Well now I'm getting ready for another big trasition:
Tomorrow at 9 am, we are leaving for an "academic excursion" to the south (primarily Temuco).
Tomorrow afternoon we're meeting our homestay families, and we will be with them for a week: this is a Mapuche family (Mapuche= the largest indigenous group in Chile, lots of political and social struggle). I don't really know what to expect, but I'm excited for the different experience.
During this week we will also be having two academic seminars a day, including ones of the political struggle, environmental issues, Mapuche music and dance, the Mapuche language (Mapundugun)
After that week, we'll have three days to do an ethnographic study of a village (I'll be focusing on "culture" -- music, theatre, dance).
THEN we're going to go around to some other neat places and learn about some interesting things and we'll return back November 3rd.
Seeing as the first week I'll be living with a family probably with no electricity or water, and the second week I'll be traveling from hotel to hotel, I will probably not have time to get online, which is why I'm laying it all out for you.
I'll make sure to do a big "this is what my past two weeks were like" post on return.
AAAND I can do one of those now!
My past week has been a lot of the same: training, training, training. The interesting thing about training this week is that I tore my hip flexor. That's been a struggle, figuring out how to continue training and progressing while still taking care of my body. And also, figuring out how to stay productive emotionally also, not getting frustrated. And I'm doing pretty well with it. I know it will heal soon enough, and I know I can keep training in certain ways until it does.
Also, since this week was the last week all of us from the program are together (we're splitting in have tomorrow - half to the north, half to the south), we've been doing a lot of activities with the group. Last night we had an "art share" where everyone in the program came, and people shared poems, stories, dances, everything. Our academic director played some Bob Dylan and Violeta Parra, one friend read a poem she wrote to our grammar professor, I did a quick acro act with my host brother, et cetera. LOTS of fun!
And today, we got together and did a boat tour around the bay of Valparaiso. It was so much fun - we saw a bunch of pelicans and sea lions, got to see the hills of Valparaiso from afar, and were able to be on the water! That was such a great experience in and of itself - being on a small boat on the water reminded me of all the water-skiing trips with the family - just that subtle physical motion was so comforting!
So all in all, it's been great! And it will continue to be!
Hasta luego, amigos. Chao!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Catching Up
Whew! Look how time flies! It's been almost a month since my last post - I can't believe it's gone that fast!
Let's see how to sum this all up...
Yesterday was the END of our classes with my program! After six weeks of Spanish and lectures, we now have a week to relax and prepare for the next step. Then, the 19th of October, our group is splitting in half, with half going on an educational excursion to the north, and the other half to the south. I will be going to the South, where it's green and rainy and the home of the Mapuche people (largest indigenous group in Chile).
We'll be there for two weeks, then immediately start on our independent study project.
So, what have I done the past month? The most exciting news is the circus news.
A few weeks ago, the man I'm taking trapeze classes from mentioned that they were preparing a circus show and wondered if I'd be interested in performing.
Well, of course.
So Saturday, September 27, I packed my circus stuff and hiked up to the Ex-Carcel (remember me talking about this place?) Tall posts had been turned into trapeze rigs, black curtains hung up and blue mats plopped down to make a stage, lights were placed on the top of stone walls, and we were set.
Now, I've warmed up in some pretty scuzzy green rooms, but the one for this show was the scuzziest of all: it was the old prison showers. Barely any light, one broken mirror, stone floors, and eerie eerie shower stalls down the hallway.
No matter, it was worth it. And once all the other performers got in there, with their stripes and clown makeup and brooms and juggling clubs, the ambience changed enough for me to forget the creepy history of the place.
The show went really well, it was a lot of fun. Afterwards there was a lot of congratulating and dancing and making friends - and all of a sudden, I'm an international contortionist!
Here are some photos from the show:
And the next chapter of the story:
The next Tuesday I was between classes and received call on my cell from an unknown number. I picked it up and the conversation went something like this..."Hi Jacki, I'm Claudio from EnViaje Circus, we have a gig this Thursday and our contortionist can't make it. We heard about you from the show at the Ex-Carcel, and were wondering if you were available to do this show?"
Whewh! That night I went to their house to talk to them (three artists: a musician/actor, an aerial/dancer/actress, and a handbalancer/juggler/actor, all living together and making art together.) Their house was beautiful - past a huge eucalyptus tree, up a winding stone staircase, through an iron door with stained-glass windows, and you enter into a huge space with wooden floors, a trapeze hung in the kitchen, artsy collages on the tables and jars of spices lining the windowsills. It was a beautiful place with beautiful people - a true community of friends committed to making beautiful art.
So a long story short, we met and talked it over Tuesday, rehearsed Wednesday, rehearsed Thursday afternoon and performed Thursday night. It was a wonderful experience and very inspiring.
And they, being artists in-between performances, also teach classes. How could I NOT take advantage of that?
Last week looked like this: school classes four days a week, handbalancing lessons four days a week, aerial silks three days a week, trapeze two days a week...
More has happened, and more WILL happen, and I'll try to write more often!
Let's see how to sum this all up...
Yesterday was the END of our classes with my program! After six weeks of Spanish and lectures, we now have a week to relax and prepare for the next step. Then, the 19th of October, our group is splitting in half, with half going on an educational excursion to the north, and the other half to the south. I will be going to the South, where it's green and rainy and the home of the Mapuche people (largest indigenous group in Chile).
We'll be there for two weeks, then immediately start on our independent study project.
So, what have I done the past month? The most exciting news is the circus news.
A few weeks ago, the man I'm taking trapeze classes from mentioned that they were preparing a circus show and wondered if I'd be interested in performing.
Well, of course.
So Saturday, September 27, I packed my circus stuff and hiked up to the Ex-Carcel (remember me talking about this place?) Tall posts had been turned into trapeze rigs, black curtains hung up and blue mats plopped down to make a stage, lights were placed on the top of stone walls, and we were set.
Now, I've warmed up in some pretty scuzzy green rooms, but the one for this show was the scuzziest of all: it was the old prison showers. Barely any light, one broken mirror, stone floors, and eerie eerie shower stalls down the hallway.
No matter, it was worth it. And once all the other performers got in there, with their stripes and clown makeup and brooms and juggling clubs, the ambience changed enough for me to forget the creepy history of the place.
The show went really well, it was a lot of fun. Afterwards there was a lot of congratulating and dancing and making friends - and all of a sudden, I'm an international contortionist!
Here are some photos from the show:
And the next chapter of the story:
The next Tuesday I was between classes and received call on my cell from an unknown number. I picked it up and the conversation went something like this..."Hi Jacki, I'm Claudio from EnViaje Circus, we have a gig this Thursday and our contortionist can't make it. We heard about you from the show at the Ex-Carcel, and were wondering if you were available to do this show?"
Whewh! That night I went to their house to talk to them (three artists: a musician/actor, an aerial/dancer/actress, and a handbalancer/juggler/actor, all living together and making art together.) Their house was beautiful - past a huge eucalyptus tree, up a winding stone staircase, through an iron door with stained-glass windows, and you enter into a huge space with wooden floors, a trapeze hung in the kitchen, artsy collages on the tables and jars of spices lining the windowsills. It was a beautiful place with beautiful people - a true community of friends committed to making beautiful art.
So a long story short, we met and talked it over Tuesday, rehearsed Wednesday, rehearsed Thursday afternoon and performed Thursday night. It was a wonderful experience and very inspiring.
And they, being artists in-between performances, also teach classes. How could I NOT take advantage of that?
Last week looked like this: school classes four days a week, handbalancing lessons four days a week, aerial silks three days a week, trapeze two days a week...
More has happened, and more WILL happen, and I'll try to write more often!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
11 Sept
Today's the day:
Sept 11, 1973: In Chile, a military coup is staged to overthrow democratically-elected Socialist president Salvador Allende. From here, Gen. Augosto Pinochet takes over and leads a 17-year dictatorship in which thousands of people are tortured, killed, and made to "disappear."
Sept 11, 2001: In the United States, hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. 3,000 people were killed.
Selection from "Cita con Angeles" by Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez
Septiembre aúlla todavía:
su doble saldo escalofriante.
Todo sucede un mismo día
gracias a un odio semejante.
Y el mismo ángel que allá en Chile
vió bombardear al Presidente
ve las dos torres con sus miles
cayendo inolvidablemente.
September still howls:
its double chilling casualties.
Everything happens on the same day
thanks to a similar hatefulness.
The same angel that there in Chile
saw the president being bombed
sees the two towers, with its thousands
falling unforgettably.
Today in classes we spent a lot of time reflecting on this day, this day that is so important to Chilean history. I don't know how many times I cried today - I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the fact that all of this happened: that soldiers took over the streets, entered anyone and everyone's house yelling "are you a communist?" Killing people in the streets, taking them to boats waiting in the harbor to torture them.
In Spanish class today we read Salvador Allende's last speeches- the radio transmissions from La Moneda (the Presidential Palace) as he knew he was being overthrown.
"La historia no se detiene ni con la represión ni con el crimen. Esta es una etapa que será superada. Este es un momento duro y difícil: es posible que nos aplasten. Pero el mañana será del pueblo, será de los trabajadores. La humanidad avanza para la conquista de una vida mejor."
(History cannot be stopped by repression nor crime. This is a stage that will be overcome. This is a hard and difficult moment: they may crush us. But tomorrow will be of the people, it will be of the workers. Humanity continues to fight for a better life.)
We talked about this a little bit at dinner with my host parents. My host father said that Allende died like a ship captain. All of his men had betrayed him- he knew the danger, but he didn't leave La Moneda- he went down with his ship.
A theme throughout his speeches that day was his "duty." His duty to the Chilean people to complete his term as President, just as the people had decided he should.
In the recording of his last speech he says "Viva Chile! Viva the people! Vivan the workers! These are my last words and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be vain, I am sure that, at least, there will be a moral lesson that punishes treachery, cowardice and betrayal." And then you hear the sound of bombs and crashing.
There is just so much to digest!
This was all so recent: we are now 35 years from the coup. After 1973, there were 17 years of dictatorship, and then the past 18 years have been democracy.
My host brother, now 24, was born during a dictatorship.
One of our directors asked us, "You were all about 12, 13 when the Twin Towers were hit? That's how old I was during the coup."
Sept 11, 1973: In Chile, a military coup is staged to overthrow democratically-elected Socialist president Salvador Allende. From here, Gen. Augosto Pinochet takes over and leads a 17-year dictatorship in which thousands of people are tortured, killed, and made to "disappear."
Sept 11, 2001: In the United States, hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. 3,000 people were killed.
Selection from "Cita con Angeles" by Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez
Septiembre aúlla todavía:
su doble saldo escalofriante.
Todo sucede un mismo día
gracias a un odio semejante.
Y el mismo ángel que allá en Chile
vió bombardear al Presidente
ve las dos torres con sus miles
cayendo inolvidablemente.
September still howls:
its double chilling casualties.
Everything happens on the same day
thanks to a similar hatefulness.
The same angel that there in Chile
saw the president being bombed
sees the two towers, with its thousands
falling unforgettably.
Today in classes we spent a lot of time reflecting on this day, this day that is so important to Chilean history. I don't know how many times I cried today - I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the fact that all of this happened: that soldiers took over the streets, entered anyone and everyone's house yelling "are you a communist?" Killing people in the streets, taking them to boats waiting in the harbor to torture them.
In Spanish class today we read Salvador Allende's last speeches- the radio transmissions from La Moneda (the Presidential Palace) as he knew he was being overthrown.
"La historia no se detiene ni con la represión ni con el crimen. Esta es una etapa que será superada. Este es un momento duro y difícil: es posible que nos aplasten. Pero el mañana será del pueblo, será de los trabajadores. La humanidad avanza para la conquista de una vida mejor."
(History cannot be stopped by repression nor crime. This is a stage that will be overcome. This is a hard and difficult moment: they may crush us. But tomorrow will be of the people, it will be of the workers. Humanity continues to fight for a better life.)
We talked about this a little bit at dinner with my host parents. My host father said that Allende died like a ship captain. All of his men had betrayed him- he knew the danger, but he didn't leave La Moneda- he went down with his ship.
A theme throughout his speeches that day was his "duty." His duty to the Chilean people to complete his term as President, just as the people had decided he should.
In the recording of his last speech he says "Viva Chile! Viva the people! Vivan the workers! These are my last words and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be vain, I am sure that, at least, there will be a moral lesson that punishes treachery, cowardice and betrayal." And then you hear the sound of bombs and crashing.
There is just so much to digest!
This was all so recent: we are now 35 years from the coup. After 1973, there were 17 years of dictatorship, and then the past 18 years have been democracy.
My host brother, now 24, was born during a dictatorship.
One of our directors asked us, "You were all about 12, 13 when the Twin Towers were hit? That's how old I was during the coup."
Monday, September 8, 2008
comparison
In the past week or so here, I've discovered one very important thing:
Valparaiso is the Portland of Chile.
Reason Number One: Artsy
I've walked the streets of Valparaiso a good number of times now, and I am always overwhelmed by new and beautiful murals, graffiti, street art, painted houses, marble collages embedded in the sidewalk. Walking around, I get the feeling that the people living here take pride in making their space beautiful, and are proactive to take the responsibility to do it.
And there is such a vibrant culture of street art! I have no idea how such a culture
could have developed, but all over the streets are incredible works of art, not just tagging but art.
It creates such a beautiful, positive environment.
Here are some photos I took while walking around with some buddies:
One of my favorites, which I unfortunately don't have a picture of, was a nintendo logo, but instead of "Nintendo" it said "NoEntiendo," which means "I don't get it" in Spanish.
Reason Number Two:
Beautiful naturaleza
Both Vina del Mar and Valparaiso (just to clarify: two cities that are so smooshed together they count as one) are right on the water, and follow the curve of the water. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's become a big part of my daily life here. I've been walking to classes every morning, following a caminata right on the water. I've never spent so much time so near the ocean - I still find myself gasping every time there's a gap in the buildings and I see the expanse of blue.
I've also gone a handful of times to the beautiful sandy beach three blocks from my house to train.
Check it out!
Reason Number Three:
Culture!
I have only been here for what, two weeks? and have already encountered a plethora of festivals, shows, performances, workshops... I'll be walking through the city and happen upon a performance of traditional Chilean dance in the plaza, I'll turn and see I big advertisement for a Jazz festival, then go home and have my host mother hand me an announcement about a theatre festival coming up.
It's been very stimulating to simply be in this environment.
Last weekend I cried when I the went to see the opera Madame Butterfly at the Teatro Municipal de Vina del Mar, then the next night I inhaled cigarette fumes at a punk show in the basement of Casa T.I.A.O (description to come).
Tangent (on the theme of culture): with my program we are required to partner with one of six organizations, the organization I chose, called "Centro Cultural Playa Ancha" focuses on "occupying and recuperating public spaces for the development of Art and Culture." Specifically, they offer workshops and classes, run a community television chanel, organize events to bring together local communities (block party style) as well as arrange larger carnavals - one of which is the Carnaval Mil Tambores, which will happen in early October. After a few unfocused meetings we finally figure out how we gringas (there are three of us with the program) could possible help. Turns out they just want us to participate!
For me, this means I will meet weekly with musicians to learn how to play cueca, the Chilean national dance, on the accordion! In October, I will be marching in the parade with my beautiful Bella and a ruffled indigenous dress on. I couldn't have happened upon a better opportunity!
I'll be doing something like this:
.jpg)
And some other photos from Mil Tambores 2007:
Reason Number Three:
Circus is Everywhere
It would be just my luck, wouldn't it, that the very week I arrive to Valparaiso, they are just getting ready for a Festival of Clown?
I wasn't able to make it to any of the activities, but I made sure to see their opening parade, and it definitely made me cry a little -- a celebratory community dancing in the street! And not just that, but a circus one! It assuaged all my worries.
Beyond that, I've found a place to train! The Casa T.I.A.O is a casa ocupa, literally an "occupied house," that houses something like 30 or 40 artists, hosts workshps and classes in all sorts of arts, and puts on shows! They have done a great job transforming a scummy abandoned building into a place of art with paint, wheatpaste, and a creative sense of interior decorating. They have a sala de entrenemiento with a lot of space, mats, and a trapic and aerial fabric! The plan is to take two trapeze classes and one fabric class a week(at about two dollars each), make lots of friends and then make art!
So far the plan is going very well.
My very first visit, I had mistaken the day. I knocked on the large, antique oak door for a long while until it was opened, and that was only because a person just happened to be leaving. Luckily I ran into a circus person pretty quickly (I suppose the chances were good), and after hunting down a schedule and realizing there was no class tonight, I decided to ask if I could stay and train anyway. Of course, was the answer. My happenstance guide decided to train with us, and eventually a Spanish Juggler called "Smurf" joined us as well.
The next day I returned for the trapeze class with my host brother, Ulises. The class was wild and wonderful and difficult! It's not dance trapeze, like I'm used to, but circus trapeze (If you're reading this and understand, I figure you'd appreciate the detail, if that means nothing to you I won't bore you to explain), and turns out that circus trap has an entirely different technique than I'm used to. It was very tough.
After the class, after finding out that one of my classmates had done a fair amount of partner acrobatics, the two of us decided to play around. This was such an inspirational experience - even though I didn't understand half of what he was saying (though my vocabulary is good, my circus vocab is still lacking), we were able to move through a good amount of moves, pulling from our shared knowledge. And, quite easily, he was able to teach me some more.
This is [one of] the [many] beauty[s] of the performing arts: the human body is the common denominator across all cultures! Expression and community and beauty, all right there.
Fabulous!
For days after this class, I had to stretch my calves every time I was planning on standing up, they were so tight.
And of course there are things to say about my classes, and my friends, and my host family, and all the other walks and explorations we've done in the city...
It'll come.
Valparaiso is the Portland of Chile.
Reason Number One: Artsy
I've walked the streets of Valparaiso a good number of times now, and I am always overwhelmed by new and beautiful murals, graffiti, street art, painted houses, marble collages embedded in the sidewalk. Walking around, I get the feeling that the people living here take pride in making their space beautiful, and are proactive to take the responsibility to do it.
And there is such a vibrant culture of street art! I have no idea how such a culture
could have developed, but all over the streets are incredible works of art, not just tagging but art.
It creates such a beautiful, positive environment.
Here are some photos I took while walking around with some buddies:
One of my favorites, which I unfortunately don't have a picture of, was a nintendo logo, but instead of "Nintendo" it said "NoEntiendo," which means "I don't get it" in Spanish.
Reason Number Two:
Beautiful naturaleza
Both Vina del Mar and Valparaiso (just to clarify: two cities that are so smooshed together they count as one) are right on the water, and follow the curve of the water. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's become a big part of my daily life here. I've been walking to classes every morning, following a caminata right on the water. I've never spent so much time so near the ocean - I still find myself gasping every time there's a gap in the buildings and I see the expanse of blue.
I've also gone a handful of times to the beautiful sandy beach three blocks from my house to train.
Check it out!
Reason Number Three:
Culture!
I have only been here for what, two weeks? and have already encountered a plethora of festivals, shows, performances, workshops... I'll be walking through the city and happen upon a performance of traditional Chilean dance in the plaza, I'll turn and see I big advertisement for a Jazz festival, then go home and have my host mother hand me an announcement about a theatre festival coming up.
It's been very stimulating to simply be in this environment.
Last weekend I cried when I the went to see the opera Madame Butterfly at the Teatro Municipal de Vina del Mar, then the next night I inhaled cigarette fumes at a punk show in the basement of Casa T.I.A.O (description to come).
Tangent (on the theme of culture): with my program we are required to partner with one of six organizations, the organization I chose, called "Centro Cultural Playa Ancha" focuses on "occupying and recuperating public spaces for the development of Art and Culture." Specifically, they offer workshops and classes, run a community television chanel, organize events to bring together local communities (block party style) as well as arrange larger carnavals - one of which is the Carnaval Mil Tambores, which will happen in early October. After a few unfocused meetings we finally figure out how we gringas (there are three of us with the program) could possible help. Turns out they just want us to participate!
For me, this means I will meet weekly with musicians to learn how to play cueca, the Chilean national dance, on the accordion! In October, I will be marching in the parade with my beautiful Bella and a ruffled indigenous dress on. I couldn't have happened upon a better opportunity!
I'll be doing something like this:
And some other photos from Mil Tambores 2007:
Reason Number Three:
Circus is Everywhere
It would be just my luck, wouldn't it, that the very week I arrive to Valparaiso, they are just getting ready for a Festival of Clown?
I wasn't able to make it to any of the activities, but I made sure to see their opening parade, and it definitely made me cry a little -- a celebratory community dancing in the street! And not just that, but a circus one! It assuaged all my worries.
Beyond that, I've found a place to train! The Casa T.I.A.O is a casa ocupa, literally an "occupied house," that houses something like 30 or 40 artists, hosts workshps and classes in all sorts of arts, and puts on shows! They have done a great job transforming a scummy abandoned building into a place of art with paint, wheatpaste, and a creative sense of interior decorating. They have a sala de entrenemiento with a lot of space, mats, and a trapic and aerial fabric! The plan is to take two trapeze classes and one fabric class a week(at about two dollars each), make lots of friends and then make art!
So far the plan is going very well.
My very first visit, I had mistaken the day. I knocked on the large, antique oak door for a long while until it was opened, and that was only because a person just happened to be leaving. Luckily I ran into a circus person pretty quickly (I suppose the chances were good), and after hunting down a schedule and realizing there was no class tonight, I decided to ask if I could stay and train anyway. Of course, was the answer. My happenstance guide decided to train with us, and eventually a Spanish Juggler called "Smurf" joined us as well.
The next day I returned for the trapeze class with my host brother, Ulises. The class was wild and wonderful and difficult! It's not dance trapeze, like I'm used to, but circus trapeze (If you're reading this and understand, I figure you'd appreciate the detail, if that means nothing to you I won't bore you to explain), and turns out that circus trap has an entirely different technique than I'm used to. It was very tough.
After the class, after finding out that one of my classmates had done a fair amount of partner acrobatics, the two of us decided to play around. This was such an inspirational experience - even though I didn't understand half of what he was saying (though my vocabulary is good, my circus vocab is still lacking), we were able to move through a good amount of moves, pulling from our shared knowledge. And, quite easily, he was able to teach me some more.
This is [one of] the [many] beauty[s] of the performing arts: the human body is the common denominator across all cultures! Expression and community and beauty, all right there.
Fabulous!
For days after this class, I had to stretch my calves every time I was planning on standing up, they were so tight.
And of course there are things to say about my classes, and my friends, and my host family, and all the other walks and explorations we've done in the city...
It'll come.
Monday, September 1, 2008
a casa
Well now I'm writing from my new home.
Everything is fabulous. I was given a wonderful family - I have two older siblings, a brother, 24, and a sister, 29 - and just to keep in the theme of my siblings back in the US, both are engineers. My parents are both very kind and engaging and have made me very comfortable. And my city is beautiful! We live right on the water, on this beautiful ocean!
I don't have much time to write now, but I'll give you a teaser for tomorrow:
And, does this one look familiar?
Tomorrow, I'm heading to my first official day of classes, my first lecture, and in the evening I'm heading over to a casa ocupada to check out some trapeze classes, and then afterwards going to watch a show by a clown theatre troupe.
I'm home!
Everything is fabulous. I was given a wonderful family - I have two older siblings, a brother, 24, and a sister, 29 - and just to keep in the theme of my siblings back in the US, both are engineers. My parents are both very kind and engaging and have made me very comfortable. And my city is beautiful! We live right on the water, on this beautiful ocean!
I don't have much time to write now, but I'll give you a teaser for tomorrow:
And, does this one look familiar?
Tomorrow, I'm heading to my first official day of classes, my first lecture, and in the evening I'm heading over to a casa ocupada to check out some trapeze classes, and then afterwards going to watch a show by a clown theatre troupe.
I'm home!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Valpo and Vina
Hello!
I'm writing from a hotel in Vina del Mar, Chile where, for the past few days all of the SIT students have been for orientation. We finally found the right adapters for laptops, after many horror stories of students frying their computers as soon as they plugged in. The hotel we are at has wireless internet, so here we go:
The most memorable parts of my long and tedious trip were those that involved my accordion. It all started when I walked through the security gates at Portland International Airport. I placed my accordion on the x-ray machine conveyor belt, worried it wouldn't fit under the itty-bitty metal tunnel. It did, but barely. While it was getting scanned, the security man at the station muttered, "Now, that's something I've never seen." Another, younger, security guard teased him saying, "and you've been here for a long time!" He took the bait, and responded, "I know, I've been here for ages, and still- I'm seeing something new!" Leave it accordions...
It fit perfectly in the overhead bins for the Portland to Denver flight.
While I entered the airplane leaving Denver, a flight attendant looked at the large and oddly-shaped bag on my body and asked, "What do you have there, an accordion?" When I responded positively his response was, "Wait, really?!"
Luckily, my luggage was checked all the way through to Santiago so once I arrived at the Miami airport I didn't have to worry about the 90 pounds of equipment on my back. We had a hotel room reserved for us, so I spent the night there before meeting the rest of the group at the check-in gates at 4 am the next morning.
And here's where it gets interesting:
I walked up to the woman at the counter, showed her my passport, my itinerary. Then she had me place my two carry-on bags (my purse and my accordion case) on the scale. Apparently, on international flights each carry-on can only be 10 kilos. My accordion was 17.
Since I already had two bags checked, it would be an extra one hundred dollars to check a third.
But no problem, no problem, she said, just take some of your things out of your bag and put them in a checked bag. This made a lot of sense, because I had taken advantage of the extra space in my accordion case to pack some of my clothes, on the argument of weight distribution.
Well, as my bags had been checked all the way through to Santiago, we had to call over the next girl in line, Ashley Taylor, who had been my roommate at the Miami Airport Hotel the night before, and ask if she had extra room in her luggage. We shoved in my pants, my toothbrush, some books (remember, this is in the middle of an airport in front of a long line). Finally, there was nothing in the case except for the accordion itself. We placed in on the scale one more time and crossed our fingers.
It was still 11 kilos - just one too many.
The woman was telling us, just take out some more, before she looked down and realized it was all one piece. "Oh dear." She scratched her head a bit, asked some of her coworkers, then picked it up and lugged it over to one of those metal size-testing racks for overhead bags. Apparently it fit just fine, because she came back, put a special "override" tag on it, and told me if I had any problems I should tell them that she said it was okay.
Then she leaned over and said, "You know, my grandfather had one of those."
Miami to Bogota: no problem. Bogota to Santiago...not as easy. The airplane was smaller, the aisles were thinner and the overhead bins were tiny; there was no way my accordion would fit. And so, after all the work we put in to be able to carry on my precious accordion, we had to have it tossed under the airplane with the rest of the baggage anyway. At least I didn't have to pay the 100 dollars.
At the baggage claim, I was nervous about my luggage, as they were checked one-heck of a long way from Portland to Santiago, but I was most nervous about my accordion. Realizing the emotional connection I have to the instrument made me remember this old man I met, an accordion repairman, when I went to buy my soft case. He said, "people don't realize how special accordions are. We [accordion players] really get attached to them; it's because, every time we sit down to play, we hold our accordion, embrace it."
Yeah.
Well, it came through just fine, along with all of my luggage (except my sleeping bag, which left PDX strapped to my pack, and got lost somewhere along the way. No importa- it's replaceable). When we arrived in Santiago, we were welcomed by a cold and rainy winter night- a big change from Miami that morning. We soon learned that Spring doesn't even start until September 21. Welcome to Winter!
We were met by the SIT staff, scooted onto a bus for another extension of our long journey- two more hours to Vina del Mar. Since arrival here, we've been stationed at this hotel, doing workshops and listening to presentations and doing activities, getting us oriented within this group, this educational program and this city.
Though group activities tend to be more draining than not, I'm having a pretty good time - there are amazing people on this trip.
There's a young woman from Alaska that grew up fishing commercially with her cousins and is studying bilingual theatre.
There's a young Chilean-American man who butts heads with his Chilean grandmother when he tries to clear his plate and she says "Leave it: there are too many women here for you to do that."
There's a slam poet from LA, an Amnesty International intern, a Colombian-American who loves latin dance, an activist coming straight from AIDS-work in Tanzania.
All in all, a great group of engaged, intelligent, kind people.
Tomorrow we have another day of orientation and then at dinner we will finally meet the "younger members" of our host family (meaning: brothers and sisters, cousins). Saturday morning we will pack up our stuff and move in to our new home.
None of us know anything about our host family except for one name and an address.
It will be great to finally meet them.
And this city is beautiful: we are right on the water, right next to the huge expanse of the Pacific Ocean. And there are plazas and mercados and hills and hills!
Oh, and just to validate the trouble I went through to get it here, I've made sure I've played my accordion every night so far.
I'm writing from a hotel in Vina del Mar, Chile where, for the past few days all of the SIT students have been for orientation. We finally found the right adapters for laptops, after many horror stories of students frying their computers as soon as they plugged in. The hotel we are at has wireless internet, so here we go:
The most memorable parts of my long and tedious trip were those that involved my accordion. It all started when I walked through the security gates at Portland International Airport. I placed my accordion on the x-ray machine conveyor belt, worried it wouldn't fit under the itty-bitty metal tunnel. It did, but barely. While it was getting scanned, the security man at the station muttered, "Now, that's something I've never seen." Another, younger, security guard teased him saying, "and you've been here for a long time!" He took the bait, and responded, "I know, I've been here for ages, and still- I'm seeing something new!" Leave it accordions...
It fit perfectly in the overhead bins for the Portland to Denver flight.
While I entered the airplane leaving Denver, a flight attendant looked at the large and oddly-shaped bag on my body and asked, "What do you have there, an accordion?" When I responded positively his response was, "Wait, really?!"
Luckily, my luggage was checked all the way through to Santiago so once I arrived at the Miami airport I didn't have to worry about the 90 pounds of equipment on my back. We had a hotel room reserved for us, so I spent the night there before meeting the rest of the group at the check-in gates at 4 am the next morning.
And here's where it gets interesting:
I walked up to the woman at the counter, showed her my passport, my itinerary. Then she had me place my two carry-on bags (my purse and my accordion case) on the scale. Apparently, on international flights each carry-on can only be 10 kilos. My accordion was 17.
Since I already had two bags checked, it would be an extra one hundred dollars to check a third.
But no problem, no problem, she said, just take some of your things out of your bag and put them in a checked bag. This made a lot of sense, because I had taken advantage of the extra space in my accordion case to pack some of my clothes, on the argument of weight distribution.
Well, as my bags had been checked all the way through to Santiago, we had to call over the next girl in line, Ashley Taylor, who had been my roommate at the Miami Airport Hotel the night before, and ask if she had extra room in her luggage. We shoved in my pants, my toothbrush, some books (remember, this is in the middle of an airport in front of a long line). Finally, there was nothing in the case except for the accordion itself. We placed in on the scale one more time and crossed our fingers.
It was still 11 kilos - just one too many.
The woman was telling us, just take out some more, before she looked down and realized it was all one piece. "Oh dear." She scratched her head a bit, asked some of her coworkers, then picked it up and lugged it over to one of those metal size-testing racks for overhead bags. Apparently it fit just fine, because she came back, put a special "override" tag on it, and told me if I had any problems I should tell them that she said it was okay.
Then she leaned over and said, "You know, my grandfather had one of those."
Miami to Bogota: no problem. Bogota to Santiago...not as easy. The airplane was smaller, the aisles were thinner and the overhead bins were tiny; there was no way my accordion would fit. And so, after all the work we put in to be able to carry on my precious accordion, we had to have it tossed under the airplane with the rest of the baggage anyway. At least I didn't have to pay the 100 dollars.
At the baggage claim, I was nervous about my luggage, as they were checked one-heck of a long way from Portland to Santiago, but I was most nervous about my accordion. Realizing the emotional connection I have to the instrument made me remember this old man I met, an accordion repairman, when I went to buy my soft case. He said, "people don't realize how special accordions are. We [accordion players] really get attached to them; it's because, every time we sit down to play, we hold our accordion, embrace it."
Yeah.
Well, it came through just fine, along with all of my luggage (except my sleeping bag, which left PDX strapped to my pack, and got lost somewhere along the way. No importa- it's replaceable). When we arrived in Santiago, we were welcomed by a cold and rainy winter night- a big change from Miami that morning. We soon learned that Spring doesn't even start until September 21. Welcome to Winter!
We were met by the SIT staff, scooted onto a bus for another extension of our long journey- two more hours to Vina del Mar. Since arrival here, we've been stationed at this hotel, doing workshops and listening to presentations and doing activities, getting us oriented within this group, this educational program and this city.
Though group activities tend to be more draining than not, I'm having a pretty good time - there are amazing people on this trip.
There's a young woman from Alaska that grew up fishing commercially with her cousins and is studying bilingual theatre.
There's a young Chilean-American man who butts heads with his Chilean grandmother when he tries to clear his plate and she says "Leave it: there are too many women here for you to do that."
There's a slam poet from LA, an Amnesty International intern, a Colombian-American who loves latin dance, an activist coming straight from AIDS-work in Tanzania.
All in all, a great group of engaged, intelligent, kind people.
Tomorrow we have another day of orientation and then at dinner we will finally meet the "younger members" of our host family (meaning: brothers and sisters, cousins). Saturday morning we will pack up our stuff and move in to our new home.
None of us know anything about our host family except for one name and an address.
It will be great to finally meet them.
And this city is beautiful: we are right on the water, right next to the huge expanse of the Pacific Ocean. And there are plazas and mercados and hills and hills!
Oh, and just to validate the trouble I went through to get it here, I've made sure I've played my accordion every night so far.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Pre-Departure
Currently I'm lying on the floor of my room, surrounded by piles of clothes and bags in varying states of disarray. I'll leave my home in approximately 10 hours for a year South America!
More or less, I'd say I'm prepared: packing-wise I'm where I should be (considering how late I'll probably be awake, I'm sure I'm fine), and emotionally I'm getting excited (finally, the butterflies-in-the-belly excitement).
I just thought I'd lay some groundwork for what I'm going into:
The first semester I will be based in Valparaiso, Chile, in a program focused on "Culture, Development and Social Justice." I'm bringing my collapsible hand-balancing canes, as well as my accordion (in a new and amazingly convenient soft backpack-style carrying case!), so it should be clear I'm still planning on doing some circus. Of course my first priority will be my academics and soaking up the cultural experience, but I'm sure I will have some time for training and art-making (maybe even performing?) while I'm there.
One thing I'm VERY excited about, and probably the first item on my agenda for free time, is checking out a park in Valparaiso called the "Parque Cultural Ex-Carcel" (The Ex-Prison Cultural Park). I've heard rumors that this is where all the circus people hang out, and though there's not much of an internet trail I can hunt down, I have noticed whisperings of a circus community, a workshop advertisement posted here, some photos posted there. I would love to meet some other artists and start some sort of cross-cultural collaboration. (I'm telling you- the circus brings people together!) In fact, I found some photos from a trapeze workshop at this very park, and I recognized most of the moves. Even though the names are different, I could have learned that choreography in a heartbeat.
Here's a photo of the Parque Ex-Carcel
It looks so beautiful, I hope they are friendly!
And, here's a beautiful photo of Valparaiso, just for kicks:
But before I can even worry about any of this, I have a big trip in front of me. I'll be heading out with a few good books for company and my accordion strapped to my back.
I can't wait!
More or less, I'd say I'm prepared: packing-wise I'm where I should be (considering how late I'll probably be awake, I'm sure I'm fine), and emotionally I'm getting excited (finally, the butterflies-in-the-belly excitement).
I just thought I'd lay some groundwork for what I'm going into:
The first semester I will be based in Valparaiso, Chile, in a program focused on "Culture, Development and Social Justice." I'm bringing my collapsible hand-balancing canes, as well as my accordion (in a new and amazingly convenient soft backpack-style carrying case!), so it should be clear I'm still planning on doing some circus. Of course my first priority will be my academics and soaking up the cultural experience, but I'm sure I will have some time for training and art-making (maybe even performing?) while I'm there.
One thing I'm VERY excited about, and probably the first item on my agenda for free time, is checking out a park in Valparaiso called the "Parque Cultural Ex-Carcel" (The Ex-Prison Cultural Park). I've heard rumors that this is where all the circus people hang out, and though there's not much of an internet trail I can hunt down, I have noticed whisperings of a circus community, a workshop advertisement posted here, some photos posted there. I would love to meet some other artists and start some sort of cross-cultural collaboration. (I'm telling you- the circus brings people together!) In fact, I found some photos from a trapeze workshop at this very park, and I recognized most of the moves. Even though the names are different, I could have learned that choreography in a heartbeat.
Here's a photo of the Parque Ex-Carcel
It looks so beautiful, I hope they are friendly!
And, here's a beautiful photo of Valparaiso, just for kicks:
But before I can even worry about any of this, I have a big trip in front of me. I'll be heading out with a few good books for company and my accordion strapped to my back.
I can't wait!
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