Going home

Today I go home. My flight leaves around 11pm to Miami, where I will catch a connecting flight to Detroit to be met by my family. I want to take this opportunity to post about all of the feelings that are going through my head. I hope that knowing this will help anyone else facing the same situation, going home after spending months apart.
First of all, I have been wanting to go home for a while, but I know that it was well worth staying and if I had left, I would have felt the same about leaving then as I do now. I have made friends with many people that I do not want to forget. There are people from the US and Chile that I hope to stay in touch with when I get home. This trip was beyond worth missing home for a few months and, in all reality, the time really flew by. It seems like just yesterday I was meeting my host family and doing orientation.
But what is it like to leave behind a new life? It's very hard. My host family is my family. You remember that feeling of first moving out of your parents' house? Even if you didn't get along perfectly, there were still some tears and long hugs as you finished packing your car or unpacking the boxes in your residence hall. That is how I feel leaving my family.
For the last week, my head has been fighting over which feeling out weighs the other, the want to go home and be with my family and friends or stay here where I have become super comfortable with my new family and it hurts to leave. And honestly, I still don't know. All I know is that I don't have an option, I have to go home. The good thing is that while talking to my host mom, she said I was welcome to come back and visit. I hope that I get a chance to soon because I know that I am going to miss this family so very much.
It's hard to leave what has become familiar, but you can always go back if you want to.

Valle de Elqui (Elqui Valley)

If you remember, a couple of posts ago I talked about places to go in Chile, Valle de Elqui was one of them. Now, I'm still feeling bad that I could not give a lot of information in that entry, so here is a bunch of information on Valle de Elqui. I went to Elqui this past weekend with a friend that I have made here, and we stayed at a Hostel in the Valle for three nights, which I will definitely talk about with in this post, just later.
So, how do you get to Valle de Elqui? Easiest way, catch a bus to Santiago then a bus to La Serena, which is a main city just outside of the Valle. Then you can either have a place to stay in La Serena or catch a bus/colectivo to Vicuña or where ever in the Valle you will be planning on staying. You can also fly into the airport near La Serena and take a taxi directly from there or talk to the drivers and see what method they would recommend to get to where you will be staying. The drivers just want happy visitors in their town, so they are quite likely to help you find the cheapest way to get from point A to point B.

Now, there are a many of things to do in La Serena, but only having a few days, my friend and I made the decision to skip it, which was definitely fine with me. We spent a day traveling the Valle and visiting the little towns along the way. There is an art fair that you can go to in Horcón, there wasn't much, but it was still a nice place to see. You can do tours of vineyards and learn about how pisco, a traditional Chilean adult beverage, is made. My friend and I also did a star tour, which lasted about 2 hours. It was all in Spanish, but most of the guides speak clearly enough that most people can understand (a friend from Austria that does not know any Spanish even said so after taking the tour).
We also spent a day in Vicuña. There was not much, but we managed to find another art fair and the best ice cream that you will ever find. It is a store called El Cobre (the copper) and has 10+ flavors for you to choose from for wonderful prices. Definitely a place that you should visit while in the area.
And finally, the hostel: Luz del Valle. The owner, Luz Marina, and her husband run the place year round, but currently her husband is in Belgium for business, leaving her in charge. There are two dogs (Gringa and Lucky) and three cats (two full grown and one baby) that roam the property. There are also chickens in the back, of which Luz gets eggs from daily to make delicious breakfasts, which she provides for her guests every morning. She usually gets couples as her guests, but even if you go with a group of friends, she will be more than happy to take all of you in. She speaks Spanish, English, and French (just as a fun fact about this lovely lady).

Pucón

So, in my last post I talked a little bit about places in Chile that you should definitely consider taking trips to, one of which was Pucón. Now, I didn't give a whole lot of details about those places because I have yet to do any traveling and don't have much more time to do traveling. To travel anywhere takes a lot of planning. Who are you going with? What does it cost? How do you get there? Where are you staying? What are you eating? What are you going to do when you get there? Not to mention you have to let people know where you are going to be and how to get ahold of you, just in case. Anyway, last weekend I went down to Pucón with ISA (International Studies Abroad) for a three (3) day and four (4) night trip.

Pucón is a tourist town, and clearly looks it. There are hostels and hotels everywhere, most of which are called cabañas, or cabins, because, well, that's what they are. Most buildings have a large component of wood at the building material since trees are very common in the area. I think all of the wood structures make the city look even more beautiful. My group stayed at Las Cabañas Rucamalala. Wifi, pool, and full kitchen available in the cabins. There is even a little chocolate shop right outside the front gate (also part of the Rucamalal cabins).

While there, the ISA group did a grand tour of the area. We went to the hot springs, saw the main river (Río Trancura), visited a waterfall, and ate lunch with the Mapuche (one of the native tribes in Chile). We stopped at each place for at least 20-30 minutes to take pictures. We stayed at the hot springs for about two hours and with the Mapuche long enough for lunch and a round of field hockey. The lunch with the Mapuche consisted of homemade breads, delicious honey, hard boiled eggs, and wheat coffee (no caffeine, doesn't really taste like coffee, and even non-coffee drinkers liked it). I believe the tour was through the company Politur, it not, you can easy just walk the main road (O'Higgins) and find a company that would do the tour. Like I said, it's a tourist town, it won't be too difficult to find what you want.
After the first day, we got to go off and do what we wanted to do. We had many options both with and without Politur. With Politur, you could climb the Villarrica volcano and slide down it, Rafting in the Trancura river, ride horses (cabalgatas), visit the volcanic caves, and/or zip lining. Outside of Politur, you could go on a boat tour at La Poza, go kayaking in the Villarrica lake, visit the national park of Huerquehue, go to artisan fairs, and/or rent bikes to travel the area. Just a warning, the same one that was giving to me, if you want to rent a bike, do not let it out of your sight. Even if people don't steal the bike, they might try to steal the seat and tires.

This was my raft group. Manuel the rafting guide was
absolutely wonderful. All of the guides were.
(But Manuel was obviously the best!)

While I was there, I did ziplining, (white water) rafting, kayaking, a boat tour, and visited two of the artisan fairs. The ziplining and rafting each took half a day. Politur has itineraries for both and the times that each are done and the levels they are done at (be sure to check the level of the rafting before signing up, but new coming can definitely do the higher level with out any problems, I did). Make sure you take your passport with you as identification for when you sign up to do activities with Politur.
For kayaking, you pay 2,000 CHP (about $4) for every half hour. You can also rent a paddle boat if you prefer that method of traveling the lake. The kayaks are single and double, but there is no where for you to put your things. I would suggest just bringing the money that you need to rent to kayaks/paddle boats and a watch/phone (that is waterproof) to keep track of the time. The water is a little bumpy, but not too bad. I don't think it would tip you over unless you were messing around.
The boat tour was 5,000 CHP (about $10) for an hour ride around the lake. The guides only speak Spanish, but even if you don't understand them, the views are absolutely the best you will find. Especially of the Villarrica volcano.
The artisan fairs were wonderful, at least to this crafty nerd. Most of the things in these fairs were made of wood (kind of obvious since that is the easiest access natural resource of the area). There were also many places with yarn crafts and even candy places. I would recommend that even if you aren't interested in buying anything, stop by these places and look at what they have and talk to the people that are running the booths. The people are the heart of the town and they like to know who is visiting, why, where they come from, and just to talk with new people. Sometimes, if you talk with someone long enough and show genuine interest in what they do, they might just give you a little something extra. Just for talking with them. And this doesn't just apply to the artisans in Pucón, it applies to all of the artisans in the country. They appreciate telling people their stories and hearing those of  others. Try listening, at least you'll get some culture out of it.

Places to Go in Chile

We have already discussed lots of wonderful places that you can go in Santiago, Valparaíso, and Viña del Mar, but we have yet to talk about tourist destinations in Chile in general. There are a bunch of places within the country for you to go visit, most of which give you two choices for transportation: bus or plane. Usually transportation by bus is much cheaper, but it takes much longer to get from point A to point B. Obviously, it's up to your preferences and finances as to which you take and to where you are going.
So, where should you go? For starters, if you are here with a program (like International Studies Abroad [ISA]) and they are offering to take you somewhere, go. That is the best piece of advice that I can give you. Them taking you is one less trip that you have to arrange for yourself. Throughout this semester, ISA has taken us to all of the houses of Pablo Neruda, Pomaire, a historical tour of the dictatorship of Pinochet, and we are about to head out to Pucón, in the southern part of the country.
As far as adventures on your own, there are a lot of places to go. The favorite of most people is San Pedro in Atacama, a desert in the north. The skies are very clear and wonderful for stargazing at night. From Valparaíso, it is about a 24 hour bus ride. This is one where I would recommend going by plane. It takes two hours to get to the airport, wait an hour for your flight, which is only a couple of hours, and you will be all set to adventure. If you want to go to Atacama and stay in a hostel or hotel, you should look into them at least a month before you go on your trip. Places to stay in San Pedro book up quickly because it is such a popular location.
Another place to go would be Valle de Elqui which is also in the north, but not quite as far away as Atacama. Valle de Elqui is also well known for having very clear skies and even offers star tours. This bus trip is only about eight (8) hours long, or you can go by plane which is only an hour long. The hostels and hotels also book up quickly in this area, so book early.
Also, as a general note for anywhere you visit in the northern part of Chile, do it in a time other than the middle of summer. The north is mainly desert and is much closer to the equator than the rest of the country. It gets very hot during the day, so keep water and sunblock with you at all times in this area.
And for the southern part of Chile, I recommend visiting Chiloe and Patagonia. Yes, all of the places that I have listed are very touristy, but they are definitely places that you should go to visit. They are beautiful and if you stop and ask a local what they would recommend you trying, you will get a much better picture of the area than just the tourist things.
If you have the money and want to visit the most touristic part of Chile, you can go to Easter Island (Rapa Nui). The area has wonderful history, and you would have to go by plane, but it is very costly. You can see statues from the Island that were given to specific areas on the mainland if that is what you are wanting to see.
There is of course much more to go see, but these are all of the places that my fellow ISA students have recommended.

Classes at PUCV

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, or PUCV, is the university that I am currently attending down here in Chile. For the sake of making transferring credits back to CMU, I am only taking four (4) classes which will make 12 credits to transfer back, which is all that CMU can take unless you have special permission before leaving to go abroad. Just know that the way they count credits here is different from how they are counted at CMU, so just look as how the classes will transfer back, not just what you are taking.
Here, the credits are based on the number of hours that you spend in the classroom each week for your class, just like at CMU, but some of them have different contact hours and end on different days. It is common to see two (2), four (4), and six (6) credit classes. Two (2) credits meet once a week for 90 minutes (one and a half hours). Four (4) credits meet twice a week, 90 minutes for each session. Finally, six (6) credits meet three (3) times a week, 90 minutes for each session. So, if you are catching on to the pattern you should notice that with each credit you take you will spend 45 minutes in the classroom. Pretty simple. Of the four classes that I have, one is a two (2) credit, two are four (4) credits, and the last one is a six (6) credit class. Therefore, according to PUCV, I am taking 16 credits, but they transfer back to CMU as 12.
As you can see, to the left is a picture of one of the schedules in one of the classes. the classes are set up in 6 class periods. Each period is 90 minutes long, starting at 8:15am and ending at 6:50pm with a lunch break from 1:15pm to 2:00pm and 10 to 15 minutes between each class period.
The majority of your classes will more than likely be in the area of the university called PIIE, which is the area for all foreign students. It is in the building Casa Central (CC). When you enter CC, go to the right, walk around/through the center/plaza area, and you will find stairs to your right. If you take the stairs up half a flight, turn to the left, and you will see the door that leads to the PIIE section. Just push the door and walk down the hall to find your classes. The majority of my classes are on the second floor (which does not require any extra stairs), but there are a few on the third floor (which is where I took the picture of the classroom schedule/availability.
As you may have caught earlier, PIIE is the area for all foreign students, and I do mean all. There are students from all over the world. I have met people from France, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, and Bolivia in my classes. Also, there are several different programs to come to PUCV with. I came with ISA (International Studies Abroad). I don't remember the names of the others, but they also bring in several kids from the US (and other places around the world, of course).
There are many other buildings to PUCV than just CC, but they aren't all in the same place, like they are at CMU. PUCV has buildings in Viña, Valpo, and a few other places much farther away. If you take classes somewhere other than CC it is important to ask about how to get transportation to those buildings. I know for sure that Sausalito, one of the hardest buildings to get to, has a bus that goes to and from CC twice a day.
So, what goes hand-in-hand with classes? Grades of course!! Grades will transfer back to CMU unless you fill out the "credit/no credit" paperwork (as usual). The grading scale here is 0-7. 7 being perfect and 0 being complete failure. Rumor has it that the professors grade harshly here, and it is fairly true, but, just like in the US, if you work hard and do it right, you can get at least 6's and up, which is really good. Do not be disappointed with anything lower than 6's, the professors set their standards high and they want students to try really hard and work for it. So, my advice? Do some extra research, write as close to the maximum page limit as you can, and if professors give you the option to write in English, don't do it (ie. write in Spanish).