2 months in Chile and who would've guessed, todavía está lloviendo (still, it's raining)

8 pictures for the 8 weeks I've been in Chile.

(From left to right)
Foto 1: Sunset at Parque Padre Hurtado during the independence week. The sky was covered with kites that day as the sun set. Gorgeous.
Foto 2: Flora at La Campana Parque Nacional.
Foto 3: Picnic in the park for la dieciochera (independence day).
Foto 4: We hiked La Campana literally in the middle cloulds.
Foto 5: Santiago has a dreadful blanket of smog that hovers over the city. The city is located in a valley encompassed by the Andes Mountains and surrounding hills. With all the pollution that accumulates, there's no where for the smog to go but into our lovely lungs.
Foto 6: Me at La Campana. I felt like I was looking out a plane and could only see clouds. However, there's no window to separate me from the clouds. I'M LITERALLY IN THEM.
Foto 7: My room! Small, but great view of the Andes! I think it's actually intended to be the maid's room because it's right next to the kitchen & away from all the other bedrooms.
Foto 8: Sunset en Pucón (+ no photoshop or color-enhancing at all!) If it looks amazing in the picture, imagine seeing it firsthand. The mountain literally looked like it was glowing.

The Monday after a crazy week of Fiestas Patrias

Hola! It's a lluvioso (rainy) Monday, something to signal the return "back to real life." I just got through my first week de las fiestas patrias de Chile last week. Their "day" of independence from Spain occurs on Sept. 18, but these festive chilenos stretch the festivities for a whole entire week. They seriously drop everything and celebrate for an entire week, NON-STOP. For those who are familiar with the kentuckian life, los chilenos celebrate their "4th of july" more like our derby week. Trade in the mint juleps for lots and lots of chicha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicha) and pisco sours, horse races for el rodeo (note: chilean rodeo is different than american rodeo. In chile, it consists of 2 guasos (horse riders) trying to ram a poor cow into the wall of the ring...really sad actually), oaks and derby parties for fondas (barbeques and carnivals in the park), and derby cups and pins for all the goodies you'll find at las artesanias ("artisan booths", kind of like St. James Art Fair on crack --- in a good way of course). Now imagine all of this maddness for a whole week (Neat fact: in Santiago, last fiestas patrias are celebrated for a week. There's even a law that says all the festivities have to end by 6pm on Sunday. However, if you live in the north, it's tradition to celebrate las fiestas patrias for 2 more days because back then they didn't know that they got their independence until 2 days later). Here's a taste of what I've been doing for a whole week straight:

LA CUECA (the national dance) and EMPANADAS -- godly goodness

CELEBRATIONS IN THE PARK. Word in spanish is called = "Fondas." I went to las fondas en el parque inés suarez y el padre hurtado. However, the chilenos also have a fonda called "Jane Fonda" -- Yes, like the actress. Aren't they so funny.. (sarcastic laugh). Volantines (kites) are a BIG deal in chile. The skies are speckled with them, especially during las fiestas patrias.

ANTICUCHOS - OMG, TOTALLY ADDED TO MY LIST OF FAVORITE CHILEAN FOODS -- it has LARGE chunks of meat, fried onions, sausages, and a piece of bread all on a stick

Anyway, all in all, this week was a huge success, lots of fun! I feel a whole lot more chileno now. Every single day we did something to celebrate las fiestas patrias. However, I also took advantage of the week off of classes and some friends and I traveled south to Pucón (on the map, it's a little south of Temuco -- about a 13 hr bus ride from Santiago) from Monday to Thursday. There I climbed el volcán Villarica (however, didn't get all the way to the top. Only half-way, but still an accomplishment! It took about 4.5 hours just to get to the middle of the volcano and was another 2 hour hike to the top. One of the hardest things ever. Volcano 9340 ft, covered in snow and ice), one of the most active volcanoes in Chile, went biking, canopying, and sat en las termas de Trancura (termas= natural hot water from the volcano).



Life has been good so far, I think I'm finally adjusting to chilean life here. My host family is doing well, except for the fact that our dog, "La reina" got a hernia on Saturday, so we've been very preocupado con her. She's doing a little better, hopefully the medication is enough to make her feel better so that she doesn't have to get surgery. Too bad health insurance for pets doesn't exist because all the x-rays, emergency visit on Saturday night, y medicamientos are racking up!

All right, I never know how to end posts on my blog. Oh well, until my next post, chao chao!
Angela



oh yeah, just thought I might leave this here if anyone's bored, want to send love from the states? HINT HINT.
Angela Cao
c/o IES Abroad Santiago
Barros Borgoño 159
Providencia, Santiago, CHILE
750-0513

"April" (septiembre) showers

Hola! Quick update since I should really be doing tarea (homework) right now, but who says I can't take a break. There's been a lot of rain lately. September is basically April here. We're wrapping up the winter and heading towards la primavera (spring)! However, as you all know, "April showers bring may flowers." So I'll be stuck in the rainy weather for a bit. In fact, all this rain has caused many aludes (avalanche, landslides) near the mountains. It's caused el Río Mapocho to overflow and just terrorized the homes and lives of many chileans. One lady and her 1 year old daughter have died so far. Only her husband survived. On the news, they've been describing it as a dream that they wish they could wake up from.

I went to the partido de fútbol de Chile con Venezuela (World Cup qualifying soccer game) on Saturday. It was rainy the whole time. Plus, I got a fever on Friday, so standing in the rain for about 6 hours on Saturday didn't really help my cause. Oh well, part of the experiencia, cierto? Chileans are crazy at fútbol games! Out of nowhere, people will light fires in the middle of the stands and make all sorts of ruckus to pump up the fans. It was great!! I also learned many chilean cheers/songs because we sang those SERIOUSLY all night. However, sad to report, Chile tied with Venezuela 2-2. From what my papa tells me, now Chile has to play like 3 more games to try to qualify for the World Cup next year now.

Also, last Thursday, I got to scrub in on an open heart bypass surgery. However, I didn't just sit in on this surgery, I STOOD literally right next to the patient's head as I peered into this crevice in which the doctor was repairing the left mitral valve of the patient's heart. It was unbelievable. Purely amazing. Minutes before the surgery did I realize that they were going to cut open this poor 52 year old women and put her life on the line while they tried to help her. I walked into the the small quirófano (operating room) and this 52 year old women was lying on the bed in the middle of the room, dressed with the minimal clothing of a blue operating dress, with wires and tubes running in and out of her body, as she gathered every bit of life into her hand to wave hi to me. This was it. This was the moment that decided if I could continue my path of becoming a doctor -- could I bear to see all this blood, bones, human organs, and the face of this innocent lady, who may have wasted her last bit of life waving hi to me, simply hoping to live? It was kind of sad, but I had to get rid of naive Angela who wants everyone to be happy and be nice to everyone and convince myself that this was not a human and that the doctors were just playing with sharp knives....and a saw. I tried to erase every bit of humanity from her to make the smell of burning flesh and sounds of broken bones on this human being "okay." I thought I was going to be more grossed out, however the whole time I found myself with eyes wide open with an eager face wanting to see more. (Fearing that I may sound like a small 7-year old boy)... "It was so cool!" Nonetheless, after 4 hours of standing, peering into the chest of the patient, I walked out of the hospital in disbelief. Disbelief of what I just saw--- the ability of another human to fix a tiny, minuscule valve in someone's heart and sewing up the sternum (YES, SEWING BONE), but also the fact that this scared and hurting person was going to wake up to a healthier life. I got to meet with her today in the intensive care unit (la unidad de coronaria) and she looked bright as a peach! She was smiling and telling me how great she felt (and then proceeded to tell me about her "guapo" (handsome) 19-year old son who was going to visit her and how I should "really" stay to meet him). Less than a week after her surgery, she was up and ready to continue her life, now with a heart that works. Qué maravillosa! This is what makes me want to do medicine.

Okay, that's it for now. Sorry no pictures