Mindless in Mendoza

So we made it here this morning in record time and had no idea what to do in a city where we know nothing at 5.45am. So we waited for sunlight and set off for Hostel Lao which I had read about in several blogs as the place to stay. They were all booked up online but noted that they always save room for walk-ins, so luckily, there was no line at 7am. We have secured 3 nights in the most lovely little hotel with a pool and severl hammocks (which Luke has to sleep in tonight btw). We wandered around town but didn´t really have the energy to do much as we each clocked around 3 hours of sleep. So we hit the grocery store, stocked up on bread, cheese, membrilla (quince paste or nectar of the gods) and a very cold bottle of white and settled in at the dining room table for a lovely little feast. Honni and Luke are now sleeping off the bus ride in our double room while I jumped at the opportunity for a dip in the pool and a little nappy-poo in a hammock. I have no idea what time it is but really don´t care. I think we might hang around here to see what happens in the evening as there are whispers of an asado(bbq).

I must mention that my ENTIRE family piled in to the car last night and drove me to the bus station to meet my friends. They waited around to make sure I was taken care of and delighted Honni and Luke with several stories and hugs and kisses. Honni and Luke reassured me that I definitely win the prize for the best host family. It is my host brothers 18th birthday today so I feel little bad for leaving before the celebration but will try and find him something here to make up for it. He loves anything about commercial airliners as he one day wants to be a pilot so I need to snoop around for something of that nature. Oh, and I finally did get a snapshot of the entire family yesterday and will upload it as soon as I find a computer that will read my card. I must preface the picture by saying it in now way reflects their spirit and humor. They apprently are a little camera shy.

Going to do the day long wine and bike tour tomorrow and am looking forward to it!

Hope all is well stateside and will try to keep you all posted as I travel along this Argentinian road....

Concha y Toro y pantuflas gigantes....

So today after school we took a bus out to the Concha y Toro vineyard. It is a lovely property with vines as far as the eye can see. The tour was short and amazingly easy to understand. The grounds were immaculate and the cave was spotless. Our guide talked more about the history of the vineyard more than the actual process from grape to wine. My interests would have liked the more invasive tour but it was still quite enjoyable and we ended up tasting a chardonnay and their award winning 2007 cabernet. The bus ride home was a little confusing as I had missed the part about visiting a royal palace in the city on our way back. So I was discombobulated when we were shuttled off the bus into the palace and asked to put giant slippers on. It's as if they had known exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned that the amount of bread and salt they eat here makes my feet feel like two giant baguettes when I walk. (see picture)

Tomorrow we have yet another field trip to some other fascinating place I am sure, although I have lost track of which place that might be. Then if my Spanish is not failing me, we only have Thursday left for class and will officially be graduates of the Spanish in Chile program. Our time has flown by and while we have gathered many memories together already, I am sure there are more to come.

Lady of the Garden.
GrapesGrapesGrapes
Barrels in the cave.
Y, alas, the pantuflas gigantes.

La Floja

So I did not end up surfing. It was about 40 degrees colder in Pichilemu than it was in Santiago and the waves were quite daunting. A few people from my group ventured out but did not last long. So most of the weekend was spent on the beach in full clothing or in the courtyard of the house we stayed in. People doubled up in beds to stay warm at night since the temp dropped to the low 50's and there were no heat sources. But the meals were outstanding and hanging out with the group was worth it. We played cards and drank wine and laughed a lot. Saturday was one of the best lunches I have had in a very long time and the bbq that evening was more meat than I have ever seen in one place. Bonded with with Marisol who was there to help the family for the weekend prepare our meals and make sure everything was good. She was hilarious and kind. As we were leaving, she brought out some jewelry of hers to give to me and Honni. We were very thankful and felt bad that we had nothing for her in return. Last week in school this week. We have a few more field trips planned and a celebration at the end. Then Honni and Luke and I are off to Argentina for a couple of weeks. No set plans but ideas in mind....

Me, Luke, Marisol and Ryan. She wanted pictures with all of her favorites.
Heaven.
Boating anyone?
Pensive llama. Possibly my favorite photo of all time.

Lovely little Tuesday....

Just back from yet another field trip today. I have not had this many field trips in my life!

Today we went to a little town southwest of Santiago called Pomaire (pronounced Po-My-Rey of course) which is famous for its pottery. We found a studio and got our hands dirty. Who would have thought I would be a natural on the potting wheel. I was fairly skeptical since you actually had to spin the wooden wheel with one bare foot. I wish I had taken some video of it. Then just strolled around town and found a place to have a cold beer and some snacks. I opted for the Pastel de Choclo since I had heard so much about it and yet to try. Let me tell you, it is not, in fact, a chocolate pastry as you may have thought, but an ever so delicious concoction of corn, onions, beef, egg, chicken and whatever else they feel necessary. Love.

No other field trips this week until we leave for Pichilemu on Friday to surf for a couple of days. Really, pretty excited. I will obviously be off the radar for a few days but will surely have some pictures to rub in your face when I get back.

I forgot to add this one the other day from La Chascona. Apparently Pablo Neruda drank root beer out of cowboy boot glasses as well.
Smells like fresh laundry.....Ahhhhhhhh!
Where I found my next calling.
Ceramic graveyard.
How come the pictures never do the food justice?

Into the mine....

So, first I apologize for not updating more frequently. My days seem to fill to the moment right before I fall over on my bed and immediately asleep, possibly something I have never before accomplished in my life.

Second, I must say, I have never been more terrified in my life than I was today. We had yet another outing today with our school and having not given it a second thought, I went along with the rest of the campers with absolutely no idea what I had signed myself up for. For someone who is afraid of elevators and caves, today was a challenge to say the least. I knew we were going to a town with a copper mine, but I had NO idea said mine was the LARGEST mine in the world and still functioning. I also did not know we would drive our bus right into it. I thought, "Surely there will be a moment, when all the other yayhoos are loading up in their little carts to descend into the abyss, where I will be able to politely decline and offer to hold their bags." This moment never came. Before I knew how to scream "I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!!!" we were a quarter of a mile below the earth's surface and rolling through dark caves at what I can only imagine are not safe speeds for a large bus to navigate through caves. At about the 1 mile mark, the bus stopped, we put on our helmets, gas masks, and glasses, and disembarked. No sooner was my foot on solid but dark ground, than the bus closed it's door and set on its way. Panic is not a strong enough word. I have never screamed so loud in my life, mind you, just screaming on the inside. Everyone else seemed to act like it was just another ordinary Saturday on a field trip. I only saw one other person out of the 24 of us shaking ever so slightly.

But I just had to tell myself "Suck it up and pretend you are somewhere else," because I realized at this point, the only thing worse than having a panic attack about being in a mine, is having a panic attack about being in a mine WHILE in a mine with no real urgent way out. As you will see in the pictures, fear is present but I was eventually able to overcome at some moments.

After 2 hours in these caves, meeting the people who have worked there for years, we trekked up to the village on the hill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewell,_Chile) and saw where they used to call home. It was fascinating to see an entire city still in tact with absolutely no sign of life. You could feel the memories surround you. I assume most of that presence came from our knowledgeable tour guide who carried around a tattered photo album like a bible and occasionaly showed us photos of better days. We found out at the end of the trip, she was not only a docent, but was born in this town and spent most of her childhood there. She walked us through the place she called home and introduced us, unknowingly, to her childhood friends in the mines. Fascinating.

Even though I was able to face this fear, unwillingly of course, I am not sure I could do it again.
Enjoy the photos!

Honni was very sympathetic if not a little frightened herself...

This man is celebrating his 35th year in the mine in March.
Kelsea claimed she was also terrified but I couldn't really smell the fear on her at all.
(If this picture were bigger, you would really enjoy a peek at my eyes.)
Ryan and Jordan rocking the gear.

Laundry Day....

So I was doing pretty good with the clothes I brought and thought I could manage to make it at least another week before having to do some laundry......that is.....before Pasquela peed on me......twice. She just gets a little nervous sometimes. So two showers and one load of laundry later, I was back to normal.

Things are still good in my class. Intermedio is the place to be these days. We have had so many people transfer in from the basic and advanced classes, although we aren't sure if its because of their comprehension levels or the promise of laughing and ridiculous behavior in Intermedio.

Today, after class was over at 3, we trekked to the Bella Vista neighborhood to visit one of the houses of Pablo Neruda (for those of you not familiar, he was a famous poet and social giant in Chile who won a Nobel Prize) and to climb the hill to San Cristobal which overlooks the city. The Neruda house was an attack on the sense which was amazing considering it had been looted after the "coup". He had two other house as well and it is known that the one in Isla Negra is even more exquisite. I plan to go there if I can find some time. He was an amazing poet and great political figure in Chile and was apparently the life of every party. There were more bars in the house than bedrooms. He was a collector of all things odd, including many paintings of sandias (watermelon) and he preferred for his dwellings to resemble boats on the water. You could spend hours even days and not discover all the little things unique to this place. Then on to San Cristobal which sits atop Chile and has the most magnificent view of the city of 6 million. The pictures speak for themselves.

Mi familia is still a highlight of my day and I hope to get a picture of us all together soon so everyone can meet them. My hostdad is very anxious to talk to ALL my family members on skype. He loves it.

Hasta Luego!

This one is for sister Susie. He had Fornasetti ALL over the place.
These eyes were on every beam that was low to warn you to duck your head.

Sunday

Very nice weekend indeed. Went to a bbq for a classmate's birthday last night and had loads of fun with everyone. There was meat, there was wine, there was pisco sours and there was karaoke. Ouch. There were 3 of us from Maipu which is a suburb of Santiago and we realized at some point, it might not be safe to travel the hour back to our houses at 2 in the morning. So we decided to crash at a classmate's apartment. Seemed like a good idea until you wake up because it is 80 degrees in the room, you are wearing jeans, but most obvious, you are curled up in a large beanbag. It took me almost 2 hours to get back to my house because of the presidential elections so I decided, while going out is fun, hanging out with my family is much easier and just as much fun. I am so lucky to have such a nice family and cherish my time with them.

I did some studying today to prepare for another week of classes and hope that my conversational skills will improve.

Just liked the colors...
This one is for Julie. A cat at the vet where my hostmom works.