A visit to Indiana during the "Storm of the Century"

It had been too long since I visited my mom's side of the family in her birthplace of Northeastern Indiana, so I bought a ticket to help my Grandpa celebrate his 81st birthday. There was no way I could have known that the "Storm of the Century" would be sweeping through the midwest the very day my plane was meant to land.

A few days before my trip, my uncles and mom recommended that I change the dates due to the big storm predicted to hit the night I get in, but I decided to take my chances. If I only made it to my layover in Denver at least I'd get a visit to my dad out of it, so off I went.

I made it to Denver just fine and looked at the flight board to see all flights to Indianapolis canceled, save miraculously for mine. How was this possible? My plane was coming from Toronto, not storm ridden Chicago. So off I went to Indianapolis. When I landed, the airport had closed and we were pretty much the only flight coming in. I quickly rented my Hundai Accent and got out of Dodge, making my 2 hour journey Northeast to my Uncle Jim's house. Yes, it was sleeting/snowing, yes, the winds swept across the wide open Interstate, and yes, I listened to the AM radio station telling everyone that if they didn't need to be on the roads, get the heck off of them. But, I continued on and made it safely to Uncle Jim's. He welcomed me with open arms and a buffalo burger. It felt good to be with my family.

The next day I knew my little Hundai Accent wouldn't make it out of a country driveway, so of course Uncle Jim had the solution: get the Backhoe out of the barn. He plowed his way through the county roads to Grandpa and Grandpa's house with me sitting on a boat cushion next to him in the cab. I love my family.

My Grandpa is an incredible man, and despite being on oxygen, he keeps his awesome sense of humor, including making fun of how slow his motorized chair is to get down the stairs. I can always learn something from my Grandpa. And my Grandma handed down an old "How to Learn Spanish" book from the 60s that my Uncle Keith (who the book was intended for) had obviously never opened.

I got to hang with my cousins and my Aunt Tamie even made "Dirt Pudding," my favorite country dessert. It was so wonderful and comforting to be back in the country with my family and their hilarious sense of humor. And I knew that if I really did get stuck here in the storm, my Uncle Jim has a year's supply of fish in the freezer, my Aunt Tamie has jars of fresh sealed veggies, my cousin has a truck with a plow attached and there is an endless supply of Carhart gear. If the world were to come to an end, I'd want to be here in the farmlands of Indina.

Carrying on the family legacy, 3 of my cousins are pregnant, which was incredible to see. And we all managed to get together at the local Pizza Hut to celebrate my Grandpa's birthday. After being in Chile where everything is about family, I felt so at home being with my own. Family will do anything for you: they will feed you, house you, and give you the most honest advice. They are almost who you are, and I'm pretty sure there's a karaoke gene in our blood because my cousins took me out karaoking, country western style.

Despite the storm trying to steer me off track, I made it back for a worthwhile visit to the people most important to me: my family.

Saying Goodbye to Chile

GOODBYE CHILE, I WILL MISS YOU.

Saying goodbye to Chile was much more difficult than I every imagined it would be. When I started out this journey, I assumed I would live in a different country, improve my Spanish, tour around the sights to see, make a positive impact on the kids at school, and then leave and return back to my normal life. I wish it were that simple.

When I first came to Chile, I didn't feel like I was in a different country. I have many ski school friends in Santiago and they know my life in Tahoe and all speak English, so I felt oddly at home. But when I moved down South, I knew no one and hardly anyone speaks English...the challenges began.

I had a hard time adjusting to Chilean culture: everyone is always late and they never move out of the way on the sidewalks. It rained almost every day and the kids never study. It takes forever for change to come about and things are not very "productive" by North American standards. I couldn't really communicate with anybody. These were the challenges I had to overcome and I had never felt so homesick before in my life. I waited for my mom to log on to Skype and for my dad to pick up the long distance calls. I was counting down the days....

...then something changed. I became busy with my schedule and was committed fully to my basketball team. I was judging singing competitions and taking weekend trips to nearby beautiful cities. The weather started to change and it only rained 3-4 days a week. My students and I finally started to understand each other and I was taking field trips with them and having BBQs with the teachers. I met a special Chilean man who made me feel a part of his family and taught me how to dance salsa. Suddenly my life was Chilean and even my Spanish was progressing and I wanted to put the brakes on the days that started to pass by so quickly. It was a total 180 and I dreaded the day of departure.

Chileans are a special breed of people. At first they seem lazy and a little rough around the edges, but when you get to know them they are honest, funny and hard working people. When you step over the threshold of anyone's house, you are instantly family, "una hijita" (a little daughter). They would happily give you the shirts of their backs without asking for a thing in return. They love you with food and will gladly give whatever is in their house to you without asking for anything in return. One teacher gave me a tour of her house, pulled a matching pair of earrings and necklace out of her closet and told me to give it to my mom as a gift. She doesn't even know my mom!!! I feel that in our country, people are friendly and always give you a helping hand, but we also expect things to be just and fair and for each individual to be able to take care of himself. Chileans are one big family and they love you and open their home to you as if you really were a daughter. I think the part that really got me was that I let myself be loved by these Chileans. I finally let myself go into their culture. It's incredible and difficult to explain, but for this, my heart became bound to the people in Puerto Montt and I never had such a hard time saying goodbye to a place. And the people there had a hard time saying goodbye to me too.

DESPERDIDAS

A desperdida is a farewell party, and I had a solid week of them booked before leaving. I had one on Thursday night with the other volunteers, Friday night with the teachers, Saturday night with my friends, Sunday afternoon with another group of teachers, Monday morning with the school, and Tuesday night with my basketball team. My bus left Wednesday.

I received so many wonderful gifts and the hardest part was leaving the school. Half of the students were there in the cafeteria to say farewell. I was shocked! They had a slideshow presentation, a few speeches, 2 students sang a song for me and 2 couples danced the cueca for me because they know I love it. I cried. Then we had cake for breakfast. It was difficult for me to walk out the door without one last photo or one last adios. One student didn't let me go, and these are high schoolers, not little kids! I had no idea what kind of impact I was making at this school, but at the farewell I realized how special my time here was, for both the students and for myself.

So thank you CHILE for totally rocking my world. I have never experienced such emotion in my travels before. This was the greatest challenge but most rewarding experience of my life. Thank you to you too for reading and supporting my journey.

Pucon in Pictures

Here are some pictures from the turist city of Pucon. It's an expensive town with nice restaurants and a lot to do. It was the most relaxing weekend I've had so far here in Chile. I think I could live here if everyone spoke English =)

VOLCAN VILLARRICA (with smoke!)

The BEST ice cream in town.

Los Ojos de Caburgua: beautiful waterfalls that were easy to get to!

Jumping in the LAGUNA AZUL

Relaxing at the hostel Tree House...this is the life =)

At the Termas Los Pazones outside of Pucon...AMAZING!

It was a very relaxing beautiful weekend. I'm glad I had the opportunity to get to know Pucon!

Torres Del Paine

I just returned from Torres del Paine and wow, what an incredible journey. I don't really know how to describe it all, but I have never seen a place like Torres ever before in my life.

September 15
I flew to Punta Arenas at the end of the world and saw the Magellan Strait. Strange to think that this was the passage explorers were looking for for so long hundreds of years ago. Then I hopped on a 3 hour bus ride to Puerto Natalis, the gateway to the park. I stayed at a hostel some friends had recommended called Erratic Rock and it was fantastic. My original plan was to have a home base in the park and set off on day hikes from there because I was hiking solo, but a guide, Nacho, suggested I hike the "W" trail to get a true understanding of the wonders of the park. The trail is called the "W" because you hike around the main part of the massif and hike up valleys along the way, making a "W" shape. The Paine Massif that makes up the park is a separate mountain formation from the Andes mountain chain. It was formed 12 million years ago by magma and later by glacial erosion, giving it its unique look and formation. And I have to say, nothing else is comparable to its formation.

Now, I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous. I would be carrying all the weight of food, a tent and everything else alone, and would be hiking alone, and camping alone. And it's the off season, so there wasn't a lot of hope for meeting people along the way. But then I got pumped up for this once in a lifetime opportunity and said, LETS DO IT! I bought all my supplies and rented the rest and was off for a 4 day journey early the next day after the hostel loaded me up with a hefty breakfast.

SUPPLIES:
Tent
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad
Stove
Pot
Gas
Spoon
Bowl
Cup
Backpack
One Change of Clothes
Headlamp
Knife
Food
First Aid Kit
Toilet Paper

September 16: Day 1
I met a couple from France (Carolin) and Belgium (Samuel) and hiked the first day with them, which was lucky. Here is a journal entry from that day:

THANK GOD I had these 2 for starting out. I probably would have never found the trail head on my own. We walked through an open field in a valley with a big old rainbow stretched out on our left side and the Paine Massif on the right, although the clouds covered much of it. But HOLY CRAP the wind is incredibly strong-the strongest I've ever been in. It literally pushed me sideways as I wondered if it was possible for my contacts to blow out of my eyeballs. My mouth was open and my spit was blowing out of my mouth-seriously. I would have been frustrated and disheartened if I didn't have the company. I was actually drafting behind Carolin. But the views of the Paine Massif are just spectacular and there is no one in the park really, except a decaying horse carcass that was killed by a puma (yes, we really saw that) and when we came upon the bright blue lake with the mountains in the background, I thought I was in a place that wasn't real.
After 5 hours of hiking we set up camp outside of a Refugio, or hostel inside the park. Bunk beds run for $30 and dinner for $20, so it was much cheaper to camp and cook your own food. We got to sleep outside near the giant mountains and the skies were clear. It's incredible to look up at a whole new sky here in the Southern Hemisphere.

September 17: Day 2
I woke up to the Paine Massif and plenty of sunshine. While everyone was cooking breakfast inside the Refugio, I was boiling water for oatmeal and tea outside in the temperate weather. I had to say goodbye to my European friends as they were on a different schedule. I started on the first stretch of the "W" and so could leave my heavy pack at the Refugio, as I would be passing by it again on my way back from Gray's Glacier...that was a nice feeling.

There was nobody on the trail to Gray's Glacier and when I came upon it I said aloud, "Oh my God. Whoa. Oh my God." Gray's Glacier is absolutely humongous and the massive mountains behind it make it surreal.

I can actually hear the ice cracking even though I'm pretty far away. I am so intrigued by glaciers, maybe because we don't really have any in the States. I don't get to see them often, most are receding, and they're just so monstrous, powerful and alive. I could just sit here forever and watch it recede, carving out the land like an erratic artist.

I grabbed my pack at the Refugio and headed another 2 hours to Campamento Italiano. It was a quiet cloudy day and it was just me on the trail. The lakes were calm and I could see the reflection of the Paine Massif mirrored in the lake. Another awesome thing about this area is that you can drink straight from the lakes and streams, as they are all glacial fed and contain no bacteria or microorganisms, which helps with the weight in the pack!

As I've been hiking John Denver's Rocky Mountain High has been stuck in my head. I've also been thinking of The Lord of the Rings. Can you imagine journeying this much and then having to battle orks?

I reached the campsite and set up my tent in 6 minutes flat! Then I continued up into the French Valley, the middle part of the "W". I didn't make it up too far as my legs were tired, but suddenly I heard a sound like thunder and looked up at the massive mountain (Cerro Paine Grande) to my left only to see snow falling from its cliffs. The sound of thunder was an avalanche, and there were many. I sat on a rock and watched about 5 of them go, amazed at the fact that I was really there watching such a spectacular event. Later I enjoyed some tea and lemon cookies by the river. I am quite comfortable and quite happy here in the wilderness.


There were a group of Germans at the campsite who I chatted with a bit; it was nice to have the company at night. As I slept I heard a bit of rain outside. I dreamed of the weather holding out for a few more days.

September 18: Day 3
I woke up to a windy day, but no rain. I got my day started before the Germans as I had about a 10 hour hike ahead of me. I was pumped and happy to be able to go at my own pace.

As I hiked I left Cerro Paine Grande behind me, but could still hear the avalanches falling. An impossibly blue lake opened up to my right and the Andes were behind it. I walked passed the Paine Massif on my left and then through an open valley, where the wind pounded my face. I found the shortcut to my campsite and made the turn into the last canyon, the last section of the "W" shape.

I'm not going to lie, it was a long hike to Campamento Torres. It was a lot of ups and downs, but luckily I have consumed a lot of the food weight from my pack. The Germans passed me with about 2 hours left to hike. We stopped at a "closed" Refugio but there was a Chilean there selling coffee. The Germans and I took a much deserved rest. Then we carried on to the campsite. It was getting colder and there were signs of snow. I pitched my tent beside a creek and fell asleep to its lulling sounds. My legs were very happy for the rest.

September 19: Day 4
I unzipped my tent and snow fell into it. Yes, it had snowed about 6 inches that night...WHOA! I didn't sleep great, but luckily today was the day for the sunrise hike to the famous Torres- the Towers of the park that gives it its name.

The Germans started out early, but I have my priorities: I made breakfast. I started up the snowy trail around 6:30am and it was steep and slippery, but pristine and beautiful. I'm really glad the Germans blazed the trail, as I probably would have lost it.


(And at this point I have to say I finally have all the perfect gear for trekking: a good rain jacket, water proof boots, a micro fleece and hard shell fleece and snow pants with thermals and wool socks. It takes a while to accumulate these clothes, as they are expensive! But thanks to working at Squaw Valley where I get 30% off everything, I was prepared.)

Anyway, I got to the top and the Germans were waiting for the snow clouds to clear. We all waited about an hour and nothing changed. We couldn't see the Torres =( The Germans headed back down, but I waited a bit longer as another group had arrived to the top. One was an Asian hiking in CONVERSE SNEAKERS and JEANS! What a crazy person! We waited and waited and waited and then it started to snow again.

I decided to hike back down. I got 1/3 of the way down and the sun started to rise. I turned around for a few minutes to hike back up, but the clouds were still there, so I started to hike back down again. Then the sun rose more and I couldn't tell if there was a view above or not. I thought, why the heck am I even compromising the wisp of a hope that with the sun maybe there will be a view? I will be here only once in my life: get your butt back up there Kim!! So up again I went and NO REGRETS because the clouds cleared just enough to see the Torres...

...and they were incredible! I mean, in the clouds I thought, 'no big deal, I don't know what I'm missing,' but once I saw them it was majestic. It was like the Towers were 3 old friends and that's where they liked to stand and give advice with their ancient wisdom and knowledge on life. They really were a sight to see and you can bet I was glad I went for one last look.

I hiked back down, packed up camp, and then headed out of the park happy as a clam, save for the pain in my right knee from hiking. Am I getting old?

Another guy and I hitched a ride on a truck to our meeting point...that was lucky and FREE! The van picked us up and I was back at the hostel welcomed by open arms and a hot shower. Good thing because I was stinky. They made me a big breakfast the next morning, I caught the bus to Punta Arenas and flew back to Puerto Montt and now I'm back into the school routine.

On the trail I felt like a badass. I flew to the bottom of the world, hiked the "W" solo, saw some life changing sights and now I can wear my Patagonia gear with pride because, yep, I WAS THERE.

For a Photo Album of the trip, click below:
http://asnapoflife.shutterfly.com/pictures

18th of September

This year is Chile's Bicentenial and were they ever preparing for a party! Septermber 18th is Independence Day and Chile is full and rich with traditions. I was lucky enough to experience them with my family and school.

EMPANADAS: My host mom, Rossy, is an incredible cook. She wants to open a restaurant some day...how did I get so lucky? She made homemade empanadas from scratch and even taught me the tricks to the trade, although I highly doubt I will be able to replicate them. A lot of food here in the south is still made my hand or your neighbor sells some homemade goods. Empanadas are basically hot pockets with a mixture of meat, onion, spices, olives and raisons inside called PINO. You can get them in any restaurant for cheap...I will miss them when I go. But everybody ate them during Independence Week.

La CUECA: La cueca is a traditional dance of Chile and all residents of Chile have been taught how to dance it, but some are better than others. The students had a cueca dance off during school and it was so entertaining to watch young kids dance something so old and traditional. La cueca involves a white hankerchief and a couple who dance around each other waving the hankerchiefs in the air. They wear traditional dress: the men wear hats and boots with spurs, the women wear dresses that flare out and are colorful.

ASADO: aka Bar-b-que Chilean style. Chile LOVES its meat and when they cook up an asado, they do it right. It takes hours for everything to be prepared and cooked, but after you are enjoying smoked meat, chicken, sausages covered with fresh bread and PREBRE to top it all, which is basically what we call pico de gallo.

My school also had an Expo presenting the history of Chile and explaining its traditions, indiginous people, La Mapuche, geographical features, wars, history and foods. I learned a lot, but would have learned way more if it were in English! The kids received marks in their history classes for their projects.

Chile also celebrated with 2 days off work, fireworks, parades and a flag on seriously ever person's house. I heard you could get fined if you weren't displaying a Chilean flag somewhere in your house, but that could just be a rumor.

So 3 cheers for Chile's bicentineal and amazing independence day!!! What an awesome way to learn about a country rich with culture, pride and tradition.

Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le !VIVA CHILE!