I LEAVE THE PLACE I'VE CALLED HOME FOR THE PAST FIVE MONTHS IN EXACTLY TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!
Guys this is huge! I will soon be able order my food, ask for directions, talk to everyone in ENGLISH.
But for one of my last weeks in Chile I will be traveling down south to Patagonia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C52vyEKnDeM
^click that to watch a movie trailer about Patagonia
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
NOTICIAS (And then I climbed a glacier)
Things here are winding down and wrapping up. I only have three short weeks left in the place I’ve come to call home over the past (almost) five months. I’m getting super excited to go home and see my family and friends. But it’s a strange mezcla (mix) of feelings because I’ve grown to love my Chilean family, friends and culture and I feel like there is so much left for me to do and see and learn here. Since my life right now is made up of final papers and final trips I’m going to give a few quick updates!
1. My program took us on a trip to La Serena (a city in the north of Chile) for a weekend. While there we went to the pisco factory because pisco is the drink of choice here in Chile. People love their pisco, which according to Wikipedia is a colorless grape brandy. We also went to an observatory in the desert and looked at the stars and Jupiter! I don’t really remember anything we learned at the observatory because I just kept thinking about the song from the Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon (video below!!!)
2. When we got back I found out that we now have classes in Casa Central, the actual university building instead of in the tiny little empty high school we’d had classes in the whole semester. So with two weeks of classes left we got to experience what it was supposed to be like all semester long. And let me tell you this building is so much bigger and nicer and full of real Chilean students! It’s still school but at least it’s a change for the better.
3. I’ve also been taking advantage of living by the beach! Since I’m in the southern hemisphere its Spring and the weather has been (for the most part) beautiful!
4. The things I miss most about home (after the people of course) are food. Specifically Tex-Mex, Fried chicken/fried food in general, Chinese food, fast food, like Whataburger, Taco Cabana and Chick-fil-a. I’m going to make a list of all the restaurants I must go to when I get home! (sidenote: MOM I hope to come home to some of your Christmas cookies too!)
5. And this past weekend was my last mountain sports class excursion! We went to Andina Juncal, which is in the Andes and only 5 kilometers from Argentina. It was so remote and peaceful there because no other campers were around. We hiked to a glacier and even climbed it a bit (side note: We couldn’t climb all the way up because for that you need ice picks and crampons). So now I can say that I’ve eaten lunch on a glacier! I’d say that’s pretty neat. However, as much fun as the mountains are I have to admit that I’m more of a hot, dry desert type of person at heart. I would rather be in the boiling hot weather than in the snow. But maybe that’s because I’m from Texas…who knows. Either way, mountains or deserts, they have their positives and negatives and both are gorgeous. I appreciate nature so much more after all this camping.
So here’s the break down of my time left here. This week I have all my final papers due. Next week I head south to Patagonia (google image it. it’ll take your breath away). The week after that is my last and I plan to spend it on the beach and exploring the cerros of Valpo. Well I guess that’s all for now. I should probably get back to writing those pesky final papers I’ve been telling you about.
Besitos,
Gaby
PS here's the video!!!! It's about intergalactic love...totally relevant to the observatory. right?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KygD_QLpKeU
1. My program took us on a trip to La Serena (a city in the north of Chile) for a weekend. While there we went to the pisco factory because pisco is the drink of choice here in Chile. People love their pisco, which according to Wikipedia is a colorless grape brandy. We also went to an observatory in the desert and looked at the stars and Jupiter! I don’t really remember anything we learned at the observatory because I just kept thinking about the song from the Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon (video below!!!)
2. When we got back I found out that we now have classes in Casa Central, the actual university building instead of in the tiny little empty high school we’d had classes in the whole semester. So with two weeks of classes left we got to experience what it was supposed to be like all semester long. And let me tell you this building is so much bigger and nicer and full of real Chilean students! It’s still school but at least it’s a change for the better.
3. I’ve also been taking advantage of living by the beach! Since I’m in the southern hemisphere its Spring and the weather has been (for the most part) beautiful!
4. The things I miss most about home (after the people of course) are food. Specifically Tex-Mex, Fried chicken/fried food in general, Chinese food, fast food, like Whataburger, Taco Cabana and Chick-fil-a. I’m going to make a list of all the restaurants I must go to when I get home! (sidenote: MOM I hope to come home to some of your Christmas cookies too!)
5. And this past weekend was my last mountain sports class excursion! We went to Andina Juncal, which is in the Andes and only 5 kilometers from Argentina. It was so remote and peaceful there because no other campers were around. We hiked to a glacier and even climbed it a bit (side note: We couldn’t climb all the way up because for that you need ice picks and crampons). So now I can say that I’ve eaten lunch on a glacier! I’d say that’s pretty neat. However, as much fun as the mountains are I have to admit that I’m more of a hot, dry desert type of person at heart. I would rather be in the boiling hot weather than in the snow. But maybe that’s because I’m from Texas…who knows. Either way, mountains or deserts, they have their positives and negatives and both are gorgeous. I appreciate nature so much more after all this camping.
So here’s the break down of my time left here. This week I have all my final papers due. Next week I head south to Patagonia (google image it. it’ll take your breath away). The week after that is my last and I plan to spend it on the beach and exploring the cerros of Valpo. Well I guess that’s all for now. I should probably get back to writing those pesky final papers I’ve been telling you about.
Besitos,
Gaby
PS here's the video!!!! It's about intergalactic love...totally relevant to the observatory. right?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KygD_QLpKeU
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Perú
So before going to Peru and hiking the four-day Inca Trail I honestly couldn’t tell you much about the Incas or Machu Picchu. Now hopefully I remember enough to give yall a brief history lesson! (Please keep reading! I promise its all really interesting stuff!)
Machu in Kechua means old and Picchu means mountain or summit. Machu Picchu literally means Old Mountain. Pretty cool, huh? But most of the names of the cities that are now ruins were changed when the Spanish came, so the original names are lost forever.
Near the city of Machu Picchu they found 173 mummies/dead people and of these bodies around 150 or so were women’s, which means that Machu Picchu was probably built for women.
The Incas only made human sacrifices when they were going through incredibly difficult times. Then they would sacrifice the prettiest little boy and the prettiest little girl in the town by feeding them plants (aka drugging them) and then burying them alive or putting them in the river. This sounds awful to us but for them it was an honor to be chosen for sacrifice. Occasionally they would also sacrifice teenage girls in the same way.
Machu Picchu was divided into two parts by a geologic fault line (I know all about these because I took Environmental Geology). The two parts were the agricultural and the actual city where they lived.
The American Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu on accident.
No one knows for sure how long it took the Incas to build Machu Picchu because some of the buildings were found unfinished. Also the whole community worked to build it and they weren’t on a time schedule so that’s why everything was built to last.
Now my experience in Perú was absolutely AMAZING! I hiked the four-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and stayed a day in Cusco. The trail was difficult because its all stone steps or mostly and the altitude is so incredibly high that I got a few headaches from it. The hiking was tough but the archeological sites we saw along the way and the moment when Machu Picchu came into site made it worth it. Seeing Machu Picchu in person is breathtaking. Just thinking about the Incas and the hard work they put into their city and the fact that 80% of it is still the original buildings.
Cusco is a very touristy town, yet I didn’t feel like it gave off a cheesy vibe. It was still very authentic in some places. I went to the San Pedro market where they literally had EVERYTHING. Alpaca sweaters, fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, flowers, cheese, other knick-knacks and more. I could have stayed there all day. I seriously just fell in love with Peru and think if I ever had the opportunity to study abroad again I would go there.
Besitos,
Gaby
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