Monday, October 8, 2007 Attack of the Litre!!

Monday, October 8, 2007 Attack of the Litre!!

I woke up around 6:30 am and couldn’t fall back asleep. My face felt uncomfortable and my eyes felt really weird. I got out of bed to check how I looked in the mirror and my stomach sang when I saw myself. My entire face was bright red, bumpy and swollen and my eyes were practically swollen shut. I looked like a bright red tomato with Troll eyes:

I immediately recognized the rash-type redness and itches as a poison ivy type reaction, because goodness knows I’ve had enough experience with all that! I got on the internet to look up if they had poison ivy in Chile but all I found on Chile’s Google when I typed in Hiedra Venenosa (Poison Ivy) was stuff about the Batman character!! At that point I figured they didn’t have poison ivy in Chile or at least called it something else but I also realized that I needed to do something about my face and fast.

Around 7 I woke up Olga and as soon as she saw my face I realized how bad it was. Later she told me that I really scared her! She jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes and immediately told me she was talking me to the hospital. She called her husband to let him know and it was really funny to hear her talking to him about my face. “Sus ojos muy hinchados, toda la cara roja. Es horrible pobrecita!!” (“Her eyes are really swollen and her entire face is red. It’s horrible poor little thing!”)

I put on the huge sunglasses that Olga had given me (because my broke and she insisted that I wear hers. One of many gifts!) and pulled my hair in front of my face as well as I could and we took the ridiculously full metro to the hospital. Amazingly we got there right after 8:00 am, when normal (cheap) hours start and the place was practically empty. Olga gave them the little information they asked for and when they realized I was North American they didn’t ask much. We waited about 5 minutes until they called my name. A really sweet nurse brought me to my own room and took my vitals. She chuckled when I took off my glasses and told me not to worry and that they would take care if it! A few minutes later a really good looking young (no older than 26) doctor walked in. He asked me where I’d been and if it hurt etc. Olga did most of the talking for me and when he offered to speak in English I told him not to worry about it so Olga could understand. He didn’t seem to know exactly what caused the reaction, only that it was an allergic reaction and told me that with a shot of cortisone and some antihistamines it should be better within a few days. Before he left he smiled, told me my Spanish was really good and that he hopes I have a great time in Chile.

He left and came back with what I realized was his attending and the older doctor gave his approval. He also gave me a “don’t worry, you’ll be fine, but you do look kind of funny” smile. Then another nurse came in and gave me the cortisone shot. She asked me what had happened and when I explained that it was some type of allergic reaction and that I’d got it while camping, she immediately proclaimed, “Well that is Litre!!” Olga laughed and said she’d been trying to remember the name of that plant and the two of them started chatting away about other Litre experiences they’d had! Luckily the nurse knew what it was and I felt much better having a more solid diagnosis. She told me it would go away in about 4 or 5 days and that with the shot and the anti histamines I’d be fine. She injected the cortisone really slowly, over about one minute and by the time she finished my eyes were already less swollen. She left and I immediately felt really sleepy. We had to wait about 20 minutes because they wanted to see how I reacted to the cortisone and I slept the whole time. Doctor McDreamy came back, said I already looked better, gave us the prescription and sent us on our way.

Olga paid the bill which only ended up being about $50 ($46 for the hospital visit and $6 for the shot!). On the way back to the metro we stopped by the pharmacy and picked up the antihistamine prescription. I was exhausted and didn’t want anyone to see me and was glad to get back to the apartment. I had breakfast and felt better but Olga didn’t want me to go to class. I needed to go since I had tests coming up, so I headed back out around 10:45. I tried hiding my face as best as I could, but when I got to campus I ran into Christian and in typical Chilean fashion, he didn’t hide his shock. He kind of laughed and was glad to know I had gone to the hospital but didn’t do much to make me feel better! I went to Doctrina Social class and my two gringo friends Mike and Christine told me not to worry about it and that it really wasn’t that bad (despite the fact that their faces said otherwise!). I had the same reaction with my other gringo friends but the Chileans in my class were more honest. It was an interesting observation.

After my education class I was exhausted and didn’t want to face another class, so I decided to skip my Bible class. I sent my professor an email letting him know about the Litre and I asked him for an extension on the essay that is due Wednesday since I have the Education test AND another essay due the same day. Olga wasn’t home but I studied and worked on my paper.

Despite the fact that I had so much work to do and my face still looked like a tomato, left around 6 pm to go to Courtney’s house for once (if you don’t remember, that is what they call their evening meal. Its usually smaller, more like our lunch). Today is her birthday and I’d promised her I’d have once with her and a few other friends then go see the new Chilean movie Radio Corazon. I was looking much better and my eyes weren’t nearly as swollen and I used the “I’ve had a rough day, I need to have fun” to justify not being a good student. Once was a ton of fun and I finally got to meet Courtney’s amazing little brother. They are hilarious and her family is incredibly loving. I didn’t want to leave! Afterwards her dad drove us to the metro and we headed to the movie theater. A few more friends met up with us and everyone really enjoyed the movie. It was in Chilean Spanish and the entire time I kept thinking how amazing it was how well I could understand. I definitely wouldn’t have understood anything 3 months ago! I definitely didn’t get it all but lucking I sat next to Victor, the Chilean/American in our program and he explained stuffed that I’d missed. After the movie I took a bus home, took another anti-histamine and crashed.

Sunday, October 7, 2007 Camping in Las Campanas Day 3

Sunday, October 7, 2007 Camping in Las Campanas Day 3

Sunday morning was really relaxing. We ate breakfast and then a small group of us went on another little hike and Tomás brought his guitar again. We sat in a clearing on the hill singing the choruses and what little of the verses we could remember of all the greatest classics. At some point on the hill, I noticed that my right ear itched a little and I was getting a little red bump on the right side right under my mouth. It itched but I figured I’d just eaten something and had a little allergic reaction or something.

While we all sat around singing, my friend Tom Harker, (the friend that came and ate dinner at with Olga and I way back in August) went on an epic hike up the hill next to us. We didn’t think he’d be able to make it to the top, but after almost an hour he conquered it! We waited for him to climb down because we didn’t want to leave him alone and we all went to lunch together.
After lunch everyone packed up and got ready to leave. Around 2ish we all piled on to the bus, smelly, filthy and ready to take showers. By the time we got on the bus, the little red bump had grown and around my entire mouth itched. I asked a few of my girlfriends and they gave me the typical: don’t worry about it, you can barely notice it, I’m sure it will go away really soon. So I ignored it.

We got back into Santiago around 5, just enough time to get home, take a quick shower and get to mass at 7. I went to church with Natalie, my only friend that lives downtown with me. After mass Natalie and I were walking back and I was getting a little stressed because I realized how much work I had to do. I still had to write a paper for my Bible class and another for my Poverty class and I hadn’t studied at all for my Education test on Wednesday. On top of it all, my face was now almost entirely red with the beginning of a rash and itched pretty bad. My eyes were even starting to get a little swollen. Natalie was surprised to see how bad it had gotten since the afternoon but told me not to worry.

When I got home I asked Olga about my face and she immediately had some remedies that she swore would help “Al tiro!” (Right Away!!). I told her I think I was having an allergic reaction to something I ate (although that has never happened to me before) and she was convinced that it was because I’d eaten Peanut Butter. I tried to tell her that I’ve eaten peanut butter all my life, but she said that it is too strong for me and that I’m just not accostumed to it! But she made a herbal water and I used cotton to put it all over my face and it did help the itching. After trying to finish my paper, I was able to go to sleep, convinced that I’d wake up in the morning perfectly fine. I just needed the food allergy to get out of my system.

Saturday, October 6, 2007 Camping in Las Campanas Day 2

Saturday, October 6, 2007 Camping in Las Campanas Day 2

We woke up early (around 9 am), had breakfast, and then headed out with Hector (our program director and the professor for my Poverty class) for our all day hike. We hike up a mountain 3 miles in almost 2 hours which is a quick pace. A group of us (most of whom had stayed sober last night) stuck with Hector at the front and every half hour or so we stopped to let the rest (guess who) catch up. While walking, Hector told me all about his Peace Corps experience in Guatemala and ended up telling us basically his life story.

We made it to the top around noon and ate the sandwiches we’d packed for lunch. The climb was worth it because at the top was a beautiful view of the entire park and a gorgeous waterfall down a huge rock wall. Hector gave us about an hour at the top to explore and rest for those who needed it. After hanging out we started heading back down, after refilling our water bottles from the stream, which Hector assured us was alright to do. After about 20 minutes of trying to walk down hill slowly, Julia from NYC and Alea and I decided to just run down hill. Hector gave us his blessing and the three of us ended up running all the way down in about 30 more minutes! We beat the rest of the group back by about 15 minutes, which meant we got to shower and clean up first!

The rest of the afternoon/evening we relaxed and hung out. Everyone in our program gets along really well and I honestly haven’t laughed that hard in so long. I know we are a very self-selected group because we are the type of kids that study abroad, especially in Chile. But none the less, I am constantly amazed by the quality of people I have met and friends I have made. Right before dinner Brandon, Matt and I tried to hike to the top of one of the hills near the camp site. As we’ve noticed before, they always look more manageable from farther away and the higher we got the more difficult it began. It wasn’t too steep but the vegetation was thick and the ground was rocky. We made it about 94% up when we were stopped by a wall of bushes, thorns and trees. So we turned back and basically slid down the hill back to the campsite where everyone had gathered to eat dinner. P.S. I did the whole climb and decent in flip-flops and only fell once!

As the sun set, I started feeling a little déjà vu from last night. i.e. camp fire, s’mores, lots of drinking etc. Once most were good and happy, we all hiked about half way up the huge hill we’d climbed earlier and sat around watching the stars. My friend Tomás brought his guitar and entertained everyone with his hilarious songs and improv. I was freezing (obviously I hadn’t drank as much as everyone else) and after almost an entire glass of Piscola got spilled on my sleeping bag, I headed back to the tent and went to sleep.

Friday, October 5, 2007 Camping in Las Campanas Day 1

Friday, October 5, 2007 Camping in Las Campanas Day 1

I woke up early to get all my crap for camping and I took the metro to the CIEE office overloaded with bags, most of which was food that Olga made for me to bring. I had my Poverty class from 10:30 to 12:30 then afterwards we got ready to leave. Courtney and I went to the grocery store and bought goodies to make Banana Boats (i.e. Chocolate and marshmallows in a banana wrapped in foil for the camp fire). We loaded on the bus and headed out around 2 pm (only one hour later than we’d planned!).

The bus ride was supposed to be about 2 hours but we got a flat tire about half way there and were stuck on the side of the highway for about 45 minutes. The driver couldn’t fix it so we drove to the closest town and by the time we were fixed and finally made it to the park it was almost 6 pm. The park rangers almost didn’t let us in because technically you have to be there before 5:30 pm, but since Mauricio, the other program director was inside waiting for us they let us in.

I shared a tent with Courtney Wilson, Hanna and Julia and we had it set up and perfect in about 15 minutes (I couldn’t help thinking of the 2 hour tent setting up marathons from the camping trips when we were kids!). Once everyone was settled we began the 3 hour dinner BBQ. We stuffed ourselves on the delicious salads everyone had brought and the incredible meat Mauricio had been cooking all afternoon long. The steak was practically still mooing, but no one complained!

After dinner the boys made an impressive fire and out of no where appeared more alcohol than I thought possible. Apparently others had planned ahead and they spent all night enjoying the camp fire and pisco. I had absolutely no desire to drink but I had a great time laughing at everyone else with the other sober kids. Around 1:30 the non-drunkies snuck off to stargaze. The sky was incredibly clear and we all laid on the ground huddled together to keep warm and counting the shooting stars. I feel asleep and since I was a little sniffley started snoring, which made everyone laugh. We headed back to the tents and went to bed while the rest slowly trickled back in various states of soberness.

Thursday, October 4, 2007 Saints Feasts and Birthday Feasts. Man am I spoiled!

Thursday, October 4, 2007 Feasts and Feasts

Volunteering this morning actually went amazingly well. Courtney’s idea to play Pictionary worked like a charm and I for once feel like I taught them something!! By the third class came around, we had figured out what works and what doesn’t. That class which is usually the worst behaved actually sat quickly and played civilly without yelling. I think they had fun and I felt great when I went home. It’s amazing how much energized and happy I feel after a successful class as opposed to the last few weeks when I left exhausted and grumpy. I finally understand why teachers like good students.

After volunteering I came home and had lunch with Olga. Then I met up with Calli, Sarah Benheke and Will Boyd at the bus station to buy tickets to San Pedro de Atacama over the Oct. 15 Feriado. The tickets were $50 a piece for a 23 hour bus ride, but everyone we’ve talked to has said it’s worth it. I’m excited about seeing another important part of Chile. Afterwards I headed back home to work and try to knock out some of the homework I had before our camping trip.

At 7:30 Olga and I met up with Courtney at San Francisco, the beautiful old church at the center of town to go to mass. Today is Saint Francis of Asis’s feast day, so Olga and I along time ago had decided to go there to celebrate. We got to mass right at 7:30 and the place was absolutely packed. And it’s a big church to begin with. The next hour and a half was one of the most beautiful, longest masses I’ve ever been to. They pulled out all the stops including incense, a presentation with the story of Saint Francis’s life, and three First Communions! After mass there was a procession but Courtney and I left early because we were already really late to meet up with Christian to celebrate his birthday with his family.

So Courtney and I took the metro to meet up with Christian and got there an hour after we said we would. They had been waiting for us to do cake and sing, so as soon as we got there we ate Completos (yummy Chilean style hot dogs) then Christian’s mom brought out two cakes, one for Christian and one for Manuel. We sang, ate cake, drank coffee and sat and talked till late in the night. It was only Christian, Manuel, their parents, Courtney, me, and the big surprise: my religion professor/priest Rodrigo!! Christian had told me he’d invited Rodrigo, but I didn’t fathom he’d come, so I was pleasantly surprised. It was great to hang out with him again outside of class (and outside of the bar after class!). He is just as funny and just as hard to understand, but he told me that I should talk more in class because he knows I’m paying attention and really enjoying it. I told him I’m embarrassed and don’t want to break the flow with my broken conversation. He also asked me about why I’d written GW Bush in my notebook. I have no idea how he saw it, but I laughed and explained. At the end of class yesterday he was talking about the 10 Commandments and said that taking the Lord’s name in vain is more than just saying his name like a cuss word. It is actually more about using God’s name to justify actions that aren’t from God. Hence my writing "GW Bush". He got a good laugh from it.

It was getting late so Christian and his dad drove Courtney home first, then me. On the way we had a nice chat about the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. I kind of pulled some Baby Alien Spanish (read the article) and just agreed when I really just couldn’t figure out how to put together my argument. Anyway, before going to bed I packed up my stuff for the camping trip and scrambled together the bits of homework I wanted to bring.