Acclimatization

The past twenty-four hours have been quite eventful, relatively speaking.

I arrived at El Aeropuerto de Santiago de Chile (SCL) at around 10:45 am. After paying $131 for absolutely no reason (by card, since they wouldn't accept my slightly ripped $100 bill), I passed through customs and met up with a fellow Yalie who, as it turns out, had been on my flight from Toronto. We found our ride to the house and arrived after a quick trip through downtown Santiago.

Sigh, rain.

At the house, we met three other Yalies and one Princetonian who are also in the program. (The last Yalie arrived today, but I'm not sure where he is at the moment.) While waiting for Cecilia Blanche, our homestay director in Santiago, we introduced ourselves and discussed whether we were allowed to eat the sandwiches, cereal, and fruit on the dining room table. Our hunger prevailed in the end, unsurprisingly. Cecilia arrived, gave us our "Bip!" cards for the subway and buses (so named because that's the sound that the machines make when you swipe), explained how the program would work, and showed us how to set the alarm for the house. Then she left us alone for the next four hours, during which we fought off sleep by playing various games on our laptops, including The Sims, Settlers, Pokemon, and Super Nintendo Jeopardy.

Chillaxin'

At 6:00 pm, Cecilia came back and took us to the huge mall nearby. It felt like any other American mall, except maybe even more glitzier. Not surprising, since the neighborhood we're staying in, Las Condes, is one of the richest parts of Santiago, though I didn't know that until today. We withdrew money, ate at the food court, and went shopping for short-term supplies at an aptly-named underground grocery store called "Jumbo." We then found our way home and, after a few card games, knocked out for the night.

I totally sucked at ordering a burrito.

Boxed, unrefrigerated milk. Tastes normal though.

This morning, three of the guys, including me, woke up really early and left the house at 8:30 am in order to catch a bike tour in downtown Santiago at 9:30 am. We should have left earlier though, because the public bus system was so confusing that we spent fifteen minutes just trying to figure out which stop to wait at. Fortunately, we found a transit employee who was nice enough to point us in the right direction. Several bus stops, two subway transfers, and one embarrassing run through the streets later, we arrived at the bike tour office (just in time).

The tour itself was great. The weather was lovely, and we passed by several notable landmarks, including Pablo Neruda's former house, the central market (La Vega), the Plaza de Armas, and the Museum of Fine Arts. We also saw some amazing graffiti all over the city. But the most memorable part of the experience was interacting with the locals. At one of the marketplaces, where a presidential candidate was campaigning, we ended up being interviewed on Chilean television. And after the tour, when we went back to the Plaza de Armas, kids started shaking our hands and saying "Hola!" I suppose I do stand out, considering my height and ethnicity (not to mention my enormous camera).

Bijan enjoys the subway.

Joey enjoys biking.

Korean church in the middle of nowhere. I was very confused, but maybe I can come back here next Sunday.

I say tomato, you say tomate, tomato, tomate...

Chilis from Chile. Tee hee okay sorry.

Everybody loves a presidential candidate.

Let there be light.

Joey and Bijan in front of the weirdest statue ever.

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick lunch at "the original" Chilean fast food restaurant, which serves up delicious hot dogs with grilled bread, salsa, avocado, relish, and mayonnaise. (Don't knock it until you try it.) Then we began making our way home. Figuring out the bus system was even worse coming back--there were over twenty routes, all going both directions, and bus stops up and down the street. We did eventually figure out which line to take, but we still didn't know which stop to get off at. Fortunately, we guessed correctly. All in all, the trip was fun but tiring, and we basically collapsed as soon as we got back. But not before another laptop session, of course.

This hot dog is called the "Italiano" because the condiments are red, white, and green. The other hot dog is called the "Completo" but the reason completo escapes me.

My roommate, Joey, sleeping like a baby.

I'm not sure what's in store for the rest of today, but I hope it's not too intense, since class begins tomorrow. Until next time!

Transit

I'm currently sitting in Toronto Pearson International Airport, two and a half hours into a four hour layover before my long red-eye flight to Chile. Why did I have to fly in the completely wrong direction from Los Angeles for my connection? Darned if I know, but it saved me $500 on my plane ticket, so I'm not complaining.

For those of you who don't know, I'll be spending the next month and a half at a Yale observatory in Santiago, Chile, taking ASTR S205: Introduction to Observational Astrophysics; going on field trips all over the country; and exploring the local culture. Before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge the financial generosity of Yale ISA for making this trip possible. I didn't expect to go abroad at all in college, but here I am, spending Yale money in a foreign country for the second summer in a row. Cool.

Since my trip so far has been short and relatively uneventful, this first post will probably be the least relevant to my actual study abroad experience. But I still think it's worth mentioning what I'll miss about LA, as is my habit after every trip home, and what I'm looking forward to in Chile. Here goes nothing.

Things I'll Miss

1. My family. Now that my sister has graduated from high school (with my brother following closely behind) and I've finished half of my college experience, there won't be many more chances for my family to all be together at the same time. Maybe I'm being prematurely melodramatic, but I can hardly remember what it feels like to have a family life all year long, and I regret taking it for granted before I came to college.
2. The weather. For all seventeen days that I was home, the weather remained nice, dry, and breezy, with temperatures in the mid- to high-80s. It felt amazing, especially after a particularly bitter winter in New England. Now I'm off to winter again, this time in the southern hemisphere. I hope I'll be able to handle it.
3. The food. I think this speaks for itself.

Things I'm Excited About

1. The astronomy. I wouldn't have applied for this program if I weren't a complete astro nerd, and though I know that the class/research is only supposed to be one aspect of this trip, it's probably the most exciting aspect for me. I've never actually performed real data collection and analysis, so this summer will be my first opportunity to put my academic knowledge to practical use.
2. The photography. Like the title of this blog implies, my attention in Santiago will be divided between a starry night sky on the one hand and a rich, colorful culture on the other. I'm sure that both will offer opportunities for amazing photography with my old friend, my Nikon D100, if I pay close enough attention.
3. The cooking. How appropriate that both lists end with food. This trip will be my first time having to cook for myself (along with the rest of my housemates). It's about time that I learn, since I won't have a meal plan forever. I won't be surprised if I lose weight while I'm in Chile, though.

The plane is boarding now. Santiago, here I come.