Just introducing myself as well as my travel dreams/expectations from this trip.
I set up this blog, but I hope not to be the only one who will be posting when the trip actually happens, or before and after it. I invited my fellow travelers to join, and I hope they will. It will be more fun that way.
My name is... hmmmm... still debating if I should give it out on the internet. If one day this blog becomes like an "official document" for the trip, I might. I highly doubt our school needs it for its records, though. As long as it's unofficial, let's say my name is Alien Cat. Why Cat? I just love cats and I believe I must have been one in a previous life. Why Alien? Just take a look at our Visited Countries Map, which actually shows the countries we all are from, and Chile, our destination. Most of us on this trip are aliens. I'm one of the aliens. But thinking about it, most Americans are aliens anyway -- if not them directly, their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, etc were (unless we are talking about Native Americans.) We all should have little green antennas on our heads. But at the customs, when we get back from Chile, they'll most likely only spot mine. I'm on an F-1 visa, which makes your antennas more evident. Hopefully they will not waste much of my time and I won't miss my flight connection to DC. I told my teacher to come look for me at the Custom Offices if I don't show up on the other side of the line in a reasonable time frame.
I'm really excited about this trip to Santiago, Chile. To begin with, the college is paying for our airfare and the hotel. No way I could afford that on my own. Most (if not all) of my fellow students couldn't afford it either. It's a lot of money for a six-day trip. But we all are students with "outstanding achievements in the Art and Design field"
We were selected to take part in this international student workshop organized by Nokia called "Only Planet" to which our college participated as a guest of DuocUC. And the reward is a trip to Santiago to present our work to Nokia at Duoc. Our teacher was especially wonderful because she was able to make it happen for all of us. Originally, only 5 students would be selected to go. But there were 9 of us who could travel, and it was breaking everybody's hearts to leave just 4 people behind. To make a long story short, our wonderful teacher's magic worked and the college decided to send everybody. This is really awesome and I still can't believe it.
There are actually three teachers (I believe) who are coming with us. All of them are cool. But one of them took care of all the preparations, working closely with the college administration and Duoc, and, as I said, made this happen.
I have never been to South America (or the Southern Hemisphere, for that matter) so I'm even more excited. I can't wait to see the other half of the sky, the stars and constellations we can't see here in the Northern Hemisphere. Well, if the cloud of smog the city of Santiago is constantly wrapped in allows me to see the sky (at least, this is what my guidebooks say.) I'm an alien from Italy and many of us have relatives in Argentina. I do, too. So, I grew up listening to my dad recall how his uncle from Buenos Aires made a yummy asado in their garden once that he came on visit, or my grandfather talk about his trips to Argentina to visit his brother, his brother-in-law and their families. Before I ever started studying Geography in school, I had it very clear where the Andes were, and how beautiful their textiles were (my grandfather brought me a hat, a scarf and a poncho, and a little costume doll from Bariloche.) I can't believe I'm finally seeing the Andes with my own eyes!!! I wish we had more time so I could cross the border into Argentina and see the Cerro Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas, near Mendoza (which isn't too far from Santiago de Chile.) Whatever. Just being able to get to Chile on my current financial situation is like a dream!!!
Of course, I want to be able to do some site seeing while I'm there. Even though I hate cold weather, I wish we could travel all the way down to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The scenery is just breathtaking. But of course, that is out of question. We are only staying in Santiago for 5 days/4 nights. Valparaiso and Viña del Mar are only a couple of hours away by bus, though, and they are beautiful coastal towns. I have never seen the Pacific Ocean, so I'm really hoping we'll at least get to go there. Santiago itself has interesting places to visit. I already studied the metro system and I know how to get around. But I'm trying not to keep my site seeing expectations too high. Don't forget we are on a school trip and our primary mission is to present our work and be ambassadors for our college at Duoc. I would say "the hell with the college and Duoc"
but I'm not that ungrateful. If I get to go there, it's thanks to them and the Nokia workshop. I guess I'll just take whatever comes and make the most out of my time down there
~ Alien Cat
