Canine adrenaline

Today I woke up, went to my geography class, and caught a micro (city bus) to get to the Consultorio (clinic) where I have my internship. I arrived about fifteen minutes early, and since the Consultorio is in a different region of the city than the one I live in, I haven’t spent much time exploring there. I decided to take a walk. At the end of the street, I stopped to look around and take some photos. There was one house with about six dogs behind their fence, who had a lot of fun running around with each other and barking at me. A couple of other strays were on the street, passive as usual. I continued to view the scenery and take pictures, like this one:
I turned around and spotted a good shot. I simultaneously spotted a dog with really strange-looking eyes, but I wasn’t phased…there are dogs everywhere here. About a half-second after my photo was captured, the dog lunged with bared teeth. I was standing about two feet from its vicious jaws. I ran. Anyone who has seen me run knows this is funny (thanks, Drew). Especially funny when I’m running down a quiet neighborhood street with a dog following me, and when I’m obviously foreign. Although I felt foolish, I knew that (1) if I didn’t want rabies, I needed to move and (2) my Chilean spectators had a nice chuckle.

The picture I really wanted to take. It’s not as good as I was imagining. You can’t see the dog because I was standing so close to it; however, I think the image of its crazed eyes and sharp teeth will always be in my memory…

Dogs aside, this is Valle Nonguen! It’s less urbanized than the area where I live (note unpaved streets). I took a few more pictures, not post dog-attack, but during my lunch break. Hopefully I’ll get to go back soon and see more of the village. These are just from the streets close to the Consultorio.

The Consultorio (officially CESFAM: Centro de Salud Familiar (translates to “Family Health Center”))

The house/farm across the street from the Consultorio. I love that there are palm trees everywhere here.

Villa Nonguen is in Valle Nonguen, which is a valley (valle = valley). Hence, there are hills surrounding everything, which I really like, because it’s natural and lovely. However, if I lived in the village, I don’t think I would feel the same way…I’ve been told that winters are colder and summers are hotter due to the village’s valley location.

Peluquería = hair-cutting shop!

More hills and houses, seen over the wall of a “jardín infantil” (daycare/ child center).

That’s all for now. Just wanted to fill y’all in on my exciting adventure of the day.

Glad to be rabies-free,

Tiernan

The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain…and the rain in Chile falls mainly in Concepción.

Before going abroad, I was told to bring a good umbrella—the beginning of the semester is timed nicely with the end of the winter here, which is the rainy season in the southern parts of Chile. Overall, it hasn’t been as rainy as I was expecting. However, when I left the house today to walk to a little grocery store (my new favorite place to buy food…only five blocks from my house), it was raining, so I decided to take some pictures. I figured I should have some photos of the real life here, not just the idyllic sunny days. So here you are: “Conce in the Rain”

My street--the rain leaves a lot of fog in the hills behind the University. It's really pretty in person.
You’ve got to pay attention to the street traffic when you’re walking in the rain; any car that drives by will make a splash! Although most drivers are very considerate and slow down when they see people walking, the goal is still to be as far from the street as possible.

This is an intersection near the U. The picture is blurry, but gives a good idea of the huge amount of water that accumulates in the streets…

And finally…the grocery store! There are other, larger grocery stores in the city as well, but little ones like this are common for simple things like bread, produce, milk, yogurt, baked goods, etc. I have walked past this one for weeks, but never went inside until about four days ago. I love it. I especially love that the whole window display is alcohol bottles. Ha. As I was crossing my final intersection before reaching this grocery store today, I had a horrible thought: what if it was closed? Most businesses aren’t open on weekends at all (if they are open, it’s only on Saturday morning), but since the big grocery stores have long hours every day, I assumed this would be open as well. I lucked out—it was! I got to escape from the rain and buy my milk, bread, and cheese. Mmm.

One thing that I find funny about the rain here: a lot of people don’t leave home when it rains. I find this is especially apparent at the Consultorio (health clinic where I’m observing). On days when it rains, many people just won’t show up for their appointments. I feel like the people would be used to the rain, since it rains fairly often, and life would proceed as normal, but for some reason, people just don’t go to see the doctor when it’s raining…

Now for stories about the idyllic sunny days! There were two GLORIOUS days this week in which the temperature was warmer, the sun was shining, and I couldn’t wait to get out of class to walk around the city. On Wednesday, I left my house with two objectives: (1) explore a big hill in my neighborhood and (2) see the Río Bío-Bío. I accomplished both objectives and had a lovely long afternoon walk. Photographic proof is included below.

View #1 from the hill: The clock tower in the background is a University landmark.

View #2: A lot more houses than I was expecting…

View #3: There was a whole hidden neighborhood behind my neighborhood!

View #4: Part of the neighborhood that I knew existed. The big building in the background is the University’s library.

To get to the river, I walked past Parque Ecuador, a nice public park near my house. I took this picture because of the ‘soccer court’…there’s one at the University too. Since soccer is very popular here, they have cement soccer fields in areas where there would be basketball courts in the States. Still walking towards the river. Because the main road to the river is higher than the neighborhood that is alongside it, there are these crazy sets of access stairs every once in awhile… I made it! View of the city from the river.

This bridge is an old one…only open to pedestrians.

The Río Bío-Bío is the largest waterway in Chile (I think), which is why I decided it was essential that I see it! What kind of person lives in a city for a month without seeing its most important waterway?

Now for a lesson on the size of the world: it is small. At least, it’s small enough that an American girl can see one man in a Vermont t-shirt and two (yes, two!) people in Green Bay Packers sweatshirts in one week. In a city in Chile. What?!

Anyway, I hope all’s well in the homeland of Paris Hilton, What Not to Wear, and The Simpsons! [Please note: all of these TV shows are viewed frequently in my house, although dubbed or with subtitles…the majority of the TV viewed here consists of terrible programs from the US, shows that almost make me not want to be American (A Double Shot at Love, anyone? Paris Hilton’s ‘My New BFF’?). However, there is also the nightly ‘telenovela’—the South American soap opera. It comes on right before the nighttime news (10-10:45 PM) and apparently is used as a marketing tool by the news station. Anyway, it’s popular. The drama of ¿Dónde está Elisa? (Where is Elisa?) just ended on Thursday. I’m excited for the next saga.]

Love,

Tiernan

Mystery solved.

I know you all have been wondering about my geography professor, so I will make you wait no longer for news of Dr. Ximena Toledo Olivares. Today in class she was not sporting the curler of last week, although she made herself distinctive in a different manner. As I’ve mentioned before, “Chilean time” accepts the fact that life is rough and people are sometimes late…sometimes very late. However, Prof. Toledo does not accept this in her classroom. Today as the tenth person arrived late (about 20 minutes after the start of class), Prof. Toledo stopped lecturing about geography and started lecturing about punctuality: “Adaptation to one’s environment is important, as we learn in geography…young professors, you must all learn to leave your houses earlier if you know your environment is one in which there is a lot of traffic.” She absolutely forbade the class from arriving after 8:30 AM next class (class starts at 8:10), and then continued talking about the academic importance of geography. What a professor. I am really enjoying her class so far.

(The picture above is just a street near the center of the city--note the couple? There are tons of couples here. I think I know why: the word for boyfriend/girlfriend here is "pololo" or "polola", which is really fun to say...)

Now for a culture lesson: you might have noticed that although my professor’s name is Ximena Toledo Olivares, she is Prof. Toledo. Last names are different here than in the States. Each person, regardless of gender, carries their father’s last name, followed by their mother’s paternal last name (example: Ximena’s father was José Toledo Gonzalez and her mother was Carla Olivares Hernandez). When two people get married, no one changes names. The children have the father’s name/ mother’s name setup, and they will keep those names forever.

Once again, it’s time for bed in Concepción. At 8:10 AM tomorrow is a three hour lecture on political sociology in Chile, but this professor serves tea, coffee, and cookies in class. I have had great luck with professors thus far!

Buenas noches,
(Good night)

Tiernan

P.S. Has everyone here seen 101 Dalmatians? There’s one scene when the puppies are in the countryside and dogs are barking everywhere in this great chorus of canine communication…aside from my love for Disney, I bring this up because I often feel like that scene has become my life (minus the countryside, plus a South American city). There are dogs everywhere in Concepción—a lot of people keep them as pets, and hundreds roam the streets as passive strays. As a result, a cohort of dogs is barking back and forth at all hours of day and night. Good night, dogs, and good night, friends!

End of week two!

“Love showed up at my door yesterday...”

Anyone recognize this line? It’s not a message from me, saying I’ve fallen in love with a dashing young Chilean; rather, it is the first line of a song whose lyrics I never expected to learn in Chile, “I Fell in Love with the Pizza Girl,” by the Jonas Brothers. The “Jo Bros” are famous in the States, but their main fan base is girls around age eleven. Apparently, Chilean 11-year-olds like them too, because Irina (my host “sister”) has had this song on repeat for several days now. I can sing the whole chorus. Irina is a fan of American music in general, as are many people in Chile. The radio at the clinic, on the bus, or in any other public place plays tons of songs in English! Elton John, Jason Mraz, Aretha Franklin—you name it. The other day I caught myself lip-synching to the Backstreet Boys in the middle of the grocery store…

Anyway, although love didn’t show up at my door yesterday, my friend Karlye (from Middlebury/ WI!) met her fiancée while she was studying abroad in Concepción two years ago. This has been to my great advantage, because I met Paulo a few days after arriving and have since met a lot of his friends! Paulo is in his last semester at the University of Concepción where he is studying to be a dietician. He has been extremely nice, teaching me lessons about the city, explaining Chilean slang, and inviting me to events at his church. Last weekend he was my tour guide for a trip to Talcahuano, a port city that is right next to Concepción (his hometown). We started our day by climbing a ridiculous number of steps to reach the top of a “cerro” (hill) from which we could see the two bays (one ingoing cargo, one outgoing) and the assorted neighborhoods of the city. Following that, we boarded the Huáscar, a famous ship that was taken over by Chile from Peru during a naval battle over a large amount of land in what is now northern Chile (but could’ve been southern Peru!). After debarking and exploring the market, where fish and vegetables are sold on the street on Saturdays, we took a micro (city bus) to a “caleta” (cove). The ride to our destination was short but really cool; the bus had to drive up a hill to go down on the other side, and you could see the ocean over the trees on some curves. We arrived to a small street lined with brightly-colored houses on one side and brightly-colored fishing boats on the other. As it was a sunny Saturday morning, the clotheslines were full and some neighbors were outside chatting and updating their boats’ paint jobs. From the caleta, we could see the Pacific Ocean!


Last night, I had another fun “cultural experience”—I went to a birthday party for Marta’s sister, Eme. Eme’s family lives in Valle Nonguén, close to the clinic that I’m working at. Marta, Irina and I took the micro to their house and were greeted by a warm stove (a real treat during a winter night in Chile!) and the family—Marta’s two sisters, their husbands, their five children, two great-aunts, and two neighbors. Eme has two daughters, ages twenty and seven. I got to talk to the older of the two for awhile; she’s a college student as well. It was nice to have a conversation, as conversations with young people can be difficult here—Chileans talk really fast, resulting in a lack of understanding for gringas (white people/foreigners) like me. I talked quite a bit with the seven-year-old as well; she asked me questions all night, and seemed surprised that I could speak Spanish with her. I think I seemed especially foreign to her…

All in all, the party was a lot of fun. There was birthday cake and the “Happy Birthday” song (same tune, but different words than I was taught in Spanish class in the States…I’ll learn them some day and let y’all know what they are). By the end of the night, I was christened Elena. Apparently, Tiernan is very difficult to say in Spanish. I have run into this problem with almost every person I’ve met here. I pronounce my name first using a Chilean/Spanish pronunciation, then the English one. I then explain that my name is exactly like the Spanish word “tierna” with an “n” on the end. Saying this is rather a mouthful, so I include that if they find it easier, the name “T” is just fine. However, the letter T is pronounced differently in the Spanish alphabet than in the English one, so I end up with a lot of “Chi” as well. Hmm.

Speaking of names, I should explain my blog title. In case you ran to your Spanish-English dictionary upon seeing that it was not in English, I should explain—you’re probably confused. “Tetera tierna en Chile” translates to “Caring/affectionate/nice tea kettle in Chile” (tetera = tea kettle; tierna = affectionate/caring…or tender, if you’re talking about meat). I decided on this title for a number of reasons. Firstly, I had friends who had artsy/international/foreign-language-laden blog titles and I thought they sounded really cool and worldly. Secondly, as mentioned above, “tierna” is very close to my name, and I like what it means! Thirdly, I have a lot of nicknames based on T: T-dog, T-shirt, T-whatever…and last year, one of my friends thought of T-kettle. “Dog” in Spanish is “perro” and “shirt” is “camisa.” Since I’m a fan of alliteration, I went with the kettle. So now you know.

That’s about all for now! I could continue writing, but I need to go to bed: week three of school starts at 8:10 AM tomorrow, and I’ve been told that this is when the homework starts…the idea of reading a lot of academic Spanish is somewhat frightening (but at least it won’t include any slang!).

Hope you all are well!

Love,
Tiernan

P.S. The class I have tomorrow is “Human-Economic Geography of Chile”—it’s been interesting so far. The reason I decided to write this PS, however, is to tell you that last week, the professor had a pink roller in her bangs during the entire class! She sat at her desk and lectured, explained the class protocol, etc…all with her bangs in a curler. I’ve been wondering if it’s her intentional routine or if she just forgot to take it out. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow!

First week in Chile!

Hi friends,

Today marks my first full week in Chile, so I decided it was time to start a blog! I am currently in the city of Concepción, where I will be living for the next five months (one semester) to study at the University of Concepción. Concepción, or “Conce” for short, is one of the largest cities in Chile. It sits on the coast about six hours south of Santiago and Valparaíso. It is currently the end of winter here, which means it rains a fair amount and temperatures are mostly in the 50s, if my internal thermometer serves me well. My experiences here have been excellent so far. I am so lucky to be in Conce, living where I’m living and spending each day doing something completely new.

My living situation here is really great. I am staying in a “pension,” which is basically a house where students live, sometimes with a family and sometimes without. The woman who runs my pension is named Marta, and the first night I arrived, she was telling me how she wants her house to really be a home for the students who live here. Her hopes seem to have materialized; especially because we eat our meals together, living here is like living with a really big family. There are eleven people in total in the house: Marta, two of her daughters (Ale is 16, Irina is 11), three girls from Mexico, three guys from assorted regions of Chile, a girl who is in high school, and me. There is also a dog named Sofia, who “guards” the house (i.e. she lives outside). The picture above is the view out my bedroom window!

My pension is only a block and a half from the University, which is very convenient, especially in light of the in-person nature of class registration. To register for classes, there is no online system like at Middlebury; instead, I had to meet with the director of international relations and his assistant, who set up meetings with the department heads in all departments where I was considering taking classes. After attending these meetings, I have been trying to attend classes and/or meet the class professors in their offices. Once I’ve gone to classes and talked to professors, I will need to find Liliana (of an unknown last name), who works in a building (of an unknown location) to register my class choices. I am making progress with all this: this morning I went to my first class! I also had my first experience with the workings of “Chilean time”—I arrived early so I could talk to the professor, and no other students showed up until twenty minutes after class was scheduled to begin! Obviously, life here is quite laid-back. It makes for a nice transition from summer to school.

In addition to enrolling in University classes with Chilean students, another aspect of the Middlebury program is the opportunity to have an “internship” for academic credit in an institution here. I will be spending 10-15 hours per week at a health clinic, the Consultorio Villa Nonguén, which is about a twenty-minute bus ride from the University. A few mornings ago, Jeff (Stevenson, the director of the Middlebury program in Chile) came to my pension so that we could go together to my first meeting at the Consultorio. Because Jeff was there, we were going to take a speedier and nicer method of transportation than the city bus: a taxi. Finding a taxi is usually not difficult; however, it happened to be raining. A lot. The streets were like rapid-filled rivers gushing between the sidewalks (and sometimes onto the sidewalks as well). I have never seen so much water in the streets before! Because of this, finding a taxi was quite the adventure. We searched for the driest ways possible to cross the water-laden streets as we pressed onward towards the Plaza Peru, and eventually accomplished our mission, although we arrived for our appointment a good half-hour late, completamente empapados (completely soaked). The doctor in charge of the clinic was very accommodating, and we sat with him for awhile and drank coffee as we discussed the clinic. I am going back tomorrow to set up my schedule, but this time I’m taking a micro (bus) to get there…another type of adventure? Perhaps.

Meals here are different from the types of meals I am used to. We have a “desayuno” (breakfast) of bread with jam and manjar (dulce de leche/ softened caramel), fruit (mostly kiwi), instant coffee or tea, etc. “Almuerzo” (lunch) is the biggest meal of the day, with salad, orange juice (very similar to Tang), and some sort of main course. At night, we have “onces” which is like another breakfast, but sometimes with eggs, ham, or cheese, or we have a “cena” (dinner), which is a more complete meal. A few nights ago we ate onces and then we had a special cena at midnight—an asado (like a Chilean BBQ)! It was very strange to be eating a meal of (literally) meat and potatoes at midnight, but I’m slowly getting used to the change…

Now for two things that Chilean and American culture have in common:
1. Chileans knock on wood!
2. If Chilean children say bad words, they get soap in their mouths too.

And finally,

¡Que este mensaje se encuentre bien!
(Translation: That this message finds all of you well!)

Love from Chile,

Tiernan