Happy House Full of Happy Jumbos
Hello from Happy House Hostel! In case you want to mooch off of our very unpredictable wifi, the password is 1829182929.
After a long two flight journey, the team made it to Santiago on the morning of July 13th. We got through customs with only one jar of Russian honey and a day old apple being confiscated! We were all given different amounts of paper/Visa directions at the Chilean Consulate (19 Lanark Rd in Brighton if you want to write a complaint), but somehow all made it out of the airport. After a quick pit stop at the Happy House Hostel to drop off our oversized luggage, we hit the town to begin the immigration process. Bureaucracy is REAL in Chile my friends. 10/10 do not recommend hanging out in el Registro Civil for 4 and a half hours just because one of your photocopies does not have your middle name printed on it even though every last letter of your crazy long last name is there. 'Twas quite an experience that felt oddly similar to the Zootopia scene with the sloths at the DMV (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SmyATAYsNs). But I made it out with a Chilean ID and a solo taxi ride (in which I told the driver I was, in fact, a devout practicing Catholic because I was too stressed out that I was going to get deported to explain that I really was not). All is well.
In case your CNN phone bursts didn't cover it, Santiago received 6 cm of snow Saturday morning, and the entire city shut down. Word on the street is that this is the first snow in the valley since 2007. Remember when Atlanta had a snow storm a couple of years ago, and had 0 idea what to do about it? They started getting plows from New Jersey and such? Same thing here. This city is ready for 9.0 earthquakes, landslides, and historical epidemics, but cannot handle some frozen rain. Us Boston college students enjoyed watching it thoroughly, but our poor resident director had to walk to work because her car was "snowed in." 2 days later and she still doesn't have power. Ay Dios mío.
After all of the crazy weather patterns and the hours spent getting through immigration, we finally started to explore this incredible city. After our group lunch today, Claire, Maria, and I climbed to the top of Cerro Santa Lucía. An old castle situated on the top of a hill in the center of the city, it is one of the most visited public parks in the city due to its breathtaking views, including that of the Andes. The one amazing benefit of the snow was that it cleared the smog allowing for breathtaking views of the mountain range that is the backdrop to the city. There is nothing quite like staring out to the tallest mountains of the Western Hemisphere with the tallest building in South America below with a street performer playing La Cucaracha behind you. I can't wait to explore other gems like that one. Incredible that we are only at day 4!
Due to the almost certain student strikes at La Universidad de Chile this fall, we are now all going to take classes exclusively at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. They have campuses all over the city, but the one where I will be taking all of my classes (if my plan works out) is a 5 minute walk from my host family's apartment in the Ñuñoa neighborhood. (Try to say Ñuñoa five times fast... it feels like you have peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth hehe.) The Ñuñoa Católica campus (Campus Oriente) is also an old monastery, and has peacefully quiet courtyards full of vines and palm trees and benches. And there are fully complete waste stations (including compost bins!) that are beautifully labeled in all of the main hallways!! (Shout out to the Eco/GreEco Rep fam reading these posts). We have two weeks in the Happy House Hostel during our orientation before moving to our new neighborhoods (more residential ones) with our host families. Our classes begin on August 1st.
The highlights over the past 4 days have been getting to know the 14 other incredible Jumbos traveling with me, exploring a city that is so different than any other I have ever been to, snuggling up in my sleeping bag underneath 3 fleece blankets (shout out to the lack of central heating), and beginning to have all of the pieces come together for our 5 month adventure. Thank you to everyone who has tried to contact me and has been patient with my lack of wifi. Even more, thank you for getting through blog post #2 and indulging me as I type cozied up in my blanket scarf.
I miss you all tremendously, and can't wait to share bits of this journey with you as they take place.
Much love as always,
Olivia/Liv/Boo
Spanish Word of the Blog:
Monjar -- Chilean version of dulce de leche. It. Is. FUEGO. Today at lunch, we had crepes filled with monjar, and they were the yummiest thing I've had in a while. Nutella, step aside.
After a long two flight journey, the team made it to Santiago on the morning of July 13th. We got through customs with only one jar of Russian honey and a day old apple being confiscated! We were all given different amounts of paper/Visa directions at the Chilean Consulate (19 Lanark Rd in Brighton if you want to write a complaint), but somehow all made it out of the airport. After a quick pit stop at the Happy House Hostel to drop off our oversized luggage, we hit the town to begin the immigration process. Bureaucracy is REAL in Chile my friends. 10/10 do not recommend hanging out in el Registro Civil for 4 and a half hours just because one of your photocopies does not have your middle name printed on it even though every last letter of your crazy long last name is there. 'Twas quite an experience that felt oddly similar to the Zootopia scene with the sloths at the DMV (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SmyATAYsNs). But I made it out with a Chilean ID and a solo taxi ride (in which I told the driver I was, in fact, a devout practicing Catholic because I was too stressed out that I was going to get deported to explain that I really was not). All is well.
In case your CNN phone bursts didn't cover it, Santiago received 6 cm of snow Saturday morning, and the entire city shut down. Word on the street is that this is the first snow in the valley since 2007. Remember when Atlanta had a snow storm a couple of years ago, and had 0 idea what to do about it? They started getting plows from New Jersey and such? Same thing here. This city is ready for 9.0 earthquakes, landslides, and historical epidemics, but cannot handle some frozen rain. Us Boston college students enjoyed watching it thoroughly, but our poor resident director had to walk to work because her car was "snowed in." 2 days later and she still doesn't have power. Ay Dios mío.
After all of the crazy weather patterns and the hours spent getting through immigration, we finally started to explore this incredible city. After our group lunch today, Claire, Maria, and I climbed to the top of Cerro Santa Lucía. An old castle situated on the top of a hill in the center of the city, it is one of the most visited public parks in the city due to its breathtaking views, including that of the Andes. The one amazing benefit of the snow was that it cleared the smog allowing for breathtaking views of the mountain range that is the backdrop to the city. There is nothing quite like staring out to the tallest mountains of the Western Hemisphere with the tallest building in South America below with a street performer playing La Cucaracha behind you. I can't wait to explore other gems like that one. Incredible that we are only at day 4!
Due to the almost certain student strikes at La Universidad de Chile this fall, we are now all going to take classes exclusively at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. They have campuses all over the city, but the one where I will be taking all of my classes (if my plan works out) is a 5 minute walk from my host family's apartment in the Ñuñoa neighborhood. (Try to say Ñuñoa five times fast... it feels like you have peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth hehe.) The Ñuñoa Católica campus (Campus Oriente) is also an old monastery, and has peacefully quiet courtyards full of vines and palm trees and benches. And there are fully complete waste stations (including compost bins!) that are beautifully labeled in all of the main hallways!! (Shout out to the Eco/GreEco Rep fam reading these posts). We have two weeks in the Happy House Hostel during our orientation before moving to our new neighborhoods (more residential ones) with our host families. Our classes begin on August 1st.
The highlights over the past 4 days have been getting to know the 14 other incredible Jumbos traveling with me, exploring a city that is so different than any other I have ever been to, snuggling up in my sleeping bag underneath 3 fleece blankets (shout out to the lack of central heating), and beginning to have all of the pieces come together for our 5 month adventure. Thank you to everyone who has tried to contact me and has been patient with my lack of wifi. Even more, thank you for getting through blog post #2 and indulging me as I type cozied up in my blanket scarf.
I miss you all tremendously, and can't wait to share bits of this journey with you as they take place.
Much love as always,
Olivia/Liv/Boo
Spanish Word of the Blog:
Monjar -- Chilean version of dulce de leche. It. Is. FUEGO. Today at lunch, we had crepes filled with monjar, and they were the yummiest thing I've had in a while. Nutella, step aside.
Gran Torre de Santiago in the distance with the Andes behind
View from the top of Cerro Santa Lucía
Claire, Your's Truly, and Maria all bundled up after The Blizzard of 2017
Those mountains! Love hearing about you're acclimating and happy that you've got such a great crew to explore together. Can't wait for your next blog. Sending you many hugs and lots of love.
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