Do you love the 80s???? Like really really love the 80s???
If you said yes then you should most definitely make your way down to Chile, because they are stuck in the 80s as far as fashion goes!!
For men the mullet is the ONLY acceptable haircut here (insert barfing noises). I am not kidding. This is not a joke. Mullets are everywhere I go and I always want to take pictures but I’m too scared they’ll notice and ask me questions, or worse break my camera!!! But anyway, if the regular old mullet is too tame for you I’ve seen a mullet that makes all the other mullets look…well almost normal. I am talking about the infamous dread/mullet combo!!!!!!!!! That’s right business in the front, dreads in the back. It involves super short hair in the front and dreads that don’t quite reach your butt in the back. I almost vommed everywhere when I first saw this ‘do’ so now when I see regular old mullets I am relieved.
Men’s fashion is mostly high top sneakers with your choice of either acid wash jeans OR white jeans. Then on top they have the lovely crew neck sweatshirts or northface looking jackets (side note: If you wear actual northface here it is very VERY obvious that you are a foreigner).
Now for the ladies the hair is not so extreme. Many Chilean women just have very long hair, but unfortunately it’s not 80s voluminous hair with a whole can of hairspray in it. They also wear the crew neck sweatshirts along with scarves that mostly have floral patterns on them. They wear this under their leather jackets! The girls either wear acid wash skinny jeans/jeggings or leggings as pants. But these are not just your regular everyday black leggings (how boring would that be?!) these are patterned leggings. Usually floral patterns once again. For shoes the girls also wear the high top sneaks OR ankle boots that more often than not have heels. Why you would wear boots with heels when you walk on uneven sidewalks all day, I do not know! But they do!
So there you go! A lovely description of Chilean fashion. I REALLY hope that the 80s make a come back in the states so that all my friends born after the 80s can witness this glorious sight!
Besitos,
Gaby
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
La Vida Diario (daily life)
And now a day in the life....in pictures!!!
First I wake up and open the blinds and see this
After eating breakfast and getting ready for school I go to the bus stop wait around till I see the right one and hop on a micro.
Okay this isn't actually the micro I take, mine is blue and much prettier.
And here is Plaza Miraflores, which is where I get off the micro then walk across a bridge to my school. I'd give more details but I'm becoming Chilean so I will just tell you the bare bones of my walk to school.
This is my school! But remember this building is actually an empty high school, the university is in another location that I'm not allowed to go to because of the protests being violent and all. But good news! They put a microonda (microwave) in the school, so no more weird sandwiches for me!
After a long day of classes (okay I actually only had one class today and it didn't start until 11:45). I retire to my bedroom to do some of my reading for my one class. And this is the view from my desk.
Well I hope you all enjoyed seeing instead of reading about my daily adventures!
Hopefully the next post I can update you on Chilean fashion :)
Abrazos,
Gaby
Saturday, August 6, 2011
La Huelga (Strike)
Before I tell all of you about my first week of school I feel like I should explain why the Chileans students are protesting. That way all of you gringos (whiteys) will understand why my first week of school was so absurd.
The college students all over Chile are protesting the price of education here. Basically what has happened is the education system has become a way for the government to make money, making the price of education very expensive (much like in the U.S. let’s be real, it’s RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE). But unlike in the U.S. they don’t give out scholarships for every little thing to help the families pay. So that being said the low/middle class are unable to pay for college without taking out an obscene amount of loans, which take years and years to pay back. (Hmmm doesn’t all of this sound familiar). Now the biggest difference is that if you do not go to college and instead get a job directly after high school you are pretty much stuck with that low paying job for the rest of your life. There’s really no way to move up the corporate ladder here. Which means that if you have a minimum wage job you can’t pay for your kids education so they have to get low paying jobs and can’t pay for their kids education etc. etc. It’s a vicious cycle.
So when you hear this you think to yourself “wow, no wonder these students are protesting! They want to be able to better themselves and their future children!” Well yes and no. Because then you hear that not only do they want lower prices on education, they want FREE education. And that is a huge problem because there is no possible way to have free colleges. Now not all of the students are this extreme in what they are asking for (only the communist ones, according to my host dad).
Hopefully that cleared up a few things about what is happening down here. (Side note: Before I continue I want everyone to know that I AM SAFE and AM BEING CAREFUL).
Okay so First Week of School, I was signed up for 20 classes (not 20 credits, TWENTY CLASSES) so obviously I skipped out on quite a few. Monday-Wednesday classes went as scheduled mostly in the locations we were told (some were moved last minute, Oh you silly Chileans always keeping us on our toes!) Then Thursday there were huge violent protests at our school (Like tear gas and water cannons violent), so to keep all the extranjeros (foreigners) safe our classes were moved to a completely different location for the time being. It was nice that they wanted us to be safe, but it kinda sucks not knowing what bus to take/how long it will take to get to school. Luckily, I figured it out and Monday I will know where to go (and to bring a sandwich for lunch because this location does NOT have a microwave. I learned that only after Nancy packed me a lunch that needed to be heated up.)
Overall I think my classes shouldn’t be too difficult. Except for the fact that they are college level courses taught only in Spanish and some of my professors speak incredibly fast and have illegible handwriting. AWESOME. NOT. Despite that and the strikes I am hopeful that I will find a way to become friends with real Chileans. Maybe I can get them to do my homework for me since they will be bored to tears what with the whole no classes thing going on.
Besitos,
Gaby
Below are some pictures of my school building Casa Central
The college students all over Chile are protesting the price of education here. Basically what has happened is the education system has become a way for the government to make money, making the price of education very expensive (much like in the U.S. let’s be real, it’s RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE). But unlike in the U.S. they don’t give out scholarships for every little thing to help the families pay. So that being said the low/middle class are unable to pay for college without taking out an obscene amount of loans, which take years and years to pay back. (Hmmm doesn’t all of this sound familiar). Now the biggest difference is that if you do not go to college and instead get a job directly after high school you are pretty much stuck with that low paying job for the rest of your life. There’s really no way to move up the corporate ladder here. Which means that if you have a minimum wage job you can’t pay for your kids education so they have to get low paying jobs and can’t pay for their kids education etc. etc. It’s a vicious cycle.
So when you hear this you think to yourself “wow, no wonder these students are protesting! They want to be able to better themselves and their future children!” Well yes and no. Because then you hear that not only do they want lower prices on education, they want FREE education. And that is a huge problem because there is no possible way to have free colleges. Now not all of the students are this extreme in what they are asking for (only the communist ones, according to my host dad).
Hopefully that cleared up a few things about what is happening down here. (Side note: Before I continue I want everyone to know that I AM SAFE and AM BEING CAREFUL).
Okay so First Week of School, I was signed up for 20 classes (not 20 credits, TWENTY CLASSES) so obviously I skipped out on quite a few. Monday-Wednesday classes went as scheduled mostly in the locations we were told (some were moved last minute, Oh you silly Chileans always keeping us on our toes!) Then Thursday there were huge violent protests at our school (Like tear gas and water cannons violent), so to keep all the extranjeros (foreigners) safe our classes were moved to a completely different location for the time being. It was nice that they wanted us to be safe, but it kinda sucks not knowing what bus to take/how long it will take to get to school. Luckily, I figured it out and Monday I will know where to go (and to bring a sandwich for lunch because this location does NOT have a microwave. I learned that only after Nancy packed me a lunch that needed to be heated up.)
Overall I think my classes shouldn’t be too difficult. Except for the fact that they are college level courses taught only in Spanish and some of my professors speak incredibly fast and have illegible handwriting. AWESOME. NOT. Despite that and the strikes I am hopeful that I will find a way to become friends with real Chileans. Maybe I can get them to do my homework for me since they will be bored to tears what with the whole no classes thing going on.
Besitos,
Gaby
Below are some pictures of my school building Casa Central
Monday, August 1, 2011
OUT OF CONTROL!
After living in Vina del mar for a little over a week, I have a new found appreciation for anyone and everyone that lives/works/studies/whatever in a country that does not speak their primary language. Because these people are either incredibly brave or completely insane! (You decide which category I fall into)
It can be very frustrating at times when I understand what people are asking me but I can only give one or two word answers. Even though I really want to be able to elaborate on my day or my daily routine at home or just ask questions in general, I lack the vocabulary to do this. For this reason I have so many problems trying to conversate with these crazy Chileans! And it makes me think about all the people who move to the good ole US of A not knowing English and how a lot of times we think of it as a handicap (not knowing English). When really they’re probably smarter than us because they figured out how to get a job even though they don’t speak the language. So to these people I say RESPECT.
Now I know y’all are probably wondering by now “Gaby, how the heck do you get around this awesome city without a car??” Oh don’t worry I am about to tell you my tales of public transportation in Chile. You don’t want to miss it!
1. My primary mode of transportation during the day is walking (good thing my hiking boots are all broken in!!) Many places in Vina del mar are within walking distance for me, including the beach (la playa)! Can you say #winning?!?! I can also walk to the mall, many other apartments/houses, and various other places that have escaped my memory at this moment.
2. Unfortunately, I have to take the micro (bus) to get to and from school. Well let me just start with this, remember how Chileans don’t follow any rules when speaking? Yeah, they don’t follow any rules when driving either. Entiendes (Understand)? There are many bus stops scattered throughout the city, however there is no schedule. You never know when a bus just might happen to drive by the stop to pick you up. And if one does you better hope they slow down enough to let you on. (side note: look at the signs on the bus to see where they are going, you don’t want to get lsot!) Okay so now you have flagged down a micro and are on your way to school, congratulations you’re half way there! Now you have to know exactly where you need to get off, otherwise the micro will not stop and you will be stuck on that stinkin bus forever! NOT GOOD. When you see your stop coming up just stand and walk to the front of the bus, then push a little button to let the driver know you need to get off. If you miss your stop never fear, the driver will stop where there is no designated stop, sometimes they’ll even let you off in the middle of traffic!
3. Another mode of transportation is the metro, similar to the subways in New York or DC or other big cities. The metro is more reliable than the micros (but then again its difficult to be less reliable than the micros!) The metros have set schedules and stops and are smoother rides than the micro. However, it is quite a walk from my humble abode to the metro station so I take the more adventurous mode of transportation, the micro!
4. There are also two types of taxis, the colectivos and the radiotaxis. The colectivos you flag down like in New York. The radiotaxis you call a number and they send a car to pick you up. Radiotaxis are safer.
So there you go, a guide to public transport in Chile. If you ever come to visit you should be able to successfully navigate your way around Vina del Mar/Valparaiso. And hopefully you my readers, now have an appreciation for all the extranjeros (foreigners) out there!
Besitos,
Gaby
P.S. My next post will be all about my first week of school! (I know school on August 1 HOLY COW that’s early!)
It can be very frustrating at times when I understand what people are asking me but I can only give one or two word answers. Even though I really want to be able to elaborate on my day or my daily routine at home or just ask questions in general, I lack the vocabulary to do this. For this reason I have so many problems trying to conversate with these crazy Chileans! And it makes me think about all the people who move to the good ole US of A not knowing English and how a lot of times we think of it as a handicap (not knowing English). When really they’re probably smarter than us because they figured out how to get a job even though they don’t speak the language. So to these people I say RESPECT.
Now I know y’all are probably wondering by now “Gaby, how the heck do you get around this awesome city without a car??” Oh don’t worry I am about to tell you my tales of public transportation in Chile. You don’t want to miss it!
1. My primary mode of transportation during the day is walking (good thing my hiking boots are all broken in!!) Many places in Vina del mar are within walking distance for me, including the beach (la playa)! Can you say #winning?!?! I can also walk to the mall, many other apartments/houses, and various other places that have escaped my memory at this moment.
2. Unfortunately, I have to take the micro (bus) to get to and from school. Well let me just start with this, remember how Chileans don’t follow any rules when speaking? Yeah, they don’t follow any rules when driving either. Entiendes (Understand)? There are many bus stops scattered throughout the city, however there is no schedule. You never know when a bus just might happen to drive by the stop to pick you up. And if one does you better hope they slow down enough to let you on. (side note: look at the signs on the bus to see where they are going, you don’t want to get lsot!) Okay so now you have flagged down a micro and are on your way to school, congratulations you’re half way there! Now you have to know exactly where you need to get off, otherwise the micro will not stop and you will be stuck on that stinkin bus forever! NOT GOOD. When you see your stop coming up just stand and walk to the front of the bus, then push a little button to let the driver know you need to get off. If you miss your stop never fear, the driver will stop where there is no designated stop, sometimes they’ll even let you off in the middle of traffic!
3. Another mode of transportation is the metro, similar to the subways in New York or DC or other big cities. The metro is more reliable than the micros (but then again its difficult to be less reliable than the micros!) The metros have set schedules and stops and are smoother rides than the micro. However, it is quite a walk from my humble abode to the metro station so I take the more adventurous mode of transportation, the micro!
4. There are also two types of taxis, the colectivos and the radiotaxis. The colectivos you flag down like in New York. The radiotaxis you call a number and they send a car to pick you up. Radiotaxis are safer.
So there you go, a guide to public transport in Chile. If you ever come to visit you should be able to successfully navigate your way around Vina del Mar/Valparaiso. And hopefully you my readers, now have an appreciation for all the extranjeros (foreigners) out there!
Besitos,
Gaby
P.S. My next post will be all about my first week of school! (I know school on August 1 HOLY COW that’s early!)
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