The trip to the north, the trouble and everyday life

It's been a while since I posted here. A lot of things happened and I didn't even get around to writing it all down. I was able to meet a lot of great people and try out new things. I am particularly educated musically here; my former music teacher would be jealous. I went to countless concerts and was able to listen to a wide variety of genres. My favorite concert was Oliva's, which we went to last week. I've never been able to lose myself in music like that in my life. Jazz fusion that encourages you to dream and, with its sometimes organic-looking music, shows you the breathtaking landscapes of Chile.

I got along really well with my host sister Emi. Our thing was sipping coffee and singing - which felt really good after a day at work. Because the work doesn't really fulfill me, well, who would counting ships and copying passport numbers really fulfill? I feel like I'm sprinting and can't move. The moment when I can finally go home is even better. This highly anticipated moment captivated me so much that one day I asked my boss if I could leave a few minutes early (3'). He said yes, so, under his critical gaze, I unsuspectingly packed my things and left. When I was sitting in the micro (bus) (approx. 30' later) I realized that I had accidentally left the field 1 hour and 3' too early. Well, it happened. The one hour was definitely worth it because it gave me enough time to bake cookies with Emi. Speaking of cookies, I have never cut out so many dough shapes in my life as I have here. Emi, who even has a cookie outfit (she always wears it by “coincidence” when she bakes cookies) and I thought it would be a good idea to bake Christmas cookies for the whole family as gifts for everyone to have. But we greatly overestimated ourselves and made several kilos, yes you read that right, KILOS of dough. Of course we had to bake out this mess of dough. And so it happened that we stayed until 2 in the morning?! Went in the kitchen and cut out cookies. We were only slightly overtired, which turned the whole thing into a giggly, chortling affair.

Last week I was able to spend a “día redondo”, i.e. a perfect day, with Emi, Gaby and Chapi. We went to Tom's camp. (please don't ask me who Tom is, I don't know exactly, he definitely has a campo). Anyway, since they were talking about swimming, I thought it was a small piece of land outside of Santiago with a hut and a pool. But I quickly realized that I had imagined it completely wrong. We drove down a gravel road into a ravine where we left the car. The only man-made thing in sight was a suspension bridge, the safety of which I preferred not to think about. So we set off in the burning midday sun. There was no path, just a trail. This went on for 40 minutes until we reached a waterfall. It had 2 pools and one was deep enough for bathing. We all climbed awkwardly into the cold glacier water. Afterwards we took a siesta on a small section of meadow and finally hiked to Tom's hut. Another half hour away, it turns out that Tom leads a hermit life, living alone on his land, which is wilderness. On the way home we grabbed something to eat, played cards and listened to music in the car.

Unfortunately, Emi left me. She is now traveling around Germany and Switzerland, maybe. Some people come across them by chance.

Another highlight was the trip to the north with Nic.

Valparaíso:

Our journey began in Valpo, the city of artists. I had never seen anything like it. The city is colorful and filled from top to bottom with graffiti and street art. You can pass by the same place several times and still discover and see something new that you never noticed before.

Pisco Elqui:

A pretty little village in the Valle del Elqui. As the name suggests, this is where the origins of pisco lie. The national drink, pisco sour, is then mixed from this. The mountains that surrounded the valley were bone dry, but the valley was green. Vines and meadows filled the bowl from below. In the Pisquera Mistral we learned more about the origins of distilled alcohol and were even allowed to try some varieties. Clever, because once you have tasted the difference between the young and the “noble” you will never buy the cheap version again. We also went on an astronomical tour, because the sky in the Atacama Desert is indescribably clear. Our tour guide was simply Mr. Cornaz (our math and physics teacher) 2.0. He enthusiastically explained to us that when you look at the starry sky, you catch a glimpse of the past and which galaxies you can marvel at from the southern sky. Included free of charge in the tour was an astro smartass who, under the admiring gaze of his wife, couldn't even tell a plane from a satellite, but always had a very clever comment to add. Despite everything, it was wonderful and motivated me to look at the sky a little more often and more closely. We were very lucky in Pisco Elqui. While the place is usually overflowing with tourists, we had it all to ourselves. Apparently almost no one travels to Chile in November. So in the evening we were able to sit comfortably on the steps of the church and enjoy the evening atmosphere with an ice cream. All around us children were playing with their dogs in the park.

La Serena:

La Serena is a city characterized by its colonial-style buildings. On the initiative of the city president in the 1950s, countless buildings were rebuilt and renovated in this style. It should attract tourists and help his hometown prosper again. Well, the tourists (including us) are actually coming, but many of the houses are already falling apart again. There is a long promenade to the beach where young people met to dance and rehearse choreographies together. However, what stood out most in La Serena was the poverty. On the first day, when we were sitting at lunch after arriving, a skinny girl, no older than 14, stormed into the restaurant and shouted that they should bring her fries. Her hair was matted and it was clear she was hungry. Before anyone could react, she was chased out of the restaurant again and disappeared behind the next corner of the building. We were left shocked.

San Pedro de Atacama:

The absolute highlight was San Pedro de Atacama. We visited the Valle de la Luna, whose surface is 80% similar to that of Mars, bathed in a salt lake and visited the Geysers del Tatio at 4,300 m above sea level. Then the jumping around stopped. Just climbing a small elevation caused nausea and dizziness. So people crept like snails from geyser to geyser. San Pedro itself is a picturesque town that thrives on tourism. But we stayed on a ranch outside, which made our stay even more special. In the morning there was always a llama peering into our hut through the window. He had dogs, cats, horses, llamas, ducks, a goat and even a donkey named Sebastián. The farm was built in an oasis and therefore offered us protection from the burning desert sun.

Music:

Oliva: Album «Resbailando lento»

Words:

harto: a lot

sipo: yes, sure/yes exactly

la pega: the work