When I came back from Chile, one of the first things most people asked me was about the family that I lived with in Chile, which was never an easy question for me to answer. It seemed like everything I said about them ended with a but, which launched into a whole other set of descriptions, often evoking global statements about “Chileans” and, well, I always learned the I should try to “show” and not “tell,” so here goes.
The following is an angry post that I wrote the day after a particularly frustrating experience, which I had the good sense to avoid posting at the time, a levelheadedness that has since escaped me. Enjoy!
Continue reading →
Blogs, like life, are all about rhythm, and I’m working on getting my chops back, which resulted in the quixotic title of my last post. For those concerned, I was referring to the two pieces of advice on going to Mexico that I received from my all-Mexican, all-female coworkers: 1) don’t drink the water and 2) don’t trust the hookers, with the implied 3) don’t drink anything the hookers give you.
The business of blogging, like to many memoir-type writing projects, has seemed so confusing to me, considering that the people that I would be writing about are also more likely the people who would be reading this. Writers like David Sedaris, who milks his material from his hilariously dysfunctional family and relationships, continues to confuse me as much as he entertains me.
Case in point: I have a girlfriend, but I doubt how much you’ll see me writing about her and our relationship here in this public forum, while if you’ve been around me for even a few minutes you’ll know that shutting up is one (of the few) things I do very poorly, along with swimming, running, learning Mandarin Chinese, and understanding the finer nuances of French Cuisine.
Continue reading →
Posted in Random, Travel
|
I suppose it’s only appropriate that, in deciding to use this blog to account my state-side goings and comings, rather than its original function as a travel blog, I find myself writing the first post of the next generation while sitting in a hotel room in La Paz, Mexico.
I arrived today in La Paz, in Baja California Sur, and as I sit here, stewing and slightly buzzed from the cheap Mexican beer that seems to flow so freely, I am already overwhelmed by the beauty, vibrant colors, and overwhelming heat of our Sureño neighbor-state.
My travels in Mexico have thus far been quite limited, considering the closeness, and I am looking forward to seeing more of a country that I really should have seen more of long ago, including a number of other cities in the area and perhaps a bit of snorkeling, accompanied with long days of forced relaxation and reading by the pool. Life certainly is hard sometimes.
More from here and home soon.
Well, my once-loved but now abandoned journal, I suppose an update is in order, as there has been something of a change of plans since last we spoke.
I decided, after a semester’s talking about the international Chile-to-California trip that I was going to do, that I will instead be going home. After months of planning and researching and dreaming and scheming, I’m currently sitting in LAX to catch Part 4 of my four-part trip home, about to rejoin the “real” world significantly ahead of schedule.
And, in between wondering if I’m making the biggest mistake of my life (so far), I couldn’t be more thrilled. Continue reading →
I apologize for the double pun in the title to this post, but as Bill Campbell says in True Blood,
“You have to remember that most vampires are very old. Puns used to be the highest form of humor.”
While this is no doubt true, I’m not entirely sure what vampires have to do with the subject at hand except that I’ve clearly been watching too much True Blood, so… segue segue segue segue.
Continue reading →
The second round of the Chilean presidential election has commenced today, shutting down the whole country and making today the perfect excuse to sleep in, lounge around, watch tv online and, perhaps, update the blog. The title of this post refers to the “Dry Law” imposed on Chile during election day, which prohibits alcohol sales. I was planning on writing about the election, but I’ve done way more than enough of that, so let’s talk about something else. Really, anything else.
The current plan, as it shapes up, looks like I’m going to be heading to Rio de Janeiro with a friend in early February and ending up in Salvador for Carnaval, which starts on Feb. 12. We’ll spend a few weeks traversing Brazil and then head down through Uruguay, Argentina, up through Chile and to Peru, all somehow within about a month and a half. If all goes to plan, I’ll be back in California in mid-March, just in time for the beginning of baseball season!
My new vice is something called iTunes U, which syndicates lectures from certain (often very prestigious) universities to listen on an iPod. I’ve been listening to an Intro to Psychology from an MIT professor, and I’ve been loving it.
That’s it, I think it’s going to be a short post today. I’m working on getting my Visa for Brazil and organize my trip there, and I’ll talk abou tthat when it’s more concrete.
Ciao ciao.
The last two days have been pretty brutal transport-only days, with something like 9+ hours Thursday and significantly more today. Why did I go to Argentina for 15 hours, you ask?
I originally came to Chile on a student visa, which was a long and circuitous process I’d love never to have to repeat (think FBI background checks, HIV test, reams of paperwork, and a nice cash deposit in the Chilean consulate’s bank account). That has unfortunately run out, and in an effort remain as legal as possible, I’m on a bus right now to Mendoza to pick up a new tourist visa.
Mendoza is the border town just on the other side of the Chilean/Argentine border, and quite a beautiful wine-filled area, though I’m only staying the night before heading back. The Chilean government is notoriously apathetic about their visas, and basically anyone willing to pay the entrance fee can get a stamp for a 90-day tourist visa. The “Mendoza run,” then, has become a ritual for foreigners and quite a nice and easy way to stay in the country.
Continue reading →
The last few months have been a bit crazy, which would be an excellent excuse to account for my lack of blogging, but the truth lies somewhere between inertia, laziness and malaise, though I’m only about 2/3 confident about the definitions of 2/3 of those words, so who really knows?
School is long over, though I haven’t the slightest idea how I fared, considering the generally disorganized nature of the University of Chile. I legitimately really enjoyed each of my classes in their own way, and learned a lot, but I find myself complaining about the dysfunctional nature of its administration and habits of its faculty more than lauding the classes, which is too bad, but it’s interesting that that’s really what stuck with me. I’ll do my best in the future to acknowledge the good with the bad the next time an anecdotal discussion of the comparative merits of Latin American public higher education comes up which, knowing the crowd I tend to run with, will probably be pretty soon.
Continue reading →
Sorry for the oddly timed updates, Internet access has proven to be scarce in this part of the world as I’ve been continuing traveling in the south; my friend Jenà left for a few weeks of sun, family and a bounty of Mexican food.
Our second day on the archipelago of Chiloé was one of the more amazing and memorable of my travels. We left Ancud after sleeping in later than we should have, vowing to visit the town of Degañ and Quemchi in the day, with plans to continue traveling south on the island over the next few days. People we’d been talking to throughout the island had been telling us about the ease of hitchhiking throughout Chiloé, owing to the relative proximity of everything on the island, as well as the friendly nature of the islanders. It was easy and utterly safe, they said, to “hacer dedo” (literally make/do finger) throughout Chiloé.
Continue reading →
Posted in Travel
|
Tagged Chiloé, hitchhiking
|
Piñera: 44.03%
Frei: 29.62%
Enríquez-Ominami: 20.12%
Arrate: 6.21%
Whatever, close enough.
