In case you missed this!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/travel/08journeys.html?pagewanted=1

San Pedro de Atacama

I made my way north this past week to visit the Atacama desert--it's striking and wowing spending time there. Parts of Atacama make it the driest desert in the world! Aside from all the grand desert vistas that remind you of movies, there are all the natural wonders too. Here's a run down:

We arrived to San Pedro, the little tourist filled (and i mean filled) town with streets lined with restaurants, tour companies, hostels and souvenir shops one after another. We were tired from a real early flight, but were convinced (by a tour guide, of course) to take advantage of the full day we had and went to the Puripobre termas--usually, you got to Puritama, but Puripobre had the natural warm springs without having to pay an entrance fee :-D. Ale was really affected by the altitude--we were at about 2,000 km, and she actually passed out! It was scary, but the tour guide knew what he was doing. It's generally not very serious and happens to a lot of people, but it was a scare and Ale was sensitive to it for the rest of the trip. She bought cocao leaves and tea so that helped!

The following day we explored the town a bit during the day, and in the afternoon went sandboarding! I had some falls, since that was first time I've done anything like that (I've never been skiing or snowboarding). Definitely a good time--but super strenuous! And the snowboarding is followed by a small hike into Valle de la Luna where we watched the sunset. Really beautiful!

That evening we also got to experience a really awesome party--out in the middle of the desert with a big bonfire and dance music. Pretty incredible to be dancing and mingling with chileans (good practice for spanish at that) underneath the clearest sky and in the middle of who-knows-where. It was really cold, but that made for the fireside chat atmosphere. What a night!

Sandboarding

The next tour we took was a full day one, starting at 8am. It took us to the Salares de Atacama, where not only the salt sediments were sparkling but we got to see flamingos! They are just so beautiful. Hopefully I find a halloween party to go to here, because I've been wanting to go as a flamingo. Now i've done some research!

Look mom! It's like an animal planet shot! I think of you when i see wildlife :-D


Maybe if you enlarge this you'll see it better, but flamingos are just so gorgeous--not only rose pink, but this Chilean Flamingo has black feathers on the underside of its wings. So when they fly, the color schemes going on are just awesome.

After that we went to a couple towns, they showed us how people in the desert get by. The greenery in the photo of Ale and the dog was a part of a whole area where fruit was growing, and where a small river/stream runs by that has pure pure water used by the towns. The other part of the trip was going to the Lagunas--wowww. I think this was my favorite. Riding through the driest of places in the world and then all of a sudden coming across this blue blue oasis is nuts! Plus, I love the salt/white sediments you can see on the shore.

Finally, we woke up at 3am to go on the Geyser tour. At about 5 degrees, early in the morning, the contrast of the hot vapor is most visible with the cold air. So I layered up in some silly outfit (which turned out being okay! us kenyoners are used to that weather, sort of, i just had ice cold hands). They're really something--just like the photos show, hot air spurting up out of the ground! we saw one get started, at first its just bubbling, and once it gets going in under a minute hot water comes spurting out, and eventually turns into vapor. You have to be careful not to stand in it for too long because of all the sediments and chemicals in it.

See that bubbling? This is a small spot of geyser activity--the bigger ones are the ones that spurt out water and vapor. But it's pretty incredible to see bubbling water all over the place.






This was a hole in the ground where we could sit for a moment to warm up (not too long!) You see how hot the vapor coming out really is!

Afterwards we enjoyed breakfast and warm drinks and were looking at some animals, some wild some not, and marshes. I had a taste of llama meat, so good! When we got back we relaxed for the rest of the day, made a delicious pasta and got to bed at a decent hour considering we had to get up early yet again for our early flight home. I'm lucky to have seen a place like that--and Ale was great company. It's nice traveling around with just another person. We also got great practice with our spanish--the Chileans there are impressed when tourists who can really talk with them in spanish show up. So that was great! Enjoy the photos!

Llamas--basically all are domesticated, not wild. Here they are grazing!

anecdotes

It's a long weekend, for el día de la raza, so basically everyone I know (gringos) left for the weekend! Cata era sola! But it was...good! I've spent basically the entire weekend with chileans! Puro español. I thought I'd share some details, because it was a beautiful weekend with weather and company and all.

Last week I made the bold move of asking a Chilean for his number, just to be able to chat more because we managed to have something to say in a span of 10 minutes. He's from Punto Arenas--basically the most southern city in Chile. We went on a bike ride to the botanical gardens--it's crazy getting to know someone in a DIFFERENT language. I wonder if i come off as different in the spanish speaking world. It was a really nice day, good conversation. He was pretty quick to get to asking what i thought about the united states being considered "imperial" hah. usual, huh? Later he felt bad he had jumped to offend my country like that, but it was fine--it's so interesting to hear what people have to say, let alone its not a surprising question. especially interesting because a lot of people only really know about the US's particular involvement in certain things. But also i like to be able to show we don't walk around thinking we're the greatest thing in the world...yeah that subject is all just so complex.

And i spent last night with Dennise and her friend. More chileans! More spanish! We went and got sushi, had a "Chardonnay sour"--yum! chardonnay with lemon juice and sugar more or less. I was telling Henry earlier how in awe i find i feel, how concious i am, of being with "puros chilenos." During our sushi dinner we had nice conversation--its so exciting to be out with some ladies, just like i'm used to, but in the speaking spanish form. And then we went to share some more wine at another place--once there, and once more chileans came, the music was loud enough that i could barely hear people let alone understand them. But every minute is good for my spanish.

But it also leaves ya feeling kinda beat up and worn out. After coming back from the gardens the other day i was so worn out, hoping to find Sarah Lana on facebook or something but couldnt, and its then that you get that slap of gahh-im-far-away-and-alone! and i just had this conversation with Vero (mi mama chilena) about independence and all that, and how she always was independent like me but had god. and what's never been clearer is how much easier it can be when you have something to turn to and know is "with you." so that i wouldn't really be in this romaing around sola part of my life. but, for now at least, i dont have that or see that in sight---having god to turn to. and that gives me this mixed feeling of something really great and something real..heavy. So when no other gringos are around, here and over there in the states, and only spanish is to be spoken, its this crazy mix of amazing and scary feelings.

But then you wake up and have days like I did today! I've started getting responses from some of the granjas (farms) that I wrote emails to about WWOOFing with this summer with sarahlans! Thats so great because finally I know I have something to do come verano (summer)! And I had a cup of coffee and talked with one of my sisters and mama. And I read some more of A Confederacy of Dunces--the characters are so frustrating sometimes its hard to pick up! And relaxed until lunch. And then went to meet Dennise and we headed into to Valparasio to go to a feria (fair, of lots of used stuff and all that). The day was gorrggeouuss. Sunny and breezy, yum. We had a beer, with orange soda! And walked along the boardwalk and had nice conversation. So nice.

And then i came home and went on a run and read some livejournal (world's most wanted blog of the stories of the lives of my girl friends from home) and broke out the vino and had a nice healthy dinner. ooo just the best! and i'm hoping to get my way into the daddy yankee concert that's in viña tonight. that would be just rediculous huh.

Tur histórico

I'm sitting in Rachael's room, waiting for her to come back from a hike she went on today! I'm enjoying a Corona (with lemon, not lime grr), especially because today was heavy. Our tour was led by a history teacher from the University of Chile in Santiago. It was a modern political history tour, so we spent the day absorbing the causes, events and effects of the political situation in Chile during Allende and Pinochet. We also touched a bit on the presidencies and elections before Allende's term, but mainly the tour was to give historical background to the dictatorship.

The tour was really well done. We started off by watching a video released by the "Augosto Pinochet Foundation" (or something of that sort) in the late 1980s. It was, all around, pro-Pinochet and laudatory of the military government. The video presented the situation with Allende's election, starting with his minimal electoral win and moving into the chaos and disorder that came about under his presidency. When it got to the overthrow of Allende's government, triumphant music played and after a brief demonstration of the bomb attacks on La Moneda, the presidential palace, footage of hugging and shaking-hands politicians showed how turning over the government to new hands was done civilly and with much support. Chile stabilized, chaos was over, and people no longer were waiting on long lines for food.

The professor followed up the video with more analysis of what was discussed, and explained the basis on which the military government legitimized the overthrow--in summary, on the grounds that Allende's government was violating the Chilean Constitution. Obviously, this entry could be an essay on the arguments and circumstances of the situation from both the left and right. I'm going to have to skip the detail, but what was important was that we started off the day with the conservative, anti-Allende/pro-overthrow point of view. It's so important because in a room full of american students abroad, there is no doubt the the majority if not all of them are partial to the ANTI-overthrow side, in that what is so well known about this history are the horrible violations of human rights that occurred. Moreover, there is no doubt that Chile was in a bad way for a lot of people under Allende's government--there was chaos, there was disorder--there was a socialistic system underway which was something entirely new and even frightening for people, especially considering the context of the Cold War.

So after hearing more details about Allende's program called "la via chilena a socialismo" (the Chilean path towards socialism), and how it faced problems and the objections of the plan within the government, the group left for the rest of the tour with a perspective in our minds we weren't used to walking around with (not to say that a lot of us didn't already know this part of the history, though there is no doubt that some didn't).

Next stop was the cemetery where all the Chilean presidents except Pinochet and Gabriel Gonzalez Videla are buried, El Cementerio General. Here was where the professor was able to tell us more about the history, from a less anti-allende point of view, such as his programs that focused on equality, as well including what went wrong with those programs--or objectively speaking, what could be problematic.

El Cementerio General

Our tour guide, next to the grave of Orlando Letelier, who was ambassador to the US under Allende. While speaking out about the situation under Pinochet, Ortelier was assassinated in Washington, DC, where he was working at the Institute for Policy Studies.


Salvador Allende's burial tomb. What is incredible is that cross of Jesus peeking through. Allende was agnostic, and being that his commemorative tomb--made for all Chilean presidents--was made under the military government, many think this was a way to disrespect his memorial. (I can't remember or am not sure there is any significance to the design of the site)


Commemorating some of the names of the desaparecidos--those that went missing during the dictatorship--and other victims of the government. Salvador Allende is in the middle to demonstrate that he is considered the first victim. It says at the top, "All of my love is here and remains stuck to the rocks, the ocean, the mountains."

But what was most impressionable was our trip to the concentration camp/detention center in the outskirts of Santiago that was an unofficial and unknown/secret camp for torture called Villa Grimaldi. Here the dark, dark side of the dictatorship was very real. The professor explained the memorial park and each of its symbols--the park is filled with symbolic structures and references, as the photos show more specifically. It's horrifying to hear the stories, especially knowing that not a single recounting of the story can relay what it must have been like. The memorial of the camp though tragic, is beautiful. All the mosaic pieces around the camp come from original parts of the large house that was originally here.

When prisoners were brought in to the camp they were lined up around this circle and beat until they were no longer standing. Surrounding this circle were thousands of roses. This was part of the psychological torture, which was to fill the noses of the prisoners with a scent usually associated to love, and spring etc. Prisoners always had their eyes covered and hands and feet tied, so their experience in the camp is very much so tied to smell. The entire camp ground was filled with these roses--other memories of the roses include how along paths prisoners would walk and feel the spikes of the roses scrape their ankles.

These are dedicated to the women tortured here. This again refers to the theme of roses, trying to take back what the camp turned the symbol into.

The grid-form of the trees and squares are designed this way to represent the way each prisoner would always walk in lines with their arms on the person's shoulder infront of them. That small house was where prisoners were kept for the majority of the day, be it for days, weeks or months. It would hold up to 12 people.

What made and makes my stomach turn the most is observing how a nation with this kind of traumatic experience handles it. While, yes, I can even say--despite papers and research and readings denouncing the dictatorship--that Allende's program was unsustainable, and people needed a change, what came of the dictatorship, and the way the chaos "ended" and "stability" arose was inexcusable. "stability" came because women were raped by men and dogs, parents were tortured in front of their children, electrocuted, ate on their knees with hands and feet tied, were tossed from planes into the pacific in bags--stability was around because chileans lived constantly under the sense of terror.

Last semester in Kenyon, we read a book in my history class about dictators and military governments in Latin America and the tool TERROR they use. While families watched their sons and daughters and mothers and father disappear, become desaparecidos, not only was deep emotional trauma caused but a true fear of the government, facing the fact that their government was ready to use the most inhumane of tools to keep its people pacified, in the name of stability. The professor explained how the perpetrators of torture, the soldiers that were doing the torturing and have been in jail for some years, have all been tried and convicted as perpetrators on a personal level, not an institutional level--the atrocities that happened haven't be called a corruption of the state, rather horrific acts by individual actors "losing their minds with their newfound power." To me, this is the kind of thing that has lasting effects. This is why I've met Chilean youth that don't want to talk about it, are quick to remind me there's another perspective, that say "why keep protesting if it's in the past." Many Chileans haven't accepted what happened--or if they have, they want that to mean their in the right to move on from it.

I'm in a class here called Collective Memory in Chile that has been looking at this problem exactly. We've read and talked about how all these horrible events are going forgotten, because people don't want to remember, people to want to face it. It's understandable, but so unacceptable. A democracy needs honesty, right? What happens if Chileans don't remember these events when it is undeniably a part of the Chilean identity? It also makes me think about the States. Haven't we, more or less, already forgotten about how our government responded to Hurricane Katrina? Do schools all over America do a good job of making its students remember and reflect on slavery? 9/11? Whether or not we are for or against traumatic things that have happened in our nations, we need to remember not only their historical and political implications but their emotional implications--i think those are what give us our identity as a unified country, what identifies us as citizens of the USA.

unrelated

article comparing vietnam to the situation with afghanistan--

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/opinion/27rich.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

pictures say a thousand words!

These are some overdue photos--places i've been roaming about!

This is Valparaiso's "ex-cárcel"--the old prison grounds. It's open to the public for free and filled with murals. You can look into the cells! Really cool!

I loved this one

A view of Valparaiso!

This is La Catolica's History Institute, in Viña. A castle! Makes studying history even BETTER.

¡Fiestas Patrias!

September 18th celebrates Chile's independence day--the entire weekend becomes a nation-wide party, where Chilean's drink Chicha, eat lots of meat and empanadas and party at "La Fonda." FIESTAS PATRIAS. Las Fondas are outdoor party spaces constructed all over Chile to celebrate the day with live bands focusing on their national dance, the Cueca.

For my first Fiestas Patrias, I headed about 5 hours south of here with Rachael and Ale to a small town called Pichilemu, known for its surf. But i shouldn't make the group sound so small! Rachael had invited Ale and me along with a bunch of people she knows that are studying in Santiago. It was an international extravaganza--there were about 7 Spanish girls from Cataluña, Spain (meaning their first language is actually Catalan!) two Bolivians, two Chileans, some German girls, a French girl and some other Americans. We the group language was Spanish, so it was great practice too!

This one's for Jeremy...if he gets it..


Yehhh Rach.


world peace.

There wasn't much to see in the small town. We headed to Punta de Lobos one day--a well known surf spot. That was really beautiful. We walked around the center of Pichilemu, eating at their "best" empanada place, La Casa de las Empanadas, tried a classic dish called Paila Marinero (a simple soup filled with fresh shell fish! yum!) and soaked up some sun on the beach. It was sunny the whole weekend, but a bit cold from all the wind.

Rachael knows how to capture a moment

Epic. This is Punta de Lobos!

When we weren't exploring, we were hanging around our cabañas--we rented about four of them for the whole group. There were really sweet little houses with comfortable beds, kitchen, dining space, and bathroom. Really ideal! Since the weather was nice we were able to enjoy a pleasant hippy weekend--playing guitar and singing, sipping coffee or beer, had bbqs every night (so much meat i can't even think about it), and dancing to the small speakers brought along! It was really great how cool everyone we went with was--we all got along, and I got to know a little bit about a bunch of different people. It's inspiring to know a group can come together and enjoy each other's company. And it was great to have a weekend of dancing and drinking like old times with rach.

Empanada de mariscos (shell fish). HOW DELICIOUS.


Great shot--Chilean flag and everything!


Ale and me! Punta de Lobos.

photo post

Last weekend our group went a trip to areas within an hour of Valparais0--it was a great day! Gourmet chocolate, beautiful pottery, and the other Pablo Neruda's house!

It was a cloudy day but it almost seemed all the colors were even brighter--really beautiful grounds. But inside! No pics allowed--but it is just jam packed with trinkets and statues. It's supposed to resemble a boat. I hope one day I might get away with having a house filled with weird random things.

Another, closer view of his house. Mosaic fish. So cool.

This is in Pomaire, a small town known for its artesan pottery and goods, as well as for their empanadas! It was really good. We also tried Chicha--a traditional liquor from grapes. yum.

This in no way represents all the gorgeous pottery, but it is pottery. For some reason I didn't think to take pictures of all the more traditional pottery. This photo, is for Roxanne. Rox, this country is filled with ms. kitty!!

We went to this small business in Curacaví. Gourmet chocolate! It's really successful, there's a shop in New York City. Delicious delicious delicious. Brunnato Cioccolato.

¡ a otras partes!

My post is long overdue! The last two weekends have been really nice--I'll back track to two weeks ago, when Rachael came and visited! So nice to get another night oh-so-close in the same wee bed and remember our rooming days last year. Luckily it was a beautiful weekened, so Rachael got to see Viña in its finest, and Valparaiso the following day in pleasant weather. We met up with Amanda who took us to las dunas--dunes!--in a town nearby called Con Cón! ¡Qué hermosa! The dunes really were incredible. My photos don't quite capture how vast it all was. Or the great feeling of the sand on our feet. But it was a vista of all of Viña and Valparaiso from afar, and it felt great to be exploring the area. Plus, my worlds all collided what with having Amanda and Rachael together with me in Chile!

hey friends!


Maybe you can get an idea of the straight climb up...mm that sand felt good!


You can see the coast line, the new kind of buildings
going up in this area (that white one is not yet open), and me!

This past weekend, I head out of the country to Mendoza! It was fantastic! The total bus ride is about 8 hours, including customs, and it's great because the buses leave right from Viña and come right back. So convenient. And really comfortable! The chairs recline and there's a way to put your legs up--they're called "semi-cama (bed)" buses-- so the ride was really easy. Plus, we pass right through the Andes. Wow, what a site.

This photo doesn't show it, but to get up to this point the bus slowly winds
around switchback after switchback (is that a real car/road term? i wouldn't know).
So it's an incredible ascent. So beautiful!

I travelled to Mendoza with Eli, someone from the Butler group, and we met with others from the group the following day. Once we arrived and settled down we decided to splurge a bit on a parilla--a tasting of all kinds of meat, including intestines and blood sausage and other parts of cow or pig I can't say I know the name of in English let alone Spanish! Mmmm it was all really good. Even the weird stuff. I can honestly say that I have never tasted better meat. Plus, all goes well with some Mendoza Malbec!

Which was a good introduction to the following day where we rented some bikes and toured the bodegas of the mendoza area! So much wine, so delicious! The tours were cool, we learned some interesting things about making wine and all that and had a nice lunch with fresh arugula and local olives/olive oil. Heaven! Aside from an aching toush it was awesome and the weather was just perfect. (They call it winter! It was high 70s, 80s!)

From a more traditional winery


From a more modern winery!


Not harvest season, so not particurlarly lush. I gotta come back in March!
No problem there. :-D

The next day we explored the city. It's such a pretty city, and more recognizable to cities I know as well. Really nice residential areas, shopping areas, a gorgeous plaza. I even encountered political activism by students! And later came across this sign which i thought i'd post. When I first got to Mendoza it was all such bliss--a whole feeling of why aren't i here?! And then I saw that I probably wouldn't prefer Mendoza to Viña/Valpo, but it is definitely a fine vacation spot. Next time I have to hit las termas--the hot springs!!

Language-less

There's this odd thing happening more and more as the time is passing. At times when I'm conversing, sometimes writing, in Spanish I hit a complete blank--not only can i not think of the word in Spanish but I can't for the life of me think of it in English either. Totally bizarre, but interesting. I think its a good sign. My language part of the brain is dealing with the mix, leaving me with moments of languagelessness. I'm also all of a sudden speaking small bits of spanglish. even though i need to keep an eye on it, i think it also probably shows i'm not thinking about what i need to say at all. mixing it all up. hopefully next month i'll be done with the mixing and have moved on to some other weird language phenomenon.

EARTHQUAKE!

I was sitting in bed, writing. And it's been raining all day, so that was going on too. And all of a sudden ¡rumble-rumble! i felt my whole room shake! even my body rumbled a bit! it was brief and could probably compare to something really large upstairs falling. but it was an earthquake! really, it's what they call a tremor. but still, the earth-quaked.

DIRECCIÓN

Per request of joanna, and a good one at that, here's my address!

Cate Flanagan
IFSA-Butler
Av. Brasil 2950 (PIIE)
Valparaiso, Chile

Conocer

Conocer: to know a person or place with familiarity
There are two words for "to know" in spanish: Conocer, and Saber--to know facts.

Today was a beautiful day. And I was awed by Valparaiso--not only am i beginning to know (conocer) the city, but I'm wanting to conocer the city well.

I woke up today to sunshine after a couple rainy, stormy days. I felt bleh--I had eaten right before I went to sleep after a night of some drinking, so I woke up wanting to cleanse the bod! I went on a run--even though there's really just one run to do, I still am finding the vista of the ocean incredible. Came back home to have fajitas made by my sister (her newfound speciality) and left to meet with Ale and Dennise (my Chilean friend) to explore Valpariso.

It was awesome being with Dennise, because it meant we got a personalized tour of great artsy stores and artisan fairs and coffee shops. In one coffee shop, Color Café, some musicians came in to play us the sweetest music--it was mostly an Irish style. The flute was just gorgeous. I was back where the pictures earlier in this blog are. Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepion---there's art EVERYWHERE in these parts of Valparaiso. It seems like down every street are several little restaurants/art shops/cafes/artisan stores. I want to try and get to conocer a little bit of all of them! Really beautiful to spend a day browsing through it all. The colors of the place really do lift spirits.

Ale and Dennise!

We finished off by having in dinner in a beautiful restaurant-bar. Mosaics everywhere! There's a picture below. I can't remember what its called, though! It was a vegetarian place, and we had a veggie pizza that was so delicious. And needed, because I was just saying to them earlier how I don't eat enough veggies here! Tomorrow starts what feels like my first REAL week of school--even though I still have this week to work out the lingering qualms about my classes. First class at 9am tomorrow--black and white photo! good thing my camara arrived from mom in the mail!