I am filled with nostalgia when I think of all of the beautiful moments these last six months have held, and apprehension about what comes next.  But I think it is time to move on, to reunite with friends and family, and to figure out what to do with myself.  Chile has treated me well– I just may be back!

For now, one step at a time– first, onto an airplane.

Mom, Dad, Andrew and I rented a car in Valparaíso one day and drove to Santiago for, guess what– a Police concert! Yes, we saw the Police, with Beck opening, and it was great. Sting looks awesome, the drummer and guitar player are still rockin´hard, and it was a really fun way to end my first semester teaching.

After Mom and Dad took a week of Spanish classes and I frantically tried to wrap up my classes, we set off on the first of many loooong bus rides that we´ve taken on this trip, to La Serena. We stayed in a sweet, warm colored hostel there, and went way up into the hills to an observatory, where we saw more stars than I have seen in a long time. We looked at galaxies through telescopes, saw upside-down constellations, and renewed our wonder for how tiny this planet is in this big wide universe.

A 16-hour bus ride later, we found ourselves in the driest desert in the world, the Atacama, in a little dusty town called San Pedro. Did you know that you can walk on the moon, right here on Earth? You can– right in the Atacama desert. We rented a car for 3 days, which was the best way to explore such a vast place. We watched the sunset over the strange and beautiful Valle de la Luna, saw pink flamingos fly over white crystallized salt flats, and drove high into the altoplano to beautiful lakes surrounded by perfect conical volcanoes. We saw foxes, strange birds, an interesting rodent with pointed ears and a long tail, and lots of lizards scurrying across rocks. We woke up at 5 in the morning one day to see the sunrise over geysers way up in the hills, only to realize 8 miles from our destination that we would probably run out of gas. A small disappointment, but we saw the sun rise over beautiful mountains instead, and descended (coasting most of the way) to the most idyllic hotsprings flowing through a red canyon, surrounded by vegetation and with the clearest warm water, complete with a waterfall to massage tired shoulders.

I came down with some horrible flu right about then, so the night bus to Arica, Chile is a bit of a blur, as is our first day there. But we found the homiest, most welcoming hostel yet, run by a New Zealander named Ross and his Chilean wife, in Arica. I could have stayed in that hostel for weeks, with its cozy kitchen and rooftop view. We used Arica to rest a little after the intensity of the Atacama, and I used it to succumb to fever and sleep a lot. The beaches there are beautiful, though, and there is a church built by Eiffel, constructed totally out of iron shipped from Paris. We also saw ancient geoglyphs on the sides of the hills outside of Arica, and an archaeological museum with amazingly old artifacts that were preserved by the dry climate there. After the museum, we wandered through a little village, passing children shouting ¨¡hola!¨from trees. One little girl came running, hair flying, down the dusty road to give us two fresh figs, and when she saw that there were four of us, she ran all the way back to the tree and all the way back to us to give us three more. The people were lovely there, smiling and friendly.

From Arica, we took a car across the border into Peru, and then (another) night bus into Nazca. We arrived in Nazca bedraggled and tired, but were ushered right into a little haven of a hotel, with flowering trees and a swimming pool, and comfortable rooms. We flew in a small plane over one of the driest places in the world, crisscrossed with ancient lines, triangles, and enormous animal shapes only visible from the air, made in a time when it wasn´t possible to see them from above. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the Nazca lines, but it is thought that many of them were calls to the water gods, asking for the rare gift of water from the mountains.

Outside of Huaraz, Peru, we visited an ancient structure called Chavin, which some people think was a temple, and some a building for processing gold. I am sure that Ursula K. LeGuin visited Chavin before she wrote The Tombs of Atuan (recommended reading), because in this isolated valley lies a beautiful ancient stone structure, with huge cut rocks and pillars with designs carved into them, and below it there is a whole underground stone labyrinth, with tunnels and rooms and a huge anthropomorphic pillar in a big underground room. I could have spent a whole day wandering around the tunnels, wondering what went on in there thousands of years ago…

I started this post in Peru, but now I am in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Christmas has passed. ¡Feliz Navidad a todos! I hope your holiday was wonderful. We spent Christmas night at an intimate tango show in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It was incredible, and I even got to try my hand at tango with one of the dancers. The music will be running through my head for days, I know. Buenos Aires is beautiful, I would love to come back here someday. Today all six of us are getting on a plane to Mendoza, Argentina, for a couple of days of exploring vineyards.

Happy New Year, everyone!

They are now tucked into a hostel literally two doors up from our little apartment, so they can come knocking whenever they so desire.  Right now they are down the hill buying avocados (forever palta to me now), cheese, and tomatoes to accompany some Cuban beans and rice that Andrew made.  We are going to sit in their hostel and study Spanish– they had their first class today!  And I had my last.  I learned a lot in 6 weeks of studying, but I am actually glad to be finished.  And am I ever glad to be finished teaching!  I enjoyed many parts of it, but it is too hard to concentrate on work when it is Summer and you are in Chile.

Yesterday we went horseback riding outside of the town of Con-Con, with the owner of Mom and Dad’s hostel, his girlfriend, and 3 young Chilean guides.  It was the most exhilarating thing I have done in a long time.

We rode beautiful horses across vast sand dunes like a moonscape, heaving uphill and swimming down, stopping to eat oranges in the shade of some evergreen trees.  Then we found our way to the beach, and galloped wildly along the water, waves crashing and seagulls scattering, white against the bluest sky.

My horse was black and fast, with a long flowing mane and a powerful gallop.  She reminded me a little of my childhood horse, Shadow.

My Chilean horse

Now we are getting excited for our upcoming travels, kicking off with a Police concert in Santiago!  It is time to wrap up our little life in Valparaiso, and set off to explore some of the rest of South America.

seaside riders

Well. I just found something called Free Rice, which is a site that donates 10 grains of rice to the hungry for every vocabulary word you get right. Oh dear. I just donated 230 grains of rice before I started to feel like I really should get back to work…

Did you know that adumbration means to forshadow, or to produce a faint image or resemblance of? Or that a ruction is a disturbance or quarrel? And next time you go to a restaurant, make sure to leave a perquisite– leaving tips is so commonplace.

P.S.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Eat lots of pumpkin pie for me, there are no pumpkins in Chile.

Last Wednesday, the start of yet another long weekend,  we went to Santiago for a costume party (although Halloween isn´t a very big deal here) and the next day took an overnight bus to Mendoza, Argentina.  We arrived very early in the morning, exhausted, but excited to be on an adventure.  If Valpo is oh-so-very South America, Mendoza feels more like Italy.  Wide sidewalks canopied with beautiful shade-giving trees, coffee shops with plentiful outdoor seating, and parks with roses and serene lakes.  We stayed in a lovely hostel, and were amazed by how much cheaper Argentina is than Chile.  I think I might have a change of loyalty if I ever make my way back to South America!

It was so nice to have days in the real heat, lazing in the sun and walking around the city.  On Saturday we rented bicycles with some friends that we met up with there, and rode around to vineyards, tasting delicious Argentinian wines.  Beautiful.  We took a morning bus back to Santiago on Sunday so that we could see the amazing views going through the Andes.  The mountains are phenomenal– huge eruptions of rugged rock, striped with snow.  We passed the third highest mountain in the world, Mount Aconagua.  The road descending from the mountains had an impressive number of tight switchbacks that the bus snaked around, looking from above like the marbling on a cheesecake.  It´s always exciting going through borders, but we made it through after a long wait, and we were back ¨home¨in Chile.

Other news:  I started taking Spanish classes for 3 or more hours a day, Monday through Thursday, in addition to my teaching schedule.  Also various dance classes and socializing, so it´s no wonder that time is going so quickly!  I´m having more fun teaching now though… of course now that there are only 3 weeks left I am feeling comfortable with it.  Andrew and I have been planning for the visits of our parents and his brother– it´s going to be so great to have them here, and an exciting couple of months of traveling.

Tomorrow we go to Santiago for a TeachingChile event.  We are going on a tour of a former torture site from Pinochet´s time, and a barbeque with all of the TeachingChile people.  It should be an interesting experience, since it really wasn´t very long ago that people were being tortured and exiled from Chile.  I am still amazed by how little you hear about it here… as though really everyone would rather just forget that it ever happened.

And now, out into the damp… looking out the window it feels like Washington.  Until I listen to the sound of people speaking.

- Pablo Neruda

Today is the first day that actually feels like summer– the air is hot, and I am sweating in my teacher clothes. There is that first-summer-day energy on campus, with all the girls in flip flops and sunglasses, and people sprawled out on the grass.

We had another long weekend, and spent it, as usual, making food and hanging out with friends. I tagged along on a school trip of Andrew´s on Saturday. We went on a boat tour of Valparaíso, went up an ascensor that we hadn´t been up before, and at night we went salsa dancing! This was great fun, a whirling Latin party into the wee hours. South American men love to teach you how to dance, but they tend to think you can do more than you can, so I ended up in some fairly ungraceful situations. Still a fantastic time, though.

On Sunday we met up with some friends from Santiago and went to the fish market in Valparaíso, which is in this cool big old building. We ate seafood at a little restaurant there– I tried Paila Marina, a flavorful soup swimming with all kinds of seafood. The waiter took us up to the huge flat rooftop of the market for an amazing view of the city. Apparently people rent out the space for New Year´s for a scant 2 million pesos– 4 thousand dollars.

Yesterday Andrew and I took a bus north to a little seaside town called Horcón. It was so lovely to get out of the bustling city and into a quiet residential town, with gorgeous beaches and not too many people. The hills that come down to the sea are covered with a draping green and yellow succulent plant, which makes a breathtaking contrast with the rocks and sand and crashing waves. We walked along the beach and found sea anenomes, clusters of little mussels hanging onto rocks, and hidden staircases going up to houses on the cliffs. One thing I like about Chile is that it isn´t only rich people who have the fabulous ocean views. We imagined buying one of the little cabins clinging to the cliff sides.

At home, I am starting to realize that a 6 foot wide bungalow is going to be unbearably hot in a week or so, so I think fan-shopping is going to be in order… I am still enjoying our little place, though, even if it is rather cozy. I love our neighborhood– there are always building projects going on, and schoolkids skipping down the road on their way home for lunch. A man who owns a little neighborhood shop (that doesn´t get a whole lot of business) plays his guitar along with the Beatles to occupy his time, and waves and smiles when I walk by. Einstein the dog has a friend to help him patrol our staircase, a white dog we named Pamplemousse. And we have a botilleria (a liquor store) right across the street, owned by the sweetest old man, so if one of us says we´ll go get wine for dinner, we are literally back in 10 seconds.

Today I am at school waiting for students to show up for oral exams, and of course no one has come yet… frustrating on such a beautiful day. I am trying to have a better outlook on my job, though. I can´t believe I´ve already been in Chile for almost 3 months… I know the rest of my time here is going to race by, so I am trying to absorb as much as I can and have the best time that I can while I am here.

Spring is descending… the birds send their clear trills out into the air, and it is too warm on some days for a jacket. The mimes and musicians have been staying out later in the plaza, waiting for the sun to set over the water.

A day spent outside in a botanical garden park last weekend did me good, as did spending time with new friends, two other couples that we met. The park was all red dirt and eucalyptus, blooming cacti and wooded streams. We had a picnic of bread, cheese, turkey, tomato and red wine and hiked in the hills.

Blooming Cacti

I am battling frustrations with teaching, but I know that having a good attitude is so important. So I try to convince myself that I like it. I will go to talk to a Spanish school in Valparaíso soon, to see if I can fill some of my time with learning.

Spent an evening making sushi with friends– fish and rice and nori and vegetables. I love the comraderie of making food with people; it makes me wish that we could fit at least a few people in our kitchen. We have found enough people with bigger kitchens, though… this weekend there is a Mexican food party at a new friend´s house.

Days are spent mostly walking around Valpo or Viña, hanging out at home, planning for classes.  We counted the stairs up to our apartment the other day– 226 stairs.  So, a lot of time is spent huffing and puffing up those.  There is a grizzled little dog who wears a blue and yellow T-shirt and whom I dubbed ¨Einstein¨, and a black dog with blue eyes who follows us sometimes.  Little amusements.  I realized the other day that I am surprisingly comfortable with living in South America now– it doesn´t feel foreign like it did at first.  Probably it will feel foreign to be back in the States!

So, life ticks on by.  Another Friday tomorrow, full of test-giving, and banana bread with friends at the end…

I keep reminding myself that there are stages you go through when you move to a foreign country.  First is euphoria– the excitement of being somewhere new.  Next comes, ¨Get me the hell out of here, why did I ever do this to myself.¨ Unfortunately, I´ve been feeling that a little bit lately.  Not exactly that strong, but I am wondering how to feel more comfortable with the rhythm of life here.  I have my classes to teach, but then when I get home I expect something to happen, and, well, in normal life there isn´t always something happening.  So I read, I take walks, I make meals with Andrew.  There isn´t anything wrong with that, but I feel a little… bored.  I think Spanish classes would help this situation a great deal, so I am going to start looking into that.

Luckily, I know that the last stage of moving somewhere new is acclimation.   Anytime now.  I love where I am, but there is something… missing.  I think that getting out into the countryside would be good for me.  We are going to go hiking tomorrow; I´m looking forward to being surrounded by trees and dirt instead of pavement and people.  But first, a long day of teaching ahead of me…

Beautiful views,

Pelicans,  and a hilarious Freddy Mercury

Puppet Show, to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody.

The next day, we took the bus to Con Con, which is a little north of Viña del Mar.  It was amazing because it’s not very far away but the country is so different– a lot drier, with sand dunes that we want to go back and play on sometime.  We ate seafood empanadas and walked on the lovely beaches amongst kite-fliers and horseback riders.  We saw the most adorable little foal:

baby horse

… and enjoyed watching the waves and one lone guy attempting to surf.

The beach in Con Con

All in all, a great long weekend, albeit a few too many late nights.  Chile certainly knows how to celebrate its independence, with huge community parties, tons of food, dancing, music, revelry… I’m about ready to go back to work, this week of leisure has been exhausting!

Early Saturday morning coffee, fried eggs and toast, a quick packing job and then off down the stairs to the Valpo bus terminal.  The buses are remarkably punctual, given that Chilean culture is not known for its punctuality– so at 10:00 sharp we were tucked into a Tur-bus and on our way to Santiago.  On the way there were yellow blooming trees next to pines next to eucalyptus trees next to stark rolling hills– a stunning mixture of textures and colors in the gray-blue late morning light.

The bus let us off at the metro stop Pajaritos–”little birds”– and we found our way by metro and on foot to some fellow gringos’ apartment (4 people living in a tiny space) near the Santa Lucia neighborhood.  They had all been out since 5 in the morning the night before, so they were a pretty entertaining bunch.  One of the gals had sprained her ankle somehow and was hobbling around the apartment moaning.  After a concerted effort to get presentable, we all set off for a Chilean friend Felipe’s parents’ house for an asado (literally “roast”).  We stopped at an artisan market first and I saw a pair of boots that sparked that materialistic urge in me, but managed to quench it just in time– although of course I thought about them all weekend.

The asado was great– a real show of Chilean hospitality.  Bottles and bottles of good wine and rum, platters and platters of steak and chicken, salads of every kind, good bread, and homemade pebre, a spicy sauce that is reminiscent of pico de gallo.  Somehow all of the Chileans ended up on one side of the table and the gringos on the other side, which was unfortunate, but we all got rowdy and had a great time.  We ended up spending the night there, and in the morning made our way back to the hostel that I stayed in when I first got to Santiago, La Oveja Negra.  It was fun to see the lady who runs the place again.

We spent the day walking all over Santiago, looking at the grand old buildings and wandering through plazas with art shows and Cueca dancing.  At night we found the Bellavista neighborhood, where Pablo Neruda had one of his houses.  It’s a colorful, artsy part of town that has a little more in common with Valparaiso than the rest of Santiago.  We found a warmly lit, funky bar with live music at night– a guy with an amazing set of pipes and good guitar skills too, playing anything from Cueca music to  Pink Floyd and the Doors, and even teased us with a little bit of throat singing!  I thought this was unfair– you shouldn’t have a skill like that and then not show it off more (ever seen the movie Genghis Blues?  Highly recommended).  It was a good show, and Andrew even got hassled a little bit from the stage about being gringo.

Now we’re back in Valparaiso, with a gloriously sunny day ahead of us and plans to find somewhere new to explore and then maybe we can find someone’s barbeque to crash.  Everything will be closed, but celebrations abound on the streets.  I am amazed by the patriotic spirit here, it’s something that is not so common at home.

Oh– and I ended up going back for those boots.