December in South America

Chile, Paraguay, and then on to Argentina

Hi! I’m writing to you while taking a little break from packing for our big trip. We leave tomorrow for a 5 week trek through Argentina with Isaac’s parents. We’re heading to Buenos Aires, Mendoza, San Carlos de Bariloche, El Calafate, El Chaltén, and then wrapping up in Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo in Uruguay. I’m excited for cold lakes and long hikes. And to see my first glacier! If you’ve ever been to any of those places, send me your reccs.

Of course, I’m packing in a carry-on. Argentina is huge- so we’ll have 90° weather and 40° weather. We’re also going to do a good amount of hiking, which means… hiking shoes. So far, I have six shirts, two skirts, two pairs of pants, 3 sweaters, 2 jackets, pajamas, 1 set of workout clothes, hiking shoes, hat, sandals, sneakers, underwear, my emergency ziplock pharmacy, hair stuff (shampoo, etc, hair straightener), bathroom stuff, travel adapters, and my watercolors and journal. Of course, I am going to continue tutoring while we’re travelling, so I’m bringing my laptop and a few tutoring supplies. What am I forgetting?

As the year wraps up, I’ve been reflecting on how lucky I am. For sure, things about the last (almost) six months have been very challenging, but I am so grateful to have this opportunity and be living a life so different from my life just half a year ago. We have made a big financial shift in the last year- we are bringing in ALOT less income than we ever have before, but we are able to spend that money having an easy life in Asunción and travelling to our heart’s content. Income here is also so much less in your face than in the Bay Area, and quite honestly, it’s refreshing. For me, it is such a privilege to be able to work part time for the first time in my adult life and be able to be getting my doctorate. I’m super grateful to my parents for helping me with tuition and to Isaac for teaching his face off so we can have our housing paid and insurance paid for. I quite enjoy being a kept woman!

Our trip to Santiago was amazing. It was filled with history, art, food, and drenched with Chilean wine. We were expecting smoggy skies because apparently the car exhaust sits in the valley, held in the Andes mountains. But the sky was sparkling. I’m becoming a big fan of doing a free walking tour on the morning of the first day in a new city. We learned this from some friends we were in Buenos Aires with. It is a great way to get your bearings in the city and learn a bit about the history and politics of the region. I am embarrassed to say that I knew nothing of the murder of Salvador Allende in 1973 and the coup that put the dictator Pinochet in place. And of course, the US had a hand in it. I’m hoping to read Open Veins of Latin America because I learned so little about this history in school.

Back in Asunción, I have spent the weekdays working and powering through my two classes this term. We had some major heat and some huge storms. We lost power. I got soaked. I finished my Spanish class, but didn’t quite pass. Spelling got me! Those i’s and e’s! And los articulos. So tricky! When do you need them? When don’t you? I’m now leaning towards basically always adding an article. If you know the rule, please help. On the last day of class, we had a celebration with traditional Paraguayan Christmas treats- pan dulce and a mixed fruit juice called Clericó. They also had the harp teacher come to play traditional Paraguayan harp music and then the whole room broke into Feliz Navidad. Intense!

Feliz Navidad, próspero años y felicidad! And Happy Hanukkah!