The Chile PROCRASTINATION Effect

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been settling into a routine, getting things organized and whatnot. Overall things have been amazing! I still cannot ask for anything more!

Firstly, let me tell you how hard it is to focus and actually DO HOMEWORK here in Chile. Yesterday, Sunday, the devil of all homework days. I set out to write a 3 page paper for my Chilean Lit class, finish my 15 minute presentation for grammar, and the 25 discussion that would follow. It took me like three hours just to finish my essay. That's FOREVER. I'm used to spitting out words and making an essay, but in Chile, with the sun shining and the beach looming, things just don't to get done. I wonder why that is? For instance today, I got home after class around 4, sat down on my bed for less than five minutes, and then I was out. Comatose. I slept for two hours. It was an accident. Chile has it out for me. In the best way of course. :)

So what have I been up to in the southern hemisphere you ask? Pure mischief. My friend Nick told me specifically before I left, don't do anything he wouldn't, so, let me tell you, I have a pretty free reign! I've been going out at night, having some drinks, singing some karaoke, doing some dancing, embarrassing myself in front of Chileans, and most importantly, making Chilean friends and improving my Spanish. If there's one thing I'm going to take out of this trip more than anything else, it will be my concerted effort to improve my Spanish. For instance, today I went to the bus station in an attempt to buy a bus ticket for my upcoming trip to Pucon (which you will here about in great detail upon my return), and lo and behold, I had little to no trouble. It just proves to myself that I could realistically live in a spanish speaking country. A little bit of an ego boost I guess, haha.

Classes have been going really well! Most classes are done in a lecture format, which I don't really mind at all. The students here are a lot more independent, there isn't much dependence on the professor. As an extranjero, this is both a good and bad thing. It's great in the fact that it forces to ask my classmates for help, but tough in the sense that there isn't much guidance or structure from the professor. An example: I had to get the syllabus from the department secretary, make my own copy, and I have to return it for the next class. Also, another HUGE difference. They don't really have textbooks. As a student you check out the required reading from the library, and make a photocopy; of the ENTIRE book. I don't think there are any copyright laws here. But I don't mind at all, I'd much rather pay 1.500 pesos for a book, rather than an arm and a leg in the states! That is for sure.

As far as classes go, I won't be too stressed throughout the semester, so that is more than ideal!

My sister, who is pretty much like my second mother, runs her own wedding planning business, and she just planned a HUGE wedding. I heard that there was more than a 1,000 people there. Why does this pertain to me you ask? She got to keep ALL the leftovers. Food, drinks, liquor, the works. So, needless to say, for the last few days I've been feasting like a king. Salmon rolls. RATATOUILLE. So good, I never would have thought I would have that of all things in Chile. :)

In the next two weeks I will be going on two different trips, one to Pucon and the other to La Serena. I will fill you in upon my return, but internet might be sparse the next few weeks or so. That gives you the opportunity to write me a letter! Let me be your pen pal!

Well hope all is well!

Ciao!

Clases y Carreteando

Classes have started! Yesterday was my first day, today I had only one. I'm done for the week. I've managed to not schedule any classes on Fridays. How convenient is that? :) With that said, let me tell you that the night life in Chile is VERY fun. I'm not a dancing type, but you just can't really help yourself. Let me explain.

Two nights ago, Tuesday, a small group of us led by una chica chilena, (her name is Cami, she's a host sister of another girl, Leanne) took us to a bar. I was expecting a crowded bar, you know some music, maybe a couple beers. Nothing extreme. We get to this place, which for the life of me I can't remember what it's called, and I could not have been any more mistaken. They're were colors, and music, and an MC. Hmmmmm. I'm thinking to myself. It seems we have entered into a KARAOKE bar. What the hell, let's have fun. I had a blast. The six of us sang along, and we even got into the action a little. My friend Jeff and I sang Mariposa Traicionera, and then like the gringos we are, we sang the Celine Dion song from Titanic. It was a really good time!

Yesterday, in addition to it being St. Patty's Day (which, for obvious reasons isn't really celebrated in Chile) it was Catherine's 21st birthday, a girl in my IFSA group. We all went out to Cafe Journal, a bar known to house a lot of gringos. It was such a blast. You we got there around 10:30, had a couple rounds, and then, all of a sudden, dancing. I'll let you use your own imagination on that one.. We all had a blast to say the least! Needless to say, tonight might be an early night.

If you were curious, carretear means to go out/party. One of the many chilenismos I have come across thus far. I'll try and make a list sometime for you all to say how different the spanish is here. It's really quite incredible!

Well that's all for now.

Ciao!

Validation

I've discovered that Viña offers many tiny little truffles of fun, even when you're not looking for it. I met up with a friend this morning at a busy intersection, and lo and behold, to my right was this HUGE palace. It was amazing, I will be sure to visit once again. I spent like 15 minutes talking to my host mom after dinner, and it was the highlight of my day. That is saying something because I walked along the beach. :) It's these little intricacies that totally validate my reasoning for coming. Any apprehension or doubt regarding this trip is gone. The city alone offers an escape from reality. In addition I can spend time with my family and just smile. Needless to say, I'm currently on a high. :)

Ciao for now! I'm headed out tonight for a cerveza! And then classes start tomorrow. I'll be sure to keep YOU posted on how those go!

CLASSES

Well, I just got done preregistering for classes. Let me tell you, today was QUITE interesting. It was orientation for us "estudiantes de intercambio" en La Catolica. This is the college where I will be taking the majority of my classes. It was pretty hectic all throughout the day, and I'm very glad to be home and done, with plenty of time to relax. The process in theory seems very simple. You choose a bunch of classes you are interested in, and that's that. Something so simple could not have been any more complicated. So I had a nice little list prepared, I figured out my options so that no classes overlapped. We get into the registering room, and there were booths set up for each major, so that we could speak to some Chilean students about their experiences and whatnot. Then everything changed. We all started scrambling around, asking questions, receiving recommendations. My neat little schedule of five enjoyable classes, became a LONG list as I tried to add in what was recommended. As it turns out I have five classes that I would deem my favorite. In addition to the required ORAL/GRAMMAR class, I'm also taking a LITERATURE class through the program. Next on my list is this really sweet GEOGRAPHY OF ECOLOGY class, which I figure would be very interesting here in Chile. Next up is a CHILEAN CONTEMPORARY HISTORY class, and a really neat SOCIAL WORK class. In addition to these favorites I have multiple classes in the school of geography and history, completely filling out my schedule. These first two weeks will be incredibly busy because I will be sitting in on 9 classes, weeding them down as I see best fit until I have the required 15 or 16 credits. I'm hoping this process goes smoothly and quickly, because I would rather not be spending my day in a classroom!

We also learned about this volunteer program called TAC. It sounds incredible! More information regarding these endeavors will be forthcoming!

That's all for now. Today was a bureaucratic day, a stressful day. So I will be relaxing, have a little Once Cena, and then hitting the hay. They like to make us wake up early for silly things. Not a fan. :)

I hope everything is well at home! Send me news, I would love to hear. My address for incoming mail is as follows:

Michael Hicks
Avenida Brasil 2950 (PIIE)
Valparaiso
Chile

I can also be reached at:

mhicks@gustavus.edu

EVEN BETTER. Skype me. I usually keep my Skype up, so that's another great way to reach me.

Find me.

michael..hicks

Now, that's really all for now.

Ciao!

Blackout. Really?

Well friends. Chile just doesn’t stop with the surprises. I felt a small temblor (tremor) about five minutes ago. Now I’m sitting in complete darkness. All the power and internet is out all around us. This could have been caused by the temblor, but there could have been a car accident or something of the sort. But really. No power? This trip is nothing but an adventure!

Speaking of adventures, I had my orientation this weekend! I woke up early Friday, just thinking about it makes me grimace. We (there were 11 of us who were already in Vina), left at 7:30 on our way back to Santiago to pick up the group flight before heading to Olmue for orientation. We arrived around 10 just as their flight was getting in. The international terminal at the Santiago airport was still down, so we were forced to wait. And wait. And wait. So during our waiting we all took the opportunity to get to know each other a little better. We decided there was no better way than over a nice cold beer! As we finished our drinks good news arrived. Our peeps had landed and we were on our way to Olmue.

Olmue is this small town in central Chile, completely surrounded by the most beautiful hills and mountains. We were taken to this nice hotel (temblor right now) and thus began a wonderful weekend of fun and games. My group is great, everybody was really nice, very chill. Overall a laid back group of individuals. We all got along so well, and I’m very eager to get to know all of them even better as this semester goes on.


Besides getting our faces stuffed during our multiple course meals, besides laying out by the pool, besides having a few well deserved drinks, we actually did spend some time learning about what to expect during our stay here. We talked briefly about some Chilean history, specifically the histories of the multiple schools we will be studying at. Appropriately enough we began the weekend talking about earthquake and tsunami safety precautions, which, as you all know, was just a day late. Following that we spent time throughout the weekend learning about classes, the ridiculous type of Spanish spoken here in Chile, and we were taught how not to get robbed. In my opinion, that’s a good skill to have.

Did I mention how great everyone is in my program?

University here in Chile is so very different from back home. Students choose their career path before even entering into school. From there a strict educational path is laid out before them, and they must take certain classes each semester until they graduate, which on average, takes at least five years. Students with a particular major take ALL of their classes with the same people until their time at university is finished. That sounds very challenging to me. I couldn’t imagine 5 years of my life with the same people EVERY SINGLE DAY. Reminds of the old days, back in elementary school. ☺ With that in mind, let me explain to you how my class registration will look.

We do what is called a pre-registration. We have a list of courses that are available to us, and from those we choose what we like, or what we might be interested in. With this class list in my mind, we go to each class, sitting in, trying to get a feel for the professor, the subject matter, etc. Say I’ve decided to pre-register for 6 classes. I go to each, weighing the pros and cons. I decide that I wasn’t a fan of my marine biology class, so I drop it. The Spanish lit class looks kind of tough, I’ll drop that too. You can add and drop classes for about a month until you’ve whittled your classes down to your final 16 credits. Those are the classes that will count. Got it?? (Here there is slang term called Kachai. It’s like, do you understand, do you get it? KACHAI?! Haha, I sure hope so)

That whole process begins tomorrow, which is equally exciting as it is scary! But I’m sure I’ll find some really fun and interesting courses. It doesn’t hurt that I can plan my schedule so that I have no class on Fridays. I’m a fan of the three day weekend. I noticed that most classes only meet once or twice a week. Also, you can take classes until like 11 at night! Isn’t that kind of crazy! So I’m excited to finally immerse with the Chilean culture and try my best to make some new Chilean friends!

It’s been about half an hour with no light. Hopefully this gets resolved soon! I don’t really mind right now, I had a LONG weekend. So much fun! So with no light or internet and the house kind of a quiet, I believe I will retire to my wonderful cama. It’s quite comfortable if you were wondering.

Hasta luego, ojala que podemos charlar pronto!

Ciao!

Shakes, shooks, and showers

Today stared out wonderfully. I awoke well past ten o'clock, was able to chat with my mom for a little bit, and I was enjoying a little reading. Then I decided to get ready for the day. I'm about to get in the shower and then things started to shake. A little quiver to the left, and little quiver to the right. I step into the hallway and my host family is all bracing the walls, so I decide to join them. As suddenly as it began, it was over. I figured it was just another one of the many tremors I've felt so far to date. So i figure, "hey, what the heck." Let's get in the shower. I'm soaping my hair, doing my thing, and all of a sudden it's happening again. I'm dripping wet, I hear my family yelling for me. I throw on some shorts, run down the stairs. TSUNAMI ALERT. Well isn't that just pleasant! I run back upstairs, throw on a tshirt and some shoes, and we're off in the back of a truck. We drive as far inland as possible, and then we're forced to walk/run to keep moving. In a few short minutes we made it up WAY high, just sitting and waiting for the tsunami alert to pass. Long story short, and four/five hours later, I'm back in my room with no damage to report, except some sore feet and a tired mind. It's a really odd sensation knowing that the foundation below your feet moves ALL the time. Well, just another day in Chile, right? :)

Here's a link to a CNN web story if you want some details regarding the three aftershocks:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/11/chile.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T2

That's all for now. I'm going to take a nap.

Down by da beach man!

So, guess what. I went to the beach today. Did you? :) It was wonderful. We even met a new friend! Story time: Chaz, Annie, and I were just sitting on a small ledge, overlooking the soft sand and beautiful water, and all of a sudden this man started talking to us. He was talking really quietly and we couldn't quite understand what he was saying. Turns out he was talking in English, and just wanted to say hi. Well, that's what he told us at first. So, we humor him for a little while, talking a mix of spanish and english, and then he pulls the whammy. He was an evangelist! haha He was there preaching the word of God. Real funny! He was really nice, only a tad bit creepy. So that was an interesting experience.

Today overall has been a fantastic day. I woke up this at about 8. I was worried my tiny battery powered alarm clock wouldn't do the trick, but it turns out I have enough electronic savvy to make it work. Showered quickly, and breakfast was put on the table. CEREAL. I dislike cereal immensely. But I was a trooper, and it turned out to be not completely horrible. I had it with yogurt and bananas, and it was crunchy and chocolatey to begin with, so it was bearable. Then I got on the micro for the first time, which let me tell you, this will be interesting throughout the semester. The Micro is a bus system that travels between Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, stopping anywhere and everywhere in between. So I'll take that basically anytime I have to get to class, or visit Valpo for any non-curricular reasons, if you catch my drift. So upon arrival in Valpo we started a little mini walking/bus tour that took us to all the different schools of the college. We visited Casa Central de la Pontificia Universidad Catolica, we went to Gimpert, another building that is a part of PUCV. Then we went to Santa Maria university, and it was gorgeous. Far and away the nicest college campus I have ever seen. Gardens intermixed throughout, a wonderful view overlooking the bay. Pretty sweet. GET THIS. It's known as the MIT of South America. I might take a class at MIT this spring. haha. From there we went back towards Vina, stopping at two other universities, until it was time for us to part for lunch.

The small group I toured with consisted of all the kids from my program who arrived in Chile early, so there was just 7 of us. One of the girls was in southern Chile when the earthquake happened! Right in the thick of things. Thankfully, her and her host family at the time were all ok. Pretty scary. She said it was an indescribable feeling. Everybody I met was incredibly friendly and really easy to get to know. Which is quite nice. A couple girls from MN so that was fun! It's weird knowing that other people around can speak English. You debate on whether to speak Spanish or English. It's a goofy mix of both.

After lunch I went on a mission to buy a pre-paid phone. What a pain. An expensive pain at that! Makes me thankful for nice, simple family plans. :) Then some wandering, some shopping, the beach, and now some relaxing before dinner. Probably a chill night at home, establish some good rapport with my family before I socialize in the evenings. haha.

Well that's all for now. I have plenty of time right now to keep this updated, so when classes start, don't be distraught if you're missing me. :)

Ciao!

Arrival!

After a grueling day of travel, Michael Hicks has reached Chile! I'm currently lying on my bed in my house in Vina del Mar. What a whirlwind life has been thus far.

Where to begin? Well, we (me, Chaz, and Annie), left Minneapolis yesterday at 3 pm for our flight to Atlanta. We had no troubles making our connecting to Santiago, and we were in the air right around 9pm. From there it was 9 more hours before reaching Santiago. Thankfully that time was passed watching some inflight movies (Fantastic Mr. Fox! AWESOME). Anyways, we landed in Santiago this morning around 7:30 am. The airport is still kind of a mess following the earthquake, so things were kind of slow. And by kind of slow, I mean real slow. After we made it through customs and whatnot, an IFSA person greeted us, and got us on a bus headed to Vina del Mar! Which is where I am currently!

My family is super nice! The house is amazing, I have a lovely room and like nine bathrooms to choose from. My spanish is a little rusty, but I'm picking it up quick. There's some interesting slang going on, so I'll be sure to listen attentively and pick that up. DId I mention how nice my family is? We had lunch together. O man. So good. I'm gonna have to get my butt in gear, otherwise you might not recognize me when I get back.

Well, that's all for now. I have a few things planned through my program before orientation this weekend. A tour of the campus tomorrow, hopefully finding where my GAC comrades are living, see how they are doing. In earnest the program gets going early friday morning when the group flight arrives, so in the meantime I get to spend time getting to know my family and the city. A little bit of relaxation before all the ruckus begins.

Thinking about everyone back home, hope all is well!

Ciao

Michael

Flight!

Great news! I have been cleared to fly! I flight out next Tuesday at 2:00 pm. Let me just say that the waiting was absolutely eating me alive. To say the least, I was not the most agreeable human these last few days, so this is such great news. I soon will officially be embarking on a great journey. Now I just need to pack. But I have a few days, so I might postpone that tedious act. But I'll pretend to at least think about it.

With that in mind as my adventure is about to begin, I will be sure to take lots of pictures, commit lots of crimes, and speak no spanish whatsoever. So be prepared. That is all!

Ciao.

The Waiting Game

Hola todos. I'm writing to you from my couch in New Hope as I wait to hear about my potential trip to Chile. As you all know, Chile has been devastated by a horrific terremoto. I've received word that my original flight in to Santiago has been indefinitely postponed. I received a call this morning from my study abroad office regarding my travel plans (I'm flying independently, not with the group flight), and I am being told that more information will be coming my way this afternoon, hopefully with good news. I've also received an email from the State Embassy in Chile, advising all non-essential U.S travelers to avoid spending any time in Chile, so this news is a bit concerting. I have a friend who is in Chile currently, attempting to study in Santiago. He says everything is a bit surreal, but that he and his parents are doing fine, which is a great relief.

Other than that, I am stuck in limbo, awaiting any sort of news about my potential travel plans. I have heard whisperings that all study abroad programs for this semester will be canceled as a whole, I just hope that they remain rumors. Missing out on the chance of a lifetime and an entire semester of school is not on my to-do list. Well, that's all for now. Keep checking back for potential updates. Ciao.