Mendoza: Bike riding and wine tasting.

I'm going to play travel blog catch up. The end of November, I went to Mendoza, Argentina with Grace. Yes, I have been the Mendoza twice before but just to the bus station. It's a complicated story. But this time, I was there to enjoy Argentina's wine country to the fullest. And that's exactly what we did.

After arriving in Mendoza at about 5 in the morning, the nightlife in full swing still, we napped and prepared for our one goal: biking around the vineyards and wineries. After we found the correct bus that drives out to Maipu, we realized that we were in desperate need of coins to board the bus.

Crucial Information we were not told: Argentina has a serious lack of change. Serious lack of change. After gathering bits of data from locals, we purchased a card (similar to a Bip! card of Chile) that we could put money on to pay for the bus. My suggestion: find four people and take a shared colectivo. Faster and probably about the same price when split four ways. 

We stumbled off the bus at the center of Maipu. Biking companies lined the streets. So as Grace and I did what we usually do with traveling decisions, we closed our eyes, spun around, and chose the company that our fingers landed on. Well, not exactly in that manner, but most of our decisions are based purely on guesswork. To our advantage, we walked in to Mr. Hugo's. Mr. Hugo, presumably, immediately handed us a plastic cup of some watered down Malbec and we were shown the route to all the wineries. DO NOT BE DECEIVED by the unassuming map. The distance between wineries is much greater than how it appears on the map. After biking for what seemed like hours we finally ran into some others and joined their band of bikes. I felt very classy taking my lunch in the middle of a vineyard while sipping a glass of champagne. Don't worry, I quickly found a way to "undignify" myself after a series of ridiculous posing in the rows of grapes.

Overall, the weekend was lovely. I had heard good and bad reviews of Mendoza. It might not be the most happening of towns in Argentina, but it's beautiful. It's a nice escape from the monotony of Santiago. I have to admit that the wine was not as good as that in Chile, but the food easily made up for anything not up to standard. Price-wise, you get more bang for you buck in Argentina. The bike rental was about $7US and to try the wine at each winery was between $5 and $8.

NOT a short distance. for me that is.

YES.

Tabla Argentina!

Baby Grapes!

View of the vineyard at lunch.

As always. Classy.

Back to Chile. 4 hour wait at the border due to snow. Depressing, no?

Good News Bad News: Living in Santiago

Although teaching English in Santiago may have its many downsides, the few positives outweigh the negatives by far. My time here has only been sprinkled with a few bad experiences. When I finally decide to leave Santiago, I will take home the greatest souvenir- perspective. Living abroad truly enriches your life and instills in you a strong sense of confidence. If I can jump on a plane to South America, then I can do just about anything. Life is never without its bumps, but hands down, teaching and consequently living in Santiago has been the greatest part of my 24 years on this earth.

Bad News - Relax, there isn't much bad news when it comes to living in Santiago!

1. Expenses- Alright, everything here is very comparable to Texas (and I say Texas because it has a lower cost of living than other states). A trip to the grocery store costs about the same. In reality, this is only bad news if you have planned on lower expenses in a South American country. However, clothes and shoes run a bit high for the shoddy quality.

2. Less Amenities- I don't have a dryer, dish washer, indoor heating, air conditioning. To me, this is perfectly fine. Actually, I enjoy putting a little extra effort in hanging up my own clothes. Unless you want to pay a lot of money for all the comforts of your cushy life back home, enjoy this so called "suffering." It makes you a better person. 

Good News

1. Rent- I rent a room in a fairly large older apartment in Providencia. I pay about $260 a month and it includes electricity/gas/internet. My roommate situation is ideal. After I was hired at my institute, I had grand plans of finding my own apartment. However, compared to my month earnings, the feat is fairly unfeasible for a single person. Plus, if you do not have an i.d. card, I hear it's difficult to contract  internet service and it opens up more opportunities for someone to take advantage of your bright-eyed gringo-ness. On another note, finding a room to rent is another great way to meet people and practice your Spanish. It cuts significantly cuts down the amount of loneliness of the first month.

2. The City Itself- When I first arrived in South America I jumped off a plane in Buenos Aires. It was huge, the people were beautiful but cold, the downtown was a little dirty, the transportation was a nightmare, and I couldn't receive change anywhere. So, I was immediately relieved when I hit the streets of Santiago. There is smog and it may not be as fascinating as other cities, but it's the perfect first-time-living-abroad city: different enough to be interesting but similar enough to be comforting.

3. La Vega- This is wonderful. Just plain wonderful. The prices of fresh produce and everything else you could possibly want is sinfully cheap. It's about a 45 minute trek and a couple of hours of dedication. However, I leave with a bag (sometime a bag and a coche) full of beautiful vegetables, dried goods, and fresh eggs.

4. Wine and Pisco- Wine is good. Wine is cheap. Nothing is better than finishing classes a little early on a Friday afternoon, coming home, and pouring myself a little (or big depending on the week) glass of wine. As for pisco, the origin of this liquor is a huge debate between Peru and Chile. It's very difficult to find the US, but it's everywhere in Chile. Whether you like a sweet pisco sour or the ever popular piscola, you will have no problems ordering one at any establishment.

5. A Lot of Humans- I have met more people from around the world here than is anyplace in the US. Santiago is home to some very large university making it a hub for international students. I've met people from Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Slovakia, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, California and almost every South American country. Whether you take a TEFL course, study, work at an institute, or just bum around, Santiago is a great city to meet other people.

DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! Move abroad, travel, open your mind, and change your perspective. Stop living with your parents or off of their money, step outside of the comforts of home, and enjoy something that reaches beyond the horizon of what you know. Sometimes it's difficult to read through pages of pathetic facebook updates. "My problem is this. My problem is that." NO! The problem is yourself. Now, do something about it and stop littering my newsfeed! Please, of course. :)

Life Currently: Aside from the impending excitement of the September holidays, the weather is by far the best part of this week. It has been in the upper 60's to mid 70's. Nothing brightens your day more than a dose of sunshine. Me encanta Santiago en la primavera! For the next three months, my goals are to eat more veggies, think more positively and kindly, and learn more Spanish. Just practicing for my trip home... which I purchased my plane ticket this past Friday!

La Malena- bad kitty, doesn't come inside when I call her!

air dried

welcome home

My first bottle of Pisco back last fall!

Concha y Toro Vineyard

I can hardly believe it's August! As my friends and family are burning up in over 100 degree weather, I'm shivering in my non-heated apartment next to the a space heater. However, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Pretty soon I'll be showing off my sweating armpits and wishing it was cold again. Since arriving in a hot February, I had been told of the horrors of Santiago's winter. Half of me expected to return fingerless to the US after suffering frostbite, especially due to the fact I'm acclimated to Texas weather and central heating. I admit that some nights are pretty darn chilly (no pun intended). HOWEVER, I have not found winter to be the arch nemesis of my existence here. My advise: space heater, scarf, polar-wear, and some true grit. I may be about to go out on a limb, but try to follow me. I think that people (and especially expats) just like to complain and exaggerate. The worst part of winter isn't the cold and lack of heating but the copious amounts of pollution.

Anyway.... WINE.

I woke up at 8am on a Saturday to jump on the metro heading to the outskirts of Santiago to explore Concha y Toro Vineyard (Fact: it is the largest producer of wine in Latin America, thank you educational film). After a taking an unusually expensive colectivo from the Puente Alto stop on the metro, Nate, Tali, Grace, and I arrived at the vineyard. We each paid around $14 for an English tour which included two tasting and a wine glass. Even though we sold out for the English and not Spanish tour, it worked to our advantage in that it was a small, non-intimidating group of other foreigners. The second type of wine we tried was a 1995 vintage from one of their top lines, I do believe. I have to say that this is the most expensive wine I have tried in the my life and will most likely ever try. Unfortunately, I don't have $140 sitting around to spend on one bottle. I'll stick with my $3.50 bottle of Terra Andina Cabernet with twist off lid. I think I could possibly detect hints of cheapness with an underlying aroma of "I'm saving my money for traveling." What a delightful combination!

One final comment before I add the photos of my classy thirty minute wine tour. Grace and I said good bye to our fellow winos (Nate & Tali) last night. Although I am happy for their rekindled adventure in Vietnam, I couldn't help feeling sad as I left them in the taxi while I scurried home at three this morning. On so many occasions, we covered the table in empty wine bottles and cleaned plates while we discussed (usually very loudly) an array of topics from the types of conditionals to the US economy to attempting different accents to rolling hard boiled eggs own Cerro Santa Lucia. Saying good bye is not one of my favorite pastimes. Lamentably, it happens all too often when living abroad. On the bright side, I have quite a few new potential couches to crash on in the near future located around the world.

Tali and I in front of the winery.

Nate and Tali posing in front of the former estate's mansion.

Grace posing in front of the dead (and more expensive) grapes.

Casillero del Diablo

Don't ever doubt how classy I am!

Deodorant and wine.

Two very essential things to have when living in Santiago and the entirety of my grocery store purchase en route to Grace's apartment.

Alright, I've been horrible at blogging. I understand this entirely. I haven't had a lack of inspiration or a lack of gringa stories. I simply haven't wanted to take the time to post properly. And if you know me at all, then you also realize that I'm a HUGE procrastinator. Without further ado, I'll try to hit all the major updates over the past few weeks.

Valparaiso 
After a few piscolas my partner in crime, Grace, and I decided that our weekend would not be complete without a trip to the port city of Valpo. Okay, a little piece of advice. DON'T HAVE PISCO PLANNING PARTIES. They usually result in the absence "planning." The next morning, we groggily climbed onto a bus headed towards the sea. We stumbled around the town until we found a less than satisfying hostel and a greasy meal and then preceded to explore the hills and graffiti of the surrounding city. It was fascinating.

And so we deemed this trip "gringa winning"

NERD!

View from Pablo Neruda's house

Easter/Pascua
I set out on a mission to find a Catholic mass to attend Easter morning. I'm in Chile; so that wasn't difficult. It was a nice service that consisted of some Easter message in Spanish obviously. So basically, I focused on watching the woman beside me, standing when she stood and kneeling when she knelt. Earlier that week, I was blessed by a priest. Which according Texan Southern Baptists probably means I'm going straight to the devil's place. I was sitting in the cathedral in Plaza de Armas observing what I imagined was a Semana Santa mass. After the completion of the mass, most of the congregation went forward for a blessing from the priest. And I, being a curious gringa, watched silently from the side. Until I saw, an older woman staring at me. At this point, I should have started walking away because this usually means I'm about to be asked for directions (which is a whole other issue in itself). But I reassured myself that everything was fine, and I would just respond with the normal "Lo siento, no se nada" or "uh, GRINGA." Well, this woman did in fact approach me, asked me if I wanted a blessing, and then proceeded to drag me to the line in front of the priest. She left me there and then watched in the safety of my previously occupied space on the side of the church. Mortified, I stood in the ever shortening line. When it was finally my turn, I uttered a quick "hola" and then an even quieter "gracias" after my encounter with the priest was over. I survived. His hands didn't burn my forehead, and I wasn't asked for prayers to Mary. I left the church a little holier...

The Place of the Blessing.

We had a beautiful Easter meal with a couple of friends. Afterwards we decorated Easter eggs and then rolled them down a Cerro Santa Lucia attracting much attention from the locals. I think we were endearing, though.

Other Easter Celebrations

Hipster bunny after a few calimochos (wine and coke- trust me- uhmazing)

Mendoza
When one enters Chile, you are given a 90 day tourist visa. So, as I'm waiting for details of my temporary residential visa to come together, I have a tourist visa. In order to extend my visa, I can do one of two things: pay $140 after applying two weeks before my visa expires or make a trip to Mendoza, Argentina. Remember what I previously confessed? I'm a huge procrastinator. So naturally, I waited until the last second to leave for Mendoza (since it was WAY past the time for applying for the extension). I booked the bus ticket for Sunday morning. I would take the 7 hour bus ride, spend the afternoon in Argentina's wine capitol, and then take an overnight bus back to Santiago in order to attend a teaching workshop at 10:30 the next morning. Well, well, well. For some reason, I decided to accompany some friends to the infamous Blondie's club Saturday night. After few Escudos, some dancing, number exchanging, three in the morning came sooner than expected. After the taxi ride home, I crashed on my bed and woke up to the bright sun pouring through my window. My bus left one hour previously. I ran (or rather took the metro) to the bus station and purchased a ticket leaving at 1:40 that afternoon. In the end, I spent a grand total of two hours in Mendoza. Not to mention, I almost missed my second bus since I misread the time on the ticket. I had assumed that I would be sleeping on the way back; however, the flashing camera, the chorus of snores, and the conversationalist beside me prevented that. Despite the longevity of my suffering, the trip resulted in another legal three months in Chile.

In closing

• It's getting cold here.
• I've purchased a coat and boots, and I'm searching for cozy leggings tomorrow.
• My students are fun! And they like me.
• It's amazing what constant walking and eating veggies will do for your body.
• I habitually get asked for directions when I'm walking around the city by Chileans young and old. I look like a gringa and clueless. 
• My cooking is getting better, since it's way cheaper to eat in than go out.
• I can't stop smiling when I think of where I am. 
• I have about 6 voicemails on my cellphone because I don't know how to check it.

I love and miss everyone from Texas. Don't forget about me. Come visit me. You may not want to go home.