West's Gone South

Hallelujah He is Risen!

2010-04-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

What a glorious Easter morning! After searching for a church without success on Good Friday, I decided to go to the English Speaking Community Church for Easter. On their website though they had a post about having an 8 am service at a golf course without any note about their regular service. To the golf course it was!

Fortunately the time change in Chile occurred this weekend so 8 am wasn’t QUITE as early as it usually would be. After just missing one bus, I took the next out to the golf course where it dropped me off outside the fence. So, golf courses are big. This one is no exception. Fromwhere I stood, it had only a fence (without holes to look in) for as far as the eye could see.

40 minutes later I show up to the service as it ends. All I can think is “I can’t even get to a church on Easter!” (it’s been a long week : ) It turns out though, this service was the greatest gift I could ask for.

The pastor, having completed the service, immediately greeted me and introduced me to his wife and several other people. There was a display of food—including banana bread that I so badly wanted to make but couldn’t find any bananas for on Holy Saturday (and my other bananas had begun to mold! I have no oven so I had to wait till the weekend…which turns out was a little too long!) and the group of 25 or so people wanted to be sure that I had plenty of food! (I was starving so that was fine with me!)

I met several tennesseans, KY-eans, Arkanseans, and so on as well as Brits and Canadians. Additionally, I met a friend of Jessica Bridges that works in a community of mentally handicapped adults (whats the pc phrase?) who I have been supposed to email since I arrived!! She’s also a Methodist minister so knows the UR well!

I rode with the pastor and his wife to the other service. Arriving an hour early, I went to coffee with a lady who works at the ministry described above and then finally made it to that Easter service complete with 3 of those beautiful easter hymns and all the support of a Christian community I had been looking for. Even an invite to Easter lunch, which I had to turn down for my almuerzo at a friends home. I felt like a completely different person walking out of there. I’m so glad I made that 40 minute walk! What a little easter hope will do :)

Holy Saturday Thoughts

2010-04-04T17:50:00.001-07:00

A note from Saturday...

I’ve been kinda sad the past couple days and I had a hard time figuring out why. I haven’t been visibly upset—I’ve actually had a good time with friends, spoken with my family, tried to set up things to do this weekend, and had time to myself on this long Easter weekend. But my heart sighs with sadness underneath it all.

This morning I realized what had been bugging me. In a country that use to be 90% Catholic, I am struggling to find people to celebrate Easter with me. Of course several friends have agreed to come to a dinner I set up, and others are travelling or celebrating with their families. But I finding someone to share in the significance of the day is hard! Actually, Andrew said he’d go to church with me, and he’ll be at dinner as well, so I guess we’ll just have a gringo celebration. (He’s been out of town so we haven’t really spoken about it).

It made me think though about how easy it has always been for me to celebrate! How isolating it is to not have someone to share the holiday with! Even though my family doesn’t really celebrate it as a community—it is a community event! It is THE DAY for those of us who are Christian. How tough it must be to really be without a Christian community.

The current issue of Weavings is “Turning the World Upside Down.” The theme description begins with a quotation from Alan Jones: “The Resurrection means trouble for us who are comfortable with being only half alive” and concludes by saying “To be among those who turn the world upside down can be a lonely and hazardous occupation.” Simply not having a community to celebrate in feels lonely. And that is with only being half alive.

Stopping with Water

2010-04-03T13:05:00.003-07:00

At the end of our day after the gas station, we pulled into the one store on our trip. It was located in a tiny town of probably 100 people. There was no gas station, but we were told we could buy gas out of a tank that I suppose is for emergency gas rations. Danny and I split a liter of beer—all the more gratifying because of the previous hour. After our lunch that day of tuna with onion and garlic, along with the last of our chocolate, we continued on. I was in a particularly good mood as we headed downhill, able to watch the weather changing and such. We took a break, and somewhat foolishly decided not to fill back up on water at the one stream we passed. I would have insisted, but it ran through a cow field, so I let it go. Shortly after our break, I lost all energy. We ran into some hills, and I had no energy or will power to continue. I realized that the only food I had required a stove (which Danny had) and I had no water, nor water filter. I pushed through another hill, hoping to see Danny a bit ahead. He wasn’t there. We usually stopped every 10-15 K, and I was really hoping that was near. I tried to bike, but I couldn’t make the pedals turn. I think my blood sugar must have dropped and I was certainly dehydrated because I had absolutely no strength. I finally got off my bike and started pushing. I pushed the bike for a while, but even that was hard in the wind. I sat down and contemplated catching a ride. If I waited long enough, I knew Danny would come find me. But we really only had enough food for that night and breakfast, so we needed to get to our destination. I switched pushing my bike and resting. Finally a truck came in my direction on the shoulder of the road with his flashers on. “Estas bien?” He asked, his truck filled with young men and German Shepherds. I could have hopped in the back with the dogs, or even asked for something to eat. Instead I only asked if he had water. I couldn’t think clearly enough to decide if it were safe to ride with him, but really I’m am just too darn stubborn!

He passed a bottle of water to me from his truck and I said thanks. As he drove away I began to cry. So simple and yet I needed that water and that hope so badly. It made me wonder how often I had paid enough attention to the people around me. So often especially in the states we see immigrants and travelers. There are people passing through the airport with cancelled flights, stolen or lost luggage, broken situations that they are leaving or returning to. My students back in the states worked in factories or outside in construction all day long. Some sent remittances back to their children whom they hadn’t seen in a decade. And that’s on a good day. How easy it was, with just a little poor planning, to be stuck and alone. And what a difference having someone stop to ask made!

Dedicated to the Wind

2010-03-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me, as I began to contemplate our pace, that I could run faster than we were biking. Danny had hoped to bike 100 KM the first day. This seemed reasonable since he biked 80 miles each day (150 k) in his trip across the US. Yet we were hitting about 50 Km/day, with an average pace of 10 Km/hr. Only a couple months before, I ran 21 Km in 1:53—less than 2 hours. Talk about devastating. The wind was literally breathtaking. It would come upon us with such force that your ability to breath—to do anything besides push forward—was immediately stopped. At times I would be hardly moving forward.

Hills could take half an hour of constant pushing in the lowest gears. Of course the hills themselves weren’t bad—long but not too steep. But the wind made them last forever. Generally too I would look forward to that sense of accomplishment at the top, only to be hit with wind with such force that I would actually have to downshift if I was able in order to go downhill. The hills would actually block some of the wind. There is nothing more disappointing than struggling to go downhill.

(Photo from one of the wind shelters along the way where we would stop to rest and eat)

I wish I could say this was an exaggeration, but I think it is actually an underestimation. Its hard to describe how challenging that biking was. It was physically exhausting, but the mental challenge was the hardest part. I would constantly have to pick my bike up after being blown off it or blown too far into the road so that I overcorrected to get out of the road or just stopping because I was bored. We would bike long straight-aways for hours—which normally would be bliss on a bike, but instead was an infinite stretch with no gratifying conclusion. Trees were permanently bent from the wind, and bikers passing us from the opposite direction would shyly break the news that we were headed the wrong way. We found excitement in our glimpses of the very distant mountains, that very slowly—day by day—grew larger, more visible—from a slight curvature on the horizon, to distant peaks, to visible mountains in the background. Appreciation became the word of the day on the third or fourth day as we found we really learned to appreciate everything we could!

(Photo more of a pretty tree than a tree bent from the wind, but you get the gist)

Danny put on his thinking cap and suggested that we start biking earlier in the morning. The wind comes from the sun heating up the air, causing it to move. It was well worth it to me to try going earlier. And he was right! The next morning we left early—maybe 8, and it was brilliant. Still windy (and probably fairly miserable by other standards) but SOOO much better.

As it began to rain, we passed an enormous rainbow like God was confirming that this was the way to do it.

Strangely we also passed a field claiming that it had land mines. I don’t know if that was true or a threat to trespassers, but very odd. We took a break around 11. Unfortunately it signaled the end to our break in the wind. It was back. If that was the case, I was ready to get up at 4 am to avoid that wind.

Photo of Monuments to the Wind

These sheep have dugouts to protect themselves from the wind!

Back to Biking

2010-03-09T19:48:00.001-08:00

Returning to my arduous journey north, Danny and I had just finished our first full day biking straight into head winds. We were exhausted and dumbfounded at the relentless conditions we were facing, so as we pulled into the little gas station, we began to start talking up the beers and chocolate we were going to buy excitedly. After a day like that, maybe we’d get a hamburger as well.

We should have known that fresh hamburgers wouldn’t be awaiting us. The gas station appears as though it were built in the 1950s, and perhaps abandoned shortly thereafter. There are four old fashion pumps sitting out in the open of a wide parking lot. To the left sit a couple old shacks, one with arrows to a bathroom, which Danny later told me not to even think of using. The actual station appears like a log-cabin restaurant you might find on a country road off of I65, several hundred miles from any main city. As we head in, we quickly find that our much dreamed of dinner won’t be realized as we had anticipated it. Walking past a log fire and a man sitting on his computer at the end of a table, we approach the counter—a broken glass sits in front a small collection of candy, diapers, and sanitary pads. The man stands to take our order. Fortunately there were beers sitting on the floor behind the counter so we bought two. We asked about the candy, but the high price was out of our splurge range.

What followed was an amazing display of hospitality. I ask the owner if I could use the internet to send an email to my parents, who had only received a quick notice of my sudden decision. After he and his son tried to make the internet work on my computer, he gave me his computer to use. He allowed Danny and me to eat our dinner—made of nothing we had purchased from him—inside the lodge and then offered his home’s kitchen to let me clean the dishes. Inside his home, I chatted with his son and discussed the blizzards in the States with the owner as the news flashed the different reports. He brought coffee to me and Danny while we were working on various things and offered one of the sheds to serve as a restive from the wind. All at no profit—or really even gain for him.

What is most impressive to me about this situation is that this man must do this on a daily basis. Bikers heading the opposite direction had alerted us to the station earlier that day. I asked him if he had a lot of cyclists—he just laughed and nodded. While we were inside, a hitchhiker came by and was offered space to set up camp. This man had taken on hosting us travelers just as part of his life there in the middle of nowhere.

Clearing up some confusion

2010-03-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

The past few posts have led to some confusion about the sequence of my life and 'what the heck I'm doing now'. My apologies. Limited internet and computer functionality (and patience!) meant that I haven't been able to blog like I would have liked. I generally write my blogs ahead of time, but they still each take an hour or so to upload--especially if there are any photos. Jordan has been generous enough to lend me his really fast computer for the week, so hopefully I'll play a bit of catch up!

As for the order of events thus far:

I arrived in Santiago, Chile in January. After spending 10 days staying with Andrew, a friend of a friend in Nashville (now a friend of my own as well) I flew south with Danny, a friend from Georgetown who I had been planning to bike with. Before leaving Chile I decided not to bike from the South of Chile North with him because I wanted to focus on my internship and it just seemed like trying to do too much. Unfortunately Danny's other friend joining him bailed last minute as well, so I agreed to stay in the South with him while he tried to figure out plans. While Danny and I were in Punta Arenas, though, we went for a bike trip to the southern tip of the continent with a beat up rental bike....and I absolutely fell in love with it. After days of debate, I finally decided to join Danny, and so we headed North. The first day though I realized what I was getting myself into. 40-60 Km/hr headwinds; boring landscape; inexperience--as well as challenge, adventure, and time. As I considered it further, and remembered my initial attraction to biking I began to settle into the unbelievable slow pace of our journey. And here I left off...

As for what I'm doing now...well, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait ;)

Donating to Chile

2010-03-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in Donating to help with the recovery here in Chile, you are welcome to donate to an organization below, but I have also been put in charge of fundraising for the NGO I am working for. We are going to raise money to help rebuild our office that was damaged and the businesses of our clients that were damaged. We work with small entrepreneurs, offering business training to people who would not have it otherwise. We are going to work out the details tomorrow and Tuesday so I will post more information then!

Helping Out in Chile

2010-03-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of discussion of how to help here in Chile. The government seems to have been extremely slow in bringing help to Concepcion, so riots have broken out, all sorts of stores have been broken into, people had trouble finding food and water. One guy who worked at a tuna canning store had people filing in to take tuna, saying that they had been given permission. He had no choice but to allow them, though he doubted the claim.

Most disappointing is that people were told in various coastal regions that there WOULDNT be a tsunami. Then the alarm was given extremely last minute.

Because the roads are blocked to Concepcion, it is difficult for people to find ways to go help. However there has also been warnings made about causing more harm than good--people who end up taxing the resources of the rescue workers rather than actually bringing any expertise. In Santiago, there have been a lot of people trying to find ways to help--and every other block has begun collecting supplies for the south.

If you would like to help from the states, here are some places to donate and learn more:

http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/interaction-members-respond-earthquake-chile --This is your best resource. It has a list of the different international organizations with on-site assistance.

http://ayudemoschile.wordpress.com/--information and volunteer coordination from within Chile. They accept donations here as well, but I can't say anything about the security of the site.

I'll update more as I come across them.

El Terremoto: the state of things

2010-02-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to send an update about how Santiago looks. Thanks for all your emails and messages! Santiago actually faired pretty well. There is lots of shattered glass from windows and streetlamps, and some building damage, but very little serious destruction. In our area there isn't much at all. Some people that live in older buildings can't return home because the buildings are considered dangerous, though its nclear to us why that is.

However, because of the pictures on the news about Conception and other areas, there is a lot of fear. People are unwilling to go into work. I dont know ifyou recieved video on the news in the states about people breaking into grocery stores and other stores, but the grocery workers won't show up to work here. Stores that have opened have long lines. I'm anticipating another gas crisis, so Jordan has run to wait in line to fill up on gas for his stove. We now have water at our apartment building, but still no gas so we are without hot water or stoves. Fortunately my flat mate, Diana, bought a microwave on Friday so we have somewhere to cook. If all else fails though, Jordan and I both have camping gear and camping food that should last for quite a few days.

Last night we went out and there was almost no one out. A Saturday night and the gas station and two restaurantes were open. Looking at our apartment complex, which probably has 400 rooms facing the garden in the middle, about 20 had lights on after 10--a drastic change to the noise and music you usually hear until well after midnight even on the week nights. We'll see what monday brings!

Survival Mode

2010-02-27T07:06:00.000-08:00

Today I went out searching for water. It took me quite a while to find any, though now I'm talking about the present tense. Strangely that survival mode seems just to be my american mindset at work--I saw one other person buying water, bread, and toilet paper. Everyone else: a few snacks, some tomatoes, some juice. Which is good, because in 30 min of walking, there were 3 minimarts open and thats it!!!

I should start out by saying I'm fine! And I believe all my friends are ok too!!

Last night I was at an english-speaking party with my friend Andrew, who lives here, and Jordan, who works at REI in Nashville. I recieved an email yesterday from Jordan saying he was in a park about 6 blocks from my apartment, so we met up for the night.

Feeling sick, Jordan and I left the party around 330 am. (Early by Chilean standards). Just before trying to hail a cab I felt really dizzy and faint--as if suddenly drunk, though I hadn't had much at all. But it didn't stop--"Its an earthquake" I yelled. Too sick to do anything I just grabbed Jordan. Fortunately he had his wits about him and moved us from the street lamp we were under as others came crashing down. "Lets run into the street" he said as he pulled me to the 6 lane Providencia. "Are you crazy?" Of course cars weren't driving but I couldn't think about much beside my stomach.

When it finally stopped, all the lights were out. It was pitch black along this major street, despite being only blocks from the friday night hotspot. We tried to hail a cab, and then a bus, but none were stopping. So we walked. And walked. We started to encounter huge crowds of people who had been kicked out of the bars. I was so grateful that I didn't have to head to my apartment alone. No lights, lots of drunk and probably scared people.

When we finally arrived at the apartment building, there were crowds of people outside. Great. "Porque esta ud. afuera?" I asked--"Porque hay replicas" she told me. Of course--aftershocks. I was so ignorant of earthquakes. We decided there was little enough in our 4th floor apt to be of danger and headed up. There were some things turned over, and one vase spilled unfortunately on the TV, but otherwise no damage.

Turns out, as you may read in the news, it was a pretty serious earthquake--8.8, 1000 times greater than the earthquake in Haiti. BUT so far only 78 people dead, thanik goodness. They were 3 years overdue an earthquake. The epicenter was 200 miles outside of Santiago, so hopefully released some pressure, but apparently (according to my parents) there may be more. There is a Tsunami heading this way, but Santiago has a mountain Barricade so we should be ok. Probably the biggest health risk (besides no water in the Apt building) is that the sky is a thick dark grey from a chemical fire. You can smell it and apartment buildings only blocks away aren't visible. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Thanks for all your emails and prayers! Everything is fine!! I'm still waiting to hear from some friends, but we were mostly in areas of town that were not as bad.

2010-02-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

While the landscape and terrible winds managed only to degrade (think Kansas without even any trees or brush or animals), my spirits during the day actually improved. People passing cheered us on with big smiles; truck drivers honked; Danny and I stopped for lunch in a ditch (to hide from the wind) and began rationing our chocolate. Ok, who am I kidding, we ate the whole bar--but at least not two!! We had to go 125 km more before we could buy any more bars. We ran into a group of bikers heading south--and enjoying the tailwind they were experiencing. They stopped to offer advice and chocolate to Danny, who apparently looked as if he were battling 100km/hr headwinds. A dutch couple driving the other direction pulled over and ran across the road to us. "Do you need anything?" They asked. They had done 100s of miles on bike and always stopped to check on bikers supplies and condition.

I accepted my fate for the next few days. At least Torres del Paine, the beautfiul national park that was the very reason for my trek, was only 300 more kilometers. By Danny's estimation, that was 3 days, so I figured 5.

Somewhere along the way, I remembered to the reason I had originally considered biking. It was time. Time to my thoughts and to prayers. I had the chance to finally put into practice what I had been learning and working on for the past 15 months at the Upper Room. On a bike there aren't the distractions of life. Just you and teh road. And out here, thats litterally ALL there is. (I took the photo on the right because I was SUPER excited to see a change in the scenery--there were mountains in the distance!!).

So I began to pray, and sing and consider what I would write. I thought about what Pam, one of the Editors of Weavings had said about prayer in each thing you do, as you make a sandwich in the morning, or prepare food for others for example. So the pedals, the road, the cars, each stop became part of my prayers and thoughts. I thought a lot about all the people who had helped me get here through words of encouragement, freedom, and inspiration. And every one of my friends and family back home in Nashville, DC and flung across the world. It was hard not to be in a good mood at that point. I have such incredible people behind me, and what an opportunity to just be able to sit and think about it. I wanted to send letters of gratitude, hugs, and smiles...so hopefully some of you are reading this now...

One of my "Senior Sayings" in our high school year book was "the only girl to ever write me a love letter". Emily posited that it was probably written by a girl as well. Haha, yeah, I can get sappy about these things...

Finally Danny and I encountered some hills, though hills like I'd never seen. These hills didn't flow into each other, but strangely jutted out of the ground in continuous rows. It turns out that these are known as and caused by glaciers as the random informational sign told us.

Well I've spent over an hour on this post, so thats all for now...

Thanks friends and family!!!

2010-02-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

Before I post my next story, I just want to say thanks to friends and family reading this! I feel very cared for! I know my last entry ended on a rough note--but know that that was about three weeks ago (I'm catching the blog up...slowly) and everything is going quite well. But a lot happened in between.

Regardless, I appreciate all of your prayers and emails and love!! I send it all right back!

xoxo

2010-02-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

The night we left we began to look for a place to stay as it got dark. We pulled over to a side road and searched for a place to camp. A couple was walking down the road so as I struggled to pick up my bike which had fallen over from me stopping, Danny asked them if they knew of a place. “Si, si,” the woman responded. Right behind us was her mother’s property. They helped us lift our bikes over the fence and led us back to a protected area, saying if we needed water or anything to let them know. Once they left, we looked around. It was almost too good to be true. They left us in the most perfect camping spot I have ever slept in—soft flat dry ground, shaded by trees, protected from sight.

We immediately questioned whether it was a good idea to trust what had just happened. Remembering an experience of my mother’s, I looked around for poison ivey. Finally we decided it really was almost too good to be true.

Danny and I set up camp and de facto established the roles that would remain for the rest of our trip together. Danny got to work on his greatest need—food, and I on mine—warmth. These remained our priorities, so the roles set in. I had a dream that some kids ran by our campsite with water guns. I followed them to find a full public bathroom with showers and all. Exploring a little further, I found a whole YMCA. It turns out that the couple had also told us that there was an outhouse on the otherside of the property that I came across when I was looking for a place to go to the bathroom. It really was the full deal.

As we left, they offered us water and chatted with us for a bit. Just a wonderfully generous family! We got back on the road, and continued in the most unbelievable headwinds.

Then reality set in. We were still by the coast, but rather than scenic and enjoyable, in the overcast grey sky, the beach became my enemy. I assumed it was the source of the winds and couldn’t wait to get away from it. A huge gust of wind wiped my bike out in the middle of the road. Terrified, I threw the bike to the side and mangled my knee as the bike twisted around it. I discovered the night before that I couldn’t physically lift the bike myself with all the gear on it, so stopping generally meant the bike would be on the ground. Falling meant that there wasn’t much I could do about it. Before falling in the road though I was already working through my regret about my decision. Collapsing in the road though was too much—it was truly life threatening. It was clear that I had gotten myself into too much. And now I was stuck. I could turn around, but Danny and I had mixed our gear up. And I had a bike. I was going. I sat in the wind on the side of the road and cried, partly from the pain in my knee and partly from anger at myself. And the day had just begun.

Setting Sail

2010-02-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

I’ve never been good at major personal decisions. Partly, I need to be more selfish. Facing two decisions at once (job and trip) certainly did not help my decision making faculties. Sigh. It turned out that the bikes were actually rather inexpensive. After hours upon hours of deliberation and some decisions about my job, though, I decided that I’ll probably only be in Chile once. During those days Danny’s thought process—which is SOOO different than mine—probably began to have some influence as well. To the bike shop it is! In a long afternoon, Danny and I embarked on the greatest shopping spree of my life. Friends take note. I bought all that I needed (tho only the absolute necessities) for a bike trip in one afternoon—almost entirely after the afternoon siesta too! For those of you who don’t know, I hate shopping—and I hate spending money. I had several almost panick attacks in the bike store, although really I spent very little. Considering that if I had shipped my own bike it would have been probably $300 for all the flights—this was really the most cost effective way to do it. Moreover, we winged everything.

I went to the Zona Franca (tax free and very inexpensive stuff!) and bought a tent, sleeping pad, duffle bag, poncho, and a warm layer (that I have yet to wear! Though not from lack of cold!) in addition to the biking gear.

We threw my things into Danny’s army bag and strapped that on the back of the bike with my new duffle on top. Danny managed to finagle my backpack into a handle bar bag. We fit it all—clothes, gear, and food! As the sun began to set, we put on our headlamps (my new favorite item) and headed out of the city. We wanted to get far enough to finally be “on the way”. A few minor adjustments along the way and there we were, riding out of the city with the fading light. Cars honked and people waved. Bike tourists are a spectacle in themselves, with their bike loaded down with gear. But tourists on bikes are a whole nother category.

Before I left the owner of the bike store asked if I had done any bike touring. He laughed and shook his head when I said no. Well, it will be an adventure to say the least. But if we could turn our suitcases into panniers (the bike bags) what else is to stop us? At least I told myself as I fought off feelings of regret. I’m here now. At least when someone asks me the craziest thing I’ve ever done, I’ll have an answer.

Cycling

2010-02-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

Cycling is a lifestyle. Your life: food, clothing, shelter, time, transportation, are all contained on this small vehicle. Its simple, straightforward, self-contained. And utterly elegant. Already I had gotten sick of tourism—of seeing town after town. My mother wished me well on my travels here simply to get the travel bug out of my system. In a sense it has worked. I don’t want to buy souveniers, hit the town hot spots, take the same pictures that have been take thousands of times before. I travel for the story and the adventure. For the knowledge and people. I want the experience and challenge of living somewhere else. I’m done speed visiting cities. But I’ve only started living other lifestyles. Living with purpose in new places. And the bike is a lifestyle in itself.

As Danny described, time here moves at just the right pace. You have time to think and watch. You are working towards survival—travel, cook meals, set up camp. But you can be alone, work alone. Write. Pray. This is living. I know I’m spoiled. Its sunny and dry now. Cold and wet lie ahead. It depends on the price of the bike I told Danny. If we find a bike for cheap, I’ll consider riding with you. But nothing is cheap in this tourist town.

Temptation

2010-02-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

Somewhere between the comfy beds and the beautiful next day, Danny and I found a bike for me to rent, packed my little backpack with my sleeping bag and a change of clothes, and rode down to the end of the world. Our destination: Cabo Froward, the southernmost point on the contiguous continent.

For those of you who didn’t overhear (or had the luxury not to have to deal with) my ongoing dilemma, I had to decide about a month ago whether to ride with Danny from the southern tip of Argentina north. He and a friend were headed to Machu Picchu. I was going to join them for a bit, but timing changed and I decided that it was too expensive and I had other priorities (like doing an internship in Microfinance). It sounded like the adventure of a lifetime, and I romanticized about the lifestyle of living with nothing more than your bike. Other than doing the trip on horseback, I really couldn’t think of anything more…romantic for lack of a better word.

I was so excited for this trip—I would still have the chance to experience all that Danny had been raving about, without the big commitment that the full trip would take. Well, you can see where this is going…

I fell in love. I loved every moment of it. It was no easy ride: We faced terrible winds that pushed us across the road. I tried to ride on the shoulder as much as possible and on the outside of Danny’s wheel because it was never clear when a huge gust of wind would force you out. Half the time we were riding at an angle all the way down. My bike, which had probably been rounded up off the street somewhere, rattled the least in 2nd gear, so that’s where I left it for the most part. The aged seat combined with the extra 15 pounds I was carrying on my back left my back side rather sore. Apparently if you ride for an extended period of time, you get what are essentially butt blisters. Cyclists see it as a rite of passage. I just saw it as painful, but I’m pretty sure I earned that one on the first day out.

About an hour and a half into our trip, Danny’s bike jammed. He was clearly working hard to stay collected. The chain had wedged itself between the wheel and the derailer (the component on the back wheel of the bike that changes the gears). Neither of us could get it to budge and it had broken one of the spokes. We took Danny’s gear off his bike and he began to take the bike apart piece by piece until he had set the chain free and detached the wheel to replace the spoke.

Apparently this is one of the worst things that could happen to a bike (short of an accident), but Danny changed it calmly and skillfully. It was actually watching him do that—knowing that he in a sense had to fix it—that made my heart melt. We were on our own, and survival, or at least continuing the trip, meant fixing the bike.

From that point on, my thoughts began to run almost poetically—a genre I am almost entirely unfamiliar with as the editors I worked for will tell you. The rattle of the chain eased my mind into the comfort of the road, combating the harsh fluster of the wind, as my butt learned to deal with the poorly fitted saddle. We passed pastures, old shipping yards, and what we hoped were penguins (though found out were not ). I looked back to see our progress, and ahead to see the road before us. This, I thought to myself, is how to travel.

We were free. We had been in the city, seen all they have to offer, and escaped. They clearly did not want us, and in this high priced tourist town, the feeling was mutual. But here we had the road. It offered a new side of the city—of the continent previously unknown to us. An army barrack, grand houses, guest houses, farms, sheep horses. Wind bent trees, and finally a restive almost free of the wind. Well, of the wind we had been experiencing.

My journal at this point says “Danny partly wanted me to ride with him because he kept hopes that I would change my mind. I’m on the verge of those hopes being realized. I knew this would be torture and had resolved not to join…but man this is torture. I’m riding with a smile on my face. I love it.”

Transitions

2010-02-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

Danny and I actually did not stumble into the town square until days into our stay in Punta Arenas. We made our way to the coast, to the hills, to the beautiful city of a cemetery.

Sheep are really important to the south and have been a main industry...I can't help but think of "10 things I hate about you" (sorry...yes I am willing to cheapen my blog with this...) "are there sheep"

The cemetery had marked streets, "mansions"

and "apartments"

After our lovely stay with Mo, I ran some errands while Danny pieced together his bicycle, which had been folded up into a suitcase for the plane ride. Just as we met up again, the sky fell out. It was already FREEZING, there at the end of the world, so neither of us wanted to deal with the rain. We were going to make our way back to the hostel where we camped, but now we had a bike to deal with as well, so catching a collective (taxis that run on particular routes), was going to be more difficult. Additionally we were starving as it was 4 in the afternoon and neither of us had eaten all day and had to go to the bathroom.

We took refuge in the entrance to the cemetery. There were a lot of people loitering, but a tourist bus had just left so neither of us were too worried. Well, Danny wasn’t too worried. But we also both really had to go to the bathroom. We took turns using the bathroom and Danny suggested we just have lunch there as well. No one had said anything, but I really had the feeling that we shouldn’t stick around.

Just as we walked out of the entrance, a hearse pulled up with an ENOURMOUS procession behind it. I guess it had come from the opposite side of town because after it pulled over, cars passed for what seemed like 10 minutes—preventing us from crossing the street and further incriminating us of our gringo intrusion. Eep! We finally made it across and settled for a less wet spot in a park for our late afternoon meal. By the end of it, we were freezing and the prospect of camping didn’t seem too appealing. We settled for a hostel with beds (the only I’ve stayed in since Valpairiso).

Somewhere between that hostel and the next day or so, everything changed…

Southern Hospitality

2010-02-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

To those of you who have been so generous as to visit my blog, I’m sorry it has been so long since my last post! My trip to the south took an unexpected (but good!) turn, and I have not had internet access since then, besides the occasional police station.... But I’ll start back up two weeks ago. Its been quite a learning opportunity, and while not in Spanish, it has certainly pushed my limits….(oh and I've seemed to have lost the port that connects my camera...so I'm afraid these will be without photos :(

So, Punta Arenas…

Danny and I have made it ALMOST to the end of the world. Punta Arenas is the southernmost city in Chile. I don't think either of us were fully prepared for what that meant. Punta Arenas is an unexpected little town. It actually is quite big for being in the middle of nowhere, and based almost entirely on tourism. There is a hostel on every block. I was given about 8 maps of the city today, one from each vendor I visited. An enourmous cruise ship docked today, and you see backpackers and cyclists all around. However, tourists only see a very small part of it. A little boy stopped to stare at the two of us running in our leggings and bright wind breakers. He turned to his dad for explanation, who just shrugged and said "Gringos". We are still a strange sight to the eyes.

The town square and tourist attractions are all within walking distance—all besides the Zona Franca, which became a very crucial part of my upcoming adventure. But the actual town—where people live and work, study and play, is a good deal further and stretches for miles. This section of the town has not been developed for tourists and has a slightly aged and run down look, like a blue collar town at the downturn of the industry it is based on.

The town square, on the other hand, is elegant and regal. It retains its very European look, colored by local vendors pushing coordinated city-owned carts through the park in the middle. Danny, proud of his Czech heritage, was quick to point out that this is why Europe is so attractive and has been so successful. Noone has matched the beauty of European architecture without imitating it. Haha, we are so different in our thinking. Still, next to the coast, and filled with banks, tourist agencies, and government buildings, you would never think to look for the rest of the city, hidden behind the hill overlooking the coast.
We thought the town would be cold--and it is, but what really gets you is the wet. It rains a cold rain here that is almost impossible to escape. You would think there would be covered areas since the trend seems to be that every afternoon the building clouds release their freezing fury on the earth.

The past two nights we spent with Mo, a cs connection that Danny had. This young man, early thirties and recently on his own, like many Chileans who stay with their families through their twenties, welcomed us into his home for two nights. He is an ESL teacher, so also had a wonderful conversation with us in spanish when we first arrived (he was very patient). He suggested places to visit around the city and even drew us a map to help us find our destination.

Our first night at Mo's, we made Chilean style lasagna. Cheese here is surprisingly scarce and expensive. We bought one bag of what turned out to be super salty mozzerella looking cheese and then a tube of light cream to imitate ricotta cheese. As seems to be common here, we did not have access to an oven, so we cooked our lasagna on the stove, layering in the vegetables we found. At some point during the preparation, Mo looked at us a bit confused: "You two haven't known each other very long have you?" I believe it was the point at which I discovered how conservative my hippie Gtown friend is. Most women travelling are travelling with their boyfriends or husbands...so a couple like the two of us is rare.

We devoured the lasagna over wine and beers. It certainly tasted differently than all my previous lasagnas, but the guys loved it! After dinner, Mo showed us how to play blues on the guitar and we stayed up laughing and fiddling on the guitar. It was quite a fun time!

Vale la pena

2010-01-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday began my big adventure to the south! I got a late start because I needed to buy a cell phone for Danny and the dept. store (the only place I could find prepaid plans) didn't open until 11. After sitting by a guy on the bus who interviewed me about my trip (how long I would be in Chile, what I was doing) and who turned out to be an immigration officer (I said I'd be here 3 months! Wheh!), I finally made it to the airport around 2. There I met my friend Danny.

Danny is always a change of pace, but even more so when in his excitement about travelling, he hasn't slept, perhaps in days. As soon as I met him outside of customs, taxi drivers ran to woo us. He threw his hands in the air and said "I didn't do it", apparently the universal sign for "I'm innocent." The drivers were taken aback by this moment of humor and couldn't help but laugh. Haha. I was exhausted by the chilean schedule of 3 am bedtimes, waking up to hot early mornings, so I had a hard time keeping up with his fast and rapidly changing train of thought. But we managed to pass the time till our 7:40 flight.

In fact, the time passed too quickly. At 7:20 we realized the time and went to find our gate. Our plane been delayed an hour and a half and we were told we could recieve vouchers at the check-in gate. We both maintain our freegan diets from college so we were on top of it. By the time we got out there though, we had half an hour till boarding time. OK by us! And fortunate that we did still go eat--It was an AMAZING all you can eat buffet with fresh cantelop juice. mmm...

Our flight arrived in Punta Arenas at 2 am. Our initial place to stay fell through so we began calling hostels. We found a hostel with campsites, and arrived there around four AM. Of course everyone was asleep, so we quietly began to set up our tent in the dark. Fortunately I had invested in what i've discovered is a favorite toy of every outdoorsy boy I know--the headlamp. Danny of course had one too. We set up his one person tent in the Autumn Utah wind and I took the place traditionally used for his stuff, and used my towel as a sleeping pad. Haha, I felt pretty hard core about the whole thing.

Danny is still sleeping, but we'll leave our hostel soon. I highly recommend it for anyone travelling here in punta arenas--Hostal Independencia. Super cheap, friendly, helpful. They had breakfast and have free wi-fi. Also, very int'l people staying here: Israelis, Germans, Swiss, French, Czeck, y this little American!

Chau Chau!

Witnessing History

2010-01-20T13:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday was the elections for Chile! I had seen signs all around for the canditates. Well actually, only for Frei, the liberal candidate. He is the more socialist candidate and would have replaced the current president. Here in Chile, a president cannot run for 2 consecutive terms, but can run as many times as he or she desires non-consecutively. Speaking with my two Chilean friends here, each was in favor of a different candidate. Though neither seemed to care as much as in the states. My friend in favor of the more conservative candidate, who "wanted a change" in this case (the present party has been in power since Pinochet fell), wasn't even registered to vote!

Turns out her self-disenfranchisement was with good reason. You HAVE to vote here if you are registered under penalty of a fine or incarceration. Still it seemed strange. I guess though, there aren't as many issues that get covered in the elections here. If you want a fiscally liberal candidate, (and always the lower class is included here), you vote for Frei. If you want a fiscally conservative candidate (always the upper class), you vote for Pinera.

All the same, it was a close election: Pinera won with 51.6%. You would think there would have been more excitement about it! Though the night of, people did pour into the streets to celebrate. Maybe I just came on to the scene late.

2010-01-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

So this weekend we went to the beach. We went to Valpairiso and Vina, towns right next to each other and about an hour bus ride from Santiago.

We had to wait hours for the bus because our bus didn't sell enough tix and just ever came! But the bus ride was beautiful. We passed the vineyards, which I hope to visit some time in the future :) (Don't worry, I've definitely been enjoying the delicious and inexpensive vino aqui)

Once we finally arrived, we were starving so we raced up to the hostels in Concepcion, a small town or barrio on the hill overlooking Valpairiso--well, we went as fast as the rickety old elevator would take us.

(trying to overcome our fear of the ride ahead)

So we went to find a hostel so we could get to food as SOON AS POSSIBLE!! Peace signs are apparently the int'l symbol for "Cheese" :)

The cute little town.

The view of Vina del Mar

Valpo as they call has become a port town. I like all the big ships :) We were too late for dinner so we just checked out the beach at night.

The next day was FREEZING so we thought we'd head to the horse races.

Pretty exciting.....

We still cheered :)

And walked NEAR the beach...

(trying to be artsy)

Just cute! (notice the turtleneck...super cold!)

But about 30 min later, the sun came out and it was about 85 out. PERFECT beach weather.

Sorry no beach photos...

2010-01-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

My bed for the next week, with the Texan flag flying boldly overhead. Andrew's a good texas boy.

A church on La Avenida Providencia. It was my first day and I was really excited about everything at this point.

La Escuela Militar, in Los Condes, the wealthier part of the city near the mountains.

Los Condes again. My guide book describes it as the "city's financial powerhouse," and "the price we have to pay for globalization"

El Metro en Providencia, still with big apartment complexes, but not quite as fancy.

McDonalds my way (ice cream was the only thing on the menu).

El Centro, very European looking.

Asian History Museum. For about 10 minutes I thought Ale was telling me that the Chinese had come to Chile 1000 years ago and these were left here. I was really confused.

Super

2010-01-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

When I first met Ale (pronounced "Allay"), I could tell she was just being nice to this gringa who couldn't even create a sentence in spanish (I was so nervous and tired!!). "Super" she'd say after everything I'd try to tell her. "Great" I thought (I was still thinking in English at this point) "already she thinks of me as a helpless child. And can make fun of me in English. Yeah Super." So it turns out "Super" is used all the time here, much like "cool". Instead she says "obvio" when she she thinks I said something ridiculous.

Ale in many ways has been my spanish teacher here as well. I dont know why she has taken the time to hang out with this gringa, because our conversations take forever but she has been so generous. She is so very patient. It has been a lot of fun getting to know her. The presidential election occurs this coming Sunday, so we have talked some politics, some about school, and then about boys por supuesto.

Andrew too is just amazing. When we first met it took us a bit to warm up to each other (we almost missed each other in the airport! but his tall blonde gringo-ness gave him away), but by the end of the day the three of us were laughing and having a lot of fun. I don't really know why or how he can be just so very welcoming and supportive--opening his room (his only personal space) and lifestyle to me. Everytime we talk I learn so much about making my way through Chile and the things he has had to learn the hard way. He has set me up with a WONDERFUL spanish teacher, Natalia, and has friends who are doctors who have offered to help at any point. (Apparently you want to avoid the free clinics here at all costs. I wouldn't have even known I was going to a free clinic!)

Que Dia

2010-01-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

Its amazing to me how full my days feel, casi solamente los dos. I feel like I've been here a week or more. And I keep forgetting that I'm here for months...not just for a week of vacation. But my spanish is already better than it probably ever has been. I'm certainly more communicative in spanish than ever. Its amazing what being forced to speak in spanish will do for you. I'm even beginning to think in spanish. Well till I come back home to talk to andrew about the day. Even though it breaks every rule of learning a language, it is so worth ahorita.

My most important lesson so far: never be too cheap to buy water. Water here is more expensive than juices, and it seems chileans just don't drink water. Not at restaurants, in the heat of the day, or really even at home. But was I a mess yesterday evening :) I have been drinking tap water (we'll see where that leaves me in a few days) so I really just need to remember my water bottle when I go out.

The apartment I am staying in seems to be a lot like a long term hostel. People come and go all the time; and people are from all over the world. There is a guy here from Argentina, two girls just arrived from Madrid I think, and another girl maybe that I haven't met yet? Andrew and Alejandra have been here the longest (besides the owner of the house). And there may be an aspiring romance there, but Andrew has this blog address so I'll say no more. :)

Yesterday I went with Alejandra around the city. We went to the center of town where there is a beautiful square that looks like a mix of Rome and Krakow. Absolutely beautiful.

The Catedral is there as well, which is such a restive compared to the speed of the crowded hot city.

We also checked out the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolobino. It was very impressive, just beautiful artifacts, and amazing what they have.

Afterwards we crossed the street and I saw this beautiful building that I made Ali stop for so I could take a photo. It was surrounded by an enourmous iron fense and the gate guarded. Ali went to ask if we could enter, and after telling the guard that, no I was not german, and yes she was from Chile, he let us in to take pictures. I told my spanish teacher later, and she said that it was the Department of Justice and that she was very jealous because she had never been there herself.

Ale was kind (and insistent) enough to take photos with me in them so we got a few of those :)

I made it!

2010-01-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

I'm here! Its definitely still sinking in. When I woke up on the plane this morning, and looked out my airplane window, I was looking onto enourmous brown mountians melting into the ocean. My mind raced through the states that we might be over. It took several seconds for me to brush off the sleep and realize that we weren't over Kansas anymore.

Already I have had some disorientation and challenges with Spanish. Andrew generously picked me up at the airport. The metro system here is very similar to DC. I'm on the red line, which goes straight through the city along the main avenue, Providencia. It seems like a good one.

I'm actually doing this post now because after walking with him to his first ESL client of the day, I realized I didn't put on sunscreen. My winter white skin is going to be hurting tomorrow from this 2pm summer time walk under the whole in the ozone layer. Yup...its located over Chile...

But I'm glad I went on the walk. The city is beautiful! And such a city!

After we split ways, I wandered a bit. I went into a shop that advertised telephones. ("Teléfono" I know that one :) I spoke with the vendor...turns out they dont sell teléfonos cellular. Mission aborted.

After that I saw a giant biblioteca (library) with a centro touristico in the left corner. Despite not reading books, I'm a sucker for libraries. (the first place I think to take friends visiting nashville. Don't ask. They think its wierd too.) So I went in. A guard immediately approached me as I entered a room with a giant probably 10-40 foot diagram of Chile, surrounded by photos on the wall. I asked to take a picture, but he said no. Then I started up the steps to find the books. And another guard chased me down. I asked for the library, so he showed me through a door, past boxes, through a narrow hallway to a small room. It was about the size of the old librarians room in USN that use to separate the LS and HS libraries. In other words, it was an office. Muy estrano (anyone know how to do enye's on a pc?).

On my way back I asked a lady for directions and we ended up talking all of our 15 minute walk. Well she talked and I mostly said, "si, si, si" or "como". But she was very friendly, giving me suggestions about places to live and not to live, how to carry my purse, etc.

Well my current housemates are finding me anti-social at the moment. ciao

Itinerary

2010-01-10T15:04:00.000-08:00

My trip has been deemed "wonderfully open-ended" by a close mentor. I'm trying my best to keep it that way against every Bonner Doxsey gene I inherited. My travels, though, are not without structure. My plans thus far are listed as well as I know them:

4:45 pm Jan 11: Depart Nashville from the beautiful and recently renovated Nashville Airport, known for live music and automatic drinking fountains.

9:30 am Jan 12: Arrive in Santiago. Pay a $140 reciprocity fee (what we charge Chileans for visiting the US) and make it through customs. Fight through the overwhelming swarm of taxi drivers, to find Andrew, a friend of a friend of a friend, also known as an angel. We will take off to the "borough" of Santiago known as providencia.

Jan 12-22: Hang out in Santiago, Take Spanish Classes, Work on Spanish

Its currently summertime in Santiago, the primary reason for my choice of the southern hemisphere. I may move to the tropic of capricorn in April-ish, where the season of warm weather is extended...well maybe...

Santiago has become a popular tourist and study abroad destination, so I have had lots of people share contact information about their friends and associates in Chile. I hope to use this time to meet some of them and learn more about what they do and the culture of Chile.

Jan 22: Return to Santiago Airport, this time to meet up with Danny and Tom. Danny and Tom will be biking from Ushuaia, Argentina, at the very southern most tipof the continent, north through Chile. They had invited me to ride with them, and were the catalyst for my decision to come down to Chile, but I just couldn't make it this time around on the bike trip. I'm hoping though they've pulled me in enough that I won't be able to turn down a trip the second time around. Danny will be blogging about their adventures, so I'll include a link to his blog in the near future.

Jan 22-??: Explore the South. I may take a 13 hour bus from Punta Arenas, where our flight will land, to Ushuaia with the boys. Once they take off I will explore. This area, known as patagonia, I'm hoping this will satiate my wonderlust for a bit. I'm bringing my climbing gear (well, Neel's climbing gear), a sleeping bag, and sleeping pad, so we shall see what happens!

??-Feb 23: Continue Exploring, with Santiago as a base. I met a guy at Melrose Pub who has been working on his PhD at Vanderbilt. He is studying an indigenous village based south of Chile, recording their language. He is a Brazilian ethnoarcheologist, who in a couple months learned English so that he could work on his research in the states before returning to Brazil and then Chile. Every word that comes out of his mouth is awe-inspiring...so I hope to go visit him there.

March-April: Intern in Santiago, with a social entrepreneurship group involved in micro-finance. I hope to also live in an intentional living community.

May--:Nashville??

Eggplant Parmesan

2010-01-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Last night, Emily, my best friend, former roommate, and de facto "other half" made her amazing egg plant parm, salad, brownies, and samoa ice cream (well she bought the ice cream--but SO good!!) as a send off dinner. A couple of us USN-ers shared stories, loofahs (apparently made from squash--who knew!-- in this case that Rachel J.had grown!), and laughter over wine and good food. It made me so grateful for all of the wonderful friends I have in Nashville. Afterwards, Rachel, Emily and I sat around sharing stories of old friends and distant experiences. The time was easy, comfortable, and enjoyable. Of course, we've only known each other for 10 and 16 years....what a difference Chile will be. I've been telling myself I need the challenge. I hope I'm up for it!

The Beginning

2009-12-27T14:47:00.001-08:00

I find very little more intimidating than having others read my personal writing. Booking plane tickets to other countries, quitting and excellent job with people I love, shoot--even camping on the side of the road in foreign countries doesn't quite measure up. Hence the delay on this blog.

The beginning of this trip actually occurred many moons ago, but today was the first day I could commit to this blog. I actually began another blog about a month ago...and...to be perfectly honest, have been writing entries in a word document on my computer.

I'll bring the planning process up to date shortly. For now, welcome to anyone generous enough to read this, and I hope you will join me on my adventures--whether in person or from afar. The days are running out--only 14 left--until I board that plane and leave. Until then, the packing and planning continues.