pretty relaxed but also a ton of fun. Cali and Elizabeth were really good travel partners who stayed upbeat the whole time and always seemed interested in doing the same things i was interested in doing! Overall it was a great experience! I feel so lucky to be out and seeing the world!!

Sending Adventures your way,

Nessagirl.

Momma's and Steve's Visit

2009-04-27T16:14:00.002-04:00

We had a really great 9 days together, it went by extremely quickly though, almost within the blink of an eye. I have got to get used to time flying because it always seems to do that here. Here are some photos of our trip: Fisherman in Zapallar (the beach town we visited), "La Chascona" which is one of Pablo Neruda's homes, bike tour of santiago, me infront of awesome graffiti and mom&me. It was a really great trip!

Thanks so much for coming all the way out here to visit me Mom and Steve, it really was nice to have a little taste of home!

My mom and I talked this morning about what home is anyway. Home isn't a place i've decided. I have a home in Minnesota, but also one in Arizona(dad), in Pennsylvania(school), in California(ryan) and now in Chile. So instead of associating a certain place with home, I just have to carry my "home" around with me on my shoulders.. "wherever i lay my hat, is home"

Hope you all had a nice weekend as well!

*Vanessa*

Please say he doesn't wear a gold chain, please :)

2009-04-23T14:22:00.003-04:00

This afternoon I am sitting in my room, listening to Mason Jennings and packing up for my weekend trip with my Mom and her boyfriend Steve. We are leaving in about an hour to go to Zapallar ( a small beach town a little north from here ). We are staying there just tonight and the day tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to drive into Santiago and spend Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night in Santiago. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and exploring this beautiful country I have been living in.

here are some photos of the beautiful weather and relaxing times we have had at my parents hotel:

Completely unrelated...

Isn't it crazy how you can listen to a song and be completely taken back to a place, a moment? I am always amazed that I could totally forget about a moment from my past but then the second music hits me just right, everything comes surging back .. deeper than a photograph. Today I have been listening to Mason Jennings all day (as I mentioned before) and I listened to a song called "Something about your love" and I was taken back immediately to last summer when I went to visit Ryan. I left four days after getting out of school and we spent about two weeks driving the California coast. We saw a Mason Jennings concert my first night in town and that was the first time he played the song "Something about your love" and Ryan and I were there to witness it! About a week later, his new album came out while Ryan and I were hanging out in San Francisco. I remember walking into this record store and buying two copies of it, one for me and one for Ry. We came back to our hotel, put the CD in Ry's computer and listened to the whole album. For me it was one of the happiest moments ... just reminiscing :)

Something about your lovee... ooooh something about your love
aint no modern love gonna set me free
like the kind of love that you give to me
I'm coming home to be with you
something about your love... oooh something about your love.

Hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend,

Vanessa.

Rabuco (pueblito en el campo)

2009-04-18T11:01:00.002-04:00

My program took a small day trip to a little pueblo in the middle of the countryside... We went to a grape factory that produces grapes for Dole! We learned to dance the queca (chile's national dance) and competed in some universal field games like a sack race and carrying an egg on a spoon. It was some quality time with some good friends.

Today my mom and her boyfriend Steve came in from the United States to visit me!!! We had a wonderful day walking through Viña along the ocean. It is absolutely perfect today, sunny and bright!! Then we went to the botanical gardens to celebrate the birthday of one of my good friends. It was so cool to have my mom and steve there.

Now i am relaxing a bit before we go out to dinner tonight with my host family and me! Its going to be a lot of translating, haha.

Besos,

Vanessa.

That Great Feeling

2009-04-14T17:52:00.003-04:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you all so much for your comments about my feeling homesick, I hope you know how much your words impact me. And luckily, I am now feeling much better. I have been thinking that even though I think I will always miss being away from my family and friends and home, I am only here for such a short period of time so I need to live it up!

I have a really great moment yesterday.. I walked down to get on the bus to go to my class, just like any other day here. And i walked onto the bus and there was a man standing and playing the guitar and singing beautifully in spanish. The music flowed through the bus, but no one even noticed, it was just another day to them. We took the bus along the coast (cause that is how you get to my university) and i looked out and pondered the vast seas that flow. To everyone else this was just another day on the bus, but for me... it was another reminder that I am in CHILE and the world really is a wonderful place.

Other than that, I bought a plant. I bought a plant of orange gerbera daisies, (my favorite) and they are currently sitting happily and healthily in my room. They really do light up a space.

Un mar de sueños,

nessa.

Some photos of Valparaiso

2009-04-12T17:33:00.002-04:00

Valparaiso isn't the most beautiful city on first glance, it isn't fancy and it isn't modernized and in all honesty it is quite dangerous. But i have really fallen in love with the colors of life of this place. I don't like here, but my classes are there. The colors just lighten up my life. Back in the day, people didn't have enough money to buy paint for their houses so they would wait for the sailers to come into shore. The sailers would always paint their ships before going into the shore, for best appearnce, so they would give their extra paint to the people. That is why there are so many vibrant colored houses. It didn't matter to them what the color was, or if they even had enough paint to cover the whole thing.. they would paint their house half red and half green if that was the only option they had. Pretty interesting stuff.

I visited a really cool cemetery ( i think that is an oxy moron) But it is really old and has a lot of cool stories to it. This is the grave of a woman Emilie Dubois who was actually a theif and a murderer! She would rob and kill the rich and give to the poor. She actually killed a lot of people, and so she was jailed and when she was buried her bones were just thrown into a pile with other criminals. However, the poor people of Chile saw her as a hero.. almost like a Robin Hood figure. So a lot of money was saved up to make a nice shrine place and her grave is the most visited grave in Valparaiso. Criminals and prostitutes worship her and there are signs everywhere thanking her for what she helped them to achieve. So interesting!

Sending inner peace,

vanessa.

Feeling Sad.

2009-04-07T16:52:00.003-04:00

Today I am feeling sad, I am feeling homesick and I am feeling exhausted.

All of this fun is finally catching up to me, it isn't easy being so far away from everything you are comfortable with. I feel really honored to be able to travel and explore like I have been doing, but I should note that there are times when I want nothing more but the comfort of a familiar place. That which is especially hard is the distance between my boyfriend Ryan and I. We always have a long distance relationship, but it is very difficult to stay connected while we are so far apart. I also feel distant from my parents, although I can talk to them easier (since they are just in the U.S) and I don't feel like i need that every day communication, but I do feel far away from them.

I had a scary realization today, that I am getting old, growing up... but I am not quite ready for it. I have been living far away from my family since I moved to college, only seeing each other occasionally, but it is all starting to catch up with me. As you most likely know, my dad is living in Arizona now, my mom in Minnesota and me in Pennsylvania (or Chile right now) Even if I were to move back to Minnesota, I still wouldn't be in the presence of both of my parents. Plus, I don't want to settle down in Minnesota. But I DO want to lead a life where I am very close with my parents.

It is also hard with friends, I feel as though the friendships I have and the friendships I am making are wonderful, but it is almost impossible to be forever lasting because they live all over the country. On the one hand, it is wonderful because I will have friends in every region of the country to visit.. but in terms of a day to day schedule.. I am ready for something settled, for something permanent. I am ready for a daily life that isn't always changing from Pennsylvania to Minnesota, or Arizona to Home, or the U.S to chile. I am looking for a family that is settled.. not having to travel just to see a loved one.. and even for being in a relationship where I don't have to travel a million miles just to see the person.

Everything is so temporary, and I don't think it will be permanent for a very long time. So what do I do? At this moment, the only thing that is permanent is my relationship with myself. I am always with me. I will always be there for myself, so that is the goal of right now. To develop a relationship with myself that is unbreakable, unbeatable... to have a strong internal force, to learn about myself and to grow!

I don't think there is any better place to do it than right here, in Chile, being challenged yet being supported. Ironically my angel card of the day was "resilience."

keep on fighting nessagirl!

cheers to working on strengthening our individual selves,

vanessa.

ps - feelings of sadness are normal, please don't judge.

Brittany Spears

2009-04-03T12:00:00.002-04:00

Buenos Dias!

Last night I went out with two of my gringa friends and then a group of Chilean boys and girls that I just met last night. One of the boys I met was very flamboyant with very tight pants and danced in his seat almost the entire night. After people were getting ready to go, he asked if we wanted to go with him to another bar. So, four of us girls walked over to the next bar that just so happened to be a gay bar.

I have never been to a gay bar before, and my oh my was it an experience!! There was a screen behind the bar that played every Brittany Spears song along with the music videos to each. The bar was packed with Chilean men who couldn't understand a word of english yet knew EVERY WORD to EVERY SINGLE SONG that Brittany sang. Not only that, but a lot of them knew the exact choreographed dances to the songs. The boy we went with knew all the dances and loved showing us, haha. He was actually pretty good at them. He also practiced his soprano singing skills with me.

After an hour or two I thought I was exhausted of watching men in tight shirts kiss, I was about to leave when the lights went out and the stage lit up. To my great surprise, there was a drag show on the bar! The first person to get on looked so much like a woman! She wore a tiny little jean jacket and a jean skirt that barely covered anything. The next person wore a long white dress, and danced almost a tango. Truly an experience of a lifetime :)

I don't know much about the Chilean society in terms of homosexuality, one would think that because it is so Catholic it would not be acceptable. I loved being in a place where everyone felt so comfortable being themselves, even if it was a wee bit awkward for me at first. It was cool to see people with the freedom to express themselves.

Celebrating Brittany Spears and awesome gay guys,

*nessagirl*

Clocks and Classes

2009-04-02T08:56:00.002-04:00

A note about the culture of Chile:

All of my literature classes have been cancelled today so that the students and professors may attend the protest that is going on in Valparaiso today. This will be the 5th class cancelled for one of my courses, and we have been in session for 4 weeks. They just push the material for that day back to the next class period. Apparently, if they push it back too much then it just continues on until you no longer have a break. Craziness.

Just another little side note: There are no clocks in our house. There is one alarm clock in my mom's room but she never uses it. There is, however a church right outside of our apartment that rings every hour on the hour. This is honestly how my host family figures out the time. It is no wonder that they don't leave the house until the time they are supposed to be there because if they are supposed to be somewhere at 2, they wait till they hear 2 bells and then they leave. How fascinating.

Sometimes I get frustrated with how late people are here, or how they walk so slowly, not understanding that you have to be somewhere. But since thinking about it, I have realized that we are slaves to the clock in the U.S. My lifestyle there is something that can be written down on a calendar, knowing ahead of time where I will be at every moment. I realized that this place gives you more time to create your life, maybe it is just my life here compared to my life in the U.S but I suddenly feel liberated from the hands of the clock.

Find some time to liberate yourself today from the ticking of minutes.

Sending Love,

Vanessa.

p.s - here is a poem I wrote yesterday

Pewen

Fruta saborosa mia,
decoras tu cuerpo con armadura
como un soldado en guerra.
Pero que estas luchando?
Para que necesitas este proteccion?

La dulzura de tu mismo
esta escondido a mis ojos
debajo de tu concha dura
porque no abres para mi?

Yo ofrece mi boca lista
y tu como el pewen,
eres dificil a pelar.
Ahora ensucio mis manos
para revelar
el sabor de tu corazon.

Translation:

Pewen ( a type of fruit)

Flavorful fruit of mine
you decorate your body with armor
like a soldier in war
But what are you fighting?
Why do you need protection?

The sweetness of your self
is hidden from my eyes
underneath your hard shell
why wont you open for me?

I offer my ready mouth
and you, like the fruit
are difficult to peal.
Now i dirty my hands
to reveal
the flavor of your soul.

Finally Back :)

2009-03-31T10:17:00.004-04:00

Here are some photos of my incredible trip:

The trip taught me a lot about life as it was a lot of hard work. I think the biggest lesson I learned is that even when things are looking straight uphill and you are exhausted, you should keep going, because almost always there is a peak that is so worth the hike. Metaphor for life... when things are looking tough just keep putting one foot in front of the other because it is worth fighting to get to the other side. I also learned a lot about balancing personalities and how to deal with 7 girls feelings. I had some practice with leadership and also learned a lot about being a follower. It was an excellent trip!! We had such a great time, lots of laughter.. which is always fun.

Even though the trip was great, I was very happy to be back in my Chilean home with a comfy bed and sheets that only I have slept in! Haha.. also it was so wonderful to have food to eat at all times, instead of just relying on the tortillas and cheese we carried throughout the trip. Of course, it was also nice to see my host family. I really did feel like this was my home when I came back, which is an excellent feeling.

Finally, this week I have a lot of schoolwork. So I have been busy working on that as well as just getting unpacked, laundry done etc. Yesterday was my first day back of classes and it went pretty well. I saw a boy from my class out at a bar a couple of weeks ago, and so I talked to him yesterday in class. After class, he invited me and my other gringa friend Kathleen for a cup of coffee.. there we met up with a bunch of his friends and it was great just hanging out with chileans. They are all literature students so I have several classes with them! So hopefully I can make friends with them :)

Off to dance class now.. you should see my professor dance. he shakes better than Shakira ( no joke!!!)

"You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
you gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
you gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you got to sing together
all i know is love will save the day"

... Vanessa...

Losing Sight of Shores

2009-03-19T18:35:00.002-04:00

Dear Readers,

Tonight I am embarking on my adventure. I am really looking forward to it, and realizing that this is one of the most adventurous things I have ever done! Going on a trek to the southernmost point of the world (not including antarctica) with 6 other girls I just met 3 weeks ago! It is fun to be on an adventure, a place not widely traveled. I can't wait to get back and show you photos of all that I have seen. I have heard that this place has what feels almost like mystical powers, I am going with an open heart and I can't wait to be inspired.

(In case you don't know what I'm talking about, scroll down to the bottom of my last post, I outline all that I am going to be doing over the next 10 days!)

I am hoping to find internet access in one of the several hostels that we are staying in, but I am not certain. So I wish you all a very happy 10 days and I will update when I get back.

Thanks for reading!

Here are some photos of the entire fam:

Celebrating love,

Vanessa.

Susie Blue

2009-03-15T10:36:00.005-04:00

It is amazing the power of music, I don't understand how it has the power to move mountains and shake the sky! What is your favorite song? That is too hard of a question, what is the song that you most enjoy in this exact moment? I will leave a list of the songs I'm moved by today.

1. Freddie Freeloader - Miles Davis
2. Stars Shine Quietly - Mason Jennings
3 . Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin
4. Susie Blue - Ben harper
5. Love and Happiness - Al Green
6. I know - Meghan Smith
7. Cowgirl Lovesong - Lake Street Dive
8. Back up this train - Al green
9. Rock Me Baby - B.B King
10. Un Amor - Gypsy Kings

Go to the itunes store and listen to them, if you're anything like me your bones will even wiggle with these tunes.

Today is a beautiful sunday and I am about to spend the day at my host mom's aunts home which is really close to the beach and has a pool, and there is also raquetball and paddle ball to play! It should be a fun day :) I ran this morning, down to the beach! Any day I see the beach I am happy, and so far I have seen the beach EVERY day since I've been here haha, maybe that explains the smiling.

It has been a amazing weekend here, I went to the 'farmers market" full of fruits and vegetables yesterday with my host family. It was a ton of fun.. so full of color! I swear the fair itself was a work of art! Here are some pics from it...

In other exciting news, it has now been exactly 4 weeks since I've been here! It is hard to believe that a month has already passed, although it doesn't quite feel that long because I've only been with my host family for 2.5 weeks, which I feel like was the real start of my experience here. I have read a lot of studying abroad materials and almost every resource says that for the first while you are in the "honeymoon" stage where you are so in love with the country! It says that after awhile things kind of slow down and you start missing home for a little, and then after that you mellow out and are sort of in between that honeymoon and the homesick stage. I would love to stay in this honeymoon stage, haha!

Other exciting news, I am going on my first excursion here next week!
Thursday the 19th of March: Overnight bus to Pucon, Chile (9 hrs south of here)
Friday 20th: Indigenous Village (learning about their customs and participating in a lot of traditions with them!)
Saturday 21st: Choice between hang gliding, climbing the volcano, white water rafting or taking horses up the volcano. I'm not sure which of the options i want to do!
Sunday 22nd: Visiting hot springs!

From there, I have planned a week long trip down even further south. Not quite to the "end of the world" in Tierra Del Fuego, but almost the southern tip. This is the southernmost place in the world, besides Antarctica of course! We (me and 6 other girls on my program) are going to explore, do hiking and see the world. Here is our plan

Sunday 22nd: Take a bus from Pucon to Puerto Montt (6 hr bus ride)
Monday 23rd: Fly from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas
Take an immediate bus to Puerto Natales
Explore Puerto Natales, settle into Hostel
Tuesday 24th: Visit Torres Del Paine national park
Do an all-day hike to the Torres del Paine lookout spot
Wednesday 25th: Take a boat to the other side of Torres Del Paine
Climb the Lago Grey Trail
Thursday 26th: Rent Kayaks and kayak through the glacial water!
Take bus back to Punta Arenas and stay the night there
Friday 27th: Go to the Island of Penguins!!
Saturday 28th: Fly home to Santiago
Take bus to Viña del Mar and sleep in own bed!

It has been so fun researching these plans, plus it has been a lot of spanish practice since I had to go to the travels agency and call around to different hostels and everything. It has been fun. So I don't usually talk about money too much, but we already purchased all of the plane trips and bus trips through our Travel Agency.. and guess how much it is? In total!! For all of the traveling, it is $200 US Dollars. The Hostel we are staying in is $10 a night... So we're being pretty thrifty and getting an awesome deal!

here are some pics i stole from google of Torres Del Paine

Feeling really lucky for all of this natural beauty and all of these opportunities.. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for letting me come here, and thanks everyone else too so giving me the courage to do all of this adventuring!

Besos from Chile!!!!

*Vanessa*

Manijar rocks my world.

2009-03-11T19:05:00.003-04:00

Como estaispo?
(a typical chilean greeting, accompanied by un "besito" a kiss on the cheek)

I'm still feeling happy. I don't know what it is about this place that keeps the corners of my lips turned upwards haha.. I guess I am exaggerating by saying that I am smiling all the time.. but everyday i have that feeling, that feeling like there is nowhere else i would rather be. i like that feeling.

today i was leaving one of my classes and trying to race to another class to get there in time. in the U.S i probably would have been grumpy and anxious trying to get to class on time, here though, it is impossible! Because as i was speed walking i passed a farmers market the size of a gigantic macy's store full of only fruits, vegetables, flowers and fresh fish. imagine all of the colors on a color wheel right in front of you and all stuff that you can touch and even EAT! that is how I imagine heaven, haha.. colorful and full of wonderful food :)

I have had all of my classes at least one time now, and I am pretty content with them. I am taking :

1. Universal Themes of LIterature
2. Contemporary Spanish Literature
3. Chilean Culture and Composition
4. Typical Chilean Dance
5. Valparaiso: The history, film and literature

Keep in mind, all but two are with all other chilean students so it isn't exactly going to be a breeze in the park.. but hopefully they are all do-able! For monday I have to read 100 pages of Voltaire in SPANISH! I can't even understand Voltaire in English so we'll see.. haha, the professor told me to first read it in english though, so that I understand the concepts. She also said that when the other students have exams, i will not take the same exam as them. That is nice, because this class is going to be really difficult. The other ones seem pretty good though, like they will challenge me but I will for sure be able to finish them.

other interesting things... i feel like i could probably write a book write now with all that is new or different or scary or exciting but i will spare you. i'll do some bullet points..

* went out dancing until 5 in the morning like a typical chilean, i danced salsa merengue regaton and pop
* went to a house party where 5 chileans had a huge drum circle and played like crazy while everyone else danced
* went to the beach where the women next to me had a seizure!! we had to call the ambulance and everything!!
* went to a bar where there were acrobats (cirque de solei style) climbing on cloth right next to me!
* went to an intense soccer game where there was a huge fire and a stampede!!
* went to a coffee house and drank mate the customary way, where everyone passes it around!
* made new chilean friends!
* talked for hours with my host mom about relationships and men, haha (in spanish of course!)
* ate mussels and clams and seabass and all types of fish

here are some photos of my fam!

pretty cute, huh?

ok i'm off to reading about a nudist indigenous village in the southernmost point of chile where there are only 30 members left and only 2 who speak the original language! isn't it crazy that an entire culture can be erased???

besos y abrazos (kisses and hugs)

vanessa.
(bah-nay-sahhh)

Snapshots of my new home :)

2009-03-04T10:20:00.003-05:00

View from my room :)

My pretty bed, penguin included

The Kitchen

Living Room and Dinner Table (my fav place)

Now you have at least a little bit of an idea where I am at :) Wish you were all here with me!

*Vanessa*

Finally

2009-03-03T12:27:00.000-05:00

note: will post pics later :)

Amigos,

Sorry it has been so long since I updated. A lot has happened, and I don’t want to write a novel so I am going to do some bullet points since the last time I wrote.

• I moved into my new home!
• I live with a host mom and host sister
• My mom’s name is Rossana and she is a stock brocker here in Chile, she is so loving and easy going and great for conversation. She is independent and strong but also feminine and maternal.
• My host sisters name is Valentina, she is 14 and loves to surf! She is absolutely gorgeous with long dark hair and a tall and skinny frame. She is more introverted but also very sweet, we have started to become good friends.
• My room is darling (see pics)
• So far the people on my program are incredible! I couldn’t have asked for a better group. Not only are they easy going, but also seekers of all types of knowledge. They love to go out and have fun, but they more enjoy the style of fun I have, relaxed. No one dresses up to go out (maybe a little on the weekend) its very tranquil and a great time.
• I’m just choosing my classes now, so I don’t know what they will be yet. They start next Monday, I’m a bit nervous about that.

Now that we’re caught up a bit, I feel like writing about the way I feel instead of what I’ve been doing in every moment.

Honestly, I’ve been here two weeks and I already feel like a new person. My eyes are so wide, like a newborn baby taking in all that this world has to offer. Because everything is new, it is sort of like a new start. I am questioning why I do things the way I do, or why we believe certain things in the U.S. One astonishing thing here, is that they talk about weight very often. If someone is very skinny they say, “ay, flaquita” which means, oh my little skinny girl. Sort of like a term of endearment. Likewise, they also say “ay, gordita” which means oh my little fat girl. When I first heard it, I was thinking to myself oh my god, I can’t believe how rude they are. But they say it as a term of endearment and no one seems to mind. Also, for a black person, they say “negrito” meaning little black boy. This is so politically incorrect in the U.S. What I realized though, is that it is us in the United States that gives value to people being skinny. Here, it is more just an observation like oh that girl is a little chubby… rather than judging her thinking, oh man that girl is so fat. I explained to my host mom that in the U.S we would never call someone fat because they would be offended. And she was shocked! I told her about all of the pressures to be thin, and she was appalled by it! Which is funny to me because she is very thin and “beautiful” according to U.S standards. That was just an observation I made, that because I am used the united states standards of beauty I think of “gordita” as bad, instead of a characteristic like brown hair or brown eyes.

Bueno, I am going to go out now so I can’t write much more… other than I have felt truly happy for the past week. I feel happiness in my bones, down to my core, shining on corners and crevices that haven’t seen light in some time. I feel full, like my blood is warm. It feels good.

Hope you have the full feeling today,

Nessagirl.