About four weeks ago I woke up on a
Sunday morning around noon, and as I looked at myself in the mirror I said,
“Austin, where did that first half of the day go?” Living abroad can undoubtedly tire someone
out, but my lazy half couldn’t come up with any acceptable excuse to appease my
ambitious half. That day I made a
promise that I’d spend my weekends immersed in Chile, not sleep. And with that I made a resolution to travel.
In my clase de turismo we’ve learned how to
classify free time spent outside of the local setting. According
to this, once we leave our locale for recreational reasons (study abroad technically
doesn’t count) we take part in regional, national, or international tourism. Here’s what that looks like:
Isla Negra.
Just
south of Valparaíso lies Isla Negra, a small town—not actually an island—that was
once home to the poet Pablo Neruda. Some
friends and I got up early that Saturday morning to spend the day exploring Neruda’s
house-turned-museum. I was amazed by his
many quirky collections. However, after
browsing his assortment of colorful sea shells, ships in botellas, and wooden figureheads, the backdrop of the rolling waves
made the marine collections seem like the natural extension of a poet’s
backyard sea.
Santiago de Chile.
The
following weekend I headed to Santiago to celebrate a friend’s cumpleaños and spend time catching up
with him. This trip was much less about sight-seeing,
but I still had the chance to walk through La Moneda,
experience the bustle of La Plaza de Armas, and explore La Catedral
Metropolitana de Santiago, where I took a picture that really made me reflect
on what I’ve seen in the past eight months.
I’m by no means a photographer, but
I liked this foto because of its
contrast. América Latina is a place where the past is remembered because it
forms the daily. When possible, colonial
buildings and historical sites are honored because they represent heritage and
the collision of colonized and colonizer that defines el mestizaje. This respect for history has been tested through
recent globalization and the expansion of international corporations. Whether the photo represents a contrast
between Spanish and North American colonization or a clash between reminiscence
and present development is up to the reader. For me, it captures a reality of which I’ve
been reminded constantly while living in Latin America: a fusion of tradition
and modernity.
Mendoza, Argentina.
Some of
the best carne in the world, the
infamous yerba mate, and a unique
Argentine accent are all I expected as I hopped on a bus with my travel buddy,
Gustavo. We rode over the Andes, longing
for adventure in the closest Argentine city, Mendoza. We were not, however, prepared for the three
hours after arriving in the city—we hadn’t made reservations in a hostel and
initially found no lodging. This normally
wouldn’t have been a problem, but this particular weekend Argentina celebrated Día de la Raza. This day was celebrated on Saturday in Chile
and without time off work, but was celebrated on Monday with a day off of work in
Argentina, making finding a cama much
more difficult. Thankfully, after five
hostels and two hotels (and contemplating the comfort of the park benches) we
found a place to rest.
The
next day we enjoyed an educational tour of two vineyards and an olive oil
plant, which took up most of the day.
Along the way we met Mendoza locals, Porteñas
from Buenos Aires, and European exchange students who shared interesting
stories and experiences. I’m constantly
amazed with how much young people have in common in spite of cultural or
linguistic differences.
Our
second full day in Mendoza was complicated, since somehow Gustavo had lost his
Chilean identification card. You know, the
one that’s used for just about everything in Chile. We went on with our day, but not without the
fear that we might have to return to Chile separately and, for him, much later
than expected. Making matters worse, we
both got pooped on by pigeons. Luckily,
his passport allowed him to reenter Chile without a problem, and it was
actually pretty funny that two disheartened backpackers got bird-bombed within a
few hours of each other. Despite the bad
luck, I was able to visit various plazas and two museums and we both ended the
day content and enthusiastic about the weekend in Argentina. The spontaneity and travel complications tested
our toughness, but also made for an unforgettable adventure.
Throughout
my life, but particularly over the last eight months, the benefits of travel
have shaped me in a fundamental way. The
perspective gained through unplanned encounters with people and situations
provide a plethora of chances to grow. I’ve
found that the tests of perseverance, responsibility, and language ability
found in traveling (backpacker-, not cruise-style) force one to think in a more
flexible and tolerant way.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you too take advantage of
traveling and sharing cultures. Que
nuestras botas viajeras nunca dejen de andar por caminos curiosos y
experiencias escondidas.
For anyone interested, here’s the link to a blurb I wrote for Whitworth University’s The Modern Linguist newsletter, which gives an overview of Valparaíso
and a trip to another one of Neruda’s houses, La Sebastiana.
-Austin Vander
Wel
