Pretty Girl from Chile

So here’s the scene: I wake up to another sunny, seventy degree day here in Viña del Mar. My Chilean mom is puttering around the kitchen, belting in English, “And I need you now tonight, And I need you more than ever, And if you'll only hold me tight, We'll be holding on forever!” Hehe. That’s how hilarious my life is now.

I’ll do my best to give you an overview of the last few days.

Thursday was registration day, but in Chilean fashion it didn’t start until 3:00 pm. So I had a deliciously late morning (after two days of jumping right into action). When I got up, our nana Mari was there, chatting with Alvaro and getting ready to cook. We introduced ourselves and I got some breakfast—a yummy little toasted sandwich (our toaster is the best—an ancient-looking little pan that we stick over a gas burner on the stove; I’ll have to post a picture), a banana, a gigantic orange, and a cafecito. I spent the morning getting some things organized and talking with a few people on Skype and Facebook.

When I left my room, I discovered that my Chilean grandparents, Maria Elena’s parents, had arrived! So, my Chilean abuelito is Guillermo and my Chilean abuelita…well, I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember her name…plus I’m pretty sure she just introduced herself as “la mamá de Maria Elena.” They were so hilarious and sweet, each greeting me with a kiss and “Hola, mi’jita” (literally, “Hello, my daughter”). Guillermo took great delight in sprinkling our conversations with English phrases (“Hello, my name is Willy! Right? Willy?”), while abuela confirmed, “Oh, you ARE pretty. Maria Elena said you were pretty.” Haha.

We ate lunch with David, who was home from work on his lunch break. Mari served us some awesome food—tortilla española (kind of a potato tart), rice, lettuce and tomato salad, bread, Coke, and porotos granados (a kind of soup/stew with these Chilean beans and lots of other veggies). As we drank our soda, Guillermo regaled us with a story he had heard about how they use Coke to take rust of off nails for construction. Greeeeat. The two guys talked about work for a little bit, then Guillermo and I started talking American politics. Like most Chileans I have talked to so far—even the self-described conservatives—he was a huge fan of Obama. Mostly we chatted about the need for the United States to see itself as a cooperative part of the world instead of an isolated superpower, to lose some of the arrogance that’s turned off so many other countries.

After lunch I got ready to go to the university for registration. When I arrived, I met a few other members of my group and we went upstairs to check the results of our Spanish exams. I was happy to discover that I had been placed in the advanced level of Español Comunicacional y Cultura Chilena. Yay! Then I tried to figure out the rest of my schedule, stopping by tables with representatives from each department to talk with them about courses and enroll in the ones I wanted. There were sooo many courses that looked interesting (Chilean Dialect, Simultaneous French and Portuguese) but most of my tough decisions were made for me, either because of scheduling conflicts or the restrictions enforced by ISEP, my study abroad program. All told, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out:

-Español Comunicacional y Cultura Chilena (Spanish and Chilean Culture)
-Historia de América Latina del Siglo XX (Twentieth Century Latin American History)
-El Cuento Latinoamericano y Chileno (The Latin American/Chilean Short Story)
-Danzas Tradicionales de Chile (Traditional Chilean Dances)
-Gramática Avanzada (Advanced Grammar)

So, after over two hours of shuffling papers and asking questions, I had my schedule. I rode the micro back to Vina with my friend Rachel, and we made plans to meet at the beach later in the afternoon. We got there pretty late, so it got cold and windy fast and soon we parted ways headed home…or so I thought. Cada vez que te pierdas, aprendes algo. Every time you get lost, you learn something. That’s what I have to tell myself. I spotted a micro with the name of the street where I usually get off, not thinking clearly enough about what direction it was going or the fact that it had already passed that street, and hopped on. Aaaannd rode it all the way to Reñaca, the next beach/town over. Urrrgh. I knew it was wrong, and when we got to the end of the route the driver and his sidekick looked at me like I was an idiot. Preserving what precious little dignity I had left, I got off and assessed my situation. I was not a fan of the neighborhood around me, so I got on the first bus back to any place in Viña that I recognized. What an annoying waste of time. But I have learned my lesson.

Yesterday morning I got up and explored the neighborhood close to my house—Calle Valparaíso, a main shopping district. Afterwards I hopped on the bus to the university to chat with Macarena about options for volunteer work. I also walked around for a bit to get a better idea of where all my classes will be held. They are pretty much allll in different buildings, which is a pain, but oh well. At least most of them are reasonably close together. When I finished my errands in Valpo, I stopped by the apartment to eat lunch with Alvaro and then met a group of friends on the beach: Sarah, Rachel, Julian, Gino, Monica, and Ana. We soaked up the sun for a little bit (no burns except a little on the backs of my legs) and then I headed with the first four on that list to eat some sushi. It took forever, and it was a bit expensive for our taste, but it was still delicious and we had a good time.

After a serious nap, I went out to see The Watchmen with Sarah and Ben. I enjoyed it, although “raw,” “violent,” and “intense” would be operative words to describe it (Mom, I don’t recommend this one for you). Then again, “existential” and “theological” would also be accurate. It definitely raised some interesting questions about utilitarian ethics, aside from being probably the most trippy superhero movie I have ever seen. After the movie, Ben headed to a party with his Chilean brothers and Sarah and I stopped by Café Journal, a club just a few blocks away from my apartment. We visited with a few people from our group at the university, but quickly decided that we didn’t much like the atmosphere there—too crowded, too loud, lame music. So we called taxis and called it a night.

Today has been a lazy day—it’s gorgeous outside, but I’m sleepy…Nonetheless, I may either join some people at the beach later or check out some free cultural events organized for El Día Internacional de la Mujer (International Women’s Day), which is Sunday. There are concerts, presentations, and films going on all weekend. More later!

Random Observations…
-The mullet is not dead in Chile. Neither is the rat-tail. Or the short-in-front, dreadlocks-in-back look. Ha.
-Unlike many people from other Spanish-speaking countries I’ve visited, who are convinced that their version of Spanish is the best, Chileans are actually very self-deprecating about the way they speak Spanish—it’s fast, often badly pronounced, and full of indecipherable modismos or colloquialisms.
-Chilean dogs have the nap down. Seriously, if you’re having problems sleeping, just let them show you how. Street corners, staircases, flower beds—all the world’s a nap spot!

Diccionario de Chilenismos…
-fome: lame, boring
-pega: job
-obvio: duh
-bacán: cool, excellent