Fiestas Patrias and Terremotos

Fiestas Patrias are the celebrations for Chilean Independence Day. Although it is technically only one day long, they last basically all of September. Independence day is Chile's biggest holiday, and it's tons of fun!! 

We went to Santiago with my cousins and aunt to celebrate the festivities, because like apparently Temuco is fairly lame when it comes to partying (don't get mad at me Temucans. I love Temuco! That's just what I heard. 

So... we were on our way to Santiago, and were about 2/7 hours in when they start talking about "Terremotos" on the radio. Ok. I'm not a brick. I know that terremoto means "earthquake". Ok. Maybe I am. 'Cause I thought they were talking about the common, chilean (especially for FP okay!) alcoholic drink with the same name. But then my mom was like "Willito, there was just a really big earthquake in Santiago". And I was like "What? Now?". And she was like "Yeah". And me being cornfield girl was like "Holy moley! We're #@*$ing going to Santiago!" After that, we stopped in Las Angeles to watch the news, and eat completos. I told everyone I was safe, and even though I knew that I was safe, I was shaking the whole time. 'Cause like, it's not everyday that you find your self just outside a 6.4 earthquake. So, we spent the night in Las Angeles, and then I figured that we were going to turn around because Santiago would be a mess. But no. In the morning we continued on our merry way. And what's even more surprising is that there was hardly any rubble in Santiago. And the celebrations were still in full swing. 

When I got to Chile, I jugged the cracks. Now I know to never judge the cracks, because you never know what made them, and what was withstood in the process. 

We still managed to have an awesome time, and eat lots of amazing chilean food. I could tell you more about the activities, or you could watch my cruddy little movie. 

I really can't make movie's. I'm sorry. I tried. It doesn't help that I'm too cheap to buy any ITunes music. But I hope you liked it. 

Fact Friday #4- Climate and Environment II

Pollution-

One big problem is air pollution in Santiago. Santiago has some of the worst air quality in the world. This has been caused by large economic and industrial growth, and causes major health problems. One main reason for the intensity of Santiago's air pollution is its basin-like circumstance. Throughout the country,  the air pollution is also caused by the fact that many people can only use wood heating. Another major pollution issue is water pollution. Untreated sewage causes a big problem for water quality. In 2001, 99% of city dwellers had access to clean drinking water, but only 58% of rural dwellers did.

This is Temuco during a really bad smog

In the 1990's, environmental laws became a major concern of the government. This lead to the creation of the National Commission on the Environment -Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CONAMA), and The General Environmental Law. Some of their main goals and programs are environmental education and research; public participation; environmental quality standards to preserve nature and environmental heritage; emission standards; plans for management, prevention, and cleanup; responsibility for environmental damage; and the system of environmental impact assessment. However, many people do not believe that this is enough, and that more needs to be done.

Deforestation and land degradation is a large problem in Chile, mainly due to the logging industry. Every year, 120,000 hectares of Chile's native forests are cleared, and about 80% of Chile's natural forests have been destroyed or degraded. Because the logging industry still, needs trees, they have started planting invasive ones such as Radiata Pine, which spread throughout Chile.

National Parks-

Just about 1/5 of Chile is protected in national parks and reserves by the national park service, CONAF. There are 35 national parks, 49 national reserves, and 16 natural monuments. The first of these was founded in 1926, Vicente Pérez Rosales, in the southern Lake District. Because of the varying climates in Chile, there are parks that protect the deserts (Volcán Isluga), coasts (Pan de Azúcar), the native forests (Nahuelbuta), Easter Island (Parque Nacional Rapa Nui), and glaciers (Laguna San Rafael).

The Kyoto Accord-

Chile is a signatory of the Kyoto Accord. They signed it on June 17, 1998. The United States of America also signed the treaty. We signed it on November 12, 1998.

Quieres Saber Más?-

World Book

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24471037.html

http://www1.american.edu/ted/chileair.htm

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Chile-ENVIRONMENT.html

http://www.chile-usa.org/ecologye.htm

http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/chile/about_chile/threats/

http://www.insightguides.com/inspire-me/blog/chiles-best-national-parks

https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVII-7-a&chapter=27&lang=en-title=UNTC-publisher=United

Love and Extrañar

You are probably wondering what this place is and what significance it has. It's the stretch of road between X and my house (in the US) and vice-versa. I've ran it a million times, and biked it just as much. I fell here and scraped my knee using rollerblades in the winter. I've trained for mini-triathlons here since I was 5. I've chased geese. I've watched rowing races. And I have tiredly waited out the final stretch of more journeys than there are stars. It's not much. But it's what I miss. You never know what you love most until it's gone. Appreciate it while you can. <3

Now I'm not saying that I am sick of Chile and want to go home. I'm just saying that I miss my home. It has taken awhile, but I have learned that you can miss what you had and still love what you have now. They are not mutually exclusive. My host mom can miss her son and still love me, and I can miss the US and still love Chile. Want proof? I'm the proof.

Fact Friday- #3 Climate and Environment

Climate-

Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere, their seasons are flip-flopped. Summer runs from late December to March, and winter from late June to September. Because Chile is so long and narrow, there are many, many different climates.

The first of the major climate zones, is that of the Northern Desert area, in which there may not be rainfall for several years. However, this area is not particularly hot. This is because winds from the Peru Current bring cool air which cause cloudy weather and frequent fog to the coastal areas. In Autofagasta, a northern, coastal city, temperatures average 69 °F (20 °C) in January and 57 °F(14 °C) in July.

The second main climate zone is the mild climate of the Central Valley. It tends to have dry summers and rainy winters. Santiago receives about 14 in of rain annually, with average temperatures of 69 °F(20 °C) in January and 48 °F(9 °C) in July. Temuco is located in this zone. The average temperatures are usually between 37 °F and 79 °F, with an average rainfall of 45.6 inches annually.

The third and final major climate zone is that of the Archipelago in southern Chile. It is characterised by cold winds, piercing winds, and frequent storms. In Puerto Montt, average temperatures in January are 59 °F (15 °C) in January and 46 °F (8 °C) in July. Some parts of the Archipelago receive up to 200 inches of rainfall annually.

Global Warming and Other Controversies-

Even though Chileans do not largely contribute to the use of the greenhouse gasses that cause Global Warming, they definitely are effected by it. Not only does it greatly impact the fishing industry which so many coastal cities so heavenly rely on, but it is also slowly shrinking their water supply. Many glaciers throughout Chile are rapidly melting. This includes the ones outside of Santiago that provide drinking water to the city.  When these glaciers melt, it triggers erosion and mud-slides, which are causing many of the nations glacier-fed lakes to disappear. If that is not enough, the rainfall in the south has gone down significantly. This is a problem because it is where most of the hydro-electric dams are located.

¡Cueca!

As some of you know, Friday is Chilean Independence Day!! Yay!!! It's the biggest Chilean holiday (or so they tell me) and it's bound to be tons of fun! There's only one problem. I'll be out of town and therefore unable to keep you (excuse the pun) posted. However, I will be sure to post videos and a billion pictures when I get back.

Chilean Independence Day means that we got this week off. It also means, that throughout September, the classrooms are decorated, and different classes sell traditional food during the recreos, or breaks. Finally it means that we were learning the Cueca in PE and in music class. And long story short, I ended up dancing it on Friday for a bunch of people. Yeah. Don't ask me how I got roped into that one. But it was actually really fun, and I'm really glad I ended up doing it! I got to learn Cueca, learn more about Chile, and more about my friends.
There are like hundreds of different kinds of Cueca. Like, literally. But we danced the Central. It's rather easy, and fun. However, that brings up an interesting point. I don't think Chileans talk fast. But everyone else does, so maybe the Cueca Central is super hard. I really don't know.

Región de Los Ríos

This weekend we went to Panguipulli in XIV Región de los Ríos. Chile is split up into regions like the US is split into states. Temuco is the capital of IX Región de la Araucania.

This is Panguipulli. <3

Panguipulli is this cozy, little town nestled in between beautiful mountains, and a gorgeous lake. It's really relaxing, and adorable. All the buildings have a rustic, wood look, and the view is just so pretty! We went there to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins, who live there. It was a lovely opening weekend to the Fiestas Patrias week long break.  

It occured to me several times while I was taking all of these photos that maybe I wasn't enjoying everything to it's full potential because I was to busy taking pictures. However, I am enjoying it. I'm enjoying all the big things, as well as the little things. I cannot document in photos, or begin to tell you how I felt as a crisp, cool breeze blew through my hair as I swung on a wooden swing overlooking the lake. Or the what I was thinking as I rode back to the house on the back of a pink motorcycle. (Rotary people, I was behind my aunt, not driving, and therefore not breaking any rules.) I can also not describe how much fun I had leaning to each side with 5 other people in the back row of a truck as my uncle exaggerated the turns. But I can tell you that I do not regret sacrificing my sophomore year, (actually my freshman year too), and my track season to come here. Not even for a second. 

But dam. I took a lot of pictures.

"Sauce" (pronounced saaoos-e) is willow in Spanish

Ayyy! Primos adorables!

This is a really nice 5 star hotel nessled in Huilo-Huilo park. My host mom said it costs like USD$1000 a night!! We had Once in it. It was good pizza.

Huilo-Huilo is the name of this park. (It's pronounced "willow-willow" or acctually more like "wilo-wilo"). Confused? so am I.

Ella es mi tia. <3