Hello! I've been on the road awhile. Matthew and I went to Chile, because neither of us had ever been to Chile, and we were intrigued by the foreignness of it. We couch surfed in Santiago. For those of you that don't know what CouchSurfing is, it's a network of people who offer their homes to travelers. It is safe and reliable because people vouch for each other and write comments after staying in someone's home. We stayed with a lovely couple, who made us fruit salad every night and told us all about the interesting things to do in Santiago.
After a few days in Santiago, we traveled north to Valparaiso. It is a city built on a hill. There are many elevators that take you from the center up to the hill. When I say elevator, I mean a lift, an archaic lift that allows you to avoid climbing steep hills to get to other neighborhoods higher up in the city. We visited Paulo Nerudo's (a famous poet) house, which was very interesting. He wrote such beautiful words. I will post one of his poems soon. Vina del Mar was very touristic and sort of boring. They do have a clock made of flores, which was Alice and Wonderland-esque.
Right now we are in Bariloche, Argentina. We spend over 24 hours traveling on the bus and finally arrived here. I was here two years ago when I studied in Buenos Aires, for Easter break. It is just as magnificent as I remembered. We have been looking for job with fervor since we arrived, and hopefully we will be able to secure something. I'm watching the sun set over the lake here, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I would be willing to sing for my supper in order to stay here.
You're in my thoughts, friends and family. I hope that everyone is well. We're together in spirit!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Huevito (little egg)
Sunday was our last day working at Bodega Familia Zuccardi. It was a little sad to leave, especially after meeting and making friends with such wonderful people there. I was able to take off the early afternoon at the restaurant to see Matthew guide a tour.
Armed with my camera, I snapped a bunch of en vivo shots of him explaining the wine-making process. One lady actually told me after the tour, "He seems like he's been doing this for years!"
At the end of the day, my coworkers shooed me into the kitchen, where there a chocolate mousse cakewas waiting for me. I told them how grateful I was for the experience and how glad I was to have met great new friends. Then these so-called friends led me into vineyard to "take photos," and promptly poured a foul mixture of raw eggs, cream, flour, herbs and whatever else was leftover from the kitchen, on my head. Supposedly it is tradition here. At first I screamed, but as they cracked eggs on my head, I surrendered to it all, delighted that my newfound friends thought me worthy of such special treatment. See video and photos below.
I only wish I had been able to say goodbye in person to Julia Zuccardi, who invited us to work there in the first place. Hopefully we will reunite one day.
We’re in Santiago, Chile, right now. We are couchsurfing with a fabulous couple and seeing the city. I’m honestly not crazy about Santiago, but I’m looking forward to heading south. Peace out!
Armed with my camera, I snapped a bunch of en vivo shots of him explaining the wine-making process. One lady actually told me after the tour, "He seems like he's been doing this for years!"
At the end of the day, my coworkers shooed me into the kitchen, where there a chocolate mousse cakewas waiting for me. I told them how grateful I was for the experience and how glad I was to have met great new friends. Then these so-called friends led me into vineyard to "take photos," and promptly poured a foul mixture of raw eggs, cream, flour, herbs and whatever else was leftover from the kitchen, on my head. Supposedly it is tradition here. At first I screamed, but as they cracked eggs on my head, I surrendered to it all, delighted that my newfound friends thought me worthy of such special treatment. See video and photos below.
I only wish I had been able to say goodbye in person to Julia Zuccardi, who invited us to work there in the first place. Hopefully we will reunite one day.
We’re in Santiago, Chile, right now. We are couchsurfing with a fabulous couple and seeing the city. I’m honestly not crazy about Santiago, but I’m looking forward to heading south. Peace out!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Spooky
Topic of this entry: ghosts. I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while now. One morning, while breakfasting with all my restaurant coworkers, I witnessed the following conversation between two friends.
“Haven’t you see the ghosts in the garden?”
“Of course, there are always shadows moving around. Lots of people have seen them.”
After awhile others join in, commenting on how they’ve felt a presence or seen things fall and break on their own. Eventually, they turn to me, the only one of the bunch that’s actually around the vineyard at night (since I live here).
“Julia, have you noticed anything strange?”
I really want to say, “Of course not, ” because the idea frightens the scardy cat in me. But truth be told, I can’t say no, because I’ve woken up at night to the sound of the bathroom doors creaking back and forth in the creepiest way. There’s no wind outside and the windows are all closed, anyway. I swear the doors don’t creak during normal daylight hours.
I tell this to my compañeros, who all get excited, saying, “See, see, I told you so!”
It seems pretty common here to at least entertain the idea. Maybe these beings have their place on this vineyard, not unlike me. Is that you, Casper?
“Haven’t you see the ghosts in the garden?”
“Of course, there are always shadows moving around. Lots of people have seen them.”
After awhile others join in, commenting on how they’ve felt a presence or seen things fall and break on their own. Eventually, they turn to me, the only one of the bunch that’s actually around the vineyard at night (since I live here).
“Julia, have you noticed anything strange?”
I really want to say, “Of course not, ” because the idea frightens the scardy cat in me. But truth be told, I can’t say no, because I’ve woken up at night to the sound of the bathroom doors creaking back and forth in the creepiest way. There’s no wind outside and the windows are all closed, anyway. I swear the doors don’t creak during normal daylight hours.
I tell this to my compañeros, who all get excited, saying, “See, see, I told you so!”
It seems pretty common here to at least entertain the idea. Maybe these beings have their place on this vineyard, not unlike me. Is that you, Casper?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Snapshots
Restaurant crew: Marcela, Daniela, me and Rosa
With Marcela and Dani in the rosegarden
With Pablo da boss
With Marcela and Dani in the rosegarden
With Pablo da boss
The Prime Time of Your Life
Today (day off!) we took the tourist bikes for a spin around the vineyard. It was simply charming, until we rounded the bend and two large, barking dogs began to chase us. One of them was so close behind, I was sure he was going to bite my leg, but he didn’t. I pumped my bike pedals with all the energy the afternoon sun afforded me, and left the mangy animal to eat my dust, escaping with my limb intact and my adrenaline pumping full force. And yes, I did scream like a little girl.
I take full advantage of the downtime provided by this peace n’ quiet kind of place and use it lose myself in various books. So far, I have read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig and As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. They are both wonderful literary works in very different ways. The long-winded, antiquated prose in As I Lay Dying made my head spin at times. I definitely recommend Zen and the Art of Motocycle Maintenance for anyone that enjoys heady philosophical discussions and/or road trips across America. Next up on the reading list is White Teeth, by Zadie Smith.
Nine hour days here definitely wear on me, but every single day is without a doubt interesting. A few days ago, two American women came to do one of the cooking classes offered here. My manager, Pablo, let me know about 30 minutes ahead of time that I would be translating for them. He added that I could learn all about what they would be making (bread and empanadas) and even eat it afterwards. Good motivation.
In about 10 days, we are going to cross the border into Santiago, Chile. We will cross the Andes mountains on a bus, and supposedly the views are absolutely gorgeous. After a few days seeing the sights in Santiago, we’ll either venture further south into Chile, or we’ll hop on another bus, cross the Argentine border again, and go to Bariloche.
For all of you that are thinking about visiting, take this opportunity to Google , “Bariloche, Argentina.” It’s incredibly beautiful and picturesque, and you know you all want to come visit. As of right now, Bariloche is the final destination. I would love to work at one of the ski resorts there, in either summer or winter or both. I’m well aware that I am missing a lot of snowfall back in Colorado. Please throw lots of snowballs for me. Lots of love to everyone from the southern hemisphere!
I take full advantage of the downtime provided by this peace n’ quiet kind of place and use it lose myself in various books. So far, I have read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig and As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. They are both wonderful literary works in very different ways. The long-winded, antiquated prose in As I Lay Dying made my head spin at times. I definitely recommend Zen and the Art of Motocycle Maintenance for anyone that enjoys heady philosophical discussions and/or road trips across America. Next up on the reading list is White Teeth, by Zadie Smith.
Nine hour days here definitely wear on me, but every single day is without a doubt interesting. A few days ago, two American women came to do one of the cooking classes offered here. My manager, Pablo, let me know about 30 minutes ahead of time that I would be translating for them. He added that I could learn all about what they would be making (bread and empanadas) and even eat it afterwards. Good motivation.
In about 10 days, we are going to cross the border into Santiago, Chile. We will cross the Andes mountains on a bus, and supposedly the views are absolutely gorgeous. After a few days seeing the sights in Santiago, we’ll either venture further south into Chile, or we’ll hop on another bus, cross the Argentine border again, and go to Bariloche.
For all of you that are thinking about visiting, take this opportunity to Google , “Bariloche, Argentina.” It’s incredibly beautiful and picturesque, and you know you all want to come visit. As of right now, Bariloche is the final destination. I would love to work at one of the ski resorts there, in either summer or winter or both. I’m well aware that I am missing a lot of snowfall back in Colorado. Please throw lots of snowballs for me. Lots of love to everyone from the southern hemisphere!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
