3700 miles, an alpaca, and the most epic trip ever

This is going to be one of my longer posts, but I hope that it is worth the read.

I have just finished a 10 day 3700 mile trip across three countries today. If you can't tell from those stats, this was an incredible trip of a lifetime. Since it was such a long trip and I have a lot to say I'm going to try and break it up as best as I can into sections / days.

This whole trip started out by just buying a round trip ticket to the northern Chilean city of Arica. Other than that my friends and I had no other certain plans just a general direction. We set out on Monday the 20th at 4:45 am in order to catch a bus to the airport in Santiago. We landed in Arica at about 12:00 and hit the ground running. We stopped to get something to eat and then immediately left the town. We got a taxi to take us across the border into Peru. It was an interesting experience taking a taxi across a border but our driver was great. He knew everyone at the crossing and we bypassed all the lines which was crazy. We took this taxi straight to the bus station in Tacna Peru. After about 20 min. we were on a bus and heading toward the town of Arequipa. I never imagined I would start the first day of this trip and keep going until we couldn't travel anymore. We got a nice hostal in the town of Arequipa and decided we would at least spend the next day there.

Arequipa is a great city. It is full of colonial architecture and lots of history. It is also known as the alpaca capitol of the world (and yes I did buy some). After walking around the town and seeing some of the old churches we came upon something happening in the town plaza. It turned out to be a big protest about public jobs. Against what the typical advice is for traveling abroad we decided to stay and watch, but mainly listen to what these people had to say. As I'm sure everyone will be glad to hear it was a peaceful protest. However, the police were ready for it to turn into something else it appeared. There were probably hundreds of police in riot gear with shields and tear gas ready. Which created this interesting dynamic that I have never seen. Even with the intimidating police presence, and loud chants from the protesters, everyone was coexisting peacefully and there weren't any problems. No one was even bothered by the  probably hundreds of onlookers taking photos. After this interesting experience we decided to do some more shopping and walking. Once satisfied with this we decided to head back to the plaza and get a beer. The protest was done, but we soon heard a new noise. This time it was the loud chants and music of a school parade! A protest and a parade all in a matter of a few hours, not what I expected during the first days of my trip.

The next day we got up and again headed to the bus station to continue our journey. At the Peruvian bus stations you encounter an interesting dynamic, upon entering you are overwhelmed with people yelling what feels like every city in Peru. Each bus company is yelling what cities they have busses to and trying to get you to use them. After a moment of intimidation we set out to find a bus company to the city we thought we wanted to go to. After buying a ticket we talked with the driver and decided we wanted to go to a city he recommended (he said there was more to do). The bus ride was long and for anyone planing on traveling by bus in Peru, they don't have air conditioning. This bus ride however, did have some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen, and we passed through some extremely small and simple towns. It was also along this bus trip I realized something I had thought when I first entered Peru. I don't want to offended anyone but Peru has a distinct smell. I wouldn't say it is horrible but, for me it was kind of like something burning mixed with the smell of bricks and the smell of dust. Just an interesting observation I had. But, anyways we ended up in Juliaca Peru. And this is the type of culture shock one might imagine when coming to South America. This was not a tourist town nor were there any other americans there. Juliaca is a working class peruvian town and not much more. It had a lot of unfinished buildings, and to be honest was quite intimidating. But to get a true feel for the culture we decided to stay the night. We searched for hostals and eventually found one and we put our things in a room. But me and a friend decided to see if there were any other better ones. We ended up finding one for a better rate and returned to our originally one to see if they would bring their price down. And this is where I had my first spanish argument. The woman wouldn't bring down the price and was mad we were trying to leave after we got a room. However, we had not paid yet and she was texting while talking to me so we got our things and simple stormed out. We stayed the night at the other hostal but it really wasn't that great either.

The next morning we decided that Juliaca didn't have anything else for us and we decided to leave. But this time to get to the bus station we took a three wheeled motor taxi (that were all over) and had some fun with that. But we ended up needing to go to another plaza to catch the bus so to go back we took a rickshaw. Even if there wasn't much in Juliaca we still had fun getting around (even if I dropped our fare during the ride). We made our way next to Puno by bus. And this is the scene where one of my friends began to get sick. I can now say I have seen someone have a conversation with a Peruvian and the pause for a moment to throw up out the bus window. The look on the mans face after was one of the funniest things I saw the whole trip. But over all I think it was a cool thing to say has happened to my friend. It made for an interesting story at least. Once in Puno we went straight to lake titikaka, which is a huge lake. After spending a short time here we got a hostal and walked around the town. It was better than Juliaca, but you could still find some of the poorer working class neighborhoods near by. And yes this city had the same smell as the others. Something that was interesting in every city we went to as well, were the churches. Each city had an immaculate church with gold and all sorts of other additions. Looking at this part of each city you could really get a feeling for the history and culture of the area.        

The next day we made our way to the floating islands of Uros. Which are in the "middle" of lake titikaka and about a 30 min boat ride from Puno. These islands were amazing, they were made of reeds and only a few feet thick. Meaning one could jump up and down and literally shake the whole island. Another amazing fact was that there were 70 of these islands and 2000 inhabitants there. The community had a school, hospital and Internet. However as I'm sure you can imagine for an island community it was a more basic form of these amenities. We then got on one of their barges also made of reeds to go to another island. And here is where I started to get a feel of the more nickel and dimming aspect these cultures. We were told to get on the boat to go to another island but only once the boat was moving we were told we had to pay 10 more Peruvian soles for the ride. It was also on this ride that a little girl sang a song only to then go around with her hat asking for money. And I'm sorry if this offends anyone but she got nothing from me. However over all the islands were an incredible experience and I'm glad I saw them. We ate dinner that night in the plaza and again got to take some of the interesting 3 wheeled motor taxis.

The following morning we got up early and made our way to another "bus station" more like bus meeting place. And got a van to take us to the border of Peru and Bolivia. But only after being harassed by every bus driver there. This ride had some amazing landscape and is also where I encountered probably the weirdest/craziest thing of my whole study abroad trip. I had dozed off for a minute only to awake and look out the window to see a van driving by with 4 sheep tied to the roof of it. Three cars later I saw another van but this time it had an alpaca strapped to the top. The animals all seemed to be enjoying the ride but I still can't understand how they got them up there. Needless to say this was an interesting end to Peru.

The van dropped us off at the border and we walked across. However the bolivian immigration was a process to say the least. We kept walking in the office only to be told to fill out another form or to make a copy of this and that. They also kept asking us about our bus company and where those forms were. Only to be repeatedly told we walking into your country! It was 135$ to enter Bolivia. I gave them 150$ and never got my change which still leaves me slightly bitter. But after the border everything went smoothly. We got a taxi to copacabana and upon arrival found a very nice hostal / hotel. We quickly though made our way to the dock in order to catch the last boat to the isla del sol. Where there are ancient ruins. The boat ride was long (2 hours) and I thought I was going to die. Not from the water or waves but from the engine of the boat. Exhaust fumes were pouring into the boat the whole time and we were getting close to what I felt was carbon monoxide poising. And even with this we then experienced more nickel and dimming. We were told we needed to buy a guide for the island or we could only be there for 20 min. After again arguing in Spanish I got the rate down for the guide so we could enjoy the time we had on the island. However upon arriving on isla del sol we were again told to pay another fee to enter. Fees and boat aside though the island was a lot of fun. And it was great to see ruins older than the incas. After a quicker boat ride back to shore we made our way to a restaurants for dinner where I tried my first piece of lake trout. And I'm happy to say it tasted great. Following dinner we just had a relaxed night back at our hotel.

The next morning we did a short hike to the top of a hill near by where you could see the entire town and get a great view of the lake. But we had to quickly descend as we needed to check out. After this we then made our way to the plaza to get a bus to la Paz. And as expected again we were harassed by every drive there. Once on the bus to la Paz we again saw great scenery until we came to a stop and were told to exit the bus. After some confusion we found out our bus needed to be barged over to the other side of this channel and we had to take a boat to the other side to meet up with the bus. For anyone scared of small boats or who get sea sick find another route to la Paz. The boat we took was a little thing and it just kept rocking with waves. Luckily no one got sick and we made it to the other side. Back on the bus we made our way into la Paz and here you can see the true division between classes in South America. On your way in you pass through el alto the top of la Paz and this area is where you see the poorer classes and the social problems that plague the area. I'm glad I was able to see this but I'm glad I didn't stay long. La Paz itself is also incredible it sits in a valley but extends up the sides creating this dramatic landscape of a city in the hills. It is truly a site to see.  After arriving at the bus station we began our search for hostals where we found many that were sub par. However we came across one that was quite different. The walls were painted with psychedelic colors and there was a "hippie" musician businessman running the place. And we decided to stay. This was one of the best decisions throughout the whole trip. We meet an array of people. Mostly Argentinian and German and had a great time. Also for anyone staying in la Paz hostals, they party! And I'm just going to leave it at that and say the night descriptions are going to be left for me.

The next day though we went to the ruins of Tiwanaku. These were incredible and ill try and post pictures soon. It's hard to believe everything that was constructed so long ago without the wheel. The monuments there are just amazing and again trying to imagine how they were built is difficult when you realize they were made thousands of years ago. After the ruins we went to wait for our bus back to la Paz. However it never came. Leaving us stranded in a town 2 hours from la Paz. We ended up finding a van and literally paying a bolivian family to drive us into la Paz. The drive however insisted on showing us his house where he had an ancient artifact. And artifact is an understatement. He had a full on giant monument that we had see in the ruins in his house. Probably nicer than the other ones in the museum. This was truly amazing and he was incredibly nice, I'm so glad we took a small risk and asked to hire them and to see his home. Once back in la Paz we had dinner and then partied back at the hostal.

Or second to last day in la Paz we went to the witches market where you can buy things you never thought would be for sale, and following this went to the coca museum. Which gave an interesting perspective on the coca plant and on the damaging U.S drug war in Bolivia. It was great to see the other side of this situation and has changed some of my opinions. However after this museum we went to one of the highlights of the trip for me. Seeing one of my favorite high school teachers in la Paz! We got a tour of his school and then had a beer and caught up. We then saw his house (which was very nice) and had dinner with some of his friends. I will never forget this experience and I can't wait to go visit him in Singapore. In the process we also got to see the nicer part of la Paz and the contrast from el alto is unreal. It's hard to imagine these to places co existing in the same city. However after this great experience we made our way back to the hostal for one final night of partying.

Our final leg of our trip was getting back to Arica. We took a bus from la Paz which took 8 hours and then 3 more just to cross the border into chile. This is also the coldest bus I have ever taken, I thought I was going to get frost bite. But eventually we made it to Arica at 1:15 am. And one last adventure ensued. It consisted of us paying for a cab to the airport, but more specifically asking him to drive us to find alcohol. Unfortunately after several stores we found out they were all closed and we had to make our way to the airport "empty handed". We then slept in the air port for an hour until our flight was boarding. And then slept on the flight back. And the bus back to vina. Which brings me to the end of my epic trip.

I can honestly say I'm not sure how we got through it all in one piece with relatively no problems. But I'm so glad we did. I will never forget this trip and I can't wait to take another. If you want any more specifics on things please ask. I know I forgot some details along the way. And there are more stories to write but like I said if you want to know more ask. I'm going to leave it at this due to the length. But look back soon for more posts.

¡Viva Chile!    

Travel, Learning, and Learning with Travel

This past weekend I got a chance to go to Santiago and visit a few locations, and museums as an excursion for the ISA. As a group we went the the Cemetario general, Villa Grimaldi, and the Museo de derchos humanos. All of these locations had some connection to the former dictatorship here in Chile. It was a very interesting excursion to say the least. All of the locations offered something unique about the history of Chile. Seeing Salvador Allende's grave was probably one of the highlights for this trip, but thats not to say any of the other things I saw weren't interesting or important. But I think the most interesting experience for this trip was being able listen to all of the guides who were speaking spanish. One you got a lot of information for the best sources about the subject but also that I could understand everything being said. Of course it was great for my spanish confidence, but mainly it gave me a chance to learn about a topic from people who had experienced it and from people who had strong feelings about it in a natural untranslated form. It allowed me to learn more than I could have imagined if I were just reading about it. Over all everything was quite moving and interesting like I said, and I am extremely grateful that I got to experience and see the things I did.   

Other than that school has been progressing well and another round of projects is coming up. However, I think I should be able to get them all done and well. The grades I have gotten so far have all been good so I´m not too worried. In addition to school, Ive also been getting to know more of my host family, I went with all of the family I live with to some of the extended family´s house for a get together on Mother's Day.  It was great to get to meet some of the other members and to feel more like part of there family they definitely didn't need to invite me, but I´m so glad they did. However, this did make me miss all of my family a lot more, especially given it was Mother's Day. But we are already in mid may so ill be making my way back soon to see everyone. 

The next exciting development that is worth noting is, a few friends and I are going on a trip to the north of Chile, and hopefully making our way to Peru and Bolivia. We are going for over a week so Ill have a lot of pictures and stories I´m sure when I get back. Im going to try and chronicle this trip as I got (subject to wifi) so look for those post soon. We leave monday to Arica, so Ill try and post something as soon as I can after. This trip is however going to complicate some of the projects I mentioned before but this is just like a field trip for class right? 

Anyway, Chile is still good, and I hope it continues. Look for my upcoming posts I´m sure they will be filled with exciting things (I hope). NOS VEMOS!¡!¡!      

Fall/winter is here

The weather is changing in Chile! It has actually been cold here lately, but luckily there have been some warm sunny days mixed in so it isn't too bad yet. Being from Colorado I shouldn't be saying that 50s is cold but it's a humid cold so its not the same. And last night and yesterday during the day I experienced my first Chilean rain and thunderstorm. Again I hope those hold off for a while so I can still enjoy the beach. Other than the weather not too much has changed. I've just been relaxing and enjoying my time here. I went to the botanical gardens here and enjoyed the day drinking Chilean wine and walking through park. Something ill defiantly have to do again soon. In addition to this small excursion I also went to Santiago this past week to see the art museum which is also something I'd like to do again. But other than those two "trips" not too much has been going on like I've said. However I did go to somewhat of a back alley restaurant in valpo the other day with friends and had the best chorriana dish ever. It's a plate of French fries with eggs, meat and onions and it is great. It was also here that I found my first actual spicy sauce. It was even so spicy I couldn't eat it. So Chile does have spice you just have to look for it a little.

My friends and I are beginning to plan a trip up north and possibly to some other countries which would be amazing as well. So ill keep everyone updated on that. I thought I'd just give a quick update about something's that I've done here during the past week and if I think of something else ill write another post.  The only other thing to add right now is the drink terremoto is amazing it is some sort of wine and ice cream mix and I'd recommend everyone try it. But for now. Nos Vemos!

Just living in Chile, with some wine

I haven't posted for a while so I thought I'd give an update of what has been going on. And really not too much has been going on. School has continued to get harder over the last few weeks with more essays, but over all it is still going well. Last weekend however me and a few friends went to a wine fest in Casablanca (yes there is one outside of morocco). And it was great, one we got to drink wine all day, but two I actually learned about wines and their differences. If anyone is curious I'm now a white wine fine. It was a lot of fun aside from the wine as well though, there was music and lots of food (mainly empanadas). Other than that event I haven't done anything too exciting if you will, mainly just days at the beach while there still is sun and trying to find the cheap bars as typical college students do. However I did get some good excise the other weekend as I walked with my host mom all the way to renaca (about 7 miles round trip). It was a lot of fun and a great way to see more of the surronding areas. The other big announcement to be made is: I've decided to stay for a year here in Chile! But don't worry I'm still coming back for some time in the summer. I've decided that I truly want to master the Spanish language and learn a new culture, and there isn't a better way to do it other than actually living here. I haven't thought of a Chilean name for myself though so if anyone has suggestions let me know. Other than those occurrences not much to report. This weekend has been relaxed and I got to see my brother play in a bar here which was great even though it started at 2:30am! And today I plan on doing some homework actually (surprise). But I'll try and make an effort to post more, but I figured I'd wait until I had things to actually talk about for this post.

As always nos Vemos!

Chile, Food, And Fun

I haven't posted in a while but that is mainly because not a whole lot has been going on. The past week I went to school as normal and it's now clear that this is actual college as I had anticipated. By that I mean I've been assigned and completed projects, get homework, and I have now been assigned to read an entire book. So study abroad has now become STUDY abraod. However, school work aside I have still been able to have a lot of fun lately. This last Thursday I went to Santiago to attend the album release of my host brothers band. It was a unique experience because the concert was held in a radio station and broadcast live! And I'm happy to say they played and sounded great. If you want to look them up they are called Signuz. (Pretty good if I do say so myself). After the concert we preceded to a bar to celebrate. However the drinks in Santiago fashion were quite expensive so there wasn't a lot of "celebrating" if you know what I mean. However after the bar we all got into 2 vans and made the trip back to Viña around 1:00 am. The following day I went to my first discoteca which was similar to an American club. However I felt fairly cool because I was on the list to get in and didn't have to pay. However, the club was just ok for me becuase it's hard to do much when you can't communicate or ask someone to dance. But nonetheless the location was awesome and I had fun. On Saturday night I bonded with my other host brother who doesn't live here with us but who was visiting, and that was a lot of fun. And a nice clam night. Sunday (Easter) I cooked for my family! I made a pasta dish, asparagus, and garlic bread. I'm pleased to say it turned out great, however I was quite nervous before hand. And even went out twice to buy ingredients because I was sacred I didn't have enough (I had enough). I did go to the superstore jumbo though to look around. And jumbo means jumbo. It was like Walmart and Home Depot in one enourmous store. But, aside from that as I said the meal was great.

And speaking of food, by popular request I wanted to shar a little about Chilean food. The food here is great, lots of vegetables and lots of bread. There are lots of soups and stews, but I have had less seafood than I thought I would.  It's been great enjoying every dish I've had here so far I was nervous about that before. My friends however have complained the food isn't spicy (it isn't), but I'm fine with that I don't like spicy food much. However when Chileans say something is spicy, it funny becuase it's really not. I've had two occasions when they have told be watch out its really spicy. And it wasn't even spicy for me. So there is defiantly a difference to the meaning of the word spicy here. Also, a tortilla in Chile is not what it is in the states, it's a whole dish not a burrito wrap. Also a great dish by the way. But in all the food is great and I'm always excited to eat lunch here and try something new.

If anything exciting happens ill be sure to post sooner. But until then, Hasta luego.

A month in!

It's hard to think that I've already been here a month. Time has gone quite fast, but that's probably because my first month has been filled with activities almost every weekend and my weeks with school. However things have slowed down some so that has been nice. This week I'm happy to say there were no stray dog incidents. And really not too much has gone on this week. I'm now in the swing of school, homework and all. And I even have a few quizzes coming up in the next week. And I've now doubled my Chilean friend base to two! However I'm hoping to make more friends by participating on the volleyball team, but I'm going to have to work at it because some bad information had caused me to miss the first practice. Also a sidenote, sports directions in Spanish are incredibley hard. But I'm working at it. A side from volleyball I took a salsa class this week as well! And I'm not sure if I think salsa or volleyball is harder. Either way it was a lot of fun, however it was right before volleyball practice so I had to scramble from Valparaiso to Viña only to find out the busses to school weren't running. I shared a cab to school where of course I lost my wallet (I lost a wallet in a New York cab once as well). But luckily whoever finds it will only find 1 US dollar and 1000 pesos and a used up metro card. So all is well.

Yesterday was also my host brothers birthday and a soccer match between Chile and Peru. Unfortunately Chile lost but his birthday getogether at the house was a lot of fun still. And a side note on that, Chileans party until the early morning hours. I left for my room at about 3 but they kept going until 4-5. But again all is well, except I'm sure he is feeling it this morning. As far as this next week goes besides school and volleyball I don't expect much to be going on. But I'd love to find some one to play tennis with, I still haven't played! To bad our school doesn't have a team.

So to end this post I thought I'd share a few things I've learned so far here.

1.Chileans speak fast
2.Chileans speak really fast
3.It can actually be cold here (who knew)
4.Gaining new perspectives is amazing
5.Its hard being the outsider and not being able to communicate
6.Chileans have their own Spanish language
7.There isn't anywhere else I'd rather be studying!

Ill post more soon! Nos vemos

School is in session, but yet another tour

This week was my first full week of classes. And luckily I can say that I think they will all be great. However homework down here in Chile is still just as bad as in the states. Not that it's been very difficult, but still not something I enjoy. One thing I have found out down here which is great is all of the professors at my university are very well educated and each have a fantastic perspective on the world, so I am very excited to get to experience that.  Also I've slowly started to make some local friends here (I have one Chilean friend). It's a little harder at my university because there are clear friend groups, and it is a private university so many of the students have traveled a lot themselves. However I am going to continue my quest for friends and I'm sure ill meet more when my Spanish is better. I am also planning on joining the volleyball team here! So that should be a great opportunity to meet other Chileans (most Chileans aren't tall so I should fit in I hope).

Besides school this week has been pretty relaxed for me. However this weekend has been full of activities. On Friday I spent a day at the beach and attempted some volleyball, however one of my friends had a ball but a stray dog came right up to our game and ate it! Luckily there were some public courts near by and we were able to rent another ball. Saturday my Univeristy hosted a BBQ for all of the foreign exchange students. Which was great because I was able to make some friends from all over the world (Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia). Which then brings me to today where my study abroad group took us to a small town where you could buy lots of small crafts and potery, and then to the third and final house of Pablo Neruda. The trip was great however everything was about a few hours away from Viña so I feel like I was on a bus more than anything. But it was still great to see more of Chile.  Other than that however not too much has gone on. I've settled in nicely and I am excited to get into the full swing of school again. Ill try and post more than once this week. But until then adios.