Wofford College - Study Abroad

Random tidbits about life in Chile...

- when grocery shopping, you have to weigh and get a sticker of the price for produce and bread and then pay for all your stuff at the checkout counter

- music in commercials on TV and in stores generally is American music, and is not usually older (from the 80s and 90s, depends...(i heard "walking in sunshine" the other day)

- many guys (especially younger guys) have longer hair (with mullets and rat-tails, etc) and a lot of university-age guys do this because during schooling (from elementary school to high school) they have to keep their hair cut short for school (if their hair is too long, they get sent home to have it cut...) so growing out their hair is a way to celebrate their freedom and a small act of rebellion b/c finally they can do whatever they want with their hair..

- similarly in basically all colegios (school before college) the students have to wear uniforms (girls usually wear a dress with socks that come halfway up their calves and boys wear dressy pants and a collared shirt with the name of their school) and so not many university students wear shirts with their school on them (like in the US, clemson, wofford etc) b/c they have had to wear a shirt with their school name on it for so long and they don't want to be labeled like that anymore..

- couples show their affection without shame and PDA is abundant! Making out and maybe even beyond that in the metro or on the grass somewhere is common (partly because for younger people, they usually still live with their parents during college and maybe after till they can afford a home of their own and are not allowed to display affection in their homes with their parents/ siblings around, etc so they do this in the streets, away from their homes..)

- futbol (soccer) is big here as it is in most south american countries, and chile usually is not very good compared to its neighbors (Argentina and Brasil for example) but everyone watches the futbol games for the national team and if Chile wins, there's celebration in the streets with people screaming and singing and honking their horns and holding banners and everyone has a jersey with a name of one of the players. And pretty much every Chilean soccer team is sponsored by Cristal beer. It is across the chest of every player's jersey.  And, Chile played Peru last night and hasn't won in Lima since 1985 and we won 3-1 (BIG DEAL!) and there's also conflict with Peru right now over the border and access to the sea (Peru wants more controls of the sea and is not satisfied with the last treaty agreements) so Chileans were also celebrating because this shows we're dominant or just boosts Chile's nationalism...

- when you get water, it's either water sin gas (regular bottled water) or water con gas (carbonated) and some restaurants don't have water sin gas so you have to have a carbonated beverage or juice (with tons of sugar in it) so it's frustrating to me b/c i love water and try to be healthy...

- there are mostly American movies in theaters and on TV and they are in English with Spanish subtitles. Kind of boring but cool if you want to see a current American movie..

- Super 8 is a candy bar and they sell them everywhere

- fruit = dessert but Chileans get what's left over of the fruit because all the fruit is exported to other countries...sadness..

- Chileans don't believe in neutering/spaying so there are stray dogs EVERYWHERE in the streets

- because Chile lacks its own energy resources people are very energy-usage conscious

- kids live at home until they are married and while they're in the universities (there's no dorms in universities) and it seems that family is very important to Chileans (for example, my psychology teacher asked everyone to describe their family and their relationship with their family on the first day of class..)

- a large percentage of the population smokes, and you are allowed to in many buildings (i went to a bar the other day and there's a small sign that says "Welcome smokers"...yuck!)

- fanny packs are still in style

- notebooks are graph paper, there is no lined paper

- university students don't buy books, you either photocopy things from your professor or out of library books

- the grading system in Chile is 1-7 and the saying goes that God gets a 7, professors get a 6, and a good student can get a 5 (you have to get a 4 to pass) so Chileans overall aren't as worried about grades as people in the US (wofford especially) and a 5 is good for them but a 5 is like an equivalent to a B- which isn't that great for us wofford students..and esp since my grades transfer directly to my GPA...but im taking easier classes geared towards foreigners so hopefully it'll be fine...

- condiments (like ketchup, mustard, mayo) come in bags, not bottles

- chilean families have juice a lot (peach juice, banana flavored juice, etc) and it has tons of SUGAR in it..

- there aren't many spices in Chile, if it needs more flavor, put salt on it..explains why everyone has high cholesterol, etc..

- abortion is illegal in Chile even if the mother's life is in danger, the doctors will do everything they can to ensure the mother survives but they cannot abort the baby no matter what and abortion is a touchy subject and politicians who have said they'll make abortion legal have never gotten elected in Chile (for ex, Bachelet the current president has not mentioned during her entire term b/c she knows it's a touchy subject)

- obesity is a big problem in chile and 90% of the people live sedentary lifestyles (sound familiar?)

- to greet people, you kiss them on the cheek and chileans are more touchy-feely in general and don't respect the American "bubble" as much but I like it, Americans are a little too cold in my opinion..

- there's hospitals here called "postas" that are only emergency rooms..

- the days in the summer are hot but the mornings and nights are colder (it's a big difference now that it's turning into fall, maybe lows in the 50s ish..) b/c of the mountain air...

- there's no mosquitoes but there are a lot of ANTS that are all over my bathroom and you learn quickly not to throw away food in a trash can on the ground (you have to put it in a bag that hangs from a cabinet off of the ground so the ants don't invade...)

- in pharmacies and other stores, you have to take a number from this contraption thing that spits out tickets and then they serve you at the counter in order of numbers and a screen will flash what number can go up and talk to the person at the counter next...confusing if you don't know about this system because you wait forever and never get to go since you didn't take a number...

- for things that cost a small amount of money (equivalent of 1 or 2 american dollars) the people giving out tickets (for a museum, for ex) usually dont' have change so if you have a big bill, you can't enter the museum b/c they don't have change..a little difficult since when you get money out of the atm, they give you large bills...

- apparently chileans usually try to be helpful but often tell you what they think the answer to your question is even if they're not really sure, so if you ask them something about directions, they'll tell you what they think the directions are to a place but it's often incorrect so often times i have to ask 2-3 people along the way to get somewhere...

- when people ask you where you're from, they often can guess you're from the US, and if you say, "The united states" they'll say, "yeah, but where in the us?" and they usually have an idea of where states are, which is saying something since i don't know where half the midwestern states are..altho south carolina is kind of hard for them but everyone knows where florida, new york, and california are...

- chileans are very interested in what O'Bama's doing and the majority like him...

Randomness:
We went to a restaurant named "El Hoyo" and were in a big group so we were served pork and potatoes (gross! i hate pork and this was what they served us- see picture below-...one of the girls is a vegetarian, poor thing...) but there's a little too much meat in chile for my taste but you know, a lot of ppl eat meat in the us too...

More sometime in the future about what's goin on in my life...sorry traveling to and from classes takes up at least 2-3 hours of my day b/c i live far away so i don't have any free time.  But im good over all, just praying i don't drop dead of smoke inhalation/ lung cancer while i'm here..

"Oh no there's another one...RUN!"

   **Me in El Museo de Don Tomas Morel with one of my favorite masks from Carnaval!"**   

    Carnaval was celebrated here in the Dominican Republic during the entire month of February.  I didn't go until Sunday, February 22; however, I had heard both positive and negative responses from other students in my program all month long.  These different responses made me very anxious to experience Carnaval so that I could form my own personal opinion of Carnaval.  Carnaval is a big celebration that is held every year during the month of February in different cities throughout the Dominican Republic.  There are usually thousands of people in attendance lining the streets.  There is a lot of loud music, free giveaways, and vendors on the sides of the streets selling everything from food to jewelry. 

  **Me with some of the characters from Carnaval** 

  **One of the first lechones that I saw upon arriving at Carnaval...I was amazed that he had braces!**

    The largest Carnaval celebration is held in Santo Domingo, but I went to Carnaval in La Vega and the streets were packed!  Whenever I tried to walk I had to say excuse me in order to go through because the crowd was so thick.  I had a lot of fun besides having to dodge the "Lechones" in order to avoid being hit by their "Vejigas".  The lechones were people dressed up in extravagant costumes who were in the parade.  They carried round rubber "vejigas" which means bladders in Spanish that they used to hit people with.  Many years ago they used inflated cow bladders to hit people with; not rubber like they use today.  I had been told that the vejigas hurt really bad and that some people who were hit weren't able to sit down for an entire month!!  Naturally, I was scared after hearing that!  Luckily I didn't get hit nearly as many times as some people did and I walked away with no injuries.  Well, no injuries from the vejigas that is.  However, I did manage to jam one of my toes while running away from one of the lechones.  We were in a big group and one of my friends yelled out, "Oh no there's another one...RUN!"  So everyone ran, including myself, but somehow I hit my toe on something and felt a sharp pain.  I looked down as soon as we had escaped and saw that the toe had already started swelling.  I guess I should have worn closed toe shoes but the thought never even crossed my mind.  I have fully recovered now and am glad that I didn't have to seek medical attention.  Besides that minor injury, Carnaval was a BLAST!  If I ever get the opportunity to go again, I will definitely know what kind of shoes to wear!  

  **Another lechon with some of the crowd in the background.  The round red object that is in his right hand is the vejiga...as you can see none of the people are really close to him!**

  **Keshia, one of my new friends, Kyra, and myself on the side of the street at Carnaval.**

Two Month Anniversary!

Yesterday was my two month anniversary here in Amsterdam. Wow I can't beleive it! In a sense it feels like its been longer, but it also feels much shorter. I'm full of mixed feelings! I love here it now this city is the perfect place to live for a student but I still do look forward to the idea of going home at the end of my time here. And I feel like I  understand things here so much better, yet theres still the feeling that theres so much i dont know.

I really like Amsterdam. It is soo beautiful and neat. Where else do you ride around on a bike through stone streets with a canal obstacle course? It's just insane. I skeep learning new things and finding new things. If I'm bored i can just go for a long bike ride around the city and I always find something new! I like my roomate Beth. We get along great as roomates. I really like my apartment now which i was appalled at upon arrival. I've gotten used to the shower and the stove (with no oven), and hearing the trains outside my window. I also like going to class here and my everyday routine. It's really nice to have more free time. I'm not used to it, but I've been enjoying it. I really have made some good friends who I enjoy spending time with as well. Arjay, Beth, Jackie, Lindsey, Tanya and Sean among others have been great people to experience this city with. Arjay is my walking buddy. We go out for long walks around the city all the time when wer're bored. Jackie is my shopping buddy. We love to find new markets and stores. Beth and I share lots of laughs in our room. Lindsey just makes me laugh all the time. And Sean is "that Asian kid" who knows everything and can always help you out or find the answer. I've built relatinoships here that I hope will continue after the program ends.

Still, I miss my family, I miss friends, I miss my wonderful boyfriend Landon, I miss Wofford, warm weather, certain foods i cant get here, walmarts and targets, starbucks!, I miss Mauldin, I truly truly miss my car at times... I just miss my life at home. I love it here. I like the idea of being here for a semester but I still love my life at home. I appreciate things there more than I did before. I've realized how wonderful my friends are from home- Caroline, Stevie, Fran and Alyse especially. I've seen how much I really do like Wofford- and I needed a reminder after my hectic last semester! I've seen how much I really like my boyfriend and how much he cares about me. I've also remembered how important my family is to me. I've been in touch with even my extended family more since I've been here, because this separation has made me feel even more the need to be in touch. I hope that continues when I get back.

It's difficult to be here for only 4 1/2 months because... its just long enough that you have to get used to it and it becomes a part of your life. A pretty significant part. But its not like you are actually living here permanently so you can't get too involved or attached either. I'd like to do more volunteer work or be involved in things, but I won't be here long enough to really get into it. I can't get a job either. So its a strange feeling. And its hard to integrate when you live in an apartment building full of international students- mostly Americans but some from elsewhere. Since I don't have a homestay I think I am not getting the full Dutch experience. I think this works well for me because it is more freeing, but I am not around actually Dutch people too much. And I forget I'm in a different country at times because everyone can speak english and restaurants play American music. It's crazy how much Amerian influence permeates this country! There is so much. It's actually a neat feeling. I was in the Netherlands standing in Dam Square before a Dutch-Scottish soccer game and when people from the two countries spoke to each other it was always in English.

One thing I have discovered... I am meant to be here for the semester. I had orginally wanted to do the SIT Switzerland program and was bummed taaht I couldn't do it. I was not happy about Amsterdam. Now I see that the conditions here are perfect. As usual, God brought me to where He wanted me to be. I lvoe this city, plus teh SIT program is much busier. I really needed this break. The field experience project I'm doing perfectly fits my interests. I am so glad I have gotten that opportunity. And the people I have met are great friends.

To my IES friends: Happy Two Month Anniversary!

Candle Sticks, Snowball Fights, & SIM Cards?

This past week has been fairly dull without much to say.  I had two midterms that I was somewhat worried about, so I’ve been studying.  This past weekend though, my program, IES, took a field trip to Umbria, which is another region in Italy like Tuscany.  Specifically, we went to Perugia, Assisi, and Bevagna.  We were originally supposed to go to Orvieto too, but I’ll get to that.  We left Thursday and drove a little over an hour before arriving at our 4 star hotel in Perugia.  We stayed here both nights we were gone, and it was really nice, especially the continental breakfast.

 

Anyway, we arrived and had some free time for lunch before meeting up for a tour, which was interesting, but I couldn’t really tell you what all we saw.  Perugia is very much like Siena, while different.  It seems a little bit less Gothic and different, while Siena’s buildings are all very similar.  Apparently Perugia and the region of Umbria in general, have a lot of Etruscan heritage and history, mostly from being conquered by them.  We saw an Etruscan gate into the city and some old Etruscan relics that dated back to ridiculously old times.  We also saw a beautiful cathedral and Piazza with a fountain that is apparently well known.  It was all very interesting, but I was more excited about Assisi.

 

That night, we ate at a nice restaurant, which might have been some of the best food I’ve had.  I feel like I always say that, but really, this time was good.  We had some lasagna for starters, and it was amazing.  After that we had spinach, potatoes, and some type of meat that was kind of like a dumpling.  Wow, it was good.  After dinner, most people were tired, so we headed back to the hotel to get up in the morning.

The next day we went to Assisi, which I was disappointed in, not because of the city, but we didn’t have much time there.  Also, it snowed on us, and the wind was biting.  We were all kind of miserable because no one brought snow clothes.  We spent most of our time inside either looking at buildings or eating lunch.  Apparently there is some incredible hike and a castle to see, but we didn’t really have time to do either, and it was FREEZING!  I was disappointed because I had wanted to do to Assisi, and I didn’t really feel like I saw it.  We did see where St. Francis was supposedly born, where he lived, and the church where he is buried, otherwise known as the Basilica of St. Francis.

The Basilica was incredibly cool.  The ceilings and walls are covered in frescoes by several famous artists of all sorts of stuff: Jesus’s life, St. Francis’s life, and all these other religious symbols.  It was really neat.  Also, down in the actual tomb of St. Francis, no tour guides are allowed.  This is set in place to give everyone their own chance at interpreting and an attempt at keeping the silence.  The atmosphere was very reverent and people didn’t make a sound.  It was interesting to see how these people revere this man who seemed so ordinary.  Our guide told us about some of the miracles that St. Francis supposedly performed and how he started the order of the Franciscans, which still exists today.  It was really interesting.

After Assisi, we headed to Bevagna, which is a small medieval town around 30 minutes from Assisi.  It was a really cool town, but it was small and kind of dead when we went.  We did get to go around to all these different workshops and hear about how things were made in medieval times though, which was really interesting.  We saw how silk was harvested and put through these insane machines to eventually get put on spools and make things with.  We saw how paper was made through dissolving cloth with lime, hammering it down with the use of a complex looking machine with wooden hammers powered by water, molding it, pressing it, glazing it, and finally drying it.  It was kind of nasty because the glaze is made of leftover animal parts, like bones and stuff.  It wasn’t hot when we went, so it was like this think disgusting gelatin stuff, ewwww.  We also went to a candle making workshop and a pharmacy type place, with herbs and flowers hanging everywhere.  It smelled really good.  There were lots of spices and all sorts of smelly things. 

 

The last thing we got to see was a painter’s “studio,” for lack of better word, which was neat.  The girl showed us all the different types of rock they ground up to make the paint colors, and she also showed us how they went about making charcoal sticks to make charcoal drawings.  There were so many types of rocks and colors, which amazed me, especially the combinations sometimes.  After she showed us the paint, she showed us how artists from that period put the gold background on the paintings.   They would take solid gold foil and use egg whites as glue to place it on the canvas.  They placed it piece by piece, one no overlapping the other.  Once they did that, they smoothed it out to make it look like one solid background.  It was crazy and must have taken FOREVER.  After this last workshop, we caught the bus and headed back to Perugia.

 

That night was fairly calm, but it started snowing more intensely, which was really fun since I don’t see much snow in Alabama where I live.  It has snowed there though, like 3 times since I’ve been gone, but we got some snow in Perugia.  The next morning, we woke up, and everything was covered in white.  We got all of our stuff together to leave for Orvieto, only to find we couldn’t go because the roads were so bad.  We did have a snowball fight though, which was incredibly fun, even though I got drilled in the face.  Some people also made a small snow man, which was fun.  We enjoyed and played in the snow for a while before being taken to an art museum and heading home.  Overall it was a good weekend; I just wish we had had more time. 

   

I will say though that the drive there was beautiful.  The land was like a patchwork quilt with all types of greens and browns.  I didn’t sleep, just stared out the window.  The snow-covered mountains were in the background, and on the trip home, snow was falling.  For part of the drive Saturday, the snow covered everything, and everywhere you looked, you could see white.  It was gorgeous.  There were also lots of vineyards and some orchards that had flowers blooming.  I can’t wait until spring when everything will be incredibly stunning.  Italy is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and it’s crazy to think that I live here right now.  What a crazy concept.

On a random note, a lot of people are curious as to how the phone thing works over here and how one should go about getting a phone.  Personally, I have a phone with a certain quadband, so I didn’t have to use an Italian or International phone.  I got to keep my American phone and put in an Italian SIM card/International SIM card.  I ordered mine online before I came, so I was pretty much set when I got here.  I will say that I used the TIM Italian service, which makes things a little more complicated.  I did like being somewhat prepared when I came here though.  I also had a friend who ordered an international phone online, and her stuff has worked well since she’s been here too. 

On the other hand, there were plenty of people that showed up without anything and were able to get their phones squared away here.  I don’t know, I would recommend looking at it before you come because it can be kind of confusing, and there are a handful of companies here, all offering different things.  I personally liked having an idea of what was going on before I got here, but that’s just me.  My parents thought it would be a good idea, and I’m glad they suggested it.  It made me feel more comfortable with getting off the plane, knowing I could use my phone if I needed to.  I believe that I ordered my phone off of the ISIC (International Student Identity Card) website, which offers a bunch of different phones, SIM cards, and plans.

Anyways, I’m not sure what’s on the agenda for this weekend: maybe a trip to Ferrara to visit some fellow Wofford students or a trip to Florence!  Either way, it’s exciting!

 

adventures in County Antrim

I was lucky enough to have seen Antrim County a week before it made international headlines. The news, however, did more than make the case for the sectarian-political conflict; it manage to make it a little too real.

After arriving in Belfast and having a quick bite, we hopped in a black cab and began our education on the troubles. Our first stop was the Protestant (Loyalist) Murals. While some commemorate loyalists killed in conflict, others glorify a Loyalist past or Protestant violence.

 

 

This is one of the more famous murals as the UFF member's rifle follows you from every angle.

 

 

 

 

The tour took us to the peace wall next, where Protestants and Catholics alike have left messages calling for an end to the violence. We each left our own messsage (or name) before moving on to the Catholic district where we saw a memorial to those killed in the Clondarf community and the Republican murals. 

  

 

 

   

 

 

We left Belfast and its grim and terrible past and moved on to our lodgings for the night at Portrush. Since it was more a summer tourist spot, the town was more or less empty the whole weekend. But it was here we rediscovered the romantic side of Ireland. A few friends and I took a morning walk along the shore the next morning before leaving for Bushmill's. Although I have lived near the coast all my life, something about the scene was wholly new and invigorating. The feeling only intensified as we drove along the shoreline; inbetween the cliffside and the coast, I found a place forgotten by the "southern" Irish and never imagined by internationals.

And Dunluce Castle was just around the bend.

 

Best Day Ever!

(I will add pictures at a later date)

Recently I had the best day ever! As many of you know from either talking to me directly or rading my blogs, the weather here pretty much sucked at first. It was freezing and rained daily!! But lately it has been getting so nice. It has completely changed my view of the city. I love it so much more now that its been beautiful outside and now that I have gotten used to living here. So to demonstrate my life here I want to tell you about the best day- now obviously since I'm am describing quite a wonderful day you must realize that not every day is this great so don't be jealous! But the things I did in this particular day are normal things that I do here.

Well first I got up around 9 or 10. I get to sleep more here than I ever have a Wofford. Many days I sleep until 11 or 12! Anyways on the best day I got up at a decent hour and showered/got ready/ate breakfast. I had an interview for my field experience project. My project ison the multiculturalism, integration, and immigration in thh Netherlands. Specifically the concept of "How tolerant is the Netherlands?" Though it is very tolerant of some types of people it seems to be the oppostite towards others. It is quite interesting! I am studying this by doing research, but also by conducting tons of interviews with immigrants who have lived here for a while, some who are new to the country, those in the process of immigration right now, as well as refugees, refugee workers, and politicans. This is to give me a human aspect to the study. So I am looking in to immigration policies and the structural side, as well as how it affects the people, the country, the integration of immigrants etc. There are actually a ton of problems, especially more recently since political Islam has been a bigger concern. There are many immigrants from places like Morocco, Surinam and Turkey who are face problems with integration, but especially ones from Morocco are looked down upon as trouble makers or for being Muslim. On this day I interviewed a yound woman who was born in Morocco but has lived here almost all of her life. She was a wonderful person and the interview was very enjoyable and interesting. I am lookig forward to more interviews! This week I am meeting a French immigrant active in politics.

After this interview I rode my bike along the canals on this beautiful wonderful day back to my apartment. I had just enough time for lunch and to chat with a friend before I had to go to an IES meeting. Now this part is unusual. We don't meet very often but that is why this was nice. Since orientation I have seen many of the people in my program, especially the ones who live on the other side of town. We met as a group to talk about our cultural experiences. Of course we were all too cool to act too excited, but still conversation was pretty good and it was with pizza so that made it better.

After this I went to my room to start on homework but just couldnt bring myself to start it. It was simply way too gorgeous outside to waste the day away on something so unimportant. So of course I went to Arjay and it didn't take much convincing for him to get me to agree to go to the zoo instead. I've been meaning to go to this zoo for weeks now but haven't actually just went. This is the oldest zoo in Europe! So we biked to the zoo which is very close and we didn't expect too much of it because it doesn't look too big from the street, but we were still excited just to be out in the nice day. We entered and to our surprise it was the BEST zoo ever!! We found lions and monkeys and penguins and snakes, birds, seals, a fox, a hippo, and crocodiles (huge ones) and camels, and emus, and anteaters and an elephant...it had everything!! (I really didn't expect it so it was extra great.) Including my two favorite animals: giraffes and zebras. I cannot express to you just how incredible I find these animals to be. They astound me every time i see them. You can ask Arjay- I got really really excited when I realized these animals were here. I just loved this zoo. We walked around for 3 hours and still didn't see everything and it really wasn't all that big. It was so neat- the way it was set up. It was beautiful first. And then there were lots of animals outside but then also separate buildings all around that housed other animals. There was a monkey house, a reptile room, a butterfly garden (sooo cool its jsut a beautiful garden with thousands of butterflies!), an aquarium (with tons of fish, even sharks), and many others. We jsut didn't have time to see them all. And parts of it were set up like different continents. The African part really kind of looked like Africa. This was my favorite because it was where the giraffes and zebras were! Also the elephant. The other surprising thing about the way it was set up was all of the animals were in pretty small areas and were very close. At zoos in the US this is never the case. At teh zoos I've been to sometimes you are so far from the dangerous animals like the lions that you can barely even seen them! These were very close. I don't know if they just didn't have as much concern for animal rights then (the cages/habitats seemed too small at times) or if its just like that in Europe because there is no room! Land is limited. But for instance the lion were in a small space and they were so close you were literally only feet away. The crocodiles also were very close. And all of these cages are pretty easy to fall into. There isn't a large glass wall in front of it but literally just a wall up to about your hip that you could easily climb or fall over. Strange. The penguin gate was even lower- and I heard that someone actually stole one not long ago! Hmm wonder how easy it would be to steal a giraffe? Well even though small cages aren't good for animals it made the zoo super cool because all of the animals felt more real because they were so close! I had a great time.

After this, I had to rush back. I didn't expect to stay there so long! I had just enough time for dinner before 2 friends came over to go with me to a tour of the Red Light District from a former prostitute. My field experience teacher set this up for us as a field trip and since ther are only 3 of us in the class we brought others along. Our tour guide had worked in the sex industry since she was 16 and she told us all about the different types of prostitution, the rules concerning it in the Netherlands, as well as all kinds of other facts. She very strongly feels that it is a legitmate and professional career and it should be respected and legalized. We could all see the tears in her eyes when she talked about how the city council was trying to close much of it down. She worries about the girls involved, but also simply believes that it is the right of people to be able to do this work if they wish. It was a very interesting persepective. We walked around the district some and the she also took us to a window brothel and had us sit in the window with the red lights turned on. There was a big soccer game on so there were tourists everywhere. They seemed very confused at the sight of fully dressed girls sitting in the windows. We also saw the back rooms where the action actually takes place. Sitting in the window felt very strange. Its eerily quiet. You feel kind of like ur on a stage and everyone who passes looks in, some with interest, others with pity, still others simply confused. Any time someone made eye contact with me I got nervous. I agree that the people who work there should be respected but I really am also of the belief that prostitution should not be legalized. It developed here because Amsterdam was a port town with "tons of horny sailors" as she said and prostitution became prominent. It was legalized actually not too long ago so that the government could keep more control over it. This actually allows it to be safer. Most of the women are not forced into this by a pimp or something like that, they are clean, tested, must be of the age of 18, must be citizens etc. The window brothels are actually just in windows on the bottom floor of building- most homes to people who have nothing to do with the sex industry. Could you imagine living upstairs knowing whats going on downstairs? Well a company owns the property and women pay rent to work there. They set their own rates and then get anything over the rental fee. So this has created better conditions for it, but I find the area very sad. Its almost ironic or soemthing like that. You walk down these beautiful streets and canals with swans floating in them and beautiful buildings and then there are neon lights everywhere for the brothels, sex shops, porn stores, live sex shows, fast food, coffeeshops, etc. Though I do not like the industry at all and do not think it should be legalized I am again left thinking about my personal beliefs versus the reality of the situation. I do not like prostiution, yet legalizing it and bringing order to it makes it safer for all involved. It is hard to deny that this is a good thing if its going to happen anyways. I enjoyed this experience because it made me think about the situation and I feel that I have a better appreciation for the women and a better understanding of the district. I do not like it, but part of being abroad is being open minded to other ways and confronting them head on. Though I don't approve, I acknowledge the benefit of it I guess.

Well after this I went back to my room and socialized a bit and then finally did my homework. (Dont worry mom and dad I got it done!) Amsterdam is a strange place. I love it though I don't love everything about it. It is beautiful, unique, interesting, and strange.

The Great Ocean Road

GOOD DAY!!
Ihope everyone is enjoying the extended daylight hours (even though you lost one initially) that now puts us at a 15 hour time difference, rather than a 16 hour difference.  This past week has actually been fairly busy, classes are really beginning to require some effort  and the  nightlife scene/events to do around melbourne are always plentiful. 

This past weekend I went camping with some friends from IES. We rented a car and drove (yes on the other side of the road! I even drove for part of the journey) through Geelong and Torquay out to the Great Ocean Road which runs about 90 km along the coast. It also runs through parts of Great Otway National Park, the Otways are a mountain range along the coast that have lush green rainforest, lots of giant tree ferns and waterfalls a plenty. There was also a great variety of bird life, I recognized some of the species of cockatoos and parrots from my Australian Wildlife Biology class.

We left early afternoon on Friday and arrived at our campsite at Stevenson falls around sunset. We immediately set up camp and started dinner so as to finish before losing the last bit of daylight. The campsite was really nice, grassy areas and we saw wild kangaroos and wallabees. They were hanging out at the site, about 30 m from where we had set up camp. We also saw wild koalas on the drive down.


Early the next morning we hiked to Stevenson Falls. It was a really nice walk there, through redwoods and fern gullies. very verdant. The waterfall itself was kind of neat too, because you could climb on the surrouding rocks and get really close to it.
Beauchamp Falls

 That afternoon we packed up camp and headed to the 12 apostles, a famous rock formation along the great ocean road. I'm attathcing a picture here, its breathtaking. The blue water against the rugged rocky coast are not captured in the photos. We had gorgeous weather for it, it was sunny, clear and a warm 85 degrees.  There aren't actually 12 apostles any more (the apostle refers to the rocks in the middle of the ocean), several have now fallen down so it should be renamed the "8 or so apostles".  In any case, they have lookouts that run along the coast for you to observe them from...its quite possibly the most beautiful thing i've seen while in Australia (and maybe ever). You feel so dwarfed by their size and beauty.



The 12 Apostles on Great Ocean Road. Absolutely Spectacular.

After the 12 apostles, we headed to Johanna Beach which is a beautiful beach along the surf coast.  Since its good for surfing however, its not good for swimming. Reef and rip tides make swimming tricky business. So we enjoyed the sun and played in the shallows.  That night we camped at Beauchamp Falls, and had a similar routine of setting up camp and cooking while daylight was still there.

This morning we woke up and hiked to Beauchamp Falls and then went to another trail and hiked to Hoptoun Falls, both are waterfalls within the Great Otway National Park/Rainforest. We then did another hike around the state park before packing up and heading back to Melbourne. All in all it was a great, but tiring weekend. I'm now trying to catch up on all the homework I didn't do while I was gallivanting playing in the coast and forest.



  Me at the 12 Apostles

GO SIENA!!

So, I have a rather random assortment of things to talk about in my blog this week.  Firstly, I never explained how we got back from Paris, and how inconvenient it ended up being.  It wasn’t horrible by any stretch of the imagination, but it was somewhat funny and VERY tiring.  We arrived in the Pisa airport at 12am in the morning, only to find out that the airport closed at 12:30.  Several of us, including myself, had already been somewhat sure of this possibility and knew we would be spending the night in the train station.  Another group of Americans that were studying in Siena, were also on our flight, so the 10 of us took two cabs to the train station, where we would spend the night.

Originally, we thought the train station might be closed, and if that was the case, we would’ve hung out on the street.  The problem was that the first train to Siena left at 4:15am, and no one wanted to pay 20 euro to spend 4 hours in a hostel.  It was more trouble than it was worth to find a hostel and deal with that, so we spent around 4 hours chilling in the train station.  It was an eye opening experience though because the room we were in was where most of the homeless people decided to make a bed for the night.  It was freezing, and most people were just bundled up in a few jackets or had a light blanket.  It was sad to see so many people without a place to go, and it made me thankful for what I have.  I only had to spend 4 hours in there, but many of them sleep there every night.

Eventually, these two guys came in, and one spoke English.  The guy who didn’t speak English got right up beside Stevie’s face and meowed at her, like a cat.  It was really bizarre, and after he did that he came and sat down by me.  He was saying some inappropriate stuff to us, but he didn’t think we understood because it was in Italian.  I however, somehow understood exactly what he was saying, along with my friend Betsy.  We looked at each other in horror before explaining a little of what he said.  Suddenly, he realized that I understood, and he asked me if I understood or spoke Italian.  I ignored him because he was right beside me, but we eventually got up and left because he wouldn’t leave us alone. The funny thing was that we weren’t rid of him yet.

As we continued to fall asleep on each other in the train station, the guys returned and tried to give us these little weed type flowers.  One of them kept saying they weren’t that bad, but they both kept standing there.  Eventually they started pointing at me and talking rapidly in Italian, hopefully about the fact that I understood Italian, which is funny because I don’t understand all that much.  When they finished talking they sat down around eye level and just stared, pointing and talking…I think about our eyes.  It was creepy.  I finally told them to stop in Italian, and a few of my friends joined in, telling them to leave us alone.  After trying to convince us they were police and being obnoxious, they finally realized that we weren’t interested and were getting mad.  I never felt unsafe; it was just kind of annoying.

We finally caught our train at 4:15, arriving in Empoli at like 5:15, where we had to wait about an hour before the next train to Siena came.  There was a small café that opened at 5:30, so we all got hot chocolate and some type of pastry, which tasted really good.  We rolled into Siena at like 7:45, and Stevie and I got off the bus in Piazza Gramsci at 8:15.  I walked straight to class that started at 9 with only my book bag full of dirty clothes, two pieces of notebook paper, toothbrush, and other various toiletries.  When our director saw us on the stoop, we told her about our trip, and she made us some EXTREMELY strong shots of espresso.  I know this because I drank mine, and it was hard to down the shot sized cup she gave me.  I also had energy in about 30 minutes, and it lasted for quite a while.  I was obnoxiously energetic, although I crashed in the afternoon.  It was an intense night, and I went to be immediately when I got back.

 

The Beginning

 

The Milan Crowd (not sure what they are holding)

 

The Sienese Crowd (waving their flags)

In addition to my night getting back from Paris, I wanted to talk about what I did this past weekend, which firstly was study because I have midterms this week.  I also went to the Siena vs. Milan soccer game, which was awesome!  I wish I could attach videos to this blog because I would love for people to see the insanity, but I guess that’s what YouTube and TV are for.  The game was crazy, even though Milan is ranked SO much higher than Siena .  Milan brought a ton of fans, and throughout the game, the rowdy sections of Siena and Milan were jeering at each other.  Siena has a cheer that uses profanity over and over, and when it comes time to say it, the whole stadium erupts in what is essentially Milan, Milan, f*** you.  Old people, young people, etc, all get up and yell this cheer, obviously provoking a response from the other team. 

The Siena Scarf Tradition

Go Siena!!

At the beginning, flags get waved everywhere, people sing what I think is the anthem of Siena, and huge signs and sheets with painted things on them get held up.  It’s awesome.  I think the basketball game has more constant cheering, but soccer is uglier.  It was great.  It was also a big deal because Milan has some pretty big names on their team: Beckham, Ronaldinho, and Kaka just to name a few.  Beckham apparently signed to play the rest of the season with Milan, and so a lot of people were excited he was there.  Personally, I’m not a huge Beckham fan, and I think his publicity comes more from his good looks and wife than from his ability to play soccer.  He is known for his ability to place the ball though and the slogan “Bend it like Beckham,” applied to this game because he had a pretty goal that he curved in from a corner kick.  Ronaldinho is also a very well known player, and I was really excited that I got to see him play.  Now, in the future, when I see them in the World Cup or whatever else, I can say I saw them play up close.

Beckham

Kaka

 

Ronaldinho

    

  

Siena gave

a good run, but toward the end they seemingly got tired.  Milan ended up winning 5-1, so it was kind of a blow out, but one of Milan’s goals was a PK, while another was a mistake of the goalie’s, leaving a wide open net.  Milan also had a newer player, Pato, who was pretty impressive as well.  Apparently he’s new to the soccer world and is only 19.  He had a pretty sick shot from well past the 18 yard line that curved perfectly into the right upper 90 (upper right corner).  The game was so much fun to watch, and there was also some pretty sweet footwork.  Anyways, I’ve played soccer most of my life, so this was a big deal for me.  I really enjoyed watching everyone get so excited over a sport that while growing, really isn’t too huge in America.

Beckham & Ronaldinho

I also thought it funny that towards the end because a lot of the people around me started yelling at Beckham in Italian, telling him he was too old and to go back to LA.  The Italian people are brutal during these games, and it’s funny if you know Italian because you can understand what they are saying.  The longer I’ve been here, the more I can pick up, so games are more fun now because it’s not just pointless remarks that are being made.  I know what’s going on.  Anyhow, that game was a lot of fun, and I hope I get the chance to go to another, although I don’t think any will be as big as that one.

 

The End

    After the game, a group of us went to see if we could catch sight of any of the players after the game, and we did get to take a picture with one of the Siena players, which was really fun.  we tried to see if we could get a glimpse of some Milan players, but....

....this was all we saw of Milan:

Fresh air in the mountains...

Hello again! So on Thursday I got my Chilean ID card so now I'm official, yay!  And Friday night I went to the party/ concert which was at La Catolica, a university in Santiago. I was a little frustrated because we had to get there at 6 pm and the bands didn't start playing till almost 8 pm, there were 4 bands scheduled to play and there were breaks between the bands where they played radio music by wellknown artists and this music was better than the bands and many of the other students there were singing along.  I left pretty early because we were going to meet really early in the morning the next day to go to Cajon del Maipo...So on Saturday we met at the metro at 7 am (I had to get up at 5:45 am aaah!) and took the metro to a faraway stop and then (with some help) we found the correct bus (the guy who helped us asked us if we liked Obama, it seems everyone around the world likes Obama, probably more than people in the US it seems..) and it only took an hour to get to our destination and we got off the bus near where we wanted to go (with some help from the busdriver and people on the bus, they were laughing at us when we got off...) and found the cabana (like a cabin) where part of the group was planning to stay the night.  The cabin was very cute with 7 beds, a small kitchen, a table, and a bathroom.  We eventually decided to go on a hike first so we got our stuff and packed out lunches, planning to do a two hour hike with a view of a cascada (waterfall) but the guide said we had to do a four hour hike to get to the waterfall so we said Ok...So we climbed up the mountain and the area is very dry because there's a sequilla (drought) with not enough rain and there's sand everywhere so it's very slippery and it was hot so we were exhausted after 30 minutes and our guide (Alejandro) kept making fun of us and telling us to "Come on", because he was way faster than us.  We're a little out of shape, can you tell? So, after almost 3 hours we finally get near the waterfall and have to climb around these rocks and it was really scary and Alejandro had to help us and encourage us and then we reached the waterfall.  During the trek up, we had to side step a lot and there were times where if you weren't careful you could literally fall off the mountain, it was a little too intense for me but.. So we ate lunch at the waterfall and then headed back but first Alejandro showed some of us a spring with freshwater and we filled up our water bottles.  Then we headed back and I was pretty tired and frustrated by this point (as were many others I think) because I didn't intend to spend my whole day hiking but we got back 5 hours later to the ranch with the cabins and we were all so relieved to be back, we used the restroom and put on our suits and went to the pool on the ranch.  Then I and three others left to go back to Santiago and the other girls stayed.  Originally I had planned to try the zipline that one of the resorts nearby has but it only takes about 2 hours from the metro station near me to get there so we can go back again if we want and apparently it's gorgeous in the winter with the snow on the mountains.  I returned home last night and was very tired but I met a couple that are cousins to my homestay parents and they were very nice.  Now I'm on the same time as the east coast because we "fell back" today so that's good although it's going to be darker at night and turn into fall soon which I'm kind of sad about but that's ok...Pictures from the trip are below:

The Name of the ranch some of the girls were staying in and those of us who weren't staying got to take advantage of all the perks (bathroom access, pool, etc)

One of the cascadas (waterfalls)

Waterfall:

Same waterfall as before (you can see the rocks to the left that we had to climb on to reach the waterfall pictured in the picture above  which you can see in the top left of the picture (I was pretty scared climbing on those rocks, I don't have much experience with rock climbing and the experience I have is in a building when I'm harnessed in!)

You can see the dry, sandy terrain because of the draught, we had to literally slide down the mountain near the end of the hike and hold onto branches as we went down and it was sooo scary and needless to say my shoes are brown and dirty now (sad but i guess it would've happened eventually)

Some of the houses in the city of San Alfonso, where we were. Pinochet's house (one of them) is located in San Alfonso and Alejandro pointed it out to us.

Well, I'm off to try a new baptist church out today with one of my friends.  They are rare here because everything is Catholic and it seems like there's no hill in Chile that doesn't have a statue of the virgin on it. My classes start tomorrow so back to the world of school, more soon!

Outdoor Museum of Murals

Ok, so I'm still catching up on blogging from last weekend. Last weekend, we went to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, which are two cities that are connected and are only a couple hours from Santiago.  But on the way there, we went to Isla Negra (named for its black sand, it's not actually an island but it is on the coast by the ocean) and saw one of the three houses of Pablo Neruda (a chilean writer who won the nobel prize and many other awards, he's a big deal in Chile!) This house is where he lived until he died.  It is marvelous and amazing. He has so much stuff, he was a collector of ships in a bottle, statues, bugs, birds, masks, shells, colored glass bottles, and more.  Each room is like a museum of its own and his house has many rooms and is big but its narrow and long (like Chile!) and has a wonderful view of the ocean.  His inspiration for many of his poems about the ocean came from the view from this house.  He is buried here with his third and final wife.  Below is a picture of part of the house:

Here's a picture of me in Neruda's "backyard" so to say, what a view!

This is me with my friend Alyssa outside of Neruda's house:

Then after visiting Neruda's incredible house (he also has one in Santiago and somewhere else...I haven't visited the one in Santiago yet) we went to Vina del Mar where we ate in a hotel that had a casino and it was a big buffet with many veggies, fruits, deserts, and other options, it was yummy! Then we spent an hour or so at the beach in Vina, just relaxing. Vina del Mar is known as the "Ciudad de Jardin" (Garden City) and is famous for its beaches.  Below is a sample of the sandart we saw:
Dolphins, my favorite!

Then we headed to Valparaiso ("Valpo") and went on a tour of the "Museo a Cielo Abierto".  It's a museum that is outside and consists of murals on the walls of houses and buildings (it looks like grafitti kind of but there are laws to protect the murals/ paintings) In Valpo, there are many hills and there's a center part of the city and then once you leave the center part, all the streets are really steep because they're on a hill and it's a real workout to walk up the streets.  So, we got a workout looking at the outdoor museum.  Below, is the train thing we took to get a little higher up on the hill.

The houses in Valpo are very colorful with brilliant pastels and perky colors as you can see below:

Below is a view of Valparaiso:

And here's some samples of the mural/ wall art of the outdoor museum:

We also saw the building where many government events take place for Chile (the building's called "El Congreso") and it's the building where the inaugeration takes place.  Our guide was like, there's the "ugly government building".  Then some people from the group returned to Santiago and smaller groups stayed.  My group of 6 girls and 1 boy stayed in a hostel.  We had made reservations via email and printed out directions but it was kind of hard to find and we had to ask for help, typical :) But we found it, and it was a great 1st hostel experience for me.  The three people that ran it were super nice and helpful, with advice of what to do, what bus to take, etc.  We all slept in one room with bunk beds and there were two bathrooms to use and a lounge, kitchen, and water purifier machine (i used this b/c i've learned by trial and error not to drink sink water in cities outside of santiago) We went to eat and found a vegetarian place (i ate my packed dinner because i'm cheap...) And we went out and got beers at a place and i drank a sip and my friend made fun of me and asked if i was the sober girl of my sorority, well yes actually ;) I was still a little sick anyways and i don't like the taste of alcohol. Then we went to a club called "El Huevo" and apparently it's pretty rocking.  There were 2 big dance rooms and 2 lounges and a bar with seating on the roof.  The clubs are often called "discoteques" (like discotec) here and now i know why, every song had a techo beat to it in the background and we heard american songs, american songs are popular here.  Then the next day we went back to Vina and spent some hours on the beach. The water is pretty cold, not like in South Carolina..We ate a late lunch, got some ice cream (everywhere has "helado" = icecream, maybe because it's summer..) and left the hostel and attempted to take a bus to a bus station where we could get a bus back to santiago, we got off on the wrong stop but found the station pretty soon. Some of the girls discovered that with our Universidad de Chile id, we got a discount on the bus tickets but i was the first person so i didn't realize it but it comes in handy being a student.  We won't get our student metro/ bus passes for awhile (hopefully in april) so i'm pretty frustrated that everywhere i go in santiago, i have to pay the normal price (which is 4 times more but oh well)  Then on Sunday, I tried out  a church "La Vina" and it was good and the only thing i can walk to in Santiago because everything else is super far away...Then later that day, I went with my friend Katrina and her two Chilean friends to climb the hill "San Cristobal" and we took a funicular up the hill (kind of like a train like is pictured above from the valpo trip) and then we walked around and saw the statues of Jesus and the Virgen (you can see the Catholic influence everywhere!) and climbed and climbed and saw wonderful views of Santiago, one of the chilean boys pointed out the different barrios (kind of like suburbs or smaller towns inside of Santiago) so that was cool.  The next day I was sore from all that walking/ hiking so I got some exercise so that's good!

Katrina and I in front of the statue of Jesus on the cross: 

 Me in front of the Andes Mountains

Part of Santiago with the Andes in the background:

Katrina and I again:

The other day, a group of girls and I went to the Santiago Zoo, it was fun but there's not really any animals out of the ordinary. 
A panther:

Zebras!

Wednesday a small group and I tried to enter a museum of art in santiago but it was closed so we went into the Museum of Precolombian Art.  It was free for students so that was good.  We saw many statues and pottery made by indigenous people in the past, it was interesting and amazing that these pieces are still intact. Our feet were tired so we went to a ice cream/ cafe place.  It's hard to pay here in a group because they don't really do separate checks..Also you have to notify the server that you want the check, they don't bring it to you automatically.  So, I'm getting pretty fed up with all the people who smoke in Santiago, maybe it's like this in all big cities but my congestion and lungs don't like it and also there's apparently a lot of pollution in Santiago, especially in the winter so I don't think I'd ever want to live here permanently but it's only been three weeks. And there's always cars going by with noise all the time so I'm having trouble sleeping but hopefully I will get more accostomed to it.  But enough complaining, I'm doing pretty well and my congestion's getting better i think.  I'm going to some gathering tonight with new students (foreigners) enrolled in the Univ. of Chile and to a place two hours away from Santiago tomorrow Cajon del Maipo tomorrow so more details soon.  And I attempted to try some classes this week (more details later) but all my classes will start next week.  Hasta luego!