Picturas de aventuras

I seem to be in a constant race with time. It seems to be accelerating and I am unable to keep up. So, if photos are worth a thousand words, this post is a novel. Enjoy!

My favorite flower; Fuinque

My cooking partner, Kate. She is allergic to peanuts and eggs so I have learned how to read the ingredients on packaging. That being said, a trip to the store takes hours and is no small ordeal.

The prettiest water i have ever seen Rio Galeto Canzalo. I watched a kingfisher or Martin Pescador for an hour as the sun rose over this river.

This is what my journal looks like, as the rain fell outside, we stayed warm and dry in a Quinchu.

The perks of living in a fishing town... These fish were still floppin on the hook.

If I were to choose a house, this would be it. The simplicity backdropped by sheer beauty gave my heart wiggles of happiness.

Casual stretching after a long hike. Here is my team.

On top of Horno Piren. Our guides wielded machetes, literally hopping our path hrpugh thickets of bamboo. My backside is bruised from the hike down, which turned out to be more of a slide than anything.

Joe.

3/4 of the boys drinking wine and contemplating life.

Studying for our test! 

Lightning bug tents.

Studying with Morgan, my tent partner.

This is Harrison. 

The walk into Horno Piren from Patagonia El Cobre, the Ecocamping location.

Perri, my partner in crime.

Pisco Sours in the boot.

We walked up to that mountain in the distance.

The drive yesterday!

And lastly a cup of coffee, the only good coffee I have found so far, for a day of travel. We are headed to the small climbing town of Cochamo where we'll backpack 10 kilometers. Tonight our discussion will be about the Mapuche culture and their rights. The rain just started to fall and we are about to board up. 

A nice Tineo for your pleasure. 

Ciao for now! 

Shaggy

Hello! I am in a small internet cafe in a town called Horno Piren. The town sleeps on an ocean front property that holds majestic Fjords in the distance. It is a small place and the streets are lined with dogs, and people resting on the benches. It is a different way of life than I am used to. The people who work work hard, and for long periods of time. I don´t have much time to write, or a way to upload pictures so I will keep this one short and tell you about a special dog that we found. He followed us a mile from town to our campsite, then on our 10 mile backpacking trip, then up our 9 mile day hike, then back into town where we left him by car yesterday. However, today as we were walking back into town we found the dog en route to our campsite. Its incredible. He was so excited to see us he started running in circles. I am not sure what we did to win the heart of this dog but he is currently waiting outside the internet cafe for us. That is what I call loyalty. Even though he is dirty, he has a special place in our hearts because of the sheer amount of effort he has shown to stay with us. We named him Shaggy. Sometimes you just have to accept things the way they are. That ball of fur in the middle is shaggy.

However, I miss fresh vegetables and knowing where they come from. It is a luxury I didn´t really know was so important in my life until I had it removed from me. I have been trying my best to talk with the people, but in broken spanish you can only get so far. I miss truly understanding people and how they feel and I yearn to bridge that gap as I learn more spanish. Academically we had a quiz yesterday which consisted of walking through the forest and naming the plants and birds in that area. Tomorrow we´ll have our first exam. Our campsite this time is an ecocamp and it is as dreamy as the Lost Boys camp in ¨hook¨I feel like I am a part of an ellaborate dream, and I am about to head back to a cafe that overlooks the water, with binoculars on each table to encourage wildlife viewing. 

 This is the nicest salad I have eaten thus far.

My time is up, I am sorry this blog is scattered, but I hope to write more soon.

Thank you for reading. 

Con amor,
Hannah

Aprendemos Espanol

I thought it would be easier to keep a blog with this new addition of an iPhone in my life, but I suppose I didn't take into account the fact that the majority of my studies are in the backcountry of a foreign country. Alas, here I am, nearly two weeks later with a short update. After my last post we boarded an overnight ferry to a place called Amarillo Valley. People were sprawled out all over the floors, desperately trying to find a place to sleep. I abandoned my hopes of shut eye and found some Chileans to talk with. Through broken Spanish we discovered some places to visit while in the small town of Chaiten. A small, spry man named Nicolas who was made of earth music and magic picked us up and guided us up a Volcano. It was a strenuous hike with steps made for giants, but the volcano was brilliant and I felt honored to be so near the center of the earth. It is beautiful that the earth opens herself when the pressure inside is too great. 

After running down the mountain and driving for two hours down a bumpy road with a van that bottomed out nearly every time we reached our resting place. It was a little taste of paradise and for 5 days we frolicked around and learned about plants and birds. I felt the curious child in me yearning to know the place that was so new. One morning I was lucky enough to watch the sun paint the mountains red.

We also hiked the a glacier.

After some hot springs and traveling and re supply in a town with one Small market I have landed in a place called Pillan. The locals are welcoming and there is a crew of girls who I talk with to learn Spanish. Yesterday we cooked a lamb that I helped to slaughter, and we danced late into the night with the people of this place.

Everyone is connected to this land, the cycles of life and death, and each other. The farm is not big, but everyone interacts and works together. In the mornings we help with various tasks like moving rocks and harvesting honey, then we have class, and then I go play futbol. I'm no good but they still let me play. 

Today the little girls invited me to make cake and bread with them and together we created delicious food and friendship. I cannot believe how much I am learning about this place, another culture, and myself. I have more to say, but I must return to my required readings. Balancing work and play is a delicate act, but I am getting by and my heart is full. 

Muchos Amor! 

Human Conditions

The ability of humans to adapt is unbelievable. To move away from everything one knows into a place of the complete unknown is a unique opportunity available to us by way of planes trains and automobiles. Humans can survive. And here, surrounded by new sights smells people and language, I find myself accepting it all and working my way through. It has instilled a sense of being a child again. There are so many things that need to be explained for me to understand, and curiosity is rampant. 

After arriving last night we spent some time with introductory games and then were let loose to roam the city. The town is quaint, and falls gracefully over the sloping and folding hills. This is the Lake District and across the local lake loom two distinct volcanoes. Their white caps seem to be floating in the sky. I am enchanted by this place. The buildings seem to be giggling and gossiping about us Americans as we stumble over the rolling r's and language gap. There is no uniformity to their architecture, and they are as colorful as the environment around them. It all feels alive.

Last night we cooked a family dinner with wine that I purchased! Though sleep sung strongly through our bodies, the wine sung sweetly through our conversations and we began to get to know each other. Although we are all new friends, something about the isolation facilitates a necessary bond. We are here on this journey together and can find comfort in the familiarity of people from our own place. 

Sleep was long and deep. I arose before the others, as usual, and began to cook an American breakfast on my Chilean hostel stove. After a hearty combination of eggs, potatoes, and bacon, we set off on a hike to learn the local botany and see a city park. The canopy was dense and felt somewhat Mediterranean. The highlights of the walk were hearing a mysterious hummingbird sing a beautiful and loud song, and a plant called Nulca or "poor mans umbrella" that has a design that funnels water to its roots. I have yet to find the hummingbird and perhaps with get a chance to use the plant when it rains.

Currently I am sitting in our hostel with my fellow amateur-biologists drinking Pisco sours, gathering together the food we bought today and playing Tetris with our packs. As the day slips on to 9 PM with the sun still in the sky, it is time for dinner and I must sign off for now.

Thank you for spending time reading this and I hope to hug you again soon.

Con Amor,

Hannah

A Day Undone

I write now from a restaurant in Santiago called "the great gatsby" comforted by the familiar language at 3 AM in the morning. I was boarding a plane at this time yesterday but now it seems like an ethereal dream. Time has been molded and shifted so much in the past twenty four hours that I have had to let go of the desire to control or understand my place within it. Or maybe my desire still lingers, but I have accepted that time will do whatever it desires and in reality, may be much more fluid than any of us admit. 

Overall, the flights have been smooth. Some sort of greater spirit must be watching out for me because on both of my flights I have has 3 seats to myself. It's the first time I have successfully slept on a plane and I feel a giddy sense of accomplishment mixed with relief that is won't be too delusional when I meet the rest of my group. 

In My first 6 hour layover in Lima I ordered myself a Pisco con Fruta. The simplest joys in life truly bring the greatest sense of fulfillment. I must admit that this is the most adult I have felt, and potentially the first major move I have chosen based solely on my own interest. It feels good to believe that I am doing the right thing for myself. While the reality of what I am doing hasn't fully sunk in yet, I have begun to learn already. Ordering alone proves to be a major challenge with my limited English, but with a little laughter and some charades I am getting by just fine. Sleep proves to be the biggest challenge and calls for new and bold measures. 

Hasta luego!!