I have always had a thing for Joy. Like some kind of raucous romantic relationship where I chase it, lose it, understand it, become confounded by it, desire it with all of my being, and carelessly toss it aside in order to wallow in whatever version of selflessness appeals to me more.
There's just something so pure and lovely and un-human about Joy.
It's not an emotion. It's different from happiness. It's more than a state of mind or heart, it's a state of spirit, which are of course the hardest kind to understand. that is until you let the One who lives in your spirit explain it to you.
I learned a lot about Joy when I was in Nepal from my dear friend Meera, whose incredible story taught me of unfathomable faithfulness to God, of wisdom far above my level of comprehension, of pure and selfless service. But Meera really just exudes Joy in her faithfulness, in her wisdom, in her service, even in the way she speaks of her horrific past. She is Joy personified. More than anyone I have ever seen and maybe will ever see.
And that impacted me. greatly.
Joy became even more inportant to me after seeing it in its pure form in Meera, and I sort of claimed it as mine, as my word, my thing. I wanted to be known for Joy, to learn how to truly have it at all times, how to not confuse it with emotions, for my life as a whole to be marked by Joy in the Truth, Love, and Freedom of Christ.
And maybe I did for a while.
And then that raucous romance kicked in and Joy and I weren't really speaking for a while.
I spoke to God some, loved Jesus some, listened to the Spirit some.
but I forgot about Joy.
I realized last night that I missed praying. I hadn't stopped praying entrely, but I had forgotten how to live prayer. There have been times that there weren't times of prayer and not prayer, but my life was a prayer, my every breath was communication with God. And I was longing for that. And I was longing for Joy.
So I wrote God a letter. Just talked to him like my big brother or my boyfriend or the mysterious Thing within me. And they all talked too.
And I remebered how deeply and perfectly he loves me and how inconsistant and childish I am.
He showed me his goodness again. In Spanish, you would say "de nuevo." I really like that. of new. It's not like he isn't always showing me his goodness, but he did of "of new".
And JOY. of new.
more than an emotion or a feeling or a tear or a smile. the good kind. the kind that blossoms like a precious lily after a rain storm and fills the air with that sweet sweet aura and gets that crazy orange pollen all over everything. the kind that is like an uncontrollable and beautiful dance made even more beautiful by the toes stubbed from clumsiness and the ungraceful turns that result in falling into a laughing heap on the ground.
And now I want to chase it, hold it, and learn it more than ever. I still want my life to be marked by Joy. and it can be because I am first marked by the Blood.
So if you are reading this, pray. Write a letter. Breathe. Ask God to show you a glimpse of Joy. I want to share her with you. and then tell me about your Joy. She'll be different from mine, but I want to hear about her in your life. Leave a comment, facebook, email, or skype me and tell me about Joy in your life.
with Love and Joy of new,
Molly
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
lots of poetry and sunshine
The sky was blue, the air cool, the sunshine warm, the breeze playful, and the day perfect. perfect for Neruda.
Pablo Neruda was one of the best Latin American poets ever and one of my favorites. I got to go to his house on Saturday. It might seem silly, but it really is a big deal. Catie and I dressed especially for the occasion. I even wore a flower in my hair in order to be more poetic. We boarded a bus as we have done so many times before while searching for adventure, and found it when we stumbled into the adventure of Neruda's world and his words. He was a very quirky man, a collector of strange things like figure heads from old ships, sea shells, bottles, ships in bottles, masks, and many other oddities. But mostly, he was a collector of words. An arranger of words. an artist. he had a way of making words more than words. something higher, bigger, more beautiful, something from the soul.
He of course had several houses throughout Chile in his life, one of which is actually here in Valparaiso, but I haven't had a chance to go there yet. This particular house we visited in in Isla Negra, a small coastal town about an hour and a half from here. It was his last house, the one in which he spent his final days and the one in which the culmination of all his artistry and quirkiness culminates. He built it room by room, adding on as he saw fit. there's a whole room just for his mascarones(ship figureheads) which range from nude mermaids to saintly figures. He built a room specially to house a giant paper machet horse, a cherished artifact from his childhood, and had a huge party to welcome it and make it feel at home. The concrete of the floor has smooth round seashells in it because he liked the way they massaged his feet. The forest was his first love, but he was also fascinated with the sea. Despite his love for the sea, he was also quite afraid of it and settled for sailing in a small boat in his garden rather than ever actually sailing. The house is built on a cliff over looking the Pacific where the turquoise waves constantly crash and spew diamond-like seafoam against the great boulders, worn smooth with the passing of so much time and water. Catie and I sat on those rocks and felt the sea spray on our dusty lips and marveled at the milky mermaids in the seafoam. It was all just a little too much magic for one place.
So we came home and ate a mountain of gelato while sitting on some different rocks by the ocean, watched as the sun sank into the sea like a great tomato into a bed of velvet and shuddered with delight as the evening tide brought enormous waves up against the sea wall where we unknowingly picked the one spot where the water couldn't touch us...most of the time. The moon came out in all her glory to shed her luminous silver garment on the sea and created a living watercolor on its surface as she mingled with the last colors of the day that hung in the dusky sky.
So there's my Neruda day. now go read some! here is the first one i ever read and one of my favorites: http://www.soupsong.com/ftomato2.html
he actually has a whole series of Odes to simple things like socks, wine, a spoon, a book, and even to the city of Valparaiso. You should google him and just read any of those...
* * *
Pablo Neruda was one of the best Latin American poets ever and one of my favorites. I got to go to his house on Saturday. It might seem silly, but it really is a big deal. Catie and I dressed especially for the occasion. I even wore a flower in my hair in order to be more poetic. We boarded a bus as we have done so many times before while searching for adventure, and found it when we stumbled into the adventure of Neruda's world and his words. He was a very quirky man, a collector of strange things like figure heads from old ships, sea shells, bottles, ships in bottles, masks, and many other oddities. But mostly, he was a collector of words. An arranger of words. an artist. he had a way of making words more than words. something higher, bigger, more beautiful, something from the soul.
He of course had several houses throughout Chile in his life, one of which is actually here in Valparaiso, but I haven't had a chance to go there yet. This particular house we visited in in Isla Negra, a small coastal town about an hour and a half from here. It was his last house, the one in which he spent his final days and the one in which the culmination of all his artistry and quirkiness culminates. He built it room by room, adding on as he saw fit. there's a whole room just for his mascarones(ship figureheads) which range from nude mermaids to saintly figures. He built a room specially to house a giant paper machet horse, a cherished artifact from his childhood, and had a huge party to welcome it and make it feel at home. The concrete of the floor has smooth round seashells in it because he liked the way they massaged his feet. The forest was his first love, but he was also fascinated with the sea. Despite his love for the sea, he was also quite afraid of it and settled for sailing in a small boat in his garden rather than ever actually sailing. The house is built on a cliff over looking the Pacific where the turquoise waves constantly crash and spew diamond-like seafoam against the great boulders, worn smooth with the passing of so much time and water. Catie and I sat on those rocks and felt the sea spray on our dusty lips and marveled at the milky mermaids in the seafoam. It was all just a little too much magic for one place.
So we came home and ate a mountain of gelato while sitting on some different rocks by the ocean, watched as the sun sank into the sea like a great tomato into a bed of velvet and shuddered with delight as the evening tide brought enormous waves up against the sea wall where we unknowingly picked the one spot where the water couldn't touch us...most of the time. The moon came out in all her glory to shed her luminous silver garment on the sea and created a living watercolor on its surface as she mingled with the last colors of the day that hung in the dusky sky.
So there's my Neruda day. now go read some! here is the first one i ever read and one of my favorites: http://www.soupsong.com/ftomato2.html
he actually has a whole series of Odes to simple things like socks, wine, a spoon, a book, and even to the city of Valparaiso. You should google him and just read any of those...
* * *
On Sunday I went with my host family to Palm Sunday mass on the beach. I was initially really excited about the idea of church on the beach, but it didn't turn out to be as awesome as i had hoped. We were facing away from the ocean and directly into the sun. I'm not sure if it's jsut because I'm not used to Catholic mass yet or what, but it was just off. Everyone, including my family, bought these funny little woven palm things with leaves and rosemary in them from vendors on the sidewalk to wave around while we sang some fun songs. I will say that is the first time I have really seen joy in mass. But other than that, it all just seems so arbitrary. I couldn't help but think that the beautiful 5 year old girl who was exploring the properties of sand, burying her moms feet, laying in it, making pillows out of it, just loving the grainy golden heat of it, was experiencing god more than everyone else there with their solemn prayers and nasty communion wafers. Then at the end the preist walked, or rather waded, through the throngs of people who were crowding around him, sprinkling the little palm things with holy water, blessing them so people can hang them in their houses for the rest of the year. weird.
anyway, after church i ate too much for lunch and went with catie to the beach closest to our houses to bask in the afternoon light that seemed to be dripping from every tree and rooftop, letting it soak into my already pink skin, thoroughly heating me all the way down to my soul and the tips of my toes.
at night after a particularly lovely once(eveining meal) catie and i hung out some more, as usual, and ended up having yet another existential-meaning-of-life-and-purpose-and-god talk/freak out and decided we want to go to Bolivia to do some kind of volunteer program in july before we come home. then i embarked on the arduous journey of figuring out classes for next semester. While navagating the complicated sea of credit hours, spread sheets and course numbers, i realized that if i don't get a second major in Spanish, i can very likely graduate in a year. So i think i'm gonna do that. which means that none of the Spansh I'm taking here really counts for anything, which means that academically I came here for no reason, which I am totally ok with! Somehow it kind of adds a little more validity to my life here. Catie and i always said that we aren't really here for school, but school is just an excuse to live here. and now that's even more true. PLUS this also means that I dont have to take that painfully difficult spanish literature class that made gazillions of pages of impossibly long and incomprehensibly old spanish hang over my head all the time.
instead i'm taking Italian Language and Culture(basically Italian I) with Catie and a Latin American poetry class with all gringos which should be pretty lovely.
so there's that.
things i've learned:
*there is a reason you are supposed to see your advisor before you leave the country. it's so you don't have to try to figure out all this crazy credit and graduation stuff through email...suuuuuuuck
*despite what most chileans(including my host family) apparently believe, you cannot get a cold from not wearing enough clothes, from being in the house without shoes or slippers, from leaving your window open, from not blow-drying your hair, etc. the common cold is a virus in the air and has nothing to do with the weather. except that cold weather can dry out your nasal passages and make you more succeptible to the virus. but it still has nothing to do with sleeping or going outside with wet hair. nor am i going to get an ulcer because i use three scoops of nescafe.
*narwhals have an oversized tooth/tusk that grows through their lip and can be up to 3 meters in length. there is no practical use for the tusk, and it's not even symmetrical(they only grow it on one side of their face!). Pablo Neruda has one in his house and catie was all kinds of confused because she didn't realize that they weren't just mythical creature, hence the google-fest that brought about this fountain of knowledge...also, queen elizabeth once payed the amount of money it would take to build a castle for a cup made of a narwhal tusk.
*NEVER make plans with chileans. they will always fall through. or if you do make them, just get ready to be either disappointed, frustrated, confused or any combination of the three.
*art projects are the best.
*the indigenous people of Easter Island(which politically belongs to Chile) are actaully descendants of ancient India/Pakistan. my professor for my history of modern india class discovered this when Chle hired him to do a study proving that Chile had a rightful claim to the island(he didn't do a very good job of that). but he figured it out because there were something like 100,000 "linguistic coincidences" between their language and ancient sanskrit. and according to him there are no "linguistic coincidences" because language is the DNA of culture. if two languages share something or have common words, it is because they came from the same place or converged somewhere. sooooo interesting! i really like nerding out in that class...
* being without a camera sucks. catie's got stolen last weekend(go read her blog!) and i think mine has sand in it or something, or at least the motor can't work. either way, it can focus on anything and makes lots of scary sounds.
*i am discovering that i am silmultaneously a lot more ready to be grown up and petrified of it than i thought...funny how that works
*i miss clothes fresh out of the dryer
*this isn't really anything a learned, but just a fun tidbit - my host dad brought home another pet turtle(we already have one, his name is Alex) for my little host sister and she let me name it! I chose Bartolomeo. i wanted Beatriz, but then she told me it was a boy...
*mine and catie's sameness of mind and soul is getting creepier every day. and yet we are growing in such different ways.
*the Chilean mail system is a lot more trustworthy than i previously gave it credit for.
ok that's enough.
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE leave comments. even if you don't really have anything to say. they really do make my day.
besitos!
anyway, after church i ate too much for lunch and went with catie to the beach closest to our houses to bask in the afternoon light that seemed to be dripping from every tree and rooftop, letting it soak into my already pink skin, thoroughly heating me all the way down to my soul and the tips of my toes.
at night after a particularly lovely once(eveining meal) catie and i hung out some more, as usual, and ended up having yet another existential-meaning-of-life-and-purpose-and-god talk/freak out and decided we want to go to Bolivia to do some kind of volunteer program in july before we come home. then i embarked on the arduous journey of figuring out classes for next semester. While navagating the complicated sea of credit hours, spread sheets and course numbers, i realized that if i don't get a second major in Spanish, i can very likely graduate in a year. So i think i'm gonna do that. which means that none of the Spansh I'm taking here really counts for anything, which means that academically I came here for no reason, which I am totally ok with! Somehow it kind of adds a little more validity to my life here. Catie and i always said that we aren't really here for school, but school is just an excuse to live here. and now that's even more true. PLUS this also means that I dont have to take that painfully difficult spanish literature class that made gazillions of pages of impossibly long and incomprehensibly old spanish hang over my head all the time.
instead i'm taking Italian Language and Culture(basically Italian I) with Catie and a Latin American poetry class with all gringos which should be pretty lovely.
so there's that.
things i've learned:
*there is a reason you are supposed to see your advisor before you leave the country. it's so you don't have to try to figure out all this crazy credit and graduation stuff through email...suuuuuuuck
*despite what most chileans(including my host family) apparently believe, you cannot get a cold from not wearing enough clothes, from being in the house without shoes or slippers, from leaving your window open, from not blow-drying your hair, etc. the common cold is a virus in the air and has nothing to do with the weather. except that cold weather can dry out your nasal passages and make you more succeptible to the virus. but it still has nothing to do with sleeping or going outside with wet hair. nor am i going to get an ulcer because i use three scoops of nescafe.
*narwhals have an oversized tooth/tusk that grows through their lip and can be up to 3 meters in length. there is no practical use for the tusk, and it's not even symmetrical(they only grow it on one side of their face!). Pablo Neruda has one in his house and catie was all kinds of confused because she didn't realize that they weren't just mythical creature, hence the google-fest that brought about this fountain of knowledge...also, queen elizabeth once payed the amount of money it would take to build a castle for a cup made of a narwhal tusk.
*NEVER make plans with chileans. they will always fall through. or if you do make them, just get ready to be either disappointed, frustrated, confused or any combination of the three.
*art projects are the best.
*the indigenous people of Easter Island(which politically belongs to Chile) are actaully descendants of ancient India/Pakistan. my professor for my history of modern india class discovered this when Chle hired him to do a study proving that Chile had a rightful claim to the island(he didn't do a very good job of that). but he figured it out because there were something like 100,000 "linguistic coincidences" between their language and ancient sanskrit. and according to him there are no "linguistic coincidences" because language is the DNA of culture. if two languages share something or have common words, it is because they came from the same place or converged somewhere. sooooo interesting! i really like nerding out in that class...
* being without a camera sucks. catie's got stolen last weekend(go read her blog!) and i think mine has sand in it or something, or at least the motor can't work. either way, it can focus on anything and makes lots of scary sounds.
*i am discovering that i am silmultaneously a lot more ready to be grown up and petrified of it than i thought...funny how that works
*i miss clothes fresh out of the dryer
*this isn't really anything a learned, but just a fun tidbit - my host dad brought home another pet turtle(we already have one, his name is Alex) for my little host sister and she let me name it! I chose Bartolomeo. i wanted Beatriz, but then she told me it was a boy...
*mine and catie's sameness of mind and soul is getting creepier every day. and yet we are growing in such different ways.
*the Chilean mail system is a lot more trustworthy than i previously gave it credit for.
ok that's enough.
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE leave comments. even if you don't really have anything to say. they really do make my day.
besitos!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
there's blood on my hands
I hate all your show and pretense
The hypocrisy of your praise
The hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show
Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stop up my ears when you're singing 'em
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turned your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in your plan
Quit playing religion games
There's blood on your hands
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
Let's argue this out
If your sins are blood red
Let's argue this out
You'll be one of the clouds
Let's argue this out
Quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all, all
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
-Jon Foreman
I've been thinking a lot about liberty and justice lately. and not in the patriotic or political sense, but in a social and spiritual sense. I long for liberty for the "invisible children" of Northeast Africa and justice for their oppressors. I desire liberty for the sex slaves of Asia and justice for their pimps. I wish for liberty for the poor and homeless from their poverty and despair and justice for those who turn a blind eye. I want liberty for both my Chilean and American friends from this endless and unsatisfying cycle of partying and justice for whoever told them it was good. I crave liberty for myself from materialism and pride and also justice for myself because i believe the very lies i try to combat with scripture. i deserve justice because i forget the invisible children, the abused women, the orphans and the widows, and the millions enslaved to false gods of all kinds, be it krishna, money, beauty, allah, or the worst of all the god of self.
i sat on the beach today, spent some time alone with god for the first time in a while. and i realized, yet again, that my idea of liberty and justice are not the same as his. as much as i want to just wrap up every child soldier in loving arms and throw the men who abuse them into a pit forever, god's liberty is better. more complete. his liberty is true. and i also have to remind myself that before he condemns, he offers mercy first. the mercy that he grants me every time i believe a lie or put something as my idol above him or am ashamed of his mark on me is the same mercy he offers to the warlords, druglords, and medialords. after the mercy is offered and rejected, he judges and brings them what it owed. and his justice and his wrath will be intense. but he loves them first.
so basically i want to have hope that god can and will make even the most evil of things right and remember that it won't always look like we want it to. and i want to stop being just like those that i criticize and actually act. love the poor and the widows and the orphans and i want to to what luke 6:27-36 says:
if you havent already(and even if you have) go here :
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/marchhouseparty/index.php?id=1993739679&utm_sou
and find out how to fight for the physical liberty of child soldiers. do it for me since they aren't doing this in chile.
The hypocrisy of your praise
The hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show
Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stop up my ears when you're singing 'em
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turned your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in your plan
Quit playing religion games
There's blood on your hands
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
Let's argue this out
If your sins are blood red
Let's argue this out
You'll be one of the clouds
Let's argue this out
Quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all, all
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
-Jon Foreman
I've been thinking a lot about liberty and justice lately. and not in the patriotic or political sense, but in a social and spiritual sense. I long for liberty for the "invisible children" of Northeast Africa and justice for their oppressors. I desire liberty for the sex slaves of Asia and justice for their pimps. I wish for liberty for the poor and homeless from their poverty and despair and justice for those who turn a blind eye. I want liberty for both my Chilean and American friends from this endless and unsatisfying cycle of partying and justice for whoever told them it was good. I crave liberty for myself from materialism and pride and also justice for myself because i believe the very lies i try to combat with scripture. i deserve justice because i forget the invisible children, the abused women, the orphans and the widows, and the millions enslaved to false gods of all kinds, be it krishna, money, beauty, allah, or the worst of all the god of self.
i sat on the beach today, spent some time alone with god for the first time in a while. and i realized, yet again, that my idea of liberty and justice are not the same as his. as much as i want to just wrap up every child soldier in loving arms and throw the men who abuse them into a pit forever, god's liberty is better. more complete. his liberty is true. and i also have to remind myself that before he condemns, he offers mercy first. the mercy that he grants me every time i believe a lie or put something as my idol above him or am ashamed of his mark on me is the same mercy he offers to the warlords, druglords, and medialords. after the mercy is offered and rejected, he judges and brings them what it owed. and his justice and his wrath will be intense. but he loves them first.
so basically i want to have hope that god can and will make even the most evil of things right and remember that it won't always look like we want it to. and i want to stop being just like those that i criticize and actually act. love the poor and the widows and the orphans and i want to to what luke 6:27-36 says:
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
and i want these convictions to be actions. to yield fruit. i'm afraid my fruit doesn't match all the things i say a believe. i'm afraid i might be all show. but god is good. he is merciful and strong and he likes to teach me. so i'm going to let him...if you havent already(and even if you have) go here :
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/marchhouseparty/index.php?id=1993739679&utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march-party-email
and find out how to fight for the physical liberty of child soldiers. do it for me since they aren't doing this in chile.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
lovely
so it's been a week or so...not a whole lot of actually blog worthy things have happened. went to class, learned some grammar, learned about ancient Pakistan, learned that I hate old literature from Spain...you know, schooly stuff.
tuesday was Catie's birthday so we had a little fiesta at her house with friends and a few drinks and homemade salsa and conversation and brownies and music. and it was lovely.
wednesday we watercolored over some sketches that Catie got out of the trash outside the art building. also lovely.
thursday we decided to try our hand at going out by ourselves(without boy-chaperones). we went to this cafe/bar place and I had a chocolate martini which was delicious. then we headed over to Valpo on the micro to find somewhere to dance, but ended up going to a different bar with some new friends because i forgot my ID so we couldnt get into any of the clubs. We're invited to their asado(bar b que) on monday. lovely.
I had a lovely day yesterday, too. I woke up late and spent a long time emailing and facebooking and such and then went down to the beach to read and take in some very end of summer sun. autumn is whispering its arrival in the breeze, but summer is still holding onto the late afternoons. as i sat in the grass emersed in Allende, this strange old gypsy woman came up and asked for some monedas(change) so I gave her some. but then she was trying to give some little seed for good luck and pulled out one of my hairs and wanted me to take out a large bill and something about the babyin her stomach(which was not really there). i was getting more and more uncomfortable and when it became obvious she was not going to leave me alone, I just got up and left. I was sad to leave the beach, and my heart was burdened for that strange sad woman. but I walked over to this cute cafe that I've been wanting to go to since I got here and got some actually delicious coffee and resisted the deep urge to get apple kuchen. Catie joined me and we decided to go to this free concert we heard about.
it turned out to be an orchestra from a university in Germany and the jazz band from our university playing together in an outdoor amphitheatre! there was such an interesting atmosphere. the orchestra was playing some modern stuff, but mostly Beethoven and the like. so the air was full of the sweet intensity of live classical music as well as smoke from the fog machines and the voices of vendors selling popcorn and churros. The purple stage lights gleaming from the polished surfaces of the cellos and the drum kit made for quite an interesting dichotomy. there's something so awesome about watching an orchestra play a symphony, to see the music being created and felt by the musicians. watching the bows of the violins bob frantically, carrying energy from the heart of the violinist, through the instrument itself and out into the eager ears of the public. watching the tympany player put all of himself into every strike to the massive drum and move his head with the beat that he himself is creating. watching the conductor pour his soul all over the stage, leading this ridiculus conglomeration of wood and metal controlled by flesh and blood, bringing them together into the ebb and flow of the music, creating something beautiful.
needless to say, the concert was lovely.
then we walked the 15 or so blocks back in the evening chill, had some once and got gussied up to go out. we met up with our friend David, a friend and fellow scout of the chicos we met down south, and his friend Benjamin to go to a discotheque 2 blocks from my house and danced the night away...
and then this morning i was surprised with breakfast in bed - crepes, each filled with different jams, and pancito(little bread) and coffee. yeah, lovely.
things I've learned:
* There's pretty much no way to avoid eating dessert after lunch. like today, i was way full of cheese empanadas and rice and hamburger patties, but I still got suckered into eating ice cream...such a terrible dilemma.
* Skype really is the best thing ever. if you are reading this and you don't have it, download it. now. it's so super easy and then I can talk to you. and if you do already have skype, add me! i'm mollyyoung1
* naps are also the best thing ever, for various reasons. of course there's the whole catching up on sleep thing, but when I nap I can usually remember my dreams! it's a big deal! plus sometimes, just as I'm falling asleep, God tells me things. like this last week I was really worried about something and had been for a few days and right as I was on the edge of sleep that afternoon, I just felt extremely comforted and calm and clear. It was like a burst of cold air through my brain, clearing out all the junk I had been dwelling on.
* it is apparently quite common to talk with/hang out with someone for long periods of time without knowing their name. it seems to keep happening
* I am so so glad I am not a college freshman here. they are called "mechonas" and have to go through the most terrible hazing! the upper classmen paint them and draw on them, pour milk and eggs or fish oil and all kinds of nastiness on their heads, cut their clothes, steal their shoes, and send them out into the street to ask for money. it's the most pathetic thing ever! but this next week is called semana novata and most classes are cancelled because there are huge parties all week in honor of the freshman. so this past week was awful for them, but next week is party week. (and also awesome for me because we get to go to the parties and not have class!)
* there seems to be repetoire of songs that all chileans know by heart. we plan to learn them.
* ciao is actually the italian spelling of my favorite goodbye word. so i've been spelling it wrong...
until next time,
chau!!! (the right way)
tuesday was Catie's birthday so we had a little fiesta at her house with friends and a few drinks and homemade salsa and conversation and brownies and music. and it was lovely.
wednesday we watercolored over some sketches that Catie got out of the trash outside the art building. also lovely.
thursday we decided to try our hand at going out by ourselves(without boy-chaperones). we went to this cafe/bar place and I had a chocolate martini which was delicious. then we headed over to Valpo on the micro to find somewhere to dance, but ended up going to a different bar with some new friends because i forgot my ID so we couldnt get into any of the clubs. We're invited to their asado(bar b que) on monday. lovely.
I had a lovely day yesterday, too. I woke up late and spent a long time emailing and facebooking and such and then went down to the beach to read and take in some very end of summer sun. autumn is whispering its arrival in the breeze, but summer is still holding onto the late afternoons. as i sat in the grass emersed in Allende, this strange old gypsy woman came up and asked for some monedas(change) so I gave her some. but then she was trying to give some little seed for good luck and pulled out one of my hairs and wanted me to take out a large bill and something about the babyin her stomach(which was not really there). i was getting more and more uncomfortable and when it became obvious she was not going to leave me alone, I just got up and left. I was sad to leave the beach, and my heart was burdened for that strange sad woman. but I walked over to this cute cafe that I've been wanting to go to since I got here and got some actually delicious coffee and resisted the deep urge to get apple kuchen. Catie joined me and we decided to go to this free concert we heard about.
it turned out to be an orchestra from a university in Germany and the jazz band from our university playing together in an outdoor amphitheatre! there was such an interesting atmosphere. the orchestra was playing some modern stuff, but mostly Beethoven and the like. so the air was full of the sweet intensity of live classical music as well as smoke from the fog machines and the voices of vendors selling popcorn and churros. The purple stage lights gleaming from the polished surfaces of the cellos and the drum kit made for quite an interesting dichotomy. there's something so awesome about watching an orchestra play a symphony, to see the music being created and felt by the musicians. watching the bows of the violins bob frantically, carrying energy from the heart of the violinist, through the instrument itself and out into the eager ears of the public. watching the tympany player put all of himself into every strike to the massive drum and move his head with the beat that he himself is creating. watching the conductor pour his soul all over the stage, leading this ridiculus conglomeration of wood and metal controlled by flesh and blood, bringing them together into the ebb and flow of the music, creating something beautiful.
needless to say, the concert was lovely.
then we walked the 15 or so blocks back in the evening chill, had some once and got gussied up to go out. we met up with our friend David, a friend and fellow scout of the chicos we met down south, and his friend Benjamin to go to a discotheque 2 blocks from my house and danced the night away...
and then this morning i was surprised with breakfast in bed - crepes, each filled with different jams, and pancito(little bread) and coffee. yeah, lovely.
things I've learned:
* There's pretty much no way to avoid eating dessert after lunch. like today, i was way full of cheese empanadas and rice and hamburger patties, but I still got suckered into eating ice cream...such a terrible dilemma.
* Skype really is the best thing ever. if you are reading this and you don't have it, download it. now. it's so super easy and then I can talk to you. and if you do already have skype, add me! i'm mollyyoung1
* naps are also the best thing ever, for various reasons. of course there's the whole catching up on sleep thing, but when I nap I can usually remember my dreams! it's a big deal! plus sometimes, just as I'm falling asleep, God tells me things. like this last week I was really worried about something and had been for a few days and right as I was on the edge of sleep that afternoon, I just felt extremely comforted and calm and clear. It was like a burst of cold air through my brain, clearing out all the junk I had been dwelling on.
* it is apparently quite common to talk with/hang out with someone for long periods of time without knowing their name. it seems to keep happening
* I am so so glad I am not a college freshman here. they are called "mechonas" and have to go through the most terrible hazing! the upper classmen paint them and draw on them, pour milk and eggs or fish oil and all kinds of nastiness on their heads, cut their clothes, steal their shoes, and send them out into the street to ask for money. it's the most pathetic thing ever! but this next week is called semana novata and most classes are cancelled because there are huge parties all week in honor of the freshman. so this past week was awful for them, but next week is party week. (and also awesome for me because we get to go to the parties and not have class!)
* there seems to be repetoire of songs that all chileans know by heart. we plan to learn them.
* ciao is actually the italian spelling of my favorite goodbye word. so i've been spelling it wrong...
until next time,
chau!!! (the right way)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
naufrago y misericordia
Hoy siento como un naufrago, ahogando en un mar de espanol que no entiendo, un mar de concreto gris y cielo mas gris, un mar de gente que no reconozco con cigarillos y hielo.
Today I fell like a castaway, drowning in a sea of spnaish i don't understand, a sea of grey concrete and greyer skies, a sea of people i don't recognize with cigarettes and ice.
just kidding, it's not really that bad, i just felt like being melo-dramatic and i really like the word for castaway/ship-wrecked person - "naufrago" - and wanted an excuse to use it.
the past few days have been frustrating though.
this morning i had spanish literature for the second time and by the end of the hour and 20 minute period, i wanted to cry. or at least let my head explode. i'm not really sure why i was so frustrated. i followed the notes about the problems of categorizing literature, that trying to make it all fit into a neat timeline with names like "neoclasicismo" and "pre-romanticismo" isn't really effective or accurate. yeah i missed some word here and there, and there was some pretty intense zoning out, but i got the gist. but then we started talking about the novela we're going to read and had to read this prologue off the projector which i of course didn't read fast enough to keep up. and then another was assigned, but i'm not really sure what book we're even starting or how to find this other prologue. and there's no textbook, you just have to already know the system of libraries, photocopying, and the internet; none of which i understand in the least, even in english.
after calss i did the only things i could think of to make me feel less pitiful: called catie and told her to find me and give me hug before her class, opened the dark chocolate bar with orange flavor that i bought yesterday to have change for the bus, and opened my bible. i turned to the last page of 2 Corinthians which, i noticed the other day, is all in black type except for one line. cahpter 9, verse 12 says: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
thanks, god.
i have been increasing in weakness the past few days. little by little. missing people, dwelling on worries, stressing about things that aren't really mine to carry, and now this frustration over such a silly thing as not understanding instructions in class. but then i realized why i was so upset by it. i think it was a blow to my ego that i couldnt just understand everything, not to mention a blow to the facade of control over my life i've been trying to create.
no, molly, you don't know what you're supposed to be doing in class and it's ok.
no, molly, you're not as good at Spanish as you thought or you want to be and it's ok.
yes, molly, you are scared of making friends and talking about me, but it's ok.
yes, molly, you miss him and don't know what's going to happen, but it's ok.
no, molly, you don't have control of your life and it's ok. because I do. and I will teach you how to listen to me.
so even in this crazy sea of concrete and foregin frustrations, there is still chocolate, best friend hugs, and messages of "misericordia"(compassion) from god. even my favorite fairy flowers grow here in the middle of the city, like little winged beacons of hope for when i forget the magic.
Things I've learned
* sometimes when a hangout is supposed to be 4 or 5 people it turns out to be 20 gringas(white girls) piling into an already ful micro(mini-bus) to go to a jazz club...this happened last night. we took over everything, like a big obnoxious cloud of gringa. catie and i ended up separating from the heard and sitting with some chileans after a while, though.
* "padrinos" are very strong
* i am chartreuse, deep purple and a little orangey red. a few days ago, inspired by something from that book The Shack, i was musing about what color i am. i posted the question as my facebook profile, and then proceeded to think about how much i love chartreuse, purple and red together. then throughout the day, that's what other people told me i am. really random people too. an old friend from high school, an old bible study leader/mentor, and a new american friend i've made here added the part about the color of an ember...thanks god.
anyway, i then decided to christen my new paints and canvases by creating this:
so the colors aren't really right, but i'm not well versed in color theory and therefore do not actually know how to make chartruese... but use your imagination. also, use your imagination to picture me sitting in the garden outside catie's apartment complex here, eating Kuchen and laughing so hard i couldn't breath WHILE painting this. it was a good time.
* i really like doors. i've actually started collecting them. well, photographing them at least.
* even my host sister gets frustrated and shakes her head and says in an exasperated tone similar to my own, "chile!" while shaking her fist at the nation as a whole...
until next time, my dears!
ciao!
Today I fell like a castaway, drowning in a sea of spnaish i don't understand, a sea of grey concrete and greyer skies, a sea of people i don't recognize with cigarettes and ice.
just kidding, it's not really that bad, i just felt like being melo-dramatic and i really like the word for castaway/ship-wrecked person - "naufrago" - and wanted an excuse to use it.
the past few days have been frustrating though.
this morning i had spanish literature for the second time and by the end of the hour and 20 minute period, i wanted to cry. or at least let my head explode. i'm not really sure why i was so frustrated. i followed the notes about the problems of categorizing literature, that trying to make it all fit into a neat timeline with names like "neoclasicismo" and "pre-romanticismo" isn't really effective or accurate. yeah i missed some word here and there, and there was some pretty intense zoning out, but i got the gist. but then we started talking about the novela we're going to read and had to read this prologue off the projector which i of course didn't read fast enough to keep up. and then another was assigned, but i'm not really sure what book we're even starting or how to find this other prologue. and there's no textbook, you just have to already know the system of libraries, photocopying, and the internet; none of which i understand in the least, even in english.
after calss i did the only things i could think of to make me feel less pitiful: called catie and told her to find me and give me hug before her class, opened the dark chocolate bar with orange flavor that i bought yesterday to have change for the bus, and opened my bible. i turned to the last page of 2 Corinthians which, i noticed the other day, is all in black type except for one line. cahpter 9, verse 12 says: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
thanks, god.
i have been increasing in weakness the past few days. little by little. missing people, dwelling on worries, stressing about things that aren't really mine to carry, and now this frustration over such a silly thing as not understanding instructions in class. but then i realized why i was so upset by it. i think it was a blow to my ego that i couldnt just understand everything, not to mention a blow to the facade of control over my life i've been trying to create.
no, molly, you don't know what you're supposed to be doing in class and it's ok.
no, molly, you're not as good at Spanish as you thought or you want to be and it's ok.
yes, molly, you are scared of making friends and talking about me, but it's ok.
yes, molly, you miss him and don't know what's going to happen, but it's ok.
no, molly, you don't have control of your life and it's ok. because I do. and I will teach you how to listen to me.
so even in this crazy sea of concrete and foregin frustrations, there is still chocolate, best friend hugs, and messages of "misericordia"(compassion) from god. even my favorite fairy flowers grow here in the middle of the city, like little winged beacons of hope for when i forget the magic.
Things I've learned
* sometimes when a hangout is supposed to be 4 or 5 people it turns out to be 20 gringas(white girls) piling into an already ful micro(mini-bus) to go to a jazz club...this happened last night. we took over everything, like a big obnoxious cloud of gringa. catie and i ended up separating from the heard and sitting with some chileans after a while, though.
* "padrinos" are very strong
* i am chartreuse, deep purple and a little orangey red. a few days ago, inspired by something from that book The Shack, i was musing about what color i am. i posted the question as my facebook profile, and then proceeded to think about how much i love chartreuse, purple and red together. then throughout the day, that's what other people told me i am. really random people too. an old friend from high school, an old bible study leader/mentor, and a new american friend i've made here added the part about the color of an ember...thanks god.
anyway, i then decided to christen my new paints and canvases by creating this:
so the colors aren't really right, but i'm not well versed in color theory and therefore do not actually know how to make chartruese... but use your imagination. also, use your imagination to picture me sitting in the garden outside catie's apartment complex here, eating Kuchen and laughing so hard i couldn't breath WHILE painting this. it was a good time.
* i really like doors. i've actually started collecting them. well, photographing them at least.
* even my host sister gets frustrated and shakes her head and says in an exasperated tone similar to my own, "chile!" while shaking her fist at the nation as a whole...
until next time, my dears!
ciao!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
really? REALLY??? really.
so yesterday was a disaster and i found myself saying that a lot.
without going through all the gory details, i had a lot of bus problems, metro problems, finding classroom problems, secretaries being gone for tea problems, classroom changing without my knowledge problems, ending up with someone else's planner problems, writing down my schedule wrong problems, and being out of cereal when i got home problems.
needless to say, i actually only made it to one of my three classes yesterday. well i guess i only had two, but due to afore mentioned writing down my schedule wrong problem i though i had three. anyway, the one class i did go to was my history of modern india class and it is going to be awesome. right now it's like 7 american exchange students and one chilean guy, but hopefully more students will join next week(chilean students are still in the signing up process). but the professor is great! a cute old Chilean man who actually looks a little Indian. he's super animated and nice and funny and knowledgeable without being pretentious and i'm pretty sure he invited us all to come to his house my the beach and have a beer anytime we want. anyway, i'm really excited about it, but a little sad that it's only once week.
today i'm going to Spanish composition(instead of the history in film class. i didnt realize they were at the same time, so im just going to drop that one) at 3 something this afternoon. im pretty sure i know which class its in and which bus to take, but we'll see.
last night Catie and I went out with our new chilean friend David(a friend of the boyscouts) and one of his friends with a crazy name i can't remember to some resaurant and had a drink and chatted about politics and education and food and such. i am on a quest to find out what drinks i actually like by ordering something different everytime we go out and last night i had a primavera, which was pink, fruity and entirely too sweet. it seemed a lot like a daquiri, although i have no idea of the ingredients of either. i guess when the waiter asked me if i wanted it virgin or with alcohol should have tipped me off that it would be lame. anyway, now i know. next up on my list: ammaretto sour. anyone know what that actually is?
things i learned:
* there is a word for sketchy!!! it's "flaete" (prounounced kinda like "flighty" in english). so useful.
* waffles are not as good here. my mom made them last night on her new waffle iron grill thing and while they were good, something was just off.
* the orange 602 bus does NOT in fact take you to the history building
* the green 615 bus takes the suuuuuper long and traffic-y way home
* the book The Shack is actually really good and you should think sbout reading it. i'm usually anti-books-with-a-lot-of-hype, but this one is legit...
* when people in Chile want something, they protest. a few years ago, there was a huge protest of all the high school students and they protested every day for a month and a half and didnt have class until they got what they wanted. i dont actually remember what it was, but they accomplished it! and then we told them that in the states you have to write a letter or pay somebody. ha.
* running out of minutes on your prepaid phone is annoying.
* emails with sound clips attatched are the best.
* hugs are also a deeply coveted commodity. but i have found that sometimes Jesus gives the best hugs.
hopefully school will go better today and i will have some time to break out my new art supplies and paint something, probably mt planner that the university gave everyone so i wont keep getting mine mixed up with everyone elses! plus it's ugly and plain and black...but soon to be green with purple squiggles!
without going through all the gory details, i had a lot of bus problems, metro problems, finding classroom problems, secretaries being gone for tea problems, classroom changing without my knowledge problems, ending up with someone else's planner problems, writing down my schedule wrong problems, and being out of cereal when i got home problems.
needless to say, i actually only made it to one of my three classes yesterday. well i guess i only had two, but due to afore mentioned writing down my schedule wrong problem i though i had three. anyway, the one class i did go to was my history of modern india class and it is going to be awesome. right now it's like 7 american exchange students and one chilean guy, but hopefully more students will join next week(chilean students are still in the signing up process). but the professor is great! a cute old Chilean man who actually looks a little Indian. he's super animated and nice and funny and knowledgeable without being pretentious and i'm pretty sure he invited us all to come to his house my the beach and have a beer anytime we want. anyway, i'm really excited about it, but a little sad that it's only once week.
today i'm going to Spanish composition(instead of the history in film class. i didnt realize they were at the same time, so im just going to drop that one) at 3 something this afternoon. im pretty sure i know which class its in and which bus to take, but we'll see.
last night Catie and I went out with our new chilean friend David(a friend of the boyscouts) and one of his friends with a crazy name i can't remember to some resaurant and had a drink and chatted about politics and education and food and such. i am on a quest to find out what drinks i actually like by ordering something different everytime we go out and last night i had a primavera, which was pink, fruity and entirely too sweet. it seemed a lot like a daquiri, although i have no idea of the ingredients of either. i guess when the waiter asked me if i wanted it virgin or with alcohol should have tipped me off that it would be lame. anyway, now i know. next up on my list: ammaretto sour. anyone know what that actually is?
things i learned:
* there is a word for sketchy!!! it's "flaete" (prounounced kinda like "flighty" in english). so useful.
* waffles are not as good here. my mom made them last night on her new waffle iron grill thing and while they were good, something was just off.
* the orange 602 bus does NOT in fact take you to the history building
* the green 615 bus takes the suuuuuper long and traffic-y way home
* the book The Shack is actually really good and you should think sbout reading it. i'm usually anti-books-with-a-lot-of-hype, but this one is legit...
* when people in Chile want something, they protest. a few years ago, there was a huge protest of all the high school students and they protested every day for a month and a half and didnt have class until they got what they wanted. i dont actually remember what it was, but they accomplished it! and then we told them that in the states you have to write a letter or pay somebody. ha.
* running out of minutes on your prepaid phone is annoying.
* emails with sound clips attatched are the best.
* hugs are also a deeply coveted commodity. but i have found that sometimes Jesus gives the best hugs.
hopefully school will go better today and i will have some time to break out my new art supplies and paint something, probably mt planner that the university gave everyone so i wont keep getting mine mixed up with everyone elses! plus it's ugly and plain and black...but soon to be green with purple squiggles!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Lists
Things I Like About Chile:
*"mi amor" - a term of endearment used by anyone and everyone, but especially my lovely host mom
*"ciao!" - a friendly goodbye, used for bus drivers, good friends, someone you said more than three words to. sometimes doubled for the ever entertaining "ciao ciao!" i would also like to add that i never like ciao before because it seemed like something stuck up european women say. but here, it's just lovely and friendly.
*besitos - little kisses on the cheek exchanged between men and women, strangers and best friends alike, whether coming or going. its actually weird or even rude if you don't greet everyone in the room with besitos upon entering and do the same when
you leave. you just gotta go down the line showering everyone with besitos and ciao's! its greatness!
* the bus system - from the micros here in town to the charter buses that criscross the ridiculous length of the country like enormous caterpillars, the bus network is aweosme and pretty afordable. see, look at that big green bus! caterpillar!
* hospedajes y hostales - the best thing ever to happen to aimless travelers. hospedajes tend to be more like a house with spare rooms and a sweet old lady who will cook for you and hostales are more like a place with a lot of rooms and a kitchen where you can cook and hang out. they are super cheap and an excellent way to experience a culture. and the best ones are the on
es with no name or sign...like this one we stayed in in Quemchi! ok well it does have that little hospedaje sign in the window. this was the one with the Psalms with beautiful pictures of nature upstairs, but it turned out they we Jehovah's Witnesses...there are a lot of those spreading their tracks around.
* Chilean Families - specifically mine! Mom is adorable, constantly tossing around pet names like "reina de mi crazon"(queen of my heart, for her youngest daughter), "mamita"(little mommy for her oldest daugher) and "pollito" (little chicken for her husband). she is so sweet and helpful and even though I can't always understand her, she is always explaining stuff to me. Dad, Miguel, is tall and silly, always joking and smiling and poking fun. he is so sweet and loving with his wife, including tapping her on the rear and leaving his hand there ofr a bit when he comes home for lunch and such...haha! and tonight he was teaching Anita, the 10 year old daughter, how to do that cat's cradle string game thing. it was awesome. Anita is lovely and sweet and she makes me laugh a little when she talks to me super slow to make sure i understand. and Sandra, my 20 year ols host sister is really cool. she is super helpful and kind and even speaks a little english which is helpful if i really get stuck. i've also noticed that Chilean families are really caring and lovey in general - kids always riding on dad's shoulders, mom kissing kids all over the face, children cuddling like crazy. quite lovely.
* everyone is always eating ice cream. from little kids with chocolate smeared all over their little faces to grown men in business suits. we're hoping they do the same thing in the winter but with hot chocolate
* they celebrate International Women's Day! it was today actually. its like mother's day(which they also celebrate) but to honor all women, including me!
Things I don't like about Chile
* the system they use for saying what time a class is. rather than just say the class is from 8:15-9:45 they say it is in hora 1-2. 10:05-11:35 is hora 3-4. i guess its the same as periods in high school but it seems much more confusing and annoying, especially when trying to figure out which bus to take and decipher the code of abbreviations for the various buildings of the universtiy which are scattered accross both Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.
* afore mentioned awkwardly placed bathroom windows
* when you are hanging out with people who speak ridiculously rapid chilean Spanish to where the only thing you can understand is when they point at you and laugh saying "no entienden" (they don't understand) and then act really condescending as they explain whatever dirty joke was being made. this happened with some of Sandra's(my host sister) friends last night. Sandra is really nice and not condescending and I really like her a lot and most of her friends, for that matter. but there were definitely a couple that i would be ok with not hanging out with, at least not until my Spanish improves greatly. anyway, here's me and catie zoning because we couldnt engage in conversation...
* having to pay for public bathrooms. i know this is a common practice in pretty much everywhere outside of the US and i have encountered it before, but never when I actually had to live somewhere. although i will say, i think it probably bothers Catie more than me because she apparently has a significantly smaller bladder.
* still don't know how to order coffee, and while my love for Nescafe grows with every cup, nothing will ever replace the goodness of freshly brewed real coffee with vanilla chai spice creamer.
*summer is a lie. yesterday was the first time it was legitimately hot and it felt beautiful. but today i don't think it got above 70.
* I can't listen to my pandora stations nor watch the office online, although I'm working on the latter.
* this is more a complaint against the Spanish language, but there is no word for akward. it's such a useful word with so may connotations and there have been so many times that it perfectly describes our lives here, but it just doesnt exist. this has not stopped us from teaching it to our chilean friends, along with the word "sketchy."
Things I've learned
*Gollum is very hard to understand when dubbed in Spanish
*church in Spanish is awesome. We went to mass once when we were in Puerto Varas and even though I couldn't understand very much, it was really nice. But today I went to church with Catie and her host mom to a little church called Family with Purpose. It was truly lovely. its a vrey new church, they dont have their own building and there were only about 20 people there. but they prayed and sang and worshipped with such beautiful fervor. and i actually understood most of what was going on which i acredit more to God answering my prayer that he open my ears than to my Spanish skills. anyway, it was aweome. plus my host mom was saying that they have mass(my host family is catholic) on the beach sometimes this time of year because the weather is still nice but all the tourists are gone. maybe next week, i'll go with them.
* hanging out with other Americans while in Chile is not usually ideal
* clubbing is not usually ideal
* clubbing with other Americans in Chile is definitely not ideal
* Psalm 19 is awesome
* it's quite confusing for my brain to watch a movie that is in Hindi and Englsih with English and Spanish subtitles and then have a son gin Spanish play during the credits. this was the case when we finally saw Slumdog Millionaire the other night, which i highly reccommend! an excellent movie!
well, that's all I've got for now. I start classes tomorrow. I have Modern India(yeah, i'm taking a history class about India in Spanish while in Chile...sweet!), then Advanced Spanish composition, then Advanced Spanish grammar, both of which are with other exchange students. I'm also taking Contemporary Spanish Literature and History and Film: War and Peace which are both regular university classes with regular Chilean students and will probably be pretty hard. so as you all gear up for spring break, remember me as I start a difficult semester of crazy.
ciao ciao!!!
*"mi amor" - a term of endearment used by anyone and everyone, but especially my lovely host mom
*"ciao!" - a friendly goodbye, used for bus drivers, good friends, someone you said more than three words to. sometimes doubled for the ever entertaining "ciao ciao!" i would also like to add that i never like ciao before because it seemed like something stuck up european women say. but here, it's just lovely and friendly.
*besitos - little kisses on the cheek exchanged between men and women, strangers and best friends alike, whether coming or going. its actually weird or even rude if you don't greet everyone in the room with besitos upon entering and do the same when
you leave. you just gotta go down the line showering everyone with besitos and ciao's! its greatness!* the bus system - from the micros here in town to the charter buses that criscross the ridiculous length of the country like enormous caterpillars, the bus network is aweosme and pretty afordable. see, look at that big green bus! caterpillar!
* hospedajes y hostales - the best thing ever to happen to aimless travelers. hospedajes tend to be more like a house with spare rooms and a sweet old lady who will cook for you and hostales are more like a place with a lot of rooms and a kitchen where you can cook and hang out. they are super cheap and an excellent way to experience a culture. and the best ones are the on
es with no name or sign...like this one we stayed in in Quemchi! ok well it does have that little hospedaje sign in the window. this was the one with the Psalms with beautiful pictures of nature upstairs, but it turned out they we Jehovah's Witnesses...there are a lot of those spreading their tracks around.* Chilean Families - specifically mine! Mom is adorable, constantly tossing around pet names like "reina de mi crazon"(queen of my heart, for her youngest daughter), "mamita"(little mommy for her oldest daugher) and "pollito" (little chicken for her husband). she is so sweet and helpful and even though I can't always understand her, she is always explaining stuff to me. Dad, Miguel, is tall and silly, always joking and smiling and poking fun. he is so sweet and loving with his wife, including tapping her on the rear and leaving his hand there ofr a bit when he comes home for lunch and such...haha! and tonight he was teaching Anita, the 10 year old daughter, how to do that cat's cradle string game thing. it was awesome. Anita is lovely and sweet and she makes me laugh a little when she talks to me super slow to make sure i understand. and Sandra, my 20 year ols host sister is really cool. she is super helpful and kind and even speaks a little english which is helpful if i really get stuck. i've also noticed that Chilean families are really caring and lovey in general - kids always riding on dad's shoulders, mom kissing kids all over the face, children cuddling like crazy. quite lovely.
* everyone is always eating ice cream. from little kids with chocolate smeared all over their little faces to grown men in business suits. we're hoping they do the same thing in the winter but with hot chocolate
* they celebrate International Women's Day! it was today actually. its like mother's day(which they also celebrate) but to honor all women, including me!
Things I don't like about Chile
* the system they use for saying what time a class is. rather than just say the class is from 8:15-9:45 they say it is in hora 1-2. 10:05-11:35 is hora 3-4. i guess its the same as periods in high school but it seems much more confusing and annoying, especially when trying to figure out which bus to take and decipher the code of abbreviations for the various buildings of the universtiy which are scattered accross both Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.
* afore mentioned awkwardly placed bathroom windows
* when you are hanging out with people who speak ridiculously rapid chilean Spanish to where the only thing you can understand is when they point at you and laugh saying "no entienden" (they don't understand) and then act really condescending as they explain whatever dirty joke was being made. this happened with some of Sandra's(my host sister) friends last night. Sandra is really nice and not condescending and I really like her a lot and most of her friends, for that matter. but there were definitely a couple that i would be ok with not hanging out with, at least not until my Spanish improves greatly. anyway, here's me and catie zoning because we couldnt engage in conversation...
* having to pay for public bathrooms. i know this is a common practice in pretty much everywhere outside of the US and i have encountered it before, but never when I actually had to live somewhere. although i will say, i think it probably bothers Catie more than me because she apparently has a significantly smaller bladder.
* still don't know how to order coffee, and while my love for Nescafe grows with every cup, nothing will ever replace the goodness of freshly brewed real coffee with vanilla chai spice creamer.
*summer is a lie. yesterday was the first time it was legitimately hot and it felt beautiful. but today i don't think it got above 70.
* I can't listen to my pandora stations nor watch the office online, although I'm working on the latter.
* this is more a complaint against the Spanish language, but there is no word for akward. it's such a useful word with so may connotations and there have been so many times that it perfectly describes our lives here, but it just doesnt exist. this has not stopped us from teaching it to our chilean friends, along with the word "sketchy."
Things I've learned
*Gollum is very hard to understand when dubbed in Spanish
*church in Spanish is awesome. We went to mass once when we were in Puerto Varas and even though I couldn't understand very much, it was really nice. But today I went to church with Catie and her host mom to a little church called Family with Purpose. It was truly lovely. its a vrey new church, they dont have their own building and there were only about 20 people there. but they prayed and sang and worshipped with such beautiful fervor. and i actually understood most of what was going on which i acredit more to God answering my prayer that he open my ears than to my Spanish skills. anyway, it was aweome. plus my host mom was saying that they have mass(my host family is catholic) on the beach sometimes this time of year because the weather is still nice but all the tourists are gone. maybe next week, i'll go with them.
* hanging out with other Americans while in Chile is not usually ideal
* clubbing is not usually ideal
* clubbing with other Americans in Chile is definitely not ideal
* Psalm 19 is awesome
* it's quite confusing for my brain to watch a movie that is in Hindi and Englsih with English and Spanish subtitles and then have a son gin Spanish play during the credits. this was the case when we finally saw Slumdog Millionaire the other night, which i highly reccommend! an excellent movie!
well, that's all I've got for now. I start classes tomorrow. I have Modern India(yeah, i'm taking a history class about India in Spanish while in Chile...sweet!), then Advanced Spanish composition, then Advanced Spanish grammar, both of which are with other exchange students. I'm also taking Contemporary Spanish Literature and History and Film: War and Peace which are both regular university classes with regular Chilean students and will probably be pretty hard. so as you all gear up for spring break, remember me as I start a difficult semester of crazy.
ciao ciao!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
