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Published: March 7th 2008
Church of Castro
This is a fine example of Chiloe's wooden architecture. I went to the island of Chiloé (Chee-low-ay) hoping to find few tourists, peace, quiet, and time to read, write and meditate. Well, I certainly found it. After a 17 hour bus ride, I arrived to an island with beautiful landscapes and quiet seaside villages.
As soon as I got there, I wandered around the city of Castro, Chiloé´s largest city. The island is known for its culture of wooden architecture, especially its churches. I visited Castro´s church and was very impressed how beautiful it was. It was definitely unique.
Since I was alone, I had an amazing amount of liberty and was quite indecisive as to what to do. I knew that I wanted to accomplish a little sightseeing while finding places to relax throughout the journey. I decided to head to the least visited island off the coast of Chiloé, the island of Lemuy. I read that the sleepy island had very few tourists and even fewer attractions... it was right up my alley.
After a bus ride, a stop in the village of Chonchi, another bus, a ferry, and lunch at the home of a nice lady who helped direct me to the island, I
Relaaaaaaaaaax
This was taken when I experience the moment of most relaxation it my entire lifetime. It occurred when I reflected upon my stressful life in Ann Arbor when I would be in the midst of exams. You too could probably use a vacation, I highly recommend it! ended up at an ¨hospedaje¨ which is like a room inside someone´s house. I ended up watching the sunset, totally escaped, and wrote letters to a few friends and family members. It was just what I had been looking for.
The rest of the weekend was similar to this. I made my way to various villages, seeing the sights and getting a sense of the culture. The pace of life is much slower there, and I had a lot of time to reflect, read, and relax. I think I became the most relaxed I´ve ever been in my entire life.
On a side note, I was also constantly looking for a place that served clam chowder, my favorite soup! Fishing is a major industry on the island, and there are restaurants everywhere serving fresh, delicious salmon and shellfish. Unfortunately, chowder is not a Chilean dish and I could not find it anywhere! I hope to visit the east coast in the states sometime in the future with the principal goal of satisfying my chowder desires. (E: I´m remembering the future!)
After I returned to the city I started class. The university I´m attending is the best in
Apple empanada
My stay at the hospedaje on the Island of Lemuy included a fresh, warm, home-made apple empanada. It was taken out of the oven 5 minutes before this photo, and 6 minutes before entering my mouth! Chile, and I realized how blessed I am to attend such a nice school back home. For out of state and international students, the tuition at Michigan is 3 times more expensive than it is here, and the highest class in Santiago attend this University, which is the most expensive in the country. It encourages me further to apply to even nicer schools when I eventually pursue my graduate studies.
I also realized that I like being a student, and I like attending class. The student´s life is a very nice life.
My first day of class was quite exciting, and confusing. I didn´t understand the scheduling system, and I didn´t know my way around. But I thoroughly enjoyed being a student at another university.
I am now trying to fall into a normal rhythm of life now. I am starting to think about how I will spend my free time. I hope to begin exercising regularly, pursue some volunteer activities, and begin ballroom dancing again.
I strung together some random clips from Chiloé, enjoy.
VIDEO - Chiloé Escape
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Boyang
non-member comment
Jason, It is nice to see you are having such a great experience over there. It seems more like a vacation than a study abroad =). Anyways, be safe and enjoy the place and culture while you still can! Also, if you have the time, can you post some pictures on what the University over there is like (classes, dorms, etc.)? Thanks!