Pucon, the endless night, pottery, and bad habits

Well, I'm sorry it has been a while since my last post. Once you get out of the blog lifestyle it is difficult to reintegrate back into it. A lot has happened between blog posts, but I don't really feel like elaborating on it all. So the short version is that we went to Pucon to engage in nature sports, then had a week long party called Fiestas Patrias, and then started going to the beach and making pottery. It's a hard knock life. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon up their butt okay. Some of us have to climb from the bottom, and take advantage of the vacation aspect of a study abroad trip. Although this has clearly been the easiest semester I have had since the 9th grade, I wouldn't say that the atrophy of sitting around and enjoying Chile is all for vain. There is a lot of learning going on okay. Just not of the "traditional" sort, where you actually have to spend time trying to learn something. What I have observed is that learning in a foreign country is a lot more osmosis then learning Chemistry is. Most of the time the longest lasting lessons are the ones I just kinda pick up, whether that relates to language skills or understanding the culture. 

Oi, well I am continuing on my quest to meet more Chileans. Last weekend I ended up hanging out with only Chileans one night. I met them through the host sister of a girl in our group, and one actually spoke fluent English because he lives in the US, and considers himself American. One funny thing I have noticed is that for smaller parties, Chileans like to talk about culture, politics, etc. much more than Americans (its okay, I can use that word because it is an all English blog). At least in comparison to most of my conversations back home. I guess in Chile there is still so much to discuss. Forty years after a military dictatorship, the people are still trying to figure out what their government means to them. That and (a portion of the population) trying to deny that the dictatorship happened, which just creates all sorts of psychological pathologies. Parent wants to preserve image of Chile, denies torture camps during the dictatorship. Child, senses parents are lying to themselves, starts to be disillusioned but doesn't know why. That type of thing. It would be hypocritical to say that we don't have that kind of thing in the US, its just a different type. I guess all societies are deranged in their own special way.

Ok I guess I can talk a little about Pucon since it was so awesome. Pucon is a town south of Vina, covered in forest and kinda feels like a Colorado ski resort. The group split up again to go to different hostels, both of which were really nice, and it was a fun time had by all, I think. The best part was when we climbed Volcano Villarica. We almost made it to the peak, but an electrical storm hit and we had to sled down the volcano very fast. That was the funnest part for me. The other group made it to the top, but really who gives a shit about the other group. Not me (bastards). It was still sweet. 

We also did some other stuff in Pucon. We went hydroplanking or something, which was basically rafting in your own personal buoy. That was pretty fun too. Then we went to some hot springs. That was 7/10. There were all these little snot-nosed brats around ruining the vibe. Still 7/10 though.

Then after Pucon we came back to Fiestas Patrias, the endless night. I call it that because I think I woke up at 2:30 PM everyday and stayed out until 5 or 6 AM every night. This went on for about 5 days. It was a cornucopia of fun. I had a list of food and drink to try during the festival, which culminates in big fairs with food, game, and dancing booths in both Vina and Valparaiso. I think by the end I had crossed everything off my list but a drink called the Promo, and really that was just a rum and coke, so I basically tried everything. Good kabobs. I would give Fiestas Patrias 8.5/10 

It certainly felt like a while by the time we got back to school the next week. Fiestas Patrias had given me probably 5 pounds, a loss of 5% of my brain mass, and a smoking habit, but I still found myself wishing that the ferias would stay open just a couple more days. That Friday we went to the pottery town, which was also fun. The town definitely had the feel that it was founded on pots and pottery. We also had the opportunity to make our own little works of art. I made my host-dad an ashtray and I also made a mini-Ari. Mini-Ari was the spitting image of yours truly, but sadly now he has been deteriorating and only has one ear left. But HE will forever be with me, in my corazon. Okay no point to lie on a blog, I actually threw him out two days ago. But I definitely took a picture, which I will attach to the end of this post.

So ya that is the extremely condensed and abridged version of what I have been doing for the last month. This trip is a blessing and I am thankful for it. So this week I will be leaving you all with the phrase "la hora del cuete." Now I am still trying to understand this one more clearly. I think it means the time when everything comes together, but without the positive connotation. So it's more like when the shit hits the fan, but that isn't exactly it either. So it is a hybrid of when the shit hits the fan and when everything comes together, so basically just the time when everything collides. I think literally "cuete" is like a bottlerocket. Anyway I got to go practice Spanish in some cafe somewhere so I will leave you with this beautiful picture of mini-bur (mini-Ari). Till next time, chao