Toddler, Trips, & Track
7 years ago
Friday, April 30, 2010
Well it's been almost two weeks since my last entry so as you can guess life has been a little busy. Lots of thoughts and occurences and I'm still not sure what this blog post will hold but I guess we'll see :).
Classes are going pretty well but are definitely keeping me busy - especially considering that I only have 4 classes, when I'm used to have 5 or 6 with a lab.. however, three of them include a lot of reading and writing papers, which of course takes me a lot longer to do in spanish than it would take in english. I'm also getting pretty good (or bad..!) at procrastinating because there are so many other things going on that I would rather be doing. It eventually all gets done though, and done well-enough.. And I'm actually enjoying my classes despite the workload, I'm learning about a lot of things that I would have never learned about if I wasn't here - for example anthropology, modernism, poetry, and art, and all of this from a very different point of view than I would encounter in the states. It's made me think a lot and it's been cool to expand my knowledge to different subjects. I've also really enjoyed seeing the United States from a different perspective - it's helped me to see new things that are both good and bad about the US.
Other than school work, I've been spending quite a bit of time hanging out with friends here - both american and chilean. I've made a couple good friends in my classes and we'll hang out in the library and try to study together. We actually get quite a bit done but it's nice to have someone there suffering along with you, and distracting you every once in a while! Plus, it's nice because I can ask questions about words/concepts that I don't understand. I've also been helping one of them with his English homework which has been really entertaining for me, to read it and have it seem so easy, and then to watch him struggle with it. I'm realizing just how hard it is to learn english - I mean who decided that the plural of tooth should be teeth anyways? I also went dancing with a couple of them for the first time last week. Definitely a new experience. I'm not much of a dancer... let alone trying to dance to reggaeton, but I figured it was worth giving it a try. I can't say it was my favorite thing in the world, I would still prefer to stay in and play cards, but I did enjoy dancing and singing along to the few songs that I knew. And wouldn't you know, it sounds like I'm going dancing again tonight, so apparently it wasn't that bad! :)
Another rather large noteworthy event was my trip to Argentina last weekend! Bariloche is a big tourist town in Argentina about 7 hours by bus away from Valdivia and so I headed there with the other CMU girl and a couple girls from another study abroad program who are also here in Valdivia. I knew one of them from class but none of the others so it was fun to get to know them and to explore Bariloche. It's known for it's chocolate (the shops alternate between t-shirts, artisan chocolate, and ice cream..!) and it's spectacular views of the Andes Mountains. IT was a really fun weekend and filled with lots of adventures and good food. Saturday afternoon we biked el circuito chico (short circuit) which was about 17 miles of hills and breathtaking views. It was very refreshing and I loved seeing a different part of God's creation. It was also a nice time to just be removed from busy life for a little bit. Then Sunday morning we went for a hike up Cerro Campanario (a hill/mountain) for another great (although cloudy) view. The weekend went by super fast but was definitely worth getting behind in my homework.. hah!
Here's my favorite picture from the weekend (I learned how to use the panorama function on my camera!). There's a link to more of them on the side of my blog for those of you interested!
Last noteworthy event is that I went to a Bible study this week on campus. I've seen a couple signs for various groups but have had class or something else at the times listed. Well, I decided I wanted to try to find one, even if I had to skip something, just to check it out - especially since I've had the chance to talk to a couple friends here about my faith. Anyways, the next day, sure enough I saw another sign for a Bible study the next night, right after one of my classes ended. So I went in search of it Wednesday night and found a group of about 10 students meeting for a small Bible study. I can't even explain the feeling I had when I walked into the room - it really just felt so comforting and like home. Definitely a great feeling. All the students were super nice and I talked with them a little bit before the Bible study officially started. One of the girls led us in prayer, and then led a discussion about one of Jesus' miracles (Bartimeo receiving his sight). I actually understood what everyone was saying, and the whole time just kept thinking how much I had missed being in fellowship without realizing it. It was just such a great feeling, and a cool reassurement of how expanse the family of God is (and that once you're a part of it, you're in no matter where you are) and how important my faith is to me, and how much joy it brings me. Anyways, so I'm excited to go back, and to get to know the people in the group because they all seem like a lot of fun.
Well this is sufficiently long. If only I could write this much in spanish for my literature class.. bah!
Thanks for reading.
Chauu!
Classes are going pretty well but are definitely keeping me busy - especially considering that I only have 4 classes, when I'm used to have 5 or 6 with a lab.. however, three of them include a lot of reading and writing papers, which of course takes me a lot longer to do in spanish than it would take in english. I'm also getting pretty good (or bad..!) at procrastinating because there are so many other things going on that I would rather be doing. It eventually all gets done though, and done well-enough.. And I'm actually enjoying my classes despite the workload, I'm learning about a lot of things that I would have never learned about if I wasn't here - for example anthropology, modernism, poetry, and art, and all of this from a very different point of view than I would encounter in the states. It's made me think a lot and it's been cool to expand my knowledge to different subjects. I've also really enjoyed seeing the United States from a different perspective - it's helped me to see new things that are both good and bad about the US.
Other than school work, I've been spending quite a bit of time hanging out with friends here - both american and chilean. I've made a couple good friends in my classes and we'll hang out in the library and try to study together. We actually get quite a bit done but it's nice to have someone there suffering along with you, and distracting you every once in a while! Plus, it's nice because I can ask questions about words/concepts that I don't understand. I've also been helping one of them with his English homework which has been really entertaining for me, to read it and have it seem so easy, and then to watch him struggle with it. I'm realizing just how hard it is to learn english - I mean who decided that the plural of tooth should be teeth anyways? I also went dancing with a couple of them for the first time last week. Definitely a new experience. I'm not much of a dancer... let alone trying to dance to reggaeton, but I figured it was worth giving it a try. I can't say it was my favorite thing in the world, I would still prefer to stay in and play cards, but I did enjoy dancing and singing along to the few songs that I knew. And wouldn't you know, it sounds like I'm going dancing again tonight, so apparently it wasn't that bad! :)
Another rather large noteworthy event was my trip to Argentina last weekend! Bariloche is a big tourist town in Argentina about 7 hours by bus away from Valdivia and so I headed there with the other CMU girl and a couple girls from another study abroad program who are also here in Valdivia. I knew one of them from class but none of the others so it was fun to get to know them and to explore Bariloche. It's known for it's chocolate (the shops alternate between t-shirts, artisan chocolate, and ice cream..!) and it's spectacular views of the Andes Mountains. IT was a really fun weekend and filled with lots of adventures and good food. Saturday afternoon we biked el circuito chico (short circuit) which was about 17 miles of hills and breathtaking views. It was very refreshing and I loved seeing a different part of God's creation. It was also a nice time to just be removed from busy life for a little bit. Then Sunday morning we went for a hike up Cerro Campanario (a hill/mountain) for another great (although cloudy) view. The weekend went by super fast but was definitely worth getting behind in my homework.. hah!
Here's my favorite picture from the weekend (I learned how to use the panorama function on my camera!). There's a link to more of them on the side of my blog for those of you interested!
Last noteworthy event is that I went to a Bible study this week on campus. I've seen a couple signs for various groups but have had class or something else at the times listed. Well, I decided I wanted to try to find one, even if I had to skip something, just to check it out - especially since I've had the chance to talk to a couple friends here about my faith. Anyways, the next day, sure enough I saw another sign for a Bible study the next night, right after one of my classes ended. So I went in search of it Wednesday night and found a group of about 10 students meeting for a small Bible study. I can't even explain the feeling I had when I walked into the room - it really just felt so comforting and like home. Definitely a great feeling. All the students were super nice and I talked with them a little bit before the Bible study officially started. One of the girls led us in prayer, and then led a discussion about one of Jesus' miracles (Bartimeo receiving his sight). I actually understood what everyone was saying, and the whole time just kept thinking how much I had missed being in fellowship without realizing it. It was just such a great feeling, and a cool reassurement of how expanse the family of God is (and that once you're a part of it, you're in no matter where you are) and how important my faith is to me, and how much joy it brings me. Anyways, so I'm excited to go back, and to get to know the people in the group because they all seem like a lot of fun.
Well this is sufficiently long. If only I could write this much in spanish for my literature class.. bah!
Thanks for reading.
Chauu!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
God's Orchestra
I recently got an invitation to join a facebook support group from an old friend that I haven't seen in years who in October will be leaving the US to partner with World Race, which means she will be traveling to 11 different countries over a period of 11 months to spread the gospel. Anyways, after being involved in a few mission trips and trying to fundraise, I enjoy being able to help out other peoples adventures so I asked her for an address and from there we've been facebooking back and forth and catching up a little bit and it's caused me to have a few interesting thoughts that I figured I would share with you.
When I say old friend that I haven't seen in years... I mean an old friend that I don't think I've seen for almost 8 years. We met at Camp Geneva before going into 7th or 8th grade and maybe saw each other once or twice in the years following camp (I remember her coming to my 8th grade play) but not since then. Of course, we managed to find each other on facebook and have had the chance to swap happenings every once in a while. And, she ended up working at Camp Geneva again, completing the small world circle and getting to know some of my friends from college and high school - always fun connections to make. Anyways, point of this is... it reminded me again what a blessing it is to be a part of God's family. It never ceases to amaze me how I am able to have such great conversations with people that I hardly know (and that I know really well!), all because we share the same love for a God bigger than anything we could imagine. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecc. 4:12)
In one of our conversations, we started talking about how incredible it is too look back on our lives and realize the different events God used to prepare us for something bigger than we could imagine! It's something that I've been realizing here a lot, and then to hear her talk about it was pretty cool too. It was also neat because God gave me a new image of it all. One of us used the word "orchestrates" and it hit me what a cool picture that paints - how God is the conductor of our life. He directs the different events to rise and fall, enter in and out, at just the right time to produce the incredible song and experience that is my life! And since I tend to really enjoy music, it's was especially neat to think of my life as a song - with high points and low points, key changes and so many other unknown elements that work together to produce something so beautiful. The best part? I know that when I let God conduct this song, it not only brings praise and glory to Him, but it becomes a testimony to the people around me. Then, when you begin to add together all the songs and lives of the body of Christ, instead of drowning each other out, they work together to amplify each other, and produce something even more beautiful - and this is the unbelieve power and wonder of our God, who brings everything together for our good and His glory!
The last thing I picked up from my devos last night and seems to tie in with this as well. Lately, my devo book has been talking a lot about worry, and how the devil uses worry to distract us from our work in the Lord. For example, when we worry, we focus on ourselves, instead of on the people around and we are unable to be effective witnesses to unbelievers. The author suggests various ways to fight against worry, and the one that really struck relates back to the Israelites. Often when God did something for them, they would set up a large pile of rocks that they could "look back on" and be reminded of what God had done and how He had cared for them. For me, nothing beats worrying more than that. It always amazes me when I look back on my life to see how God has been present through it all, working to orchestrate my song and when I see this, I'm reminded again of God's faithfulness. And when you concentrate on God's faithfulness, it removes any remaining worry.
Think that's all I have for now. I've now been here for 7 weeks, so I'm a little over a third of the way through my trip. I can definitely tell my spanish is getting better, and have been getting to know a few of my classmates pretty well. Just yesterday I got to explain to some of them what maple syrup is and what real pancakes are! (The pancakes they eat here, are really crepes and only eaten for dessert, never for breakfast! *gasp*) and I even got to try and explain an assignment to a classmate that I understood but he didn't - all in spanish of course! I also got to play bingo at the casino and practice my numbers :). Miss you all and hope you all have a great upcoming week!
Chauu!
When I say old friend that I haven't seen in years... I mean an old friend that I don't think I've seen for almost 8 years. We met at Camp Geneva before going into 7th or 8th grade and maybe saw each other once or twice in the years following camp (I remember her coming to my 8th grade play) but not since then. Of course, we managed to find each other on facebook and have had the chance to swap happenings every once in a while. And, she ended up working at Camp Geneva again, completing the small world circle and getting to know some of my friends from college and high school - always fun connections to make. Anyways, point of this is... it reminded me again what a blessing it is to be a part of God's family. It never ceases to amaze me how I am able to have such great conversations with people that I hardly know (and that I know really well!), all because we share the same love for a God bigger than anything we could imagine. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecc. 4:12)
In one of our conversations, we started talking about how incredible it is too look back on our lives and realize the different events God used to prepare us for something bigger than we could imagine! It's something that I've been realizing here a lot, and then to hear her talk about it was pretty cool too. It was also neat because God gave me a new image of it all. One of us used the word "orchestrates" and it hit me what a cool picture that paints - how God is the conductor of our life. He directs the different events to rise and fall, enter in and out, at just the right time to produce the incredible song and experience that is my life! And since I tend to really enjoy music, it's was especially neat to think of my life as a song - with high points and low points, key changes and so many other unknown elements that work together to produce something so beautiful. The best part? I know that when I let God conduct this song, it not only brings praise and glory to Him, but it becomes a testimony to the people around me. Then, when you begin to add together all the songs and lives of the body of Christ, instead of drowning each other out, they work together to amplify each other, and produce something even more beautiful - and this is the unbelieve power and wonder of our God, who brings everything together for our good and His glory!
The last thing I picked up from my devos last night and seems to tie in with this as well. Lately, my devo book has been talking a lot about worry, and how the devil uses worry to distract us from our work in the Lord. For example, when we worry, we focus on ourselves, instead of on the people around and we are unable to be effective witnesses to unbelievers. The author suggests various ways to fight against worry, and the one that really struck relates back to the Israelites. Often when God did something for them, they would set up a large pile of rocks that they could "look back on" and be reminded of what God had done and how He had cared for them. For me, nothing beats worrying more than that. It always amazes me when I look back on my life to see how God has been present through it all, working to orchestrate my song and when I see this, I'm reminded again of God's faithfulness. And when you concentrate on God's faithfulness, it removes any remaining worry.
Think that's all I have for now. I've now been here for 7 weeks, so I'm a little over a third of the way through my trip. I can definitely tell my spanish is getting better, and have been getting to know a few of my classmates pretty well. Just yesterday I got to explain to some of them what maple syrup is and what real pancakes are! (The pancakes they eat here, are really crepes and only eaten for dessert, never for breakfast! *gasp*) and I even got to try and explain an assignment to a classmate that I understood but he didn't - all in spanish of course! I also got to play bingo at the casino and practice my numbers :). Miss you all and hope you all have a great upcoming week!
Chauu!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Family Week!
Well... life definitely took a turn towards busy this past week or so due to the visit o my mom, sister, and grandparents. I had a lot of fun traveling with them and showing them Valdivia, and of course just getting to spend time with them. Although it did make my life a little crazy as I tried to go to classes, do homework and be tour guide :). It was worth it though and definitely bittersweet to see them all go (I now am much less busy but miss having them here!)
Anyways, I'll try to highlight some of our events from the week for you, and put some pictures up on Picasa for you to look through if you have time. We met in Santiago Friday morning after all traveling from our respective places (mom and petey from MI, gma and gpa from Ecuador, and me from Valdivia). Needless to say we were all a little tired from traveling all night, and this was only counfounded by the fact that they hadn't been able to find the right taxi from the airport (but they did find one at least) and Mikayla had managed to grab the wrong suitcase! After getting that sorted out (rather easily and quickly thankfully), some showers, and naps, we met Carissa Elenbaas (random connection from Byron) and she gave us a tour of the city in exchange for a suitcase of much needed things we brought for her (including a laptop since she lost hers in the earthquake/tsunami... if you want to read more you can go to her blog http://carissaelenbaas.blogspot.com/2010/03/earthquake.html ) Anyways, we managed to get to the cathedral, plaza de armas, the fish market, el palacio la moneda, and cerro san cristobal, along with stopping for a fairly traditional chilean lunch and some delicious pizza at night.
Saturday we headed to Valparaíso and Viña, definitely my favorite part of the trip. Both cities are super cute with their own different, but somewhat similar personalities. We took a boat tour of the port in Valpo (it's a huge shipping port), and of course rode some funiculars (for you Amazing Race fans!) and got to see the beautiful colors of the houses and hills in Valpo. Sunday we mainly spent in Viña walking along the beach and eating a delicious brunch! Eventually we headed to the bus station for our 13 hour overnight ride to Validivia....
When we finally got to Valdivia (my home town), I got them settled into their hostal before heading "home" to unpack my stuff and go to class! In the afternoon I met up with them and gave them a small tour of the city before going to class again and then meeting them for dinner at a delicious pasta place close to my house.
Tuesday and Wednesday were both pretty relaxed which was nice for all of us after traveling so much! We spent a lot of time walking around and shopping at el mercado municipal for souveniers, and of course ate lots of delicious food! Tuesday night and Wednesday night were especially fun. Tuesday we had "once" (dinner-ish) with my host family. It was fun to talk in broken english and spanish and translate between everything, and both of my families enjoyed getting to know the other! Wednesday, we went to La Cervecería Kunstmann, which is a must-do here in Valdivia. We went with some of my friends from the University (all of whom speak english!) and had a lot of fun eating pichanga (one of my new favorite foods, french fries with lots of different meat, and sometimes avocado and tomato) and drinking one of Chile's most popular beers.
Thursday we went to Pucón where we saw the Volcano, the beach, did some more shopping, and went on a canopy tour, which was definitely another highlight of the week. Not only was it a blast to zipline from tree to tree, but the scenery was beautiful!
Friday was their last day in town. I met them for lunch at another local restaurant that had been recommended to us and we split 2 giant burgers. They finished up some shopping and then we took a boat tour along the river to a more remote part of Valdivia where they make Chicha (fermented apple cider) and to a really old church. It was a nice relaxing way to end their time in Valdivia. Greg and Rachel joined us too which was fun and we all went out for pizza afterwards! After that they made one last stop at the grocery store to pick up some food and drink "souveniers" before heading over to the bus station. The bus was on Chilean time (about 30 minutes late), but they eventually got loaded up and began their long journey home (they should have recently landed in GR).
Overall, it was a really great trip. It was so fun to show them my life here in Valdivia and even more fun to see them become more comfortable in a different culture. Learning about different cultures, especially hispanic ones is something I'm passionate it about so it was cool to see them start to appreciate this culture as well. They even all were speaking various levels of spanish by the time they left!
Anyways, I'll try to highlight some of our events from the week for you, and put some pictures up on Picasa for you to look through if you have time. We met in Santiago Friday morning after all traveling from our respective places (mom and petey from MI, gma and gpa from Ecuador, and me from Valdivia). Needless to say we were all a little tired from traveling all night, and this was only counfounded by the fact that they hadn't been able to find the right taxi from the airport (but they did find one at least) and Mikayla had managed to grab the wrong suitcase! After getting that sorted out (rather easily and quickly thankfully), some showers, and naps, we met Carissa Elenbaas (random connection from Byron) and she gave us a tour of the city in exchange for a suitcase of much needed things we brought for her (including a laptop since she lost hers in the earthquake/tsunami... if you want to read more you can go to her blog http://carissaelenbaas.blogspot.com/2010/03/earthquake.html ) Anyways, we managed to get to the cathedral, plaza de armas, the fish market, el palacio la moneda, and cerro san cristobal, along with stopping for a fairly traditional chilean lunch and some delicious pizza at night.
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| Overlooking Santiago from Cerro San Cristobal |
Saturday we headed to Valparaíso and Viña, definitely my favorite part of the trip. Both cities are super cute with their own different, but somewhat similar personalities. We took a boat tour of the port in Valpo (it's a huge shipping port), and of course rode some funiculars (for you Amazing Race fans!) and got to see the beautiful colors of the houses and hills in Valpo. Sunday we mainly spent in Viña walking along the beach and eating a delicious brunch! Eventually we headed to the bus station for our 13 hour overnight ride to Validivia....
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| Valparaíso |
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| Me and Mikayla in front of Castilla Wolff |
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| In front of the flower clock in Viña |
When we finally got to Valdivia (my home town), I got them settled into their hostal before heading "home" to unpack my stuff and go to class! In the afternoon I met up with them and gave them a small tour of the city before going to class again and then meeting them for dinner at a delicious pasta place close to my house.
Tuesday and Wednesday were both pretty relaxed which was nice for all of us after traveling so much! We spent a lot of time walking around and shopping at el mercado municipal for souveniers, and of course ate lots of delicious food! Tuesday night and Wednesday night were especially fun. Tuesday we had "once" (dinner-ish) with my host family. It was fun to talk in broken english and spanish and translate between everything, and both of my families enjoyed getting to know the other! Wednesday, we went to La Cervecería Kunstmann, which is a must-do here in Valdivia. We went with some of my friends from the University (all of whom speak english!) and had a lot of fun eating pichanga (one of my new favorite foods, french fries with lots of different meat, and sometimes avocado and tomato) and drinking one of Chile's most popular beers.
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| With my host mom Viviana |
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| At La Cervecería Kunstmann |
Thursday we went to Pucón where we saw the Volcano, the beach, did some more shopping, and went on a canopy tour, which was definitely another highlight of the week. Not only was it a blast to zipline from tree to tree, but the scenery was beautiful!
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| On our canopy adventure! |
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| Volcán Villarica |
Friday was their last day in town. I met them for lunch at another local restaurant that had been recommended to us and we split 2 giant burgers. They finished up some shopping and then we took a boat tour along the river to a more remote part of Valdivia where they make Chicha (fermented apple cider) and to a really old church. It was a nice relaxing way to end their time in Valdivia. Greg and Rachel joined us too which was fun and we all went out for pizza afterwards! After that they made one last stop at the grocery store to pick up some food and drink "souveniers" before heading over to the bus station. The bus was on Chilean time (about 30 minutes late), but they eventually got loaded up and began their long journey home (they should have recently landed in GR).
Overall, it was a really great trip. It was so fun to show them my life here in Valdivia and even more fun to see them become more comfortable in a different culture. Learning about different cultures, especially hispanic ones is something I'm passionate it about so it was cool to see them start to appreciate this culture as well. They even all were speaking various levels of spanish by the time they left!
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