July 2012
5 posts
Packing for San Pedro.
Our program officially ended today, with an A in both classes! In a couple hours a friend and I will set out on a 24 hour bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama in the northern deserts of Chile. We’ll be visiting the salt flats, Valle de Luna, go stargazing in the best stargazing location in the world, swim in hot springs, etc. I’ll have some photos of my own to add when I get back. Hasta...
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Moon Over Valparaíso
In case I never posted this beauty. I took this from my balcony a few weeks ago.
So far behind!
The past few weeks have been so busy and hectic that I’ve neglected to write…well, anything. So, while I have a few minutes here, where was I?
My group had an excursion to Santiago the weekend of the 1st. Wandered through the Museo de los Derechos Humanos (Museum of Human Rights) which fit exactly with all of the history we’d been learning in the Chilean culture class. Lots of...
La Sarena & Valle de Elqui
On Friday morning before classes, a few friends and I were talking about how we wished we had plans to go somewhere for the 3 day weekend (Chilean holiday). So, after class we all tromped over to the bus station and spontaneously bought tickets to spend the weekend in a place called La Serena in the north of Chile, a solid 7 hour bus ride from Valpo. We left first thing Saturday morning, and the...
June 2012
15 posts
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Ode to Valparaiso
Ode to Valparaíso by Pablo Neruda (trans. Hermitina)
VALPARAÍSO, what an absurdity you are, how crazy: a crazy port. What a head of disheveled hills, that you never finish combing. Never did you have time to dress yourself, and always you were surprised by life. Death woke you up, in your nightshirt, in your long johns fringed with colors, naked with a name tattooed on your stomach, and with a...
Vendors and Poets
Just a quick update.
Today in “Conversation and Chilean Culture” we were taken to one of the many markets surrounding the university and given questions to ask vendors. I bought a funny shaped orange from one guy in hopes of striking up a conversation, but his attention was immediately called elsewhere and I had to move on. One man and his daughter selling lettuce asked about the...
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For Anna and Valparaiso: Poetry in an Alley
For Anna and Valparaiso
In order to love it is necessary to suffer. Tragedy is the mirror of love and is its reflection, burns brighter.
Here life is beautiful, for me. I do not know whether other people will experience the force of life as i do, but inside of me there is joy, a full, unconscious kind of joy, becoming animal…
Here everything surprises me. Sometimes I feel as if I have just...
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No Necesito Mas.
Today I realized how in love with this city I am already. I spent the morning on the deck overlooking the bay and all of the houses across from mine waking up. On the cerros (hills) where I live, every house is made of giant windows facing the sea and the sun. There are several that I can see straight into and I can picture my life if I lived in each. in the steep valley between the back of my...
Exploring
We took a walking tour this afternoon/tonight throughout Valpo, starting at PUCV (Pontificîa Universidad Catolica de Valparaîso) and ending somewhere I couldn’t quite determine but I really liked nonetheless. It was absolutely incredible. I haven’t gotten to do much wandering yet, and tonight blew me away. Every free wall was covered in murals and street art. Not just graffiti but...
First Official Day of Classes
First day of classes went well, in that I got there ok on my own and like my professors. Out of our huge group, only 3 of us are in the intermediate class, so it will be a very personal learning experience.
But, I woke up really early this morning coughing and having trouble breathing, so my host sister and went to the doctor and apparently I’ve managed to catch myself some laryngitis in...
WatchTerri and I waiting for dinner.
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First Morning in Valpo.
We have some time to sleep in this morning, so I figured I could also use this time to give some updates.
I had a fun time wandering New York. Explored the Highline and Chinatown, but had to head back a little earlier than planned before trains shut down for a visit from the president.
Friday morning I arrived in Santiago, flew through security and customs, and made it to my friends apartment...
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"The Adventure Begins," or "The Next 96 Hours."
I fly out of Jacksonville, FL Thursday morning at 6ish.
Next stop is JFK in NYC for a 12 hour layover and some time looking around the city.
At 8pm I board an overnight flight to Santiago, Chile, which lands around 8am EST (I never even change time zones on this trip!)
I’ll be staying with a friend in Santiago until Sunday, getting acquainted with the culture and language just a...
