a mighty power for foreigners

"so how many months will you be staying with my family?" alonso teased this morning at breakfast. my death stare prompted a spanish translation for his family. then, five heads turned to see my response.

"pienso que...siempre," i returned with a smile. originally, i had planned to visit guanajuato for a weekend and to stay with alonso's family in silao at the same time as two other wcl guests. but as well-planned excursions often do, it fell apart and i ended up making a solo visit, friday through sunday. on saturday, i got the grand tour of guanajuato. i came after a long line of international guests who have followed up on alonso's hospitable invitation.

i met alonso last fall when he applied for students united's mentoring program. from early on, he made it clear that he came from a beautiful part of mexico, near the city of guanajuato. i didn't think much of it because i'm from detroit and find it to be one of the most beautiful places in the usa. but my interest piqued as my winter adventure drew closer and other people - kate kelly, the friendly tapatio on my flight from atlanta, wouter from the language school - informed me that guanajuato was a must-see. even so, i was wholly unprepared for the potent arrow that struck me when i finally arrived. after maybe a dozen reverent praises - wow. you weren't lying. guanajuato is amazing. - alonso responded with clear satisfaction: "it has a mighty power for foreigners."

my visit took a turn when, on sunday morning, alonso informed me that his mother would like me to join the family for new years in the mountains. he explained that i could go with his family and return to guadalajara late on tuesday evening. ever-adverse to unanticipated changes, i protested:

"i have classes and a bus ticket i have already paid for."
"you want to practice spanish, right? why not practice with my family in the mountains?"
"i don't want to impose. it's your last few days with your family."
"mamí! un momentito, porfa!"
"alonso, no -"
"mamí, puedes explicarle sobre tu invitación a las montañas, por favor? christiane está ocupada porque ya ha pagado por cursos y una boleta por guadalajara."



i emailed wouter about monday classes and asked him to let the bustamantes know not to worry about me before piling into the car with victor and marisa (alonso's parents), alonso, ilse, luís, mariano, our bags, and two remote-controlled helicopters. the ride started out in silence. then rufus wainwright's cover of hallelujah came on the radio. i began sing along quietly. then mariano's pre-pubescent soprano voice came from the backseat. luís and ilse joined on either side of me. after dancing it up to el sondito, the ice was officially broken and the ride passed quickly with stories about mexican artists and legends. what followed was the magic life is made of: stepping into someone else's life for a brief moment. observing religious practices, family jokes, vacation mishaps. then listening as a friend confides about their perspective on what is transpiring. and occasionally stepping away from the wall to participate:

"christiane, conoces thalia?" marisa asked at new years eve dinner.
"sí. un poquito," i replied, happy to have a captive audience with which to practice past tense verbs. "cuando tenía diecinueve años, mi padre trabajaba en alemania. por eso, viajé a -"
"christiane," alonso interrupted with a chuckle, "my mom was asking about thalia - the singer who is playing right now - not italia."


collective laughter covered social shame and the festivities continued. at midnight we ate twelve grapes to reflect on each of twelve months. then the dj turned the music up and we danced our hearts out until 2. un mil gracias to the lara-bravo family for making my farewell to 2012 one for the books.

homesickness

i was a little homesick on christmas. not for lack of fun - the bustamante family did a stellar job of including me in their christmas eve celebrations: in the afternoon, tera let me sew up the lomo, which was stuffed full of fruits and nuts, in preparation for la cena. we went to a contemporary-style mass at 9 then gathered with aunt and cousins back at the house to welcome in baby j's birth. as i listened to the animated dinner conversation, taking cues from body language when my ears failed me, i was happy. but when the celebrations were over, the nostalgia returned. so i made my way to bed and drifted off to the sounds of bedford falls and george bailey's voice.

the funny thing about homesickness is that it often motivates me to set out looking for the familiar; an activity or a food or a person that is sure to make me feel at home. as any directionally-challenged extrovert can attest, this often leads to adventure.

on tuesday, miami brad and i hopped on the 80 bus for la barranca de huatatín to do a little trekking.

we met some friendly hikers along the way.

brad got tired before i did so he turned back early. the hike was pretty rigorous so i was happy to see a middle-aged couple selling fresh piña y naranja juice when i reached the top. on the bus ride back to t-paka, i did what cannons do best - sleep. i woke up thirty minutes later, disoriented, and got off the bus immediately. i was only 40 blocks early. so i took the opportunity to explore a new neighborhood and make it back to the jardin hidalgo just in time for a sweet treat.

i decided to try for a visit to the lds temple in zopopan on wednesday. i took the tur bus (which is WAY nicer than the standard buses) to the center of the upscale suburb and set out to find my spiritual haven. en route, i stumbled across a mormon church.

a poinsetta-filled municipal building.

 

someone's pet cochino.

street art.

and a giant christmas festival in front of a large catholic church. yes, erin, the giant speakers pumped out iterations of feliz navidad no fewer than three times in the twenty minutes it took me to eat my elote with lime, salt, and chile.

i arrived back at the bustamante's just in time to convince canada mike to take the maestro's cumbia class with me. we danced our hearts out - occasionally to the actual beat - for a full hour. 

i never found the temple. but i did find myself ready for a good sleep, another day of language classes, and a trip to the teotihuacan pyramids. and so it goes with homesickness. it starts with a craving for the familiar. but the cure often lies in the unknown and the adventure that comes with it.

a playa-ful weekend

there are three sure-fire ways to bring a smile to my face. the first (put me in a room full of people) and third (birthday surprises) are not relevant to this story so i will skip directly to number two: drop me on a beach near a large body of water.

which is why i rode buses for 19 hours this weekend to spend another 36 on mexico's pacific coast (please don't spend too much time going over the math). on the way, i met fernando, a law student from guadalajara who was en route to meet family for la navidad. he made a few suggestions for finding fresh seafood and quiet beaches in vallarta. unfortunately, in my enthusiasm to touch the salty west coast, i neglected to write down fernando's recommendations or any information about my hostel or how to get there from the bus station. which is why the weekend got off to a rocky start. but don't you fret, dear reader, that is the lowest part of this story.

first thing on saturday, i learned the bus route to sayulita and made my way to hippie heaven. think pacific northwest meets mexico. as in: over half the people i met were from the pacific northwest and vacationing in mexico. i played fat dog on the beach most of the day, occasionally diving into surf-worthy waves to cool off. when i came to the painful realization that i had not seen real sun in over 12 months, i threw on a dress and headed into town. after chatting up some trabajadores who were sharing a table with me at the fish taco shop, i wandered through the hills to find signs of human dwelling.

per the usual, i returned to the beach for sunset. then caught a bus back to vallerta and made it to the hostel in time to catch a late dinner with south carolina dillon - who is midway through a seattle-to-southern-mexico bike ride - and uk grace - a graduate student doing research on the volcano in calima for the next several months. feeling satisfied with my lack of physical or intellectual ambition, i fell into a deep sleep. 

on sunday, grace and i headed south to boca beach. the 8-peso bus ride paid for itself in vistas alone. but we didn't stop there. we took a boat ride around some islands (whose names i have forgotten)

where we were met by whales and waterfalls and all things water-fabulous.

and so i concluded my perfectly beachy weekend, boarding the guadalaja-bound primera plus mere minutes before departure.

estoy allá ... o allí ... o aquí?

grammar never has been my forte. 

on the plane from atlanta, hearing references to detroit while eavesdropping on conversations (yup, i'm that girl) that switched seamlessly between spanish and english, i momentarily wondered if i had made a buster-esque blunder and the 747 was actually heading north. fortunately, after a two-fer plane-and-roller-coaster-ride, i arrived safely at the guadalajara airport. 

wouter, an amsterdam ex-pat who followed a woman to mexico two children ago, greeted me at the airport as planned and everything went smoothly from there. we chatted in english on the drive to tlaquepaque about program arrangements, travel expectations, and the like, then switched to spanish upon arrival at the bustamante's home. tera, my host mother, seems lovely and the house is fantastic (dad and jim, it reminds me of the saito's home in araçatuba). the open-air kitchen also leads me to believe that the beautiful weather upon arrival is pretty typical. 

now i just need to finish up the lingering law school assignments from last semester so that i can get my adventure on. more. to. follow. buenas noches!

una aventura de la navidad

"the semester was brutal" and "i have always wanted to" are the two explanations i provide most frequently for my latest adventure. the truth probably lies somewhere in between and will surface (if i am diligently introspective) sometime in the next five years. until then, the adventure itself: in two days i will take a plane to central mexico where a family has agreed to take me in for three weeks while i take intensive language classes and explore an unfamiliar place. i again invite you along for the ride. felices fiestas! the happiest of holidays to you and your kin! 

que te vaya bien!

well, friends, it's my penultimate day in chile. this summer...errr, winter...errr, whatever has been one for the books: first time in south america, visiting brazil with dad and jim, living abroad without family, facing my fear of language-learning head-on, trying chirimoya and other foreign foods, getting my shoes shined, and working in a legal internship. and then there's the things that follow me on every adventure: chasing down buses, talking to anybody and everybody, dancing up a storm, and finding myself in the middle of nowhere without a return plan.

after living in three apartments and two neighborhoods, i'm happy to report that santiago and i are officially pals. i've scoped out every indie cine in the central city and found plenty of cafes and hilltop parks in which to unwind. i imagine that if i were to live here for a year, my santiago-love would only grow. when i get frustrated with my language progress, i start listing words and phrases that i have learned since june. one of my favorites is: que te vaya bien! it roughly translates as "fare thee well" and folks say it all the time: when you're going back to the U.S., leaving on a weekend trip, getting out of a cab, going to the grocery store, leaving the grocery store, making a trip to the restroom...

i've used that phrase a lot this week. sunday, megan took off and i said goodbye to my favorite chilena from church. mike and marie left on tuesday. kristel, wednesday. i said goodbye to alberto yesterday. sarah and work friends, today. and i'm not quite finished. paula and i are going out after spanish class tonight. then camila, melissa, and i will squeeze in one final carrete. tomorrow, roxana and i nos juntaremos before meeting elizabeth (a fellow mormon extranjera who has been studying spanish in santiago for the past two months) for almuerzo.

then it's back to regular life. trading blog entries for last-minute internship interviews and knowledge of all things criminal. thanks for joining me on this adventure. 'til the next time: que te vaya bien!

atacama weekend

when meg and i sat down in the airport cafe just in time to see the last torchbearer carry the olympic flame into the stadium, we knew it would be a good weekend. meg, kristel, and i had rushed from work to the airport, barely making it in time to catch kristel's 7:30 flight to calama. we followed on the 8pm and met up to take a shuttle to san pedro de atacama. it was after midnight when we arrived at hostal campo base. our host suggested we give ourselves a good night's rest and a full day to adjust to the altitude to avoid spewing all over the geysers. so we booked a 6am tour to the salt flats and bunked down in our dorm suite (4 beds, private bathroom) with decklin from ireland. the rest of the weekend can be summed up in two words: pure magic.

day one: salt flats + san pedro + sergio's house + star gazing (sort of).

allen and leandro picked us up at 6am to see the salt flats at caixa.

instead of dampening my spirits, the freezing cold weather inspired a lot of spirit fingers.

the andean flamingos didn't mind the weather either.

after caixa and some great lakes, we parked it in a town where i documented all things parked.

returning to san pedro, we booked our sunday adventures and headed to alberto's friend, sergio's, house to hang with some locals. see "alberto knows everyone interesting" in tell the girls. we chatted about the differences between santiago and northern chile, work-life balance, and u.s. politics. when the conversation got too awkward, we split for dinner and some star-gazing on the outskirts of town. clouds and a near-full moon conspired to ruin our fun, but, fortunately, we love moon-gazing, too.

after some soup and hot chocolate, we bunked down to prepare for another full day of adventures.

day two: geysers + sandboarding + moon valley

there are few things i love less than early mornings. namely: war, terrorism, and olives. so getting up at 4am to see geysers in sub-freezing weather was a hard sell. fortunately, derek - our tour guide - was super-hot and inspired another round of spirit fingers.

the sunrise wasn't bad either.

after a geyser-cooked breakfast and a some warm rays, i was ready for my first dip in a natural hot spring, visit to the wetlands, and a photo shoot in a very small village (i.e., population 40). 

when we got back to the hostel, the power was out on the entire block. we didn't mind much. it was a beautiful day so kristel and meg sat outside for a visit and i fell asleep in the hammock listening to a group of brazilian tourists debate which region of brazil was most superior. after waking in time for a quick lunch, we hurried to meet up with the local, la paz-loving hippie guides who transported all the non-local, english-speaking tourists to the dunes for some sandboarding. it. was. fabulous. and we saw the bolivian border on the way. we then wandered through a calcified cave before hiking to the amphitheater in valle de la luna for sunset. 

meg and i quoted from land before time as the fading sun, with its shadows and clouds, cast stories across the desert.

six days left in my latin american adventure. here's to making the most of it.

¡hasta la vista, barista!

this happened tuesday:

profesora: give me a word that ends in -ísta.
me: barista.
p: what?
me: barista. you know, like the person who makes your coffee.
p: that´s not a word here.
me: but i saw it on a poster.
(showing a picture of the ¨bad boy barista¨ poster).
p: i don´t know how to say this gently - that poster´s in english.
me: hmmm. good point.

kristel, meg, and i are heading to the desert this weekend to pack in a few more adventures before we head back to the states. ´til next week: ¡hasta la vista!

una entrevista conmigo

(this one's for you, lyd). i just wrapped up my first week of interning at catholic university, living in an apartment with a stranger who doesn't speak english, and generally being independent-ish in santiago. i figured it's about time to dust off the good ole interview myself technique:

goooood afternoon, this is cap'n sparklepants - a.k.a. sparkle - on smx radio. today we have christiane in the studio to tell us a little about her chilean adventures. cc, you've been in santiago almost six weeks now. what do you make of it?
like munich in '02, santiago has been more of an acquired taste than love at first sight. my happiness seems to be directly related to a modest amount of structure and finding people i can connect with. i didn't start loving munich until i began taking capoeira classes at martinho's studio and became friends with philip and sara; i really got excited about staying here after enrolling in spanish conversation classes, having an animated conversation with my roomie about the atacama desert, and meeting a family friend who is studying acting and screenwriting here. 

so, how's the spanish coming along?
the receptionist at my internship was out sick last week. two staff members stopped by my office to make a request. i thought they were asking me to cover the phones. so i started having a full-fledged panic attack. my heart was racing and i could barely put together a sentence. they seemed thoroughly perplexed and quite insistent. ten minutes later, i realized they were saying that i should call them if i needed anything...so i have a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnng way to go. but it summoned my super-competitive spirit and the game is on: me v. chilean spanish. last week i enrolled in spanish conversation classes and started chatting up my coworkers. on saturday, i turned to dad and liz for a little encouragement, then hung out with locals most of the weekend. i'm not going pro anytime soon. and i am not going home without skillz either.


i can see that you're working hard. are you having any fun?
please. before starting work this week, mike and i spent an afternoon at the giant cemetery and la vega - an open air market - where we ate scrumpdiddliumptious fried fish and rice. and, of course, we stopped in at the mini-arcade to spend all our change before acquiring groceries and parting ways. now that i working, i have been taking advantage of long lunch breaks, free evenings, and weekends to scope out centralized neighborhoods like lastarria, bellas artes, and bellavista. new friends have been helping me navigate the less-touristy spots. camila and i have karaoke-and-dancing plans in the works for next friday after her last exam. return trip to the slopes should be happening soon and (fingers crossed) a trip to atacama. so, yeah. the fun is on.


sounds about right. now, if i'm not mistaken, you moved recently. how are the new digs?
much better now that i mustered up the courage to ask roxana about a space heater. utilities are super-pricey here so it seems like most people keep their apartments pretty cold. and by cold, i mean bone-chilling. that said, my roomie is super-nice, doesn't speak english, and i didn't want to offend her so it took a full week to find the moxy (and the words) to solve the problem. fortunately, she has a kerosene space heater so i put it in my room for a few hours tonight and now it's chilling in the commons area so that it will be warm when i get ready in the morning. the apartment itself is cute and we have a lot in common - roxana loves bike riding, nature, and composting. roxana knows i'm trying to learn spanish so she speaks slowly and answers all my vocab questions. i live in providencia - close to the temple - amidst lots of extranjeros and families. it's very cute by day, and dead at night. fortunately, it's a short metro or cab ride from the city center with more lively options for the night owl.

there's a good nightlife then. in what other ways does santiago rule?
first, the metro. there's a train every 1-2 minutes (even on weekends), it's cheap (roughly $1/ride), and there are stops every 3-4 blocks near the city center. and metro vendors. need nylons for work and thick tights to keep warm? no prob, just select 1 of 50 varieties in the metro station. hands were freezing? no prob, just get gloves in the metro station. second, soups. there's a bajillion different words for soup here - creamy soup, brothy soup, chowdery soup, stew...because chile dishes them all up. and fixed menu lunches. brilliant idea. want to sit down for lunch outside the office and get back within 1-1.5 hours? no prob, just answer "do you want lunch?" in the affirmative and your appetizer, entrée, bev, dessert, and coffee/tea will appear. third, raspberry juice. why mix it with other stuff? it is so bomb by itself. and chirimoya is a great consolation prize for the general scarcity of maracuya. fourth (bonus!), independent movie theaters. santiago is no la, but there are 4 places to watch indie films within a 20-minute walking circuit. fifth (another bonus!), the hilly parks. actually, all the parks. like athens, santiago seems to have embraced the notion that high places = holy places. so cerros throughout the city are vast parks, often with shrines or meditation spots near the top. and there are tons of non-hill parks, too. one of my favorite features are the cafés literarios, which rose up in the early days of post-pinochet democratization.

seems like you've acquired quite the taste for it. now tell me, what are you homesick for?
first, black beans. or beans in general. you can't buy them at a standard grocery so forget about ordering them at a restaurant. second, vegetarian food. i know i went carni for this trip, but between limited winter produce and the abundance of animal flesh, my body has been freaking out a little. third, reliable restaurant delivery. it's been my consistent experience that when i order food for delivery, it's going to take twice as long as they predict, and will only arrive (luke warm) after a follow-up phone call.

well, we're almost out of time. thanks for coming into the studio, cc. before we sign off: any parting words?
while i was out wandering with camila and co., a few folks approached us with a banner and t-shirts that said abrazos libres. i did a double take. then threw my arms wide open. we got our fill of hugs and i explained free hug fridays to the best of my linguistic abilities. the only thing missing in santiago these days are my friends and family in other places. so friday or not, please throw your arms open and let someone give you a giant hug for me.

thanks for being here with us, christiane. that concludes our program for the day. join us next week as we learn about new trends in mapuche rock carving techniques. 'til the next time, this is cap'n sparklepants with smx.

context is everything

context can get you places. even if your brain takes the long route. take lago and lado for example. the first means lake, the latter, side. this morning i asked a staff member who was sharing an elevator with me:

why are there no 2nd or 3rd floors for this elevator?
because they're on the other lake.
oh...thanks.

about halfway through breakfast i realized she'd said side. about that time, i caught a preview for the new batman movie on the cafeteria television. it flashed the title: 

batman: horse of the night.
that seemed odd. so i asked vicki:

cc: caballero means horse, right?
v: gentlemen. caballero means gentlemen, more or less. like on the bathroom doors.
cc: right.
v: caballo is horse.
cc: oh...thanks.
v: what made you think of that?
cc: oh, nothing really. just...batman: the dark knight...makes. more. sense.

i should have learned this lesson weeks ago in araçatuba. i couldn't figure out why dad kept starting sentences with:

a building because...
so i asked márcio:

cc: um edificio is a building, right?
m: right.
cc: then why does dad start every sentence with edificio?
m: (puzzled look. pause. laughter erupts.) edificio! edificio!
(the group conversation stops. inquiries begin. another round of laughter.)
cc: what? edificio? what's so funny? what did i say?
m: é difícil and edificio.
cc: huh?
m: they're two different things. (speaking slowly). edificio is a buliding. but he's saying é difícil. "It's difficult."
cc: (laughing despite myself). well...é difícil to hear the difference.

miel means honey

i will never forget the spanish word for honey - miel. i was craving stir-fry real bad so i went to the store to buy some fixings. i found rice, peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, eggs, soy sauce, basil, mustard, and vinegar without trouble. but the honey eluded me. unfortunately, i did not know the word for honey. or bee. and i (erroneously) thought i knew the words for sugar and sweet.

me: excuse me. i am looking for something that is [gibberish] and comes from a bzzzzz.

the grocer stares blankly.

me: i don't know the word exactly, but it is dirty and it's a product that comes from something that says bzzzzzz.

grocer 1: limpieza de aerosol?

i stare, making a half-hearted wing flutter gesture.

me: maybe...

grocer 1: it goes "tst tst tst?"

me: yes. i think, yes. 

grocer 1: aisle 4.

me: thank you!

when i got to aisle 4 - the cleaning supplies - i knew something had gone seriously awry. so i approached grocer 2.

me: excuse me. i am looking for something that is like [gibberish] but is a liquid. and it comes from an insect that goes bzzzzzz.

i make a wing fluttering gesture as i buzz. grocer 2 tries, unsuccessfully, to stifle a laugh.

me: haha. yeah, ummm...it's a liquid that is [gibberish] like [gibberish] and is a product of an insect that goes bzzzzz.

i am flapping more fiercely. grocer 2 laughs openly.

grocer 2: hmmm...

me: bzzzzzzzz...?

grocer 2: una abeja?

me: i'm not sure. in english it's called honey.

grocer 2: i don't speak english.

me: right. well...it comes from an insect that is yellow and black...

grocer 2: miel?

me: i'm not sure.

grocer 2: follow me. 

grocer 2 leads me to aisle 7 and presents me with a selection of honeys.

grocer 2: (confidently) miel.

me: miel!

grocer 2: miel de abeja.

me: miel de...gracias!

grocer 2: (chuckling) no problem.

me: thank you. very very much. miel. miel. miel. thank you.

turns out the best recipe for conversational success is a wicked appetite, a strong dose of shamelessness, and a dash of charades.

argentina, you're okay after all.

despite the unshakable sense that i was somehow betraying my brazilian allegiance, i loved loved loved buenos aires. you know, that step-off-the-plane-and-feel-at-home kind of love. i know it's supposed to be the paris of latin america, but - at least in ambiance - it reminded me of berlin; a city objectively beautiful and poetically resilient. i decided to take the omnibus public 8 from the airport to get a city tour on the cheap. a friendly airport employee took it upon himself to narrate the first 20 minutes of the bus ride (the outskirts of town): there's [insert species name] trees. there's people barbecuing by the roadside. and there are the mormons. sure enough, there we were, constructing a temple:

after passing a large street market and several downtown-y areas, i hopped off the bus about 50 blocks early in a effort to find internet access (i neglected to write down any clues as to where my hotel was located) and some good eats. hot chocolate and dulce-de-leche-filled churros followed:

i got back on the bus and enlisted some local riders to signal when i should get off the bus. when they pointed me toward the national congress, adjacent to the plaza below, i knew it was pointless to resist loving this place. by the time i reached the hotel, i'd purchased a pair of much-hoped-for ankle boots, passed a series of parks and plazas, and discovered an imposing cemetery (ala new orleans).

among impressive stories and sights i encountered during my visit were the madres de plaza de mayo: a group of women who have been weekly demanding information about the "disappearance" of their children by members of the military dictatorship during the dirty wars since 1977. although there continues to be debate about how many civilians were disappeared by the argentine government between 1976-1983, current estimates are around 30,000; that's approximately 1 in every 1,000 people. at its outset, these women continuously paced in a circle (thus, circumventing anti-protesting regulations about standing in public) and risked their lives in hopes of protecting - or getting justice for - their children. 

photo courtesy of www.neeerd.com

today, they are honored in la casa rosada's (executive palace) gallery of influential women.

truth be told, i had much more fun than sleep in buenos aires. thus, my ability to form coherent sentences is somewhat impaired right now. so i will try to sum up the rest in photos.

i saw lots of government buildings and talked about lawyer-y stuff:

la casa rosada (executive palace)

the balcony form which juan and eva perón gave public speeches, overlooking plaza de armas

and filled most of my free time with theater, music, and dance:

el teatro colón

el ataneo: theater-turned-bookstore

la bomba de tiempo at el teatro konex

señor tango: kitchy, no doubt, but also really good tango