Valparaiso and Santiago; Pt. 1 of a Tale of Two Cities

It's amazing how much can happen in a week and a half, which is why I decided to make this entry into two parts. Part one will focus on my time in Valparaiso and then part two will talk about my journey to Santiago, Chile's capital.

Last week was my first week in my house in Valpo with out my host dad, Manolo. It was definitely a different atmosphere, but the house felt just as full as ever. My host mom had her sister and best friend, Jimena, over almost every day. I also got a taste for what the rest of this semester is going to be like work-wise. Let's just say I have a lot of reading to catch up on. On Wednesday my social work class was canceled, we found out later it was because the students were out protesting in Plaza O'Higgins. Apparently the Chilean government hinted that they might rescind public funding for Universities, privatizing all schools. The students started a protest outside of the Congreso Nacional to let the government know they were unhappy. I had just dropped my friend, Bethan, off at this plaza and ten minutes later the police were there with tanks and fire hoses, spraying down unruly protesters. I later found out that there has been no legislation presented on this topic, the students were merely trying to nip this in the bud. (Bethan is ok, so no worries about her).

This past weekend I spent pretty much entirely with my family. On Saturday we went to an empanada restaurant with my aunt's family and Jimena and her son. Afterwords we drove around Valparaiso going to some beautiful look out points. Our first stop was Plaza 21 de Mayo, which is one of the longest ascensors in Valpo and has a beautiful view on the way up and from the look out point. We went on a very cloudy day, so they pictures are not so good, but the view was nice nevertheless. We then all piled in the car and drove to Playa Ancha, which is where the lighthouse is. Another breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. Then we headed to 'La Piedra Feliz', which is rather ironically named.

La Piedra Feliz (The Happy Rock) is a huge rock point just underneath Playa Ancha, which actually used to be twice the size it is now. People used to go there to commit suicide and it became such a problem that the government decided to intervene. They blew up/cut the rock to the size it is now, which is still large, but less suitable for offing oneself. On the other hand it has a beautiful view of the ocean and was perfect for watching the sunset when I took Dan and Marina back to check it out on a clear day.

Also, I've been meaning to write this for awhile, but I found out (awhile ago) where the term "once" came from, which I have been throwing around in my posts. Once is what we have here instead of dinner, although some families do have a more typical "dinner". Once, at least for my family, consists of toast, marmalade, manjar (leche condensada turned thick), cheese and ham. We also have coffee and tea, a lot of families also have palta (avocado) with their bread. Since we do not have "once" at eleven o'clock (once en espanol) I had to ask why it was called what it's called and here's the tale:

Many years ago it was super taboo to drink a lot/socially without food, but men, being men, wanted to drink anyways. They would get together around 7 or 8 and have some aguardiente, which is a liquor made out of grapes, and sometimes have some snacks as well. When they talked about meeting up later for drinks they would ask each other 'quieres tomar la once?' which means 'would you like to have once?' Once was code for aguardiente because it has 11 letters.
Pretty crafty eh?

Last new phrase; Today when Dan called his host mom to ask if it was okay if I stayed for once, she said absolutely 'ponemos mas agua en la sopa' which basically means 'we'll water down the soup' and is a common saying here when there are lots of people over for a meal.

next installment to come tomorrow.
Fotos; my extended host family- Rachel (Emma's host student),Ceci, Gaby, Pancho, Emma (my host mom's sister);
view from Plaza 21 de Mayo; La Piedra Feliz