Fall Colors

I just returned from a very relaxing vacation in Bloomington, Indiana of all places. My friend Lauren from UCI and studying abroad at St. Andrews just moved there with her partner and I decided it was time to visit the heartland of the United States. I had low expectations although I was excited to visit the setting of one my favorite movies, Breaking Away. But just the drive from Indianapolis to Bloomington revealed Indiana's picturesque rural character, made even more appealing with the leaves turning bright shades of yellow, orange and red.

The Indiana University campus was even more impressive. The buildings were made of cut limestone and built in the style of schools back east. There was a prettyish sort of wilderness in the middle of campus and everywhere the trees were shedding bright and crisp leaves. We visited the Kinsey Institute, where we saw lots of artwork of nude people, and learned about their current research into human sexual behavior...it was a field of research I thought some school like Berkeley would have pioneered but no it was here at Indiana University. We also visited their Art Museum, which was hosting an exhibition on the Art of the Grand Tour. Their permanent collection included pieces by Goya, Picasso, Monet and others...quite impressive and nothing like what we had at UC Irvine! We also visited the Lilly Library which has a copy of the Gutenberg Bible and the smallest books in the world, which are almost microsopic!

Another day we visited Nashville. That is Nashville, Indiana whose claim to fame is being the largest art colony in the Midwest. It was a cute town with lots of stores selling shit I don't need. But they had good pumpkin ice cream. Nearby we also visited Brown County Park, which reminded me a little of Irvine Regional Park with its playgrounds, campgrounds and rolling green lawns. The scenery is very tame compared to the Sierra and I longed for a vista or view but it was still really pretty.

During my stay, I also enjoyed the view from Lauren's house...she and Patrick are renting a house with 3 bedrooms and two baths for $900 a month and here I am in South Lake Tahoe renting a room and sharing a bathroom with three other people for $500 a month! So jealous! I read a lot of books too...it was so nice to be able to actually focus on a book and enjoy it without thinking about work. I finished Inkdeath, the final book in the Inkworld trilogy and also got totally hooked by the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire novels that HBO recently turned into a series called TrueBlood. Not the most complicated or cerebral books but entertaining nonetheless.

Back in Tahoe now and the aspens are about lose all their pale golden leaves. The nights are longer and colder (no more riding my bike to work when it is 32 degrees!). Every night I come home to a crackling fire, which makes me happy for some inexplicable reason. Work is hectic as usual but soon I will have my own AmeriCorps member to help me and it will hopefully make things a bit more manageable.

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful fall. I will leave you with some photos from my most recent stop on the road to find out.

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Lauren and Patrick's cozy living room. They rent the house from an woodworker who built that hutch in the background.

What a cute cottage!

Lauren in front of the much photographed arches at IU.

Cute town of Nashville, Indiana. Apparently its a destination for girlfriends to "go shopping and giggle" according to the brochures.

Yellowwood forest.
Indiana barn and fall colors.

Lauren and I at Brown County Park.

The happy couple. I am going to be a bridesmaid in their wedding next May.

My first real job AND a new blog post!

I apologize again to the three people who actually read my blog for being so bad at posting. But there is good news! I will be staying on in Tahoe for another two years working on water and climate change issues. I am very excited to continue my work here and be able to actually advocate (which we are not allowed to do as AmeriCorps members...only "educate").

There have been some low moments as well. I went to my first meeting with some very talented and experienced policy makers, scientists and academics to talk about climate change and adaptation. While it was an educational experience, it frustrating because I couldn't really make comments as an AmeriCorps member and because it seemed the group was just talking in circles and not identifying the actions that could be taken immediately. Nor did they seem to have much experience with resource managers and the kinds of issues and challenges they face on the ground. It was very overwhelming and I came a way with a whopper of a headache. But after attending our annual conference and talking to my supervisor, I felt reinvigorated and re-inspired by all the activists working in the Sierra and all the amazing things they have achieved.

Its also nice to live in a place with actual seasons. Even though its only September, you can actually smell autumn coming. The air is cool and crisp, the aspens are changing color and the angle of the sun changes the way light hits the trees in the late afternoon. The cold reminds me of Scotland and how much I miss it there! I think I am due for a visit pretty soon. The cold also makes it harder to get out of bed and motivate myself to continue riding my bike to work until the first snow falls. On the left is a photo of me near Granite Lake in the Mokelumne Wilderness.

Now that I have internet at my house, I hope to update this a little more often that I have in the past. I will leave you with a few photos from this past summer and hopefully they will entice some of you to finally come and visit!

Monitor Pass in the spring.

Bodie, an old mining town, with a dusting of spring snow.

Fishing the Owens Rive with my brother, Andrew.
Me and my bro fishing. My dad is so proud! It started snowing right after Katie, AmeriCorps member in Bishop, took this photo.

Sunset over Lake Tahoe.

On the trail up Mt. Tallac.

Moonrise over Loon Lake. Spring in the Eastern Sierra at the site of the former Manzanar Internment Camp.
Sequoias near Giant Sequoia National Monument. We did our spring training in the southern Sierra at River Ridge Ranch in Springville. This is Morgan's puppy, Lassen. Isn't he the cutest?

My buddy Morgan at Granite Lake.

Puppies, Movies, Working for the Environment and Snowshoeing...just a few of my Favorite Things

Today I was lucky enough nay privileged to meet a future avalanche dog at Heavenly Ski Resort. Morgan, who works on the AmeriCorps program and is my co-worker, had to dog-sit today and brought the cutest puppy to work (his name is Jackson). Something on my down jacket must have tasted amazing because he gave it a thorough licking. It was a long day of conference calls, checking details, emailing and organizing but it was made almost painless by "puppy" breaks. Working in a dog friendly office definitely has its perks (dog farts would be on the downside).

Work is progressing well and I am feeling more confidant daily. My boss is already talking of getting funding so I can stay on the climate change program permanently after my AmeriCorps stint is over and that is very encouraging. I have had my share of mistakes, however, that I thought for sure they would not want me around like when I missed a mistake on the Table of Contents of our New Climate Change Toolkit and we had to re-print 5000 pages for a measly $2000. OOOps somehow didn't cover it. But other than that things have been going well. I am only nervous about giving my first public presentations to agencies (like the Dept. of Fish and Game and Inyo National Forest staff in Bishop) and organizations (like the Sierra Club Bishop chapter) on climate change and how we can adapt to these changes (both as individuals and resource planners). I have never been wholly at ease speaking in public so this should be very interesting.

We recently hosted the Patagonia Presents Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, which was a big success and I was also forced to face this fear of public speaking by making an announcement and asking the audience to take our Individual Climate Change Pledge to reduce their emissions. People were not so keen to waste paper especially after watching this great film about disposable coffee cups called "For The Price of a Cup of Coffee" (it will make you use your reusable mugs!!). Here is a link to the trailers for the films if you are interested in checking them out. Not all the films on the site were shown at our festival but check them all out anyway. I really enjoyed a film called "Oil and Water" about two kayakers who drove the Pan-American highway in a biodiesel fire truck, kayaking and teaching kids and anyone interested really about alternative fuels. Especially since they were in Chile at almost the same time I was!
Living in Lake Tahoe makes up for any of the faults I have mentioned or alluded to. I have a beautiful view of the sunset over snowcapped mountains every night. I am about 2 seconds away from a beautiful beach. I can't wait for summer...I am hoping to help my office win Bike to Work week although I have not ridden a bike in 2 years and I live about 8 miles from work. At this point, my enthusiasm continues to trump my obvious lack of physical ability.

Meeting people is a bit hard as so many people are tourists and I believe more than 75% of the homes in the Lake Tahoe Basin are second homes. I have started a knitting/crochet night or Stitch n Bitch at a local coffee house with friends from work. I go snowshoeing every weekend either by myself or with AmeriCorps friends. I plan on taking some classes at the local community college that will hopefully force me to be more sociable, although my roommate warned me to avoid the "crazy" people.

Well I guess I will leave you with some photos I have taken of the winter wonderland that surrounds me (and is melting as we speak...thanks global warming!). More to come soon!

Snowshoeing is cool!

After a busy first week at work learning the difference between SEWC, IRWMPs, the DWR, and many more fun acronyms I took the hills with fellow AmeriCorps volunteer Michelle to go snowshoeing in the Hope Valley. It was a glorious day...a light breeze, clear skies and brilliant, twinkling snow. You can check out the pics below. Also the one on the bottom is a view from my flat out onto Lake Tahoe. I am still pinching myself I have such a sweet living situation and an awesome flatmate who also fly-fishes! What are the chances?

I spoke to my friend Julie today who is working for an NGO in Chad with Darfurian refugees. If you want to read what she has been up to, check out the link by scrolling down the right side of this page. It sounds like a horrible situation there made only worse by UN troops and ineffective NGOs. So if you have time, maybe post some funny stories or inspiring quotes on her blog to keep her spirits up! We miss you Julie and hope you are safe and well!

More on Tahoe and my new job to come soon.

It's cold outside!

So I have finally relocated to Lake Tahoe to start my new position as the AmeriCorps member at the Sierra Nevada Alliance working on their Sierra Water and Climate Change Program. Yesterday was my first day and it was a bit overwhelming as there is so much to learn! Before that, I was in the mountains just outside of Yosemite for the AmeriCorps training. It was a very busy week, learning about all the paperwork we have to fill out (don't you just love the government?), learning how to organize events and playing lots of Nerds (a fun, addictive and competitive game I learned in Chile from another volunteer). We also got the opportunity to go snowshoeing in Yosemite, which was spectacular. Yosemite is breathtaking in the winter...hardly any crowds and everything covered in a fresh blanket of snow. I was lucky enough to visit Yellowstone National Park only a week earlier with my family, which was also amazing! We saw herds of bison from only feet away (in a snowcat), big coyotes feeding on a bison carcass, trumpeter swans, and elk.

I hope to have some fun pics up soon but at the moment I don't have a camera lens so I can't take photos of all the beautiful sunsets over the lake I can see from my apartment deck. I guess you all will just have to come and visit if you want to see it!

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year!

Ending World Hunger One Grain of Rice at a Time

Freerice.com is an ingenious and addicting website where you can test your vocabulary skills (especially useful for the SAT and GRE) and help feed the poor, destitute and starving people of the world. Every time you choose the correct definition of the word, freerice.com donates 20 grains of rice. The website is free and uses small ads on the bottom of the screen to fund the purchase of the rice and the upkeep of the website. Play, learn and help! So, far my top score is 45 (50 is the highest). Let me know if you beat that!

Helping Hands 2007!

'Tis the season for the giving and sharing. As you may know, I lived in Santiago, Chile for 7 months working/volunteering in a children's shelter for abused/neglected girls. VEGlobal is currently hosting its Helping Hands 2007 fundraising drive so please help out my special girls and the rest of the children of VE by pledging as little as $5 and/or forwarding the form email below onto friends and family. With over 200 volunteers in our network, from 32 different countries, many new people are finding out about VEGlobal! We are aiming to raise USD$5, 000.00 by 11:59:59 on December 31st, 2007. The donations can be as little or as big as donors want because every cent counts! Here is a link to our donation page: Helping Hands 2007

Thank you again for all your support and generosity!

Dear Friends, Friends of Friends, Family and Friends of Family, etc.,

As many of you know, I was in Santiago, Chile last year volunteering with VEGlobal to bring new opportunities to 1,000 amazing children in need. With the end of a very exciting year rapidly approaching, we are kicking off our first online push for support "Helping Hands 2007," which is an excellent way for people like you to help the children too!

Read on or go to the official page.

With our current and former volunteers totaling more than 200, from 5 continents and 32 countries, our global presence is great. To cap off an exciting year and build on its momentum, we are reaching out to our global community of family and friends to raise $5,000.00 by 11:59:59 on December 31st. Instead of asking for large donations, we are encouraging everyone involved with VE to forward this email to their friends and family, and to use the link to donate anywhere from $5 to $500 dollars before the New Year's deadline. Every little amount counts, and all it takes is a few mouse clicks to be part of this exciting global movement!

VEGlobal is a non-profit organization that empowers volunteers from around the world to create and implement a variety of innovative and powerful programs in education, recreation and culture to provide new opportunities to children hard hit by the realities of extreme poverty. We organize a global community of volunteers of diverse backgrounds and nationalities in a universal effort to achieve our dream in Chile and bridge the social rifts that perpetuate poverty and child abuse. VE is one of the few organizations that charges no fee to its volunteers, and is funded almost entirely by the generosity of individual donors.
Please use this link to donate any amount from $5 to $500 through PayPal's easy service.

With help from all hands across the globe, our $5,000 is well within reach. When you're done, please forward this email on to your friends and family. We will be tracking our progress on our website.

We are invoking the spirit of giving as 2007 comes to a close. There are lots of great changes going on within VEGlobal, and we are going to lead into 2008 full force, but we need your help to better serve the children!
All the best,
The VEGlobal Team

Have questions? E-mail Morghan at mdill@voluntariosesperanza.org

Employment! Sort of...

Exciting news! I was offered and accepted the position of Sierra Water and Climate Change Program Assistant with the Sierra Nevada Alliance in South Lake Tahoe (northern California). The position seems really interesting and will be good experience for me. The position requires a one year commitment and is described as follows: The Program Assistant will do public presentations throughout the Sierra on climate change and voluntary actions individuals, groups and agencies can take to reduce greenhouse gases and protect Sierra natural resources. The Assistant will also help organize and convene Sierra Environmental Water Caucus meetings, assist in organizing a regional conference on integrated regional water management planning, and help prepare and distribute campaign materials. The Program Assistant will also assist in media outreach, educational event organizing, and program material writing and production.

This is a particularly exciting time for the position, with the recent drought problems in Georgia and California, the state is currently working on a new state water policy that will address the issues of climate change, population growth, the need for protecting native habitats and waterways etc. Here is a link to some more information on the program in which I will be working.

The bad news is I will only be making $1200 a month. I will, however, be making $1200 more a month than volunteering in Chile and I will have health and dental insurance. And I will get to live in the Sierras. I will just think of it as a learning experience in budgeting.

So I hope you all will come and visit me in beautiful Lake Tahoe!

Read Me!

Dear Friends, Family and Random Internet Users Who have Mistakenly Found this Blog Looking up Cat Stevens Lyrics,

As some of you may have noticed, the blog has received a serious makeover. Since returning from my volunteer experience in Santiago, Chile with the non-profit VEGlobal, I have endeavored to find jobs with environmental non-profits as well as utilize my experiences and skills to "do good." I know this sounds overly optimistic, idealistic even "cheesy" (cursi in Spanish...one of my favorite words I learned in Chile) but I have found that even the small things, changing to a more energy-efficient light bulb or teaching a young Chilean girl to read, change the world for the better. Furthermore, these small acts of kindness or conscious serve to instill within us a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. At the risk of sounding too preachy/pushy (since no one probably reads this but friends and family, those who are offended or put off...ahem Eamonn...will hopefully forgive my endearing idiosyncrasies), I encourage you to consider this path as well and "be the change you want to see in the world." (Shout out to Adrienne H.- You, your blog and your actions really inspired me in this effort!)

But, Marion, you say. How can I do that? In today's world we are constantly bombarded with information from the TV, Internet, radio, advertisements and even the mail (when is the last time you received a real letter?), making it hard to navigate the myriad issues and problems we face. So many issues, so many problems and just as many potential solutions but so little time! Well, I have added some features as you can see in the sidebar (thanks to my fumbling efforts to learn HTML), including a news feed, interesting blogs, books, organizations and websites to help you! While my selections will tend to focus on environmental issues, they are still a great place to start.

In other news, I continue to intern with Orange County Coastkeeper, a local advocacy, environmental education and monitoring non-profit. Today I finished my final round of interviews for a position with the AmeriCorps in the Sierra Nevadas. I interviewed for 5 different positions with 5 different environmental non-profit organizations: Conservation Associate (Friends of the Inyo), Water and Climate Change Program Asst. (Sierra Nevada Alliance), Asst. Programs Coordinator (Tahoe-Baikal Institute), Education & Outreach Specialist (Eastern Sierra Land Trust) and Sierra Nevada Outreach Coordinator (Planning and Conservation Foundation). I will find out by Nov. 20 if I got one of these positions and the cushy $1200/month living stipend. Unfortunately, doing good apparently doesn't pay that well in terms of career choices, at least not in the beginning. More updates on my search for gainful employment coming soon!

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you will find it not only a way to stay up to date with my current activities, ideas, thoughts and rambling rants but also as a resource to make a difference in your own special way.

Best of luck!

Wildfires, Riots, Mudslides, Earthquakes...Welcome to the Sunshine State!

Just want to let you all know that although there is a fire near Irvine, my family and I are ok. Many families, unfortunately, are not. If you want to help those families that have lost their homes, visit the Red Cross site. The LA Times and the OC Register also have continual updates if you are want to remain informed.

Since Sunday, there has been a thick, brown blanket of smoke laying above our house and all the surfaces inside and outside are covered with a thin layer of ash. It was a muggy 90 degrees today (why some people were wearing pants and sweatshirts I have no idea) and the heat along with the ash made it hard to breathe. When I got in my car and turned on the air conditioning, ash spewed directly into my face and made me cough for about 5 minutes. The falling ash and the constant news coverage remind me of the Laguna Beach fires in 1993. Voluntary evacuation was recommended for our neighborhood and the scene on my block was like something out of the movies. The ash was falling even thicker than it is now and the fires reached within 1.5 miles of my house. My little brother was riding up and down the street on his tricycle yelling evacuate lending a moment of humor to a very tense situation. Our neighbors camped out in our backyard and we watched the fire inch closer and closer over the distant ridge (back then there was no development on the hills behind our house). Then the fire turned and by morning it was almost completely contained. Air quality was so terrible, though, school was canceled for the day, for the first and only time in my academic career.

The fire are still going full force but the Santa Ana winds are slowing down and hopefully all those thousands of families will be able to return home soon(if they still have one). Even our Governator has been doing a credible job of making sure this does not turn into another Katrina disaster. These fires, however, are a chilling reminder of the fact that fire is a natural part of the local ecosystem, which has been disrupted by the constant development and sprawl in southern California. While a few take the extreme viewpoint to "Let Malibu burn" (Mike Davis, author of Ecology of Fear : Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster), I definitely think it is time for Southern Californians to come to terms with our arid climate AND allow for the inevitability of wildfires in future development schemes. To do otherwise would be a serious disservice to the all families who have lost their homes and to all the firefighters, aid workers and pilots who have worked tirelessly throughout this disaster.

A view of the huge plume of smoke over the Santiago Canyon Fire that eventually drifts the 10/15 miles to my house (Photo by Jeb Harris, The Orange County Register)

There is still time to help VEGlobal win $10,000!

Now that you have all created your Razoo.com accounts (if you have not, follow these instructions anyway) VEGlobal is now one of ONLY 34 eligible groups to win $10,000 ($2500 and $1000 for second and third place). ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS GO ONLINE TO http://beta.razoo.com/acts/vote_for_veglobal AND VOTE FOR VEGLOBAL BEFORE OCT.15! You are only two clicks away from helping VEGlobal win $10,000!

VEGlobal is the organization I worked with in Chile and they do amazing work with underprivileged children in Santiago. But they need more money to improve their programs and spread this amazing organization to other cities and countries. You can help them voting for VEGlobal on Razoo.com and remembering to:

BE THE CHANGE!

Help VEGlobal win $10,000

I am not sure if anyone still reads this blog as I have been a complete slacker and have not been posting anything. But if you are reading this, I need YOUR HELP.

As some of you may remember, I traveled to Chile for 7 months to work for VEGlobal, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending inequality and poverty for the children of Chile. It was an amazing experience and I really miss the Chilean girls I worked with at Residencia EntreTodas. I continue to help the organization by writing the newsletter, recruiting etc. Thanks to Adrienne, I found this amazing opportunity to win $10,000 for a small but great organization.

By simply creating an account with Razoo and joining the VEGlobal group, you can help VEGlobal win $10,000! Razoo is an innovative new web platform that is actively engaging individuals and organizations to mobilize a new generation for social change, a mission similar to that of VEGlobal. To celebrate the initial Launch, Razoo is hosting a $10,000 Change Your World contest for organizations to help build a global community for social change! To win VEGlobal must recruit at least 100 members before Oct. 1st.

So how does one help? Simply go to http://beta.razoo.com/member/signup to create your own personal account and then go to http://beta.razoo.com/groups/VEglobal to join the VEGlobal group. We need at least 100 members to join BEFORE OCT. 1st. Then the Razoo community votes on the eligible organizations. In the spirit of VEGlobal's Come Together 2007 Tour, please join other VEGlobal volunteers, alumni, and supporters alike by taking the 5 minutes to help VEGlobal win $10,000!

Thank you for your help!!! If you have any questions, leave a comment here.

Marion Needs Gainful Employment

Hey all, I know its been awhile and thanks to the persistant urging of Eamonn and Stuart I am finally writing an entry! Por fin! Since I returned from Santiago in April I have been back and forth between Montana and Southern California, helping my parents to move things to their new vacation home in Montana. More recently, for the past three weeks we've been constructing a wrap around deck (about 800 square feet) with just myself, my mom and dad as the construction "crew". Needless to say, it was a very long three weeks. On top of that my dog Eowyn ran away for two days! Thankfully, we saw her about 1/4 mile away from the house the 3rd day and I ran over and grabbed her before she could take off again. Fun times. Pics of the deck coming soon!

Now that I am back in SoCal, I am looking for jobs in earnest! I had a wonderful experience working for VEGlobal in Chile and I really would like to translate that into a research/writing job for a non-profit somewhere (US or abroad). So recently I have applied for jobs like Researcher for the Sierra Club and a Development Assistant for the Rainforest Alliance. I am hoping though that maybe you guys can help too! Do any of you have experience with working for non-profits and have any tips or connections that would be useful in my job hunt? Do you know of any useful online job sites? Do you know anyone that could help me out or point me in the right direction? I would really appreciate any sort of help!!! Send me an email at marionjgee@yahoo.com.

Other than that I am still working for VEGlobal as their newsletter editor and sometimes I write for their website and/or promotional material. Check out this link http://voluntariosesperanza.org/newsletter/july_07/newsjuly07.html to see the most recent newsletter I wrote, edited and assembled. I am also trying to knit scarves (and maybe hats and mittens) for all the girls and tias at the hogar I worked at. So far I have made 3 scarves and Jodi and Tryste have contributed two each. I probably won't be able to get them done for the girls until next winter because I want to send all the scarves at one time. If you would like to make a scarf/hat/mittens for the girls, send me an email! The girls will really appreciate it since the winters in Santiago can get very cold and the shelter has no heating and a pretty open floor plan that doesn't trap the heat very well. Lets call it the Knit Chile Project!

I hope you are well! Sorry for the long lapse in entries and I will promise to try to keep it more up to date!

Photos

Although I will be posting some choice photos on this blog, I has also added links on the sidebar to many more photos of my recent travels for those of you bored at work.

Enjoy!

El Calafate, Argentina Nov. 2006

As you can see this date conflicts with the actual date of the post because I am a lazy procrastinator. But I am sure you would rather read more about my travels!

El Calafate is the wannabe Aspen of Patagonia, except there is nowhere to ski, just an extremely large glacier to see (and rumors of good fishing but I didn’t have the time to verify that). Laurie, Calla and I arrived with 3 days to explore the area when really you only need one day to see the amazing Perito Moreno Glacier. While the town has cute Bavarian-esque shops, art galleries, chocolate shops and cafes, it is not enough of a reason to linger in the seemingly ever present wind and dust.

To get to the glacier you need to hire a car or take a tour. Calla and I opted for the tour, which included a boat ride along the southern face and hike around the northern face, with a final stop along the viewing terraces. We saw some glaciers in Torres del Paine but they did not prepare us for the enormity of the Perito Moreno Glacier. As the tour bus descended toward the dock, the glacier field seemed to go on and on, the peaks of the mountains acting as tiny distance markers. Passing small icebergs, the catamaran made its way so close to the glacier face, that I became highly alarmed when a chunk the size of a 5 bedroom Socal track home fell into the water. The tour guide, upon seeing my face, assured me that we were perfectly safe but it didn’t
stop me from worrying especially after seeing An Inconvenient Truth…it seemed only a matter of time until a truly huge chunk fell in. From the trail and the terraces we could better hear the groaning and cracking of the ice as it moved and small pieces would periodically fall off. But this was apparently not often enough for a group of Japanese tourists, who, either ignoring or unable to read the signs that said no shouting in English and Spanish, began screaming at the top of there lungs thereby breaking the peaceful serenity of the moment. As we were leaving, the persistent wind of Patagonia moved the clouds in such a way that there seemed to be a spotlight shining down on various parts of the glacier, the colors of which alternated between white, blue and lavender.

The next day was spent writing postcards, shopping, and trying mate for the first time (a type of tea very popular in Argentina which is drunk through a straw from a carved out, dried pumpkin), while Laurie headed back to Punta Arenas, Chile to catch an earlier flight back. The next day Calla and I left for Punta Arenas via Puerto Natales where, surprisingly enough we met up with Omar, the friendly owner of Kawashkar hostel hustling up some business with the gringos at the bus stop for his hostel. The people I met on my travels, I think, are one of the most memorable aspects of my time in Chile and Argentina, so many friendly, helpful and interesting people, which brings me to my next encounter in Punta Arenas. By this time, I had a nasty cold and all I wanted to do was sleep, which was very easy to do in the Downtown Hostel, a historic building from the early 1900s that included an awesome cast iron stove. The next day our flight did not leave until 3, but the lady owner was kind enough to let us hang out in the living room. When I told her I had a cold, she immediately began to make me a special honey tea, which was surprisingly good and helped my sore throat. While she made that and continued with the household chores, her husband sat down and chatted with me, telling me about the history of the house, running a B&B, his own travels through the United States and how he was the owner of a sporting goods store that was the first to introduce name brands like North Face to Chile. It was quite a pleasant way to end the journey and as the plane cruised by snow capped volcanoes and over sparkling blue fjords, I felt re-energized and ready to get back to work

One of only THREE Patagonian glaciers that is not retreating.

Check back soon for One Day in the Life of a VE Volunteer.

So confused

So my lame excuse for not posting in a coon's age is that I could not figure this new sign in with google accounts dealio they got going on here at e-blogger. But I finally used what little brain cells I had left to get it....ha! I am back from South America and have many tales to tell but at the moment I am searching for jobs (ick), contemplating going back to school (yay the bubble), and trying not to drive my family crazy. The good news is my family has bought a new house in Montana and if I don't have a job by this summer, I would love it you guys would come visit me there! Email me for more details. My brother just got back and will be wanting his computer back to play World of Warcraft. Don't worry more blog entries to come! I have miss all of your comments and emails!!!!
ABRAZOS,
mj

Feliz Navidad! Here's a post...finally!

Yes I know I have been remiss for oh about a month or so. But since it is Christmas and I refuse to do any work this entire weekend, I have time to finally let you all know what I have been up to. So prepare yourself now for an epic entry...sorry no photos cuz my internet is still a slow POS...see sidebar for a link to photos I uploaded while at Starbucks (yes sometimes that evil international corporation can be good for something)!

First was my amazing, spectacular, breathtaking journey through Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile (Patagonia) with my fellow volunteers Laurie (Montreal, Canada!) and Calla (Massachusetts). Before I left I couldn't believe I was going and now that I have been it feels like it was all a dream and not real. We left Santiago at 11pm at night and of course I was stopped at the airport because my tripod looks like a gun in a holster...honestly not the best design ever. Arriving in the "madrugada", approximately 3am in the morning was the cheapest option but not necessarily the most comfortable. There were no buses running, we didn't have a hostel to stay in, so we stay in the rock hard chairs of the Punta Arenas airport, eating trail mix, taking silly pictures, and being stared at by the airport staff.

For some reason (ahem, Calla) we decided to take a taxi early to the "bus station", which turned out to be the office for one particular bus company and not open so we huddled outside, putting on all our layers and standing in a circle to warm ourselves from the wind. But by 8am we were finally on our way to Puerto Natales.

A small and uninteresting town, Puerto Natales is made beautiful by the water and snow covered mountains that surround it. After dodging the persistent people in the bus depot, all of whom owned “the best and cheapest” lodging in town, we proceeded to wander around, lost in search of the elusive Kawashkar hostel. The locals were so friendly and helpful in giving directions that as we stopped one old man for directions, another man from across the street ran over to assist us. The only sign marking the building as a potential crash pad (the actual words describing the place on hostelworld.com) for backpackers was the random North Face tent sitting on the sidewalk. Superficially, the hostel was like most hostels throughout the world; however the owner Omar and the awesome people we met there set it apart. Omar showed us to our rooms, provided us with all the info we could possibly want and THEN set up an info meeting for us to learn more about the trail in Torres del Paine. We didn’t fully realize how eager Omar was to help us until we arrived 40 minutes late to the info meeting from walking around town and were thoroughly ashamed that they had waited 30 minutes for us! At the meeting we met Scott, a lanky and blonde fellow Canadian of Laurie’s, who was not only staying our hostel but would end up being one of our trip companions.

Although it was still yet spring, the sun shone down until 10pm as we scurried through town doing some last minute errands for more trail mix, a Nalgene bottle for Calla, and some yummy dinner at a touristy café (the soup was delish!). Another early morning but we were lucky the bus came straight to our door to pick us up (tickets care of the lovely Omar). We had just barely started off when we hit Chilean roadworks that slowed us down at least an hour or more. The scenery, however, more than made up for the delay. Of further interest was the man sitting next to me, who turned out to be a Chilean guide/sherpa. Our conversation covered an interesting mix of subjects and was for the most part in SPANISH. He told me about his job (Americans and young British people are the best tippers), his daughter (studying animal husbandry), life in Southern Chile (how 99% of the people in Puerto Natales have never been to Torres del Paine though it is only 3 hours away because it is too expensive) while pointing out interesting aspects of the scenery (including a little visited valley that has cool fossils) and the animals (guanacos and flamingos!). He also expressed a great admiration for the black men of New York and their street lingo but we won’t go there. All chit chat came to a screeching halt when we arrived at the vista of the Torres.

The rest of the day, besides an uneventful stop to pay the entrance fee, consisted of one amazing vista after another: from the bus, from the catamaran, from the window of our refugio. While most people preferred to stay inside drinking their cups of “hot chocolate,” Calla and I braved the cold and short bursts of rain to stare in awe at the Cuernos and the Paine Massif as we cruised along Lago Pehoe in a catamaran. Laurie had decided to save money by taking the bus further to another ranger station and walking with Scott and Tom, an American who we also met at our hostel. Blisters and spells of driving rain aside, the three of them described their hike as the equivalent of walking in Middle Earth to which the picture below can attest.

Up the trail, Calla and I unloaded our packs at Paine Grande Lodge (we decided not to rough it AND carry our food by staying in refugios but if I were to do it again I would save the money and stay in a tent) and walked toward Lago Grey and Glacier Grey. Just as we were leaving the sun came out, making the hike rather hot and uncomfortable. Two hours later the Glacier came into view….we took plenty of pictures so we can look back fondly when they have all melted. We met up with Laurie and Tom (we passed Scott on his way up Glacier Grey a total of 10 miles walking with full gear and wool pants…crazy Canadian) at the Lodge, had a horrible lasagna dinner, and partook of our free pisco sours (the signature alcoholic beverage of Chile…think you might like it Jules). Lying in bed that night, our two German roomies (I heard more German and English on the trail than Spanish) came in, exclaiming how it always been their dream to sleep with 3 girls. They turned out to be nice but eccentric guys who actually requested we stay with them at the next refugio. The landscape, we would come to find, was not only interesting in its beautiful scenery but the strange and mostly delightful people we met along the way. I don’t think I had talked to so many on any of my other trips, and often in Spanish!

Bright and early, mas o menos, 10:30am, we finally left the lodge. The sun was high, bright, and piercing…Calla and Laurie laughed at my huge sombrero but I didn’t get sunburned. We made lots of stops to drink water, take in the scenery, fix Laurie’s blisters (she was also very glad I brought my First Aid Kit…I felt like a total nerd while packing but as it turns out better prepared then not), and talk to more Germans, this time an old couple who first walked the W trail 40 years ago…they told us it has not changed except for the number of people. The still air and heat of the sun as well as the frequent stops (and a bad rash I had developed) meant it took us about 2 hours longer than it should have to get to Refugio Los Cuernos. The next day was meant to be for a side trip up into the French Valley and a spectacular view but we were so tired and injured and out of shape we decided to take a break. Good thing too because it clouded over and rained but we had clear enough views of the valley to see several avalanches.

The next morning I woke up early and headed down the trail sola, to make sure my rash didn’t slow anyone else down. I had my own Middle Earth moment, looking up the mountain covered with a thin layer of fresh snow, the trail stretching forward without a person in sight. I could have sworn I was walking into Mordor…if New Zealand had not worked out, they could have used Patagonia. The morning was crisp and overcast…perfect for walking. I ended up being an hour and half ahead of Laurie and Calla but waited up them at the crossroads to the Torres and Refugio Chileno with the condors (they were huge!) and Andrew, a nice Australian who we had met at the last refugio. From that point onward, the trail was pretty much straight up and as I reached the pass it started to snow, which didn’t bode well for viewing the Torres the next morning. Met some interesting people including a nice Dutch couple from Utrecht (woot woot Davey!) and a friendly Chilean waitress who practiced her English with us. Arriving sin reservaciones, we had to rent a tent. The Chilean helping us set up the tent assured us that all 3 could fit in a two man tent. I have never been so cold or felt so claustrophobic as I did that night! Needless to say, we did not get up at the planned hour of 4am to hike and see the sunrise over the Torres.

Instead, Laurie and I left the close confines of our tent around 6:30 for the Torres, braving the stiff wind and occasional snow flakes. Passed Tom and Scott on their way down, having already seen the sunrise on the Torres, those lucky so and so’s! As luck would have it, after hiking for 2 hours and then climbing a steep boulder field we arrived at the top in the middle of mini blizzard. Defiantly waiting for all of 10 minutes, we slid back down the boulders, ran back to camp, packed our bags, ran down the rest of the mountain in an hour, and grabbed the 2:30 bus back to Puerto Natales.

Ok its 12 am Christmas day and I still have a ton more to write about but I have to get up early and make scones and pie so you will just have to wait for the next installment on El Calafate, Argentina. Happy Holidays to everyone and if you do feel inclined to write me (or send me anything…I would love some books in ENGLISH) my new address is

Del Huerto Sur 3561
Sector Parques de la Florida
Santiago, Chile

Abrazo y besos a todos!

Water polo in 3 languages!

Now I can say I have played water polo in 3 different countries in 3 different languages: English, Scottish (if you heard my coach you would swear it was a different language too), and Spanish. Last Thursday I went to my first practice with one of the 6 or 7 club teams in the whole of Chile...with boys around 15 years of age. Wow I felt old. Even though I am slow and out of shape, I can still pass and shoot and I even scored one goal! The boys were friendly and patient with my pathetic Spanish. The coach was really nice and even gave a speech at the end welcoming me to Chile and practice and telling the boys I was also a girl's water polo coach. The boys then clamored for pictures of the girls I coached....ohh teenage boys. Tomorrow night I am practicing with Stadio Italiano in Las Condes (the very rich part of the time) and it will be interesting to see how different that is.

Other important news: I AM GOING TO TORRES DEL PAINE!! I booked my tickets yesterday and I am off to see what could be the most beautiful mountains in the world (decide for yourself
or here) at the end of the world in Patagonia. We are going to trek the "W" trail and stay in bunk beds the whole...how civilized! There will also be a little side trip to El Calfate in Argentina to see some glaciers and get my tourist visa renewed.

Also here is a link to some more pics of Santiago de Chile.
Miss you all! You don't even know how much!

Pictures!

My flatmates: Laurie (Canada!), Naomi (Arkansas), Melissa (NY), Me!, Calla (Mass.), and Pam (Scotland!) laying across.

Pablo Neruda's house/museum in Bellavista.

Ok I was going to load more pics but the internet is being a bitch. More to come!

Bienvenidos a Santiago!

Hola mis amigos! I am Starbucks (you can not escape their evil empire) because they have free wireless and the wireless we scam off on in our apartment is crappy and kicks me off every five minutes. Phew this has been a very busy and draining week! After traveling for 24 hours (LAX to DC to Buenos Aires to Santiago), I was met by the lovely volunteer Annie who immediately started speaking to me in Spanish, which was very overwhelming since I still couldn't believe I was in SOUTH America and in the Southern Hemisphere...craziness! Annie drove me to the hostel, La Case Roja, in Barrio Brasil, where I met most of the other new volunteers (17 in total), most of whom were in the big dorm room I lived in for a week. There was a lot more drama than I expected (ie people missing home, people getting into sticky emotional situations etc.) but all in all we had a good time during the week getting to know the old volunteers, visiting the different institutions, learning the rules and how VE works, getting English teaching training etc. It was a very hectic and draining week with very little down time which is why I have not written earlier. On top of all that I didn't have a place to live after we checked out of the hostel so my new buddy Pam (she's from Scotland! We reminisce constantly) and I were also looking for a place to live. We ended up finding a great apartments, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms in Providencia (the "rich" part of town) which is literally on top of a metro station and grocery store.

Yesterday was my first day working in my hogar (orphanage), Residencia EntreTodas). The girls are around 9 to 21 years old and many of them are in school during the time I am there (2:00-6:30pm). VE wants me to start an English class there so if anyone has any suggestions for games etc for teaching English or just filling up time during the day that would be very much appreciated. The girls so far have been very polite and nice but there is an undercurrent of anger that is palpable and very sad. I felt a bit useless my first day because they literally have nothing to do after they come home from school besides doing homework or watching TV. I racking my brain trying to think of games etc. that we could do to stimulate them and to get them off their butts. I am bringing the game UNO today and I am going to try to teach them the colors and numbers in English. Among my other duties outside of EntreTodas, I will be helping with the VE newsletter and in charge of editing the VE intranet (help Andrew!!!).

There is so much more to describe about this amazing country but time is running short and I have to leave soon for my hogar. I will leave you though with some interesting things I have learned about Chile and Chilean culture so far:
1. Food- They are obessessed with hot dogs (cumpletos) and avocados (palta). There is an enormous section of every grocery store that is filled with all types of hot dogs and sausages. Also they put avocado on everything. Everything. I love avocados but I think I might get tired of them pretty soon. Oh and if you want say some jam or mayo or ketchup good luck because it comes in a bag! and is difficult to store after you use it the first time.
2. Transportation- I am officially in love with the metro here! It is the cleanest, most efficient, prettiest metro system I have ever seen. They have flat screen TVs everywhere showing music videos, news etc. They have artwork of all shapes and sizes decorating the metro. And best of all it is easy to use, on time, and rarely breaks down. The micros (buses) on the other hand, are another story. Usually, they are operated by crazy men that drive and dispense tickets and change at the same time, hit stop signs on sharp turns, ride the horn, and stop so hard and quickly that poor little old men topple over. They also sometimes lie about where they stop in order to get your business. Pretty shady.
3. Spanish errr Castellano- Chilean is pretty much a whole other language. It sounds different and they have complete set of their vocabulary. More to come on this later.

Off to work! Miss you all!