buenos aires

hey all--my communication's getting worse and i'm getting busier by the minute. but in the interest of putting off the paper i have to write for a few more minutes, here are some pictures from the week (and i think even a video of tango!).
it was really great. i loved bs as, but it also made me happy i chose santiago and excited to come "home."


this is the widest street in the WORLD! courtney and i thought it was pretty funny that it was an "attraction" listed in the guide book.


these are mothers of some of the thousands of "desaparecidos" or "disappeared ones" from the dictatorship. the gather every thursday to protest various causes. the women with white scarves on actually lost children.


this is a plaza outside in the centro, just love the pic. wish i knew how to rotate it.


this is the view from the apt we stayed in. a great place.


us on the first day and...


us on the last day, on the way to chile! (and i'm wearing the same thing...never a good sign.)


a street antique fair in a neighborhood called san telmo.


a tango group in san telmo called las ranas. we bought their cd.


the cemetery there. it was amazing. this is one of many fotos.


and this is the mausoleum of eva peron. (think "don't cry for me argentina." thank you andrew lloyd webber.)


and, if it works, here is a video of some tango dancers we watched during lunch one day. they were amazing. there were coed couples, but both guys were better, so it was great when they danced together. and that was another thing i loved about bs as, diversity! a short escape from the homophobia of santiago! :)




chao!

quick update

haven't written in a while, so just wanted to update a bit.

things are going well, as always. i booked my flight for returning to the states the other day. i'll be getting back friday, the 25th of july. i'll be in iowa for the following week, then to chicago for lollapalooza, then back to iowa. all tentatively. life's pretty unpredictable after all. i'll admit, it was tough to spend so much time thinking about going back. i won't dwell on it now, as i know that everyone who reads this is there, but the fact is that even though i'm incredibly excited to see everyone, i have all my life to live in the states (not that that's the plan) and only two and a half more months to live here now. time is such a tricky thing. how has it been 4 and a half months already?

i went to a jazz club with my host brother last night and it was absolutely wonderful. as i mentioned to camilo, there was something perfect about sitting in the dimly lit jazz club, sipping red wine, listening to great jazz music, and getting to have a conversation in spanish with such a good friend. it reminded me a lot of the green mill in chicago, but with the south american touch, which i couldnt begin to describe. all in all, a wonderful experience, and i will definitely be going back in the next 2 and a half months.

on tuesday i leave for buenos aires. i will be meeting courtney there and i couldn't be more excited. i absolutely cannot wait. we'll spend about 6 days there, then she'll come back to santiago with me and spend about 10 days there before heading off to peru to meet up with her mom. i'm really excited to spend time with her.
but, i'm also (though not equally) excited to see buenos aires. i've heard so many amazing things. i will be sure to post pictures after.

thanks for reading.
chao.

the 'rents came to visit! (and the phrase "it's chilly in chile!" never got old...)

so, i couldn't keep you all in suspense for too long. since it'll take my dad a good 3 months to put these on a cd, i thought i'd pick out a few good ones to show. plus, it means i get to put off catching up on my studying for another couple hours.
overall it was a GREAT visit. it was really wonderful to have them here and get to let them in on this world of mine.
the highlight was definitely having my parents meet my host family. it was such a beautiful moment. when my parents first met my host dad on the day they arrived, just to stop by the house, i think my 'dads' hugged about 15 times, no exaggeration. it was really beautiful to see. because they couldn't communicate verbally, they communicated...physically? (that sounds dirty, but you know what i mean.)
the day after we had dinner together, (while i was recovering from 3 hours of translating and my mom was recovering from the 3 pisco sours my host dad served her) with my parents, they were raving about the family. how loving they are, and how well they take care of me. and then the next day, after my parents left, my host family was doing the same thing about them. how affectionate and kind they are, not what they expected. i had to clarify that my family didn't really hold to the 'personal space' rule that i had talked about most united stateseans having.
anyway--the question remains, how do you pick 'a few good pictures' from the 430 my dad took during 6 days? i'll try to guide you all a bit.

the garden at my house


jake and leslie sent me real coffee!!!! yay!!!!


a few shots of valparaiso




dad next to the virgen at cerro san cristobal


a unique chilean treat. called 'mote con huesillos"



this is the parents on the WAY to the day of wine-tasting


a couple at the vineyard



me with my host family! por fin!!!


all my parents and me


one of my favorite shots from the hotel balcony


my mom, teresa (my nana and now good friend) and me


la moneda--the chilean capital building


this is alejandra, my colombian friend, and quite possibly my favorite person that i've met here


my cafe!


sarah and pipe went to dinner with us one night. they, too, are amazing people.


and my other favorite shot of the city


ok, enjoy!

one jazz hand at a time...

okay, a couple random comments/updates/thoughts/ponderings--

1--i had my first chilean test today, which they call a "control," which is quite ironic, as thats anything but what i was feeling as i studied until 330am last night. the test was hard, but it went well, i think. we'll see. it'll depend on how hard i'm graded, whether at chilean level, or exchange student level. vamos a ver. i learned, however, that it's pretty hard to memorize in spanish. things go in in a mix of spanish and english, no matter which language i'm reading in, and so it makes it more difficult to recall. just another interesting lesson.

2--i had another amazing convo about world politics today with a girl from class after the test. granted, i understand that i keep hanging out with poli sci majors, but seriously, i'm amazed.

3--the other night camilo (my host brother) and i somehow got on the topic of high school activities and i brought up show choir. i decided to youtube it, just in case by chance one of the songs was on it and EVERY song i ever did in high school is on it. (search 'davenport west connection' and watch years 2003, 2004, 2005, if interested). anyways, i showed him about 4/5 and he seemed to enjoy it. he was obviously impressed. the point is i am, single-handedly bring show choir, the pride and joy of the midwest united states (according to some, i'm sure) to the southern hemisphere. you can thank me later.

4--i don't think chilean women wear sports bras. sorry if this makes anyone uncomfortable, but i'm amazed! in my dance class, i'm ALWAYS the only one wearing a sports bra! they all wear their cute little tank tops and real bras! i dont get it.

thats all for now. need to catch up on a bit of sleep and the parents come in a couple days! yay for trying new things!
chao.

reader beware

i´m writing from a computer at the university because i haven´t gone home yet, so these thoughts are fresh on my mind/heart.
i´ve been relatively moody/emotional today anyways. i think the crazy weather here is screwing with me.
so with those things in mind, know that this may be a charged post. i don´t apologize for a word, but just beware.

the last couple days have been interesting ones. it started with a good conversation with my brother, fresh from his trip to ethiopia, about what true poverty looks like; something we have only had small glimpses of in our lives. last night while volunteering, i had a conversation with a 14-year-old kid about how he wasn´t going to have a party/celebration for his upcoming 15th birthday because the people that would come would just start street-fights, just like the party he went to this weekend. he also talked about how he might start a technical program to become a mechanic next week, as he had dropped out of school to work (selling mp3 players on the street) to help his parents with money. i also saw another 14/15-year-old kid buy weed as he got out of his high school.
this morning, i had my political science class which was, in reality, more of a discussion group as all the students chimed in their opinion about the development of foreign policy in latin america, specifically as it relates to the united states and the USs influence in LA. i, however, sat quietly in the back, hearing for the first time of many of the wars/conflicts, policies, leaders about which the chilean students were so opinionated.
and i just finished watching a video about the disappearances and torture during chile´s dictatorship in the 70s and 80s and couldn´t help but think about the cia report i just read about how aggressively the US supported augusto pinochet, the dictator, politically and financially.

in all honestly, i´m not writing this to focus on misdeeds of certain countries or people. the fact that i am extremely frustrated with right now is the lack of AWARENESS that is so prevelant in the US. i know it´s not just the US, and i know it´s not everyone in the US, but when i think of the common ´american,´ (i use the term ironically as, in fact, central and south americans are also american) i think about people that may have the best intentions, but are simply not aware of what´s actually going on in the world. i include myself in this!

i wonder...
--how many foreign leaders can you name?
--how many conflicts has the US really been involved in in the last 20 years? 30? 40?
--have you ever heard of the dictatorship in chile or argentina that was supported by the US? the us goverment no longer denies it´s involvement, so it´s not a conspiracy theory. it was during the height of the cold war. if you´re interested, go here to read more.
--did you know that the US provides the most weapons of any country, and which countries does it send them to? i believe the top 10 were all in africa. i´m pretty sure ethiopia was near the top.
--have you ever heard of oscar romero? (loyolans, you don´t count.)

again, i honestly say that this is not in an attempt to bash the states. this is a challenge to myself as much as anyone else. i think that´s why it´s hitting me so hard right now. it´s just the fact that, for whatever reason, i feel like we are kept in the dark about what is going on in most of the world, most of the time. and we accept it. i wonder when we´ll start demanding to know what´s actually going on in the world and stop believing what we´re told.

round 2

my first attempt at chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are in the oven right now. i'm pretty nervous. this is a lot of pressure. my family didn't even know what chocolate chips were! (i barely found them in the huge grocery store.)

wish me luck...

and, as i wait in suspense but you all, not so much...

success! they're different again, like the apple cake, but good nonetheless. i will introduce this continent to northamerican baking one sugar-y dish at a time!

good things!

so, it's only about 2pm, but it's been a great day.
1--i was studying at starbucks this morning and i swear to you, the barristas there, and i mean specifically at the one by my house, are the nicest people i've met in santiago. they are all really friendly. when i was getting ready to leave, about 6 of them were sitting down to do a taste test/lesson time with one of the managers. so, they invited me to join them! they were studying their little booklets and sniffing the coffee and tasting little cakes with it and things. it was pretty delightful.
2--i found out that i my application for the provost fellowship at loyola was accepted! it basically means i will be working with my favorite social work professor about 10 hours/week on a mentoring project on chicago's southside with kids who've been involved in the justice system. i'll be on the team that organizes and implements the program.
i'm very excited!

okay, chao!