Advertisement
Published: October 25th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Valparaiso and Spanish School
Loving Valparaiso, it’s a crazy city, a large port, flanked by a small, flat commercial and business area, behind which the Cerro’s, or hills stretch up around the city. To climb these hills is a choice between a calf burning hike up winding streets or a cheap ride up one of the many “ascencores”, rail cars, that climb up almost vertical slopes, some of which are (and look) over a 100 years old. Either way, it is well worth it for the spectacular views down through the streets of brightly coloured houses and down to the bay. The city is full of street painters, from tags and messages to fantastic full wall murals, every street corner seems to offer something to look at as you walk around. Downtown is an interesting jumble of buildings, from shiny new constructions to crumbling 19th century grandeur. This is already a fascinating city, and could be even more so, I hope the “developers” don’t get in first with the bulldozers. Another feature worth a mention are the hordes of stray dogs! During the afternoon heat the shady steps host the snoozing mutts, who come alive in the evening to serenade the
city with the incessant barking, and they seem to enjoy running at cars, often driving at over 50kms! Needless to say the dog squad make their own contribution to the street decoration…..
The home-stay has turned out brilliantly. My hostess speaks some English and has been very supportive in helping me learn Spanish. I came back the other day to find she had stuck labels in Spanish everywhere in the apartment and my bedroom. She has also been very patient, taking the time to give me the words or phrases I need as I am bumble along with my mix of English, French and a spattering of Spanish. There are another 2 students staying here, Camille, a Chilean girl studying here in Valparaiso, and a German girl, Anna, who is studying at the same school as I am. Anna has been a fantastic help, her Spanish is brilliant, as is her English (omg she is only 19!), and she has been there on many occasions to help translate or explain. She has also taken me out for a couple of afternoons. Tuesday we took an ascensore up into one of the hills for a wander around, visited a great
leather shop, we then made our way back down and to the harbour for a boat trip. We sailed around the harbour with a friendly and informative guide. Saw loads of sea lions, mostly in the water, but there were 3 basking on top of a huge buoy, apparently, they dive and then shoot up, into the air to land on top, impressive stuff! We also sailed past a cluster of military boats, but as I understood some of them are used for delivering food to the Easter Island. We also sailed alongside a containership, those things are really huge, and apparently the can load at a rate of 48 containers an hour! Wednesday we went up to Vina del Mar, a beach town north of Valparaiso. We walked along the coast, took lunch, and did some trinket shopping, all in glorious weather. Unfortunately Anna is moving on to Santiago, and today is her last day with us. Last night we had a small gathering at the apartment to say farewell with a few friends, some drinks, including my 1st Pisco Sour (yum!) and some food. A little message for my French friends, it’s not only the English who eat
jelly!! See photo evidence! After which I got dragged along (obviously kicking and screaming) to a local night club. The place was huge and absolutely heaving, we ended up on the roof top dance floor where we joined a salsa lesson, with the sparkling hills of Valparaiso behind us, lots of fun, but was difficult to get up for class this morning.
The school I am attending is excellent, its very small and this week we have only been 3 students, so effectively I have had private tuition. The atmosphere is informal and warm, though its hard work and I have come out most afternoons with my head swimming! They also put an importance learning about the city and also Chilean culture and so Wednesday we were taken out on a walking tour of a part of the city, followed by a video on Valparaiso. I feel like I have learnt a lot in the first week, there is still so much more to learn, and I am seriously considering extending my stay to 3 weeks, really want to learn Spanish!
So now it is the weekend, and I have a tough choice of spending it here studying
with the books or joining a group of friends a I made in Santiago for a visit of Mendoza, Argentina, which is in the heart of the wine region.
Obviously the books are winning the race…..
Watch this space!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.09s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0585s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Trishie
non-member comment
WOW
Hi sweets This all looks fantastic, the mountains, the cities, the whole shebang, really really happy for you deary Lots of love from Brussels, soak up the sun for us!