Travels to Santiago: Fulbright Orientation
Fulbright Chile invited all of the current scholars to an enhancement meeting that was focused on getting to know each other, sharing our research/teaching projects and learning about program logistics. The meeting in Santiago was three days long and the family was able to take time off school and join me. There were a number of social events that Cana and the kids attended and the rest of the time they were able to explore downtown Santiago on their own.
Leaving Concepcion on the first day was a bit of a cluster as we did not get off the city bus at the right place to access the bus terminal. This resulted in us missing our bus to Santiago. Lucky for us there are tons of buses leaving every 30 minutes or so. Yes, we had to buy a whole new set of tickets for the 4 of us, but that was only around $50. Not bad but it still stings to miss your bus.
Upon arrival, we easily made our way to the Metro and to our nice hotel in the business district, Providencia. We are starting the get the hang of the city and are able to move around and find food and destinations with relative ease. After checking in, the kids and I headed out for a little adventure while Cana went out to meet some friends she had made last time we were in town. The kids and I took a wonderful long walk along Parque Forestal, besides the river and saw castles, fountains and playgrounds that we had not seen before.
View Larger Map
After the kids and I got home, they were bushed so Cana and I went out walking, aiming to find some dinner and bring it home to the kids. In the end, we too went for a long walk and the kids had fallen asleep by the time we were going to return with food. I guess it was a big day with the 6 hour bus ride and all. Cana and I followed a similar path as the kids in search of Peruvian food, stopping off at the Fuente del Bicentenario along the way. In the end, we were seduced by the restaurant next door (Pub La Máquina) to the Peruvian place as the had live music, artisan, Chilean food and live Tango music and dancing. Hard to beat.
On the second day in Santiago I was responsible for giving my research talk (30 min) at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. I was glad to be the second to present so that I could just relax, listen and learn for the next couple days whiles others presented. I was impressed with the diversity of work folks are doing here in Chile. I guess I am just used to going to disciplinary meetings where I hear tons of earth science talks. The Fulbright Scholars this year included folks focused on education, history, journalism, sociology etc. and most of the talks were in Spanish. Yes, sadly enough, mine was in English. One of the scholars, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, a journalist (of course), did a great job chronicling our talks and activities on day 1 and day 2 on his blog.
After our half day of meetings, we had the afternoon off and Cana and the kids and I were able to to tour around Santiago including the Cerro de Santa Lucia (good buildering and views) and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. As a gift, Cana even got me to have my shoes shined for the first time.
That evening there was a wine and cheese event at the Fulbright office were we got to meet more folks from their office and the US Consulate. The highlight for the evening was learning that I am not an operative for the government and that there is cheddar cheese in Chile...even if it is hard to find. With the permission of our hosts, we brought a handful of this delicious stuff back to the kids and they went nuts. Here are some photos from the event thanks to Jeff and the Fulbright folks
As Cana and Dylan were relatively bushed, Wells and I went out together. He said he wanted a 'real American hamburger' and I remembered meeting a guy at the US Consulate back in July that opened a few 'American-style' sports bars. This is him.
Around 10pm we headed out to the California Cantina and got a few 'Hamburguesas Gringos.' It was international night at the Cantina and that meant we got two free drink tickets which I turned into Pisco Sours. Wells and I had a great conversation and brought the other half of our massive burgers home to the ladies. Another big day.
Talks continued of the morning of the third day and I became further impressed with the diversity and drive of our cohort. Good folks indeed. After the talks we headed to the GAM building at Pontifica where we had a tasty lunch at a fine restaurant. This was the first chance for the kids to meet the other scholars and the good folks from Fulbright Chile who were interested to meet them after hearing about them for some time.
After the lunch, I had to take off to meet with new colleague, Luca Mao, who was introduced to me by Andrew Wilcox, a fluvial geomorphologist from the University of Montana. I took the metro south of downtown to another campus of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. After talking in his office for hours, I was really excited about how many research interests we had in common. I will probably start up a small research project this Spring with him in glacial watershed just east of Santiago, Monumento Natural El Morado. I am glad we made time to meet.
I made my way back to the city and met up with Cana and the kids at the hotel. They had gone on a tour around Providencia and found a cool water sculpture in a mall. Impressive. The vote that evening was for Indian food and we were able to find a place a short walk away.
On the morning of the fourth day I headed over to the Fulbright Chile office for more orientation information. I learned plenty of good things including registering with the consulate, setting up bank accounts and meeting my obligations for the award (reporting on activities). Around 11, Cana and the kids arrived and we loaded up in the bus and drove an hour south of town to the Concha y Torro winery, one of the most famous in Chile. The grounds were attractive and the tour was entertaining and informative but a little canned.
After, we were treated to a nice lunch at a big country restaurant. There was live music and some good cueca dancers (the traditional Chilean dance). Wells got up and gave us all a show of his own. Tasty food and good conversation.
After the lunch we returned to Santiago and rested up in our room and decided on a dinner of inexpensive but tasty sushi. A fine day indeed.
The next morning (fifth day) we had a tasty breakfast at our hotel, stored our bags and headed directly to the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos. Housed in a stark modern glass and steel rectangle, this museum was a sobering, if not overwhelming introduction to Chile's recent dictatorship and associated atrocities. Though I had read about this, talked to others and seen some movies...this museum was the most intense presentation of what occurred and how the effects of that chapter in Chilean history persist today. We left in a somber mood. The kids were ready to leave about half way through the experience. I kept running over and over in my mind how most of the folks in Chile my age and older were all touched by this. There is some part of me that (likely in self-defense) has really thought of atrocities like this as being a thing of the past. Today's trip to the museum was a good reminder that these things have occurred in the recent past and continue to occur today in other parts of the world. Living in the US, I've been sheltered from this reality for a long time.
We headed back to Providencia and had another taste of Indian food for a late lunch. We talked over some of the political reasons behind the coup and tried to tackle questions about communism, socialism and capitalism. I wish I knew more about these things, but I think Cana and I were able to get the basics across to the kids. Back at the hotel, we grabbed bags and made it to the bus terminal with time to spare. I am done with arriving late for buses. We had front row seats on the second story. Scary but riveting view of the countryside. Once the sun went down, the trip home was uneventful as I slept most the way. Glad to be home.
Leaving Concepcion on the first day was a bit of a cluster as we did not get off the city bus at the right place to access the bus terminal. This resulted in us missing our bus to Santiago. Lucky for us there are tons of buses leaving every 30 minutes or so. Yes, we had to buy a whole new set of tickets for the 4 of us, but that was only around $50. Not bad but it still stings to miss your bus.
Upon arrival, we easily made our way to the Metro and to our nice hotel in the business district, Providencia. We are starting the get the hang of the city and are able to move around and find food and destinations with relative ease. After checking in, the kids and I headed out for a little adventure while Cana went out to meet some friends she had made last time we were in town. The kids and I took a wonderful long walk along Parque Forestal, besides the river and saw castles, fountains and playgrounds that we had not seen before.
View Larger Map
After the kids and I got home, they were bushed so Cana and I went out walking, aiming to find some dinner and bring it home to the kids. In the end, we too went for a long walk and the kids had fallen asleep by the time we were going to return with food. I guess it was a big day with the 6 hour bus ride and all. Cana and I followed a similar path as the kids in search of Peruvian food, stopping off at the Fuente del Bicentenario along the way. In the end, we were seduced by the restaurant next door (Pub La Máquina) to the Peruvian place as the had live music, artisan, Chilean food and live Tango music and dancing. Hard to beat.
On the second day in Santiago I was responsible for giving my research talk (30 min) at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. I was glad to be the second to present so that I could just relax, listen and learn for the next couple days whiles others presented. I was impressed with the diversity of work folks are doing here in Chile. I guess I am just used to going to disciplinary meetings where I hear tons of earth science talks. The Fulbright Scholars this year included folks focused on education, history, journalism, sociology etc. and most of the talks were in Spanish. Yes, sadly enough, mine was in English. One of the scholars, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, a journalist (of course), did a great job chronicling our talks and activities on day 1 and day 2 on his blog.
After our half day of meetings, we had the afternoon off and Cana and the kids and I were able to to tour around Santiago including the Cerro de Santa Lucia (good buildering and views) and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. As a gift, Cana even got me to have my shoes shined for the first time.
For $500, this better be a good shoe shine.
Beautiful architecture clamoring up and around a stoney, historic hill.
Plaza de Neptune
Nice columnar joints!
A plaque commemorating a visit to this place by Charles Darwin in 1834 during the Beagle voyage.
That evening there was a wine and cheese event at the Fulbright office were we got to meet more folks from their office and the US Consulate. The highlight for the evening was learning that I am not an operative for the government and that there is cheddar cheese in Chile...even if it is hard to find. With the permission of our hosts, we brought a handful of this delicious stuff back to the kids and they went nuts. Here are some photos from the event thanks to Jeff and the Fulbright folks
As Cana and Dylan were relatively bushed, Wells and I went out together. He said he wanted a 'real American hamburger' and I remembered meeting a guy at the US Consulate back in July that opened a few 'American-style' sports bars. This is him.
Around 10pm we headed out to the California Cantina and got a few 'Hamburguesas Gringos.' It was international night at the Cantina and that meant we got two free drink tickets which I turned into Pisco Sours. Wells and I had a great conversation and brought the other half of our massive burgers home to the ladies. Another big day.
Talks continued of the morning of the third day and I became further impressed with the diversity and drive of our cohort. Good folks indeed. After the talks we headed to the GAM building at Pontifica where we had a tasty lunch at a fine restaurant. This was the first chance for the kids to meet the other scholars and the good folks from Fulbright Chile who were interested to meet them after hearing about them for some time.
After the lunch, I had to take off to meet with new colleague, Luca Mao, who was introduced to me by Andrew Wilcox, a fluvial geomorphologist from the University of Montana. I took the metro south of downtown to another campus of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. After talking in his office for hours, I was really excited about how many research interests we had in common. I will probably start up a small research project this Spring with him in glacial watershed just east of Santiago, Monumento Natural El Morado. I am glad we made time to meet.
I made my way back to the city and met up with Cana and the kids at the hotel. They had gone on a tour around Providencia and found a cool water sculpture in a mall. Impressive. The vote that evening was for Indian food and we were able to find a place a short walk away.
On the morning of the fourth day I headed over to the Fulbright Chile office for more orientation information. I learned plenty of good things including registering with the consulate, setting up bank accounts and meeting my obligations for the award (reporting on activities). Around 11, Cana and the kids arrived and we loaded up in the bus and drove an hour south of town to the Concha y Torro winery, one of the most famous in Chile. The grounds were attractive and the tour was entertaining and informative but a little canned.
After, we were treated to a nice lunch at a big country restaurant. There was live music and some good cueca dancers (the traditional Chilean dance). Wells got up and gave us all a show of his own. Tasty food and good conversation.
Here is an example of the Cueca...
After the lunch we returned to Santiago and rested up in our room and decided on a dinner of inexpensive but tasty sushi. A fine day indeed.
The next morning (fifth day) we had a tasty breakfast at our hotel, stored our bags and headed directly to the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos. Housed in a stark modern glass and steel rectangle, this museum was a sobering, if not overwhelming introduction to Chile's recent dictatorship and associated atrocities. Though I had read about this, talked to others and seen some movies...this museum was the most intense presentation of what occurred and how the effects of that chapter in Chilean history persist today. We left in a somber mood. The kids were ready to leave about half way through the experience. I kept running over and over in my mind how most of the folks in Chile my age and older were all touched by this. There is some part of me that (likely in self-defense) has really thought of atrocities like this as being a thing of the past. Today's trip to the museum was a good reminder that these things have occurred in the recent past and continue to occur today in other parts of the world. Living in the US, I've been sheltered from this reality for a long time.
We headed back to Providencia and had another taste of Indian food for a late lunch. We talked over some of the political reasons behind the coup and tried to tackle questions about communism, socialism and capitalism. I wish I knew more about these things, but I think Cana and I were able to get the basics across to the kids. Back at the hotel, we grabbed bags and made it to the bus terminal with time to spare. I am done with arriving late for buses. We had front row seats on the second story. Scary but riveting view of the countryside. Once the sun went down, the trip home was uneventful as I slept most the way. Glad to be home.
