Two roads diverged in a wood

please help

2010-03-06T05:15:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, as you most likely know, the earthquake in Chile has been disastrous. There are many areas of the country that still do not have water, electricity, or any way of reaching loved ones. Now is the time when help is most desperately needed. I plan to purchase some of the products that are in high demand (powdered milk, soap, diapers, etc), and I am hoping that some of you will contribute as well. If you can donate any amount of money, whether it's $1 or $20, you can help make a huge difference. You can donate directly to the Red Cross (www.cruzroja.cl) or you can give me money (by sending it to my parents) and I will purchase what is most needed and post what I buy online.

If you do decide to donate through me, let me know as soon as possible how much you are thinking of giving. I will be in Chile until the end of the month, so I will withdraw money from my account now in order to put your money to good use.

Send me a message if you have any questions or if you want me to buy non-perishable items in your name. Thank you for your help!!!

February in Photos

2010-03-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

I will hopefully write an update soon, but here are links to photos of my month :)

Earthquake

my brother in Chile

my parents in Chile

check it out!

2010-01-28T13:48:00.000-08:00

After sending off any army of sock monkeys to St. Peter's College in New Jersey, I finally had time to put more products on my Etsy shop! You can check it out here: Petunia's Products

I hope to add new items soon, so visit often. I'm running a little low on sock-monkey energy after making 30 monkeys in 2 weeks, so I hope to create some jewelry next :)

Please spread the word about my etsy enterprise - help me make rent! hahaha

Un nuevo año

2010-01-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010!!

In the days leading up to new year's eve, I was overwhelmed by the amount of street vendors selling only yellow underwear. Apparently it's good luck to wear yellow underwear on NYE.... there are a bunch of other Chilean traditions/superstitions, such as eating a spoonful of lentils or one grape with each stroke of the clock, but I didn't partake in any of them. I enjoyed a nice dinner in the campo with Felipe's family and was in bed before 3am. Hopefully I'll have a lucky year, even though my underwear that night were a pretty pink.

I've had an interesting start to the new decade. After FINALLY finding a job at a cute hostel in Providencia, I decided not to take it. The pay and the amount of hours available weren't worth it, especially since I am expecting a visit from my brother in February!

Instead of working, I've been exploring this big city and going to cultural events. I checked out the terra cotta warriors from China, which are on exhibit at one of the museums here, and have been going to different events for the month-long Santiago A Mil (a month's worth of cultural programming - concerts, plays, dance groups, etc). A highlight so far was Step Afrika, a dance group from the US.

I also went to the coastal towns of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso with the other HM volunteers and just barely avoided a close call with danger, thanks to the kindness and consideration of complete strangers.

I'm loving that Santiago is more culturally diverse than Chillán - it will make for a smoother transition back to the US. In Chillán I found myself surprised whenever I saw someone who didn't look "typical" - that is, someone who wasn't medium height with dark brown hair and slightly tanned skin. When the sub-20 women's world cup came to Chillan, I found myself wanting to join the crowds surrounding the buses from Africa and China, just so I could see a little diversity.

AND, I am dusting off my inner business woman (I know, I didn't know I had one either) and starting a shop on Etsy where I will sell my sock monkeys, jewelry, and other creations. I'll include the link soon.

para no creerlo...

2009-12-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

A week ago today I left Chillán, having officially ended my time as an HM volunteer in Chile. I have to say that my last month in Chillán was literally one of the most difficult months of my life. And not just because of all the despedidas (goodbye parties).

In the space of a few short weeks, I found out that my host sister had stolen a huge sum of money from my room, I realized that my US cell phone was also stolen (so give me your numbers!), I moved out of that house and in with another family, I almost got attacked by dogs, and early one morning while walking to work some random guy on his bike grabbed my ass. Hard. This is the extremely edited and short version or the month, and all of this was on top of trying to plan end-of-the-year activities and say meaningful goodbyes. One of the most painful aspects of the month was realizing how disconnected I feel from my friends and family in the States. As time has gone by, I hear from loved ones less and less. I needed a strong support system, and I found that I didn't have much to fall back on. I know it's a busy time of year for everyone, and maybe I didn't have the energy to reach out enough.... still, more than anything I felt extremely alone.

All of this made it difficult at times to stay focused on my ministry and my purpose for being in Chile in the first place. However, I do feel that I did a good job (overall) of being present to the people and relationships that have impacted my life so much over the past 15 months. And I realized how much I have grown and how some of my ideas and values have changed during this experience.

When we were first deciding where to live last year, I decided against one option because I would have to walk through the teenage son's bedroom to get to my room. I felt that I needed more privacy, and that there was no way I would feel comfortable in such a situation. So I moved in to a house where I had all the privacy I could want and more, and I got a lot of stuff stolen. So much for privacy. However, and this is important, I really did enjoy my time living with that family and I maintain a close relationship with them.

When I moved in with my second host family, it was a drastic difference. The house is small, and almost all space is shared space. Ale and her 3 sons all sleep in one room and share 2 twin beds. I had to walk through their room to get to my little room, which was separated by a thin wall and no door. And yet I felt instantly at home there. I was grateful for all of the shared space and time together, and for being included instantly as a member of the family. The first couple of nights I was afraid that I would keep everyone up by snoring too loudly, but no one ever complained. Thanks to that family, all of the time I spent crying and so stressed out that I became physically ill was balanced with lots of laughter and love. In just a month I formed such close ties that I would have stayed in Chillán just to spend more time with them.

BUT.... I am now living in a small studio apartment in the center of Santiago with the man I love, starting out on a new and unexpected adventure. It has been a much needed change of atmosphere, and as the days go by I feel more and more like myself again. I still don't have a job (other than making and selling sock monkeys!), but I have faith that it will all work out. Santiago is a lot noisier than Chillán, and sometimes I think I might go crazy with all of the trucks going by and setting off car alarms. We live next to a bunch of stores that sell cheap underwear, and the streets are flooded with people buying Christmas presents. Like it literally takes 15 minutes just to walk down the block. There are a lot more interesting and expressive people here, and I enjoy taking in all of the fashion diversity. Our neighborhood has a large immigrant population, so along with different fashions there are many different accents to add to the flavor. Peruvians, Columbians, Chinese, Arabians, etc....

We are heading to the beach today, and will spend the Christmas weekend there. This particular beach is one of my favorite places in the world, and although it will be hard not to be with my family, I think it will be a fabulous way to end 2009.

moving day

2009-12-16T05:07:00.000-08:00

I am moving to Santiago today! Once I get there I should have more time to update my blog a little bit - a lot of crazy stuff has happened since the last time I wrote!

I'll be living in a little studio apartment for the time being, but I'm hoping we'll find something a little bigger.

In the meantime, those who want to send me mail can do so at this address

Julia Matson

40 Pablo Neruda

Malloco Peñaflor

Santiago Chile

For those who have sent things to my Chillan address, don't worry - I will be back here several times over the next few months and can pick things up then.

Hope you all are well!

fences and appearances

2009-11-20T06:13:00.001-08:00

These two photographs are of the house next door to the Casa Ursulina. Up until recently, the fence in front of the house was just a rickety bunch of sticks and cardboard and pieces of metal. This fence rounded the corner and went all down the block. Little by little over the past month, the sticks have been torn down and the cement wall in the second picture was put up. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this fence, and how it reflects on the larger reality in Chile.

Chile is at an interesting point in its development. Some people think of it as a "3rd world country," whereas others see it as well-developed and stable. The truth is somewhere between the two. The reality of Chilean life, as I've experienced it this year, is far from the extreme poverty I saw in Nicaragua and El Salvador. The country has many more resources and is, at this moment, politically stable (I love Michelle Bachelet, the Chilean president!). However, there is a facade that hides a lot of Chilean poverty.

The government provided and built most of the homes in our población. They are small duplexes that look pleasant from the outside, and it gives the illusion that the people who live in those homes have the basic resources they need to survive. Go inside of those homes, though, and listen to the people who live there, and you will quickly find that there is a lot of deep and hidden poverty here.

The fences in these photographs are the perfect example of that. Now, anyone walking by will see the nicely-built fence and assume that the homes behind that fence are similarly well-0ff. But the reality of the situation really hasn't changed. There are still multiple cramped houses crammed into one site, and the people who live there will still struggle to put bread on the table.

quick update

2009-11-20T04:38:00.000-08:00

It's really amazing how much has happened in the past few weeks. So much has changed. Our time in Chile as volunteers is quickly winding to a close, and I have a lot to reflect on.

However, all i have time for here is a quick update.

The new HM volunteers got to Chile at the beginning of September. After spending a couple of weeks at each of the 3 possible sites, they elected to stay in Santiago. I'm glad they had a choice of where to stay, and were able to find something that feels like a good fit for both of them. However, that decision has been difficult for us (although I guess more on a selfish level). We're so starved for social interaction with people our own age, and we were looking forward to having 2 new compañeras. Also, it's been hard for it to sink in that we're actually leaving, since we don't have "replacements." There isn't a sense of continuity, and my heart breaks a little bit to think that some of the ministries we've been involved in won't continue. The abuelitos really seem to depend on our weekly visit, and the pre-teen girls are disappointed that there probably won't be a class for them next year. BUt, that's the nature of the program.

Another big change is that I am in the process of moving out of my house. After several big problems with my host family, I've decided to move in with a different family for the remainder of my time in Chillán. This has been extremely difficult and stressful, and it not the way I was expecting or hoping to end my time here (obviously). However, one thing being in Chile has taught me is that you really have to be flexible and you also have to know and stand up for what you need.

Reflections on Water

2009-10-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

When I think of water

I think of tribal drums,

I think of my heart's thud,

its beating in rhythm.

When I think of water

I think of the word primordial,

of a great womb

filled with liquid possibility.

When I think of water

I think of the moon.

I think about how she pulls the tides of the ocean,

and with them she pulls my own body.

She calls my tides, and my blood and water ebb and flow in response, in union with the beat of my heart and the turning of the earth.

how could I forget?

2009-09-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Damiela playing dress-up to learn the words for clothes.
I recently started helping Daniela, a 3rd grader whose mom participates in the Casa, with her English homework. I try to make things entertaining, and we've done drawings, sung songs, and played dress-up. She is really cute, and after a few weeks together she is starting to open up more.

While I wait for her to get here, I take care of the kids in the Sala Cuna (the cradle room) while their moms are in class.

"como se dice "Enrique Iglesias" en inglés?... Henry Church!" - Felipe Lorca, student at San Rafael

2009-09-20T16:22:00.001-07:00

for those of you who think I spend all of my time here going to parties and festivals (ahem, mom), here is a brief update on some of our activities.

Cooking lunch: nothing much to be said here except that Andrea and I are masters in the kitchen.

Reflection and Art: this class, which Andrea teaches, has been great for the women who participate. We've learned all kinds of techniques - god's eyes were a big hit, and we're finishing up with mosaics - and have been able to delve into the cultural and spiritual traditions of each art form. It's a rare space of quiet, relaxation, and creativity. Even participants with the most rudimentary skills are able to create, share, and be inspired. One of my favorite days was when we had a tea tasting, and learned about the cultures and health benefits of each tea.

San Rafael: teaching art to young adults with special needs has been a rewarding challenge. I think this activity has been one of my biggest surprises here in Chile. I never expected to be working somewhere like this, and I definitely lack training in this area, but it has definitely enriched my life. Andrea and I often laugh as we catch ourselves discussing different animal noises and how to keep students rooted to their identity as students, young adults, human beings.... "No, you are not a baby panda bear," and "Mr. Horse, can you please help Mauricio finish his work since he couldn't make it to class today?" are relatively common refrains.

We have made a lot of progress with the students in terms of their behavior in class. We try to provide structure and hold the students to high standards, and they have responded very well. One young man who is famous for climbing out of windows, running away, and getting on random buses, is now able to express himself creatively through art and be a respectful and focused presence in the classroom.

Circle Dance: I missed a lot of this class due to my bum knee, but lately I've begun participating again. Pato, my host uncle, asked me to teach him and a few other people circle dance, and so we now have a small community circle dance group once a week.

El Libertador: Whether or not it's due to our tutoring, the fourth grade students at this school seem to be doing much better with their reading. Lately we have been focusing on how not to read like a robot and ways of remembering the reading. We've also done several home visits to offer parents suggestions on how to help their children study. We will continue to visit the rest of the parents, and this has given us a much deeper insight into the community in which we live. Several of the moms we have visited don't know how to read, and many have not completed high school. Although we were really nervous at first to do these visits, we have been well-received. It seems that many of the mothers are extremely lonely at home all day, and relish the opportunity to talk about their lives and their children. We have heard about some of the more difficult realities of their lives - the extensive drug-dealing on the corner, the sexual abuse one young boy suffered at the hands of his older cousin, etc., but we have also been encouraged by the high value many of the parents place on the education of their children.

Abuelitos: I have really loved going to the chapel every week to play games with the abuelitos. We've tried a few activities that flopped, and now we pretty much stick to the tried-and-true bean bag toss or bingo. We always give little prizes, and no matter how simple, the abuelos are always extremely excited and grateful to receive them. I am touched by their love for us, and always entertained by their relationships with each other.

Flor and Hugo, an elderly couple, invited us to their home to celebrate Hugo's birthday. The time we spent in their tiny cramped home flew by as we chatted over simple snacks and tea. They don't have much, but their generosity in including us in their celebration of a new year of life was truly special.

Miguel, another abuelo, always shakes our hands in greeting and exclaims over how cold they are. During the winter months he was especially appalled at the temperature of our hands, and one day when we came in he presented us each with a pair of gloves. He said that on his way to the hospital to get his hearing aid, he saw someone on the street selling gloves and thought of us and our cold hands. As simple as it was, I honestly think those gloves were one of the best gifts I have ever received.

Oil Painting: At the beginning of the semester, teaching oil painting was a huge struggle both for me and for the women in my class. They all wanted to be creating masterpieces right away, and were easily frustrated with their work. I began starting each class with some stretching exercises and inspirational quotes, and gradually their attitudes began to shift. I will always remember one fantastic and glorious day when all of the women in my class left completely in love with their own paintings! Aside from basic painting techniques, I have tried to work in some art therapy. We are currently working on self-portraits, and I have been deeply moved at how open the women have been to the project. It took a lot of encouragement from me, but they have taken the risk to do some serious self-reflection and attempt to express their true selves through the assignment. Several have commented that they had never looked inside of themselves in this way - no one had ever before asked them to think about who they are and what experiences have formed them. I know that many have hidden pains and difficult memories, and it is my hope that this painting will be a step in their healing process.

I love teaching this class, even though the women usually all talk at the same time and I have to yell to make myself heard :)

Los Heroes: we did a lot of cool activities at the special ed program at this school, including making masks and using them to do exercises in interpretive movement and dance. However, we are no longer working there. We ended rather abruptly and unceremoniously because they now have to use that time slot to do theater. We were pretty upset about the way it ended, because we didn't have any closure with the students. But, unfortunately, that's kind of the way things go in Chile. There's a different idea of professionalism and responsibility that we have found very challenging.

BUT.... the week after we found out we would no longer be going to Los Heroes, the circle dance teacher started teaching reflexology! So by the time I come home in March I will be available to give foot massages, as long as you wash your feet first :) I'm always amazed at how opportunities are constantly presenting themselves, and how each ending really is a chance for something new to begin.

Taller de Niñas: Our friday afternoon group with pre-adolescent girls is as much of a roller-coaster as adolescence itself. We had a lot of cool ideas about maintaining a suggestion/anonymous question box and having the girls write in their diaries regularly, but they haven't panned out. We've also had to deal with a lot of cliques and disrespectfulness. The fact that most holidays and special activities fall on fridays means that we've had to miss a lot of weeks with the girls, and that lack of consistency has made forming relationships more difficult. However, we have been able to do a lot of fun things. We've used activities like skits, painting, and crafts to cover broad topics like nature and protecting the environment, personal well-being, and dreams and goals. The girls always talk about how they want to participate in the classes that the women do at the Casa, and so we are now doing a block where we invite guest teachers to present various techniques. The girls have been really enthusiastic about this, and have learned pintura en genero (painting on cloth), baking, origami, and some basic drawing skills.

Other than the activities I've mentioned here and the other numerous random things we do from day to day, Andrea and I have several big things coming up. We will be preparing and planting the greenhouse in the coming weeks, and in October and November we hope to give a couple of workshops to increase awareness and protection of the environment . And of course we are polishing up our resumes in Spanish and English so that we can start to apply for summer jobs!

2009-09-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

the view from my bedroom at sunrise
stirring pig fat to make chicharrones
dinner!
eating cotton candy with my host sisters, Diana and Camila, at the fair.
some pretty spring flowers

fiestas patrias

2009-09-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

We just finished another round of Chilean Independence Day celebrations! It's hard to believe that it's September again. Makes me reflect on how much has happened in the past year - and almost all of it unexpected!

Of course it wouldn't be an independence day celebration without lots of wine and food and dancing, and I've definitely had my share of all three. Last weekend we had the peña, our annual benefit party, at the Casa Ursulina. You can check out this link to see some pictures from the night. It was a LOT of work, but the evening was an overall success. I was relieved to find it much less stressful than last year's peña, due to my much improved Spanish.

After the past week, I feel the need to change my diet to strictly celery and lettuce! The general philosophy of food preparation is that everything tastes better deep-fried in pig fat. And actually it all does taste pretty good until you realize that none of your clothes fit anymore!

Andrea and I went back to the campo in San Dionisio, where we flew kites, went to a parade, and danced cueca (the national dance of Chile) with some local campesinos. As soon as we got back to Chillan, we went straight to the Pulgar party at Tono's house. We spent Saturday at an artesania fair, and saturday night at yet another Pulgar party.

Needless to say, I plan to spend this week catching up on sleep and drinking lots of water!

fotos de la exposicion

2009-08-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

three of the women from my oil painting class
Elvira, one of my students
pre-adolescent girls group
reflection and art
oil painting!!!

12th Anniversary!

2009-08-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

This week has been a blur of preparations for the Casa Ursulina's 12th anniversary celebration! Every year the Casa presents an extensive exposition of all of the work the women do in class. We invite the entire city of Chillan, so Andrea and Ale and I spent a lot of time visiting different radio stations and doing on-air interviews! Definitely not what I thought I would be doing when I came to Chile :)

Today we emptied all of the rooms of furniture, and in the afternoon the house filled with women to decorate the designated space of each class. There is hardly a bare square inch in the entire house! The exposition is tomorrow, and as the weather is supposed to be nice, we are hoping for a good turn-out. This event has many purposes. Of course it celebrates 12 years of service to the community, but it also helps the women see the value of their work. The women make a little money selling some of their products, and the connection between the community of Chillan and the Casa Ursulina is further strengthened. Furthermore, it's a way to attract more women who could benefit from all of the programs we offer. Very exciting!

On Friday afternoon we'll have a little party for the women who participate at the Casa - BINGO and hotdogs here we come! As bingo prizes, each class is offering something that they made. I made a little cushion using some leaves and flowers painted on cloth by the girls in our "taller para niñas."

In other news, the new volunteers are arriving in Chile this weekend!!! It's so hard to believe that Andrea and I have already been here for a year. Our time is winding to an end, but I still feel like there is so much I want to do here. It takes so long to begin to feel really integrated, and that has been happening for us just in the past few months. Language is no longer as much of a barrier (although it can still be a struggle at times), and we know our way around the city and the Casa Ursulina. Hopefully the time we have left will be enough.

links to my peru pictures

2009-08-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

album 1 (the correct link)

album 2

my birthday

2009-07-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

so my birthday weekend was completely and unexpectedly wonderful in so many ways!

Felipe came down, and Friday we went out to a cool cafe to catch up over a couple of drinks. Saturday morning we helped make hundreds of empanadas for the plato unico, and that night we went to the party.

At first it was a little awkward because no one was really there, but as the night went on the house got more and more full. Finally the dance floor opened, and Andrea and I took it as our duty to start it going. We danced for hours, and, since wine flows pretty freely at these kinds of things, my knee didn't even bother me.

As the clock struck 12, the dj started playing the happy birthday song, and everyone sang along and came to give me big hugs and good wishes for the year to come. It was a complete surprise, and I felt overwhelmed with all of the love and positive energy I received. Every time we have a big house event I can't help but reflect on how far we have come here. Our Spanish is way better, and we have built so many wonderful relationships. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of the week I wonder if I'm making any kind of an impact, or if anything I do really makes a difference. But those wonders were put to rest in the face of such an outpouring of affection from all sides.

As the hugging and congratulating came to an end, I saw Felipe walk through the circle of people with his violin, another complete surprise! He played happy birthday and then improvised a song. Claudia (a woman from my oil painting class) and I started dancing a hoedown and pulled everyone else into the circle for an invented square dance kind of thing. The rest of the night, before Mimi kicked everyone out, was full of more violin music and dancing. It was completely magical.

Sunday morning my host sister brought me breakfast in bed after I had been woken up by a phone call from another woman from oil painting who just couldn't wait to wish me a happy birthday. I don't think I've ever been brought breakfast in bed before, at least not like this, and it was really sweet.

That afternoon Andrea came over and she and Felipe and I made salsa, guacamole, chicken fajitas, and margaritas! Mimi and Ruth came over and we had a little celebration with the family. One of the advantages of hanging out with so many artsy and craftsy people is that you get some pretty stunning gifts, like felted slippers and bags and scarves and all kinds of fun things like that. After I dropped Felipe off at the bus station, Andrea and Carola and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the kitchen, chatting and drinking mate.

I really am so lucky to know the people I know, and to have this opportunity to be here. Sometimes I can't get over how much I love my life. And of course I've been receiving so many lovely messages and letters and packages and whatnot from back home - so thanks to everyone!

Speaking of lucky and amazing opportunities, this Saturday I'll be heading to Santiago for a few days before my flight on WEDNESDAY to Ecuador!! From Ecuador I'll be traveling to Peru, and I'll get back to Chile the morning of the 27th.

July celebrations

2009-07-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

If I were home right now I would be getting ready to go to all of the firework celebrations possible. Instead, I'm learning how to de-ant bread.

With the winter rain storms, the ants appear to have been flooded out of their homes and are in desperate need for food and shelter. They trail in through every hair-thin crack in the walls and invade anything that is in the least bit edible. While hanging my laundry to dry the other day (in the kitchen, since that's where our only source of heat - a wood burning stove - is), I saw that a bag of freshly baked bread was swarming with ants. Diana, my host sister, was ready with a solution. She whipped out this miniature grill thing that we use to make toast, put it on the stove top, and piled on the bread. All we had to do then was wait for the ants to squirm off, and the bread was good as new!

By the way, I accidentally ate an ant when it crawled into my water, and it was really spicy!

While I will miss going to the Taste of Chicago and the beach, we will still be celebrating in our own way this weekend. Saturday is the Plato Unico, a benefit dinner at the Casa Ursulina. $4 gets you a dinner of lamb, potatoes, salad, and a glass of wine or pop. Plus dancing :) They'll be bringing over the lambs tomorrow morning. Luckily I have to help shop at the market, so I won't be around when they get slaughtered.

Sunday is my birthday, and I'll be cooking up some fajitas to be served with guacamole and margaritas! I have to create some kind of an illusion of summer in order to believe that I'm really getting older :)

the train whistle means rain

2009-06-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Weather forecasters are usually wrong, but here in Chillan we have a pretty infallible system. If you can hear the train whistle that means there's a north wind, and that means rain. The train whistle sounded all yesterday and sure enough, in the evening it started to pour.

A lot of things have happened lately that I really love. Here are a few of them.

My 12 year old host sister Diana Margarita announced that she wanted to have an art gallery in our house. The idea was that everyone who lives here had to contribute some drawings, and then we would invite the extended family to a viewing. So Diana and I set to work creating art, and eventually got the rest of the family to join in. I thought it was the sweetest idea, and it turned out really great.

We had a winter solstice celebration at the Casa Ursulina with the women who are on the coordination team and in Ursulinas, and it was amazing how we were able to transform our big cold kitchen into a cozy cave. Andrea and I painted "cave art" to hang on the wall, we put cushions all over the floor, and lit tons of candles and luminaries. In the candlelight we all joined together to share winter stories and food and wine.

I am going to Peru to visit a good friend of mine in about 3 weeks!!!

I have decided to stay in Chile until my visa runs out in March. If anyone knows of work possibilities in Santiago, let me know :)

fall photos

2009-06-25T20:29:00.001-07:00

even though we're definitely in winter (and I have the chilblains to prove it!), there is still a surprising amount of green and gorgeous flowers. I think there is actually more grass now than there has been the whole time I've been here! But don't let that fool you - the cold can still be pretty painful!

there's more to pigs than the flu

2009-05-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

Curanto is a famous traditional dish on the island of Chiloe. It's either cooked in a big hole in the ground or in a gigantic metal pot, and consists of broth, clams, mussels, chicken, and meat (pork or sausage or whatever else) steamed in leaves. If it's really special, the dish might include an added delicacy of thick strips of pig skin.

This past Wednesday I had the distinct pleasure of eating curanto. Although I've eaten it before, I had never seen it with that lovely fat pig flesh.... Being recognized as a semi-vegetarian prevented any of it from landing in my bowl, but of course everything had been steaming together for hours.

My stomach has been in hell ever since.

Being sick in Chile is an interesting experience. I have literally been surrounded by heated discussions on what herbal tea is best for the digestive tract, only to hear from the northern hemisphere of the world that I shouldn't be drinking herbal teas at all. Open your mouth to say anything, and you will instantly be shouted down with the inevitable fact that everything you have consumed is further poisoning your system. Everyone has about 50 strong opinions on the matter... this herb is too warm for the stomach, that one will push everything out of your system, another will stop you up, vinegar will kill any illness, anything you would eat vinegar on will make you bloated and swollen, cold water is the devil, the medicine you're taking is old-fashioned, etc etc etc.... It's enough to make you want to shut up and spend the week on the toilet, if that's what it takes to be left alone.

So far I've escaped the "gripe porcina" (swine flu), but the pigs still got to me. Concha.

I still really like pigs, though - when they are alive and healthy!

the arrival of fall

2009-05-19T05:37:00.001-07:00

As I am writing this, my fingers feel partially frozen from hanging up my clothes to dry outside. I'm hoping the exercise of typing will warm them back up again. Winter is creeping into the población; as long as it rains the temperature seems to stay up, but it hasn't rained in a few days now.

Even so, it really hasn't gone far below the freezing point on most nights. The hardest part is that it's generally colder inside the Casa Ursulina than out.

Fall is hard to describe. Often the days start fogged over with the windows covered in frost, but end in stunning sunsets. Despite the encroaching cold, there continue to be new blooms on the rose bushes and cala lilies are springing up in front of the house. The first rains of the season left the ground blanketed in a layer of fledgling green grass, and so, except for the falling leaves, it looks more like spring than the beginning of winter.

For a country that makes the most of any opportunity to have a party, Chile seems to be surprisingly lacking in fall celebrations and festivals. However, we have been enjoying the changing colors of the leaves and eating boiled chestnuts to mark the season. Since turkeys are mature at this time of year in Chile, we had a mock Thanksgiving dinner, complete with cranberry sauce from the US and stuffing made with my grandmother's recipe.

And Carola's family decided to have a "fiesta de zapallo." We have a gigantic squash vine spreading through our backyard, and it is finally time to start harvesting. The idea was for everyone to invent something edible from any kind of squash.

In my completely unbiased opinion, I'd have to say that the gringas stole the spotlight with the best creations. We invented a hot alcoholic pumpkin drink and made a pumpkin roll cake. Both disappeared long before the night was over. Other highlights of the night were grilled squash with melted cheese and oregano, and pumpkin cooked in melted brown sugar.

we are famous :)

2009-05-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Ruth, one of the nuns who lives at the Casa Ursulina, just wrote a story about me and Andrea. You can read it here:

http://www.casaursulina.org/volunteers/Volunteers2009.php

me and my knee

2009-04-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Being in Chile is always full of adventures; some of those adventures are more painful than others.

The last week of March, my amazing friend Erin came to visit for a week. We had a great time and, for the short time we had, we were able to fit in a lot of activities. Other than classes at the Casa and in the community, where Erin played paparazzi, we went to Isla Negra, to the campo to ride horses and check out the grape harvest, and to the beach of Cobquecura where we were serenaded by the unearthly grunts of sea lions sunning themselves.

It was riding horses in the campo, however, that really left a mark.

It all started out just fine. Erin, David, and I rode through heavily laden vineyards. We enjoyed the stunning view of the Andes mountains stretching into the distance while tasting green, purple, white, and red grapes. I was reminded again of how lucky I am to be here in Chile, and how there is an adventure around every turn.

Little did I imagine what kind of adventure was coming my way! After a short break from riding horses, we went out to ride again to visit Spirit, a wild young stallion kept in a separate field. This time Fernanda, David's 6 year old niece, wanted to join us. David hoisted her up on a horse and led her on a rope. As soon as we entered Spirit's territory, Fernanda started to panic. Despite her fear, we continued into the field. Within seconds, Spirit bounded up to Erin's horse and began huffing and pawing at the ground. Turns out Erin's horse was in heat, and Spirit was desperate for a little action. Well, Fernanda began screaming incessantly like a banshee possessed by demons, and David could do nothing to calm her down or keep Spirit away from Erin's horse.

As Spirit repeatedly attempted to mount Erin's horse, I realized I would have to do something. So I put on my huasa (cowgirl) hat and maneuvered my horse between Spirit and Erin, weaving in and out to keep Spirit back. I honestly impressed myself - I have basically zero knowledge of riding horses, but somehow I was able to gallop around, keep Erin from being mounted, and get David to haul Fernanda out of the field, all while staying on my horse!

Spirit, however, was becoming more and more frantic. He began to rear up and down, snorting in frustration. Eventually, after rearing up, Spirit came crashing down - right on my knee! I spent a week or two enjoying the rainbow of bruises play across the swollen surface of my knee and filter down into my foot. A visit to the doctor determined that one of my ligaments had snapped, and so I'll be doing physical therapy for the next couple of months. Almost a month after the accident, I'm walking much better and looking forward to the day when I can break it down on the dance floor.

Moral of the story: stay away from horny stallions!

the days of my life

2009-04-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Casa Ursulina started up again at the beginning of March, and Andrea and I are now settled into our new routines. About a week or so after getting back to Chile at the end of February, we moved out of the Casa and in with families. I am living with Carola and her family, about a block away from the Casa. So far I've been very happy with my decision - I'm getting to practice my spanish a lot more, and it's nice to feel like I'm part of a family.

Our new schedule is as follows:

Monday:

9:00 breakfast

open morning to plan, run errands, etc

cook lunch

3 - 5 pm Reflection and Art class (Andrea teaches this, but I participate and help in any way I can, such as running to get more paper or scissors :) )

Tuesday:

9:00 breakfast

10 - 12:30 we teach creative arts at San Rafael, a vocational center for young people with special needs.

Lunch

Yoga/planning, running errands, etc.

Wednesday:

8:30-10 we tutor the 4th graders at Libertador, the school down the street.

10:15-12:15 we do home visits with their parents to make sure the kids and their families have the support they need to do well in school.

Lunch

1:30-2:30 we go to the chapel up the street to spend time and do activities with the abuelitos (elderly people) who have lunch there.

3 - 5 I teach oil painting at the Casa

5 - 6 (once a month) we attend the parent-teacher meeting at Libertador

6:30 - 7:30 or 8 we have a meeting at the Casa for all of the women who volunteer and are kind of like lay missioners.

Thursday:

8 - 11:15 (every other week) we go to Los Heroes to do creative arts with their special education program.

Cook lunch

Eat lunch

3 - 5 Circle Dance/Babysit in the front room. Andrea and I take turns with Ale, a woman who works in the house, to make sure that we all get to participate in dance.

Friday:

9:00 breakfast

House Meeting

Lunch

3 - 5 Andrea and I have our class with the young girls (about 10-13 years old) at the Casa. this class deals with the issues they will face as young women (social responsibility, family, self-esteem, peer pressure, etc) using all kinds of art (music, dance, theater, visual arts, creative writing, etc).

In the evenings we usually stick around and plan for a while and do other house things before heading home to eat onces with our families. The weekends are always busy with other events - this Saturday we're going to a nearby town to visit the artisan fair that Carola is participating in!

por fin.... el gran viaje

2009-03-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

On January 16 Andrea and I headed South, taking an overnight bus to Puerto Montt. We had our first adventure when Andrea's phone got stolen out of her bag at the bus terminal, along with some medicine and her toothpaste. We mourned the loss, but quickly moved on to boarding our Navimag cruise ship.

When I say cruise, don't think pools and tennis and open bars. The Navimag is a cargo ship that has been fixed up to serve as a ferry during the week, and a tourist attraction on weekends. We bunked in the cheapest area - a long skinny room with 16 bunk-beds. The view from the boat was absolutely astounding, even with the clouds and mist.

1/18/09

We are passing through fjords lined with mountains, cliffs, islands. They peel out of the mist in ever fainter layers. Every moment is brand new, with the cloud formations swirling in. I'm passing through channels of uninhabited water and islands, waterfalls cutting through the cracks of the stone, virgin forests making the stone look smooth and curved. The changing nature of the weather is evident in the twisted forms of the trees that stand out on the edges. The waterfalls look like white lightning streaks on the prehistoric shapes rising out of the sea.

.....

On the 19, I got up early to watch the day shake out the night and catch the first glimpse of the glacier - our reason for taking this trip! The day was cloudy again - thick rolls that hung low in the sky and sifted out from behind the slices of the mountains. The surface of the water was blanketed with hunks of surreal blue ice, and we got into little rowboats to pull up as close to the glacier as possible. Once up close, we all drank whiskey with little pieces of glacial ice and cheered to the magnificence of the glacier. Really it's pointless to even attempt to describe the grandeur.... deep blue caves and crevices marking the surface, formations of clear, smooth blue and green, peaks and points and absolutely awesome and sacred. Many times chunks of ice crashed down into the water, creating an appearance of a waterfall of snow and ice. As the falling glacier hit the water, it was as if a geyser exploded out of the sea... and the SOUND! pre-historic, ancient, creaking and crashing.

The next day we got off the boat to continue our journey on land, passing through the charming town of Coyhaique to the even more charming town of Puyuhuapi, where we went to Parque Nacional Queulat to see more glaciers. Puyuhuapi is a town of about 600 that was settled in the mid 1930's by a group of 4 German settlers, and we fell in love with the fresh fish and friendly people.

Parque Queulat is gorgeous - there are Nalca leaves (like wild rhubarb) bigger than me, flower-covered vines twining around and dripping down from trees and rocks, wildflowers and fuchsia bushes covering the hills, and glaciers serenely sweeping across the horizon. We were so close to the arctic, yet it felt as if we were in a prehistoric tropical dream world. We saw the Ventisquero Colgante (hanging glacier), which hangs high up in the curve of the mountains. It is a gleaming blue, and the glacial water is in a constant process of pounding down the mountains into the milky jade river and lagoon. The lagoon was really special because it allowed us to see the stark contrasts of the area - plunging, roiling, thunderous, churning waterfalls petering out into the complete tranquility of the still lagoon water.

The air in the forest was pure and humid and dense with the aroma of wet earth, growth, and decomposition.

2009-03-06T06:43:00.000-08:00

these links will take you to my facebook photo albums of my trip south.

album 1:

album 2

2009-03-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

trip south - where do I even start??

2009-03-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

January 24, 2009

The Patagonian landscape is a study in contrasts - rolling gentle hills with all colors of green and brown in the foreground of jutting rock walls and snowy crags. You can see the many striations on the face of the rocks - zigzagging stripes of blue and white and ochre and terra cotta. The hills and mountains swoop out across the horizon, where they are met by thick swirling rolls of clouds swooping out into the sky. Much of the land is strewn with decaying burnt tree trunks - evidence of land-clearing gone horribly wrong, and humanity's perpetration of grave injustice against the land. These trunks cut into the earth in jagged and random scars. The flesh of the earth swells out around them, trying to absorb the trunks into its bosom once more and heal.

I mean the land literally looks like a slave's back. Open wounds and twisted gashes. Who knows if it will ever really heal.

And yet the wildflowers jauntily spring up alongside, and the grass sways constantly, and it is my hope that the land can rejuvenate itself - but only with our help. We must repair what we have undone and damaged.

Looking out over this landscape reminds me of the red slices on a cutter's arm. Of course the earth did not do this to itself, but it is still crying out for help.

off we go!

2009-01-16T10:51:00.001-08:00

Tonight Andrea and I will be taking off for our big trip south! We'll be taking an overnight bus to Puerto Montt, where we will board the Navimag ship and cruise over to Laguna San Rafael to see the glaciers. After a few days on the ship, we'll disembark at Puerto Chacabuco. By the evening we hope to be in Puyuhuapi, where we'll stay at Casa Ludwig in a room that promises an ocean view! January 20-24 we'll be in Puyuhuapi, spending most of our time in Parque Nacional Queulat seeing more glaciers! The morning of the 24 we'll head further south to spend a night in Cohyaique and down to Chile Chico for the rest of the trip. From the 25-29 we'll be dividing our time between Chile Chico and Los Antiguos, ARGENTINA!!! On Jan. 29 we'll head back to Puerto Chacabuco and get back on the Navimag ship. Two days later we'll be back in Puerto Montt and heading to the island of Chiloe, where we'll be until Feb. 2.

This past week we painted our gigantic kitchen.... the walls were beyond disgusting! it was a TON of work, but we finally finished today.

2008-12-30T13:49:00.000-08:00

2008-12-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

Santiago, Vina del Mar, y Valparaiso

2008-12-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

On Sunday around 2:30 am Andrea and I got back from our trip to Santiago, Vina del Mar, and Valparaiso. This was a trip that made me completely fall in love with my life! And with life in general. So many little moments happened that both surprised me and took my breath away, and I found myself breaking out in smile or laughter at completely random times. We spent a lot of time in different artisan fairs, wandering the streets, and watching live music.

We stayed in Santiago for a few days with Judy, a Maryknoll lay missioner. While there we went to Cafe Brasil, where we listened to two women sing while we drank bottles of wine. Their voices were rich and sensual and powerful and resonated deeply in my body along with the musky red of the wine. Cafe Brasil has live music most nights, and used to be a place of resistance during the Pinochet regime.

the next day Andrea and I went wandering through the markets in Santiago, where we saw street performers singing opera, drank jugo natural, and were followed by trails of men asking what country we were from. It was so exhilarating to feel like anything possible could happen, and we had the time and space to be present to it all.

THEN!

We went to see the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit at La Moneda!!! These are probably my two most favorite painters of all time, and it was incredibly moving to be in the presence of their work. It was nothing short of monumental.

While passing through the Metro station, I convinced our friend Felipe, who is a violinist, to break out his violin and play with the street performers in the station. It was so fun to watch them create music together. I love how music can create community anywhere, at any time. It again filled me with a sense of how wonderful the world is, and how everything is possible.

That night we went salsa dancing at a charming, old, dark place with white taper candles on all the tables.

The next evening we took off for Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, where we stayed with Mimi's friend Janie. Vina and Valpo are hilly coastal towns. All of the hills are blanketed in house upon colorful house and full of secret passageways and murals. In Vina we spent a lot of time lounging on the beach, wandering the artisan fair, and watching the majesty of the ocean waves crashing on the shore. After sunset we saw animals jumping in the waves! We also went to an old mansion that is now a public park, and explored the music stadium where Juanes will be playing in February! (BUt I'll be in the States so I'll miss it :( . )

In Valpo we wandered several of the big hills, took a little boat ride and saw seals, and ate a fantastic meal in the garden at a restaurant. Although the place was out of our price range, we were lured in by the Brazilian waiter and the amazing ambiance. We sat amidst fuchsias and hibiscus overlooking the ocean bordered by the coastal towns with the mountains in the distance. Thanks to Andrea speaking Portuguese, we were able to get a $60 bottle of Chilean Syrah for about $20. Since we had only been eating one meal a day due to our economic situation, we figured we deserved a more fancy meal.

We went back to Santiago for Christmas. On the 24 we went to mass and had dinner (Calf tongue!!!) with a family, and on the 25 we went back to Judy's for a light meal and wine. One highlight of our second visit to Santiago was visiting the artisan fair of one of Felipe's friends. Let me tell you, this place was a hippie paradise! As soon as we arrived, various instruments were thrust into our hands (I ended up with maracas) and we made a hippie-band procession through the local markets playing "music" and handing out flyers about the fair. Oh, my life is so random! I love it! Another great moment was seeing Arak Pacha, the Andean music band in which Felipe plays violin. The "bar" that hosted the event wasn't clearly marked and we probably would have missed it if not for the neon strip club across the street. The music was fantastic, and the band is really dedicated to nature, human rights, politics, and social justice. They were very involved in singing out against oppression when Pinochet was in power.

Our last full day in Santiago we went to Isla Negra, where the poet Pablo Neruda had one of his homes. We took a tour of the house and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach there and watched the sunset. I highly recommend this beach to anyone who comes to Chile! I'll post some pictures so you can see why :)

2008-12-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

End of the Year and a hot Christmas

2008-12-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

The year has come to a close at Casa Ursulina. Each class celebrated together with a special little meal and secret santa activities, and we had the end-of-the-year party this past Wednesday. Most of the classes performed little skits reflecting what they had done and learned in class over the past year. I was in several acts: circle dance, reflection and art, yoga, and the girls' english class. Lots of costume changes :) The highlight of my outfits was what I wore for the english skit. We did a runway-themed sketch and the girls dressed up as different fruits or different styles. I got to be an emo man, which meant that I had to wear lots of black eyeliner, black nailpolish, black tight pants, and a black and red striped shirt. Since I'm both poor and creative, I safety-pinned red ribbon to a black shirt to make my stripes. My look was a big hit with the girls, who informed me that I should be emo all the time - I looked so "bakan" (cool)!.

Last night we had a big goodbye party for Kristy and Caryn, and the rest of the weekend/beginning of next week will be dedicated to more goodbye parties and gatherings. They really have made such an impact here, and will be missed by all.

When Kristy and Caryn go to Santiago on Wednesday, Andrea and I will accompany them. We'll be in Santiago until the 20th, and then head to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso for a few days. Then it's back to Santiago, where we plan to celebrate Christmas with some volunteers who live there. If all goes well, we'll spend the following weekend at the beach!

It's SOOO freaking hot here in the afternoon, which makes it hard to remember that Christmas is on the way. I put up and decorated the tree yesterday, though, and we've been blasting Christmas music pretty much constantly, so it's starting to sink in a little.

Now get ready to be jealous of me and my fabulous life:

On January 17, Andrea and I will be getting on a cruise ship to Laguna San Rafael to see GLACIERS! We'll be spending a week on land in the Aysen region exploring national parks and seeing more GLACIERS, and then going to the island of Chiloe to see PENGUINS. It's going to be a little expensive, but I figure it's worth it to see glaciers while they still exist on this magnificent planet that is being terribly destroyed.

Recently we went on a really fantastic retreat about water, but I'm going to write about that in a different blog since there is just so much to say about it.

I'll be home in Chicago from Feb. 19-27, and I'm looking forward to seeing all of your smiling and freezing faces.

Anyways, just wanted to let you know what I'll be up to... don't know what my internet access will be like over the next couple of months. But I wish you all the best as you play in the snow and brave the malls!

one more:)

2008-11-26T16:55:00.001-08:00

some of our work at San Rafael teaching creative arts

2008-11-26T16:43:00.001-08:00

2008-11-25T18:18:00.000-08:00

2008-11-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

I used to think...

2008-11-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

I used to think I was born in the wrong decade. I should have been born in the 40's or 50's so I could have been a hippie and made change and revolution happen. But sometimes I have moments of clarity where I realize that the world is constantly in need of change and revolution, and even though we're in the 21 century I can still have some pretty zen experiences. Besides, women have it a lot better now than we did 40 years ago.

Last Saturday we had a Chakra workshop the entire day, where we learned chakra 101 and discussed all of our different energy centers. We also reviewed different exercises that help develop and harmonize the chakras. I realized that I feel most connected to the first 2 chakras; earth energy. And I also discovered through one of the exercises that it feels really good to stomp my feet on the ground as hard as I can to the beat of drums. Every day I find more reasons to join a drum circle when I get back to the States :)

That night we went to the Victor Jara music festival in the plaza. Victor Jara, from what I can understand, was a truly iconic Chilean folk singer who was brutally tortured and assassinated during the 1973 coup. He was born near Chillan, the city where I live, so every year they have a huge music festival in his honor. Let me tell you, there was some great people-watching! Lots of young dread-locked Chileans "volando" (flying). At times I felt like I was in a mosh pit, but the energy was contagious and the music helped create a sense of community and laughter. We sat and drank cheap beer and tried hard not to get knocked over by people who had consumed far too many altering substances.

This past weekend was also exceptional. Apart from other things, on Saturday we went to the sub-20 women's world cup game between the U.S. and Argentina. Since Obama won, we felt patriotic enough to dress in red, white and blue. We all put our hair in pigtails and tied them with red, white and blue ribbon. We even made signs! Although we looked ridiculous, we were pretty awesome and I'm confident that everyone in the stadium agreed. Thanks to our support, the U.S. team won 3-0!

After the game we went to the campo for an asado (bbq). Sandra and Juan, thos hosts, had gotten up at dawn to start preparing. The killed two sheep, skinned them, and prepared the meat. I did eat a little bit of it, since they worked so hard to prepare such a feast. We had plenty of time to wander in the fields, sharing conversation and laughing constantly. After dinner we all sat in the garage drinking wine and mate, watching the sun set and the stars come out.

I'm beginning to feel more of a sense of community here, although it's sad to think that Kristy and Caryn, the other volunteers, will be returning to the States soon.

In other news, the greenhouse is fantastic and we've been enjoying fresh spinach, parsley, lettuce, swiss chard, and cilantro! The tomato plants are turning into monsters that could win blue ribbons at a state fair, as are the nasturtiums.

Also, if anyone knows anyone who has ever been to Patagonia, put them in contact with me!

la primavera

2008-11-11T04:27:00.000-08:00

Spring is truly spectacular in Chile. It's not like spring in the States, which is all wrapped up in the smell of wet earth and industrious worms and tender green. Chile is dry, thanks in part perhaps to the hole in the ozone layer right above the country. The sun glares pretty fiercely in the afternoon, which I'm imagining will make for a fairly brown and dry summer. But for now everything is soaking up those rays of heat and you can see the sun dancing in the brilliance of everything that is blooming. Burgeoning. That's really the only word for it. Roses are literally spilling over walls and gates with cala lilies peeking through, snapdragons are towering higher every day, and the hills in the campo are carpeted with pink, yellow, orange, purple, and white wildflowers. One thing you have to understand is that the words we have to describe colors do no justice to what these flowers actually look like.

We went to the campo on Sunday to ride horses, and looking around me I couldn't help but feel more connected to the earth mother. Imagine looking out over rolling hills with the snow-capped mountains in the backdrop. The hills are literally every shade of green and brown imaginable, from chartreuse to hunter green, from terra cotta to dark chocolate and coffee. The smell of eucalyptus is carried on the breeze, and in that smell you can even see the calm blue-green of the eucalyptus leaves. Willow trees gracefully bend into glittering streams, and pine trees add a hint of spice to the air. The sky, of course, is always a clear bright blue.

Also, I allowed myself to be surrounded by bees, which is pretty amazing.

dulce o travesura

2008-11-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

So much has happened since my last post! We've gone to all-night festivals, handed out candy on halloween, seen Michelle Bachelet (Chile's president), seen the first ever futbol game at Chillan's brand new stadium (which will be hosting the sub-20 women's World Cup soon - and we have tickets!!!), gone to a wake and funeral, started new projects, and helped ELECT A NEW PRESIDENT!!! And so much more:)

Halloween has only become popular in Chile in recent years. Halloween candy started getting imported here, and in order to sell it they had to create the holiday. It truly is a consumerist thing here:) Ironically, last month Chile decided to make October 31 an official Evangelical holiday, so we had the whole day off. There weren't a whole lot of kids, and it didn't feel quite right since there was no smell of fall in the air, but I think Halloween is a tradition worthy of importation.

Obama is big news here right now... there have been special programs on tv and it's all over the news in all medias. At one of our meetings, all the women in the house came and gave us big hugs in celebration. Tonight we volunteers will be having an Obama celebration with funfetti cake and maybe some macaroni:) I know there are some people back home who aren't happy with the results of the election, but literally everyone here is. It's great to be able to say I'm from the United States and actually feel good about saying it!

As far as projects for the rest of this year and next year, things are starting to fall into place a little bit. On Wednesday mornings we are all teaching creative art at San Rafael, a school/centro laboral for youth with different developmental capacities. Some have mild learning disorders, some have down syndrome, some have autism, and there is a wide range of others. On Thursday afternoons we all will be teaching circle dance at Los Heroes, another school along the same lines, and right from there Andrea and I walk over to San Rafael for a faculty meeting to discuss how class went on wednesday, how our development objectives are going for each student, and so forth.

If those activities work out well, we can continue with them next year after summer break. We'll also be doing basic skills reinforcement at Libertador, where we now go with Kristy and Caryn to teach English. We'll be able to do some home visits and keep tabs and build connections w/ the kids there in a more personal way. We also plan on doing a self-esteem and creativity class with the girls at the Casa, a reflection and art class, and of course oil painting!

Now the big thing is planning our summer activities. I'm hoping to be able to go to Peru to visit a friend there, we're doing a dance retreat in January, and Andrea and I would really love to go south to Patagonia or something along those lines. Time is flying by! Every day gets busier, and every weekend we have more activities than would ever be possible to do.

Andrea's video

2008-11-03T09:56:00.001-08:00

Andrea, my fellow volunteer, just made a video update about being in Chile. You can find it on youtube in 2 parts if you're interested.

part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVQ55Z_GuhU

part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKLjAjIeviI

hopefully those will work.... I can't figure out how to just post links on here.

jugando en el campo

2008-10-23T17:26:00.001-07:00

digging for treasure...

2008-10-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

here are some of the things I found while digging the hole for the compost pile :)

greenhouse

2008-10-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

REMEMBER TO VOTE!!!

2008-10-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

So it's pretty obvious to everyone around that I'm from the United States. Everywhere I go, someone will invariably ask who I am going to vote for, and who I think will win the elections in the U.S. Of course I respond with a resounding "OBAMA," and the questioner always cheers. EVERYONE in Chile that I've talked to - the women at the Casa, strangers on the street, vendors at the market, mechanics, neighbors, park employees, etc etc etc - is rooting for Obama.

For better or for worse, U.S. policies have a huge impact on the rest of the world. Now is our chance to decide what kind of impact we want to have! We are so fortunate to live in a country where we can vote without fear of persecution, and where we actually have some kind of choice. Let's all make that choice and participate in the democratic process. The world is waiting and hoping for change!

mi vida normal

2008-10-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

So much to catch up on!

The weekend before this past one, Andrea and David and I went dancing Saturday night. We stayed out all night and then went back to David's house in Chillan to talk and rest for a few hours before heading to his house in the campo to ride horses all day! Dancing was.... fun... I guess... We went to this place called Bronco, where we were surrounded by a younger, chain-smoking crowd illuminated by erratic strobe lights and smoke machines. We were also treated to several young women shaking their bare asses on the stage. We almost slipped on all the drool from the men in the audience hahaha:)

Riding horses was a different story, though. We rode through vineyards, fields of cattle grazing (including the tiniest calf I have ever seen!), and pine forests. After a while we got off our horses and scaled a large rock to check out the view. When it started raining we hurried down and mounted the horses again. As we galloped down the hill it started hailing! We were all hooting and hollering as the rain and hail pelted down, and it was truly exhilarating! Needless to say, we returned to Chillan completely exhausted but feeling enriched and fulfilled.

This past weekend we spent several hours hanging out with a couple of the women who come to yoga and danza circular, and ended up going to a stunning dance performance. We also went to a fiesta costumbrista (like a traditional festival thing) on Saturday, and back to the town of Lota and the botanic garden on Sunday. Andrea and I are hoping to have a quiet weekend sometime soon!

So I realized that I've only been talking about weekend excursions. For those of you who think all I do here is party and go to festivals and ride horses, here's an idea of what my days look like:

MONDAY

breakfast at 8:30

I go to Carola's to practice Spanish for a couple of hours

Lunch

Reflection and Art class (right now the women in this class are making Christmas cards to send to our donors, but last semester they made some absolutely beautiful books of art projects).

English class for the girls at the Casa - Kristy and Caryn do this, but we sometimes help out or sit in on the class.

Dinner

Kill slugs

TUESDAY

breakfast

go to Libertador (the school nearby) to teach English to 1 and 2 grade with Kristy and Caryn

Andrea and I make lunch, and we are really amazing cooks

lunch

Yoga

work in the greenhouse

dinner

Kill slugs

WEDNESDAY

breakfast

Carola's for Spanish, and as of tomorrow the other volunteers and Ruth and I will be going over there to learn how to do macrame.

Andrea and I make lunch

lunch

Go to the church to hang out with elderly adults and play games

danza circular

Ursulina meeting (this is where all of the women who are really involved with the Casa come together to reflect and discuss any important issues or upcoming events, and eat onces - a light dinner).

Kill slugs

THURSDAY

breakfast

Libertador to teach grades 3 and 4

Lunch

Reflection/baking class

Dinner

Kill slugs

FRIDAY

breakfast - on Fridays we eat garlicky scrambled eggs with bread

House meeting

Carola's for Spanish

Lunch

weaving/photo project with girls

dinner

Kill slugs

In the free hours we weave, work in the greenhouse, devise new ways to kill slugs, run errands for the house, and do anything else that needs to be done.

Life feels pretty busy, but I know that it will only get busier as we start and become involved in our own projects. Right now we are looking into volunteering at a residential home for teens who are addicted to drugs, as well as doing something at a special-ed school. Some of the students came to visit the Casa and they were awesome, so it would be really great to go and do some art-therapy inspired projects there. I think it would be beyond fantastic to do a vegetable garden at the residential facility! We're going there on Friday for another meeting and to observe some of their activities.

2008-10-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

2008-10-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

2008-10-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

small wonders

2008-10-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Following our recent trend, Andrea and I went to the campo this past weekend (albeit a different part of the campo). On friday afternoon we left with Sandra and her daughter Valentina to visit Sandra's partner Juan, who lives in the campo just out of Chillan. The purpose of the trip was to continue shearing the sheep; luckily we did not have to actually participate in that activity other than as spectators!

This seriously was one of the best weekends ever! I got to play with so many cute baby animals and took part in some really amazing experiences. I fell in love at first sight with a baby goat who just romped around like crazy! He was so fuzzy and soft and just beautiful! We watched some eggs hatch - the hen already had chicks and wouldn't stick around to hatch these, so we had to keep them warm and safe while they fluffed out their feathers. I spent much of the weekend with my "pollito" snuggled safe and sound in my hands. By the end of the weekend he was trying to climb all over me!

The lambs were also beautiful, and although watching the the sheep being sheared was difficult for me, I thought about how wonderful it will be to have all of the wool at the Casa. Some of the women here clean and card the wool and then spin it into yarn.

After the sheep were sheared, we went to town for ice cream and some shopping. Back at Juan's house we learned how to tell, by looking at the eggs, whether they will hatch into chickens or roosters, and what color they will be. While walking through the campo we saw tons of what looked like little mud chimneys poking up from the ground. Valentina told us that a species of shrimp live in them! I never knew there were earth shrimp. We also saw a kind of owl that lives underground. So many miracles in this world that I never even knew existed!

On Sunday we went to San Nicolas for their cabalgata, a procession where everyone rides their horse for about 15 kilometers to the school, where they stop for a typical breakfast and some Cueca music and dancing. From the school they ride 15 kilometers back into town for lunch and live music performances. The event starts early in the morning, and the day started out chilly and windy. We decided to ride in car to the school and meet up with the rest of the procession there. There were over 600 horses in the cabalgata, as well as horses pulling carts for people to ride in. David, our new friend here in Chile, found an extra horse for Andrea and I to ride. For the first part of the trip I rode in a horse-cart, and for the second part I rode the horse. The path was just a dirt and rock road, lined with cypress trees and the mountains in the distance. I was nervous to ride the horse, since there were so many experienced riders swarming all around and I had to keep pulling over for cars to pass. Luckily for me, my horse was extremely patient and did not go crazy even once - which for some reason they usually do when I ride them.

After lunch we found David with some of his friends. We started out listening to the music, but then decided to take a little ride on the horses again. This ride was literally one of the coolest things I have ever done. We rode through the town, passing through traffic, and down a hill to a river. We got to ride our horses into the river as the sun began to set! I learned how to gallop as we rode up huge hills covered in wildflowers. It was completely exhilarating! I can't even begin to describe how great this weekend was. David told Andrea and I that we could come visit anytime, and he will teach us how to ride better. He also said he would take us out dancing! This is especially exciting because it's so difficult to form a peer group here in a community of older women with families and lives of their own.

On a side note, the greenhouse is going really well so far. The other night, after it rained the entire day, all of the snails started sneaking out. I was outside until almost 11 hunting them down, and in the end I had gathered a ton - probably at least a hundred! They are so cute, but they will kill all of our plants. In the morning I went to the corner store and bought beer - snails like beer so much that they will literally drown in it. I have the dead ones stored in tupperware containers until I have time to build the compost pile:)

Also, I mentioned tonight that I wished I had my oil paints with me, and Mimi got really excited! She has some supplies that I can use, and she said that it would be great if I could teach a class on oil painting! Now, I'm certainly no expert but I could definitely teach a short course on the basics while incorporating a reflection and therapy aspect.

My Spanish is starting to improve (I hope!). With all of these trips to the campo, I've had more chances to practice. I'm also starting to meet with Carola, Kristy's host mom, to practice three times a week, and reading the newspaper and children's books.

A Continuacion

2008-09-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Vilches:

On Monday morning we departed for Vilches, a campo town relatively nearby. Vilches in pretty much in the foothills of the Andes, but we could still see the snowy peaks rising above the green hills. Fortunately for me, Ted and Maruja's family is mainly vegetarian, so we got to enjoy lots of healthy dishes made from fresh vegetables.

Our time with Ted and Maruja was, for me, a time of rest, discernment, and discovery. We watched documentaries about La Vida Campesina (the life of people in the country - i.e. farmers) and Victor Jara, who was a folk singer brutally tortured and assassinated in the 1973 coup. I was able to ask a million questions about the dictatorship, Chilean culture, life as a Maryknoll missioner, ecofeminist theology, gardening, alternative approaches to healing, etc.

I learned that big corporations came in and paid the poor and indigenous peoples who had worked the land for generations a small sum for their land. The corporations ejected the people from their land, destroyed the native crops, and planted pine and cypress trees. The pine trees, which are not native to the region, deplete the soil to the point that it takes over a hundred years to regenerate. In a twisted irony, the very people who had worked that land before are now working for a pittance for those corporations, as there are no other opportunities. Essentially, they are forced to contribute to the destruction of the land that used to be their heritage, the land that holds all of their memories and the memories of their ancestors, in order to survive.

The community in Vilches is connected to communities in Santiago and to our community at the Casa Ursulina, and all together there is a great emphasis on the exploration of ecofeminism and different approaches to healing and building community. After talking with Maruja, Andrea and I determined that one of our projects at the Casa will be to work in the little greenhouse we have here. The greenhouse has kind of fallen into a state of disrepair, but we have plans to plant vegetables and herbs that we can eat at the Casa. We had been thinking about doing that anyways, but after my time in Vilches I feel even more inspired to carry that out, as I'm thinking about ecospirituality and ecofeminism. I'm reminded of how important it is to me to be in tune with these cycles and rhythms of life, and how I felt in Nicaragua on the island of Ometepe.

I believe that the sacred nature and heritage of women has been buried and erased over the years in so many ways. I know that I carry that sacred history and heritage within me, and it's something that I've always wanted to access and explore more. Maybe here in Chile I will learn how I can live my life in that pattern, in communion with the earth and the connectedness of all living beings. I would like to find ways of connecting with that divine nature and energy, and I have so many ways right at my fingertips here! Rhythm, art, dance, planting, harvesting, cooking, natural healing, energy work, etc. There is such mystery and miracle in all of this, and I want to be a part of that. I want to find what is inside myself and bring it into the light.

In talking with Maruja about my desire to delve deeper into the sacred and divine feminine, she told me that the Vilches community offers a workshop of the four feminine archetypes, and part of what they do is look at the divine feminine throughout histories and cultures and myths. This sounds SO exciting and perfect!

We met with the other Maryknoll missioners on our last morning in Vilches, and I was struck again at what a great opportunity it is for me to be here. They are starting a women's center there that will be a retreat space for women who are suffering from different forms of violence and abuse. Sarah, one of the missioners, wants to start some art therapy there. Judy, another missioner, is very active in learning more about the divine feminine and uncovering women's lost history. Talking with them was such a great meeting of our passions! It was so inspiring and rejuvenating to have some of my strongest beliefs and goals recognized and reciprocated. We all plan on staying in touch so that we can collaborate throughout the year.

In Vilches we took advantage of the nice weather and amazing location. We walked down to a beautiful river in the middle of the foothills and saw the adjacent campground. If anyone wants to come down to Chile and go camping, let me know! There we saw the lovely spiders that are in my other blog:)

We also hiked up into the mountains, passing through budding trees, appreciating the signs of spring all around us. We saw these gigantic woodpeckers - they are the size of crows and pure black except for their heads, which are a brilliant scarlet red. We also saw a young eagle soaring and swallows darting through the air. Sitting in front of all this majesty, we discussed culture shock, our lives, our backgrounds.

During one dinner we talked about what Chile was like during the dictatorship. I asked how it would compare to Nicaragua, since I'm more familiar with that, and they made the point that there was never any armed resistance in Chile - there was only one power, and more than anything it was a psychological war. Maruja remembers peeking out the curtain after curfew and seeing long lines of military trucks pass by filled with people - soon to be the disappeared. After hearing her and Ted talk, it's not surprising that people don't really discuss those times. With Pinochet dead only recently, people have still been wary of sharing their feelings and experiences. I wonder what will come to light about those years as people become more comfortable opening up.

viajando en el campo

2008-09-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Last night Andrea and I got back from our trip to the campo (country). From Friday through Monday morning we were in San Dionisio visiting a family Andrea stayed with for a week when she was in Chile before. From Monday through Friday we stayed in Vilches with Ted and Maruja, to Maryknoll lay missioners who are closely connected with our program at Casa Ursulina.

San Dionisio:

The family has a small farm where they have chickens, ducks, milk cows, horses, bees, and of course the requisite cats and dogs. We stayed with Pedro and Alicia and Pedro's grown children. It was amazing and beautiful how welcoming the family was - they were so excited to see Andrea again, and they gladly accepted me into their life. When we arrived Alicia was sick and staying with her family up the road, so Pedro was in charge of feeding us. He had set up a little grate over a fire and cooked us ribs from the pig they had recently slaughtered, and longaniza (a kind of sausage that Chillan is famous for) that we had brought as a gift.

As you may know, I haven't eaten red meat or pork in over 3 years....

I thought about my main reasons for not eating meat: generally the animals are fed with grains and hormones to make them grow faster, which is an unnatural and unhealthy process. It takes approximately 8 lbs of grain to obtain 1lb of meat, and all of that grain could be going to feed human beings... I thought of the negative impact meat production has on the environment as well as poverty and hunger throughout the world.... And then I looked around and realized that the ribs I was being presented with had come from a pig that this family had raised, hormone free and grass-fed, on their own property. I knew that Pedro was offering us, his guests, the best he had. I wanted to share in the celebration and spirit that the food was being offered. SO, I ate 2 ribs and a slice of longaniza.

It actually was really fun to sit outside on tree stumps in the dark, warmed by the coals of the fire, watching the stars flood the sky, sharing companionship and food right off the grill.

The next morning, we ate pork steak for breakfast! And more sausage for lunch! Oh dear, my poor body just couldn't take it anymore. The rest of the weekend I found ways to beg off of eating meat, but it wasn't easy. I realized that meat, even if it's locally grown and grass-fed, is no longer something that is even appetizing to me, and is no longer something that my body can digest.

But don't worry, there was more to the weekend than meat! I watched Pedro kill a chicken, and I watched as they cut the body open. That may sound morbid, but it was actually really stunning. As they opened the body, these two goldenrod globes slipped out, followed by a full membranous oval. Out of this membrane glided a fully formed egg! It was such a surprise!

We spent so much time sitting outside and taking in our surroundings. The Andes mountains lined the horizon, and the blue of the sky highlighted their snowy caps. All of the flowers and trees were in bloom, and the soil was a rich coffee brown.

Our second night in San Dionisio, we went to visit Alicia's family for their independence day celebration. Her family is very musical, so after a GIGANTIC asado (bbq) involving pig, cow, and goat meat (which I was thankfully able to avoid despite much protest from the entire family), everyone broke out their guitars and accordion. Those who didn't have instruments used forks, hands, and voices. It was such an amazing experience to share in their passion and companionship as they sang folk songs, protest songs, and dance songs (MORE CUECA!) as the sun went down and the sky began to twinkle with the light of the milky way and distant galaxies. While others danced, I stood under the stars and talked with one of Alicia's relatives about constellations, other worlds, politics, social justice, etc etc etc.

Isn't it fascinating to think that I am seeing a whole different sky!

2008-09-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

Me "dancing" Cueca

2008-09-18T17:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Independence Day! - Chile style

2008-09-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today, September 18, is Chilean Independence Day. You've never seen patriotism until you've been in Chile. Everyone is so proud to come from this country, and there is an actual law stating that you have to display the Chilean flag today and tomorrow!

There have been numerous events and parties leading up to today that will carry over through the weekend.

Last Friday we went to El Libertador, the school where Kristy and Caryn teach English, for their celebrations. The event was held outdoors in their recess area, and everyone was seated around the edges in a square. In the middle of this square were 6 chairs, and we volunteers randomly had to sit there with the 2 school directors! As we had been planning on leaving early, we were a bit taken aback at being spontaneously made the guests of honor. Of course we stayed for the whole thing, and were treated to lots of music and cueca dancing. And yes, I did take the video that's in my last blog! The two little kids who won the cueca contest performed a few songs for us, and then each member of the pair chose a partner from the audience. The girl chose the school director, and the boy chose me! Believe me, I have no idea how to dance cueca, but I tried my best and everyone got a good laugh.

Saturday the Casa had its annual fundraising party, and we spent a couple of days getting ready for the event. All of the women who participate at the house were obligated to help, and so the house was full of women making empanadas, hanging up decorations, and preparing all of the other traditional foods. Hundreds of people came to the party, where we had live music and dancing and lots and lots of wine.

This entire week has been vacation time here at the Casa, and Andrea and I have been taking advantage of that in many ways. It's been good to sleep in and go for long walks, but we also took a trip to a little coastal town where we visited a botanic garden and went to the beach. Amazingly enough, we did not get lost at all!!! We had to find multiple buses and walk a lot, and I for one am very proud of us!

We'll be attempting to match that success tomorrow when we depart to the country to visit a family that Andrea stayed with when she was here before. We'll be in a little town outside of Linares from Friday until Monday, and from there we'll go straight to the town of Vilches, where we will stay until next Friday. Ted and Maruja, two Maryknoll missioners who until recently had an organic farm, live there. We'll be meeting and visiting them in order to learn more about Chilean history and culture. So keep your fingers crossed that we make it! It's times like these when having a cell phone would be helpful.... At least Andrea loves looking at maps, so between the two of us we should be able to work it out.

Other than that, it's just been a lot of partying! And Chileans know how to party! The fundraiser at the Casa went until 3:30, and last night we went to another party and got home again around 3:30. TOnight I will be going to - you guessed it - another party! This one is expected to last until tomorrow afternoon, but Andrea and I will have to leave earlier if we want to get any sleep before we take off tomorrow. I'm looking forward to another night of fried carbohydrates, booze, and dancing the night away:)

2008-09-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Cueca at the neighborhood school

2008-09-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

2008-09-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

2008-09-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

all things holy

2008-09-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

I'm always amazed to look down and see my legs when I'm getting ready to take a shower. I'm always so covered up in layers that I guess I forget I have an actual body sometimes.

I just got out of a particularly spectacular shower - I think I found the exact centimeter to which I have to turn the knob to get a sprinkle of hot water! My last shower ended abruptly when all of the electricity went out. I was stuck in the dark with increasingly frigid water. That was my fault, because I forgot to turn off my space heater before I started the shower.

Life has been so busy here! Andrea and I are learning how to weave, and we're visiting all of the classes that the house offers. Kristy and Caryn, the volunteers who have been here for the last year, teach English to 1-4 graders at the school by here, and we've basically been following them to everything they do. Today we went to the cooking class, and tomorrow we'll either go to weaving or peluqueria (hairdressing). It's really incredible how affectionate everyone is! When saying hello and goodbye it's customary to hug and kiss everyone, so you really have to be generous with your personal space!

I had some challenging moments today, and of course they involved our beloved Padre Hector, the priest. All 6 of us (volunteers + sisters) were invited to lunch at his house. The lunch was actually really good, apart from the fact that I had to eat meat. He made a big deal out of serving us, and made it clear that we should spread the word that he, the man, had served all of us women our meal. He asked what we had studied at school, so of course when I said Women's Studies we all got into a discussion of feminism. He believes that women should be treated with the same dignity as men and have opportunities, but that women and men have different roles that should be adhered to. Ay dios mio I was so frustrated b/c 1) I don't speak the language well enough to really get into it, 2) I don't know if doing so would be culturally appropriate, 3) I don't want to be alienating people at this early stage, and 4) (a big one) I don't know who and what will be my safe zone here, where I can fully be myself and express everything that I believe without holding back.

On a more positive "holy" note, yesterday we went to the danza circular class. I tried to look this up online so I could find a website that would help me explain this to people, but none that I found did it justice. I am attempting to add a decent link here, but I'm not sure how blogs work so we'll see if it's there:)

Danza circular (circle dance) is basically what it sounds like: people form a circle and do various dances to different music from all around the world. The dances can be meditative or playful or prayerful, but really it was an incredible experience. I felt so in tune with the women around me, with myself, and with the earth. I felt that as we moved, our rhythm carried us, and who knows what energy we were creating. Our collective energy carried our feet, guided our path and pattern. The dances were a way of praying and celebrating through movement and community. As I let myself sink deeper and deeper into the movements and rhythms, releasing my sense of ... self-consciousness... plane of existence.... I don't really know how to put it..., I felt how ancient, how sacred, our dance was. It opened me.

my address! send me letters!

2008-09-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I finally have my mailing address!

Julia Matson

Casilla 1091

Chillan, Chile

Easy, right?

Today is September 1, the unofficial ending of winter and beginning of spring. Here in Chillan they have a tradition where all of the elderly people congregate in the plaza to celebrate the fact that they have survived another winter. The idea is that if they made it through August, they will make it another year! They have live music, dancing, empanadas, drinks, etc. I of course did not go, since I'm not old enough, but it still sounded fun.

Also, I've noticed a lingering smell of burning trash around the neighborhood.... I always hated that smell in Nicaragua, but now it helps make me feel more at home!

I have arrived!

2008-08-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

oh my, the adventures!

so my flight into Atlanta was delayed a few hours, I almost lost my carry-on luggage, and I made it to my connecting flight just in time to board. Andrea, however, did not. SO I flew solo to Santiago, where I met up with the other volunteers and explored the city a little bit.

Santiago has a European feel to it, with stately buildings and plazas filled with artists. There are orange and lemon trees laden with fruit, and you can see Spring budding on all the trees and pushing its way out of the earth with a green that almost glows.

Andrea flew in the following night, so we got her from the airport and took a bus to Chillan, about 4.5 hours south. The entire drive we were surrounded by mountains on both sides, although we cannot see them from here in Chillan.

We'll be staying at Casa Ursulina, the women's center, for the next several months before we move in with host families. I have a tiny room in back, painted bright sky blue with a window that looks out over the garden. Our part of the house has 2 small bedrooms for us, a little office, and a bathroom. The shower can get warm (thanks to some electrical contraption) although there is no water pressure to speak of. We have no heat in the house, but there is enough electricity for us to put our space heaters on low. Most of the rest of the rooms in the house are multi-use and almost always full of people. There are about 3 different classes going on here every afternoon that Andrea and I will be visiting for the next few weeks.

Ah yes, and we have 6 cats.

The houses in the neighborhood are mostly one-story and are painted bright colors. All of them have cement fences in front and decorative bars on the windows. There seem to be dogs and cats everywhere I look. It's been overcast here all week, but it seems like it's starting to warm up a little bit. Usually I wear long underwear, pants, wool socks, a tank top, a long-sleeved shirt, a couple sweaters, and a scarf.

At night we sleep with hot water bottles - of course, the first night in Chillan I woke up at about 3 am b/c I was soaked! Sure enough my water bottle had leaked everywhere. I thought about ignoring it, but realized that I might be an icicle by morning.... Since then, though, I have had no repeat incidents.

This weekend we went to a big fundraiser party where they had about 5 or 6 live folkloric bands and they performed the Cueca, which is their traditional dance. We also got together with some people for dinner and some card games. I'm realizing that I will be drinking lots of red wine and tea, and attempting to stuff as much food down as I can so I don't seem rude.

Believe it or not I went to Church this morning.... attempting to learn Chilean Spanish and get to know the community. THe priest is...hmmm... Interesting, shall I say? Started off his homily today talking about crosses, and how we have to bear them. for example, if a woman is married to an abusive alcoholic, he is her cross to bear. She doesn't necessarily have to be cheerful when he is beating her, but the next day she should make certain not to nag him about his behavior. Being angry with him, you see, would be unChristian! Men must also bear the cross of having lazy wives who neglect their housework.... AND, questioning the Church and Catholic faith will have terrible consequences because Catholicism is the only way to Jesus and eternal life.

the good news, I guess, is that some of the people seem to disagree with him.

quotes in preparation

2008-07-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." –- Henry Miller

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." -- Jawaharal Nehru

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." — Martin Buber

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by." — Robert Frost

"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey." — Pat Conroy