chau chile

Well I've finally left Chile. As I write this I am on my way to Arequipa, Peru. Crossing the border was relatively easy, only involving taking a collectivo from the bus station in Arica to Tacna (Peru) then a 6 hour bus to Arequipa. Tomorrow we will spend the day exploring the city and organizing our trip to Colca Canyon the couple of days after that. I'm excited to do some trekking again, a warm up for our next stop Machu Picchu!

I ended up spending more time in Arica than I wanted to. Camping on the beach would have been the way to go I realized too late the last day I was there which I spent in entirety on the beach. The waves there are killin'. Instead I stayed in a hostal with my newly made friend Jaqueline, who I met in San Pedro de Atacama. We went on a tour of Parque Lauca which was beautiful. The tour took us almost all the way to the border of Bolivia where stands the beautiful snow capped Volcan Parinacota. I have to say Chile really does give New Zealand a run for it’s money in terms of natural beauty. I continue to be amazed at the diversity in landscape that can be found in this country. When I spent time in the south it reminded me very much of New Zealand with the mountain ranges and green everywhere. And as I have just learnt, the dry dessert country of the north offers just as much to admire. I found it incredible to be able to leave San Pedro de Atacama, drive for an hour or so and then smack in the middle of nowhere run into your choice of salt flat/lagoon/geyser - take your pick says Chile! 

San Pedro itself is a bustling, dusty little tourist town in the middle of nowhere - the jumping off point for the huge range of tours it offers. I myself did four, my favourites including the Geysers del Tatio tour and the Salt lake Lagoons. The geyser tour involved getting picked up at 4am to be able to see the geysers at their most active. Our tour guide cooked us eggs for breakfast by putting a dozen of them in a plastic bag then leaving them in a geyser for 15 minutes as he proceeded to show us around. After breakfast we went for swim in a natural thermal pool, or correction I did as no-one else from my group would get in because it was freezing outside. On the way back we visited the tiny Machuca Village and ate some llama kebabs which were yuuuuummmmmy. 

That afternoon I headed out on the Salt Lake Lagoon tour.  We were taken to the Cejas Lagoon which is a pool of salt water which is so dense it allows you to float, it feels awesome to be weightless. Next up we were taken to Laguna Piedra to jump the 20 metres into the water to clean all that salt off our bodies. I ended up doing it 3 times to try get a photo, failed all 3 times so instead settled for a video. Then it was time to get snap happy with our cameras at the Tebinquince Lagoon as we watched the repuesta del sol. Gorgeous. I don’t know if it was because San Pedro was the first stop on my journey, or because Arica was kind of average, but a part of me fell in love with the place. Maybe I can use the excuse that I ran out of time to try the sand boarding to return?

Lagunas Antiplaticos

Oasis in the middle of the dessert

Salar de Atacama

New friends

repuesta del sol

On the beach in Arica

Looking out over Arica

Parque Lauca

Llama love

So back to Santiago. I ended up staying there an extra day than originally planned because I didn’t organize myself properly to be able to get away. I’m glad I stayed that extra night though because it was so nice to be able to see everyone from VE at 'Cafe' and have one last boogie in Mito Urbano (would we really go anywhere else? jaja) before I left. 

When I arrived in Santiago, I remember saying more than once that yeah I liked Santiago, but I wasn't in love with the place. My last couple of months there though, I really started to like it. More than anything I think it was the people I met there that made me like it so much. I loved living in my apartment with Camille & Vero in Bellas Artes. It was such a novelty finally living in the real world again after living almost non-stop on ships for 3 years. It was nice being able to be able go to Salsa class at night, walk out of my apartment & chill out at the park when I felt like it, AND I learnt I actually enjoy cooking. It took me 2 months to finally feel comfortable in my institute. There was never a day I dreaded going, but at the beginning I always felt on guard and unsure of how the day would unfold. Not knowing the language definitely was the worst part, I think I have never felt as stupid in my life as I felt in Chile. But, I went to Spanish school, began to understand more (still not everything!) and I got to know the girls at Aldea better every day.  Eventually without realizing, I started really looking forward to going to work. I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t have my off days, this goes without saying. But there would be days for me personally I didn't feel so great, and I would really look forward to seeing the girls that day. There is something about the energy and life in the girls that is very endearing and addictive to be around. I don’t know how to describe it. I’m trying hard right now not to look back through rose tinted glasses, which is easy to do of course once you leave a place. There were some days I was gritting my teeth, the girls behaviour and moods swings were unpredictable at times to say the least. For those days I was so glad to have my Lily & Stephen around for support (thanks guys) and to share a sopaipilla with. 

Was Aldea what I expected it to be? From the time I received the e-mail back in NZ telling me about my institute, I think I learnt to loose all my expectations right then and there. I think I may have tried to imagine a little what it was going to be like, and I laugh thinking back on those thoughts now. I remember reading the description of Aldea from the previous volunteers, prepping us that ‘sometimes the girls can get physically violent’ and my mum  asking in a worried voice how big were the girls are over there haha. And then I think of one particular girl charging down the sports field screaming obscenities with a hockey stick in hand and pounding it on the concrete and I laugh to myself. Such events weren't always things you could laugh about later, what I actually found worse with the girls was usually not the physical violence that occurred, but the emotional bullying that went on between the girls. Especially seeing it from girls who you knew had kind hearts and knew better than that. It always made me sad to wonder who had treated them so bad in their life to make them feel the need to act out like that. Again in orientation week when the new volunteers arrived I was reminded of my shift in expectations that occurred as time went on. Breakthroughs with the girls happened, but they were smaller and fewer in between than expected. There were definitely times I wondered what good my presence was doing in Aldea, but at the same time I would think to myself what if VE didn't place volunteers there? The main feeling I got from the girls at Aldea was that they were just so bored and lacking opportunities for personal growth. If we weren't there would the girls just be watching crappy telenovela non-stop? I wouldn't doubt it.

I didn't know what to expect my last day at Aldea, and it turned out to be one of the most fun days I have ever had there. We organized a water balloon fight and almost every girl participated (a rarity!). At the end of the day they all wrote goodbye notes to me on a big piece of paper and I don't know why but it felt even more special that they were written in Spanish. In the end I hope they at least found a friend in me, from whatever end of the spectrum it may have been. Naturally there were girls with whom I was closer or spent more time with, but everyone of them had spirit and I know I will always continue to think of them and hope for the best for them in their lives.


Te echo de menos Chile! xxx

Leaving Aldea for the last time

bye santiago

So I'm leaving tomorrow and have absolutely no time left to write a post, however I'm putting up some photos from my last day at Aldea and will write a blog on my 22 hour (bad decision) bus ride tomorrow to San Pedro de Atacama.

Last day at Aldea with Stephen & Lily. I'm going to miss them so much!

Exactly how I like my sopaipilla hmmmm going to miss these too.

aaawwww.

 The girls wrote me good bye messages, so cute.

Photo taken my last day in Santiago with my disgusting new haircut. Be warned this is what happens when you can't speak a country's native language.

And here is the blog I wrote for the VE Global website about the dance the Aldea girls did for Christmas.

Finally a photo of my girls I can post!!!

Baile de la Navidad

Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 10:55AM

 

Aleisha Manion
Christchurch, New Zealand

The girls at Aldea María Reina love to dance.
So with Christmas around the corner and the opportunity for an audience during the holiday celebrations, a Navidad-themed baile was in order. With the song chosen and the dance choreographed, the only thing left to do was to recruit some dancers. This can be harder than it sounds at the hogar. Housing around 45 teenage girls, the girls moods change constantly, affecting whether they want to participate in the days activities or not. Myself and the other volunteers have found usually the best source of motivation to get them to join in comes from the girls seeing others enjoying themselves and not wanting to miss out on the fun!
True to form, we started the day with one girl and ended with six, with another three more wanting to join in tomorrow. A week went by filled with rehearsals, and new girls asking to join in each day. The girls worked hard together. It made me really happy to see their long-term commitment to putting in the time and effort to make their dance look the best it could.
There were girls who struggled with a particular step one day, who after some one-on-one time would turn up the next day and have it perfect. I saw older girls helping the younger ones, and others taking the initiative to solve choreographic problems, or encouraging the others around them to keep practicing. It was nice to see sides of girls' personalities I had not seen before, girls who usually had no interest in dance who put themselves outside their comfort zone to try something new.
Well the big day arrived and after coordinating costumes and a last minute rehearsal out on the cancha, they were ready as they would ever be. Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas" came through speakers and they began their routine. While some had shy smiles across their faces and others threw themselves into it, the cheers, applause and encouragement from the audience was well deserved. I truly felt proud of each and every one of them as I snapped away with my camera, happy to see all their hard work finally paying off.
Again I am amazed at the energy and spirit of the girls I work with every day and what they are capable of if they put their mind to it.

 Here is the link to the original blog and you can also check out the sopaipilla video Stephen made on this page.

http://www.ve-global.org/blog/

See you in San Pedro woop woop!

the countdown begins

Today I moved out of my apartment. I'm kind of sad, I love my apartment and my the area it's in, Bellas Artes. It's like the hippy, bohemian part of of Santiago. I have to say it was getting a bit lonely there as the last week I was living by myself because Vero had already moved out and Camille had left to go travel. I feel really lucky with how my living situation worked out here because a lot of people who choose to find their own apartments outside of VE ended up having bad experiences with house mates etc. where as I got along well with both of mine. Now homeless me is lucky to be crashing in one of the volunteer apartments for last week of my time left in Santiago. I still have so much to organize before I go although I have more or less decided the path I will be taking around South America so I guess that is a good start. My last day at Aldea is on Monday, which is also orientation week for the new group of volunteers arriving over the next few days. I have been enjoying my final days at Aldea. When we turned up on Monday 'L', (the same girl who thought she was getting kicked out of Aldea) invited Stephen and I along to her graduation from her cooking school. There were 3 other girls from Aldea who also were graduating. When we turned up we definitely looked out of place, the 2 gringos dressed casually amongst the families dressed up in formal attire, together waiting an hour for the ceremony to start because naturally we were running on Chilean time. I was really pleased to be invited to come along with the girls. It definitely was a family occasion and it made me a bit sad to see that if we hadn't have come the girls wouldn't have had anyone to be there for them to watch them graduate. Stephen & I filled the family roles, clapping and yelling for the girls when they got their names called and snapping photos of them when they received their certificates. It made me really happy to see them, especially 'L'obviously after worrying about how things were going to work out for her. She even received a special award on top of graduating. I spoke to one of the other girls on the way to graduation and she told me that even though she liked cooking it's not really what she wants to do. She told me that even though she thought she could be setting her hopes too high from what I could gather (dam language difficulty) she wants to be an official who perform drug searches, I asked if she meant like a police woman, which she answered something like that. I told her that I think she can do it if she really wants to. I found out yesterday that she's failed her level at school three times now, I think that's why some of the girls at younger ages end up doing courses in practical skills if they're struggling at school. I really hope that girls like her will meet and have people in their lives who believe in them and tell them they can be capable of things they set their mind to because it sucks to hear her say things like that.

happy new year

After hearing through the grapevine that Valparaíso is the place to be in Chile to bring in the New Year, myself and 9 others headed to the coast for the weekend. We rented a apartment in the nearby beach town Viña del Mar about 15 minutes from Valpo. After arriving on Thursday we chilled on the beach and watched one of the last days on 2010 disappear with a gorgeous sunset. The next day we caught a bus to Valpo to do a bit of sight seeing during the day. Valparaíso is spread over a cresent of forty-two hills (cerros), a higgledy-piggledy multi-coloured mix of mansions, houses and shacks. To explore we caught one of the many ascensores (some dating from 1883) up the Cerro Concepcion and made our way around steep flights of stairs and narrow winding roads, taking in the funky graffiti covering every spare inch of space.

After a short respite in Viña , we returned back to Valpo to get in on the NYE celebrations. We set up a good spot for ourselves on the ground close to the water to get a good view of the approaching fireworks show at midnight. We sat amongst young people and families alike, which increased in number as the night progressed making us glad we had got there early. We kept ourselves occupied playing ‘thumper’ and ‘telefono’, drinking and indulging in street food. The fire works when they finally started were amazing, the best I have ever seen and a great precursor for the giant street party that took place in the square after wards. Who knew a year ago that I would be celebrating the turning of 2011 in Chile? Not me that’s for sure. New Years resolutions? The only one that really comes to mind is to decide what I will be doing after this whole adventure ends, which is definitely a sad and slightly scary thought. I can’t say I really thought about it at all the next day which I spent nursing a Caña on the beach along with every other Chilean and his dog.
Happy New Year everyone!

View from the top of Cerro Concepcion in Valparaíso.

Viña del Mar NY day