Machu Picchu y el fin...

After some extensive thought on the matter, I have decided that it is impossible to say “I climbed a freaking mountain!” without appearing as though bragging. After even more extensive thought on the matter, I have also decided that I don’t care if it looks like I’m bragging, because I did in fact climb a freaking mountain and I’m pretty darn proud of myself. It was, without a doubt, the hardest physical thing I have ever done in my (rather sedentary) life.

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is not for the faint of heart: it took us 4 days to hike about 28 miles up into the clouds. Some of the people in my group had run marathons before, and they said that this hike was in a lot of ways harder than a marathon (mostly because of the I-can't-breathe-in-this-altitude thing). I even found out that Katie Couric tried to do this hike and failed, which makes me more awesome than Katie Couric.

The first day was definitely the easiest day; it was mostly rolling hills (which is called “Peruvian flat” by the locals). The only bad part about the first day was my brilliant idea to buckle the chest strap on my backpack (which was set to the tightest setting) right after I climbed a hill, in order to take some pressure off of my back. Turns out that doing this almost immediately cut off all the blood that was pumping to my head, causing me to come pretty darn close to passing out. In addition to seeing some really pretty white lights, I was wobbling worse than Lindsey Lohan leaving a bar. Luckily, there was a vacationing doctor in our group that just happened to be right by me when this all this went down, so I was well taken care of.


Dead Woman's Pass. Those tiny dots
in the middle are people.



The second day of the hike can only be described self-inflicted misery: 5 miles straight up to an altitude of 14,000 feet via the appropriately named “Dead Woman’s Pass” and 2 more miles straight down. I basically spent the entire first part of the day regretting every decision that got me to that point, while at the same time hoping that sweet death would spare me from having to take one more step up that bloody mountain. Miraculously, I eventually made it to the top of “Dead Woman’s Pass” (named for the mountain formation that looks like a very well-endowed lady taking a nap) without actually becoming a dead woman myself. The rest of the day was completely downhill to camp. I’m not sure if it’s because my body was just so happy to not be going uphill anymore, but this downhill business turned out to be my forte: I rock-hopped my way down that mountain like a mountain goat and was the first one in my group back to camp that night!

Day three wasn’t a bowl of giggles either; our guide Jose called it “The Gringo Killer” since the entire stinkin day was nothing but downhill on stupidly steep Incan steps. All my zeal for going downhill from the day before disappeared about 2 hours after we left camp that morning when my knees decided that they hated me. On top of everything else, there was some never-ending rain that made the whole day a broken ankle waiting to happen (luckily I had my trusty Gandalf walkin stick to keep that from happening). On the bright side, we saw some really excellent views and some Incan ruins. Even so, when this day was over my body hurt like I had been stabbed by a thousand spoons.

Yeah. It was amazing.

The fourth day began at the very un-Caroline hour of 3:30 am. This was the day when we hiked the final stretch of the trail to Machu Picchu. The first part of the hike wasn’t bad at all and was filled with some of the most amazing views of the sun rising over the mountains and the cloud forest. Eventually we stumbled upon the final “Gringo Killer” which was basically a rock wall with tiny steps straight up. Finally, we made it to the “Sun Gate” that faced Machu Picchu over a valley. I would be lying if I said that pure exhaustion and relief didn’t make me shed a few tears when I saw Machu Picchu for the first time. When we finally reached Machu Picchu, we took some time to do the obligatory photo shoot and then had a two hour tour of the city. There is no way that anything I could write would do the place justice, so just believe me when I say that you should go if you ever get the chance. Probably the only down side of my time at Machu Picchu was the overwhelming amount of tourists; it was like an ancient ruins version of Walt Disney World. I immediately resented the lot of them for being well dressed and showered while I was smellier and sweatier than a hobo.

A side-note on camping: I don’t like it. Give me a shower and a Holiday Inn and I’m a happy Caroline.

After I got back to Iquique I only had a week left before I would take a plane back to Santiago. My last week was spent saying goodbye to all of the friends I met, bonding with Mateo, and having the most awesome going away ceremony thrown for me at my school. They even gave me my own school uniform! The kids were really sweet and gave me lots of little goodbye notes; I can honestly say that I will miss them and am so glad that I was able to be there to help motivate them to learn some English.

Saying goodbye to my host family was especially difficult. I gave them all some little Texas gifts that my wonderful family sent me from home, and they were super excited (especially my host dad when he was introduced to a beer koozie for the first time). I even gave Mateo a festive holiday sweater to add to his closet, as well as an enormous doggie biscuit in the shape of Texas that said “Woof, y’all” on it. He seemed pleased. I will definitely miss my host family and my wonderful co-teacher Isabel; they welcomed me and cared for me like they had known me my entire life.

I caught my plane back to Santiago on the 24th to attend the closing ceremony of the English Opens Doors program at the United Nations headquarters. Now that the program has officially ended, I have moved into my buddy Melissa’s apartment in Santiago until December 7th, when I fly back to Texas. Melissa and I are planning on doing a little travelling to the towns surrounding Santiago as well as a 5 day trip to Mendoza, Argentina next week. I will be doing a final post after that to let you know how awesome it is :-)

I've uploaded all of my Machu Picchu pictures and my going-away pictures from Iquique to my online photo album. You can see them by going to http://carolineenlaciudad.photoshop.com/. Enjoy! Until next time, here is the philosophical question of the day:

Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?

-Caroline

P.S. – To those of you feeling sorry for me for missing Thanksgiving, fear not: I brought the turkey-lovin’ down to Santiago! Melissa and I bought a 10 pound turkey (which was pretty difficult to find) and named him Juanito. We bought all the stuff to do my grandmother’s fantastic recipes of dressing, broccoli with olive butter, pan gravy, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Since neither pre-made pie crust nor canned pumpkins exist in Chile, the pie was really a labor of love. In the end, everything turned out delicious and I got to share my Thanksgiving traditions with 3 Mexicans, 1 Colombian, and a Chilean. They loved it!

Juanito gave his life so that
I could have my Chilean Thanksgiving.
Gracias Juanito!

¿Dulce o Truco?

Some of my kids dancing to the Monster Mash with some
Thriller moves thrown in. They love my class.

Halloween is not popular in Chile. In fact, it only made its way down from the United States about 10 years ago and has been slowly growing in popularity ever since. Since my lesson last week in class was about Halloween and all of the fun vocabulary that goes with it, I was able to see which kids were very pro-Halloween and which kids were being told by their parents that it is evil pagan celebration. Even so, none of the kids seemed to mind when I played the Monster Mash and attempted to do the dance from Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. I was even invited to a couple of different Halloween parties this weekend. Cursing the fact that I left my German fraulein dress from last year at home, I went with a friend to Iquique’s largest flea market to costume hunt. After 4 hours of digging through a glorified garage sale, I encountered a lightly used Alice in Wonderland dress that I found to be perfectly analogous to my time here in Chile. Not only was my costume a hit, but I also had a lot of fun telling people that I was “Alicia en el pais de las maravillas”.



Me in my costume (over my clothes) 
after I triumphantly found it at
 the flea market. That chick in the
background is totally jealous. 



Last week I had my “Big Show” with all the kids and all the fairy tales and all the stress. We had a room full of about 65 parents and at least 2 babies who were consistently crying throughout the whole thing (I like to think they were just overwhelmed with the sheer brilliance of the show). Other than an epic battle I had with the sound system and a few forgotten lines, it went really well. For your viewing enjoyment, I have uploaded some of the acts to YouTube. Since the kids were speaking a delightful hybrid of English and Spanish, you probably won’t be able to understand much of the dialog. Regardless, the kids looked pretty darn cute in their costumes and seemed to have had a good time.

Here’s the link to the Three Little Pigs – those guys at the beginning are the “Three Stooges” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIIyD2rEACg



Here’s the link to Aladdin. As long as you don’t mind horribly off-key renditions of “A Whole New World”, you will probably enjoy it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE5kE8V9tlE

And finally, here’s the link to Little Red Riding Hood; please note the great pause before the music starts at the end and know that I was backstage whispering obscenities to the antiquated sound system: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXO5I2LNHCo

Okay, so in previous posts I have mentioned my desire to do some traveling around South America, specifically to Machu Picchu. Well, in five days I am doing just that… albeit in a bit of a different way than I had previously thought. Those of you who know me know that I am not the most outdoorsy type of gal; my idea of “roughing it” is to stay in a 10 bed hostel dorm with a shared bathroom. However, I am about to take a big friggin leap outside of the Caroline Comfort Zone onto the Inca Trail… 4 days and 3 nights on the Inca Trail to be exact. That means that I will be hiking (gasp!) and sleeping in a tent (double gasp!) and going without a shower for a few days longer than is socially appropriate. Yes, that’s right: there will be no luxury train up to Machu Picchu for this girl; I am hiking 28 miles (through a very reliable tour company, so you won’t have to worry) up the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Will there be pain? Yes. Will there be blisters? Probably. Will I be sick from the altitude? Most definitely. But, upon my survival of this crazy trip, I will be able to say that I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and not many people can say that. So, during the days of November 9-12, I ask that you send positive energy my way as I attempt something that is so very far outside of my comfort zone. Also, if you would like to send some Icy-Hot alongside that positive energy, I know that my aching body will thank you for it after the 12th.

So, next time you hear from me I will (hopefully) be able to share all the ups and downs of my climb to Machu Picchu (pun intended). Until then, here’s the philosophical question of the day:

If people from Poland are called "Poles," why aren't people from Holland called "Holes?"

-Caroline

¡Chi, Chi, Chi, Le, Le, Le, Los Mineros de Chile!

Chile's President and one of the rescued miners.

What a crazy week to be in Chile! During what I’ve decided to call “Miner Fest 2010”, all of Chile has been entranced with what’s going on in the desert. Outside of the city of Copiapó (which is where I originally thought I would be living) 33 miners were stuck underground for 69 days while rescue workers drilled a super deep hole to get them out. Last week you couldn’t leave the house without getting a play-by-play of the rescue process. When they finally took out the first miner last Wednesday night, the whole country went nuts. I was watching the whole thing from my room and suddenly I heard the whole block cheering, horns honking, fireworks popping, and bells ringing. I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a little teary eyed… Viva Chile!

So ever since I got back from San Pedro, I haven’t really taught actual classes. Instead, I have been given the role of “Theater Teacher Caroline” since I am now in charge of preparing the students for a big show that we are having this Thursday. In what has creatively been titled “The Big Show”, the students will perform (in English) numbers from Aladdin, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and the Three Little Pigs. As much as I love yelling stage directions at a room full of hyperactive kids, I will be very happy to return to regular classes so that I am once again Miss Caroline, ruler of the classroom and maintainer of scholastic peace.

I am in the process of making plans for some upcoming travelling, and will post the final details later this week. In other news, Mateo has a new sweater this week. This little gym is covered in teddy bears that are wearing ribbons of various colors around their necks; fear not, a photo will be posted soon.

Also, I have added new photos and a video to my online photo album. You can see them by going to http://carolineenlaciudad.photoshop.com/ and clicking on the album called “More Iquique” and the video called “Gypsy Dance”. Enjoy!

So, until next time, here’s the philosophical question of the day:

Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

-Caroline
Advisor Abroad in Chile

San Pedro de Awesome

Just another day in the life...

So San Pedro de Atacama was, to say the least, awesome. As promised, I got to enjoy watching llamas (and their pocket-sized cousins called vicuñas) run free through the hilly country expanses. I can’t quite explain how my newfound fascination with llamas came to be, but I am, in short, slightly obsessed with the wooly beasts. Not only do they have eyelashes that bare no small resemblance to those of Ms. Liza Minnelli, but they also have an air approachability that I have yet to find in any other domesticated livestock. Sure, they have a tendency to spit without warning – but so does my brother and I love him all the same. Basically, I want to bring one home with me and name him Pancho, but I have a feeling that the United States Border Control would have a few things to say about it. Instead, I’m going to load up on winter-wear accessories woven out of llama wool to gift to my friends and family upon my triumphant return to the States in December. If you fall into the “Caroline’s Family and Friends” category, prepare to get llamafied.

All attempts to keep warm were futile.

While in San Pedro I had the delightful opportunity to wake up at the black hour of 3:30 am in order to take a 2 hour bus ride through some windy, unpaved, and bumpy roads into the middle of the desert. Why would I, notorious avoider of all things that invoke motion sickness, do such a thing? Geysers. Lots and lots of geysers. Although I was intensely regretting this decision as I was praying to the gods of Dramamine on the bus, I’m definitely glad I went. The reason we had to get there so bloody early is because in the early morning the temperature at the park is about 10˚F, which makes the steam from the geysers especially impressive. My only regret is not wearing an additional pair of pants, as my legs decided to lose all feeling about 10 minutes into the tour.

Flamingos in the desert. Who knew?

Finally, San Pedro’s last gift to me was the gift of flamingos. We visited the Salar de Atacama (salt flats), which came fully equipped with a couple of lakes full of the little guys. Apparently the shrimpy things that turn our feathered friends the color of bubble gum just love the salty water in this part of the desert. Seeing the flamingos awkwardly fly off into the sunset (which I didn’t previously know they could do, by the way) was a delightful way to end a delightful trip.

When I got back to Iquique on the 17th, I had a boatload of Bicentennial fun waiting for me. As I mentioned in my previous posts, Chileans really know how to throw a party. I was lucky enough to get not just 1, but 3 days of parties with delicious asados (barbeques), wine, and other traditional dishes. We even had a Pictionary throw-down (in which my host-sister and I came out victorious) as well as a Bingo-esque game called Lotería. With about 30 family members of all ages taking part in such festivities, it was definitely a memorable experience. They even introduced me to their time-honored tradition of drunkenly writing and reciting short poems (called payas), which always end in ambiguously dirty double-meanings. Viva Chile!

Thanks to 3 days of channeling my inner Anthony Bourdain and trying new foods that most Americans wouldn’t normally touch, I have spent the last week battling an infection in my intestines (I will let your mind wander with what all that entails). Thanks to some gut-wrenching pains and an inability to eat more than a few crackers and broth, I finally conceded to a doctor’s visit and got to experience the grandeur of Clínica Iquique for the first time. 2 hours and one very uncomfortable test later, I walked away with some antibiotics and a specialized menu of nothing but bland food for the following week. Oh, the price of adventurous eating…

Well, as it is now past my bedtime, I will leave you with the philosophical question of the day:

If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?

-Caroline
Advisor Abroad in Chile

P.S. – I’ve added lots of pictures from my trip to San Pedro to my online photo album. You can see them by going to http://carolineenlaciudad.photoshop.com and clicking the album called "San Pedro and Chile's Bicentennial". I recommend clicking "Slide Show" to look at all of them with their captions. Enjoy!

A new week, a new Mateo sweater. I especially like this one because
it has a "Mr. Rogers" feel to it.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños Chile!

I gotta say, these Chileans really know how to celebrate a holiday. I haven’t had school since September 8th and don’t have to go back until September 21st. Why? Because September 18th is Chile’s 200th birthday, which obviously requires an entire week of celebration. Last week in class I taught the kids about our Independence Day compared to theirs; they couldn’t believe we only celebrate for one day… they actually felt sorry for me haha.

Given my abundance of free time, I’ve decided to take a little trip down south for a few days. I’m meeting my buddy Melissa in a city called Antofagasta and then travelling with her to San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro is supposed to be a really beautiful spot in the Atacama Desert (according to Google). From what I understand, it not only has some really neat salt flats, geysers, and valleys – it also has some randomly displaced flamingos and llamas that run free. And I might actually get to go horseback riding in the desert; as much as West Texas might seem like a barren desert sometimes, this will definitely be a new experience for me.

Last Friday I made my host family a Mexican food feast (thanks to my wonderful care package from Grandmary). Since I didn’t have the right type of chili to make enchilada sauce, I ended up making them a kind of taco casserole. They seemed to really enjoy it, but I think they were a little overwhelmed by the presence of actual flavor. Needless to say, I’m missing food from home.

I’ve been talking with one of the other volunteers here, and I think I’m going to plan a trip to Machu Picchu for the beginning of November since it would be cheaper to leave from Iquique than Santiago. If that works out, then I will probably only hit up Argentina (and maybe Uruguay) when my program ends on November 24th. So, there is a distinct possibility that I will be back in Texas for Christmas… which also means that there is a distinct possibility you will get to buy me a Christmas gift :-).

In other news, Mateo went to the groomers and was completely shaved. Now he’s about a third of his previous size, which means that all of his sweaters are too big and make him look like he has an eating disorder. I’ve uploaded photos of Mateo as well as some from my wanderings around Iquique. You can look at them on my online album at http://carolineenlaciudad.photoshop.com/. Just click the album called “Iquique!” to see what I’ve been up to. You can also check out the album called “Video of Cueca” to watch a video of Chile’s national dance that I filmed at a folk-dance festival. It's an especially entertaining video since one of the dancers gets a little too fancy with his footwork and actually wipes out at the end. Enjoy!

I suppose I should start packing for my trip now, seeing as how I leave in about 5 hours. Rest assured that upon my return I will have plenty of photos and stories from my trip to San Pedro, and hopefully even a tan. So, until next time, here’s the philosophical question of the day:

Why don't sheep shrink in the rain?

-Caroline
Advisor Abroad in Chile

"Por favor, Bob necesita su ayuda."

Guaco (my host mom) is holding the cake,
 and Danny (host sister) snuck into the background.

So the birthday party that my host family threw me was fantastic. Not only were they able to find decorations that actually said “Happy Birthday” (not “Feliz Cumpleaños”) but they made me tacos and got me a huge birthday cake (filled with my new favorite food called manjar – a dulce de leche that will knock your socks off). When it came time to sing Happy Birthday, my host-sister’s boyfriend pulled a guitar out of nowhere and I was serenaded. I fully expect my friends to learn how to play guitar so that next year I can be serenaded for my birthday yet again… I’m talkin’ to you Petross and Utley.

I felt like a little Gringa princess on my birthday...
they really went all out.

Nothing too notable happened last week at school. I taught the different names of animals and had the students play Animal Pictionary. Probably the most entertaining part of this game was being asked by the kids how to say “chupacabra” in English. This week’s lesson isn’t so easy: I’m teaching how to give and take directions so that they would be able to find their way around an English-speaking city. I drew a map of a little city that I shamelessly named “Carolineville” so that they can give directions to my friend Bob (a poorly drawn little man driving a blue sports car that is also poorly drawn). Occasionally Bob makes it to his destination with the student’s help, but mostly he spends the class getting directions shouted at him in Spanish since the students have a hard time understanding Bob isn’t bilingual. We’re still working on the whole English part of learning English…

Carolineville and the forever-lost Bob...

So, I came to Chile with the idea that after the program ends on November 24 I would spend the month of December travelling through other parts of South America. Forever the optimist, I was just sure that I would be able to hit up Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, and even Uruguay if I was feeling sassy. When I was in Europe I was able to go all over the place because airfare there was so darn cheap, so I just assumed that it would be the same in South America. Turns out South America is a little bit bigger than Europe; a plane ticket from Buenos Aires to Lima costs about $400 on a good day. So needless to say, I’m in the process of revising my plans. Once I have some set in stone, I’m sure I’ll update the ole’ blog to complain about how expensive everything is, so get excited!

Gracias a Dios, now I have a candle!

Yesterday I got my first care package from home. Nothing can make a crummy day turn right around like a care package. My wonderful stepmother and father sent me an enormous box full of things to make my room cozier; now my walls are rocking some excellent artwork. Plus they sent me candles, which are the best gifts I could ever ask for right now – as much as I adore the ball of fluff that is Mateo, he tends to leave a puppy stench behind that room spray struggles to mask.

Overall I’m starting to get comfortable in my new home here. I no longer have a panic attack when a curious taxi driver strikes up a conversation with me – my Spanish has gone into survival mode and I don’t have nearly as hard of a time understanding everyone now (even though it’s still no walk in the park). My day-to-day has settled into a comfortable pattern that allows time for my favorite part of Latin culture: siestas. I also have started going to a little gym that is a hilarious hodge-podge of equipment from the past 30 years (including some really excellent posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger in his glory days which threaten to “Pump You Up”). I don’t really go for the equipment though; there is an aerobics class called “Fight-Do” which is a scary mix of boxing and karate that made me hurt for a solid 3 days after I took it, which I think means that it was good. The only drawback is that the music in the class is played at concert-level decibels and could very possibly damage my hearing… but no pain no gain, right?

Ok well it’s getting late, and since I’m waking up every morning at 6:30 am (which I know is hard for my family to believe) I better tuck in. So, until next time, here’s the philosophical question of the day:

If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?

-Caroline

Advisor Abroad in Chile

**Update: I just went to the gym to what I thought was another Fight-Do class. About 30 minutes into it, I was utterly confused by the abundance of hip-shaking and the sheer lack of air-punching. Turns out I unknowingly showed up to a “RitMix” dance class which showcased all the best steps from Samba, Tango, and Salsa. Yes, that’s right: I was forced to dance in front of a room full of wonderful Latin dancers. I’m probably the most rhythmless person I have ever met. The teacher (a sassy little man in neon spandex) kept pointing me out to the rest of the class to demonstrate how not to do things… it was lovely. However, the absolute highlight of my week came at the end of our class during our cool-down: our teacher instructed us in a “sexy dance” to a Shania Twain song that involved us slinging our jackets over our shoulders. Best cool-down ever. Needless to say, I definitely double checked that tomorrow’s 4 pm class would actually be Fight-Do…

"Simon dice toca tu nariz... otra vez"

Today is my 23rd birthday. Yes, it’s my first birthday away from the States, but I have a feeling that I won’t be feeling any homesickness because of it. My host family has decided to throw me a party tomorrow with tacos because they know how much I love Mexican food. On top of that, I might be making a little trip to the Casino tonight; it’s a proven fact that people are 47% more lucky on their birthdays :-) . Plus the Casino here is super inexpensive by US standards; last time I went, I only took out about $10 in coins and only lost about $2 after 3 hours of gambling… and that’s with a significant amount of losing.
This past weekend I went to a town about 2 hours away from Iquique called Pica. Overall it was a very relaxing weekend, save the presence of an inquisitive 8 year old (the granddaughter of my co-teacher) who didn’t understand the concept of “speak slowly for the Gringa because her Spanish isn’t the best”. It was interesting to go on a road trip in the desert; sure, I know that deserts are supposed to be dry, but good grief – there was nothing but sand, hills, and more sand. Also, this desert (the Atacama Desert to be precise) is the driest in the world – there are some places that have no recorded rainfall in history. Seriously.

So far school has been going well. Last week we worked on learning parts of the body. Of course, no Parts of the Body lesson would be complete without singing “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and a game of “Simon Says”. Over the course of the week, I probably sang that song over 100 times; it will be years before I can bring myself to sing it again. Also, Simon is permanently retired; he gave out more orders last week than an army drill sergeant and has nothing more to say. Every week I am teaching the kids a new slang word so that they can keep up with the American vernacular like pros. Last week our word was “Sweet!” and this week it was “Dude!” I definitely made sure that they understood the diversity of the word “dude”, as it can be used in anger, confusion, excitement, and utter sorrow. They also enjoyed my impression of Keanu Reeves from “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” as I demonstrated the theatrical application of the word “dude”. I’m still debating over what the slang word next week should be; if any of you have suggestions, let me know.

Ok, well I’m off to go do some shopping and other frivolous activities because it’s my birthday and I’m allowed. So, until next time, here’s my philosophical question of the day:

Is there another word for synonym?

-Caroline
Advisor Abroad in Chile

P.S. – My host family changed Mateo’s sweater this week. As shocked as I was and as much as I miss the plaid, he’s looking quite dapper in his new tan sweater, especially because it is accented with doggie footprints and stripes.

**Update** Last night my family and I went to an aunt's house because one of the cousins was having her birthday too. There was a huge (delicious) strawberry cake that they had made for her, and my family made sure that everyone knew it was my birthday too. After she blew out her candles, they added 1 more candle (because she turned 22) and lit them again. Amazingly, a room of about 20 Chileans started singing "Happy Birthday" to me in English. Absolutely delightful.

Also, I won $10 at the Casino... then I lost it all and had the best time doing it :-)