Cameron's brother, Zach, came and visited us for two weeks. We had a blast with him and he fell in love with Santiago. He also brought us a replacement camera for the one we foolishly lost in La Serena. We took a weekend trip to Valparaiso, a port town about an hour and a half from Santiago. It was a great trip and we all loved Valpo. It was especially difficult to swallow as this was one of our first choices of places to live while in Chile, but it didn't work out for us to be there. Sigh. Its a colorful town with lots of character. Every street had huge murals and the houses were brightly colored. The city sits on multiple hills with houses built into the sides. There are windy staircases to maneuver the streets, and steep "ascensors" which are old lifts to take you up the steepest parts. The town just begs to be photographed, so it was a perfect chance to try out our "new" camera. We took almost 200 pictures, and it was difficult to choose our favorites to post for people to see, but I think we did an accurate job. Overall, Valpo is a great city and a must-see of Chile.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Winter has Arrived
by Debbie
The street vendors have put away the summer wares and are now selling sweaters, hats, gloves, and umbrellas. The rain seems to induce confusion here in Santiago and invite new excuses to avoid work. After the first big rain, some of the surrounding areas flooded and had “impassable” roads. We arrived to campus the next day with blue skies and sunshine despite notices of city wide school cancellations. Once there, we were told that attendance was optional, absences wouldn’t be held against students who couldn’t attend, and we weren’t to conduct any quizzes or presentations, due to the rain the previous night. The temperatures are in the mid 50’s, but that doesn’t stop people from bundling up in all possible layers. The news ran a special a couple mornings ago giving tips to people on how to deal with the cold, explaining how to bundle up and wear warm clothing. Many students have expressed concern for me when I wear a lightweight jacket to work, “Profe, you’re too cold, you will get sick.” Chileans still buy into the myth that you can catch a cold if you are cold. I had a student tell me she had to leave my class because her feet were cold, when I told her she would be absent, she gave me the most pitiful puppy dog eyes she could muster and said she didn’t feel good. *insert pathetic cough*
A mere drizzle causes a flurry of umbrellas to unfold on the city streets; this adds a whole new level of chaos to the already bustling streets of Santiago. People still rush from Point A to Point B without regard for others on the street, only now they do so with sharp umbrellas at eye gouging level. One must use extra caution when navigating even short distances, lesson learned the hard way. Those unfortunate enough not to own umbrellas (which is surprising with how much Chileans love them and the ability to buy them every two feet on the street) huddle under awnings if they can fit among the stray perros and homeless. We have been warned by numerous people of how cold it gets here in the winter. While it is significantly colder now than 2 months ago, I’m not buying into the “freezing” weather just yet, I think Chileans are just a little sensitive when the weather drops below 85 degrees. However, when the smog lifts and the rain lets up, we are left with splendid views of the snowcapped Andes, which are a faithful reminder that we’re actually here in South America and to enjoy it as much as we can while it lasts.
The street vendors have put away the summer wares and are now selling sweaters, hats, gloves, and umbrellas. The rain seems to induce confusion here in Santiago and invite new excuses to avoid work. After the first big rain, some of the surrounding areas flooded and had “impassable” roads. We arrived to campus the next day with blue skies and sunshine despite notices of city wide school cancellations. Once there, we were told that attendance was optional, absences wouldn’t be held against students who couldn’t attend, and we weren’t to conduct any quizzes or presentations, due to the rain the previous night. The temperatures are in the mid 50’s, but that doesn’t stop people from bundling up in all possible layers. The news ran a special a couple mornings ago giving tips to people on how to deal with the cold, explaining how to bundle up and wear warm clothing. Many students have expressed concern for me when I wear a lightweight jacket to work, “Profe, you’re too cold, you will get sick.” Chileans still buy into the myth that you can catch a cold if you are cold. I had a student tell me she had to leave my class because her feet were cold, when I told her she would be absent, she gave me the most pitiful puppy dog eyes she could muster and said she didn’t feel good. *insert pathetic cough*
A mere drizzle causes a flurry of umbrellas to unfold on the city streets; this adds a whole new level of chaos to the already bustling streets of Santiago. People still rush from Point A to Point B without regard for others on the street, only now they do so with sharp umbrellas at eye gouging level. One must use extra caution when navigating even short distances, lesson learned the hard way. Those unfortunate enough not to own umbrellas (which is surprising with how much Chileans love them and the ability to buy them every two feet on the street) huddle under awnings if they can fit among the stray perros and homeless. We have been warned by numerous people of how cold it gets here in the winter. While it is significantly colder now than 2 months ago, I’m not buying into the “freezing” weather just yet, I think Chileans are just a little sensitive when the weather drops below 85 degrees. However, when the smog lifts and the rain lets up, we are left with splendid views of the snowcapped Andes, which are a faithful reminder that we’re actually here in South America and to enjoy it as much as we can while it lasts.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Seismic Activity and a Seismic Blunder
By Cameron
There was a massive volcanic erruption over the weekend, about 750 miles south of here. We have also been awakened by two small earthquakes in the last couple weeks. No suprising at all, given the number of active volcanoes and fault lines in Chile. Check out the stories and images of the erruption on the internet. Its pretty intense. Thousands of people have been evacuated from the area. There is about 6 inches of ash around the region. I cant tell the story as well as a world news article or YouTube clip, so check it out for yourselves.
In other news, we took a 7 hour bus trip to the north this holiday weeknd (Labor Day in Chile)to a beach town called La Serana. On the trip up we both fell asleep. After arriving in La Seraena we walked about a half-mile before realizing the camera was missing. I ran frantically back to the station only to see that the bus had already left for its next destination, 1000 miles north into the Atacama Desert. As we learned, there really is no procedure here for reporting lost (or stolen) items. We are pretty sure it was wedged into the seat between us and we just forgot to grab it before getting off. It was a costly and stupid mistake that we really beat ourselves up over, but had to move on so we could enjoy a nice weekend away from the madness of Santiago. Sorry, no picturres to share. DOH! We hope to be getting a replacement soon. Until then Google images will be the source for photos of Chile.
There was a massive volcanic erruption over the weekend, about 750 miles south of here. We have also been awakened by two small earthquakes in the last couple weeks. No suprising at all, given the number of active volcanoes and fault lines in Chile. Check out the stories and images of the erruption on the internet. Its pretty intense. Thousands of people have been evacuated from the area. There is about 6 inches of ash around the region. I cant tell the story as well as a world news article or YouTube clip, so check it out for yourselves.
In other news, we took a 7 hour bus trip to the north this holiday weeknd (Labor Day in Chile)to a beach town called La Serana. On the trip up we both fell asleep. After arriving in La Seraena we walked about a half-mile before realizing the camera was missing. I ran frantically back to the station only to see that the bus had already left for its next destination, 1000 miles north into the Atacama Desert. As we learned, there really is no procedure here for reporting lost (or stolen) items. We are pretty sure it was wedged into the seat between us and we just forgot to grab it before getting off. It was a costly and stupid mistake that we really beat ourselves up over, but had to move on so we could enjoy a nice weekend away from the madness of Santiago. Sorry, no picturres to share. DOH! We hope to be getting a replacement soon. Until then Google images will be the source for photos of Chile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)