Hot Chocolate and Cognac

Was supposed to be a good idea. It was supposed to be such a good idea that we hiked in a whole bottle of cognac. However, as I unzipped the door to the tent at 2:30am and realized it was raining outside I cursed myself for drinking liquids before bed! Everyone knows I have the bladder the size of a pea! This was the first night of our backing trip in Torres Del Pine National Forrest. It took us one night, two busses and a boat to arrive at our destination. But worth it, it was! The only way to properly describe this place is with poetic rhetoric that I am not capable of. So, I have posted some pictures of this land of ultimate beauty here. It could be the backdrop for anyone’s favorite book, movie, or dream. It’s the place you imagine when someone tells you to close your eyes and imagine a peaceful place and we were standing in it. Well, we did a lot more than just stand. We battled the land for our breath, our delicate feet, and our strength. In the end we were defeated. We breathed heavy, our feet ached, and our sweat was pulled from our bodies as if there were magnets under the depths of the unforgiving trail. However, we were offered quite a generous consolation prize: the ability to participate in the battle and endure until the 12^th round….until the end. 

Shae (Georgia), Leticia (Brazil), and me!

Before we knew what we were getting ourselves into

In total we hiked a little over 20miles. The weather was in our favor which meant the sun was out most of the time and it didn’t rain all that much. The day prior a snowstorm had hit the unsuspecting hikers. Considering that I read that Chile’s national parks were very under rated the trail was noticeably filled with all sorts of outdoor enthusiasts. We witnessed Israeli’s, German’s, Australians, Canadians, and of course a few stinky French people that thought it would be okay to take off their shoes on the 3-hour bus ride. It wasn’t okay…..it was STINKY!

On the first day we were to hike to Glacier Grey, which was about 7 hours round trip and then another 2.5 hours to our campsite. On the way to the glacier we met 3 hikers who were all from different places that had just hooked up at Puerto Natales (the town right outside the park where you catch the bus). One was from Israel…he was the leader in my eyes and who seemed to possess the most backpacking knowledge. Another was from Germany….he was the quiet one, but when he did speak his words forced laughter out of everyone.  Then there was the American…. stereotypically loud mouthed and evidently inexperienced in the outdoors who accidently got himself into this mess. Despite their shortcomings they provided for some good entertainment along the grueling hike.  At the time we were all ready to give up we ran into a suspension bridge. There is something about suspension bridges, especially the ones over a roaring rapid that convert your thoughts into the kind you would get as a child when you had to cross over your living room carpet that was bathed in hot lava! After more time than was needed, we crossed the bridge to find that we had reached our campsite.  You can imagine the relief. 

Suspension Bridge!

We had our cup of noodle dinner and like I mentioned above our after dinner drink and went to bed.

First night of camping with our hiker friends

I wanted to quit so many times the next day. We had an obnoxious amount of miles to cover for one day. But this isn’t just some gym class you can decide to slowly walk out of unnoticed and justify it by not eating for the rest of the day. This is do or die….leave or be left….keep on walking or stop and get stuck in a downpour. So, we kept walking. I had to bring out my positive reinforcement phrase that we used in the Grand Canyon to keep us going: “Strong Legs.” We arrived at our next camp at 8pm with the wind at our backs.  The last 1.5 miles were over steep slopes and with the forceful wind I felt that at any moment it could have grabbed my backpack and thrown me down the mountain. Our first task when we arrived was setting up the tent. This isn’t usually mentally or physical challenging for me, but when you throw in the wind situation you could write your own joke. How long does it take 3 exhausted female hikers to put up a tent in brutally strong wind? At this point I had no conception of time, my hands were numb and all I wanted to do is crawl into the tent and sleep on my mat pad that had a hole in it and my slightly damp sleeping bag.  We made it through the night and the next morning had kicked away the wind and brought with it sunshine and familiar faces. Our other roommates had been on the hike, but we had all left on different days. We found Chelsea, Lee, Emily and Ben who were using our campsite as a rest point for their trek back down.  It was good to see everyone defeated, we all had smiles on our faces and stunk of sweet smelling sweat. 

Reunited and it feels so good!

Along the way I overheard couples talking about their year long plans to travel the world and thought to myself, “don’t they have any responsibility?” It’s amazing how different people view life and what is important to them. What your goals are in life and how you plan to carry them out can dictate if you are that couple I saw hiking on month 3 of their travels or if you are sitting in your office reading this instead of working while sipping your morning coffee! Either way, if you are living your life toward your goals I applaud you and encourage you to keep at it. It is way too easy to give up and plead laziness then to take life by the neck and make it eat potatoes…. or whatever your favorite food is. 

After our adventure we wanted food and beer.....this is all of our packs in the restaurant.

MY FAVORITE PLACE

P.s. My favorite part is that you can drink water from any spring without having to filter it. It's a never ending tap that provides cold fresh water right from the source! 

Hasta otro tiempo

Yenny

Death

indirectly visited me this week. He wasn’t very friendly; he didn’t even call to warn me he was coming. I didn’t want to let him in or even believe he was knocking at the door. But once he was there….it was too late and she was gone. I am speaking of my dear Grandma…Jennie Allison Christopher. She was 85 and it was her time to go.

I have decided to post this as a tribute to her and the life of hers that I knew. She was a quiet woman, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want a boisterous life or she wouldn’t have married my grandpa! I think she liked the constant energy he would provide to her otherwise tranquil life.

My sister and I were lucky in that we were able to intimately know my grandparents and experience what it means to get older.  We spent 3 months every summer from the time we were 3 until high school at their house. Grandma would make arts and crafts with us…from finger painting to painting the outside polls tie-dyed. She taught us how to garden; we would pick strawberries and blackberries. When she would bake pies and cookies she thought I was just there to lick the bowl, but what she didn’t know was that I was taking mental notes that would later make up the root of my appetite for baking.

My grandma makes me think of warm summer days that are carefree; days of filling our mouths with watermelon and chocolate chip cookies. We were both in our prime time. I was a child a time when you don’t have a care in the world because you don’t understand it yet. And she was a grandmother a time when you don’t have a care in the world because you realize you don’t need to completely understand the world. This combination makes for sublime experiences that you keep as memories forever.

The very reason I am here in Chile is because I was fortunate to get the travel bug from my grandparents. They carted us all over the continental United States on road trips where my sister and I practiced our mediocre vocal skills hours on end; never any complaints from the two in the front seat. Not to mention the many times they trekked us to Hawaii where we embarked on mini expeditions on horseback, ATV’s and helicopters.

I am so thankful for all the memories I have of mouse parties, homemade mayonnaise, grandma sandwiches, Mickey Mouse pancakes, and all the other things that will forever remind me of my Grandma!

Que vamos a comer?

The Restaurant we went to..forget the name.

My mediocre King Crab!

Cordero...lamb

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Cute!

Well the truth is I have been eating alot! What is it about being in an unfamiliar place that makes your stomach never know what full feels like? The grocery store here is about 4 blocks away and is about half the size of a grocery store in the U.S.  It is called the Unimart.

The first time I went grocery shopping I walked down every single isle eyeing all the foreign packaging wondering if the pictures on the outside told a true story of what was actually on the inside.  I found that some did and others like “crema” which I took to mean cream for my coffee was such a thick consistency that the glop’s that fell into my coffee cup caused the coffee to spill over the lip of the cup.  Yuck!

The $2 cans of tuna and the $4 bags of frozen veggies have proven that the prices here are either more or equally as expensive as the U.S.  However, as I walked down the wine isle I found reassurance in the plentitude of $1.50 bottles of wine! I looked down at my cart and contemplated trading the tuna cans and granola bars for the chance of becoming a wino for so cheap.

A recommendation from my experience is never go to the grocery store from 7-8 pm, which is unfortunate because that is when I get off work and is the most convenient time to go. However, it is just as convenient for all the Chilenos. Lines of Chileans wrapped in their multi-colored jackets carrying plastic bags of fruit and bread flood the isles, making it hard to maneuver around them.  I imagined myself standing in line at a Vons in San Diego in this situation. The picture wasn’t good. Can you imagine the scene: tons of frustrated consumers having to wait in lines that take up to 20 minutes, yelling….cussing…crying….sweating….customers who vow to never spend a dime in that store again!

Fruit is not the most appealing….apparently they export the best selection to the US and we get what’s left over here! So, I had to pass on the half brown and green bananas…I didn’t know if they were over ripe or not ripe yet?

Another interesting item is that the ladies who bag your groceries pay the store to be there and you are supposed to tip them to bag your groceries. What they expect is a mere 100 or 200 pesos which is about 25 or 50 cents.

My first restaurant dining experience was quite aesthetically and visually pleasant, however flavor didn’t match appearance.  (Picture above) I ordered the Cannelloni stuffed with king crab. It wasn’t horrible, but let’s just say I have had better! The other pictures are of lamb that the other people ordered. They had the same comments about their food. 

Last weekend we made it to see the penguins (picture above) and felt the fury of the wind. I thought I had experienced it’s worst, but the wind proved me wrong. I have never experience wind with such force. I was equipped with what I call my astronaut suit, which is my snow pants, and rain jacket zipped to the max. (Picture above)

Days are long here, so long that dinner starts at 9 and I don’t get to sleep until about 1am. No matter how much I try to get to bed early somehow time sneaks past me and surprises me at about 11pm when the sun goes down. It might have to do with the fact that I have no watch and no cell phone to keep track. I left my computer clock on PST so that I will know what time it is at home….kind of a way to hold on I guess.

I am going backpacking this weekend to a place called Torres Del Pine, it is one of Chile’s spectacular national parks! I am going with 2 other girls, and I have the most backpacking experience so I hope that we can survive! HAHA..just kidding…we will be fine. Hopefully, I will have amazing pictures for my next blog!

For now, I leave you with the advice I was given by the guides in my office for our trip this weekend: No comas la nieve amarilla!

Hasta otro tiempo! 

 ~Yenny

I was robbed and tortured….

Not literally, but if you have ever had that excruciating painful feeling that your ear drum was going to explode than you have probably flown with a stuffy nose….try having to land 4 times in a row! My ear is STILL plugged! It slightly empties every time I blow it though, so I am hoping by tomorrow it will be gone.  As far as being robbed, … if you are from the U.S., Canada, Australia, or some place that has a flag that looks like it’s out of a street fighter video game (I am guessing South Korea) you are charged to enter the country. Aprox. $140 U.S. I call it a welcome gesture from Chile, we are know you are going to spend your money here, but give us some now just in case you don't spend enough!! Then if you walk out of customs looking like you don’t know what you are doing a guy runs up to you asking if you want to save your bags somewhere, so since I had a layover there for a few hours I reluctantly said ok. He ended up walked me up an escalator and straight into the LAN airline line and then asked for a tip….after I gave him $10 and he only had $3 in change to give me I realized I just paid him $8 to walk me 50 feet.  But you live and you learn!

I landed in Punta Arenas at 3:15pm and when I walked off the plane I was greeted by a gust of wind followed by many other stronger gusts of wind. They slapped me across the face saying, "Hola Jenny, welcome to your new home." Then I finally saw a man with a sign that read Senora Jenny Christopher…I came to find out he was a taxi driver once we walked up to his yellow car. But he was really nice. He pointed out many points of interest along the way to the city. Like a big park, a “mall” that looked like a bunch of cement buildings behind barbed wire…kind of reminded me of what an American prison would look like. …he also pointed out a guy on a bike riding up a small hill in the wind with two saddle bags on either side. I should say he was more like swerving trying to stay upright than riding.

We pulled up to the house where I will be working and have to get buzzed into a locked front gate. A woman that you just have to like by looking at her opened the door said, “hola” and did the side cheek kiss…..that’s how they greet each other here. They call this lady Cali…short for Claudia, she handles the operations for the company. As we walk through the house I meet Marta, the human resources lady that hired me, Anthony the cook, a few other Chilean interns and Chelsea…she was the other American intern that was going to be my mentor….basically show me around. She took me to the Yellow House…this is where we will be sleeping, eating and all that living stuff.  The house has two rooms each with 2 bunk beds, yeah I know summer camp. There is a full kitchen with a stove from the 1950’s that requires some secret love to get it working.  We have one bathroom with our own shelves on it. The shower is pretty much made for someone that is 5’ tall. The water falls directly into my face so my face gets really clean!

It is the end of my first full day here and I feel surprisingly comfortable with where I am. Perhaps it’s my experience being abroad in the past, perhaps it’s my age, or perhaps it’s being with others that have been here for 3 weeks already and can answer my many questions.  Whatever it is….I am so thankful that it seems like it’s going to be a easy transition.  Plus I had tacos for dinner tonight…how much more southern Cali can you get!

Asta otro tiempo.

~Yenny