No More Carrots in Class

This week, I completed my second week of school! The first week was a bit discouraging and I felt lost in all the Spanish, like I was not making friends, and I did not get a chance to talk to my professors. However, this last week, I calmed myself down a little bit and had a much better week. I understood more in my classes, talked to more people, asked my professors questions, etc. So, I am more relaxed and excited for next week.

My history program is capped at twenty students and I am one of two foreigners, the other foreigner is from Mexico. Classes here are similar in a lot of ways to classes in the U.S. We show up for the lecture, do readings, take notes, etc. However, I realized there are quite a few differences as well. Here are a few:

• Food. Students don't eat in classes here. If you know how much I enjoy eating in my classes you can understand why this is a huge disappointment to me. The first day of class I went armed with carrot sticks and apple slices only to look around and realize no one else was eating. I learned later that eating in class is considered extremely rude. So sad. Also, no gum is permitted. 
• Time. Most of the students actually show up pretty much on time. The professors, however, can be a different story. 
• Noise. Students do not talk in class or make noises at all. In these two weeks, I have not heard one phone go off. No one texts in class, gets on facebook (only one person brings a laptop), or works on other homework during class time. What a change!
• Technology. Only one of my professors occasionally throws up a couple PowerPoint slides (sorry no Keynote here). Once in a while the white board is used for diagrams that contain way more arrows than necessary. 
• Books. No one buys books for classes. We either read journal articles on the computer or photocopy one book. 
• Gringolandia. Being the only American in the program is sometimes a strange experience. I realized that when people make a comment about the U.S., they tend to look at me. Yeah, about those coups in South America...

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

Some colorful street art!

In Other Earthquake Related News

This story begins with Beth Anne peacefully sleeping last Saturday morning deep in the heart of dreamland. When suddenly dreamland began to shake and she found herself standing in the middle of her room wondering what was happening. In all fairness, Beth Anne's brain usually needs a little time to wake up in the morning but she needed a couple minutes of standing in her room looking around to realize that an earthquake had shattered her dreams, literally. Saturday morning a 5.1 earthquake off Santiago woke up the inhabitats of Viña del Mar but the earthquake story does not end there.

The following day, Beth Anne was driving with four other people on the highway when, out of the blue, one of the other woman received a call- an earthquake struck southern Chile, had we heard? No, we had not heard. Phone lines quickly became jammed and, after flipping through radio stations, we heard that the earthquake was a magnitude 8.0 and a tsunami warning was issued to all coastal cities near the epicenter, including Viña del Mar. The mood in car dramatically shifted as the people I was with tried repeatedly to contact family and friends to see if they were okay.

We pulled over into a gas station to keep listening to the radio and wait for more information on the tsunami warning. To say tension was running high would be an understatement. A magnitude 8.0 is labeled "Great" on the Richter scale and can create serious damage several hundred kilometres away from the epic center. Slowly though better news began to trickle in, phone lines cleared up and we found out family and friends were fine, the tsunami warning lifted so we were safe to go back, and the magnitude of the earthquake turned out to be 7.2. Deep breathes. The mood lightened and we were back on the road.

This marks the first major earthquake warning since I had been in Chile. The most unsettling part was just waiting to hear more information about people, the earthquake, and the tsunami. I realized there is a feeling of helplessness that comes with an earthquake. You cannot control it and, in our case, we were too far away from the epicenter to have been able to help people.

Hopefully, this will be my first and last post about earthquakes for awhile. :)

In happier news, my roommates and I hosted a Mexican food night at our places last week. After singing "Happy Birthday!" to me, we snapped this photo-

Photo courtesy of my friend Melanie 

Going to School in a Castle and Sleeping under the Stars: Or How My Life Continues to Change

Let me start by clearing up any confusion (at least confusion related to this blog, I am afraid I might not be much help with the confusion relegated to other parts of life), the title of this blog is not figurative.

I do, in fact, attend school in a castle. The down side to attending school in a castle is that there is no real air ventilation (it's summer here) and you climb a lot of stairs. However, this is far outweighed by the benefits. First, castles are just cool. No further explanation is really needed for that point. Second, going to school in a castle provides endless hours of imagining what the castle was like when it was originally inhabited by nobility. (Of course, these endless hours are separate from the other endless hours you spend in class paying impeccable attention to the lecture.) Second, you smile at the irony of learning about the history of the conquistadors and economic disparities while sitting in one of the "grand rooms" of the castle. Wouldn't the nobility be overjoyed to see us learning about their legacy in their party room?! Furthermore, there is something almost magical about learning about history in a historical building. Also, the bragging rights from going to school in a castle trump all. When people talk about their universities or how they are getting new equipement and then ask you where you go to school, you get to smile and say, "You know the castle near the center of town? Oh yeah, that's my building." And then you smile again.

Last weekend, I went on a camping trip to a beach south of where I live. Not only was the company great but the beach was incredible. After a night of BBQing and talking, we were getting ready to turn into our tents when this other chic and I decided to throwing our sleeping bags out onto the sand. I fell asleep listening to waves crash on the beach and under a blanket of stars. While this may strike some as illegal based on your experience in the US, sleeping under the stars is not a problem at all here. Homeless dogs roam the beaches here as well as the cities and they served as our guardians while we slept. Besides having a great time, I really enjoyed the chance to relax before school starts.

Just so you know that this blog is not figurative, here are some pictures-

The Castle (photos courtesy of PUCV)

The Camping Trip (photos courtesy of yours truly)

It's Rotary Time!

Two years ago this month, I was chatting with one of my professors and she mentioned that I should consider applying for an Ambassadorial Scholarship with the Rotary Foundation. At that time, I was vaguely aware of the mission of Rotary and certainly could not have imagined the way Rotary would change my life. In the last two years, I have continued to be amazed by the common vision, activities, and commitment to service among Rotarians. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such an incredible organization and have such outstanding sponsors at the Tempe Rio Salado Rotary Club.

"Service above self." When I first read this motto from the Rotary, I remember thinking, "Wouldn't it be great to work with an organization with that slogan?!"Being around Rotarians, especially my sponsor club in Tempe, made me realize that this is not just a slogan or feel-good catch phrase among Rotarians this is the way they structure club activities and plan their lives. I was blown away by their commitment to service, from eradicating polio to promoting literacy among children and everything in between.

So, what exactly is my role with Rotary in Chile? The purpose of my scholarship is, "to promote international understanding and goodwill through study in another country." For me, this plays out practically in four ways. 


First, this means that I have the opportunity to connect, be a part of, and visit Rotary clubs down here. I have a club here that is my "host club." So, I go to their weekly meetings and really get to know these people. I will also be visiting other clubs down here and giving presentations. This aspect of my scholarship allows me to spend quality time with Rotarians, learn about their clubs, and get involved in their service projects. 


Second, I attend a university here. I am studying history at the La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. The history department is housed in a castle, which I just find super entertaining. Classes started yesterday! Woohoo. Of course, I was fifteen minutes early. I really felt like the gringa. Too be honest, I am a little stressed about being a full time student in all Spanish classes but I am viewing this as a new learning experience and part of the language acquisition process. 


Third, I am able to do one of the things I love the most- work on service projects. I started volunteering with a local organization in Valparaíso that focuses on environment care and community development. Right now, I am volunteering with them and translating all their documents, vision statements, videos, etc. into English. When I first met with them, they mentioned that they wanted to reach an international audience and needed help translating. I am really enjoying working on project with them and am glad to be able to use my English skills to promote their cause. 


Finally, I get to build friendships with people here and promote goodwill through my interactions with Chileans. I feel fortunate to have met some amazing Chileans. We have had some really wonderful dinners, camping trips, hang out on the beach time, etc. One thing I noticed my first couple weeks here is that Chileans just hang out- no agenda, no pressing schedule. I thought I was use to hanging out with people I didn't really know that well but being here made me realized that most of the time in the States I always had activities, plans, a schedule, etc. Being here is teaching me how to hang out with people with no other plan than just enjoying being together. 


Two years ago, there is no way I could have imagined what a fantastic and challenging journey this would be. I am excited to see what the next weeks and months hold for me in Chile and as a part of the Rotary Community. 

Brave New World (with New Norms)

I realized this morning that one of the challenges about living in Chile is establishing new benchmarks in my life for "normal." The norms of schedules, points of reference, cultural appropriateness, communication, lifestyle choices, etc. change. Some of the changes are drastic and some are barely noticeable but all demand attention and force me to redefine "normal" in my life. The process of determining new normals requires that I figure out what normals I need to incorporate from the Chilean culture, to set aside from the American culture, and to embrace from my gringa heritage.

This process is challenging since I am reflecting on what I regarded as "normal" most of my life, what I perceive as "normal" here, and how I plan to define my "normal" for the future.

Here are few examples of finding new normals:

• Follow-up. How much should I keep following-up with people? In the US, I can (I hope!) generally know when I am following up with someone and when I am starting to annoy them and need to back off. Here, I find that I need to follow-up a lot, especially with community based organizations. So, what is the "normal" between following up with someone or annoying them?
• Food. Adjusting what I eat, how I eat, what times I think are normal for eating. I was at a BBQ the other day and people literally put the meat on a cutting board and then passed it around with a fork a knife. People would cut a bit sized piece, eat it, and then pass the meat and same utensils to the next person. So, I am adjusting to this more environmentally friendly (no paper plates) and possibly not quite as a sanitary way of eating. Also, chocolate and peanut butter, which are normally two of the sections towards the bottom of Beth Anne's food pyramid, are non existent here. 
• People. This ranges from figuring out when to use "tú" or "usted" to how to read social queues to what are good conversation starters. For the record, people here tend to be quite a bit more straightforward right off the bat. For example when yours truly was a little sunburned, after meeting me for the first time, multiple people said things like, "You are really red," or, "You are the color of a tomato." Thanks, good to hear. Being that straightforward is just normal here. So, I am adjusting and smiling when people mention that I should use more sunblock.
• Time. The day starts later, stores are not open early, the nights are longer, people work on a schedule that seems conceivable only to them, and I experience many opportunities of learning to wait...patiently. At first, I found it frustrating when people would say I will meet you at 3:00 and then show up around 4:00 but then I realized that this time difference is the norm here. I have yet to establish my norm with when I should show up or be ready. So, I just show up "on time" and always have a book with me. 

As exciting as defining and exploring new norms can be, the process can also feel lonely and isolating. Finding new normals and establishing balance between the old and the new, the former and the future reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Oh, The Places You'll Go!, a favorite read of mine-

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

Constant Journey

"Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the train keeps moving. Life is the train, not the station. And what you’re doing now isn’t traveling, it’s just changing countries, which is completely different." P. Coelho

As I was drinking green tea and watching boats glide through the bay this morning, I began to think about the impact of external changes on one's personal journey. In the words of Coelho, the landscape, people, and needs in my life changed when I journeyed to Chile but these changes are merely part of the larger journey of life. The train is always moving. And though I may have changed countries, the real journey is living each day. Sometimes I loose sight of the journey and conceptualize my move to Chile as a transfer station. Then I realize, my train is simply moving through a different part of a small planet and, despite all the changes, I am still on the same journey of life.

As I was reflecting on this part of my journey here in Chile, I recognized several changes within myself and, since I tend to write here about changes in scenery, I though I would share more about the changes in my life.

I have been realizing how humbling it is to live in a country where I am still learning the language. Sometimes I feel like I am communicating really well and then later I will have a hard time conversing with a bus driver or buying items at the grocery store. My language ability shifted when I arrived here from commanding my native language, English, to striving to be intelligible in a new language, Spanish. This shift in goals is humbling since I went from communicating with ease to asking frequently, "What does that mean? What is the significance of that phrase? How do you say X?" Sometimes I realize I am asking how to say a word that a five year old living here probably knows. For me, this realization has been quite humbling but also motivating to continue to work on my Spanish.

My ability to be in charge and plan situations also changed as a result of my train moving. Probably anyone who knows me knows how much I generally enjoy being in a take charge position. In Arizona, controlling and planning my life, what I want to do each day, and how to accomplish things most efficiently is fairly easy. Here, the variables of life of constantly changing and unknown. I have felt myself being stripped of my ability to control variables in my life easily. For example, I never know exactly when the bus will show up and so determining my exact schedule is challenging. People here go on vacation and do not respond to emails for weeks. Hence, communicating and making solid plans with people about volunteering or making a presentation can be really challenging. Sometimes people show-up "on time" and sometimes people show up ninety minutes "late." Or there is the example of when I made a really solid plan for my day and then jumped on a new bus that took me on the forty minute route through the city to my house instead of the five minute route. (Yes, that really happened.)

I realized these changes in my train ride are a new part of my journey. Somedays, my plans are foiled and my vocabulary recall fails me but I am learning just to recognize how my life is changing and enjoy the new scenery. Being in Chile reminds me that the inner journey is often more challenging and demanding than any geographical journey.

Green Tea. Bay. The Journey Continues...

Happy One Month Anniversary!

Today is my one month anniversary of being in Chile! Woohoo!

I celebrated this week by working on paperwork for school and being more proactive in contacting Rotary clubs. People are coming back from their summer vacation and so I am finding contacting people are easier to contact.

I found out I needed one more stamp from an official in Santiago and so I took my six hour trip to the capital. At first, I was having a little bit of a sour attitude about having to travel all that way. But then I remembered the old phrase, "When life gives you scurvy...make lemonade!" So, I decided to travel around the city for the day and explore. I got the stamp first thing in the morning and then I had a lovely time being in Santiago.

I miss you all and send you all my love!

Santa Lucia Hill, an Lookout for the Conquistadors 

Santa Lucia Hill Overlooking Santiago

Santa Lucia Hill Overlooking Santiago

Snow on the Mountains

The Old Outlook

Castillo 

In a Plaza

Street Art outside Neruda's House

Las Chascona, the House of Pablo Neruda

I was not allowed to take photos inside but the interior was amazing. I fell in love with Neruda all over again. 

Trip to the South

When I first came to Chile, Chileans continued to tell me that I need to go to the southern part of Chile. So, I decided to give myself an early birthday present and take a little trip. I was not disappointed. The landscape and people were amazing. My favorite moment was probably hiking up the volcano Llaima. Despite a few missed bus stops and a few language barrier moments, the trip was incredible! 

Now, back to reality. I am going to meet with my school councilors this week and another Rotary club. 

Without further ado- 

Part of a BBQ at a Friend's House in Rengo

Waterfall in the Conguillío National Park

Part of the Conguillío National Park

The Lookout from the Top of the Volcano Llaima 

Another Lookout

I Fell in Love with Llaima

The Top of the Volcano

Found Snow on the Volcano in the Summer

One of the Best Hikes of My Life

Street Art in Villarrica 

At a Lake in Villarrica 

Another View of the Lake

The Mountains across the Lake

The River in Valdivia

Flowers at the Botanical Garden

Sea Lions

The Ruins of an Old Fort

Overlooking the River from the Castile Ruins

An Old Spanish Fortress

Flowers in the Rainforest

Old Growth Trees

Looking out over the Pacific Ocean

Another View of the Pacific 

Some Cows Chilling in the Countryside