July 2012
44 posts
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My pants ripped
I have enough crotch holes to be a bonafide punk kid. My ten dollar jeans made it a long way (and when I say “my” I mean the jeans I thought were mine but were really my sisters—Sorry Michaela). I may either buy those sexy-Latina jeans that button high and show off those sassy curves or some flowy hippie pants. We shall see.
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Watched Olympic Womens Volleyball on the boatride...
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I miss surfing...
And my arms are getting smaller…they might look nicer in pictures, but getting back in the water will look nicer. I also need to work on my pasty white tan. I miss the blistering burn of the sun and the sound of nothing to do but listen to the water. I miss sliding my board diagonally into the car so it fits just right when I close the hatch. I miss floating. I miss wiping salt off my...
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Boom, boom, boom
The small town of Fatima, is muy tranqi. Sleepy and peaceful, where all the girls have Marlin Monroe piercings. Today I went with my friend’s church to the small park and small, abandoned train station where they hosted a fiesta. Games for the kids and food were served with a time to gather together and talk. And of course mate. During the icebreaker games, I embarassed myslef (aka practiced...
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Mate, Mate, Mate
When I landed, the first thing we had to do was fill our thermos with agua caliente. At the kitchen table, in the car, on the bus, between pews, amongst friends, it is the drink of choice here in Argentina, at least for me and my companions. But it is not only a drink, it is a pass time, a way of gathering together. One cup is shared between a group of two, three, four, five, however many want to...
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Nos vemos, Chile. Bueno, Argentina.
After two hours of sleep (what I like to call a early morning nap) I overstuffed my possessions into my trusty-dusty backpack and put the overflow into my Entel bag-turned-carryon. After a rushed trip down the metro redline then to the train station, no wait, that was wrong, back on the metro, then the bus station, I made it onto my plane and got to sit in the emergency exit row next to a...
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Wine and Dine
More gringos and curry with Gato wine.
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New Slag (Coa Nuevo)
Tranqui: (sort for) Tranquilla (kinda like no worries)
Piola: It’s fine
Choro: Badass
Flaite: Chilian gangster
Quatico: werid, strange
Cachai: You know what I mean
Weon: (kinda like) Dude
Bakán: Cool
Eres una gallina: You’re a chicken
Hay mano: It’s all alright (except beware of the context, it can mean more than you think)
Po: (from what I can figure out) It means...
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Empanadas
Today I learned a new art, the making of the empanada. My host mom showed me how to fill and fold the food that no one can say no to. We took them to a family dinner at a house that reminded me of my own cousins. Like the overflowing empanadas, the house was filled with laughter and we were filled with rico rico food. As my pants grow tighter, I feel more like I live here. Definitely not because...
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vonbarnyard asked: I live in El Segundo :)California. but I fortunately still have family in Chile and Argentina.
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“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the...”
– Aldous Huxley,Brave New World
vonbarnyard asked: So cool to see photos from Chile my mother is from there I love Valparaiso one of my favorite cities to visit
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Talking to a Backpacker...
…and want to stay longer. With a charming accent from Barcelona and North Face vest he said, “You know. So you can…soak it up. Breathe.”
Meeting the nicest of people.
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Taking the Metro
Down into the flurescent dungeon of predestined journeys
Into the mouth of the dragon, warm and humid
Many enter, many enter
Packed in like my host mom stuffs me with food
People touch, brush shoulders, coldly embracing, never letting eyes meet together
So close yet only individuals
Swaying together like a slow song in a classic rock concert
Except no lighters, no need for substance because...
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Before and After
Tonight my host mom called me and said I should heat up an empanada for now and my host dad would come home later and make me some dinner. It was my first time eating by myself and since no one was watching, I got really mischievous and ate my salad before dinner. Does this mean I am a cultural cheater?
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Gifts from the Ocean
Beaches of colorful glass and complex shells. Extatic as Neruda’s love for collections and gifts from the ocean, I gather as many as my hands will hold, to bring back home in exchange for the ones that I brought here. From California to Chile, Chile to California. I have become like a current, moving from country to country, bringing colorful memories and complex experances, here and there,...
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Host Family
#greatcooking, #muyrico, #cortado, #afterdinnerpoliticaltalks, #learningspanish, #hugsandkisses, #love
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I Love to Pretend
I love to pretend that I live here.
I love when people ask me directions because I look like I know what I am doing.
I love it when I do actually know what I am doing.
I love when I throw out some Chilean slang in the correct context.
I love when people tell me my accent is excelante or that I look like a local.
I love it when I know all (okay, most) of the words to a song in Spanish.
I...
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“Let’s dance put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Let’s dance...”
– David Bowie
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Literally, dance the night away.
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The Man Like No Other
So now I have been to all three Chilean Neruda Houses and have taken all of the magical mystery tours and come to the conclusion that this man is not just a poet, politician or party-thrower, he is a myth. Something to believe in and wish to be. The man of many talents, wooer of all. He is eternal, living through words read around the world. Conspiracy or history, he probably is the most...
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Feliz 4 de Julio
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San Antonio
No, not in Texas. It’s a charming port town full of seafood and wonderful little treasures. Avoiding the threedayweekend crowds of the more touristy beaches we googlesearched our way to San Antonio. This weekend it was so reassuring to see the ocean again and be in a small beach town, away from the city. And I think I discovered the best place to stay, called Tú y Yo, a restruant and hostel...
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Lo Siento
I have a low supply of personal technology. Currently carrying a disposable camera and temporary phone. Pictures are in the future. Promise.
