Week 7

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Tues, Sept 29
I went to class from 10-12. We talked about what we believed was our best experience thus this far. It was interesting what everyone had to say. A lot of people said that either Santiago (11 people went) or Buenos Aires (4 people went) was their best experience. I told the class that hanging out with my brother and his friends on the 18th was my favorite, although Santiago was a close second for sure. I returned home for almuerzo (which was spaghetti), and then I went with my host dad to run some errands. I went because I wanted something to do besides facebooking all day. I'm glad I went because I learned a lot about my surroundings as we were driving by asking questions and listening to my host dad describe things. River bio bio is beautiful by the way, I never get sick of looking at it. Tonight, I imed a st. cloud friend, skyped my brother for a while, and then later we had chinese food at about 10pm. I was glad because it was really good and I was super hungry.

Wed, Sept 30
In class today we talked about our trip to the beach on the 11th and our trip to Desierto de San Atacama on the 15th. We will be doing a lot those 7 days. I might need to write down notes since I won´t have a computer with me. Definitely stay tuned for the Travel blog for that, it will be amazing. I think this weekend I am going to hang around here and maybe just hang out with some friends. Sounds good to me. After class, I figured I'd go home for almuerzo. I didn't mind taking a micro for half hour when it is only 30 cents one way. I have been getting by only paying 150 pesos with my ISIC card, even though bus riders still have a question mark on their forehead everytime I show them it. I tell you, foreigners are pretty rare here in Concepcion; i'd say about 90% of them are in Santiago. Anyways, we had spaghetti again for almuerzo; i like their food here, haha. I hung out for a while, and then went to my 3:00 class, and then after I noticed that there were more people than usual on campus, and that some people were holding signs up in front of a couple buildings. There was also a lot of people on the steps (see pic). Al, Allie and I decided to wait a little to see if a protest would occur. After half hour, nothing happened so we just headed back. I found out later tonight on the news that some protests DID go down, and we left about half hour before they started. I really wanted to get into watching the action, but that is alright 😉. I did some homework tonight, had dinner, watched Donde Esta Eliza, and went to bed.

Thu, Oct 1
Today, I got up for my 9am class. It was a lecture on the different indigineous groups of Latin America. Our homework for today was to pick a group and write a short 2 page paper on it. In class we also listened to a spanish song and tried to come across a meaning behind it. This was not so easy since it was in spanish, but once the profesora gave us a copy of the lyrics, it started to make more sense. I grabbed a snack and headed to my noon class, where we talked about what is happening with the protests. Some of the reasons people were protesting were to pay less for school, having students use the debt to pay for the school, or even free schooling. After class I went home for almuerzo, and after took a nap. I woke up in an hour and I didn't feel rested enough to want to go out tonight. Instead, I decided to hang out with the family. I didn't talk much at dinner, and my host dad lectured that I need to talk more during meals to make use of the time here. I agreed with him, and from now on I am going to question doubts that I have when I don't understand something. I realize now that they are I am here to learn spanish from them, and I shouldn't be excluded out of conversations. I watched Donde Esta Eliza and understood most of it ^_^, watched Peleton afterwards, and went to bed.

Fri, Oct 2
No class today! I slept till 9:30 and had eggs with bread today! This was the first time I had eggs for breakfast since I've been here, I didn't think I would ever get them! I watched some anime in spanish this morning, because I figured it is a good way to learn spanish and it is a genre that I am interested in. So, it is a win win. I then used my time wisely by doing some homework. After almuerzo, I headed to the U to play some basketball with Al and Evin, however nobody was playing. It must have been because of the protests. So, we walked to Parque Ecuador to see if there was going on. Again, nothing, but it was nice to walk around and talk with friends for a while. The micro ride back home was interesting - 2 guys with a saxaphone and guitar played for everyone on the bus. They were really talented, but I can tell they didn't make much money (maybe $2 per bus), but I can see how you could make some money doing that. Tonight, I didn't go out because I had to wake up super early for volunteering to help out people in wheelchairs tomorrow.

Sat, Oct 3
Today I took a micro and a colectivo to estadio collado and I volunteered to help out during a special games competition (not sure what it is called). I brought gatorade to the competitors after they were done with every race. I also met some of the competitors, as well as some of the first-aid people at the event. It was entertaining, and it was nice meeting some Chileans there. The competitors were really into each race, and you could tell by looking at their facial expressions. The event was all day. There was even a parade in between sessions. We were part of the parade! I felt special, haha. I thought it was cool how they announced on the loud speaker that 7-8 students from the united states were helping out - what an acknowledgement! Then and there I felt really great about being there! I had never volunteered for anything before, and Al was right when he told me how self-satisfying it can be. Everyone is in a good mood at these sort of events, how cool. Afterwards, we went to a Chinese restaurant with some of the same people we met. It had been so long since I had been to a chinese buffet, so that was a treat. Everyone there was very chill. We got to know 5-6 chilleans pretty well, well amongst us gringos there. After, I took a micro back home. I watched some tv, and had dinner again, haha. I just hung out for the night; it was a long day.

Sun, Oct 4
Today, I decided to get caught up on all my homework. Getting spanish journals done was my number one priority, since they are due on tuesday. I got a few done, and then I found out that we were going out for lunch today. We went to a Chinese restaurant, one of the best in Concepcion. The art there was remarkable and if I had brought my camera, I would have taken some pics of the dragons and japanese designs, but i was without. The food was really high quality. Then, the family took me sight-seeing to a port as well as a beach, called Puerto Lirquen and Playa Dishato respectively, and we took some good photos. It was amazing seeing the ocean, especially since it was foggy today, making it even more breath-taking. The beach in the town of Tome had a line of houses where fishermen lived, as well as many restuarants really close to the coast. They were only open during the summertime, though. Nonetheless it's a pretty sweet place to go on a Sunday afternoon (cliche, o well :P). It sort of reminded me of Massachusetts, but nicer in my opinion, because of its tranquility. Chile is so unique and wonderful because of that. We hung out in Tome for a while. My host parents read newspapers in their warm car, while I walked around the beach. It was particularly windy and cold, but I didn't care. Since when do I get to walk around the ocean coast in Minnesota? Heh. After that, we returned back to Concepcion. It took about an hour, and it was raining hard. My host parents stopped by the airport, just so I could remember where I was when I arrived in this beautiful country a month and a half ago. Then, we went to a supermarket to buy some ingredients for tonight's cena. I had a great time sight-seeing and taking photos on the beach. There was also a lot to see to and from the beach so I sight-seed to my heart's content. It was funny - when we were back in Concepcion, my host dad told me in spanish (in a serious tone) that he was going to leave me in Conce because I was going to go to a party. I caught that in spanish, and realized that was a joke, haha This made me proud because there are times where I can't understand anything, but this time I understood it all and I can see how I am improving. Tonight we had tacos. This was the best way imaginable I can think of to end a Sunday night. Sunday nights are usually not my best nights, since I never look forward to Monday the next day, but tonight was different. It is cool how something as simple as tacos can make my night. Oh, except for the fact that they were awesome - I had no idea that Chileans knew how to make bomb tacos. I think it is the palta (avocado), or just the fact that they are pretty much copying the completo recipe and using a tortilla instead. Awesomeness. After dinner, we shared photos and talked about them.

Mon, Oct 5
We had 2 new profesores for our Literature class. They were both super cool! The first one was much easier to understand and the class was more interesting to me because of it. He would also actively involve the class with what he was talking about. I felt like I learned a lot today. I am looking forward to the next class on Monday! The 2nd professor had us do 2 presentations in class - one was talking about our past theater/actor experience, and one was a skit on making a certain recipe. Each was fun to do. I think that doing skits in class is much more entertaining than listening to a lecture! After class, Al told me about a salsa class at 6:30, and I decided that I wanted to come! So, I went home for lunch, and then later I met up with Lindsay at plaza peru because I didn't know how to get to the salsa lesson. She showed me how to take a bus to her house, and I found out that is where over half of us gringos live >.> . I felt a little left out being all the way down in Chiguayante, but oh well. We walked to the salsa lesson, which was at a colegio (middle school/high school). That was fun, even though I have a lot to learn!

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