Thursday 30 July 2015

Chile: Well where did that time go, eh?

Two week ago since I left the UK- what!! I can't believe it...I'm borderline cross that this time has gone so quickly.

It seems like only yesterday I was biting my top lip in nervous anticipation of meeting my peer group, flying to Santiago and meeting my host family. Time flies- whoose. Or as I would say now (what with me being perfectly fluent in Spanish...) rrrrapido!

I've been keeping my instagram followers in no short supply of graffiti+stray dogs+sky pictures/timelapses. But for those of you who don't have instagram, here's some of my favourites from this last two weeks:

A video posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on


A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on

A video posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on

A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on

A video posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on


I love that timelapse of Santa Maria university! Shout out to Emily for letting my rest my silly little phone against her fancy tripod. Oh! While we're at it, you really should check out Emily's blog (link here)- Emily is a photographer and budding videographer. Here's one of her videos, which stars mainly me. (Not really, but I am in it a bit, playing with dogs of course.)



Next I look to planning and finalising my trip south. I plan to visit Puerto Montt and Torres de Paine national Park, and if there is time- Punta Arenas, which I think is part of Antarctica, or shares the same climate and wildlife of there at least. Of course before I do all that- I'm going to the Andes with new pals- Rebecca, James and Anna. Dios mios!

It's the last day of university tomorrow...I dont know what to expect...but I do know there is a celebratory meal with the whole group tomorrow evening, including our Spanish teachers I believe! Looking forward to that. Anyway, buenos noches mi amigos! Take care

Chao!

Saturday 25 July 2015

Day.... in Chile (i give up with daily blogging)

Oh dear, I've been remiss haven't i?

Well, you missed a few days. I've had a cold, which I think I probably got from a sniffling Argentinian on the Amsterdam- Buenos Aires flight.....

Chile is gorgeous. The people are very kind, and really quite short on average. Learning Spanish is hard, but we're all progressing I think.

I'm going to give you a snapshot of a uni day.

In the mornings, I wake up around 07:00, lie there for 15 minutes, then I shower, dry off and put my (at first loathed) 'CHILE 2015' fleece on and have breakfast with my host mum and dad- Jaime (pronounced 'Hai-mer') and Claudia. Breakfast is usually bread with various spreads. I then get dressed and walk across the street to the bus stop...

Catching a bus in Chile is an unstructured art. In the early morning light you squint as hard as you can at the approaching buses, trying to read one of the twenty million little hanging signs in the windscreen which state varying destinations. You spot the sign you are looking for and so thrust your arm into the air, and hope that it wasnt too late...at this point the bus either stops or doesnt (in which case you squint again). You are now stepping onto the bus... oh!! what's that? the bus is moving despite one of your feet still being on the pavement? Well- welcome to Chile, mi amigo. As you hold onto the bus- shocked that the door is still open and the bus is going at 40mph now- you are presented with a probably grumpy Chilean bus driver with whom you now have to attempt simple Spanish phrases which will enable you to pay him and get a ticket.  Done all that? Go on then, sit down, you've earned it.

The university, Technical University Federico Santa María, is up a million steps- which at first felt pretty awful but after a couple of days weren't so bad. The days are split into two: in the morning we have Grammar + Vocab with Mariana, and in the afternoon we experience Conversation + Culture class with Felipe. Mariana is good natured, sweet tempered and patient, teaching us the bare bones of Spanish as we blink at her with our bleary morning eyes. Felipe is also patient, but a little bit more physical in his approach... tables are slapped, voices are raised, and his Chileno eyebrows rise a little as he listens to us stumble through common Spanish exchanges. Both teachers are kind, competent and are educating us thoroughly in their respective areas- if through very different teaching methods. My only critique of these lessons would be that due to Chile's predominantly (but not always, crucially)  hot climate,  the university does not have any heating facility, and the architecture of the building dictates that the distinction between indoor/outdoor is pretty fluid- I suppose this would be good in summer, when you would want lots of fresh air and ventilation.... However, in July/Aug (winter for southern hemisphere, remember) this means it's ruddy freezing indoors, distractingly so. Again, shout out to the Greenwich fleeces.

At lunch/break time, all twenty-odd of us ascend to the roof top, where we get cups of tea and natter to the backdrop of a spectacular panorama of Valparaíso. It's a nice time of day and I look forward to next week where we have a three and a half hour break for lunch, we're planning to pop into Valpo for lunch.

Anyway, I'm tired now and we're going sandboarding in the morning so.... Buenos noches.





Tuesday 21 July 2015

Day 2 of Chile

Ok, so first I will round off Day 1. On Sunday, my Chilean family had a party to celebrate Tomas's 13th birthday- it was so fun and lovely to have all these aunties, uncles and cousins descend upon the house. I was quickly pulled into the kitchen to sit with the girls of the family- they couldn't believe how 'simpatico' (nice, friendly) I am. Apparently most foreign students are shy and don't talk to the families when they stay, which is a shame. The whole point is to muddle through the language barrier and communicate, through shared jokes, or asking where the loo is.

At the party they fed me and fed me and gave me so much Chilean wine. At one point, one of my adopted Aunties came out with a tray of steaming mugs, I took one and to my surprise it was lovely mulled wine- sweet and orangey. I said we drink this at Navidad (Christmas) in the UK and between us we worked out it must be a cold weather drink, as it is winter here in the southern hemisphere. It's funny how many common food and drinks you can find across the world. Por ejemplo (for example), here in Chile, and in a lot of Spanish speaking countries, empanandas are the go-to lunch/snack. They are pastry parcels filled with cheese, or meat and potato, or whatever... my point is that they are pretty identical to the Cornish or Devonshire Pasty (which isnt far off the Indian Samosa). People are people wherever, and putting things in pastry not only is delicious but also keeps the content fresh, so it makes sense that places across the world would come up with similar snacks. The same for hot wine in winter- it makes sense! 

SO, anyway. Yesterday (Monday 20th July), was our First Day.
The morning consisted of orientation, a quick tour of the glorious university campus and a short conversation in Spanish to identify which classes we should attend. In the afternoon we attended our first conversation and culture class, which was exciting and odd- the tutor told us to learn like babies, through necessity- not through study. I like his approach, but I may study a little--- the verbs in Spanish take some getting used to and aren't the kind of thing you inherently know.

A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on


A photo posted by Fi (@fifinicholls) on


As you can see, the uni is pretty spectacular- I cant wait to study there daily. In fact, it's 08:03 and I need to get going. I'll catch you up on the first full day of classes later. Chau!

Sunday 19 July 2015

A Chilean Adventure, Day 1

Well, it is Day 1 (Sunday 19th July) of this trip of mine and I'm feeling good. I slept a solid 15 hours last night, going to bed at 5pm and waking this morning to my host-mum, Claudia, boiling a kettle and asking is a would like tea (of course I would).




The journey here was long, I won't lie. The short plane journey to Amsterdam plus 4 hour wait there felt counterproductive as we were flying further away from our final destination, but hey! that's international flights for you. P.s Amsterdam airport is expensive: £6 for mints, a bottle of water and popcorn. The really long part (the fifteen-maybe more) hour flight to Buenos Aires (brief kiss with Argentinian soil) was killer- I barely slept and the nose end of the plane felt very hot to me. I watched rubbish blockbuster-y films and willed the plane go faster. Then a short 1hr45min flight to Santiago Chile, which was a breeze. We arrived in Santiago, and what a relief! Our bags made it with us, despite all the touchdowns, refuels and transfers. Santiago-an air is crisp and fresh, especially after 24+ hours of recycled plane air.  Many, many terribly jokes about Chile being chilly were made as we walked to our transfer bus, and many many more will be made throughout the trip I am sure.



I am currently sat in my bedroom at my host family's home in Vina del Mar. I have a big window and ensuite, which is just ideal for me. It is my Chilean little brother's thirteenth birthday today so family is coming over shortly for lunch. My home has a lovely balcony and is several stories up so I have a wonderful view of the town. There is a funicular at one end of my street and the main road (which all bus routes travel) at the other. I am very happy with my family and home. Later we (the group of Greenwich students in Chile) are meeting at a hotel to check in with our point-of-contact, Roberto at his hotel on the beach.

I best be off now, but please feel free to follow me on Instagram at: https://instagram.com/fifinicholls/, where I'll be posting using the trip's hashtag, #GreenwichInChile

Chau!