Excuse my absence

Dear Friend,

Like always, it has been a long time. Very, very long. And I apologize for that. But as you will soon read, I do have excuses. But first, be sure to check out the hyperlinks I’m experimenting with in this post.

Today is the day of the Epic Journey. So epic I can barely even tell you about it. This being the case, there are two things you need to know. 1) I am dying with excitement for my trip through the North of Chile and to Peru, and 2) I am feeling an extreme sense of relief at being DONE WITH THE SEMESTER. Before I embark on telling you about my trip, I’m going to tell you what else has been going on in my life.

I’ll start with Halloween because that’s the most significant event that happened closest to my last-posting. Chileans don’t exactly celebrate Halloween. They definitely go out and use it as a reason to party (don’t we all?), but they don’t dress up as much and there’s obviously no trick-or-treating. I, however, along with my friend Brit, dressed up as Luigi and she, Mario. As a duo, we were obligated to go to her party on Friday and my party on Saturday and thus the explanation for the most relaxed and subdued Sunday in the history of my life.

My work at Revolver magazine has been very rewarding and engaging. Although it’s a volunteer job and I wish I could be getting paid for my work, it’s been a great experience and it has provided me with creative outlets, things to keep me busy, opportunities for portfolio building, exposure, and an excellent way to get to know Santiago better, in all the ways that I was hoping. I’ve walked through street fairs talking to merchants and shoppers, sat in hazy bars reviewing alternative rock bands, conversed over politics with theater design professors and I have gone to the ever-controversial Panic! At The Disco concert. Now, anyone who knows Panic! At The Disco from the United States and who is reading this undoubtedly dislikes the band, save for a select few. I typically don’t hang out with crowds who would generally like the rock-pop spectacles. Generalizations aside, I did use the excuse to cover the concert for the magazine as a way to check out the band, given my limited interest in their work. It turns out that, while their song pool is quite small, they know how to put on a great show, and I think my review was pretty favorable. Anyways, the point is that the experience has definitely affirmed my desire to pursue features/culture/magazine writing in the future. End.

A few weekends ago I got to go hiking with a few gringa friends. We met up and set out in the extreme sun to summit Cerro La Cruz in Santiago, entering through Parque Mahuida in La Reina. What we thought would be an easy two or three hour hike to the summit ended up being a six-to-seven hour endeavor, or so they say. We never found out because we never got that far. The sun, our limited water and our unpreparedness got the better of us and ended up turning back after two-and-a-half hours of hiking. It was a great time and we had some spectacular views, especially of the smog layer that blanketed the city. The surroundings were great, though, and it was a fun day.

The past two or three weeks in school have been terrible. Terribly wonderful. I’ve been giving myself ulcers because of worry and coffee as I tried to ensure my passing of all classes. I threw my grade expectations out the window for a few of my courses this semester which is very uncharacteristic of me, but at the same time, it was necessary given the circumstances. I had a final in my Spanish class; a final in my Chilean culture class, a final paper and presentation (which got cancelled) in my immigrant literature class; a final paper, presentation AND oral exam in my media ethics class and a volleyball tournament for my P.E. class which, of course, my team won. I studied pretty hard for culture final (three essays), literature (10-page paper on a book I didn’t read and 10-minute presentation) and for my ethics final (20-minute interview-style oral exam). Everything I was confident about EXCEPT ethics in which I had been failing for the first 12 weeks of the semester. I honestly didn’t think I was going to pass. I was sure the professor hated me (I still think she does). And I strongly disagreed with the way she taught the course. It wasn’t until after my exam when she told me I got a 6.0 (A) on the test that I relaxed and realized that I’d be passing the class. It was a great relief and, being my last final of the semester, cause for celebration.

All of that studying was also the cause of my encounter with Starbucks. I feel extremely guilty for giving in to Starbucks while in Santiago but I literally couldn’t help it. Their cool, shaded lounge areas and their familiar coffee made it irresistible given the circumstances and my energy-deficiency. At the end of the day, I chalk it up to my pride in Northwest-based companies. However, soon I’ll be posting a column I wrote for the Lumberjack back in Humboldt about Chilean perceptions of “Americans” based on an interview that ironically took place in a Starbucks.

Oh, and a great story: My toilet broke in the middle of the night on its own accord while I was sleeping last week. I was literally in my bed when the tank fell off of the wall, crashed, spilled water, and continued to spew water all over my bathroom and bedroom. It was Friday the 13th and I'm determined to make some sort of connection between the day of bad luck and the fact that a ghost straight up broke my toilet. It was a horrible ordeal in reality.


Anyways, because a lot of us in my exchange program are leaving to travel and a lot of them are going to the Manu Chao concert on Thursday, our group’s Thanksgiving dinner got pushed up a week to last Thursday. We all met up at a North American-style restaurant and we had turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie. It was all soooo delicious. We were divided into three tables, but my table and one of the other tables all went around and we individually said what we were thankful for. It was very cute.

So I think that sums up the last month or so of my time here. Today, however, I start an exciting new chapter known as “Summer.” I’m so juiced.

Today I leave to start touring the North of Chile, including a lot of beach towns, the driest desert in the world and an awesome national park. Then we’re planning on crossing into Peru to see Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. I’m so excited. Firm plans for our city stops haven’t been set up yet, but I plan on taking a ridiculous amount of pictures to keep you updated. As for the rest of my summer, I’m hoping to be “working” at a winery in January. And then in February, I’ll be working on a nature reserve called Añihue in the south coast in Patagonia. I’ll be working on their organic farm which provides for the visitors and researchers who are based out of there. I’m so excited. Then school starts in March, which I’m less excited for.

Ok, friend, I have rambled enough. I need more coffee and cereal. Until next time.