I have moved into my "apartment;" it's in quotes because it's not an apartment building (it's a house), but it sounds too weird to say house. The house is huge 3 story turquoise edifice made with a wooden frame. My room is huge with bay windows, but you can tell that the house is really old. There are 2 cats, 1 dog, and 1 rabbit and endless amount of plants (lots of cacti...I'm in heaven!). There is also a great garden with lemon trees, strawberry bushes, olive trees, and a big palm tree. Most importantly, the Pacific ocean is visible from my room (better seen from the garden). Well anyways, here are some things I realized today:
1) A 30 kg/50+ lb suitcase is impossible to lug up 4 flights of stairs by myself
2) When you bring that horrible suitcase to the 'ascensor,' these decades-old (dare I say..century old?) wooden external elevators to go up a hill, the lady will gawk at you and charge you double because the suitcase counts as a person...
3) Do not buy a lot of heavy grocery items when you have to walk a mile back home, most of which is uphill (ok...I caved in at around 1/2 the mile with damn groceries and took a colectivo, a shared taxi)
Once I got home, I was really excited to cook a hot meal (even if it was just pasta). I got everything ready, and turned on the stovetop...only to find out that it did NOT get hot. WTF I want my damn pasta. Well, I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I settled on a sandwich instead. I was a sad, sad girl that moment. And pretty pissed.
Couple hours later, I wanted to make tea. GUESS WHAT? I can't boil water! Well I was in a shitty mood. Then, the guy from Uruguay who lives in the room next to mine came out, so I asked him if the stovetop ever worked. Then he showed me how they work in Chile. Apparently you have to turn the propane tank on (next to the oven) and then using a match or a lighter, physically ignite the stovetop. Hmm this strategy does NOT sound so safe, especially with the propane tank within 1 foot of the oven. Well whatever, I had my hot tea so I was fairly happy.
Yet another couple hours later, I decided to shower. Well I couldn't get hot water to work. I was super pissed. I let it run for over 5 minutes and nothing worked. Wondering if I had to go shower-less for the rest of my year in Chile, I got pretty pissed. I decided to ask the other guy who lives on the floor (he's Chilean) to see if I was missing some magic switch. Well, indeed I was. Behind the bathroom there is this sketchy closet type and...oh what a surprise, there was a PROPANE tank. There was a small box on the wall, and a really small hole in the box. Basically you take a match and light something in the small hole on fire. And that rotates and heats the water. Keep in mind that this was all done in the dark. Also I think I was supposed to wait a bit for the water to heat up, because while I showered, it oscillated between hot and cold and needless to say I was freezing by the end. Last time I take a shower at night...I'd prefer not to burn my hand off or freeze my butt off...what a great combination.
On a brighter note, I had a 70 minute conversation totally in Spanish today with the guy from Uruguay who lives next to me. He's the first Uruguayo that I've ever met and he looks European. We're going running along the coastline tomorrow afternoon, which inevitably means I will embarass myself with my pathetic athletic skills.
Tomorrow I will take some pictures of the area where I am living. It is called Cerro Alegre, cerro means ´hill´in Spanish. Valpo consists of countless hills on top of each other, with houses precariously perched on every edge imaginable. The two hills that are under UNESCO world heritage site protection are Cerros Alegre and Concepción, so they're pretty cool neighborhoods with nice cafes, art galleries, music halls, and bookstores.
I kind of don't want to go to work on Tuesday...just want to bum and enjoy the city for a year...oh well, c'est la vie!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
First impressions
I'm in Chile now!!
Some things that I learned on the way here (airport/plane):
1) Do not attempt to bring 13" blade knives in your carryon bag - security will most likely notice and laugh at you. Also, do not argue and give any excuses for said knives. It will definitely backfire.
2) If you have a 13 year old daughter (well, 2 of them), do not buy them iPhone, MacBook, iPod, Juicy Couture bag, and Coach shoes, because your daughers will probably turn into douche bags.
3) When a Chilean asks you on an airplane if you are Catholic, just smile and half-nod.
Here are some first impressions of various things:
Bogota airport: needs water fountains. I was almost dehydrated because I had no Colombian money to buy a drink and I decided (perhaps well) that I would refrain from drinking out of the faucet in the restroom.
Santiago from the air: the light pollution in this city is horrendous - I could see the light diffuse from the airplane! Glad I won't be spending too much time there!
Valparaiso: Some sort of combination of Quito, Ecuador and Zaragoza, Spain...a lot of the architecture is pretty European in the shopping areas...the houses are super colorful though. Messy like Quito, and the people are a combo of Caucasians and Hispanics. Saw some foreigners (white), and yet to see a black or Asian person on the streets. But then I've only been here fo
r 3 hours. There are a TON of stray dogs, but these stray dogs are super cute - German shepherds, laboradors, etc. They bask in the sun in plazas, follow people around, sniff shoes, lick hands (I was licked twice), and kind of hang out everywhere. There are at least ten at any given moment within 30 feet of me. I was really tempted to pet them but didn't want to end up at the hospital on my first day here (would not make for such a positive impression).
Well I'm at one apartment hotel now, I'll go look at an apartment this afternoon (or tomorrow during the day) and hopefully it will be good so I can move in. I do NOT want to go extensively apartment hunting....this one looks good and it's within price range, so I may just jump on it without browsing all the other ones I found. Partly, I do not want to go to Viña tomorrow where some apartments are....call it laziness but the buses here are scary! Just like Quito buses where you jump on while the bus is still moving and it speedily rambles onwards to the destination over cobblestone and dirt....I almost saw one flip over on the way here!
Some things that I learned on the way here (airport/plane):
1) Do not attempt to bring 13" blade knives in your carryon bag - security will most likely notice and laugh at you. Also, do not argue and give any excuses for said knives. It will definitely backfire.
2) If you have a 13 year old daughter (well, 2 of them), do not buy them iPhone, MacBook, iPod, Juicy Couture bag, and Coach shoes, because your daughers will probably turn into douche bags.
3) When a Chilean asks you on an airplane if you are Catholic, just smile and half-nod.
Here are some first impressions of various things:
Bogota airport: needs water fountains. I was almost dehydrated because I had no Colombian money to buy a drink and I decided (perhaps well) that I would refrain from drinking out of the faucet in the restroom.
Santiago from the air: the light pollution in this city is horrendous - I could see the light diffuse from the airplane! Glad I won't be spending too much time there!
Valparaiso: Some sort of combination of Quito, Ecuador and Zaragoza, Spain...a lot of the architecture is pretty European in the shopping areas...the houses are super colorful though. Messy like Quito, and the people are a combo of Caucasians and Hispanics. Saw some foreigners (white), and yet to see a black or Asian person on the streets. But then I've only been here fo
r 3 hours. There are a TON of stray dogs, but these stray dogs are super cute - German shepherds, laboradors, etc. They bask in the sun in plazas, follow people around, sniff shoes, lick hands (I was licked twice), and kind of hang out everywhere. There are at least ten at any given moment within 30 feet of me. I was really tempted to pet them but didn't want to end up at the hospital on my first day here (would not make for such a positive impression).Well I'm at one apartment hotel now, I'll go look at an apartment this afternoon (or tomorrow during the day) and hopefully it will be good so I can move in. I do NOT want to go extensively apartment hunting....this one looks good and it's within price range, so I may just jump on it without browsing all the other ones I found. Partly, I do not want to go to Viña tomorrow where some apartments are....call it laziness but the buses here are scary! Just like Quito buses where you jump on while the bus is still moving and it speedily rambles onwards to the destination over cobblestone and dirt....I almost saw one flip over on the way here!
Friday, July 24, 2009
"So how did it feel to live in a communist country?"
Once again, it has been quite some time since I last updated. Since then, I have done some (perhaps noteworthy) things:
1) Graduated
2) Came home (Houston)
3) Had my aunt and cousin visit from China (they are still here)
My aunt and cousin came about 3 weeks ago, and have been living in our new house since. It's been pretty fun; my aunt is a great cook so we've been having fantastic noodles almost everyday. Mmm yum!
Yesterday, we (parents, brother, aunt, cousin) decided to go to San Antonio for two days. The joys of Sea World (in almost-100-degree-weather), fast food, and Natural Bridge Caverns (and the Safari next door) were unmatched. Yesterday, we spent more than seven hours at Sea World. My brother acquired yet another stuffed dolphin, and I acquired yet another attractive sunburn.
Today we visited the Natural Bridge area, including the safari and the caves. The safari went well; there were too many deer, the ostriches were surprisingly fearsome, and the goats were smelly. The caves were a welcome escape from the heat. My dad and mom decided not to go down since they visited the same caves last year, and didn't feel like wasting $26.97 per person again. So it was my brother, me, my aunt and cousin who went into the caves. My aunt and cousin do not know English, which makes translating a whole lot of fun, especially when my Chinese vocabulary does not extends to such things as 'stalagmites' and 'stalactites;' needless to say, a lot of round-about phrasing and gesturing were used. Two ladies who were behind us on the tour decided to strike up a conversation with me. Once again, as with almost 80% of the conversation I have with strangers seem to go, the ladies were interested in my 'Asianness.' The typical benign questions emerged: where are we from, how long we've been in the US, if we like Yao Ming, etc. Then the awkward questions come up, like "is it true you can't have more than one child" and the ultimate question: "So how did it feel to live in a communist country?" It was odd that a sense of fear emerged from her question. I'm not sure if she expected some sort of tearful answer of repression and tyranny, but she seemed surprised (and not fully convinced) when I told her it was fine.
Actually, the 'communist' factor isn't too noticeable in day-to-day lives. Seems like a lot of people think that since China has a communist government, there is only one brand of toothpaste, one national bank, etc. Somehow the idea of communism has become a restriction on choices at every level of society, but that really is not the case. Not sure if it's leaky thinking from the Cold War era, but it's a new century now, and commerce and internationalism are both huge in China. Of course there are limits on personal freedoms - there are things you can't search for on Google if you're in China and any news is pretty skewed, but there are easily ways around such things, and people are more aware of history and current events than 'other people' (e.g. people in the US) think. I think as you go higher in the hierarchy, politics dictate more (unless you're in the 'unreachable' realm of the hierarchy, which includes famous people and the uber-rich businessmen from Shanghai and the like). Corruption and political power go hand in hand in China, but that's not a defining aspect of 'communism,' it's that way with every political system. Sometimes, when I get into arguments with strangers over Chinese politics, it seems to end up being more about derailing the idea that communism means corruption and tyranny. One can easily look at democratic governments too and see that those two 'red evils' exist there.
Well anyways, better get off a topic in which I'm not an expert...
Back to the cave story. When we got out of the caves, we were greeted by my parents, who have the uncanny ability to show up at the exact time and location of the tour exit. Perhaps they lo-jacked my brother (I've always suspected this). When we went into my dad's car, I noticed some grocery bags, and asked my mom what they were. Apparently, while we were touring the caves, my dad dug out cacti from national park grounds and put them into grocery bags to take home and plant in our yard. I quickly looked around to make sure no park ranger was wandering around just to catch unsuspecting cacti-thieves. We were lucky this time.
In light of the fact that I leave the US in 3 days, I should probably start packing...well, first I would need to unpack the boxes and suitcases from May/June...
Watch out for future posts! They will soon contain numerous pictures and (hopefully exciting) stories from Chile!
1) Graduated
2) Came home (Houston)
3) Had my aunt and cousin visit from China (they are still here)
My aunt and cousin came about 3 weeks ago, and have been living in our new house since. It's been pretty fun; my aunt is a great cook so we've been having fantastic noodles almost everyday. Mmm yum!
Yesterday, we (parents, brother, aunt, cousin) decided to go to San Antonio for two days. The joys of Sea World (in almost-100-degree-weather), fast food, and Natural Bridge Caverns (and the Safari next door) were unmatched. Yesterday, we spent more than seven hours at Sea World. My brother acquired yet another stuffed dolphin, and I acquired yet another attractive sunburn.
Today we visited the Natural Bridge area, including the safari and the caves. The safari went well; there were too many deer, the ostriches were surprisingly fearsome, and the goats were smelly. The caves were a welcome escape from the heat. My dad and mom decided not to go down since they visited the same caves last year, and didn't feel like wasting $26.97 per person again. So it was my brother, me, my aunt and cousin who went into the caves. My aunt and cousin do not know English, which makes translating a whole lot of fun, especially when my Chinese vocabulary does not extends to such things as 'stalagmites' and 'stalactites;' needless to say, a lot of round-about phrasing and gesturing were used. Two ladies who were behind us on the tour decided to strike up a conversation with me. Once again, as with almost 80% of the conversation I have with strangers seem to go, the ladies were interested in my 'Asianness.' The typical benign questions emerged: where are we from, how long we've been in the US, if we like Yao Ming, etc. Then the awkward questions come up, like "is it true you can't have more than one child" and the ultimate question: "So how did it feel to live in a communist country?" It was odd that a sense of fear emerged from her question. I'm not sure if she expected some sort of tearful answer of repression and tyranny, but she seemed surprised (and not fully convinced) when I told her it was fine.
Actually, the 'communist' factor isn't too noticeable in day-to-day lives. Seems like a lot of people think that since China has a communist government, there is only one brand of toothpaste, one national bank, etc. Somehow the idea of communism has become a restriction on choices at every level of society, but that really is not the case. Not sure if it's leaky thinking from the Cold War era, but it's a new century now, and commerce and internationalism are both huge in China. Of course there are limits on personal freedoms - there are things you can't search for on Google if you're in China and any news is pretty skewed, but there are easily ways around such things, and people are more aware of history and current events than 'other people' (e.g. people in the US) think. I think as you go higher in the hierarchy, politics dictate more (unless you're in the 'unreachable' realm of the hierarchy, which includes famous people and the uber-rich businessmen from Shanghai and the like). Corruption and political power go hand in hand in China, but that's not a defining aspect of 'communism,' it's that way with every political system. Sometimes, when I get into arguments with strangers over Chinese politics, it seems to end up being more about derailing the idea that communism means corruption and tyranny. One can easily look at democratic governments too and see that those two 'red evils' exist there.
Well anyways, better get off a topic in which I'm not an expert...
Back to the cave story. When we got out of the caves, we were greeted by my parents, who have the uncanny ability to show up at the exact time and location of the tour exit. Perhaps they lo-jacked my brother (I've always suspected this). When we went into my dad's car, I noticed some grocery bags, and asked my mom what they were. Apparently, while we were touring the caves, my dad dug out cacti from national park grounds and put them into grocery bags to take home and plant in our yard. I quickly looked around to make sure no park ranger was wandering around just to catch unsuspecting cacti-thieves. We were lucky this time.
In light of the fact that I leave the US in 3 days, I should probably start packing...well, first I would need to unpack the boxes and suitcases from May/June...
Watch out for future posts! They will soon contain numerous pictures and (hopefully exciting) stories from Chile!
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