And we're back.

It sure has been a while and I don't even know where to start! The trip to the south was AMAZING! Amazing amazing amazing amazing. 

Everything I want to say is super all over the place so I'm splitting it into sections.

Intro:

We flew from Santiago down to Temuco and we all thought we were spending the first night in a hotel before we dove into our homestays. We were wrong. We drove to our little community outside of Temuco and had our first meeting in a ruka (the traditional Mapuche grass house). We met all of our moms and went straight home with them. The other Jill and I both lived with Gabriela (which was ridiculous because we have the same name and it is quite hard to say in Spanish). Our family was Gabriela, her husband, their son, his wife and their three year old daughter. Our Mapuche dad is the director of the K-8 school so our house was right next door to the school. And no, we did not live in rukas. We lived in a very cute three bedroom house with tv, warm showers and internet. I would have posted on the blog but it was more in case of emergency/ for work internet than for fun internet.

Not all of the families had the same living conditions though. Out of six houses, we were definitely the only one with internet and possibly the only one with heated water. Two of the six houses had outhouses instead of indoor bathrooms but all of the families were so so so so nice. 

Coolest classes ever:

Everyday we had about a 30 minute walk to and from class... usually in the pouring rain. Sometimes, our professor tried to be nice and drive us home but I think that was actually worse. 

trying to smile while getting pelted with rain in the back of a truck...

We had class in a ruka which I loved! Nothing is better than sitting around a fire while listening to lectures. It was a really funny juxtaposition of technology because while our grass ruka had a fire in the middle, it also had electric lights and a screen for power points.

the outside of our classroom

our academic director adding a little wood to the fire during class

Our class subjects included everything from Mapuche sports, religion, music, traditional medicine and even dipped into Mapuche migration to the city and the affects of neoliberalism of the Mapuche.

Fiona and Emma's host mom Jimena

in her traditional Mapuche clothes for our music lesson

music class!

and this is what the classroom looks like when

learning about Mapuche medicine

palín: Mapuche field hockey

my favorite class ever:

we went to Lake Budi to learn about Mapuche religion

because the spirits are stronger there and it was beautiful!

Best Food in Chile:

The food was so delicious. The Mapuche people tend to eat a little bit more of a dinner than the rest of Chile so I would get a little chicken and rice with my tea at night which was wonderful. My mom also always put aji on the table which is a sauce made of of pureed hot peppers. I don't really know what it was but it was delicious. I missed spicy food. They are also big into sopaipillas (fried dough) but my Mapuche mom was a medical technician and worked in the Mapuche pharmacy and she knew lots about health so we only had them a little because she said they would make our stomach hurt. It was interesting though because unlike Mexican sopaipillas (which are usually served as dessert with honey) Chilean sopaipillas are served as an appetizer with pebre (onion, tomato, cilantro). 

Medicine and Beliefs:

My mom was full of medical info which was a riot too. Instead of the US mantra "Put your jacket on or you'll catch a cold," she would always tell me, "Bundle up or you'll get a stomach ache." She also thought tomatoes make your stomach hurt and people should only drink room temperature water when they're sick. She was just so matter of fact about it all that you just had to believe her.

While we were there, we were all having crazy dreams the whole time and swapping dream stories in the mornings. I usually don't remember my dreams in the States but I had very vivid dreams every night. When one of my friends mentioned to her host mom our crazy dreams, she just simply said "Of course you are having vivid dreams, the spirits of the land are stronger here." I told that to my Mapuche mom and her reaction was, "Obviously."

How cool are they?!

My favorite fun fact about my fam: They own sheep which my Mapuche dad shears once a year. My Mapuche mom then spins her own wool, dyes it with different plants from her garden and then makes hats, scarves, sweaters, leg warmers, really anything. She would literally cook the yarn on the stove with different plants to dye it. Orange yarn was dyed with carrots, yellow with onion, green with peach leaves and brown with chestnut tree bark. She is just so cool! And I love her extra because she was always going a million miles an hour: cooking while watching her granddaughter while spinning yarn and cleaning the house and serving me lunch and gardening. So cute.

Payin' rent:

While we were living in Temuco, we worked one day to clear land to build a ruka and another day clearing land to build a greenhouse. The ruka is actually going to be a hostel because there is a new movement in the tourism industry to create cultural travel experiences for people. The group that is there for fall term is actually going to build the ruka and the greenhouse.

walking to work with my tool

Adios Temuco:

After living with our host families for 11 days, we had to say goodbye and go to Pucon for a couple of days. While we were there, we went to a woman's weaving shop, a Mapuche museum and we spent one morning cooking a big group lunch. Pucon is a super touristy because it has a gorgeous lake and a snow covered volcano. Unfortunately for us, it poured the whole time we were there. We had to expect that going in mud season but someday I want to return either for summer (rafting season) or winter (ski season). As we got into the bus to go to the airport to return to Viña, the clouds cleared and we got to see the beauty that was so close the whole time. We stopped the bus to take a million pictures in five minutes but then had to be on our way. 

peeling pine nuts for pine nut soup

the whole group

learning to weave

Almost there:

Overall, I LOVED my time in the south. My family was soooo welcoming and loving. They were just so darn cute. One night, we were eating dessert and there was only one plate left on the table. The other Jill offered her plate and my mom but my mom said that she and her husband are two doves who want to eat together. My dad also always said really cute things like "Un millón de gracias, mi amor" (A million thank yous, my love) when my mom served him tea and toast. Gosh I will miss them. 

Extra Ruka Pics:

my professor jammin in the ruka during lunch

Taylor and I during out daily tea break