Hello readers,
I have now been home in the United States for exactly 40 days. I've been meaning to wrap this up for a while now, mostly for my memory's sake later on in life.
The last month of Chile was more packed with stuff than pretty much any other month while I was there. The start of December was crazy because it was the last week of classes (the 7th we finished). The profs gave us quite a bit of work the last month, and especially the last few weeks, so I spent more of my time working on homework. It was quite an experience finishing up the semester at school, because I knew that there were so many things that I was doing and seeing that last day that I knew I wouldn't ever see again.
I had a few days to relax (well, ACTUALLY, one of our teachers gave us an extra week to finish homework, so of course I saved mine for that week) before heading off with Gabe, Emily, and Anne Cathrine (another foreign exchange student who we met in Chile) to Mendoza Argentina where we spent four full days.
Argentina was great. I had an absolutely great time and I'm really glad we went even though it emptied what little money I might have taken back for the semester here at St. Johns. I went white water rafting, ziplining, and paragliding. Paragliding was amazing... I have some pics and videos, if you are interested in seeing those go ahead and contact me and I'll let you know how to see them.
Traveling to Argentina was especially exciting because of course it was the last few days for all of us that we were going to be abroad, surrounded by constant Spanish, and able to do something as crazy as order bus tickers and travel to a different country for the week. Now we are all back in Minnesota, going to school in Collegeville and St. Joseph... it just isn't quite the same.
The last few days after coming back from Argentina went all too quickly. I was very excited and nervous about going home. I didn't feel like I was honestly ready to leave until two days before, and then it kindof hit me and I started to accept the fact that I was leaving soon. I had a list of things to accomplish before leaving, and I was very proud of myself for completing all those things on my list, whether it included simply spending an afternoon reading on the beach, taking the metro to Limache one more time, or something as simple as playing ping-pong with Gabe a couple more times.
I was very nervous coming home for many reasons... it was obviously a huge shift of words, and I wasn't sure how I was going to take it in all at once: simply the knowledge of being back, the language switch, being near family and close friends again, and then of course heading back to St. Johns. Upon actually arriving I took it much better than I thought I would. In the airport in Santiago (Chile) before leaving I met someone who I think God sent to make the transition easier for me. She was a gringa from the United States, who like myself, was heading back home after a semester of studying in Viña. I hadn't met her before that day, but I wish I had. Her, Emily (my travel companion) and myself sat together and talked for about three hours before our planes left, just talking about our trip, and heading home. I am sure that I will never see her again, but I found myself much more calm after she left on her plane, and Emily and I ours.
I am now home, writing this in the safety of my dorm back at St. John's University, and I can't help but think that 45 days ago I was packing to leave. Under two months ago I was in a different world, and now I'm back, but that world continues to exist without me.
It is strange to hear of other students on campus who are applying to study in Viña del Mar because to me, that's my paradise, along with those I came with. Part of me wants to be so excited for them, but another part is simply confused at the fact that they will be living, studying, and experiencing similar things that I experienced, when I can no longer travel to Chile and see/experince/live those things.
Chile, I will miss you - hec, I already do. To those who read my blogs this past semester, thank you. I wrote more because I knew that people were reading, and now because of that I can go back and read them myself at times when I miss it the most. My time in Chile is a time that I will never forget, a time that I will never truly leave behind, and a time that truly changed me. So, in conclusion, my time in Chile may have come to an end, but my experience abroad doesn't end there. If those in charge at CSB/SJU may so permit, I'll have you all join me again in one year.... in Spain :)
Chao
Daniel Knapper
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday, November 18, 2011
Notice
I just wanted to make sure people could tell that I published TWO posts today. The osos en acción post, but also the one directly beneath it.
Also, I would like to thank Mrs. Froland and her Spanish IV class at RCW for sending me a goodies package!! I ate the twinkie bar right away!! haha I was very excited to get it and loved the note that came with!! Claro que sí yo haré el skype con ustedes otra vez! Solo necesitamos asegurar que nuestros redes están funcionando al mismo vez! Nos vemos pronto!! Que se vaya bien :)
Also, I would like to thank Mrs. Froland and her Spanish IV class at RCW for sending me a goodies package!! I ate the twinkie bar right away!! haha I was very excited to get it and loved the note that came with!! Claro que sí yo haré el skype con ustedes otra vez! Solo necesitamos asegurar que nuestros redes están funcionando al mismo vez! Nos vemos pronto!! Que se vaya bien :)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Osos en acción
The 4th of November marked the first of three days of something called osos en acción. It literally translates to "bears in action", but what it actually is is a group of people (this time never more than 27, most often less than that) from the Adolfo Ibáñez school of business who get together and volunteer for a weekend.
This year they decided to help out in a poverty neighborhood called "mira flores alto". What we did was build an extension onto a building in the area. We put in a bathroom as well as some empty space and a window. On the outside of the building there was a bunch of empty space, so we built a little plaza where the kids of the neighborhood can play. There wasn't much that we built, a teeter-totter and a one person swing-set, but we only had three days and the vast majority of the work was spent leveling out the ground.
Something about Viña, more so Valparaíso (I have mentioned this before), is that it is incredibly hilly. Many many of the houses are built on hills. This meant that almost all of our time was spent by dividing up this area into three stair-like terraces. In the first we built a couple benches so the parents can sit while watching their kids play. The second terrace had the swing-set and teeter-totter on it. Between the first and second terrace there was a drop of about three and a half feet, so we had to build a small wall to reenforce the earth. Man oh man, I can't even tell you all about how much work we put into building that wall. It was so difficult because we had to level off an incredible amount of land, as well as dig these pretty decent sized holes in the UNBELIEVABLY tough earth. We had to use a lot of force and a lot of time to dig those holes.. and it cost me what I believe is turning into a scar on my right hand from where the skin had broken open while using the pics to make the holes. Those kids better appreciate that wall is all I can say! :)
We were supposed to finish on Sunday around 1:00 in the afternoon, but we didn't end up finishing till 12:15 AM. I left the scene at 9:30 PM however because I still had homework for the next day. But it was a great experience and I'm very very glad I did it!
Here are some fun tales about my weekend:
You might or might not know how in Spanish a loving thing to say to your wife would be "mi gordita". Well what that translates to in english is "my little fatty". A funny thing happend that weekend... I ended up having a great time with the guys and girls there, so we got to joking around a lot. How this particular joke came about was because we were exchanging words like "honey" in english, or "gordita" in spanish. I asked them if they realized what that meant in spanish, and then told them. One of the guys thought it was hilarious, so he from then on called me his fatty, and he then became mine. So I now have a "fatty" in Chile :)
Friday night was a little rough for me. At 5:00 on Friday night the buses loaded from the University to head to the school that we were going to be sleeping in... oh I think I forgot to mention that. We literally volunteered the whole entire weekend. We woke up early, started, worked till late, and then slept in a nearby school in two of the classrooms - one room male, one female. Anyway, Friday night we didn't actually do anything. It was only a night to start to get to know each other, and to have a good time. The thing was, most of the Chileans had come with either their friends, or boy/girlfriends... so Friday night was a really fun night for them. For me, it was something else. I wouldn't have minded that nobody had told us we wouldn't be doing anything all of Friday, BUT for the fact that I had turned down many other things that Friday night for the opportunity to volunteer. I was very upset, and panicking slightly when I found out that I could indeed have participated in the basketball 3x3 tournament, and gone to the basketball teams long anticipated carrete (party). Some of the players on the team who were volunteering as well didn't even show up until Saturday. So in a fit of desperation I walked about 8 blocks away from the school to find service to call someone, anyone, to see if they could help me get out of there and to the party that I had so been looking forward to for months.
I first tried multiple members of the basketball team, but nobody answered. I then tried some of my girlfriends who are also on the basketball team, but the first of those didn't answer either! Finally, my friend Co Co who plays for the women's UAI basketball team answered her phone. The thing is, she couldn't really do anything what-so-ever. She didn't have a car, and had no way to get me out of there. But I still vented to her anyway.
Apparently my plea for help was quite entertaining because she had told many of our other friends about it the very next day! For the record, I would have done the exact same thing, I was freaking out and it must have been hilarious.
As it turned out, a rescue vehicle did NOT show up to take me away for the night, but that was okay. I got to know the people who were volunteering a bit, which laid good grounds for the next two days to come.
Speaking of that, the great part of the weekend was the friends in general that I gained. I met a lot of really great people and now when I go to school I can hardly pass in the halls without seeing and saying hi to someone who is either on the basketball team, or was an oso en acción.
Sadly I cannot post the pictures from osos en acción because I didn't take any with my camera. The rest are on facebook, and unless you guys are friends with my Chilean friends, I don't think you'll be able to see them!
This year they decided to help out in a poverty neighborhood called "mira flores alto". What we did was build an extension onto a building in the area. We put in a bathroom as well as some empty space and a window. On the outside of the building there was a bunch of empty space, so we built a little plaza where the kids of the neighborhood can play. There wasn't much that we built, a teeter-totter and a one person swing-set, but we only had three days and the vast majority of the work was spent leveling out the ground.
Something about Viña, more so Valparaíso (I have mentioned this before), is that it is incredibly hilly. Many many of the houses are built on hills. This meant that almost all of our time was spent by dividing up this area into three stair-like terraces. In the first we built a couple benches so the parents can sit while watching their kids play. The second terrace had the swing-set and teeter-totter on it. Between the first and second terrace there was a drop of about three and a half feet, so we had to build a small wall to reenforce the earth. Man oh man, I can't even tell you all about how much work we put into building that wall. It was so difficult because we had to level off an incredible amount of land, as well as dig these pretty decent sized holes in the UNBELIEVABLY tough earth. We had to use a lot of force and a lot of time to dig those holes.. and it cost me what I believe is turning into a scar on my right hand from where the skin had broken open while using the pics to make the holes. Those kids better appreciate that wall is all I can say! :)
We were supposed to finish on Sunday around 1:00 in the afternoon, but we didn't end up finishing till 12:15 AM. I left the scene at 9:30 PM however because I still had homework for the next day. But it was a great experience and I'm very very glad I did it!
Here are some fun tales about my weekend:
You might or might not know how in Spanish a loving thing to say to your wife would be "mi gordita". Well what that translates to in english is "my little fatty". A funny thing happend that weekend... I ended up having a great time with the guys and girls there, so we got to joking around a lot. How this particular joke came about was because we were exchanging words like "honey" in english, or "gordita" in spanish. I asked them if they realized what that meant in spanish, and then told them. One of the guys thought it was hilarious, so he from then on called me his fatty, and he then became mine. So I now have a "fatty" in Chile :)
Friday night was a little rough for me. At 5:00 on Friday night the buses loaded from the University to head to the school that we were going to be sleeping in... oh I think I forgot to mention that. We literally volunteered the whole entire weekend. We woke up early, started, worked till late, and then slept in a nearby school in two of the classrooms - one room male, one female. Anyway, Friday night we didn't actually do anything. It was only a night to start to get to know each other, and to have a good time. The thing was, most of the Chileans had come with either their friends, or boy/girlfriends... so Friday night was a really fun night for them. For me, it was something else. I wouldn't have minded that nobody had told us we wouldn't be doing anything all of Friday, BUT for the fact that I had turned down many other things that Friday night for the opportunity to volunteer. I was very upset, and panicking slightly when I found out that I could indeed have participated in the basketball 3x3 tournament, and gone to the basketball teams long anticipated carrete (party). Some of the players on the team who were volunteering as well didn't even show up until Saturday. So in a fit of desperation I walked about 8 blocks away from the school to find service to call someone, anyone, to see if they could help me get out of there and to the party that I had so been looking forward to for months.
I first tried multiple members of the basketball team, but nobody answered. I then tried some of my girlfriends who are also on the basketball team, but the first of those didn't answer either! Finally, my friend Co Co who plays for the women's UAI basketball team answered her phone. The thing is, she couldn't really do anything what-so-ever. She didn't have a car, and had no way to get me out of there. But I still vented to her anyway.
Apparently my plea for help was quite entertaining because she had told many of our other friends about it the very next day! For the record, I would have done the exact same thing, I was freaking out and it must have been hilarious.
As it turned out, a rescue vehicle did NOT show up to take me away for the night, but that was okay. I got to know the people who were volunteering a bit, which laid good grounds for the next two days to come.
Speaking of that, the great part of the weekend was the friends in general that I gained. I met a lot of really great people and now when I go to school I can hardly pass in the halls without seeing and saying hi to someone who is either on the basketball team, or was an oso en acción.
Sadly I cannot post the pictures from osos en acción because I didn't take any with my camera. The rest are on facebook, and unless you guys are friends with my Chilean friends, I don't think you'll be able to see them!
San Pedro de Atacama
My study abroad group and I went to a little town called San Pedro in the Atacama desert (in Chile) from October 29th to November 2nd. It was a really great time for me, and I really enjoyed my time there.
The first thing you should know about the Atacama desert is that it is the driest desert in the world, and the second thing is that it's a very big tourist area, so everything is expensive!! I spend a good haul on food and on water as well - because the water from the taps was not safe for people who are not used to it.
Now getting into more of what I actually did while I was there.
The first day - Saturday we didn't leave Viña till 3:30 I believe it was. We drove to Santiago where we got checked into the airport and ready to leave a whopping 20 minutes before the plane boarded. I'm very glad that none of us actually knew when the flight was scheduled to leave because I'm sure there would have been some people in our group really freaking out with how close we cut the time.
The flight was only a couple of hours long, but since it left so late once we got to San Pedro there was only enough time to get to our hostels and then do a tiny bit of exploring.
The Hostel.
There's actually an interesting story there. Because our group of 21 students, plus our directors and their families, is so big, we couldn't all fit in one hostel even though we had reserved spots much in advance. That meant that six of us had to stay in a separate hostel. I, not by choice (you don't get much choice when you're one of two men surrounded by 19 women) was to stay in the second hostel - which actually ended up being a very nice place. BUT, I'm getting ahead of myself. The first night when we rolled into the hostel we were sadly informed that our reservations no longer had stood apparently because of how long in advance we had had them (WOW that makes a lot of sense). However, the owner of the hostel had felt bad, so she offered up her house for us six students to stay.
We were a little leery of staying in her actual house, and had many mixed feelings about it! But when it was all said and done, it was a very very nice place to stay. Her "house" was almost exactly like another hostel... we each had our own separate "room" which was actually more like a two room (bedroom/bathroom) building. I stayed with Gabe - the other male on the trip - and the four girls stayed in the other "room". It was very nice! So that was an adventure, but only for the first night.
The next day, Sunday, we had the morning free but we didn't sleep in so we could eat breakfast. That afternoon I went sand boarding with five others. We had a great time, it was super fun. Something i realized however... I am really bad at sandboarding. If I can find the video of myself biffing it I will post it, but till that time you will just have to trust me!
That same night we went to valle de la luna I believe it was called where we saw an amazing view of the desert. I got kinda board, however, after being there for about an hour..... so I started climbing down this small cliff that we weren't actually supposed to go near. It was super cool because I climbed all the way down and then out towards the sites that before we were all looking at from afar, but then I had become a part of it. After some pretty awesome pictures, there was nothing left to do besides wait for the next day to come, or I should say morning...
The following morning at 3:30 my alarm rang. We as a group were heading way way up the mountains to see the boiling geysers and a few other sites. We had been warned many many times that where we were going was very very high up, and we were never to move faster than a regular paced walk, nor were we too get too excited at any point... if we did we could experience altitude sickness. They were right about the altitude sickness and how easy it can sit in. More than half of my group was affected, and I think it was six of them had to go down early because of it. One fainted, and the others all of a sudden found themselves on the ground, their bodies having taken them there to steady themselves. As funny as that may sound that is how a friend described it to me, as if she didn't have any control over it. It got a little freaky for me at one point. There was a moment when one of the girls fainted, but then also two more went down at the same time - both still conscious. The guide then turned to me (I'm assuming because I was one of the two guys there) as he was taking his oxygen tank off of his back and applying it my recently fainted friend, and then he said to me "Go find Pablo right now and tell him to come here immediately!" I right away went and very quickly walked to find him. I walked as such because I had been feeling fine, and the way he said for me to go get help made me think there was something more wrong. After quickly finding Pablo I was very relieved because I had no idea where he would actually be, we both quickly walked back. When I got back was when my effort of getting Pablo sunk in. I wasn't affected in my head, but my legs were like jello. I had only walked fast and at one point skipped across a small stream, but my legs were as unsteady as if I had just ran a 400 meter dash. Luckily that was all that came of it! And my friends all were fine after using the oxygen mast. I got some great pictures of the geysers, as well some of my favorite pictures of an amazing mountain sunrise. That following afternoon was left open for us and we filled it with a bit of nappy and a good chunk of relaxation time. When the sunset came I decided I really must have pictures of it, so I set off running for it and ended up getting a few nice very last minute shots (more about my chase for the sunset expressed in my essay downbelow. PS Google translate :)
Tuesday was an entirely free day which I spent biking with five others. It was actually pretty difficult because we started out (8:30) on the wrong road. We biked for a somewhere around three hours before turning around for about an hour, which was when we turned on to an off road path.... which is when it got very difficult! We actually ended up ditching our bikes (hid them behind nearby sand dunes) and waling because the sand was too much to bike through. As that turned out, that was not the smartest idea because after the sand cleared up we still had to walk for another couple of hours.
We finally reached our destination - la laguna cejar - which is a small lake in the middle of this desert. The thing about this very touristic lake that it has an incredible amount of salt in it... so much in fact, that any person can very easily float without effort :) It was greeeatt and a well welcomed treat after many hours of trying to get there in the blazing hot sun.
The way back was quite a test as we were all very tired! We ended up being gone for 11 hours, or in distance: 55 miles. It was a full day filled with sun and more sun!
Even though I was very exhausted and was much looking forward to my hostel bed I was very excited for the next activity that I was going to do. I went with four others in my group to this star gazing thing... haha I apologize for my lack of knowledge on what things are called! But anyway we went to this star gazing seminar and it was very much a highlight of my trip. I personally, like my mom, love astronomy. I learned tons about the sky, it's history, and how it has helped people ever since we thought that the earth was the center of the universe. I also got a great picture with my new DSLR camera... the guide offered to take pictures for people through a certain telescope that was powered too high for human eyes but great for pictures. As it turned out, besides stars a hobby of his was photography! He put my camera on full manual and took a great shot of the moon for me.
The next morning I slept in, ate breakfast/lunch, and then got on the plane heading back for Santiago and then Viña. It was a great trip, but also good to be back "home" again.
Now for you Spanish speakers I have a little treat. I'm going to attach the essay that I had to write about the trip for my art class. I realize that it is not grammatically perfect, and for that Mrs. Froland I apologize! I haven't gotten the grade back yet so I don't know just how bad it actually is. It also is very short because instead of writing a few long essays, we have written many short ones (front and back hand-written). Anyway, I hope you enjoy hearing about my trip in the language in which it was meant to be expressed.
The first thing you should know about the Atacama desert is that it is the driest desert in the world, and the second thing is that it's a very big tourist area, so everything is expensive!! I spend a good haul on food and on water as well - because the water from the taps was not safe for people who are not used to it.
Now getting into more of what I actually did while I was there.
The first day - Saturday we didn't leave Viña till 3:30 I believe it was. We drove to Santiago where we got checked into the airport and ready to leave a whopping 20 minutes before the plane boarded. I'm very glad that none of us actually knew when the flight was scheduled to leave because I'm sure there would have been some people in our group really freaking out with how close we cut the time.
The flight was only a couple of hours long, but since it left so late once we got to San Pedro there was only enough time to get to our hostels and then do a tiny bit of exploring.
The Hostel.
There's actually an interesting story there. Because our group of 21 students, plus our directors and their families, is so big, we couldn't all fit in one hostel even though we had reserved spots much in advance. That meant that six of us had to stay in a separate hostel. I, not by choice (you don't get much choice when you're one of two men surrounded by 19 women) was to stay in the second hostel - which actually ended up being a very nice place. BUT, I'm getting ahead of myself. The first night when we rolled into the hostel we were sadly informed that our reservations no longer had stood apparently because of how long in advance we had had them (WOW that makes a lot of sense). However, the owner of the hostel had felt bad, so she offered up her house for us six students to stay.
We were a little leery of staying in her actual house, and had many mixed feelings about it! But when it was all said and done, it was a very very nice place to stay. Her "house" was almost exactly like another hostel... we each had our own separate "room" which was actually more like a two room (bedroom/bathroom) building. I stayed with Gabe - the other male on the trip - and the four girls stayed in the other "room". It was very nice! So that was an adventure, but only for the first night.
The next day, Sunday, we had the morning free but we didn't sleep in so we could eat breakfast. That afternoon I went sand boarding with five others. We had a great time, it was super fun. Something i realized however... I am really bad at sandboarding. If I can find the video of myself biffing it I will post it, but till that time you will just have to trust me!
That same night we went to valle de la luna I believe it was called where we saw an amazing view of the desert. I got kinda board, however, after being there for about an hour..... so I started climbing down this small cliff that we weren't actually supposed to go near. It was super cool because I climbed all the way down and then out towards the sites that before we were all looking at from afar, but then I had become a part of it. After some pretty awesome pictures, there was nothing left to do besides wait for the next day to come, or I should say morning...
The following morning at 3:30 my alarm rang. We as a group were heading way way up the mountains to see the boiling geysers and a few other sites. We had been warned many many times that where we were going was very very high up, and we were never to move faster than a regular paced walk, nor were we too get too excited at any point... if we did we could experience altitude sickness. They were right about the altitude sickness and how easy it can sit in. More than half of my group was affected, and I think it was six of them had to go down early because of it. One fainted, and the others all of a sudden found themselves on the ground, their bodies having taken them there to steady themselves. As funny as that may sound that is how a friend described it to me, as if she didn't have any control over it. It got a little freaky for me at one point. There was a moment when one of the girls fainted, but then also two more went down at the same time - both still conscious. The guide then turned to me (I'm assuming because I was one of the two guys there) as he was taking his oxygen tank off of his back and applying it my recently fainted friend, and then he said to me "Go find Pablo right now and tell him to come here immediately!" I right away went and very quickly walked to find him. I walked as such because I had been feeling fine, and the way he said for me to go get help made me think there was something more wrong. After quickly finding Pablo I was very relieved because I had no idea where he would actually be, we both quickly walked back. When I got back was when my effort of getting Pablo sunk in. I wasn't affected in my head, but my legs were like jello. I had only walked fast and at one point skipped across a small stream, but my legs were as unsteady as if I had just ran a 400 meter dash. Luckily that was all that came of it! And my friends all were fine after using the oxygen mast. I got some great pictures of the geysers, as well some of my favorite pictures of an amazing mountain sunrise. That following afternoon was left open for us and we filled it with a bit of nappy and a good chunk of relaxation time. When the sunset came I decided I really must have pictures of it, so I set off running for it and ended up getting a few nice very last minute shots (more about my chase for the sunset expressed in my essay downbelow. PS Google translate :)
 |
| One of the photos I ran to capture in San Pedro |
Tuesday was an entirely free day which I spent biking with five others. It was actually pretty difficult because we started out (8:30) on the wrong road. We biked for a somewhere around three hours before turning around for about an hour, which was when we turned on to an off road path.... which is when it got very difficult! We actually ended up ditching our bikes (hid them behind nearby sand dunes) and waling because the sand was too much to bike through. As that turned out, that was not the smartest idea because after the sand cleared up we still had to walk for another couple of hours.
We finally reached our destination - la laguna cejar - which is a small lake in the middle of this desert. The thing about this very touristic lake that it has an incredible amount of salt in it... so much in fact, that any person can very easily float without effort :) It was greeeatt and a well welcomed treat after many hours of trying to get there in the blazing hot sun.
The way back was quite a test as we were all very tired! We ended up being gone for 11 hours, or in distance: 55 miles. It was a full day filled with sun and more sun!
Even though I was very exhausted and was much looking forward to my hostel bed I was very excited for the next activity that I was going to do. I went with four others in my group to this star gazing thing... haha I apologize for my lack of knowledge on what things are called! But anyway we went to this star gazing seminar and it was very much a highlight of my trip. I personally, like my mom, love astronomy. I learned tons about the sky, it's history, and how it has helped people ever since we thought that the earth was the center of the universe. I also got a great picture with my new DSLR camera... the guide offered to take pictures for people through a certain telescope that was powered too high for human eyes but great for pictures. As it turned out, besides stars a hobby of his was photography! He put my camera on full manual and took a great shot of the moon for me.
The next morning I slept in, ate breakfast/lunch, and then got on the plane heading back for Santiago and then Viña. It was a great trip, but also good to be back "home" again.
Now for you Spanish speakers I have a little treat. I'm going to attach the essay that I had to write about the trip for my art class. I realize that it is not grammatically perfect, and for that Mrs. Froland I apologize! I haven't gotten the grade back yet so I don't know just how bad it actually is. It also is very short because instead of writing a few long essays, we have written many short ones (front and back hand-written). Anyway, I hope you enjoy hearing about my trip in the language in which it was meant to be expressed.
Daniel
Knapper
Arte
Ensayo de
San Pedro de Atacama
“¡No
corras, está prohibido!” Yo seguía
corriendo como el conductor del auto rojo manejó en sentido contrario, casi con
toda seguridad murmurando como loco era el gringo que corría en el desierto de
Atacama. El conductor tenía
razón. San Pedro de Atacama es un
pueblo pequeño, 2.407 metros sobre el nivel del mar, y el más seco del mundo. Es muy peligroso correr en un clima
así, y lo sabía, pero necesitaba llegar al borde de San Pedro tan rápido que
posible. Cinco minutos más tarde
cuando alcancé el borde, me di cuenta que lo acababa de perder. Fue
en este momento cuando yo vi que mi destino podría estar sobre los cerros que
esperaban tan cerca.
Yo
corrí al cerro más cercano y lo subí hasta llegar a la cima. Fue obvio que solo tenía una
oportunidad. Hay que hacerlo
bien. ¡Clic! sonó mi cámara quién
capturó una foto perfecta de la puesta del sol en la cima del cerro a las
afueras del San Pedro de Atacama.
Yo
hice mucho en el viaje. Conocí los
géiseres en la madrugada, asistí a un evento sobre las estrellas en el cielo,
practiqué en las arenas del desierto el sandbording, y gasté una montaña de
plata en la comida en el pueblo, pero la aventura más interesante fue andar en
bicicleta con mis amigas.
Empezamos
a las 8:30 de la mañana. Lo que
queremos hacer fue andar en las bicicletas por unas horas hasta llegar a la
laguna cejar, y después de esta andar más, explorando las tierras. Cuando terminamos, estábamos pensando
que sería cerca de las cuatro en la tarde. En realidad, no terminamos hasta las siete. Lo que pasó fue andamos en la manera
equivocado de inmediatamente.
Pensábamos que seguíamos las direcciones que tenemos por la persona que
nos arrendó las bicicletas, pero en actualidad, estábamos equivocados. Estábamos bajo del sol, en el desierto
más seco del mundo, con mucho calor.
Superábamos mucho.
Al
fin, estábamos muy felices de lo que hicimos y no vamos a olvidarlo. En general el viaje a San Pedro fue muy
especial para mí porque no importó lo que hice, me disfruté todo. Aprendí una lección muy
importante. Se puede disfrutarse
mucho con actividades como sandboarding, andar en las bicicletas, o mirar las
estrellas con telescopios... pero también se puede disfrutarse simplemente con unas
ganas de lograr algo, como sacar una foto de la puesta del sol. Yo aprendí que si corre un poco, aunque
tal vez está peligroso, y si no para cuando hay cerros en tu manera, se puede
lograr algo mucho más que simplemente una foto para su libro de memorias. Se puede lograr lo que quiera... si
solo tiene ganas.
 |
| Taken through the lens of a telescope set to such high power that if the naked eye were to gaze into the eye piece it wouldn't be able to see anything for the next 10-15 minutes. |
 |
| Valle de la luna |
 |
| Valle de la luna |
 |
| Geysers waaay up the mountains |
 |
| One of my favorite shots near the geysers |
Friday, October 28, 2011
Some good, lots of bad.
A lot has happened since my last post, both good and bad.
I'll start out with music. There was a talent show at my university and I participated with my violin. It was very interesting because I only found out about the talent show two days before it was held, and I didn't start planning for it till the day before. I was unsure of what song to do. After some thought it came down to two choices. I could either do a coagulation of fiddle songs, or my own rendition of Love the Way You Lie by Eminem. I have been working on a rendition of Love the Way You Lie for a couple months now, and am almost finished with it. Because of that, I thought the audience would really enjoy it if I played a much more simplified version... live. So I put together a track that would be do-able live, practiced it, and played it for my host family. They loved it.... but I was unconvinced. When I made the violin cover of the song, I was not expecting to play it live, therefore, it did not sound like it was meant to be played live.... simply put, it was missing the other parts that I could not play at the same time.
So I started working on the fiddle songs. After I was satisfied with a collection of varying styles, I also played that for my host family. When I asked them what they liked better it took a lot of discussing and arguments to come to the conclusion that in their opinion I should play the pop song. I took their advice and went to bed with the assumption I would play Love the Way You Lie for the talent show the following day.
As you might have guessed that wasn't how it turned out. I didn't end up changing my mind till after I had already reported to the organizer what song I would be playing, and if I needed any electronic hook-ups. Me changing my mind was mostly due to three of my closer friends here studying abroad. When I was waiting for the first act of the show to start (I was scheduled at second to last) they came up to me and explained how as cool as the pop song would sound, it would be something everybody knew, something not as original, and quite frankly not nearly as impressive. The things they were saying were things I had already been thinking, but just had been unsure how how impressive a violin cover of a pop song (primarily a rap song) would be. My final thoughts on the matter are that it isn't meant to be played as a live song - since I need the background parts to make it full and complete.
So I played the collection of fiddle songs. When I got on the stage I was right away singled out as a foreigner, and the MC's had a fun time teasing me! I was going to attatch a video so you could see for yourselves, but I am experiencing difficulties.
Then came the performance, and over-all I was very pleased with how it went. I had actually planned to play part of "Danny Boy" right before moving on to Orange Blossom Special (the last song) but while I was playing on stage I got the feeling that that would have been slightly too long - and also that the audience wouldn't have been able to follow the change of paces very well. Anyway, I'm ranting now. I was going to attach the performance of the video but again, problems with the upload. I'll attach a link for it some other time, for now... moving on.
A couple of weeks after the talent show was over, I was at the university, walking to the bus stop, when someone stopped me and asked if I had a minute. He introduced himself as one of the judges from the talent show that I played violin in. He said that he'd been looking for me ever since that Wednesday, but didn't know how to find me. He then introduced himself as a DJ who fills his weekends with gigs, and that he would be interested in having me work with him. He expressed interest in making music together - some club and house music - possibly recording some, and then performing with him at his gigs. Needless to say I was very excited about this opportunity and gladly gave him my phone number!
So that was the good of the last few weeks! Now comes some of the bad.
Wednesday the 19th my basketball team had a game. We played at our usual spot in Valparaíso, a home game. This particular game was unusually intense for our team, and the reason for that is that we lost our last game to a team that we definitely should not have lost to. That loss raised a lot of passion within the coach and players alike, and it made us pumped and ready to go against whichever team we may cross.
The game was a close one. Our players walked the walk after talking the talk... meaning they did what they said they were going to do, and raised the intensity level. On the other team there was a guy who throughout the whole game was causing problems - with the refs, and the players on the UAI (my university) team. At the very end of the third quarter he got a little too hot headed and swung his elbows trying to secure a rebound. I was too close when he did this, and paid for it. His swing took me to the ground with a mouth full of blood. It wasn't till after we finished (AND WON) the game that I got to realize the extend of the damage. I knew right away that not all of my teeth would be there, but I didn't know how bad it was. My top right big tooth was badly chipped, and completely fractured, from the top to bottom, and especially on the right side. My top left big tooth was not chipped, but also badly fractured - from the top to bottom, and again, on the right side. My bottom left big tooth and the tooth directly the left of that one are also chipped, though not as badly... but those teeth, unlike the two on the top, are badly loose. The top two teeth are causing me very little pain, only from things like breathing with my mouth open, and drinking hot or cold liquids. The two on the bottom, however, are causing much pain as they try to settle back in their correct positions.
I went to the dentist on Thursday - a day after it happened. She capped both of my top big teeth, and did a very good job. It feels different to me, and they are slightly longer, but I have been told that the damage is unnoticeable. Judging by all the damage done to my top two teeth, and by how much my two bottom teeth were loose, my dentist told me I was very lucky to have not lost all four of them on the court. I am not, however, lucky to have to live with the results. Short term diagnosis - Only soft foods for the next ten days, and no sports. Long term diagnosis: Because of that one pissed off basketball player, I now will have to wear a mouthguard whenever playing any physical sport, or run the risk of getting hit again, and have all my front teeth fly out of my mouth. They are very weak, and I will always have to be careful.
It is now Saturday night, the 22nd of October when I am writing this. This whole incident with the teeth happend on Tuesday the 18th. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I ate virtually no food. Friday was for sure the worst day I have had in Chile, and probably one of the toughest days I have ever faced. The pain in my mouth was nothing, I could have lived with that - and maybe even made it go away by taking a strong pain pill... but the pain in my stomach from not having eaten for three days straight was unbearable. It wasn't just my stomach, it was my whole body. I couldn't think of anything else, I couldn't concentrate on anything. My hands were shaking, and I was very weak. I had hardly eaten anything on Wednesday cause it was just one of those days, and then Thursday nothing because of the pain, but Friday I wasn't allowed to eat anything because of the caps they had put on my teeth for fear of coloring them. It was one of the toughest days of my life and I won't be easily forgetting it.
I would like to thank Kylie Stanfield, Courtney Jenderny, and Sophie Kem for making me a care package filled with the best of what I am allowed to eat. It is really great knowing that I have friends here in Chile that will do that for me. Thanks girls!!
It is now Friday, the 28th, and I am just editing this document one last time before I post it. It has been a week and two days since the smack in the face. I went to the dentist today and she re-covered my teeth for the final time, making sure everything was set, strong, and ready to eat food again. The top two teeth, as battered up as they are, only need a few more days of recouping... but my bottom two teeth are still quite loose. Basically, because of that I am still on the bland food diet - although now it is better because I can for the most part eat normal foods if I choose to, but only if I cut them up into small pieces and chew them without any of my front teeth.
I hope this post wasn't wasn't as boring as it is long! I am doing much better now than I was last week, so no need to worry people back home :) I'm being careful! Bye bye now.
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