Chueca, trufas y "el colectivo".

I went back to Pucón! This time with all the gringos.  We drove the big ol’ bus out to a bridge and took a very picturesque walk along the river to a Mapuche community.   There we had the fantastic volcano as a backdrop and lots and lots of sunshine.   We played an extreme game of “chueca” or “palín”… basically field hockey with sticks and a wooden ball.  I learned that being goalie is alternately super boring and super stressful.   We ate some delicious things (and some weird things).  There was some horseback riding, some lasso practice, some dancing.  I met some cute Mapuche kids, Nacho and Kevin.  Back in Pucón I went out for ice cream with the ladies and bought a Frisbee, since they don’t seem to exist in Valdivia.

That night we went to Los Pozones (nearby hot springs).  It was a super clear night and we just laid around for a few hours, playing with the sand under our toes and considering the southern constellations above us.  In the morning we went to El Cañi, a beautiful hike near Pucón.  It really was gorgeous and actually kind of strenuous.  We started out by leisurely passing pastures of baby animals playing in the sunshine, but pretty soon found a fierce incline and ultimately met up with some snow close to the top.  At our destination we found a big pond, mostly frozen over.  (The boys, of course, went swimming in it.) Coming back down was a heck of lot faster.  On the bus ride home Anna and I got a lesson on Chilean slang.  Really, the whole Pucón trip was perfect.

So, back to Valdivia.  Lots of sunshine and flowers lately.  I live on Isla Teja, which is part of the city that happens to be completely surrounded by rivers.  That means the only access is a big bridge, which sometimes produces a bit of “taco” at rush hour.  Here on “the island” we have two principal points of interest: the university campus and my recent discovery:  trufas.   Oh golly, trufas.   They’re like balls of mellow, approachable, chocolate dough covered in more chocolate.  I just learned about them and there’s this cute little place called Café Donde La Negra that has been my dealer.

In other news, I tried to take a colectivo.  They’re like taxis except that they have a flat fee and they have this little colored wedge on the top that says the name of some place (for instance “Isla Teja”).  You flag one down that’s headed the right direction, get in with all the people, and the driver just drops you all off in order of convenience.  I was out buying the ingredients to make smores for my family (they’d never heard of them), it got late, I was pretty far away and I decided to try my luck with a colectivo.   

First off, it took a long time to find one with a yellow Isla Teja wedge on top.  I finally got one, got in, said my holas and away we went.  The old man to my left was silent, the younger guy in the passenger seat was silent, and the driver drove on.  Soon we picked up another lady and we were now three in the back.  About this time I noticed he had not taken the right road.  I thought to myself, “maybe it’s because of all these crazy one-ways, I’ll just wait it out.”  A few minutes later—and a few minutes gets you pretty far in Valdivia—I was positive we were headed in the opposite direction of Isla Teja.  Into the solemn, crowded silence I said, “I have a secret.”  (I think I can safely say I had complete attention at this point.)  “I… have never taken a colectivo before, and I don’t really understand what’s happening, but are we going to Isla Teja?  Because I think it’s the other direction.”  My backseat friends burst out laughing, the passenger seat guy was shaking his head and the driver said, “Out.”  I ended up taking a regular taxi with some guy just in from Santiago for a dental convention, and we all lived happily ever after.

As for my Spanish.  Well, now.  I have had small victories.  The other day I was writing an e-mail to my parents and three of four times I noticed I had written a few sentences in Spanish.  (Which they do not speak so well.)  I still don’t think that I’m actually thinking in Spanish but every now and then I’ll be speaking English and a little exclamation or quick question will pop out in Spanish.  It’s frustrating for me how slow I feel like it’s going, but I can’t deny progress.  It’s all kind of exciting.  I'm struggling along through the Spanish version of Pride & Prejudice right now.  Classes are going just fine. I'm still always pretty lost in Literature, but otherwise I honestly look forward to going to classes. Some of the teachers are kind of quirky, and I like it.

But folks, now I’m off to go watch some "cortos"…  that is, short films.  There’s a big international film festival that started yesterday!  I bought a pass and there are some documentaries and artsy films that I’m looking forward to, I’ll report back next time.

May the force be with you,
Jac



Meet Nacho and Kevin.



Pretty walk along the river.  Yes, that's a volcano.

a

I can't remember what this thing is called.

This is also something traditional, but I'm not quite sure what.

A ruca... traditional Mapuche home.

The lake in Pucón.



(It was a pretty lake.)



There's good ol' Villarrica.

El Cañi view.



The end of a long, gorgeous hike.