I Promise! I Did Things in April!

Whew! I definitely dropped the ball on this for the past month. But you should take solace that in my last month in Chile I was out exploring this beautiful country, the fabulous city of Santiago, and a couple of other countries in between, instead of hiding behind my computer working on this blog. I just thought I would catch you up on what I have been doing in my last weeks in South America before I head home in a day and a half!

Mendoza, Argentina: In order to renew my tourist visa I had to leave the country and get my passport re-stamped upon return. I took this opportunity to spend a ladies weekend with some girlfriends in Mendoza, which is about a six-hour bus ride away. The weekend can only be described as lovely. We drank wine with every meal, went on tours of vineyards, olive oil factories, went horseback riding through the Andes (for me, this was not as glamorous as it sounds! My body wasn’t built for horses! Or athletics!), and explored Argentinian nightlife. Best visa requirement ever!

Lollapalooza: I have been trying to go to this Perry Farrell created music festival since I was a little girl and it used to tour around the states. When I found out it was going to be Santiago when I was in Santiago I was absolutely elated. Santiago and I were destined to be together! The festival was two days long and the most notable performers were Bjork, Foo Fighters, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (who totally rocked, in case you were wondering!), Band of Horses, Arctic Monkeys, Foster the People, and many others! It was so much fun going from stage to stage, seeing each amazing show after the next, dancing, and singing at the top of my lungs!

La Serena: For the second days of Passover I made my way up north to the Elqui Valley in Chile armed with fruits, vegetables, a couple packs of American cheese, and three boxes of potato matzah which my friends deemed “not that bad!” and proceeded to help me eat. This region is said to have special spiritual attributes and maybe so, but for us it was just a relaxing weekend. We went to a Pisco factory, and to an observatory, which was probably was of the coolest things I have ever done in my life! Our guide pointed out different stars and planets, which we were able to see through this huge telescope that moved with a GPS. I saw Saturn! And its rings! He pointed out different constellations, galaxies, and other funky space objects that would make me want to change my major to astronomy if it weren’t for my lack of mathmatical talent. Something I did learn though, is that you cannot see the Big Dipper from the Southern Hemisphere, even though I was insistent and kept on pointing it out to everyone like a know-it-all. The Southern Cross constellation IS always visible and with that you can locate the South Pole, like the North Star and the North Pole. SO if you are ever lost with me in the Southern Hemisphere I can help you find that.

The last couple weeks in Santiago were spent checking off things on my bucket list such as the general cemetery where Salvador Allende is buried, Terremotos (the drink, not the earthquake, though come to think of it I did finally experience a Chilean earthquake as well!) from La Piojera, the top of Cerro San Cristobal to see the huge statue of Mary that overlooks the city, and I tried spent as much time with my friends here as possible, enjoying their company before we part to opposite ends of the US! Oh, and studying for my finals.

Next (hopefully either today or tomorrow) I will write up a post about my after-classes traveling.

(SPOILER ALERT: I WENT TO BOLIVIA!)

Ciao! (or Chao! I have been told I have been spelling it wrong!)

At a vineyard in Mendoza

Looks glamorous but really....

Lollapalooza!

A beautiful view from the Elqui Valley

Barrels of pisco at the Capel factory

Munchin' on matzah

Me n' Mary

Delicious kettle corn popcorn that is freshly made and sold by our school, had to throw it in there!

Cemetery "apartments" as I called them, this place is huge!

Boys by Allende's tomb

Saying goodbye to my Spanish class!

Spring Break Part 2: Patagoing to Make an Outdoorsy Girl Out of Me

WARNING! THIS IS LONG. FEEL FREE TO READ IT, READ IT IN PARTS, OR PRETEND TO, OR DON’T, BUT I REALLY CAN’T HELP THIS ONE!

Torres del Paine Stats:

3 very strong, funny, and attractive women

2 named Emily

1 named Rebecca

3 very heavy, packed to the brim, and stanky backpacks

1 two-person tent

21.6 miles hiked

12 new friends from

7 different countries

4 wipe-outs (not bad right?)

0 showering

Now for the real meat and potatoes of my trip, though I assure you there were no actual meat and potatoes anywhere to be found, only cans of tuna and bags of flavored rice.

DAY ONE: Did Anyone Bring an Inhaler?

We arrived in Torres del Paine in the evening with our new Israeli friends to the first campsite. This campsite sat below the biggest mountain I have ever seen in my life; it was covered in snow and we jokingly dubbed it “the ugliest mountain in Torres del Paine” because we couldn’t believe that this was what we were looking at and we hadn’t even started the actual trail yet! We figured that it would be too late to begin the “W” trek (it’s shaped like a “W”) without it getting dark on us, and anyway the Israelis were beginning the “full circuit” trek which begins in the opposite direction that we were going in, so we decided to spend one last night hanging out together. We created a sort of double tent that had space in the middle for us to hang out in that we dubbed a “Frankentent” and spent the rest of the night making dinner and playing games that involved funny accents.

The next morning we made some breakfast, packed up our tent, took some last pictures together, and headed off in our separate ways. The first part of trail was ALL UPHILL. It was a shock to my system and I spent most of it a few yard behind my friends breathing heavily and taking lots of breaks! I couldn’t believe what I had gotten myself into and this was only the first day! I had flashing images of myself being helicoptered out of the trail, and was nervous about holding my friends back. They of course were very supportive and assured me that I was not, that they would stick with me until the end. A couple of German giants came up behind me and squeezed my hands for reassurance, and I kept going. This trail is a very popular one and there are many people who you can see walking back and forth on it. To keep myself entertained I said “Hola” to each and every person that I passed. My friends and I called the trail the United Nations since we ended up meeting people from all over the world.

Emily R has a friend who is a sound technician and he gave her a fancy recording device to record the sounds of Patagonia. At first Emily wasn’t completely sure when it was recording and when it was not so there is a portion of the tape where you can hear me breathing embarrassingly heavily and asking “Is it… flat… up there?” in a breathy exhausted sounding voice! It is hilarious listening to it now and I think a great way to illustrate how I was feeling!

The last part of the day involved an hour-long uphill hike to the infamous “Torres” (meaning towers). Looking at the massive iconic faces of the “Torres”
 I felt very blessed, and wondered if that feeling was coming from the incredible views or from a gratefulness of having survived my first day backpacking. We took a lot of goofy pictures then headed back down to have dinner and give our sore muscles some rest.

I wish my pictures did this view and all of the views of Torres del Paine justice. For a little bit of context I did some math (believe it or not) and the mountains of Torres del Paine are about four times the size of the Empire State Building! So far none of my life experiences compare to the feeling of being so small beneath the glorious jagged mountain ranges of this national park.

DAY TWO: The Pain and Pleasures of Paine or The Hardest Day

Our second day was very difficult because not only did we essentially have to go all the way back down 3½ hours to where we started to move on to the next leg of the hike (due to the “W”-ness of the trail), but we had to make it to the next campsite at the base of the “W” which was 7 hours away. As I was taking my usual spot at the caboose of our trekking train (sorry I had to) I noticed someone behind me. I said “hola” and informed him that he could go ahead of me because I liked to take my time and enjoy the views (lie). Instead he asked me where I was from, and lo and behold an incredibly kind German named Christian joined our group. He had been working in Colombia for the past nine months and is hoping to pursue a career in the coffee industry. I very much enjoyed hearing his story, among the many others that we heard along the way.

This next set of views came with an enormous river below us, with the trail cut into by creeks that would flow into it. One of the coolest parts of the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine is that the water in these streams was completely safe to drink. We felt very Pocahontas-like filling our empty canisters and camelbacks straight from the river. The water was freezing cold and very tasty; I wish I had some to bring back to the States as proof.

Parts of this trail felt a lot like a labyrinth, or like we were ants in an ant farm, or lost boys from Peter Pan, choose your metaphor and attach it to the image of narrow paths formed with thick earth. Above us trees and vines created a canopy of sorts with only parts of the sky showing through.

Ultimately we made it to paradise. Our next campsite at first seemed like a mirage, with backpackers taking off their shoes, carrying glasses of wine into this wooden lodge equipped with dinner (for a price obviously), bathrooms, showers, but most importantly warmth! The weather in Torres del Paine is truly unpredictable at this time of year, with sun, rain, huge wind gusts, warmth, coldness, all occurring sporadically throughout the day. We spent a lot of time on the trail taking layers off and putting them back on to adjust to the changing atmospheres.

Anyway, back to paradise. My friends and I shared glasses of wine and ended up finding the Australians who we met back in Puerto Natales. Here they joined our group for the rest of the hike and we had a very enjoyable motley crew of us making our way through the rest of the trail.

DAY 3: The Social Experience of Backpacking

This day was my favorite day spent in Torres del Paine and also the one that I began to feel strangely at home in the park. The trails felt like my own, and I felt very comfortable walking through the dirt paths and over the rocks above the glittery creeks. We sang the Indiana Jones theme song as we used vines to help us across beds of water, and enjoyed the company of our new larger groups sharing each others traveling customs (ours: imitating trees which entails exactly what you think it does, theirs: using the ‘international symbol of distress’ which includes waving your arms over your head when trying to locate your friends in a club that has been extended to using it in remote places such as atop mountains in Torres del Paine) and talking about everything but mostly about where we would like to travel next (sorry mom!).

We saw a few rainbows that day, completing the idyllic portrait of my experience. Once again, the views blew my mind and I vowed that this activity of exploring nature was something I wanted to include in my repertoire. All the muscles in my body from my neck to my toes were sore, but I felt refreshed and whole from the clear air and overwhelming beauty of my location.

We dropped our stuff at the next campsite, took a break for snacks and chats, and continued up to the first lookout in the center of the “W”. It was going to be evening soon so we decided to make our way up as far as our bodies would let. As I was about to call it a day we met some of our trail friends (a woman from Germany, a man from Chile, and a woman from Japan) tell us that it was only 15 minutes away and was worth every stinging step. Thank God that I kept going because this view was one of my favorites. We saw a 360 degree view of everywhere we had trekked, rivers, mountains, trees, a culmination of our hard work in full view for us to relish in. It was SO WINDY that we had to bend our knees to ensure that we didn’t stumble across the rocks beneath our feet. I did my favorite activity atop this point which was granting the view a bellowing yell, (or yawp to use my inspiration for this Mr. Whitman) letting the sound escape from my lungs in a release only appropriate in the wild. I knew that this was our second to last day and I began to feel a bit sad to be leaving my newfound home.

DAY 4: The Last One

This day was very short as we made our way about 2½ hours to the catamaran (boat) that would take us to the entrance of the park and back on the bus to Puerto Natales. The trail was a little bit sad as most of it was part of the most recent fire in Torres del Paine.  We could still smell burnt ash, and when I touched the trees some char came off on my hands. I hope it never happens again, this park is way to beautiful to have to go through that kind of destruction.

In a hilarious turn however, the last 20 yards of our walk to the catamaran felt like a legitimate windstorm! I have never felt such powerful winds and it made me laugh a lot. However every time I opened my mouth spit would drag across my face and make me laugh even harder! It was also drizzling a bit but the rain felt like hail bullets against my face! One last challenge Torres del Paine felt like handing my way but this time I felt like a conqueror rather than someone being told by nature that she didn’t belong.

Our time in Torres del Paine ended with an extremely satisfying catamaran ride down the river surrounded by all the mountains that we had seen from each and every view reminding us of our accomplishments.

The rest of our trip was spent hanging around both Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas with our new friends, enjoying the feeling of being clean and brushing our teeth regularly. Sorry to kind of cut that short but this post is getting incredibly long and next it will be time to write about my trip to Mendoza in Argentina!

Ciao!

The "Frankentent"

The "ugliest mountain in Torres del Paine"

Top of the climb on the first day!

Look how small I am!

The Torres

Being goofy in front of the Torres

Beginning the second leg of our journey, check out the river!

Rainbow, obviously

How I picture heaven!

Our crew!

Imitating a tree!

A larger tree imitation!

View from behind in the first lookout in the center of the W

Sad burned trees 

Oh right, we also went kayaking in the straight of Magellan! 

In front of a building in Punta Arenas with the Patagonian flag

Spring Break Part 1: Bienvenidos al Sur!

Sorry this post about my spring break in Patagonia has taken so long for me to write. I needed to spend some time processing the whole experience and I still do not think I fully have. So I press on and will do my best to take you through my fabulous trip! Behold! Part one!

I finally finished packing up my hiking bag that was probably about half my size, and the next morning headed to the airport. From Punta Arenas we had to take a bus to the adorable city of Puerto Natales in order to catch a bus to the national park Torres del Paine.

The bus drivers for the bus to Puerto Natales informed us something that we thought meant that someone had gotten sick and therefore I had to sit up front with them. Ok fine. Christian and ‘Nesto turned out to be character right out of the Odd Couple. ‘Nesto was tall and lanky, while Christian was short and a bit stocky. They waved at each car and bus driving on the road explaining that they were all their friends, and ‘Nesto told me that if I wanted to see penguins here I should look to my left at Christian driving. They pointed out the different sights of the road, including the various flora and fauna of the land. At one point they stopped the bus so Emily, Emily and I could take a photo with the scenery, but then proceeded to take the photo of us in front of the bus. We didn’t fully understand but hey, this was their turf! Maybe one day you will see me on a Chilean bus ad.

SO we finally made it to Puerto Natales after a beautiful bus ride. As I mentioned Puerto Natales is the last stop before heading into Torres del Paine and Emily and Emily told me that it reminded them of Alaska. I have never been to Alaska but if you have, there is a image to relate to. There are a lot of hiking gear stores, places to buy warm clothes, and anything else you may need before continuing onto the trek. There are also a lot of very cute restaurants, even some that I could imagine back into New York. Most notably there was a pizza place called “Mesita Grande” (read: large table) with a couple long communal tables for everyone to sit together. There was also a vegetarian and gluten-free friendly restaurant called “El Living” (I won’t translate that for you, I think you can handle it) that we went to after we completed our hike.

The day before Emily R. and I arrived, Emily S. had met two incredibly kind and fun Israeli guys doing their post-army trip around South America. We met up with them in Puerto Natales and hung out with them that night. I felt really comfortable with them and in this new place brushing up on my hebrew and talking about where we would be for Pesach, comparing where we lived in Jerusalem etc. The Emilys told me that it was really interesting for them as well to learn about Israeli culture, something they had never done before.

The next day we ran around Puerto Natales picking up the last things we needed, gas for our portable stove, warm socks, I got a sweet mugger-looking green hat, and of course, more snacks for the trail. We met these awesome Australians who will make their way back into the story a little later!

We then headed on to Torres del Paine, or as I refer to it, THE BEST AND MOST FAVORITE THING I HAVE EVER DONE! Catchy name no? Stay tuned this week for the post about it!

Ciao!

The Andes from the airplane

An island that looks like an upside down E.T. 

View of the south from the airplane, so breathtaking! 

BEFORE check out our packs!

Our bus ad. 

View from the bus

Israeli friends at Mesita Grande

Packing up at our hostel getting ready for the meat and potatoes of our trip!

Goodbye Santiago, Hello Patagonia!

I cannot believe I have been here for two months! This time is really going by super fast, our Spring Break begins tomorrow! I wanted to write a quick post as I leave for Patagonia in the southernmost region of this country. I am having a little bit of traveling anxiety, as I am known to have, before I embark on what will be a hugely incredible trip. I have a strong desire to sleep in the clothes I plan on wearing tomorrow even though my flight isn’t until 9:50am. Those of you who have lived/live with me know that this is something strange that I do!

Anyways, enough about my quirks. I just wanted to give a quick run through of where I will be over the next 11 days! Before my scrapes and bruises from my last camping adventure have faded, we will be heading down to Punta Arenas and making our way over to Puerto Natales. From there we go to the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and will be backpacking through the infamous “W” trek. We will then be taking a hop-skip-and-a-jump over to Argentina to El Calafate to the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares (What is my life! I can’t believe I will be bouncing over to Argentina like I am going to New Jersey!). Next we head back to Punta Arenas where we will hopefully make it to Isla Magdelena to see PENGUINS! Finally we conclude with a guided kayak tour through the Strait of Magellan.

Obviously all of this is not set in stone, what I am most looking forward to is (Mom close your eyes) the adventure of it all, the unknown that lies ahead! Right now I am packing up my sweet hiking sack, resisting the temptation to pack more, and forcing myself to put pajamas on instead of my plane outfit. Safe travels to me and I look forward to telling you all about what happens next! 

Just Call Me the Goddess of Camping

I have learned many important skills growing up in New York City, including how to walk like I mean business, how to spot fake designer merchandise, how to navigate crowds as if I were a small child to get the best spot at a concert/on the subway/when needing to see a celebrity and so on. I would not give up these abilities for anything in the world and I adore New York City as if she were my own sister. However there are many things that New York didn’t teach me, and I discovered these holes in my skillset this past weekend when I went camping.

Now I know what you guys are thinking, “I bet Rebecca carried out this camping weekend with the same grace in which she carries out her everyday life!” Ah yes you would be right because like I said, growing up a child of concrete sidewalk has taught me many things, but jumping, balancing, judging distances from which it’s safe to jump and balance were not included in the package.

We went on a hike that essentially began off the side of a highway up the stream of a creek (not a river as I was I corrected) that at first was pleasantly covered in garbage. We questioned what we were doing in the hike in a landfill but decided to keep going to see if the views would improve. They definitely did because as we kept walking the garbage cleared and visible were these hugemongus rock walls, desert-like plant life, clear sky above, and mountains like enormous shoulders surrounding us.

Now, I said that I wanted everyone to slow down so I could enjoy the breathtaking nature-ness of it all but really it was because I was having a hard time! This particular trail has us climbing up rocky inclines, sifting through sharp bushes like I was Indiana Jones, and hopping on stones back and forth across the creek! Picture me doing all of these things for a minute. Alright, that's enough I think to understand the state I was in.

Along the trail there were all these Chilean families and groups of friends who set up camps. At some point when it clearly seemed like I was having trouble getting back across the creek a Chilean man offered to give me a piggy-back ride across. I swallowed my pride and jumped on… I was not going to have an opportunity for me to make it across the river without falling in pass me by! At some points though I just went for it and walked through the river without even trying to use the rocks, a girl knows when she’s been had!

The creek eventually led us to a beautiful waterfall that we were able to wade around in. Despite all of my ranting, the entire hike was incredibly lovely and fun. I truly enjoyed the experience even though I wiped out so many times on the way back that my friend insisted I hold on to his forearm for protection. One of my favorite moments from the hike was when another friend turned to me and said “So uh, did you ever play any sports in school?” The funny thing about it is that I actually did! What do you think gave it away that I’m not athletic?

The rest of the weekend was also super great; we slept in tents on this campsite that sat on top of a river and in front of a mountain. I did not sleep very much, nor shower at all but it felt so liberating to be dirty and stanky without caring. We ate roasted marshmallows, laughed a lot, and enjoyed each other’s company without distractions. There is nothing like looking up at a clear sky filled with stars, maybe not even dare I say looking out the artificial stars created by my favorite skyline. 

Ciao! 

The view from our tents!

View from the hike... so worth it!

Playing in the waterfall 

The waterfall 

Can I still be a Cruzada even though I'm Jewish?

This past Thursday I went to my first futbol (read: soccer) game and it was quite possibly one of the most fun nights I have had here! Like in every other country that is not the United States, futbol is obviously huge here. Sometimes when riding the metro or walking down the street I can hear people in jerseys singing team theme songs, waving flags, and hanging out of bus windows getting pumped up for the game later that day. When I heard that my friends were going to a game I immediately jumped on the opportunity. We went to a Universidad Catolica versus Bolivia game and it definitely lived up to the very high expectations I had for the evening! Universidad Catolica is a private university here in Santiago but the team is not made up of students from the school. The team is made up of professional futbol players, and while the University used to be affiliated with the team, it is not anymore. Likewise the fans (called cruzados/as meaning cross or crusaders as I learned from Google translate), are not necessarily students from the University. That being said, the game definitely felt like a rowdier South American version of a college football or basketball game.

When we arrived at the stadium we sat in what would be the equivalent of a student section, with bleachers and people who jump a lot. There was a guy selling peanuts, but no beer as futbol fans can get violent. When the coach for Bolivia came out the audience let ring a million catcall whistles and it was impressively loud! Now I know where they learn it from when they call out to my girlfriends and me!

While the announcer was listing the names of the Bolivian players, the crowd shouted out something similar to SUCKS after each one just like we do with such good sportsmanship at Maryland. My favorite chant though was when the fans would continuously sing “no tienen mar” which translates to “you don’t have a sea”. I was very proud of myself when I remembered the historical context for this cheer. Chile went to war with Bolivia and Peru in 1879 in a war called the War of the Pacific. To make a very long story a very short story, in this war Chile acquired all of Bolivia’s access to the sea and they are still very bitter about it. I just thought it was hilarious that over 100 years later this serious historical insult was being used at a futbol game!

At the start of the game there were fireworks that went off right above our heads, people were throwing streamers and also climbing up the fence that surrounded the field. I also learned a lot of very neat curse words that probably made me seem very Chilean shouting them when everyone else did! It was also very hard to see if the ball actually went into the goal or not so I will admit that there were definitely times when I was cheering very loudly in a crowd of dead silence thinking there was a goal scored when there definitely was not! I think then people realized I was American. Foiled again!

Sadly the game ended in a tie, but thankfully I am not too committed to the team so I was able to have a fabulous time regardless! I can’t wait to go to more games with my newly expanded vocabulary!

Ciao!

The futbol field

Dudes climbing the fence

Sparkler at the game!

Casually enjoying some futbol, so you can see I have friends here!

It is really beautiful here! Come visit me!

Hi everybody and happy Superbowl Sunday!

I know it has been a little while since I have written, but I am attempting to make these posts a little bit shorter so here are a couple highlights from the past week. Last week USAC took us on a trip to the Andean Museum about 45 minutes outside of Santiago. The Andean Museum is made up of one man’s personal collection of artifacts from the indigenous people who used to live here. There were so many beautiful pieces of patterned pottery, ornate hats, and gold ornaments. The most impressive part of the museum is that it is also located in a functioning vineyard and winery. The vineyard looked like a movie set behind the museum! Next door to the museum there is a beautiful building with a Spanish rooftop where they sold the wine and one of the most picturesque gardens I have ever seen in my life. It seems like the most perfect wedding location if anyone is interested in a destination wedding in Chile! Please invite me!

Later that day some friends of mine and I continued the theme of indigenous culture by attending a festival celebrating native culture. The festival was on top of a mountain where you could see a large portion of the city. It is always my favorite to see the city as the sun is setting and then when the stars come out. The moon was huge and I was feeling incredibly lucky as I looked out into Santiago, the place where I live right now (in case you forgot)! There was traditional music accompanied by these dances that we attempted to mimic but probably looked foolish. I ate the most ENORMOUS corn on the cob, bought these really cool earrings in the crafts section of the festival, and drank a terremoto.

I will pause here to explain terremotos. A terremoto is basically the second national drink of this country, and directly translated it means earthquake. I forget if I discussed them already, but if I did I think they deserve another mention. A terremoto is a drink that consists of white wine, pisco, grenadine, and pineapple ice cream on top. You must exercise caution when drinking a terremoto. It is better to share one with a friend, because they are so sweet and delicious that you may forget that they are even alcoholic. Do not forget! They are!

The last thing I want to talk about is how my Spanish is coming. I am starting to hang out more with Chileans, going to parties with them, and meeting up with them during the week. It is definitely helping my Spanish and I feel like it has already improved drastically from when I arrived. Last night I had someone tell me that my Spanish seemed very “fluid”, but maybe he said “fluent”? Either way I am taking that as a compliment and trying to speak Spanish as much as I can! I am trying to figure out how I will keep up my Spanish when I come home, so if anyone wants to volunteer to be my speaking partner when I come home I would greatly appreciate it! I’ll make terremotos!

Ciao and GO GIANTS!!!! 

The winery building

Our wedding!

Sharing a terremoto!

View from the indigenous festival

REALLY BIG CORN!!!!

Pretty area at the festival

Some of my friends!

View from the mountain at night, check out the moon in the background!