Dan and Dana's Excellent Adventure Part 3: Mexican food, the Andes, and a Wine Tour

After being busy getting back to teaching classes after the 18 holiday I got a bit lazy with updating the last part of my vacation.

Our 4 hour layover (I guess you can say that for buses too?) in Puerto Varas worked out nicely.  We got lunch at the German restaurant again, caught up on emails and Facebook, and enjoyed some chocolate fondue.

The overnight ride back to Santiago was uneventful.  We arrived Friday around 6 in the morning and were able to get a bus directly back to my apartment.  After catching up on sleep, we lounged around and got some lunch nearby.  At night we met up with some of my friends and got Mexican food in Plaza Ñuñoa.  It was a nice mix of co workers, Chilean friends, and gringo friends, and I think everyone had a great time.

On Saturday we were off to the Andes.  We went on a tour that took us to Farallones and Valle Nevado, which are ski resorts up in the mountains.  We had time to stop and take pictures along the way up.

Then Sunday was a wine tour.  We went to the Concha y Toro vineyard a bit southeast of Santiago.  I had taken the tour before, but I knew that Dana would really enjoy it.  At the end of the tour you also get an engraved wine glass, so after the tour I now had a set of two.  We also got lunch there, and I had some delicious lasagna with chocolate mousse for dessert.

I know I´ve probably written about this before, but there´s something special about having a friend or family member visit.  It can be easy to get homesick when you´re away from home and far from family and friends, but visitors can bring a touch of home with them, be it a food that you miss, something from home, or a gift from family.  They also know you as a person before you settled down living abroad, and they can really appreciate and see how your live has changed during your time abroad.  In the two years since Dana last visited me I was living in a 3 bedroom apartment with a few Chileans that didn´t always have hot water, and I had to watch my money so carefully that I was concerned about spending about 8 dollars to go to a fonda.  Now I´m in my own apartment and was able to take time off to not teach any classes during her visit, and I´m financially stable enough to travel and not worry about money.

It´s visits and situations like that that help you realize how much progress you´ve made, both personally and professionally.  On a broader note, I´m very grateful for the family and friends that I´ve had come visit me, and I´m looking forward to more visitors in the future.

Colombia Part Deux (Do not read while eating)

I'm writing this from the Bogota airport, waiting for my flight back to Santiago.

When I last posted, I was about to head off to northern Colombia to Cartagena.  So, how was it?

I split the 4 days between Cartagena and Santa Marta (a fishing town about 4 hours away by bus), but it didn't really matter where I would have spent my time.  The sickness came back with a vengeance, so most of my time was spent in each of the hostels I stayed at.  Luckily one of the hostels was really good about taking care of me. It also had a pool on site and everyone was friendly, so at least I could lounge by the pool a bit each day.

For me I wasn't sick enough to visit the emergency room or go to a hospital, and so resting up actually worked out well.  Once I was back in Bogota, Marcial took me to a pharmacy, and I was able to get some medication.  (Before this my voice was almost nonexistent due to congestion in my throat.  Pretty I know).

So my last few days in Bogota I drank lots of tea, enjoyed a cough syrup affectionately called Muxol, and watched lots of TV.  Oh, and I forgot to mention something:  My stomach apparently didn't want me eating food or taking aspirin, as it would come right back up.  So for about 5 days it was mostly tea, water, and a gatorade here and there.  Well, at least I was able to drop a few kilos after the foodfest in Gringolandia.

When I woke up this morning I was pleasantly surprised to find out my voice and throat felt completely back to normal.  This was definitely good news, but I was still very low on energy since I hadn't been eating.  I decided to stay on the safe side and stay in.  My stomach accepted my offering of bran cereal with some milk for breakfast without too much of a fuss.

The trip to the airport wasn't too eventful.  After calling a taxi service and waiting on hold for over 5 minutes, I had the bright idea of hailing a taxi from the street.  It turns out that that's not easy to do as rush hour begins in Bogota.  The doormen helped me out, and luckily after about 10 minutes I was able to flag one down.

Where the good health during vacation gods weren't looking favorably on me for this trip, the baggage limit gods sure did.  Once I put my first bag on the scale, the woman at the counter asked me what the weight limits were.  I confidently told her it was 23 kg (about 50 lbs) per bag.  She told me that it was actually a combined weight of 32 kg (about 70 lbs).  She asked how long I was planning on being in Santiago, and I told her about living there and how with my trip to the States and then here I didn't keep good track of the change in baggage allowances once I got into South America.  Her colleague went to talk to a supervisor, and they decided not to charge me for my baggage.  I thanked them graciously and made my way through security and to my gate.

So, what in the end causes my sickness?

Marcial suggested at first that it was altitude sickness.  But my symptoms weren't anything like those I had before, and they persisted even when I wasn't at a high altitude in Cartagena and Santa Marta.

Then he suggested that I got some type of tropical fever.  I find that also doubtful, as I didn't spend any time going to luaus, drinking fruity drinks from pineapples, hanging out under a cabana on the beach, or any other tropical-like activities.

I'm not quite sure what it was, but I'm glad it has passed.  I'm just very grateful that I am able to return to Santiago and can continue my life there.

Well, we are going to board in a few minutes.  Signing off!

Bogotá (no pictures yet)

Bogotá is the capital of Colombia, and after Mexico City and New York it is the 3rd largest city in North and South America.  It doesn´t have a subway, so the 8 million inhabitants travel either by car, bus, or taxi, causing major traffic each morning and evening.

With so many people moving from one place to another, the streets, sidewalks, and bus stops are chaotic masses of people, cars, taxis, buses, and motorcycles that can be very confusing and disorienting to the foreign visitor.  I´ve found myself pushing my way through crowds, getting bumped into by people as they pass through (ironically even if there was enough space to move around me), and being jammed onto the buses.  One thing that I notice is the same as in Chile is the lack of a concept of personal space and that it´s not polite to push people onto a bus so that you can fit on yourself.

Despite the challenges of navigating such a sprawling city, it´s a nice place to visit.  The city in general isn´t as modern as Santiago, but you can still find everything that you need.  People are friendly and helpful, and it´s common for everyone to talk to taxi drivers, their doormen, maids, and other people that we would probably consider a more formal or less close relationship in the States.

I´ve also heard from people to be careful in Colombia.  While there are news reports of horrible things happening here, those instances are mostly in remote areas and are not the norm.  I do tend to get a bit nervous when I am out walking, but I always keep my hand in my pocket covering my wallet and my bag with my camera in front of me.  But I haven´t had any problems, and I don´t go out at night alone.  As with traveling anywhere, it seems like a good dose of common sense goes a long way.

So, what have I done so far here?

I arrived bright and early Wednesday morning and got a taxi to my friend Marcial´s apartment in the northern neighborhood of Chico.  We had some breakfast, and I napped to catch up on the sleep I didn´t get on the red eye flight.  We got some amazing burgers at a place called El Corral, and then I explored the La Candelaria area.  I got some hot chocolate and browsed an arts and crafts market, and I bought some artwork by Fernando Botero.  (He´s an artist from Colombia that is well-known for his depictions of very round and overweight people in most of his art)

At night Marcial and I went out to get some drinks in the T zone.  It´s an area with bars and restaurants with terraces, and they have become very popular in the past few years.  The area is in the shape of a T, hence its name.

Today I woke up with a bit of a sore throat, but I didn´t think much of it.  After a yummy breakfast of arepas, I headed out to catch a bike tour at 10:30.  By the time I got on the bus, however, I realized I wasn´t going to make it in time.  It turns out that there was a protest blocking traffic to where I had to go to, and so I had to get off the bus a few stops early.  Luckily a girl was going to the same area as me, and so we talked while we made our way there.

Since I didn´t make the bus tour, I decided to check out a few museums.  The Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) was pretty amazing, and it documented the role of gold in cultures dating back to thousands of years BC.  The artifacts they had on display were amazing.  After that, I went to the Fernando Botero Museum.  It displayed a lot of his artwork from over the years, and it was really cool seeing his work up close.  Unfortunately they didn´t have my favorite pieces of Los músicos or Tres músicos, but I still enjoyed seeing what they did have on display.

Remember that sore throat I mentioned that I woke up with?  Well, it didn´t get better as the day went on.  As I was going into the first museum, I started feeling warm and had body aches.  I had just spent about an hour getting to the area, so I decided to take it easy and at least check out the two museums.  Afterwards I got on the bus and made my way back to the apartment to rest.

After resting for most of the afternoon into the evening, I´m now feeling much better.  I took aspirin and got a sandwich for dinner, even though I wasn´t that hungry.  (I had gotten a few snacks in town with some hot tea, but they weren´t really much of a meal.)  Marcial thought it was good old altitude sickness, but I didn´t have any of the usual symptoms.

In any case, tomorrow I am off to Cartagena, a beach town in northern Colombia.  The beaches are supposed to be amazing, and there´s supposed to be lots to do there.  I actually haven´t done too much research about it, so I´ll see what they suggest when I get to the hostel.

A Map for Saturday

I'm sitting in the JFK airport in New York, anxiously waiting to board my flight to Bogota.  The woman at the check in counter was understanding about my bags being slightly overweight and let me through without a problem.  

I didn't do much preparation for this trip in regards to finding tours and deciding what I'm going to do besides explore Bogota and Cartagena.  I'm a bit anxious about the trip due to what people say about safety issues in Colombia, but I'm just going to let common sense and my instinct help me navigate my trip.  

On Youtube last night I found a documentary I saw on MTV a little over 2 years ago.  It documents a TV producer's decision to leave his hectic but well-paying job in New York to travel the world for a year.  When I saw this it reaffirmed the wanderlust that I got when I first went to Germany.  It's about an hour and a half long, but very inspiring and interesting.  If you have the time to watch it feel free to post comments and let me know what you think.

Here's the link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-TpSCDv04g

Enjoy!

Los Angeles, Jersey, 2 year earthquake anniversary, and Colombia

Panera Bread is a place I enjoy hanging out when I'm home in Jersey, and probably at least half of my updates while I'm home take place there.  The comfy booths, delicious food, and free wifi create a nice way to get out of the house, and it's a nice alternative to Starbucks.

I'm enjoying a sandwich and cinnamon scone at Panera Bread, and when ordering I ran into a former student who is now in college.  She was there with her mother, and I was mistaken for a fellow college student.  It's a nice feeling knowing that I still look young.  :-)

The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of social events, enjoying downtime, packing, and preparing for my next adventure.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words,  so here are a few thousand words:

The trusty Metro Rapid buses that I would use to get around

A meal from the pasta bar at Oxy's cafeteria

A nice touch to a cup of hot chocolate

I always love going back to LA and visiting my alma mater's campus.

Dinner at Olvera Street

cream-filled churros

A landmark at Olvera Street.  Many a pictures were taken here over the years
 I've visited with friends and even on a field trip with students.

I never saw a hand drying contraption like this before.

Venice Beach

Good weather, good friends, good times

After over 4 years, we got to catch up.

yum

You have no idea how beautiful this picture is until you've had In n Out Burger.

Near Anaheim

No, we didn't plan to match.  Great minds think alike.

The Cheesecake Factory with Ellie

Parmasean crusted romano chicken

I didn't get to see everyone I was hoping to on the visit, but it was still a great time catching up with people and reconnecting with people I hadn't seen in years.

My time in Jersey has also been great.  I've been fortunate to catch up with family and friends and enjoy the food I miss. We also celebrated 4 birthdays this month. So here again are a few thousand words:

Outback Steak House

Amaretto sour

home made pot stickers

My brother and sister in law are amazing in the kitchen.

Panera Bread bacon turkey bravo

a cinnamon scone

In the midst of preparing to spend 8 days in Colombia before returning to Santiago, I almost forgot that today is the 2 year anniversary of the earthquake.  It's hard to believe how much time has gone by, and I feel fortunate that the damage was not any worse than it was.  For the second year in a row my dad will unfortunately have to go without an earthquake for his birthday.

With my visit home to the States drawing to a close, how am I feeling?  It's quite a mix of emotions.  It was such a gratifying experience spending time at home and reconnecting with what is familiar to me.  I realize that I've changed a lot, and things at home haven't changed that much.  I'm looking forward to my trip to Colombia, and also to returning to Santiago.

Despite that, there's also an uncertainty in the future.  Will my private classes and institute be as reliable as they were this past year?  Am I going to survive another Chilean winter with freezing temperatures and no central heating?  I am growing a bit apprehensive and cautious about the future, but I know one thing for sure: You never know how things will turn out if you don't give it a chance.