Dancing Queen

Question: Do South American boys go straight from the womb to dancing shoes?


Answer:  Yes.


Well, apparently at least.  Friday night was a very special night for me here in Cordoba.  My church here is absolutely filled with young people-- people between the ages of 18-25 make up over half of the congregation.  It is a really cool experience to be around so many youths and they are such nice people who've really welcomed me.

Point of the story is, we have a lot of activities for our church and others in the area geared towards the youths.  They are a blast!  On Friday, we had a dance.  Now, I must say... a few elements were very middle-schoolish, but I loved it all the same.  It was everything good about middle school dances, minus the drama, girls crying and bad music.  Basically, it was just a bunch of friends, dancing the night away, laughing and being silly.

The music was all up beat and fun--ranging from salsa to reggaeton to cuarteto.  What is that you ask?  What is cuarteto? ... let me explain.  Cuarteto is a form of music and dance that was born right here in Cordoba, Argentina.  It sounds most similar to a merengue and the dance is a bit of a modified salsa--more turns than hip shaking though.  It is called cuarteto because it is traditionally made up of a four piece band: violin, piano, accordion, and bass.  It's a really good time.  Have a listen: 

I am marveling at the South American boys right now for a few reasons.  One, every single one of them knows how to boogie.  Second, almost every single one of them loves to dance.  This is an AWESOME combination.  I didn't have time to rest my feet once!  Every time I stepped off the dance floor there was a pair of big brown eyes pleading and a hand held out.  Oh alright, let's go for a spin.  I felt like I was on Dancing with the Stars the whole time.  My tired legs finally dragged themselves home in the wee hours of the morning and I fell into an exhausted, but blissful sleep.  I'm so happy to have found such great friends here and so blessed to have these experiences with them.

Feliz Cumpleanos a mi!

It's my birthday!

Okay maybe not anymore... but it was!  Let me tell you all about it:

So on Friday night Brice, Karina, Kelsey, Ally, Patrick and I had a delicious meal at one of the best restaurants in Cordoba called La Nieta 'e la Pancha.  Its reputation is well founded.  We enjoyed pastas and steaks cooked to perfection on the open air terrace.  Afterward, we headed to Patrick's house for an international student get-together.  It was themed "Cocktail Party" so we were all dressed to impress.  Two of Patrick's roommates baked me a delicious cake and everyone sang my first Happy Birthday of the year-- in over 5 languages!  It was very sweet and very fun and a great way to start the birthday weekend.

Dinner Guests

On Saturday I was busy all day falling gracefully from the sky :)

Sunday!  The anniversary of my birth!  I went to church in the morning, and then had a wonderful asado with my host family.  Olga's son and his wife came as well as Heather's mother who is here visiting.  It was delicious, with an equally yummy cake for dessert!  

Afternoon Asado

 Sunday evening I had a second asado, this time at Kelsey's house, with friends from the university and some friends from church.  Luckily, one of my friends from church came early and knew how to work the grill because we didn't have an Asador (person who makes the asado--kind of important!)  It turned out to be a wonderful little get-together and it was fun to have all of my friends meet each other and hang out.  I really felt love and support from my friends here.  It was a little hard to be away from home and Zach and all my friends on my birthday, but my friends really made an effort to be there for me.  It warms my heart!

Happy Birthday

Go Jump Off a Cliff

VIDEO of Austin taking off and Leigh and I in the air!

I'm alive!

Thought I'd start out with the good news.  But there isn't really any bad news.... sooooo... let me tell you about some of my birthday adventures.  On Saturday, 3 friends and I went paragliding!  We went in a small town about 2 hours to the north of Cordoba called La Cumbre (literally meaning, the summit.)  The city itself is at an elevation of 1141 m and the launch site for paragliding is over Rio Pinto, at 380 meters, or 1246 feet.  I, by chance, got to glide with the Lonely Planet recommended instructor, Pablo Jaraba!

So what was it like?  Amazing.  That's what.  I was a little scared as I was getting strapped in.  There really aren't too many straps or harnesses, simply one around your shoulders with a strap that goes between your legs... a glorified life preserver really.  The harness connects you to a backpack like structure that turns into a seat when you are in the air... so all that is separating you from the drop is a flimsy piece of nylon.  Not to scare you or anything.  We had to run "as fast and as hard" as we could to the edge of a cliff and... jump.  It was so exhilarating and free.  The parachute is already in the air and you are picked up a little as you are running, so you don't actually fall when you leave the cliff.  But then, it was just so tranquil.  The air breezes past you and you can't even tell you are moving.  It literally feels like floating.  I had to keep looking up to remember what I was doing.  It is not the least bit scary--I promise.  Every so often, a big gust of wind comes and picks you up 60 feet or so.  You know the feeling when you go over a hill really fast in a car and your stomach pleasantly lurches a bit?  Well imagine that times about a billion.  It was the most fantastic tummy tickler ever, as Adam Schuett would say.  The instructor has complete control.  I thought it would be falling gracefully, but really, the instructor can take you down, up, around and anywhere else you want to go.  It was such a great experience.  I got to be a bird for about a half hour.  Birds must be such happy creatures.

But y'all are from the US... right?

About half of the exchange students are from the US here at UCC.  This seems comforting right?  Like home should never be that far away?

You couldn't be more wrong to assume that.  Let me take a minute to discuss what I am learning about the US--which sometimes seems more than I am learning about Cordoba and Argentina!  I think that it is so striking to me because I expected the US students to have more in common; I already knew that Argentine culture would be worlds of different from my own.

First, a display of the various places in the US we call home (look for the yellow dots!) :

Now, let's discuss some of the differences that make this country great...

Call me a simple girl from Wisconsin, but I had no idea that boys from Connecticut can only find taxidermy animals in antique shops.  Just come to my basement!  I have to admit that some stereotypes do hold true.  For example, I have found that my friends from California tend to be, oh shall we say, a bit more liberal than the kids from the Midwest.  Actually, it seems like pretty much everyone is more liberal than the Midwest... Just leave us to our farm fields and families please!  But then again, it is very difficult to make broad generalizations.  Of course, a certain type of person will do this study abroad experience and that could affect some of the trends I see.  

It is so interesting to get in discussions about things like gun control with our varied and diverse group.  In Wisconsin, we have so many hunters, and I come from a family where we have a passion for the outdoors: hunting, fishing, you name it.  But hearing from people who have little to no experience ever being around or handling a gun makes me realize why this continues to be an issue in our government.  Of course, you always have the other end of the spectrum... I've heard from my Southern friends that you assume someone has a gun in their truck and would be surprised if they didn't.  Certain aspects like these make me feel like the Midwest relates well with the South, but sometimes I feel a million miles away from them too.

Have you ever heard Kelsey Marie Phipps talk?  I'll give you a chance... watch this: 

Now, not only is she describing something unheard of in little ole Wisconsin, but her accent!!!!!! I am fascinated by the way her and her compatriots talk.  I probably annoy them so much by constantly analyzing their pronunciation and syntax.  For example, where I would say, "Hey do you want to go to a movie later?" Kelsey would come with, "hey would ya'll be wantin' to go to the theeeeee-aaa--ter later on?"  It's fascinating!  But I do receive a fair amount of grief for my pronunciation sometimes as well.  Apparently, the way I pronounce "so, spoon, boat, about, milk, pillow" and various other words are hilarious... Wisconsinites, back me up here--I pronounce them just fine!

More than the way we talk, it's the food we eat, the music we enjoy, our towns/ cities, our hobbies, our vacation spots.... a myriad of things distinguish us.  

Basically, I tell you all of this to draw these conclusions.  I encourage you to never make broad statements about the United States as a whole.  Each day I learn how diverse we truly are.  At the same point, we do all hail from the Red, White, and Blue and we are all so proud of the places from which we come, both individually and as a country.  I couldn't be more proud to stand next to these fine individuals and call them my countrymen... no matter how they pronounce their "oi"'s :)

The History, The Mystery of Rapa Nui

I hope I am not confusing you too much with this Rapa Nui/ Easter Island/ Isla de Pascua business.  Let's have a quick semantic explanation.


Rapa Nui:  the name of the language/ native people of the island--which they prefer to be used and will heretofore be used in this blog.


Easter Island:  probably the most commonly known name.  The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen set foot on the island on Easter Sunday in the late 1700's, and promptly coined it Paasch-Eyland, Dutch for Easter Island.  


Isla de Pascua: The official name of the island, given by Chile.  Spanish for Easter Island. 


Now to the goodies:

The History

and a little bit of mystery

Three volcanoes formed the island, and are still the landmarks of the island, though inactive (we hope).

Now, let's jump right into the mystery.  Rapa Nui is a historically fascinating island because little is known of its history.  There is a big debate about whether Polynesian people settled the island, or whether people from mainland South America were the first people.  There are many clues for both.  To this day, the people have maintained a strong island culture with similar traditions to the other Polynesian islands.  However, there is no explanation for why they have the crops of sweet potato and other vegetables that are native to the continent.  Scientists, archeologists, anthropologists and all others that I will refer to as the elusive "they"  cannot be certain about the origins of the first inhabitants, but I am fairly certain they came from the islands.  The island culture runs too deep on this little island to not have it's origins there.  Plus, clearly a second group of people must have arrived on the island, as we know there was a war between the two tribes (we will get to that in a minute).

 Their's was a highly organized society, with deep respect for ancestral traditions.  In fact, the moai statues are tributes to ancestors, as they stand on watch to guard the island.  During warfare between the Long Ears and the Short Ears (like many tribes in Africa, etc, the original peoples lengthened their ears, as is evident by the long ears of the statues), the Short Ears toppled many of the moai statues.  To me, it makes sense that the "Short Ears" would be the invaders from the mainland.  

There is also the phenomenon of the Bird Man cult.  In the spring of every year, the King held a competition for the families of the island.  Each family "tribe" offered one strapping young man as a competitor.  The young man had to crawl down a sheer rock cliff, and jump into the strong waters of the Pacific to swim to the island pictured above to retrieve the first egg laid on the island.  Oh and of course, he had to swim back and climb up the cliff with the egg strapped to his head.  Without breaking it.  His prize?  A virgin that the King kept in isolation for 8 years in a cave so that she may be as pale as possible.  And honor for the family.  

Most of what they know about the island comes from the oral traditions handed down.  Luckily, the Rapanui people do a very good job of keeping their culture intact.  No land can be sold on the island, only handed through the generations.  This helps keep the small town atmosphere and preserve the land.  Unfortunately, the island has had a few rough spells.  Although the actual cause is uncertain, they speculate that the original people of the island disappeared due to overuse of the land, especially deforestation.  However, the Peruvian slave raids, and the introduction of non-native species (like the rat) didn't help matters.  The true travesty of the situation is the loss of some parts of the culture.  For example, there are many written examples of the ancient language Rongo-Rongo.  However, because of the rapid death of the natives, this language wasn't preserved.  To this day, linguists cannot decipher more than a handful of words.  If we could decipher more, perhaps more of their history would be evident and could answer so many pivitol questions about the most isolated inhabited island on earth.  Like, how did they move the statues from their birth place on the side of the volcano, to the far reaches of the island?  Where did the original people come from?  Did they have contact with other people?  What truly led to their demise? 

Mystery shrouds Rapa Nui.  There is a tangible spirit on the island--it is a special place.  The center stone in the above photograph, known as the Navel of the World, supposedly came from the ship that brought the very first people to the island.  It has a religious significance to the people of Rapa Nui--legend has it that it is always warm, no matter the weather.  I believe it.  I can't put my finger on what it is about the island that gives it such an allure, but I know there are many forces at work.  Literally.  For example, at different points on the island, a car will roll up a hill in neutral.  It is a very freaky feeling to know you are moving just by the mere pull of the earth.  Really, it is a magnetic phenomenon, but freaky none the less.  

I am absolutely mesmerized by this island, its resilient people, its complex history, and its dedication to culture.  I hope you find it just as interesting as I do.  It is so much more than just a postcard from paradise... 

...lorana

A weekend in Paradise...

What a weekend! Let me start from the beginning so you don't miss a minute:

WEDNESDAY:  6:40 p.m.  Katie and I board a bus headed to Mendoza... of course... it won't arrive until 7:30 the next morning.... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.... this part is kind of boring.... it goes on for awhile. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ... Rain storm wakes me up very confused.... ZZZZZZZZZ


THURSDAY: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzz oh good morning Mendoza, nice to see you again.  Time to get on another bus.  Kelsey, Brice, Patrick and Karina were on the same bus!  They spent the weekend in Santiago, but it was nice to have a few more familiar faces with whom to travel.  I slept a little more, listened to some music... loved the views of the Andes... read a book.  It's called Yes Man, by Danny Wallace.  READ IT!  That is not a suggestion. It's a command.  The idea for the movie came from the book, but it is a completely different story... also, Danny Wallace has something to do with The Office so anyone that enjoys that show will love it. Or anyone that loves humor.  Or anyone at all really.  So read it.  After one lovely, cold and long encounter with border patrol, we were in Chile!  A few hours later we arrived in Santiago.

Santiago... hmmm how shall I describe you?  Santiago is a big city.  I didn't realize what I found off about Cordoba until I was in Santiago.  When I heard that Cordoba was the second largest city in Argentina, I was expecting a big city full of shiny buildings and a sprawling infrastructure like Chicago or Minneapolis or Santiago (apparently).  While Cordoba is a big city, the "center" is not more than 8 blocks square, and there are not many shiny buildings.  I think this is probably for the best for me... I have learned the city and know my way around well, I know good places to eat and I know fun things to do, but yet there are still some new things to discover.  Anyways... back to Santiago.  There is a metro!  I haven't been on a metro since ROME! It was a pleasant reminder of that vacation... although I'm not a huge fan of subways.  Especially in Santiago.  The idea of being under meters and meters of cement in a city that recently experienced a 8+ earthquake--let's just say it gave me the slightest of jitters.  I said a quick prayer of thanks every time I emerged from the murky depths.  There is a lot of different restaurants serving various international cuisines.  Apparently Kelsey even found a KFC to keep an Easter tradition alive in her southern heart... fried chicken.  We explored the city for the afternoon and ate a nice meal together.

FRIDAY:  Katie, Trevor (Katie's friend from her university in England.  He's been teaching English in Santiago since August) and I headed to the airport at 6 am.  Or perhaps earlier.  That morning is kind of a blur in my mind.  Anyways, we arrived, ate some Dunkin' Donuts, and boarded a plane for EASTER ISLAND!  Vroom Vroom... *that's the sound of the airplane... just making this experience real for you.  We landed at 11:30 local time... talk about confusion.  So Chile is an hour behind Argentina, but Easter Island is two hours behind mainland Chile, and to make matters more boggling, Chile participates in their own Daylight Savings time (which was Saturday night) while Argentina does not.  I never really knew what time it was... but does it matter in Paradise?  We settled in at the hotel, and hit the town!  We explored for the better part of the afternoon and went to two of the beaches later for some more exploring.  We booked a tour with the sweetest, cutest tour guide/ taxi driver!  Her name is Patricia... look her up when you go to the island!  As with every night, we had a delicious seafood dinner :)

SATURDAY:  Tour tour tour tour tour.  I'll write a big post about the history of the island and the mystery surrounding it, but I'll give you some basic details here!  We visited two of the volcanoes that formed the island, and the National Park which encompasses many of the famous sites.  These include a recreation of the native's homes Orongo, a visit to the place where they extracted the rock to form the moai (the statues), the famous 15 statue monument called Tongariki,  the 7 statue monument that faces the sea (all the moais [save these] face inland, protecting the island, but these face the sea.  Since the ancient people of the island were
 seafaring, these statues protect their brothers at sea.  We visited a few caves on the island, including Cueva de los dos ventanas (Cave of the two windows).  After about a five minute walk through the cave, it opens up to the sea, and you can stand and view the water from the rock face... so beautiful. We were dirty, dusty, tired, sore and amazed by the time it was over, and after a delicious dinner, we slept like babies :)


SUNDAY:  HAPPY EASTER!  We celebrated on the beach with a nice picnic lunch and a relaxing day... well... see for yourself:

MONDAY:  We searched the town for someone to take us snorkeling,
 but unfortunately, because a storm was coming the sea was just too strong for it this trip :)  I really wanted to try my hand at surfing, but after some serious soul searching, decided trying it on 6 ft. waves was not the best place to learn.  We decided to quench our adventure spirit with ziplining... however the rain had a different idea.  We still saw some new things around the island and had a relaxing afternoon listening to the pitter-patter of tropical rain.  We had an awesome last night on the island; we went to dinner with our new friend Nario, a fellow traveler from           Brazil!     We also saw a show of native song and dance. It was quite a cultural experience!  Especially when I was invited on stage to dance.  Well, I use the term "invited" loosely.  They came off stage and started pulling people on and I jumped up and down in my seat with my hand in the
air until the gentleman to my left in the picture picked me.  I sashayed my way across the stage, twisting, twirling and whirling.  Basically, it was so much fun and such an incredible experience.  Watching the experts was even cooler.  It was similar to a hulu-type dance, and it was impressive to watch the amount of pride the dancers had for their culture, and the passion and emotion they put into dancing.  The island truly is special, and it is obvious they are proud to be a part of it.




TUESDAY: SAD DAY! I had to leave on a jet plane.. don't know when I'll be back again..


WEDNESDAY:  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ on a bus.  Possibly watched a drug heist.  Or banana heist.  This South America stuff will get you every time.  De todos modos, I have arrived safely back in Cordoba, so blessed to have had this experience, a little tired, sun-toasted to perfection, and amazed by this island!

The Drug/ Banana Heist

Oh alright, I'll explain.  We got out at the border.  In the freezing cold Andes.  At 4 in the morning.  We stood in the ridiculous line to have our passports stamped.  Took one step over (Bienvenidos a Argentina!) and got our passports stamped back into la Argentina.  I sleepily crawled back on to the bus and promptly returned to dream land.  I felt the bus shake to a start and begin moving.  About 5 seconds and 20 feet later, the bus purred to a stop.  I woke up with a start--This is not Mendoza!  We had to debark the bus yet again so that they could check our luggage.  Anything the hold went through a scanner, but they checked whatever bags we had in the cabin by hand.  Everyone stood in line, looking tired and cold.  The bus driver scanned the bus and encountered a black garbage bag.  He brought it down, held it for inspection and yelled for the owner.  No one claimed it for a few minutes, but finally a man came forward and took the bag.  Let me mention something about customs on the Argentina/ Chile border.  On their sign for what isn't permitted across the border, they have handguns/ weapons/ bombs in very small print at the bottom, then a HUGE picture of an apple with a line through it.  Apparently, you can bring a kilo of cocaine across the border with you, but don't you dare try to bring a banana!  Back to Garbage Man:  He then proceeded to set the bag down in the middle of a group of people and move away from it.  The Homeland Security Warning American in me came alive and I started taking the necessary precautions.  I watched him carefully, but much to my horror, as the man who was checking the bags came closer and closer to me, the Garbage Man moved his bag closer to me in line!  I promptly moved as well as Katie and I became very nervous.  The security official never checked his bag.  I had had enough of this.  I marched up to the bus driver, standing by an official, and announced what had happened to him.  He looked at me like I was crazy, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Katie gesturing wildly as Garbage Man sprinted on to the bus, unchecked bag in hand!!!!!  However, the bus driver didn't seem nearly as concerned as I.  I enjoyed the bananas very much in Chile, and apparently this man did too...  I just don't understand why I, who didn't try to bring any bananas across the border, had to be woken up from sleep and stand in the cold?  If you aren't going to check everyone and do a proper job of things, leave me alone.  Don't put on pretenses.  If you are corrupt, don't try to be a hero.  But then again, maybe this man just was a little confused on the customs procedure and was doing nothing illegal.  I realize this could have been a potentially dangerous situation, but I did what I could and I thank God for watching out for me and keeping me safe.  I have to remember that I'm not in Kansas anymore... well, Wisconsin actually, and sometimes things happen a little differently south of the border.

PICTURES

the link to a slide show of my Rapa Nui/ Isla de Pascua/ Easter Island trip.... info coming soon!

Easter Island Fotos

A suggestion

COME TO EASTER ISLAND!!!!!!

it is paradise.