The Faller's Go to Chile!

The Faller’s Go to Chile (your first of many weekly installments to come).

The Faller’s have arrived, and Chile has welcomed us with open arms! The people, the views, the food, and the hotels are all wonderful! Pictures can probably describe these better than words, so my writing will be brief, but I promise more thoughts for the next time. My personal highlights of the trip so far: 1) Rafting down the river Trancura with our jolly guide, Carlitos. 2) Eating Shrimp and Saffron Risotto at Hotel Antumalal. 3) Visiting the fish, fruit, and vegetable market in Valdivia. 4) Fishing on Lago de los Santos. 5) The Faller sitcom car ride from Fruitillar the rest of the way into Petrohue. 6.) Eating at Como Agua para Chocolate in Santiago. 7) Watching Dad make friends with the local cat by feeding it half a chicken breast in the artisan town of Pomaire. 8) Wine tasting at the Vineyard, Undurraga. 9) My midnight raspberry fruit juice date with Dad. 10) Family review of vacations past, which lasted until the manager kicked us out.

Funniest Moments:

Matt: Appearing as a pin size yellow dot, kayaking on lake Villarica, while the rest of the family sought refuge under the balcony of our hotel to keep out of the torrential downpour.

Dad: Walking around the hotel with two gutted fish we had just caught and dubbed Tina and Tim Troutling. They were very tasty for dinner.

Merry: Being plunged underwater after the rafting guide had tricked me into “playing a fun game” that required me to kneel in the bow of the boat.

Mom: Repeating over and over again in Spanish, “the frying pan! The frying pan!” while I was trying to explain to the chef how she wanted her fish cooked.

A summary of the itinerary:

Monday Feb 15^th: I join the rest of the family in Santiago, and we catch the afternoon flight to Temuco. Then a rental car gets us to the lake town of Pucón.

Tues Feb 16^th-Weds Feb 17^th: Kayaking, rafting, and sightseeing in Pucón. We stayed at Hotel Antumalal.

Thurs Feb 18^th-Friday Feb 19^th: Trekking and Fishing in Petrohue, on Los Lagos de Los Santos. We stayed at Hotel Petrohue.

Saturday Feb 20^th: Drove to Puerto Montt and caught the afternoon flight back to Santiago to see one of Pablo Neruda’s houses, La Chascoa. (La Chascoa is what Pablo Neruda called his mistress and third wife and means the messy-haired woman in Spanish.) Then Mom and Matt are back to Los Estados Unidos.

Sunday Feb 21: Dad and Merry explore Santiago! Walked through Santa Lucía which has a fantastic fort and park, continued onto el Palacio de la Moneda, and stopped for a coke in La Plaza de Las Armas (main square). Then we hit the Pre-Columbian museum, Santiago’s National History Museum (which was way better despite what all the literature tells you), and headed back to the hotel for ice cream and a brief siesta. An hour later we take the metro out to Los Dominiqos, which is an artisan craft area, and then later that evening went to the restaurant Como Agua Para Chocolate (yes, like Isabel Allende’s book).

Monday Feb 22: Dad and Merry go to visit Viña Undurraga in the town of Talagante, 34 km (21 mi) southwest of Santiago. We also stopped by the town of Pomaire (another artisan town known for it’s pottery).

Tuesday Feb 23: Goodbye hugs for Dad, and I’m off to Arica to start my study abroad program!

Mom and Matt caught two trout in Petrohue which we endearingly named, Timmy and Tinna Troutling...and then we ate them.

Where does the rainbow end? Petrohue, Chile over my left shoulder

Let's be honest, it wouldn't be a real vacation if I didn't get fried.

Mattikusupula: Rare Giant Chilean Mountain Sloth

Taking in "nature's pallete" near Pucón, Chile at Hotel Antumalal, which I highly reccommend.

Valencia 2010

So before the Chile adventure starts, (and it has started and it is wonderful) I need to play a little bit of catch-up. At the beginning of last semester I was talking to my Spanish Independent Study Professor, Chris Swafford, about what on earth a 21 year-old kid does at home for all of January and most of February while all of her friends are off at college. I´m so glad I brought the subject up because we came to the conclusion that she goes to stay with Chris and the Earlham Program in Valencia, Spain for two weeks. I´ve hiked in the northwestern part of the country (Burgos-Santiago) as well as studied in the central southern area of (Madrid-Ciudad Real-Cordoba) and on the Island of Menorca, but I have never been to Cataluña and the Barcelona area. I refuse to pick a favorite, they all have their own charms. However, I will say that this trip has made it clear in my mind that I will have to live in this country for at least two or three years at some point. You´re all welcome to come visit :)
My favorite part of the trip (academically speaking) were the art museums and places of interest around the city. In Barcelona and a few surrounding towns, we saw the Picasso Museum, a Miró Museum, the Dahlí exhibit, and several architectural feats by Gaudí (a house he designed for himself is pictured above.) They were all fabulous, but my recomendations would be to skip out on Picasso and hit the Miró and Dahlí exhibits. Also, if the weather is permitting the park by Gaudí (Guell) was very cool and offered some beautiful views of a sunset over Barcelona.
My friend Lo, happened to be on the Earlham program while I was visiting and we had a great time roaming around Barcelona´s nightlife together. This is a fountain a little to the North of ¨Las Ramblas¨the happening district in Barcelona.


Back to the city of Valenica, above is a picture of the city of the arts and sciences. Valencia is trying to revamp itself with a modern/futuristic style, and with the architecture and museums in this quadrant of the city they definitely succeed. I cannot decide if I was more impressed with the outside or the inside of the museums. I should note that this wavering is probably biased, the two current special topic exhibits at the museum of the sciences are genetics as well as drug history coupled with brain chemistry. (That´s basically everything my major encompasses in a couple thousand square feet...I had only planned on staying an hour and a half and ended up staying 4) Hanging out a Valencia´s beach with the Earlham gang. It was too cold to go swimming (unless your name is Andrew...), but we definitely enjoyed catching some sun, writing our names in the sand, and eating BK shakes and fries (which are much better than BK in the USA, fyi) on our beach blanket.

Busting out a Blog

So as I pack for Spain/Chile, I've been juggling a couple different worries around in my head. The principal one at the moment being how on earth am I going to stay in touch with all of my friends and family while I'm abroad? Clearly snail mail isn't going to cut it, e-mail seems kind of lacking in visuals, and not everyone has a Facebook they are willing to share (and no offense but I don't quite want everyone checking in on everything I've been up to on mine either). A blogs seems like the best way to keep most of you in the loop, so I'm going to try it out. I'll be posting some initial stuff from the end of the year just to work out any kinks, but the real Chilean adventure will start on Valentine's Day in Santiago, Chile with the rest of the Faller Family. I'd love to hear any comments or criticisms on content and design and please, please, please let me know if you're having any problems viewing the blog.
Love you all and please write!
Merry

Highlight Reel 2009: Overall Cuteness of Friends!

To my adorable, thoughtful, goofy and fun friends:

You just keep getting more precious to me the more I am around you.

Girl's Lunch Out, Old Richmond Inn

Richmond, IN

On the Way to A Christmas Carol at the IRT

Indianapolis, IN

Fall Break Beach Shadows with Sin and Arya

Santa Clara, CA

Gathering of the Families at Galo's

Richmond, IN

Highlight Reel 2009: 21st and 20th B'day Parties!!!!

Finally 21 and was it a blast!!!! With party favors and decorations (including that ridiculous birthday cake hat and glasses below) provided by mom, my Earlham friends + Eric threw me the best b'day bash I could have ever asked for. The night started off at Applebee's where I was given my evening apparel in the picture below. I should just give the girls money o buy my clothes for me, they always do a better job. Dinner was excellent and to top it off, Applebee's birthday song has a line about turning the b'day girl's cheeks blush....mine turned lobster red much to my embarrassment.

Coming back from Applebee's, we stopped in over at New Spanish for some preliminary toasting, celebrations, and games. Let's just say Team Golden (if you can't remember the rest of that name so sad) kicked butt against the Earlham Hall boys. As the night progressed, our group was serenaded by Earlham's own A Cappella group, the Brimley's, with a solo from Nick Chu (what a treat!) Then we took a trip into Richmond to test out my new powers of getting into the 21+ establishments, which worked out great. An awesome night from awesome people! Thank you guys x1000.

Over the summer, the fantabulous four had another triple-decker B'day adventure. (I think as a future guideline I should make extra efforts to be friends with people born in June...so far I'm 3/3 on them turning out to be really cool). Karman (mastermind of pretty much all of our surprises) and I (transportation coordinator) surprised Lo and Rachel and treated ourselves to a weekend stay in a cabin down in Southern Indiana.

While finding the cabin and getting to it was a little tricky (really glad we had the green pea and 4-wheel drive), the trip was amazing. We had an awesome time telling stories, cooking over the campfire, and bringing back the early 90s with an epic game of Pretty Pretty Princess. (If you had a young girl in your life during this time period and you don't recognize this game....you failed her.) I don't know about you girlies, but a camp out might have to become an annual event.

Highlight Reel 2009: Krakow, Poland

For Spring break 2009, I traveled to Southern Poland. Even though I went outside of the main tourist season when the weather was cold and the wind blistery, the experience was wonderful. While I was there, I visited Krakow and its surrounding attractions as well as the small mountain town of Zakopane. Zakopane is well known for skiing, but we went for the artistic craft market.

This is the main town square in Krakow, Poland, which was a short 5 minute walk from our hotel. Car traffic was diverted so that pedestrians and horse buggies could stroll in front of all of the various restaurants and shops. The yellowish building to the right holds a variety of souvenir shops featuring mainly amber jewelry (a Polish specialty), furs, and woven goods. The clock tower bell can be heard throughout most of the city, and though it is not in the picture, beautiful Saint Mary's basilica would be located to the right of the frame.

In addition to the main square, we took a guided tour of Wawel Hill, home to the royal castle and cathedral. Though this picture does not show it, a steep climb up to the castle walls served as a great defense and extra fortification to the royal structures over the years. The tallest tower holds central Europe's largest bell and supposedly, if you stand below it and make a wish, it is sure to come true. Though most of the interior of the castle was lost during WWII, the buildings were preserved from the bombings because axis forces used the structures as a barracks. Fun facts about the cathedral: 1) Pope John Paul 2nd gave his first mass in the basement of the cathedral. 2) Mastermind Polish engineer and American revolutionary war hero, Thaddeus Kosiuszko, is buried in the catacombs.

Of course, every castle must have its legends. Wawel hill's dragon in residence lived in a cave below the foundations of the castle, and every few weeks would terrorize the citizens, sweeping up Krakow's most beautiful maidens and eating them alive. The king offered his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever could tame the beast. Many tried and all failed until a young tailor boy tricked the dragon by putting a poisoned sheep outside its den. When the dragon ate it, his mouth became so hot that he drank and entire river and drowned. The tailor boy married the princess and became a great king. The bones of the dragon still hang outside the castle gate as a warning to all other wondering dragons to keep out.

On a more somber note, I also visited the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. I'm not an emotional person, but I was nervous about visiting a place that had witnessed so much loss and injustice. I wasn't sure if I would be able to hold it together. The experience was indescribable. The closest I can come is unforgettable, humbling. While I didn't find any answers here, the visit provoked an onslaught of questions on human rights, the value of our lives, and humanity's capacity to forgive. If you are ever in Poland, no matter your age, it is a must.

Above is a picture of the infamous gates leading into Auschwitz. The iron lettering, "Arbeit Macht Frei" translates into English as "Work Makes You Free." Below is a picture of two shadows, my own and that of an ethnically Jewish but spiritually catholic woman I had met in the bathroom before we started our tour. We are standing in front of the selection point at Birkenau, and the road we are looking down leads to the ruins of the gas chambers. I had this picture taken when I came to a bleak realization. Seventy years ago this woman would have been walking forward to her death while I, at worst, would have been considered a trespasser. The difference? My genetic makeup lacks a few pigment proteins. What a small thing to kill for.

Highlight Reel 2009: El Camino!

I spent last May trekking through Northern Spain on the beautiful Camino de Santiago, a collection of pilgrimage trails that have been walked for over 1,000 years. I started out in Burgos, Spain with ten other Earlham women, and 350 miles (500K) and 1 month later found myself mentally, spiritually, and physically refreshed, kneeling in front of the Bones of St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago.

Before the camino, "Don't take more than you can carry," seemed like a good guideline, but hiking 12-15 miles each day transformed it into a necessity. Everyone says this to the point of making it cliché, but you really don't realize how much useless junk you have in your life (both material and mental) until you go on one of these journeys. That little red backpack held everything I used for a month. I could have easily continued on for another 4 or 5 with it.

Our brief stay in Castrojeriz was probably my favorite adventure of the camino. After a long but charming walk, we came upon this view of the small village's cathedral and castle on top of the hill. This was towards the beginning of the trip- maybe the 3rd or 4th day- and while everyone else was enjoying their siesta I decided to climb to the top of the hill and explore the castle. It was totally worth the climb. Not only was the view from the castle walls priceless, but the castle itself was completely unguarded. No bars, no chains or signs telling you to keep out. Just you and the crumbling stone walls. For almost an hour I scoured every hidden nook and cranny of the ruins. The entire time I was thinking that I was one of the only Hoosiers who had ever had full access to an abandoned castle. Afterwards, I took my own siesta on top of one of the ramparts just like sleeping beauty!

So while there were many fantastic and majestic sights to see on this trip (castles, cathedrals, mountains, statues, etc.) some of the most beautiful were the simplest. People who spoke not a word of each other's language sharing meals together, steam coming off cups of tea reached only after hours of hiking in the cold rain, colorful clothes flapping in the breeze. You only experience this type of beauty if you're going slow enough to see it. Since I walked the camino, I see it almost everyday.

If there is one thing the Camino taught me, it is that you never actually "arrive" to that final destination. You may come to your self-designated endpoint, but there is always more to learn, more to observe, and more to experience beyond it.