Notes from my subconscious

Dear friends,

As of Wednesday night, I was officially stressed.
It's not even that I feel rushed, it's that my subconscious that tells me that I'm stressed.

I've had rather strange dreams these past nights.
Some of them seem to be relevant to my present life, but other are just really weird.

For example, I finally finished taking down my braids of 3 months and decided I should fix it or at least make it look decent. I found a industry sized comb that would handle the jungle of my hair and after washing it, putting lots of conditioner, it started drying and I knew it was time to tackle it head on. I found lots of knots during this process which meant lots of hair falling out (blah). I deeply despise seeing my hair fall out. I don't know why but I just can't stand to see it.

"Arg".

"Qué te pasó" asked my Chilean sister Pauli.

"Todo mi pelo está cayendo!" I said in a frustrated, half laughing voice.

Later that night, I had a dream that more hair was falling out. My mom, aunty, sister and I were seated in our small sized bathroom at home on stools and discussing my hair.

Ladies and gents, you know I'm stressed. Pssh. Hope it passes quick 'cause my subconscious is really catching on about my true fears.

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!

Earth to Ife. Halllo?

As I'm sitting here in my bed really late this...dusk, I'm really thinking about my future. (Buckle up, this one's a doozy). Don't fall asleep on me here.

No, just joking. I am thinking about my future, but I won't be sharing it (much) with you.

So I have 2 blogs and realized when I was writing in the other one that I really don't want to be a lawyer. Eso.

On to the rest of Chile. I think I want to come back to Chile after I finish college. I have been thinking that I really don't want to leave right now. I don't know what it is that is making me feel this way (I haven't fallen in love so I can rule that out), but it's strong enough to make me consider leaving and starting over.

Maybe that's it. Starting over. I actually don't want to talk about this right now. It's too late and I'm not thinking correctly. The blog isn't a sounding board so I won't bore you with my preliminary thoughts. I have lots of them if you want to hear them...later. Just let me know. I might just share.

Then, I am here to talk about my week. My first full week back from el norte and intense work. I've stayed in most days of this week and probably eaten way too much, but that's okay. I'm not going anywhere soon. I am working on my project that is due in a month and therefore have no classes or no obligations...speaking of obligations....

He has none. He's a 30-algo year old man with 2 kids under the age of 10 and lives in the home of his mother. My host brother in el norte. Codename: Stephen. My host mom suggested we get married. Chiste, obviously, but I was like "What? He's not married?" And so is the case of many young men here in the lovely Chile.

(Disclaimer: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION DOES NOT APPLY TO EVERY FAMILY AND DO NOT APPLY IN ALL ASPECTS.)

         I'm not going to be really extensive because I do have a 3 page paper to finish. But here's what I've noticed. There are a lot of babies having babies and baby daddies with no obligations or little obligations to the children they have, and there are a lot of 'grown men', digamos, who still live with their parents.

It is very much a cultural thing. The family setting is a very powerful organization of people and is very important. The mothers take very good care of the children (pretty much until they get married, but sometimes after that....). They do their laundry, cook, make their child's bed, etc.

Example:

  *Macarena (a very popular Chilean name) is a 25 year old that lives with her mother. She has a 3 year old daughter. She is not married to *Rodrigo (the father of the child), but sometimes spends the night in his house with his parents who take care of their daughter *Juliana. For Rodrigo to be living with his parents at the age of 30 is not anything to be ashamed of or to be made fun of as it is sometimes the case in the US. Rodrigo works, has a car (which is something pretty rare in Valparaiso) and brings in his own income; however he does not live on his own. Rodrigo's mother does not mind taking care of her granddaughter when her son has to work or is out with friends. Rodrigo does run errands for his mother and probably does some chores. This is a not always the norm.

Another scenario is that Rodrigo does not do chores, and in fact in incapable of cooking himself a meal. He has a girlfriend (off and on), carretea (parties) a lot and attends the university (say he's 25, not 30). He still has a daughter, but does not spend time with her. He lives with his mom and she does everything for him. Cooks, cleans, makes his bed and does his laundry.

Okay, basically, after an unfortunately drawn out blog (which I apologize for), the lifestyle is different here in Chile. I personally think that it spoils the young children and does not make the younger generation responsible for its actions. When you continue depending on your parents and are not given any form of independence, it can create an atmosphere of non-chalant-ness (?). Because mom and pops give you a place to stay and food and a roof even if you have kids that you don't support and spend countless nights not contributing positively to society and its growth.

Whatevs. I'm done. Earth to Ife. Wow.. what a rant. Remind me NOT to write when I'm tired.

*These names are used to protect the identity of the people involved in this story.

Teach me how to Dougie (this one's a shortie)

Hola damas y caballeros (sin cabeza?)
 
     How goes the buena onda? Okay, so we've officially entered the month of noviembre (in Spanish, not much is capitalized apart from the first letter of the first word in a sentence) and summer is SOOOOO hot here, but we're still in spring. No importa. I'm back in the city of lights, the ocean ports and hills. These past few weeks have been quite interesantes and I'm semi-nervous for the next month because I'm not always the best when left to myself. Too much free time=not enough work getting done, but God willing, this month will not be this way. I'll learn to make good use of the time I'm given.

   HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR IN CHILE:

Dancing in Mil Tambores (Valparaiso)
Volunteering in a small community with kids (El Salto)
Performing Sleepy Hallow (Caballero sin cabeza is our Spanish translation) to little school children (Putre)
       --Almost anytime I get to dance in my own little world to good music or play with kids--
Spending time with friends from WashU (Valpo/Santiago)
Watching brilliant stars (Putre)
Sharing my faith (Everywhere in Chile)


I am not going to explain every single one of these because my words wouldn't do them justice, but what I've found from these experiences are my passions in this life. Anytime I perform (dance, sing, act), I get this high that only comes from these passions. Anytime I can make a small child smile/laugh, it makes that day all that better. I get a whole lot of satisfaction in simply doing these things, but also how others feel.

-Dancing I do for myself. It's funny because I lose sight of where I am and sometimes get too consumed in the moment. One time, we went to a pretty empty bar in Arica that had media-buena musica and enough space for a dance floor. My friends went to drink, but I'm not into that so when the music got really good, I basically got up and started dancing. My other friend joins and we've got a little dance floor going. 10 minutes later, another friend tells me that there is a man recording the both of us. I immediately stop because I didn't want to draw bad attention, but 2 min later...there I was again. Ah well, maybe I'll be famous. haha. Vamos a ver.-

Music is my heartbeat.

So passions? Not really sure how this will translate into the "real world" and what my future consists of, but right now, I'm loving these moments! I realize I'm very much a homebody, but when it comes to the very core of who I am, these passions are where it's at.

Left to myself, I'd be a professional child developer/enthusiast that danced on the side. Imagine that :)

I was going to upload a super ballin' photo, but Blogger's being a bit fome (Chilean slang...look it up!). Next time.

Until then, much love, peace and pig grease,

Ife 'Quilpayan' S.

P.S. Do YOU know how to Dougie? I hear it's all the rave.

Usted no puede dejar su hijo acá. Saca la vuelta

Buenas!

Greetings from Arica, Chile. A semi-large city with a great calidad de vida (quality of life). I'm in the north of Chile on an excursion with my program and have learned soooo much that it's quite overwhelming if you ask me.

 I should actually be in Putre, Chile (3600msnm-meters above sea level), but me apuné (I got altitude sickness) and had to climb down from the mountain. Though sharing the minute details would tickle my (now calm) estomago, it might make you sick. But if you were wondering about Putre, I'll tell you:
 

(This foto isn't mine. I left my memory card in Arica....2 hours away)   

 The pueblo is home to mainly immigrants from Bolivia or Peru and also of the Aymara culture. Interestingly, there are a good handful of hotels and hostels because it's a happenin' spot for turists from Europe (Germany, France, España etc.) and for Chileans who want a change of scenery. Jimmy, a very kind hotel personnel, informed me that people come here before heading north and that he enjoys working in the hotel with his family because the hostels no son como eso. I personally ran into 2 Spanish men travelling north in S.America. They thought Putre was nice and quaint. :)
 
         It is possible to walk through the pueblo in about 30 minutes, but my heart struggled to keep up so it took me a whole lot longer. Lucky I, the clinic was 5 min away from our hotel and, unfortunately, I was there 2 times for about 45 min. each time receiving oxygen. I did get a chance to check out the murals that told leyendas andinas (legends from the Andes region) and do some star gazing with others in our sleeping bags. It's quite cold at night and very warm during the day since it is more or less a desert. To find out more, visit Chile or your local world wide web!

(Mi foto desde mi casa de Arica-My photo of Arica from my house)

Arica, on the other hand, is a city of about 190,000 fab. people who haven't been exposed to much in life (from my point of view). I'll tell you about the port city and then contar (recount) my experience here. The city how two "centers". A center of commerce and the actual center. It is a mixture of cerros (hills), playas (beaches) and a bit of desert. It doesn't rain a whole lot here-if ever (as you might be able to tell because the roofs are flat instead of steeple like and some of the homes don't have "roofs"). I live in Cerro La Cruz and can get to the center of commerce in about 15 minutes. The center of commerce is mas o menos (more or less) one long calle (street) named 21 de mayo. You can find McDs, banks, shopping stores, pharmacies, and streets that lead you to artesanal 'tienditas' -little stores where you can find lots of great (and kind of inexpensive) gifts and clothes made from alpacas or llamas. The rest of the city gets more spaced out the further away you get from the center of commerce. Along the playas are other markets and plazas/playgrounds. The life here is very tranquil, so much so that I forget what day it is here because it seems that no one ever goes anywhere. Is it still Saturday?

    
      I can't compare Arica to Valparaíso, so I'm not going to, but I will say that because Arica is smaller, the people (and their stares, glares) are more pronounced. I'm not generalizing the people who live in Arica by any means, but I felt more out of place here than I do in Valpo. Although no one has "done" anything to me, the discomfort I sometimes feel is bothersome. From really weirded out stares to "be carefuls" to people shoving their kids to the side as I pass got me thinking about where I am. I realize that I'm one of 10 people who look like me in Arica (not a real fact) and that my features are super interesting (at least I think so), however, me molesta que I feel like I'm part of a museum exhibit 16/7. I cease to be a person when someone grabs my hand/hair to see how it feels. If you ask me, sure I'll take a picture with you, but snipping pictures is not cool. -I know I snipe pictures, but I at least ask permission if I can or only snipe when I know it's something performed/is part of a group or activity.- I also don't think I've been feared before, but here I am...On the other hand, I've gotten a lot of "I would like to stand next to the negrita" ie. me. We were taking a group photo with an group that performed typical Aymara dance and a (nice lady...I'm sure) dancer said this. I'm shaking it off, but I know that they just want to remember having a black person around. Whatevs.


I don't want to rant and rave (because I could keep going) because I know that it's part of the experience and I can't do anything about it, except for vive la vida (live the life) I've been given and love the people in it. En serio, I hope you all got something from this blog.

To end on a good note, I'm not sick and have met some genial (nice, great, kind, etc) people here.
P.S. Here's a video that explains the title: Chocolate cake made me late

Until next time,

Mucho amor, ife, amore, love, houb, amour, sayang,

<--I went sand boarding!

Ife 'Quipayan' S.

Parting is such sweet sweet sorrow

(So I'm not really going anywhere, but I am parting from my life here in Valparaiso for two weeks).

 

Hola familia y amigos!

 

How is everyone this fabulous day? I figured I'd write today because I leave tomorrow at 8:15am for Arica, Chile for 2 weeks and don't know how regularly I'll have Internet access. Something I realized, even here in the city, isn't as reliable as I'd like, but oh wells. It's not the end of the world.

 

The past few weeks went well. All my papers got in on time and my presentation was good (I think) because my professor didn't have any questions for me (is that a good thing?). I am more sure on my topic for my project and even have a permanent adviser in the anthropology department! It's all rather exciting. She already wants me to show her all the work I've done so far! Let's go!

 

I've said lots of goodbyes recently.

 

First to our Spanish professors. Our last day of Spanish classes was last week Wednesday so we had an all American desayuno- breakfast- (omelets and breakfast potatoes) en la casa de nuestra profesora (in the house of our profesor). It was delicioso!! Soo good. I love huevos-eggs- in general so I was really happy. Unfortunately, she, the next day, said goodbye to her cuñado-brother in law- who died of a brain tumor.

We then had another mini desayuno with our other Spanish professor. It was bittersweet. They are both lovely people who have truly been helpful and open to our views, questions about Chile, and thoughts. Each student represented a unique person and they took it as so.

 Because there are more profs, we had an afternoon of bailes, empanadas and bebidas-dances, a meat pie, and drinks- celebrating the end of Spanish classes. This was more sweet than sorrow. I lovvvve empanadas because they remind me of the meat pies I eat in the States. Deliciosas! 

 

Second to my church family. I have gotten to know a small amount of the youth and the people in my church, Kingdom Vision. Mi iglesia-church- is kind of far from my house, but I don't mind. The people are really friendly and kind. A woman invited me to lunch one Sunday and a little girl asked to touch my skin to see what would happen. It was really funny. Lives shared is truly enjoyable. I realized that if I didn't start going up to people and introducing myself, I'd never meet anyone. So, I meet new people every week. This last Sunday, I said goodbye to some of my brothers and sisters in Christ until Nov. 7th. They wished me well and until next time.....

 

Thirdly to my friends in the program. Because half of us are going to Arica en el norte and the other half a Temuco en el sur, it had to be done. We all went to a nice restaurant in Limache (45 min. north of Valpo, where I live). Spent un dia piola -a nice day- tomando sol y hablando -getting some sun and talking-. It was super rico. Empanadas for a snack and bistec, arroz, y papas fritas para almuerzo-steak, rice and french fries for lunch. We took some hilarious photos and said our goodbyes.

 

Ultimately, to my family. We had an all family almuerzo-lunch- on Sunday with lots of people so that we could share one last collective lunch together. This indeed was bittersweet, I even almost shed a tear (for those of you who really know me, you know that I rarely cry. Imagine me almost shedding a tear. I'm making progress, no?) The shared highlights of our experience so far and the family expressed their appreciation and their thoughts about having us in their families. It was genial-nice.

 

    There are three of us (students) that pertain to the same family but live in different houses, so we, the students, decided to cook something for our family for las onces-tea time. It's usually in the place of dinner (I know...no dinner. It took some getting used to) and is something light: crackers, bread, tea, cookies, sandwiches. Nothing too big. But esta vez-this time- we wanted to say thanks to our families for all they do and putting up with us.  

It's been one month and 3 weeks. It'll be a two months next week and then 1.5 months left. I'm not counting down. Just really aware of my time left.

 

I talked to one of my friends in the States the other day and realized how much I am enjoying myself here (even though I'm a bit fome-boring- sometimes because I don't do as much touring as others). I thought about my highlights and it dawned how life changing being in another culture can be. I'm truly happy and blessed to be here. My encounters with the people are indeed precious and unique.  

 

The weathers getting hoooottttt. Thank God. Pulling out the summer clothes! Woot Woot.

 

Okay ya'll, until next time, cuidense y que les vayan bien! Abrazo grandisimo!

Oh how the days go by.

Que tal?

    Hope everyone is doing well and doing big things these days. A whole month and a week has passed since my arrival in Chile and it feels (sometimes) like a big blur and (othertimes) like forever.

REASON NUMBER ONE

     One reason why time has started flashing in my brain is because in 1.5 weeks, our program will be splitting up into two groups: half going to the north to stay with the Aymara population in Arica/Putre and the other half to the south to stay with the Mapuche in Temuco. I'll be trading in my leisure Saturdays for community service and community work. I'll be giving up my view of the mar (sea) for a view of the desert. I'm going to the north to spend 2 weeks working and learning from the indigenous tribe of the Aymara. I'll have terribly cold mornings, extremely hot afternoons and dangerously freezing nights. A small population of people who take things slowly and work while the sun is up, eat yummy empanadas, and live in homes they built themselves. Their respect for mother earth is seen in their festivities and their work habits. This is the life I'll have for 2 weeks.

REASON NUMBER TWO

    Another reason is that on December 5th, 2010 I'll have to turn in a 22 page proyecto de investigación (investigation project). "What are you investigating, Ife?" Well, I'm glad you asked. Music.Identity.Culture. -La influencia de la cultura indígena en la músic de la juventud (The influence of the indigenous culture in music of the youth)- I've got to achicar (make smaller) my ideas/investigation by Tuesday so that I can start on this. The program dedicates a whole month, after Nov. 5, 2010, to do this proyecto. No classes. No seminarios. Nada. Just me, mi computador, mi journal, ideas y preguntas. We also have the option of living anywhere for that month, so long that it is conducive to our investigation (ie. studying the miners in the north, investigating the immigrant population in Santiago, undertanding the environmental issues near a salmon farm). I, dear family and friends, will be staying right here, in Valparaíso with my host family. Though I'll be working with the indigenous population, I still need access to technology at all times and a large base of young people, which I can find here in the city. I could live in Santiago, but I think I'd have greater success somewhere I'm comfortable (P.S. I'm not ready to say goodbye to my family here yet. Not yet).

CLASSES

    As classes are coming to an end, projects, large assignments, presentations and orals are amounting. This week was one of those. I have a final Spanish exam this coming up week, a presentation and 2 papers to work on. Thank God for 3 days weekend though! We're celebrating "Día de las razas" -Day of the races- (Races as in ethnic race). It's Christopher Columbus Day, but not a whole lot of South Americas appreciate what came along with Columbus's expedition nor what followed, so we skip Columbus and celebrate who we are as a race...I think. They don't really do anything here, just no classes/no work (for most people). I'm sure the buses keep running.

RESUMEN (SUMMARY)

Okay, so a resumen (summary) of my life since we've talked: It's October. There was a terremoto (earthquake), but, thank God, everyone is okay. I didn't feel it and heard about it from my family in the States before I realized it here. They have reached the mineros (miners) and hope to take them out before the end of next week. So much excitement. Our program went to Parque por la Paz-Villa Grimaldi: former detention, death, and torture camp during the dictator, Pinochet. It was almost impossible to believe that this took place less than 50 years ago, 1973 onward, but remember how many human rights are being violated as we speak. The injustice that goes on in our day and age. Our group volunteered in an ignored community in the larger region of Valparaíso. El Salto. It was a fantastic experience because I got to give back to the community and spend time working WITH the community in creating a playground for the kids. If you didn't know that I am a big fan of working with kids, now you know. I love it. I played camp games (!!!) in Spanish and the director asked me to come back and spend more time with the community's children. Imagine your favorite celebrity/famous person/politician. Go on...imagine, it's good for you. Now imagine him/her asking you to have dinner with him/her. How would you feel? I don't know what your answer was, but I was thrillllled!! <--Can you tell?

Well, thanks for reading and have a grand day!

Besitos y abrazitos,

Ife 'Quipayan' S.