Differences

I have a lot a international friends and a lot of friends who have studied or travelled abroad. I always ask them what is the one thing that is so different between US and where they went/are from. They always say, "everything." In many respects this is quite accurate. It's not that everything is so different that you can't live with it or that it's so 'weird' that it'll be in next week's episode of National Geographic's Taboo. In general, the way of going about life is simply different.  Neither bad nor good; simply different. 

Here, in chile, eating is different they have four meals a day. I'm still working on when they all happen. What I know so far is that desayuno (breakfast) is the first meal you eat when you wake up. Regardless of time. Almuerzo (lunch) is between 3-5pm usually and is the most important meal for Chileans. They then have what's called onces. Which is like tea time around 7-8 when one drinks hot tea or coffee and eats a small snack (usually some kind of bread - Chileans eat tons of bread). Finally we have cena (dinner) which can be anywhere between 9-11pm. Many families don't always eat this meal depending on their schedules. 

Another big difference is the dogs. There are many stray dogs wondering around the streets but they are not ill fed. In fact, I'd call many of them fat, which is a major contrast both with the US and other countries I'v visited. Many people break down cardboard boxes and put them on the street for the dogs to sleep on. 

The biggest difference for me so far has been the temperature. My first few days I laughed to myself at all of the Chileans wearing heavy jackets when it's only about 50 F outside.  Now I'm right there with them.  In general, this area of Chile doesn't have central heat or air because it doesn't get that hot or that cold here. So you wear heavy jackets and thick socks all the time.  Some mornings you wake up and can see your breath.  Quite a different experience.  

Here are some photos of some 'different' things in chile.

Light Switch and Power outlet

Propane is cheaper than electricity, so it is used to power heaters inside.  

Milk in a box!

Mayonnaise and Ketchup in Bags

Many houses have fences topped with spikes here.  

It's not uncommon at all to find streets and sidewalks with large potholes or missing covers.  

A Walk by the Sea

Thanks to All who have been following my blog!

Thanks to All who have been following my blog!  This is where you all are from!

See you soon!

Viña en la noche

Sunset in Viña

A Whirlwind and a Flood

This past week has been a whirlwind and a flood of information.  Orientation was all week, and we learned about the university and its services, signed up for classes, and met all kinds of people from all over the globe.  Even still, there is much to be done in order to prepare for classes next week (next week!? ah!!).  This semester is starting way earlier than when I am accustomed, but, as everyone has told me, I'll be heading home before I know it.  Everything has been so fast the past two weeks or so I can barely remember it all (good thing there's cameras for that!).

A Living Legend

One of the most interesting people I have met so far is Félix Morales Pettorino, the Father of my host mother.  He has a long and esteemed career in linguistics, focusing mostly on Chilean Spanish and literature.  One of his most notable feats is the creation of a dictionary with real-life examples of word usage for Chile (more or less similar to the Oxford English Dictionary or Corpus of Contemporary American English) - Diccionario Ejemplificado de Chilenismos (1983-2010) which is, in its completion, more than 12,000 pages of Chilean Spanish.

The man is in his 90s and still writes frequently (I believe a book is currently in printing, expected out at the end of the year).  He has all kinds of works.  Linguistically, he has tons of publications on Chilean phonetics, morphology, syntax, to name a few.  Outside of linguistics, he has published poetry and a few ficción technica (kinda like science fiction but not quite equal) themed novels.

What an amazing opportunity to meet this man!  He gave me a 5 or 6 of his books, and I can't wait to get into them!

Below is a link to his blog (sorry, it's only in Spanish):

http://lacrucificadadelcerrocordillera.blogspot.com

A Little News from Rocky Top

I know this blog is focused on my experience in Chile, but I couldn't resist putting this up.  UT has the #1 recruiting class for 2014!  Looking forward to the future on Rocky top!

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/07/tennessee_jumps_alabama_to_cla.html

The unspeakable. . .Bathroom Talk

One of the things I was most excited about was testing the myth about toilets. Many people say that toilets in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres flush in the opposite directions. So is it true?

Here's what I've found so far:


Northern Hemisphere:  counterclockwise
Southern Hemisphere:  counterclockwise

Myth busted!

I'm sad to say that they are the same. As simple as it is, it would have been neat confirm such a tale!

Home away from Home

I've moved in with my host family. They are very nice and accommodating. Their home is very warm and welcoming, tucked into one of the hills of Viña. I know most of you are reading this simply to know what's going on, but a few are reading trying to calm their worries, Mom. :-). No need to worry about anything. All is well, as am I. I even made a new friend:  Polly. 

Vistas de la Noche - Desde Playa El Sol

Looking South toward Valparaíso

Looking North toward Concón

Museo Fonck

 Writing of the Indigenous People of Easter Island

Some Photos from Around Viña del Mar

Cool Tree! 

 Can't escape McDonalds!

Castillo Wulf and the Pacific 

A view of Viña del Mar

Landing in Santiago

Take off from Miami

A little linguistics . . .

Less than 24 hours in Chile, I already am noticing how different the Chilean dialect is.  So for the linguists in the room, hopefully you will enjoy this post!  The most common feature I have heard so far is the deletion of the final [s] which is made by the letters s and z (sometimes c).  In Spanish, as in English, "S" can mark plurals and a verb's subject.  However, this doesn't seem to make a difference for the Chileans.  Regardless of the sound's function and orthography, it seems to be omitted.

Some Examples:

"Standard" Spanish: Diez mil [dies mil]
Chilean pronunciation: [die mil]
English: ten thousand (10,000)

"Standard" Spanish: los coches [los kotʃes]
Chilean pronunciation:  [lo kotʃe]
English: the cars

"Standard" Spanish: ¿qué vas a hacer tú? [ke βas aseɹ tu]
Chilean pronunciation:   [ke va ase ɹ tu]
English: What are you (informal singular) going to do? What are you (informal singular) about to do?


"Standard" Spanish: Muchas gracias [mutʃas gɾasias]
Chilean pronunciation: [mutʃa gɾasia]
English: Thank you very much, many thanks

La Entrada

Return Countdown

COUNTDOWN CLOCKS

Chile Here I Come!

Less than a week before I head out.  I can't believe it's finally here!  I'm so excited to go, and I cannot thank the people who helped me in all the planning and application processes enough.  Without you all, this study abroad experience would not be possible!  I hope you can enjoy my site and will stay in touch while I am in Chile.  So with only a few days left in the US, I have to take in as much cornbread, sweat tea, and fried chicken I can hold.  Chile here I come!

Goals!!!

   I thought it would be a good idea to post some goals I have for my trip.
Some obvious ones:

• Get the classes I need to take
• Excel in those classes
• Improve my Spanish

Travelling:

• Antarctica - I would love to visit Antarctica!  Friends have told me you can actually go on boat rides where you can jump in the water and swim in the Antarctic Ocean!  Photos to come (here's hoping!)
• Easter Island - How did they move all those big heads?!
• Patagonia - I hear it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.  Can't wait to see it!

Food:
I have heard the food is fantastic!  I want to try anything and everything (well, most everything)!
"Try everything once.  Only repeat what you love."