Sights, Sounds and Smells

Hello everyone!

It's been waaaay too long since I've written and I'm actually excited to let you know that all is well. I am in Chile for 18 more days (less than 3 weeks) and, as I speak, am juggling relaxing, sending this update and reading about the history of Chilean music.

It's been a busy last month, but also a very good one. I am setting my own schedule, waking up when I want and just doing things at my own pace. Though I seem to leave the house less (because I find it easy to just work at home), I have come to realize things that I've become so accustomed to, but still take note of.

Sights:

    -The house of my aunt: This aunt is the sister of my mother and we all live in the same compound. We seem to be in her house all the time. Whether we're eating, visiting, or just working, I've starting treating it as my second home because I can honestly go there whenever I want My classmate that used to live there moved out and is living in an apartment with other classmates, but comes back often enough for tea time (las onces) and lunch. This is definitely a reflection of not only the family, but the Chilean lifestyle as well. The family is such a central focal point that, even after the kids move out, dinner/lunch/onces still includes the majority of the family. It doesn't overwhelm me when there are 15 people over for lunch or onces and we spend more time talking than we do eating.

 - The city

       So, I personally am not the best first sight navigator so 4 months later I am more familiar with the city and knowing how to get home from almost any part of the city. I still have my off days. I was in Viña del Mar-a neigboring city-the other day (having an interview with a woman for my project) and didn't want to take the subway because I knew the buses are cheaper and didn't mind demorando mucho (taking much time) to get back home because it's a pretty city. On my way back, I accidentally got on the wrong bus headed the wrong way, but thanks to my previous experience of being lost, I asked the bus driver before actually boarding. I saved myself money and time...so I guess I'm getting the hang of figuring my way around...sort of.

Sounds:

   -The bus

        Las micros (pronounced: mee crows) are way more than just busses, they are one of the few sources of transportation for many many many people. I live on a hill that is casi (almost) impossible to subir (go up) if you don't drive a manual car. Most people don't have cars, and even less of them can manuver up the steep cerros (hills). Every day, almost every 15 minutes, I can hear a micro's engine going up the hill, almost in a struggle because it often has to stop on the slope to drop off passangers. Seeing as there are few actual sidwalks in Valparaíso, everyone just walks on the street and a good indicator to get off of the street is the roaring sound of the micro. It can always be heard before it's seen. Which is always a good thing because if I'm running late, but can hear the micro comming, I'm out the door in a flash.

   -Tom

         The dog. He's old and has been having a few pains. He doesn't like climbing up the stairs and so he whines when he wants to climb up. It's a shame, but we've figured out that all he really needs is sometime to say, "Sube!" "Climb!" Just a little encouragement.

    -Spanish

           I have become better at understaning Chileans (the wrost, so they say in proper Spanish speaking).

Smells:

   -Fish

         Fish, fish, fish, fish, fish. I mean, it's kind of obvious. The entire city was established on a port and you can see the mar (sea) from all points of the city (it's pretty fabulous). However, there is this route on the micro where it runs along the shoreline right next to a caleta (bay) where fishermen bring in their catch. The smell is expecially strong in this specific area, but I know where we are, if I lose track of my geographic location, when I smell fish, the strong stench of fresh fish. I'm used to it now...but still, it's strong.

-Dog excrement

    I won't explain this. There are just sooo many dogs in this city. It is sometimes unbelievable.

-Smoke

    People smoke in unimaginable quantities in this country and freely. From the age of 13, you can see young children to old people on the street smoking. Me carga (It bugs me) when I see little children smoking and no one really opposes it. I smell smoke too often and sometimes come home smelling like smoke, but am very grateful for good health.

In all this, I've learned to enjoy this city and take in all the sights, sounds or smells. I'll miss it all when I go back to the states and might bug you all with stories about these sights, sounds and smells so I hope you all get ready to be part of my reverse culture shock. :)

See you soon!