Sunday, March 23, 2008
Cascada de las Animas
today Bimbi, Luke and i went to a national park called Cascada de las Animas. we took a 2+ hour trail ride on horses, got beautiful views of the mountains and a look at the waterfall itself! here are some pictures and a short video... i'm still learning!
pretty flowers
view from the entrance
mighty dirty river, the Mapoche
on top of the nearby mountain
bimbi on her horse - one of the first times!Saturday, March 22, 2008
Las Señoras Zamoras
since my arrival, i have been staying with las Señoras Zamoras, two sisters in their 50s, and Camilla, a 20-year old daughter of one of their friends. it was set up through my language school and is in a great location, right across from a metro stop.
Elena and Erika are sisters, but Elena is the older one and definitely runs the house. she also has all sorts of funny rules such as:
1. as soon as you enter the house, you must wash your hands
2. when eating at the table, you just use the tablecloth, and when you are done, it must be removed
3. you may not wipe your hands on the dish towel, nor dry the dishes with the hand towel
4. same goes for the bathroom - you are not to use your bath towel to dry your hands.
5. there is a certain way to wash the dishes, involving a little cup that holds soapy water - you are to dip the sponge in the cup and then commence washing
i'm aware that these seem to make sense, but it is odd since she is picky about nothing else. she doesn't care if i'm out late, or if i don't come home at all. she's growing on me, though.
since my spanish has improved, it is easier to understand the women. they can't remember to speak slowly, so i just nod along. occasionally, elena will look at me and say in spanish "you don't understand." then she sighs and tries to explain a different way, often with better success. however, she likes keeping tabs on me and is always asking me what i'm going to do, where i'm going, etc. they are certainly both quirky, but it's nice to have some people with which to practice spanish when i'm not in class.
i'm sure more elena adventures are to come. i'm going to see if she'll help me call for apartments... though she has her own opinions on that as well!
Elena and Erika are sisters, but Elena is the older one and definitely runs the house. she also has all sorts of funny rules such as:
1. as soon as you enter the house, you must wash your hands
2. when eating at the table, you just use the tablecloth, and when you are done, it must be removed
3. you may not wipe your hands on the dish towel, nor dry the dishes with the hand towel
4. same goes for the bathroom - you are not to use your bath towel to dry your hands.
5. there is a certain way to wash the dishes, involving a little cup that holds soapy water - you are to dip the sponge in the cup and then commence washing
i'm aware that these seem to make sense, but it is odd since she is picky about nothing else. she doesn't care if i'm out late, or if i don't come home at all. she's growing on me, though.
since my spanish has improved, it is easier to understand the women. they can't remember to speak slowly, so i just nod along. occasionally, elena will look at me and say in spanish "you don't understand." then she sighs and tries to explain a different way, often with better success. however, she likes keeping tabs on me and is always asking me what i'm going to do, where i'm going, etc. they are certainly both quirky, but it's nice to have some people with which to practice spanish when i'm not in class.
i'm sure more elena adventures are to come. i'm going to see if she'll help me call for apartments... though she has her own opinions on that as well!
estoy aquí!
well, i made it. i'm aware i'm going to have to do some backtracking, but i'd first like to share my experiences this evening.
i had a late start of the day because of a late night, and eventually wandered out of the house around 9pm, after spending the afternoon watching Ben-Hur in dubbed Spanish with Erika, one of the ladies of the house, while simultaneously looking for apartments online and catching up on business affairs.
i was headed out 'sola' because all the lovely people i had met last night had gone to the mountains or to the beach. i decided to take advantage of my lonely planet guide and find a new part of town in which to have dinner. off i went, to a new part of providencia.
av. providencia is beautiful, with plane trees lining the avenue and wide sidewalks for ample strolling opportunities. there are churches scattered here and there, restaurants and stores all mixed together with apartments and office buildings above.
however, on this good friday of semana santa (holy week) there was hardly a soul in sight, and i set off feeling as though the street had been made just so i could walk its length. i arrived at the restaurant, only to find that it was closed. i was about to turn around when three young people started asking me questions in rapid spanish. turns out they were foreigners as well, and that my handy-dandy lonely planet had the very restaurant listed that they were looking for. we started back towards the correct street, and i asked if i could join them since my restaurant had been closed.
so, there i was, with three new friends, Lina, David and Álmanzo. They study engineering, politcs and geography, respectivally. And, it turns out it was Álmanzo's birthday. We headed to Pizza Nuestra, which was delicious and very Italian in its thinness, and had a good time discussing what we all did, how we each came to be here, and then finally, the Iraq War and the upcoming election. (They want Bush out and the war over.)
My new friends walked me all the way back to my homestay and then we exchanged numbers and they walked off into the night. I think this is a good town.
i had a late start of the day because of a late night, and eventually wandered out of the house around 9pm, after spending the afternoon watching Ben-Hur in dubbed Spanish with Erika, one of the ladies of the house, while simultaneously looking for apartments online and catching up on business affairs.
i was headed out 'sola' because all the lovely people i had met last night had gone to the mountains or to the beach. i decided to take advantage of my lonely planet guide and find a new part of town in which to have dinner. off i went, to a new part of providencia.
av. providencia is beautiful, with plane trees lining the avenue and wide sidewalks for ample strolling opportunities. there are churches scattered here and there, restaurants and stores all mixed together with apartments and office buildings above.
however, on this good friday of semana santa (holy week) there was hardly a soul in sight, and i set off feeling as though the street had been made just so i could walk its length. i arrived at the restaurant, only to find that it was closed. i was about to turn around when three young people started asking me questions in rapid spanish. turns out they were foreigners as well, and that my handy-dandy lonely planet had the very restaurant listed that they were looking for. we started back towards the correct street, and i asked if i could join them since my restaurant had been closed.
so, there i was, with three new friends, Lina, David and Álmanzo. They study engineering, politcs and geography, respectivally. And, it turns out it was Álmanzo's birthday. We headed to Pizza Nuestra, which was delicious and very Italian in its thinness, and had a good time discussing what we all did, how we each came to be here, and then finally, the Iraq War and the upcoming election. (They want Bush out and the war over.)
My new friends walked me all the way back to my homestay and then we exchanged numbers and they walked off into the night. I think this is a good town.
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