Parque Nacional Lauca

I hardly know where to begin; this was such an amazing day trip. Parque Nacional Lauca is about two hours from Arica and sits 15,000 feet above sea level (three times higher than Denver), right near the border with Bolivia. To combat altitude sickness en route, we had lots of "mate de coca," a hot tea made with coca leaves. The drive there was simply spectacular, as you can see in the photos. We went up and around, and up and around, for what seemed like forever, on some pretty sketchy dirt roads, with no guardrails! I went from a "somewhat pleasant lightheadedness" to having a mild headache, to feeling like I had to move in slow motion when we reached Lago Chungara, our final destination. I did very well, though, and any discomfort was SO worth it. The park is known for its snow-topped volcanoes, highland villages, and wildlife; and I think I will need to give those last two their own posts!

Campo de la Alianza, Peru

Just outside of Tacna, we visited the monument of the Campo de la Alianza, site of the battle between allied Peruvian and Bolivian forces and Chile on May 26, 1880, during the War of the Pacific. This war ultimately led to Arica, the town in which I'm living, becoming part of Chile. It is a stunning monument, as you can see in the photos, and there's a nearby cemetery in the middle of the vast desert. What I found really interesting is that many people from Arica have never been there, because, as Gladys told me, for a long time Chileans were not welcomed at the site. It made me wonder about our U.S. Civil War battlefields and how long it was before anyone from either side felt free to visit them. It seems like 1880 was a long time ago, but Gladys said that some of the resentment has only recently subsided.

Tacna, Peru

On Saturday I took my first day trip to Tacna, Peru, a city of about 400,000 people that is only a 45 minute bus ride from Arica; border patrol is only 9 miles away. People from Arica go frequently to Tacna for cheap shopping. The deals are indeed incredibly good. Unfortunately, they are also a little suspect. For example, places that sell books actually sell photocopied books. They look like they have a regular cover, but sure enough, the inside pages are copied. You can buy movies in Tacna that have not come out yet on DVD in the United States because someone in Peru actually taped the movie while seeing it in a movie theatre and put it on DVD! (Sometimes you can see someone getting up to go to the bathroom.) The illegality of this frustrates Chileans because the cheap prices of things made illegally in Peru has closed down some legally run stores in Arica. There's just a different sense of how much to enforce laws in each country. Nonetheless, Aricans do shop in Tacna, as did I. I only bought one book, though - and felt a little guilty about it! Fortunately, we also stopped at a cathedral, where I could do penance. :) The church you see in the photo was designed by none other than Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame!

Cena Internacional

On Friday I got a great last-minute invitation to attend a dinner given by Pochy's friend in honor of a visiting professor from the University of Northern Iowa, Kathryn East. Other guests were local Chilean teachers who have gone on exchange in Iowa, living there for a period of time with host families. We arrived at about 9:30 pm to find a man cooking Chinese food outside (see photo). What a great idea! This is very common here - the chef comes, sets up the wok and fire, cooks, puts all the food on the table, and then heads on to his next appointment! It was some of the best Chinese food I've ever had. I love the group photo because what you see is so typical of homes in this area - a large, lovely outdoor area with a table for dining outside. (Pochy and her husband Jaime are on the far right.) Dinner started at 9:30 pm and with lively conversation, pisco cours, food, wine, coffee, etc., it went until 1:30 am. I was so glad I picked up Pochy's phone call to invite me!

Puesta del Sol

I have just poured myself a glass of wine and am taking in this view from my patio - sunset over the Pacific. I am unwinding after a day of various stresses over Peru, of all things! I am trying to accompany the Chilean retired folks staying at my hotel on a bus trip over the border tomorrow. The border with Peru is 9 miles away, and our shopping destination of Tacna is about 50 miles beyond that. For some reason the people who run my hotel, who are always very nice and concerned about me, think that I may run into trouble at the border because I have a Chilean visa, but not a Peruvian visa. I cannot imagine that I'm "trapped" in Chile for three months when I have a passport, but at any rate there's some concern that Peru won't let me in - or out! Plan A is for me to show my Chilean I.D. card with all the other Chileans, not open my mouth, and slide through as Chilean. Plan B is that the hotel will send a taxi for me at the border if there's a problem. Can you imagine?! The old folks are NOT going to be happy if the gringa is holding up their trip! :) I also had to exchange pesos for soles (Peruvian money) today and was dismayed to think that I have finally mastered pesos and am now holding totally unfamiliar bills and coins once again. I'm starting to think there's something great about that Euro idea, when you don't have to do all this exchanging! Who can be too stressed looking at that sunset, though...

Pochy

In this photo you see my new friend "Pochy" Morales (her real first name is Hildegard) on the right. Pochy is a former Chilean Fulbrighter to the U.S, in Iowa, and she lives within walking distance of where I live. She is very friendly and outgoing, and it's been great to have her living so close. Her husband Jaime also happens to be in my department at the U. Today Pochy took me to the market so I could stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables. I bought some of those lemons you see since I will need them when I make a trip to the "altiplano" at some point. People here swear that sucking on a lemon on the way up and on the way down from the high altitude helps to control sickness. Who knew?! I will at least try it! Pochy and I had a very interesting discussion on the way home about her experiences with discrimination when she lived in Iowa. When she spoke Spanish with some of the Spanish-speaking immigrants there, some people told her she should stop - that she should go back to her own country if she wanted to speak Spanish. She speaks English just fine, but she was just doing what we all do when we find people who speak our native language - which is to speak it! The British assistant in our department and I speak English together, even though we both speak Spanish, simply because there's an ease and comfort to it. I don't think anyone here would ever tell us to stop; I don't think they give it a second thought. Pochy also said that she felt some discrimination because of her skin color; people often thought she was Mexican. She confessed to having held some negative stereotypes about Mexicans in her own mind, until she was thought to be one of them and realized that it was hurtful. I thought she was really courageous to admit that.

El Cantante

This evening found me listening to Alejandro, the Chilean lounge singer, at the senior citizens' dinner at my hotel - an experience one thinks is unlikely to occur again in one's lifetime. How did this happen? I met a woman my age named Claudia at breakfast; she is here with her parents, who are part of the Golden Years retirement vacation program. I don't normally eat dinner with the seniors, but Claudia invited me, so I accepted. I did not know it was entertainment night! Alejandro appeared during dessert and urged us all to join him in singing what I can only assume are the golden oldies of Latin America. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, Alejandro stopped and shouted, "Ola!" (Wave!), and all the old folks had their hands in the air around the table! The evening ended with everyone on the dance floor, and I got to see some very impressive tango moves (the couple you see in one of the photos). Honestly, it was so sweet to see all these couples and groups of friends having such a wonderful time. Oh - and I bought one of Alejandro's CDs as a keepsake. Something tells me they are not in stores. :)

Un Buen Dia

Yesterday was such a good, relaxing Sunday. I spent the morning at the pool, reading and resting. Then at 2 pm I headed to Gladys's house for lunch with her family. Her daughter Mariluz is visiting from Santiago for a few days. In the photo are Oscar, her youngest son, Mariluz, and Gladys. Her two daughters' names are Mariluz and Marisol, which in English would translate to "Mary Light" and "Mary Sun." I've always liked those names in Spanish. We were at the table three hours, eating, talking, drinking wine, talking, drinking coffee, talking. At 7 pm I had another invitation to the home of a woman by the nickname "Pochy," who lives just three blocks from me and had a Fulbright years ago in the United States. She had a colleague visiting from the University of Northern Iowa. We sat outside and talked for another three hours! Pochy introduced me to the Mango Sour and the Piscola. Pisco is an alcohol produced from grapes in Chile and Peru. Piscola is made with Pisco and Coke. Anyway, the day was full of good friends, good food, and good conversation. And - it was all in Spanish, and I noticed how much easier it was for me than it was three weeks ago! :)

Los Aleros del 21

Wow - it's been a busy week! The photo shows a group of UTA colleagues at Los Aleros del 21 (The Awnings of 21st Street), said to be Arica's nicest restaurant. We were out on Friday to celebrate the end of a week of assessment workshops that are part of a grant-funded project at the U. In the photo, left to right: Justo, Ani, Aurora, Gladys (Foreign Language Dept. Chair), Mario (Education Dept. Chair), Mayra, and Emilio. The meal was wonderful, but thank God for my colleagues because I am finding that ordering from a menu is one of my biggest challenges! There are so many food-specific words, and here, the words I learned for basic foods are sometimes different. For example, "aguacate," the word I learned for avocado, is used in Mexico, but here it's "palta." They often say "ave" here for chicken instead of "pollo." As a result, it's not uncommon for me to order and not really know what's coming! At dinner, I had "palta primavera," avocado filled with a type of vegetable salad; "plateada," a good cut of steak with a sauce, and "pure de papas" (mashed potatoes). Thank God for mashed potatoes, which I always know how to say in Spanish! :)

Mechones (First-Year Students)

I love this photo! As part of a hazing-type ritual for freshmen at the Universidad de Tarapaca, the upperclassmen have them strip down to their underwear, put on garbage bags - or, in this case, bags from the "agro" (market) - and beg for money downtown. They can then exchange their money for their clothes! I saw these students as I was running errands, asked if they would let me take a picture, and then dropped some money in each bag. They were so nice and so grateful; an absolute delight. As for the tradition - proof that undergrads worldwide will do anything! :)

Cafe

I am fascinated by the difference in coffee rituals here. As I mentioned before, coffees "to go" are very rare. You sit down and drink your coffee leisurely over conversation; no one is running around with cardboard cups! In the photo are my morning coffee prep items: the water heater, the instant coffee (yes, instant - what everyone uses here!), and my very favorite thing - the Pez-dispenser-like thing that drops a little pellet of "azucar" or "sacarina" in your cup with just a squeeze! I remember these dispensers from Europe, and I loved them then. No messy packets to deal with; no stray bits of paper. I don't recall ever seeing these in the U.S., and I don't know why. If anyone knows where to get them, let me know! What's funny about the instant coffee here is that it's better than instant coffee at home. You can even see that it doesn't look the same in terms of texture. Yet it's all made by Nescafe. It's interesting how the same company obviously produces different items according to the needs and preferences of the culture.

DiMango's

This was the great discovery of my weekend - DiMango's on the beach. It's a restuarant, outdoor cafe, bar, and "heladeria" (ice cream place) all in one spot. It's about a ten minute walk from where I'm staying. I had a little communication breakdown with ice cream ordering, however. For some reason, when you order a cup of "un sabor" (one flavor) here, you always get two flavors. (This happened to me at another place as well.) What I wanted - and thought I was asking for - was one flavor with chocolate syrup, but the man kept trying to give me a second scoop of chocolate ice cream to go with my dulce de leche scoop. I finally discovered that I needed to be asking for "un bano de chocolate" (literally, a chocolate bath - sounds nice!). Alas, it turns out that the chocolate bath is the kind that hardens into a shell on the ice cream. Not bad, though. As I left I was thinking how even simple things are just a little harder in another language, and sometimes you just have to throw your hands up an take what you get. At least I walked away with ice cream and not something else! :)

Almuerzo de Bienvenidos

I am stuffed. My department took me out for an "almuerzo de bienvenidos" (welcome lunch) at a restaurant called Lo Nuestro. There was a huge buffet; we ate at 2 pm, and I'm still not hungry at 9 pm! Their specialty is carne asada, which is meat done on an open grill. In addition to the choice of grilled beef, chicken, or turkey, there were a number of side salads and dishes. One dish that I would describe as cold potatoes au gratin was "causa limena," a Peruvian dish. Everything was great, even the chicken kidney I ate without realizing what it was! The photo above shows a part of the group (we were 14 in all). The man to my right is Justo, my co-instructor. Also note the wine glasses. The Chilean wine is fantastic. I'm no wine expert, but it definitely has a really excellent taste. I'm more inclined to go for a second or third glass here than I normally would be!

La Luna

If I get up early enough, I can see the moon like this over the Pacific - not that I'm usually up quite that early! This one I did see, though, and it was incredible. My running in the morning is interesting because of the variety of things I might encounter. Today I saw small groups of men in the Chilean army doing their morning run. The other day I saw a Bolivian man in traditional clothing and hat riding peacefully at the water's edge on his horse or mule (I'm sorry to say that I'm not quite sure of my distinctions there!). Sometimes there are women just like me, out for a run in their spandex and headphones. And ALWAYS there are the dogs - Dogs are generally not on leashes here, and they roam about in groups. Fortunately, the dogs are much more interested in chasing each other than in chasing me!

Arica

Today I ventured into town for the day and snapped a few photos while I wandered. A little Arica history, with help from the folks at Lonely Planet: When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, Arica - then part of Peru -became a very important port for the silver mining trade. The top photo shows El Morro, which is an enormous rock that Chileans took from Peruvian forces during the War of the Pacific in 1880. Arica then became part of Chile, although the agreement was not official until 1929. The second photo shows Arica's largest "paseo peotonal" (pedestrian walk). It is called "El 21 de mayo" in honor of the date of the 1879 naval battle in the nearby city of Iquique. May 21 is a holiday for the people of Chile, and I will be here to see this year's festivities!

El Campus

Today I met with Justo (HOOS-toe) Gallardo, my co-instructor for the course I'll be teaching: Oral and Written English Discourse for future teachers of English as a Foreign Language. I'll be doing the writing part. Justo is a sweet, 50-something man, and I think ours will be a good collaboration. We met over a coffee at the U's cafeteria. The photo above shows more of the campus. I'm still adjusting to the schedule here. At the U, people are there from about 9 am until 1 pm, and then everyone leaves from 1-4 to go home for lunch, siesta, etc. Then people are back at 4 and leave for home at 7. Dinner is no earlier than 9 pm. This all takes some getting used to. I'm going to start leaving for the 1-4 time, which I had not been doing. (That's usually when I'm really on a roll at work at SSC!) But if I work the whole way through and then have to stay until 7, the day is too long. The faculty meeting yesterday was from 4-6 pm, and my head was spinning from so much education talk in Spanish. It is hard to explain the mental fatigue of having to focus so much energy on understanding what people are saying; we take that for granted in our native language. I can feel myself adjusting to the accent, though, and day by day my comprehension is improving.

Induccion

So many things are different, yet some things are very much the same. Today was "induccion" (orientation) for new students. The photo was taken as I sat at my desk and watched two first-year students poring over materials in the courtyard just outside my office. When I walked in the building, there were computers set up with students waiting in line to register (SSCers out there will appreciate this!). All the profs from my department had 45 minutes in a room to greet about 40 incoming students to the English as a Foreign Language program. We introduced ourselves, and then students got a chance to introduce themselves - name and high school/hometown. What struck me was how similar all of this was to what we do at Salem State, right down to the look on the faces of the first-years as they listened to program requirements and what lies ahead! BUT, one thing thing about the system here is very different. Students sign up for courses they need without knowing the days/times they meet (in fact, professors still don't know when their courses meet, and they start next week!). I asked, "Then how do students plan their schedules?" The response: "They're full-time students, so they're expected to keep from 9 am - 7 pm free for classes and plan anything else around that." Hmmm. I was trying to envision how that would go over at home...

Hiper Lider

Gladys warned me not to go to Hiper Lider (see photo) on the weekend, but I didn't listen! Not to mention it's Back-to-School week, and every family in Arica was there buying school supplies and school uniform clothing (it appears to me that most schools have a uniform dress code). The first astounding thing was how many small children were there; the whole family comes - Mama, Papi, infants, toddlers, teens - no one's left at home! This made for a rather crowded store, to say the least. One thing I love, though, is the level of patience people have. I waited in line for about half an hour to check out, and people were so slow, sending kids back to exchange items, etc. I know that in the U.S. someone would have been complaining pretty quickly, or at least rolling eyes. I looked in back of me in line to see if anyone seemed exasperated (I was getting there!), and people just smiled, not bothered in the least. When it was my turn, the person behind me noticed how quickly I got my items out of my cart and onto the counter. I think it's an automatic "people are waiting" response in me. It's kind of nice to feel that no one's rushing you. I was rather pleased that I got nearly everything on my list, given my lack of precise vocabulary for some items. Do I want my hair to be "liso" or "sedoso"? Is my skin "seca"? Do I have "caspa"? (dandruff - new word!) I thought I would never get out of that aisle! I cannot imagine what people go through if they don't even use the same alphabet or don't have any previous study of the language. I had not gone in with wine on my list, but by the time I left, there were two bottles in my cart. An interesting experience, but next time I'll listen to Gladys! :)

Saturday, and I am finally catching up on some much-needed rest! However, I did run today for the first time since my surgery - a mile along the Pacific - not a bad way to start back up again! I'm hoping to increase a mile each week up to 3 miles. In the photo to the left, taken from my patio, you can see the ocean; the running path/sidewalk is just on the other side of the fence. In the top photo, my apartment is the one on the corner, right behind the palm trees. I confess to having spent the majority of my day reading and napping by the pool! One funny thing I have discovered is that this apart-hotel hosts a nationwide program called "Vacaciones Tercera Edad" (Tercera Edad = Third Age = Golden Years), so I am surrounded by Chilean retirees. They love to talk, so if I'm not chatting with them, I'm getting to eavesdrop on their conversations and learn lots of vocabulary about medical problems. Ha ha. No offense to my very youthful "Third Age" loved ones out there! :)

My favorite memory from today: Being scrunched into a taxi colectivo with four other Chileans, the Virgin Mary hanging from the rearview mirror, and Kenny Rogers singing "Lady" on the radio. I always wonder, as I sit in these taxis, who the people are who share this brief moment of contact with me, where they're headed, what their lives are like. And I wonder what they wonder about me. That ride was at the end of a six-hour day at the U, where I attended Part 2 of a faculty workshop on assessment of student competencies, led by a woman from the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. My head is spinning with all of the Spanish terms for outcomes, guidelines, performance levels, monitoring progress - you name it, I heard it today. The content was not new for me at all, but the vocabulary certainly was. I have three notebook pages full of new terms and phrases that I took down as I listened. At the end of the workshop, I took the photo above. Karenina, the presenter from Santiago, is the woman in the dress. My UTA colleagues, from left, are: Jaime, Ani, Monica, Eduardo, Daniel, y Reinaldo.

As I write this, I am waiting for what I call "Chilean Comcast" to fix the cable TV in my new apartment. They're about as fast as U.S. Comcast! Ha! So I will blog while I wait. I had a really wonderful day from start to finish. I met with Cecilia, the Public Relations Director at the U. She had a photographer and a writer there to do a piece on me for the U's website. Cecilia gave me a beautiful welcome gift of a silver laser pointer/pen that bears the emblem of the Universidad. I was really touched. As for the interview, God only knows what I said in Spanish - I'm hoping for the best! :) Then Gladys took me to the "terminal agro," which you can see in the photo. It is a fabulous marketplace where fresh fruits and vegetables are available at low prices every day: aguacates (avocadoes), mangos, anything freshly grown that you could possibly want. We then went off to "Lider" to stock my fridge and my apartment. I thought Lider was a lot like Wal-mart, which is interesting because Gladys told me that Wal-Mart will soon be running about 40% of Lider stores. Even going to the supermarket is interesting. Yoplait sells mango/papaya yogurt in Chile; this is not a flavor I've seen at home. The fresh bread bins offer many options. Today I went for "hallullas" (ah-you-yahs), which are sort of like biscuits, but thinner and more bread-like. Trying to figure out which milk I wanted for in my coffee was a challenge. I guessed that "semi-descremada" might be 2%, and I think I was right. Chileans don't use cream in coffee, just milk - and there is no Medio y Medio. :)

I am posting late tonight, after a long day; I think the travel is catching up with me! Tomorrow I leave the place I've been staying (see photos, one taken from the patio of my room) and move to Hotel Tiwanaku, an "apart-hotel." Think Residence Inn, or a one bedroom suite with kitchen. Tiwanaku is an indigenous Bolivian name. The apart-hotel is right on the ocean and has a small pool, which will help in the heat. It's in a great location, although nothing in Arica is very far away. At Hotel El Paso Park this week, I learned many important details of daily life:
1) Nothing works in a hotel room if you don't insert your key card in a little sensor slot inside the room - an energy saving device, so nothing is on when people are not here. I discovered this only after calling recepcion to report that nothing in my room seemed to work -A/C, lights, TV, nada. I hope they found my ignorance charming.
2) It's the best month for mangoes in Chile. They even have little ones the size of pears!
3) The TV shows I understand best in Spanish are Los Simpsons; !No te lo pongas! (What Not to Wear); and Superninera (Supernanny). A little scary, but I'll take what I can manage. I am only watching things in Spanish, though. CNN en espanol is getting easier to understand each day.
4) No one on CNN Chile cares about the OctoMom. She has disappeared from my life.
5) No one walks around with coffee or bottled water. What you get at your meals is what you get until you stop in a cafe or go to a machine. A transition for this Starbucks-struck nortemericana! :) That's who I am here - "la norteamericana." It's interesting, isn't it, that I'm not "la americana," since they're Americans here, too!

Another interesting day! I walked into "el centro" (downtown) because I had to register my temporary resident visa with the city of Arica. The photos you see show the contrasts within the town. Some buildings look very modern and well-kept; others look quite poor - and they're all mixed in together. It's not quite like anything I've seen before. I had been told to go to "Extranjeria y Imigracion" (the place for foreigners and immigrants). After waiting in a long line there, I was told that no, I needed to go to "Investigaciones" (international police headquarters). While trying to find Investigaciones, I mistakenly entered the Appellate Court and the Division of Police Security (apparently different from the police who investigate). Once I found the right place, they told me I needed two photos and copies of my passport and visa; I didn't have those. Fortunately, just around the corner, there was a small tent-like store for foreigners just like me, who were missing these items. I was thrilled! A nice man took photos of me holding a black tray with my name and passport numbers spelled out in white plastic letters - very criminal-like. I returned and registered my visa. I was supposed to continue on to register for my "carnet civil," which will allow me to open a bank account, but I could not deal with it when I saw the line was about 40 people long. Another day! I'm now off to visit Gladys's evening class. I can't wait! No more police for me today! :)

Today was my first day to visit the university. The photo you see is the main building and houses the "Faculdad de Educacion y Humanidades." My office will be in this building. I met many of the 12 full-time faculty members, who were so friendly and welcoming. The offices are tiny and the building is run-down, but the warmth of the people and their dedication to their academic programs soon become the most apparent things. I met the "decano" (dean). He said, "Me llamo Carlos. You can call me Charlie," as he laughed. He also offered me an office in his area, since the one I have now actually belongs to a professor who comes and goes. I think I'm going to like Dean Carlos! I got to the U in a "taxi colectivo." These are taxis that run in a loop around town. They'll pick up any waving person who will fit in the car, so you end up with strangers - but to go anywhere only costs 75 cents. Not a bad system! I am slowly getting accustomed to calculating prices in my head. One dollar = 600 Chilean pesos, so I remove two zeros and divide by six. A Coca Light costs 1,000 pesos, for example. Tonight I'll eat dinner in the hotel restaurant around 9:00 pm - still a bit early for here; they serve dinner from 8:00 to 11:30 pm. Very similar to what I remember from Spain.

Well, if Santiago seemed very familiar and U.S. Americanized, Arica is quite different. I've seen nothing from the U.S. so far (which is fine!), and the population here is much more indigenous. I stand out with my pale New England skin! Arica is pure desert, recorded in books as being the driest place in the world, so I'm told. They can go a couple of years without a drop of rain. It makes Arizona look like a rain forest. I've learned that they do have trouble with terremotos (earthquakes), one of which recently destroyed a large part of their hospital. What you see in this photo is the Pacific Ocean, at a spot that has been photographed for National Geographic because surfers come from around the world (Aloha, Anneliese -can you believe it?!) to face off with "El Gringo," a giant wave that is especially tricky because of underlying rocks. Apparently, the first person to conquer the wave was from the U.S.; hence, the name. We saw lots of surfers there today. The "we" I'm referring to is Gladys Aguilera and I. Gladys is my wonderful new colleague at the "U." She immediately invited me to lunch at her house, where I met her husband Wilfredo, her sister Cristina, and her niece Alejandra. For a first course, Wilfredo made the best ceviche I have ever eaten using fresh local fish, and he paired it with a Chardonnay from Central Chile. Wilfredo loves to talk about Chile (and many other things) and knows SO much; however, his local accent means I understand about 70% of what he says. I'm smiling a lot and have made it my goal to understand him completely before I leave! Later we were joined by Gladys's son Oscar, his fiancee Giovanna, and their 10-month-old daughter Emilia. Lunch went on for two hours at the family table, with people coming and going, which is typical. It very much reminded me of meals when I lived in France - so slow and relaxing. Definitely a good thing.

I landed in Santiago after an 8-hour flight from Miami, having slept very little. It was too dark in the early morning to see much of the landscape, but I did see some mountaintops when we were still at a high altitude. I was shocked to see so much of the U.S. in the Santiago Airport. Most stunning was the Dunkin' Donuts that greeted me immediately, and would you believe there was another one when I got to my gate?! I wandered over and noticed that one could purchase a "Boston Manjar." Manjar = Creme/Cream. Who knew I'd be learning a new Spanish vocab word at Dunkin Donuts? Anyway, my first real view of Chile was departing from Santiago for Arica, which is what you see in this photo. It was breathtaking.

On February 28, at long last - and after a very crazy month! - I left Logan Airport for Arica, a town very, very far north in Chile, just nine miles from the border with Peru. I received a Fulbright grant to be a visiting faculty member at the Universidad de Tarapaca in Arica from March through May. Chile has a new program, "Ingles Abre Puertas" (English Opens Doors), which has the goal of ensuring that all students who graduate from Chilean high schools are proficient in English. I will be helping in this effort by working with a high school teachers who are taking university courses in methods of teaching English as a Foreign Language. In this photo, taken at Logan, the shirt is in honor of my good friend Millie, her daughter Bela, and husband Jeff, who were kind enough to entertain me in Miami during my 8-hour layover there, en route to Santiago.