Comida, Cerros, Clases, Caminata

Well I sat down to write this earlier, and did even though I was a little weary. I had written quite a lot and finished, when the page froze up and I lost everything, now I’m writing in MS Word first saving it and copying it to the blog!

Since Sunday was the last time I wrote, It seems like Monday would be a good place to start with! Monday was a national holiday, and much thanks goes to Saint Peter for that, there was no class and no work. Can you guess what dominant religion is here in Chile? If not here is a hint; the name of the university where we have class is Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Pontificia by the why is an honor bestowed by the Pope on the best Catholic Universities in the world. In the morning I went with Bernardo (Ruth’s Husband) and Alvaro to Valpo because they decided I needed a TV in my room. We went down to the port, I think there is a store there, but when there was no parking they decided to abandon the mission. We then drove up to Cerro Concepción to explore some.
A little background information: Valpo is a port city, but unlike Wilmington it is only flat in a small area. After that flat part, the land rises quite sharply forming lots of different hills called cerros surrounding the city. The flat area of Valpo is traditionally the commercial area, also where some of the University buildings are housed, and the cerros are more residential.
We walked around Cerro Concepción for a little while and then stopped at a little restaurant that had a view of all Valpo, for some piscosours. Pisco is a liquor derived from grapes that todos los chilenos beben (all Chileans drink). After the drinks we headed back to Viña for almuerzo.
Insert more background information here: Almuerzo is lunch in Spanish, but in Latino American culture almuerzo is the big meal of the day. For example the other day we had a salad that consisted of lettuce with half of a fruit called palta and that was stuffed with tuna and topped with mayo (add a little lemon juice and oil for dressing) We then had lentejas a bean soup with some vegetables and pickled onions and of course some pan (bread). Dinner is a lot less formal, usually sandwiches or hotdogs, or some re-heated lunch. Also sometimes in between lunch and dinner we have “once” (ohn-say). Once is a chilenismo so it is only used here and it is essentially a snack around 6:00pm of maybe some bread, cheese fruit etc.

After lunch I went with Alvaro to the place just north of here in between the towns of Reñaca and Concón, called Roca Oceanica (Ocean Rock). It was this huge outcropping of rocks and cliffs, which happened to be ideally suited for rock climbing. Both Alvaro and Mercelo climb, and I told him that I would, but when I got there and saw all the other people that were also climbing I decided I’d rather learn with less people watching.

Tuesday was our first official day of class. Everyone lives in Viña del Mar, but we have class in Valparaíso, which is about five miles away. In order to get to class we have to take the bus, which are not called busses, or autobuses here, they’re called Micros (ME-KROS). The stomach churning trip takes about 20 minutes and it’s best to look out the sides of the bus and not what the crazy driver is doing up front. One way ticket costs $400 pesos, about $.75 US, and make sure you keep your ticket because it serves as proof that you were on the bus for insurance in the ever so slight chance there were an accident (haha). Our families rode with us on the bus the first day and rode back with us, so that they could explain the routes and how the bus system worked.

During class everyone was really excited to see each other because we had all been separated since Saturday. We were given an orientation and a tour of the main university building Casa Central. Most everyone decided to meet up at the mall in Viña later to hang out. Brent the guy that lives across from my and I walked to the mall in the afternoon and pretty much everyone was there, and where did they decide to hang out… Ruby Tuesdays! Now its time to learn another new word… GRINGO. Gringo is a word used by latin Americans to describe us, and while it is not necessarily a derogative term, it does not really carry the best connotation. While I would like to do as much as possible not to perpetuate that stereotype, not too many others were concerned. That being said the rest of the afternoon and night was a “gringofest” with lots of loud loud Americans being fairly stupid.

Today we had class again, and most everyone was last with the exception of course being me. A walking tour (caminata) was scheduled for the afternoon so instead of going home for lunch most of us stayed in town and ate. I ate with 4 other guys at a little hole in the wall restaurant with excellent food and we got out of there for the equivalent of $4 US per person. Then two of the guys, Bren (not Brent) Josh, and myself went exploring up the very steep Cerro Merced.

Our caminata took us to Cerros Concepción and Alegre, where I had been on Monday. This time we took an acensor up to the top. Acensores are essentially rickety little boxes that follow a track up the cerro at a 45 degree angle. When we got to the top we did a lot of walking saw some neat places and amazing views. Cerros Concepción and Alegre form an area that was extremely important in the designation of Valparaíso as a UNESCO World Heritage sight in 2003. Interestingly though one of the reasons is took the city so long to get that designation was the presence of stray dogs. They are everywhere! They are all mutts and pretty much just roam of the streets, when walking you always have to look down so you do not step in caca dog crap. Finally it was decided that the dogs were not a “problem” and Valpo received the designation.

After the walking tour we all got on our respective Micros and headed back to Viña. Now I’m sitting here watching the Copa America (soccer) and writing this (for the second time). Photos coming soon, maybe a few on this page and more on a picture hosting site. FIN