Small things

It's the small things, like writing the date on class notes 22.4.2015 or saying I live half a kilometer up Irarrázaval.  The ways in which you've changed but don't really know when exactly it happened; they just kind of sneak up on you.  Elbowing my way into a metro car (forget Midwestern nice, if you're making it into that car you gotta squish), strategically placing myself in the metro car depending on how many stops I have to go to avoid having to wade through 20 people to get out of the door before it closes at my stop.  Keeping spare 100 peso coins in my back pocket (damn no front pocket in womens' jeans) to give to street performers or musicians on the metro.  Knowing to hold up the number of fingers you want for thousand pesos you want charged to your Bip - holding up 3 fingers for 3000 pesos - because the card rechargers can't hear very well through the glass.  After three months abroad, two of them in Chile, a lot of things have snuck up on me.  And it's nice to know you've learned something, especially if they're the small things.

Desierto de Atacama: Day 2

Chaxa Lagoon with its three types of flamingos and the Salar de Atacama, the salt flats of Atacama

Road to Chaxa Lagoon and Salar de Atacama // 17 abril 2015

Chaxa Lagoon // 17 april 2015

Salar de Atacama // 17 abril 2015

Chaxa Lagoon with flamingos // 17 abril 2015

Little lizard friend, shot without a zoom lens (oh well) // 17 april 2015

It's hard to describe the energy here...but the salt gave off its own vibes // 17 april 2015

Ride back to San Pedro de Atacama...it was beautiful to see the colors changing as the sun went down // 17 april 2015

A dog sleeping outside a business in San Pedro // 17 april 2015

Wasn't having my luck infinity focusing to capture the stars, but it was incredible to see the stars so vividly even within the city limits...the Atacama desert really is the best place to see the stars // 17 april 2015

Film Roll: Valparaiso & Viña del Mar

Valpo and Viña, sister towns on the coast near Santiago de Chile, were two great towns to explore.  For less than a $5 bus ticket  I got to the beach and out of the big city.  I know where I'll be most weekends from now on... 

Viña

Valpo // cats and coffee

Viña // the town's dogs loved sleeping on the beach

Valpo

Viña // pure happiness, eating a fresh-out-of-the-fryer empanada and watching the sunset

Viña

one of a billion sunset photos, but this one's mine

An ode to the ocean and my film camera that makes me so happy. 

Santiago de Chile

As beautiful of a city it is and as much as I love speaking Spanish, the transition to living in Santiago de Chile has been rough for me.  I went from volunteering on a farm in rural Bolivia - to living and navigating a city of 7 million people in Chile, a country with an average income triple that of Bolivia.  Taking the Metro, navigating the bus system, and just being immersed in the energy of 7 million human beings has been like constantly leaning on the accelerator pedal: feeling constantly drained.  After a month it's definitely getting better, thanks to wonderful friends, host family, and my parents taking my calls with their never-ending patience and love. Here's to becoming a big city fish sooner than later...

film. taken from Santa Lucia hill in the middle of the city.  beautiful. 

I live with my chilean host family in one of many apartment buildings with a large central park area where families and groups of school kids gather to talk 

Skyline of Santiago's business district, affectionately known as "Sanhatten"

Flowers Outside the Bellas Artes metro stop // nature and concrete

Manquehue metro stop // steel and light

Gustock music festival raising money for the public park // good music and even better veggie pesto ravioli  

Camila Moreno performs at Gustock music festival // love the sparkly blue dress

"Bienvenidos!  El museo ahora es gratis" (Welcome! The museum is now free) did not apply to the dog who followed us in. He was not welcomed by the museum staff :(

NuNu's derp face // no animals were harmed in the taking of this photo

Fruit from the Vega market, known for its cheap, fresh produce. I bought a kilo of strawberries for less than 2 dollars and a small box of huge juicy blackberries for the same amount // nomnom 

Shadow of a palm tree on the concrete in Parque Uruguay  

Buildings in the older sector of Santiago

More photos to come...semester ends in July.

film. Sunset from a friend's balcony.  

From high vantage points it's apparent that the city goes on and on, in layers of buildings and cranes that get blurrier as the distance increases, due to the smog. 

Bolivia, Part 3: Vinto

I spent two weeks at a HelpX farm called Vinto Lindo, located just outside Cochabamba.  It was nice to be out of the hustle-and-bustle of the city and work with my body in the garden, pulling weeds, getting calluses digging post holes, planting fruit trees, harvesting corn by hand, and sharing hour-long lunches with the other volunteers and our host.    

view from the farm

Two teams being led by local farmers in the corn field

building with the volunteer kitchen and tool shed

garden extension and greenhouse

Main garden with lettuce, pole beans, onions, potatoes, strawberries, and squash

I met some people that were very genuine souls: a Tim from France who made a killer Bechamel sauce (used in vegetable lasagna..nom nom), Caitlin from England who had been travelling South America for the past few months, and Anneliese from Canada who did advanced-level woodworking and knew a lot about permaculture from WWOOFing in New Zealand.

Tim playing his violin

famous vegetable lasagna with Bechamel sauce, my first meal at the farm

Caitlin bonded with this little creature who followed us home

Quinoa plant

Cactus and its fruit, tuna  

plant outside the volunteers' quarters

The stars at night were gorgeous, a glimpse into the southern hemisphere's night sky

All in all a satisfying, rewarding, and challenging stay.  To have a look at my first HelpX experience in Costa Rica, click here.  To read Part 4: Carnaval in Oruro, click here.

Bolivia, Part 2: Cochabamba

I travelled to Cochabamba after landing in La Paz.  It's a beauuutiful city.  I saw the Cristo via Cochabamba's own cable car, saw the movie Paddington dubbed in Spanish in theaters, ate ice-cream in the plaza 14 de septiembre, bought flowers in a market in Quillacollo, and waded through crowds in La Cancha - a huge market known for its pickpockets.   

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the beautiful hills of Cochabamba

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beautiful rays of sunshine

here's where I was:

 

The less glamorous side of travel isn't as fun to talk about, but here it is... I walked on packed sidewalks with a broken backpack, sweaty and tired, arrived at 1am on a bus with no air conditioning, and received my share of stares as a mochillera (a backpacker).  

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panorama of cochabamba after a rain - with a cloud settled into the hills

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intersection of Av. Aroma and San Martín, deceivingly empty on a holiday 

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Cristo de la Concordia in the distance, a statue of Christ 40m tall on el cerro de San Pedro

35mm film. taken in Sacaba, a suburb of Cochabamba. 

35mm film. 

35mm film. taken in the Botanical Gardens of Cochabamba

I like to stay in one place for a long time as opposed to bouncing around day after day.  It's more relaxing that way, and I get a deeper understanding of that place rather than the flash highlights from a guidebook. Staying longer means experience more of everything, the good, the bad, the awkward, and the amazing.  And now I know how to use the Bolivian trufi (8-person vans) system...mostly.

35mm film. taken in the Botanical Gardens of Cochabamba

continue reading: 

• Bolivia, Part 3: Vinto here
• Bolivia, Part 4: Carnaval in Oruro here