where i'm bound

Denali National Park

2010-07-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

To close out my second Alaskan adventure, I decided to go up to Denali National park for the weekend. The mountain itself, Denali/Mt. McKinley, unfortunately was mostly covered up by mountains and I could not see the peak. This, apparently, is normal as the mountain is big enough to create its own weather and it shows itself only about 20% of the time. However, I was close enough to feel its enormous presence and the park that surrounds it is exceedingly beautiful. I did a number of hikes while there, including going up Mt. Healy, and an easier one along Savage Creek. The last morning while I was there, before I headed back to Anchorage, I saw a little demonstration by the sled-dogs who work there during the winter and relax during the summer. That was pretty neat. It was a great way to finish up my trip in Alaska. Having finished my contract and work responsibilities I headed home to California, where I now await my next great adventure.

A few more Photos

2010-06-09T16:06:00.001-07:00

these are from Mt. Pillar, a nice little hike right next to the observer bunkhouse. I have done this hike 4 times since I have been here. These photos are from a sunset a couple weeks back.

Fort Abercombie

2010-05-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from a week or so ago when I went down to Fort Abercrombie, a national park and old WWII fort. The military part of it is pretty small, a couple of cannons and bunkers are all that remain, but there was some interesting facts written on little signs. The fighting never reached Kodiak, but there was a battle in Dutch Harbor and a few other far reaching Aluteutian islands. We won these battles, pretty overwhelmingly it seems. Besides intersting war memorabilia, Fort Abercrombie is beautiful with nice hiking trails and camping areas. With binoculars we were able to see grey whales far off in the distance. Of course I had to take the real love signature cannon pic that I invented in China, it's still to good to ever pass up. Besides that, work is work. I'm about halfway done with my contract here.

another day, another dollar

2010-04-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've been adjusting to working here in Kodiak. The job's alright. I'm on call 24-7 so sometimes I dont get much sleep but in general, it's not too much work. The weather has been up and down. I like Kodiak though, hopefully I get to stay here for another month or 2 and make some major cashish.

Back in Kodiak

2010-04-19T22:56:00.000-07:00

So I havent had much time to stop and catch my breath since I started working but here's a little recap. I had a 4 day briefing in Seattle, and I hung out there a couple days more, and then a few more in Anchorage. I started my contract by going to Dutch Harbor to work on a pollock trawling boat, the Viking. I was kind of a strange trip, I went directly from airport to the boat, and after 1 6 day trip directly back to the airport. So I really didn't get to see Dutch Harbor or the Island Unalaska much at all. Just around the airport and the docks. It seemed fairly distinct from other parts of Alaska (or the world) I have seen. Beautiful white mountains, but oddly no trees. Maybe I'll go back someday and explore more. The trip itself sucked. The boat was nice and the crew was great, but seas were rough and I had a rude awaking with seasickness. The Bering Sea is a rough place and it's really, really horrible being seasick for long periods of time. But I survived only to go almost directly onto another boat in Kodiak. From Dutch, I went to Anchorage was there for about 6-7 hours to sleep before I had to catch a flight to Kodiak and get directly onto another boat. I went on a 4 day trip with that boat, Vanguard, and got back today. Unfortunately it was the same story: nice boat, rough seas, puking. Every boat has a unique way of rolling with the waves so changing boats on these short trips is tough. I'm not sure why this contract I have been getting seasick much worse than last time when it wasnt much of a problem, but whatever I will get better and stronger. I got a nice assignment for the time being working seaside at plants/canneries here in Kodiak, meaning I wont have to go out to Sea for awhile, (hopefully a long awhile) and I will basically live in here in Kodiak and work a semi-normal job. It should be really good, and I will have more time to explore Kodiak, which I like a lot. The weather is getting better and things are looking up.

Goodbye Dutch, Hello Kodiak

2010-04-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

okay they're keeping me on the move here, i went on one trip to sea in Dutch Harbor. 6 days, went directly from boat to plane, spent the night in Anchorage, now I am flying back to Kodiak.

some photos

2010-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

these are of anchorage. Im going to Dutch Harbor tomorrow.

Anchorage

2010-04-08T01:36:00.000-07:00

So I've been back in Anchorage for a few days, just waiting to find out where I'll go next. It's a lot warmer this time around (though still way way way colder than California) and the days are long which is kind of nice for someone like me who operates on a later schedule. There's still snow everywhere, but at least the sidewalks aren't iced over and I can walk without falling all the time. It snowed yesterday while I was going on a long walk, and it was beautiful. Nonetheless, I don't like waiting when I should be working. I'm ready to move on. To pass the time I have been reading Anne Karenina by Tolstoy and watching the HBO show "the Wire" and I've been loving both. I wish I had more exciting stories to tell, but nothing much is happening right now until i get onto a boat.

If I don't get shipped out tomorrow I'm gonna try to hunt around town for a roaming moose and get a picture (from a safe distance).

Back in the Emerald City

2010-04-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

I've been here for 5 days now, I finished briefing and am all ready and waiting to be shipped out and up to Alaska. It is weird being back, everything feels very familiar which is nice. I'm pretty used to the routine of going to classes and living in a bunkhouse here in Seattle. It has been mostly rainy here, though it was sunny on Wednesday. I've been having fun hanging out with new friends, but I'm ready to start working. I still don't know where in Alaska I will be working, but I'm open for whatever. Here's a pretty picture I took of Lake Washington.

3 months at home / Back to Alaska

2010-03-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today a new adventure begins, well not completely new, Im going back to Alaska to work and explore some more.

Since I got back from Chile, I have been living at home. The Central Coast is a wonderful place. I played music a lot, went on a lot of hikes, went camping in Big Sur, went fishing, applied to a bunch of jobs, interviewed for a few more, got offered one and turned it down, but in the end it makes most sense for me, financially, to go back to Alaska and work. I am excited about this, but my mindset is that it's a work trip, not a vacation, though hopefully I be able to have some fun too. The weather should be better this time, I'll know what I'm doing, and I am overall more optimistic that I'll have a great experience. I will try to continue to update this with pictures, and words as I go. See you in 3 months CA.

Santiago / Mendoza / Buenos Aires / trip wrap up

2009-12-09T11:14:00.001-08:00

This post is long overdue as I have been home safely for almost a week. It's been good being home. After I left Valdivia, I went to Santiago for a few days for end of the program ceremonies and such. It was fun to see a lot of people I had met 6 months earlier and compare experiences. On Thanksgiving, the officials treated us to a really great dinner in Santiago which was really nice. After that, I took a beautiful bus ride over the Andes mountains to the town of Mendoza in the country Argentina. Mendoza is the main wine producing region of Argentina and the town itself is very nice. After a day there, I took another long bus to the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. I really loved Buenos Aires, it's a big beautiful city, I much preferred it to Santiago. It reminded me of a great European city, or a more laid back New York City. Anyways, I enjoyed my time there. If I come back to South America I would like to explore more of Argentina, it is a great country. I was there for 4 days then I cam back home from Buenos Aires via Mexico City via Los Angeles via Santa Barbara. So that's that. Good 6 months

Last Weekend in Valdivia

2009-11-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

It's been good times here, but like all good things it must come to an end. This past weekend, for all the volunteers in the region, host families and co-english teachers, our program paid for a boat cruise of the area to end up stay here. We we able to visit several beautiful islands right around Valdivia, some only accessible by boat. The pictures include Spanish ruins on Isla Mancera, the other volunteers in the region and some other fun stuff. It was really fun and the luckily, it wasn't raining.

Other than that I've just been enjoying my last days here. Last week I was able to put a band together and perform at school which turned out to be one of the highlights my whole time here. I'm to lazy to write up another post about it, but a post can be found here on the real love records blog.

I have to say that I am sad to leave Valdivia, it's been really great here, for the most part. In the end the positive things stay with you at longer than the negative. Wow, six months went by very, very fast. I'm made some really great friends here and it has been quite the experience. The other volunteers, students, teachers, host family, and chilean friends have all made my time here really fun, as well as inspiring. It's interesting, the thing I will miss most about Chile is the same thing I have missed most about the United States, and it's not even close in either case. Most of all, I will miss the people.

I'm not gonna get too sentimental yet though, I've still got more traveling to do before I return home. I'll be back in good ol' Santeezy for a bit and then off to Argentina. I'm looking forward to everything that life brings.

----having many problems uploading pictures, but I wrote this already, so I'm posting it anyways. pictures will come soon, hopefully

3 weeks left

2009-11-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

Not much to say, I haven't gone anywhere special or done anything especially cool since the last post. I'm just trying to enjoy the rest of my time here as much I can. I'm looking forward to coming home and to starting my next adventure, even if it is just working and saving money for awhile. On Dec. 4th I will be back in the U.S.A., back in California, the best place on earth.

Chiloe Island

2009-10-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Chiloe Island. It was about a 6 hour bus/ ferry ride from Valdivia, there are several smaller towns on the island, a few of which we visited. Chiloe island is known to very beautiful, and to have a distinct culture from the rest of Chile, and the world. There are many beautiful houses and churches as well as natural parks. Mythology and legends play a big part of the people's lives, though now it's a combination of this and Catholicism. Chiloe Island was the last place in South America to be conquered by the Spanish and so many of their own cultural aspects remain intact. They also have a lot of unique food, including curanto which is a soup cooked in the ground, with everything you can think of in it. Anyways, it was a good weekend.

Pucon

2009-09-30T08:10:00.001-07:00

The past weekend I traveled to Pucon, a beautiful touristy town about 3 hours away from Valdivia. There are several lakes around, and a big active volcano (last eruption 1971). Most people travel here to do X-treme things like x-treme snowboarding, x-treme river rafting, and regular volcano climbing. We were on a budget so we didn't do any of those things. Instead, the first day we went walking by the lake and this guy let us go out in his paddle boat for awhile. I definitely gave me arms a lot of exercise, not that those guns need it or anything. The second day there we rented bikes and explored some really nice trails in the countryside. It was a great time indeed, and the Volcano didn't erupt while we there, allowing us to narrowly escape complete annihilation and lava related deaths. Otherwise, I am doing really well here in Valdivia and everything is going great.

Fiestas Patrias

2009-09-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

So today, the 18th of September is Chile's birthday. Chileans celebrate this by having a lots of parties and eating lots and lots of Chilean food, drinking Chilean wine and dancing chilean dances. There is no school today because it's a national holiday, but we had a celebration at school earlier in the week. I took some pictures of some of my students all dressed up in special Chilean clothes and I learned how to dance (horribly) the national chilean dance, la cueca. The students also presented songs and dances, and I videotaped a little.

Valdivia Pictures

2009-09-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here of some pictures I took of the costanera in Valdivia. There was a submarine and some sea lions out about. yeah.

Chilean Food Post

2009-08-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't updated in awhile, and the reason isn't that I have been too busy or anything like that, it's just that nothing much has happened. I've settled into a routine here in Valdivia, which is both good and bad. Teaching has started to feel more like a job and it can be very tiring by the end of the week. I liked it more when I first started, now it's just okay. The weather has been very bad here in Valdivia. The past few weeks it has rained pretty much everyday, which makes it hard to do things. So I've been kind of homesick lately, but I think it's mostly out of boredom. 3 more months here feels like a very long time. Once the weather starts to get better, hopefully I'll do some cool weekend trips around southern Chile. Anyways, I thought I would make a post about Chilean food too pass the time since it's something people have me asked about. Okay, here it goes:

Mostly, it's not that different from American food, just at little bit more bland. A typical meal is like chicken and rice, or a porkchop and mashed potatoes or things like that. Alright, not very interesting but alright. Seafood is really popular, one meal I had was just a bucket of clams in their shells and a cup of dipping sauce. They tasted pretty good, except for the ones that had sand in them still. There's a dish called ceviche which is fish cooked in limejuice with other seasoning and its served cold, but it's very good.

Fast food is also popular in Chile, but it's a little bit different and generally worse. They really like hot dogs, but they eat them with guacamole, mayo, and tomatoes. This trio of ingredients, known as italiano because of the colors is put on everything, hamburgers, sandwiches, whatever. They also use the fried egg as topping fairly often, which is good usually.

There is one food item which is unique to Valdivia, German-Chilean in origin only served at a few select restaurants. It's called crudo, and it's basically raw hamburger meat, on a piece of bread, with onions, a horseradish-type sauce and lemon juice. The lemon juice supposedly kills the bacteria and makes it safe to eat.

It goes against all natural instincts to eat this, but it actually tastes really good. I've eaten it a few times and never gotten so much as a stomach ache. It's a really unique subtle taste, I'm not sure what to compare it. They only serve this at nicer semi-upscale restaurants I'm not sure if I have the guts to attempt to make this back in the U.S.

Finally, Chile is most widely known for its wine. I haven't had any of the really pricey wines here but the cheaper middle range wines are very good. A 2 dollar bottle of wine here tastes like a 15 dollar bottle in CA. I haven't had anything as good as Sculpterra here, but what else is that good anyway? The best beer in Chile, called Kuntsmann, is brewed in Valdivia. This makes sense because of the huge German population/influence here. The one Southern Chile staple that I do plan on bringing with me to the U.S. is Navegado. This name means sailing, and it originated in Southern Chile. It's basically wine, served really hot with sugar, cinnamon and orange added. It's delicious for a cold evening. Anyways, I'm probably forgetting a bunch of good stuff, or that there's more I haven't hear even of.

trip within a trip wrapup

2009-07-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

If you are just starting to read this, you can get a better chronologically correct recount of my past 2 and half weeks spent backpacking through Northern Chile and Peru by going back a few posts to the start.

In conclusion... after Iquiqui it was 26 hours in bus to Santiago and then a mere 10 more to Valdivia bring the grand total to 123 hours in buses over 2 and a half weeks. Overall, a great trip, tiring on the body and bank account, but I can say I really made the most of my time here in my vacation from school. I saw many things that most won't see in there life time, but also made time to relax and enjoy new friendships.

Now, I am back "home" in Valdivia and school starts up again next monday, and it's time to buckle down for the next 4 months. I need to: not spend any more money frivolously, do my best to teach and make a difference with my students, practice practice practice the ol' Espanol, and make the most of living in a different culture even though I am starting to miss America. Also, I need to update the blog more regularly. I still haven't posted pictures of Valdivia ( i'm saving up for that one).

En fin, gracias Chile, gracias Peru.

trip within a trip pt. 11: Iquique, Chile

2009-07-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Now for the getting back home. From Cusco back to Arequipa back to Tacna, cross the border, back to Arica we then went to Iquique another coastal town in Northern Chile to stay for the night after a ton of bus time. (total so far: 87 hours) It was very nice. As you can see I was really tired of taking pictures by this point so you'll have to take my word for it. As far as a beach/resort type city Iquique is the nicest in Chile and the weather was really great. There's a really great wooden boardwalk along the beach that we walked along and rested up before the 26 hour bus back to Santiago. It's usually compared to Miami, but since I dont Miami I will say it's the Chilean San Diego. If you want more pictures of the Iquiqui coastline, google it, I'm tired. This was the last stop before going home.

trip within a trip pt. 10: Macchu Picchu

2009-07-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a bus-train-bus combo from Cusco, we arrived at Macchu Picchu. Really can't start to explain it here, its something you have to see for yourself. Macchu Picchu is the name of the mountain, the name of the ruins of the city is unknown but it was a special spiritual place for the Incans. The ruins themselves are quite interesting, but the real draw is the incredible natural beauty that comes from being up on the mountain and the surrounding landscapes. As you can tell from the pictures it was kind of cloudy and rainy the day I was there, which may take away from pictures, but didnt make being there any less awe-inspiring. It's expensive and full of tourists, but it's such a unique place that it is really worth the trouble of getting there. I wish I had the time, and money, to do the 5 day Incan trail hike from Cusco up to the mountain, but I'll do that when I come back in 20-30 years. We did it in one long day trip from Cusco,( bringing total bus time to 67 hours) and saw all the ruins/ mountains but I would of like to be out in this beautiful wilderness longer. It really is unlike any other place I have been, with how green it is (it is part of the Amazonian rainforest) but combined with the huge mountains. Incredible. This was the ultimate stop of the whole trip and it didn't disappoint.

trip within a trip pt. 9: Cusco, Peru

2009-07-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

From Arequipa to Cusco was a super fun (sarcasm) 10 hour bus ride. (total bus time 61 hours) Cusco is a very pretty coty and is very culturally and historically important for being the Incan capital. There are many old Spanish buildings and the Incan culture is still present in Peruvian society in Cusco. I was feeling altitude sickness again here, but I tried the Incan solution of chewing on Coca leaves and it worked like a charm, though the taste wasnt the best. This city also seemed to be overran by tourists in the downtown part, making it a bit more expensive than it should be, but I guess thats the nature of the game. We spent one day here before going to Macchu Picchu. Im drawing a blank on a city comparison, theres nothing this old in the USA.

trip within a trip pt. 8: Arequipa, Peru

2009-07-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

After, Arica we crossed the border (which was suprisingly quick and easy) and made it to the town of Tacna, in Peru. From there it was a supposedly 5 hour bus ride to Arequipa which turned out to be a 8 hour bus ride. (total bus time = 51 hours) We got it late and stayed the night, the next day we spent the day mostly near the beautiful town Plaza and other various sites walking around, before our night bus to Cusco. A very pretty city in some parts, there's a river that runs through it. I'll call it the Peruvian Denver, why not.

trip within a trip pt. 7: Arica

2009-07-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

After all the dessert fun in San Pedro, we zig-zagged back west to Calama and then North to Arica, which is the northern-most city in Chile. (Total Bus Time = 43 hours and counting). It was a pretty large city, with a big mountain overlooking it called El Morro. It's an important port and was the site of an important battle in the 1800s when Chile took it from Bolivia, land-locking them and causing centuries of awkwardness. I got pictures from the top and bottom of the mountain, some boats, and the Jesus statue on top. Arica = Chilean Long Beach

More San Pedro Pictures

2009-07-29T20:39:00.001-07:00

I took a lot here, so these are of the Tatio geysers mainly, while the others are Valle De Luna. Enjoy.

trip within a trip pt. 6: San Pedro de Atacama

2009-07-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

After Caldera/ Bahia Inglesa beachness we headed North to the big city Antofogasta (Total Bus Time: 29 hours) but didnt stop and headed Northeast to Calama (TBT=32 hours) where we connected to another bus going east to San Pedro De Atacama (TBT= 34 hours). This is a small town very near the Bolivian border and it is basically overrun by tourists. All it is hostals, restaurants, and tourist agencies. The Adobe Disneyland. The receive people come here is for the spectacular nature. First, the Valle de Luna (valley of the moon, duh), a beautiful valley with salt flats, peaks, desserts, incredible mountains, sandboarding. We went on a tour that ended with everyone hiking up a large mountain to stand on a peak and watch the sunset. Absolutely breathtaking, the entire sky slowly changes color from blue to a deep purple, to bright orange and pinks and you can see for miles. It was full of tourists from all over the world, but at sunset it was absolute silence. Words are so meaningless in the presence of beauty this overwhelming, or as I register it in my mind, the overwhelming presence of God. I took pictures of course, but there's no way they can suggest what it feels like to be there at sundown.

The next morning we got up early and we out to San Pedro's other main site: the Tatio Geysers. These were very impressive as well. It was very high up (fun fact: highest altitude where natural hot springs/ geysers exist in the world) and I got a bit of altitude sickness and didn't go swimming in the hot springs, though it looked like fun. There's no Chile-California comparison to made here that I know of. I'll just say Wow...

trip within a trip pt. 5: Bahia Inglesa

2009-07-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Just down the road from Caldera, there happens to be a beautiful, beautiful beach called Bahia Inglesa (English Bay). We went there our second day in Caldera, as you see in the pictures if felt very Mediterranean and was very relaxing place to spend most of the day in. It being winter, it wasn't very crowded but the weather was nice enough. The pictures might not do it justice, it was one of the prettiest beaches I've ever seen. Bahia Inglesa = Chilean San Simeon (mainly for its proximity to the Chilean Cambria and both are very beautiful, though in a little different ways)

trip within a trip pt. 4: Copiapo / Caldera

2009-07-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

After La Serena and Vicuna, we took a bus 4 hours and stayed the night in the city of Copiapo, within the Elqui Valley. (Total Bus Time: 23 hours) Our plan for this place was to tour the nearby national park, but we told upon arrival that rock slides had closed the only road to the park. With not much else to do in Copiapo, we cut our losses and headed west to coastal town of Caldera. (Total Bus Time: 25 hours) Caldera was a nice seaside town, with historical significance for being the first place in all of South America with a railroad. What our luck, they just happened to get that railroad 158 years ago to the day. This meant that they were having a huge railroad themed anniversary celebration, and by luck we were able to witness it. Most of town dressed up old timey like and a had a Chilean ho-down. I took a little video of it as well as some pictures of the beach. Copiapo = Chilean Bakersfield. Caldera= Chilean Cambria. By these comparisons you can see which I liked better.

trip within a trip pt. 3: Vicuna

2009-07-29T18:56:00.001-07:00

The second day in La Serena we took a day trip, one hour bus each way to Vicuna, a small inland town with great views of nature of something. (Total Bus Time: 19 hours) Unfortunately the day we went is raining a bit so we didn't get to the hike we intended to, but got to see all of the small town. Vicuna is also notable for being the birth place of poet Gabriela Mistral. Unlike with Pablo Neruda, I was not real familiar with her work before coming to Chile, but now I gott say I am a fan. The museum about her in Vicuna was closed the day we went, but we got see her face in a fountain in the middle of the town, I took a picture of it. Overall the town was just kind of small and dusty, but it had some charm. Vicuna = San Miguel of Chile.

trip within a trip pt. 2: La Serena

2009-07-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

After Santiago, we took a 7 hour overnight bus to the pretty beach-side city of La Serena for our next stop. (Total Bus Time: 17 hours). By the way "we" means me, Derek, Katie and Nicole my fellow American english teachers in Valdivia. We arrived at 6 in the morning sat outside a hostel for an hour, waiting for it to open and then checked in and took a huge nap after 2 nights of bus sleeping. After that we walked around to the town square where there was a lot of nice buildings, shops, and like every city in South America, great old churches. Then, we walked to the beach and lied out for while. There was an old Spanish fort where I took a Real Love cannon pic. Like always, the Pacific Ocean made me feel small and grounded and comforted and also made miss home a little bit. We stayed here one night, and I liked it a lot. La Serena = Santa Barbara of Chile. The pictures are the beach, the fort, some walking, some cannon riding and a bit of straight up black and white high class art. Kids, I hope you're taking photography lessons.

trip within a trip pt.1: Santiago

2009-07-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

The first stop on our backpacking through Chile/Peru trip was to go back to Santiago on a overnight bus from Valdivia. (Total time spent on bus so far: 10 hrs.) I was here for a week already so I had already seen a lot of it, but there was one thing I hadn't done yet. Walk up the hill/mountain San Cristobal which is basically in the middle of the city. There is a tram to the top, but we decided to walk and it was great. At the top there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary and you can see the whole city if it is not too foggy/smoggy. It was a little bit of both of those on this day, but not too bad. After that we went to the Plaza and enjoyed some more Santiago scenery. Santiago is pretty huge and ugly, but with some really old, nice parts. Since I like making pointless comparisons: Santiago= Los Angeles of Chile (or if you like inside jokes: of the central coast). We were only here for a day and did not stay the night, got on another bus in the morning. In the pictures there are viewd of San Cristobal from the bottom, before we walked up it and from the top looking down. The graffiti says something like: "poor in material things, rich in spirit." nice.

Niebla Pictures

2009-06-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

I finally got internet hooked up in my house, so I now I dont have to go to internet cafes all the time. Also, I can call people on skype and upload pictures. Here are a couple from from the beach, Niebla, and the old Spanish ruins there. I will post more as I take them, i've been waiting for a sunny day to take more pictures of downtown Valdiva. That will be next.

Everything's all good here. One of my students won the regional championship for public speaking (in English) so me, him and the other English teacher won a trip to Antofogasta in northern Chile in August. I practiced with him a lot and he nailed it at the competition and won, it's very exciting and rewarding as a teacher. I've been ahving fun here. Valdivia is a really, beuatiful and fun city to live in. Tomorrow i will be 23 and I'm having a asado (bbq) tonight with the other volunteers in Valdivia and host families and teachers and such, should be fun.

Of course, I heard about Michael Jackson's death. He was and is very popular in Chile and a lot of the tv stations have been showing his videos. Its weird to think he is gone, and experiencing that news from a different country has been interesting. It seems that whether you are a big fan or not, and despite his personal issues, his songs were something that everyone worldwide, despite their different cultures could share and enjoy together. It's strange (and beautiful, in a way) how sad events like this can bring the world closer together.

5 Days Passed in Valdivia

2009-06-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

So I am starting to get settled in a bit here in Valdivia. It´s very pretty here, but cold. It reminds a lot of the Pacific Northwest like Seattle so I like it a lot. There are rivers, trees, the pacific ocean all abound and I am not far from lakes, mountains, volcanoes I will soon explore. Valdivia is a really nice city as well.
The school I am teaching at is a big private, Catholic high school. It´s really nice though and they keep the kids in line really well. I have been teamed with a Chilean English and she is really nice and easy to work with. The only thing is, she just started last year and before that there was no english teacher. So all the kids, from all the grades are at the same level of english, which is not very much. I have my work cut out for a me bit, but it should be fun. The school is a 45 minute commute from Valdivia each way though. No es bueno.
I am living with another teacher from the school and her aunt. They are both extremely nice and really good cooks. It´s been really good to speak spanish with them and practice in that way. I am my own room which is really comfortable.
I went to beach yesterday and it was amazing, but it looks exactly like San Simeon so it made me miss home a bit. After that, I met with some other gringo friends who are also living in Valdivia and it was pretty refreshing to be able to speak english at a normal speed and vocabulary for awhile. There are 4 other volunteers in Valdivia and 3 more in the region, and we all get a long well and should be able to help each other out with teaching ideas and such.
So far, I haven´t found anywhere with wi-fi to use my laptop so pictures and skyping will have to wait but I have internet at school and a cafe by my house, so email me: klcoons@gmail.com and i will tell you more about Chile. adios

Week in Santiago, onto Valdivia

2009-06-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

I have not updated the blog this week because I have been very busy and the internet at the hostel I've been staying at has not worked super well, but it's been quite a week. I arrived on last Saturday and was able to explore the city quite a bit. Santiago is not a very beautiful city, it's big, busy and industrial but there are some very great parts and some very pretty old buildings worked in. There is a big catholic church in the middle of town and the architecture and paintings both in and outside of it are unbelievable. It was built in the year 1551 and it is absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed on this inside so you'll have to visit there yourself (or google it). I also was able to visit La Moneda, which is their version of the whitehouse, and some great parks. I also went to Santa Lucia which is a big fort where the city was founded and from the top of a whole lot of stairs you can see the whole city.The city is just busy, busy with people everywhere, and cars and smog, but it feels very modern and safe. In Chile there are stray dogs everywhere, some of them very beautiful expensive breeds even. I haven't been petting them but I have wanted to because they are all really calm and mellow.

During the week I was mostly busy with training stuff and spanish classes, which ended up being very helpful. The people who run this program are extremely nice and welcoming, which really makes a big difference in adjusting. I've also made a lot of good friends. There are 6 of us going to Valdivia and we've become a pretty tight group. Most everyone is here is American and close to my age, with a couple of exceptions.

Spanish has been hard for me, there are some very very good speakers here in this program and some others at my level or lower, but I can already feel I am improving and remembering vocabulary from my classes. I can order food, get directions and other basic stuff so I"m doing okay.

On Thursday, I went with some friends to an America-themed sports bar in Santiago to watch the Lakers game on a big projector screen and to my surprise it was full of fellow Americans as well as Chileans. Lakers dominated, and it was a really fun night, cheering along from another side of the world. After a bit I started slightly lying and saying I was from L.A., close enough, right?

On friday after we wrapped up training the program threw a giant barbeque/party and it was a lot of fun. On Saturday, most everyone slept in a bit and then a lot of people left. Us Valdivia peeps aren't leaving until today though, so we stuck around and hung out in Santiago.

Then today, we went to Valparaiso which is an hour from Santiago, on the coast. It is a very beautiful city. It reminded me a lot of San Francisco because you can smell the ocean throughout the city and there are giant hills everywhere with houses on them. Also while there, we visited the house that Pablo Neruda used to live in while he was alive. Pablo Neruda is a Chilean poet whose work I really like, definitely check out his stuff if you haven't. His house was pretty neat. After that, we ate a great lunch and came back to Santiago. My bus to Valdivia is leaving in an hour or so. It's a charter bus going 10 hours through the night.

internet is sloooooow so Im saving a bunch of pictures for later, but here's a taste:

Starting a New Adventure

2009-05-28T23:40:00.001-07:00

I have been home for awhile and it's been very nice. I've worked as a substitute teacher, I recorded organ for the upcoming Kentucky Pickup Line album as well as lead guitar for the upcoming Oh My Land EP and enjoyed my time in California with family and friends up and down the coast. But alas it's time to hit the road again. So....

I'm leaving tomorrow for Chile, to teach English, learn Spanish and travel around South America. I'm very excited to start another new adventure, I will be updating this blog with more pictures and stories soon.

Oh California

2009-04-06T15:20:00.001-07:00

Once again I am back home. I had a great time in Seattle this past week, I saw Great Lake Swimmers at the Tractor Tavern and they were great. I am now back home, trying to sort out what my next adventure will be and enjoying the sun.

Oh Canada

2009-03-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'm still here in Seattle for awhile waiting to debrief and move on with my life, but I'm having fun while I'm waiting. This last weekend I went to Vancouver with my fun-sized asian friend Tri. We rode up on the greyhound bus friday night and stayed at a cool (and cheap) hostel in downtown Vancouver. The next day we wondered around the city and ended up going to Grouse mountain on a whim. Since we went all the way up there we decided to get half day lift passes and get some runs in. Since I was wearing jeans I wisely chose skiing, Tri tried snowboarding for the first time and got really wet and sore. The views from the mountain were amazing though, you could see all of vancouver once it cleared up. Skiing was a lot of fun too, it took me a few runs to get back in the groove, but I was back to form after a bit. We explored some more on sunday and then came back. Unfortunately I had forgotten my camera in Anchorage, but I called the bunkhouse and they have it, so I should get it back. I stole a few pictures from Tri's camera.

Seattle, we meet once again

2009-03-24T03:03:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the lower 48 for some debriefing. I might be home really soon. There's not much else to say about that subject.

Return to Anchorage

2009-03-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm back in Anchorage for debriefing already. That was a good run: 3 boats in 3 weeks. I might be sent back out to work next month or be sent home. Good grief, how annoying is this job. Even though I liked being on boats and the job, I'm about ready to say f this and come home for the season. Maybe I'll work up here again when it's more steady. I'd really like to come up here in summer, so maybe that will happen sometime.

Anyways, I had a fun time today in Anchorage, a few of us rented a car and went out into the wild. Our rented mini van couldn't make it all the way up the arctic valley mountain in Chugiak reserve, but we did find an awesome sled route. We'd drop some of us off at the top of the hill and then they'd sled down the trail which was maybe a mile or so and get picked up at the bottom. A lot of fun, indeed. We then went to the town of Palmer maybe a half hour north of Anchorage. There's not much there but it was good to get out of Anchorage, if even for a little while.

Anyways, might be coming home soon (again) but I'll be here for the week at least.

Sailing Along

2009-03-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

I've been back in Kodiak for a day or two now, and am leaving again tomorrow on another new boat. The last boat I was on, Pacific Ram was pretty cool. Similar to the first boat, no crazy stories yet, but there's time. It's been colder as of late and it even snowed today. I was hoping to hike the mountain behind our bunkhouse today, but the weather made it infeasible. Oh well. I do enjoy Kodiak though, it's a small town about 2 or 3 thousand people, I found a little coffee shop that's really great.

There's been more uncertainty surrounding the future of this job. With the pollock season ending, it seems there is once again an abundance of observers here. A couple of observers were sent back to anchorage to debrief, my time could be coming up. But I'm still here for now, so I'll take it one boat at a time.

Back in Alaska, Back from a boat

2009-03-07T16:12:00.001-08:00

I have not posted in awhile, but I was called back to Alaska a few days ago. I spent a day in Seattle, about 4 hours in Anchorage another 4 or so in Kodiak and then got on my first boat, the Cape Kiwanda.

It was a pretty interesting experience. I was actually on 3 trips back to back to back on the same boat. I got seasick, which is the worst feeling ever, but got over it quickly, had some clear days and some rough days. Overall, it's a pretty tough job, but it's manageable and it's beautiful here. My 90 day contract feels like a very long time, but I think it will be a worthwhile experience. I'm enjoying my weekend in Kodiak, back on land but I'll be back at sea soon enough.

Home for Awhile

2009-01-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I flew from Anchorage to Seattle to San Francisco, took a train to San Jose then a bus to Santa Cruz. I had a great time in Santa Cruz hanging out, I went with Ross and his friends to Panther Beach which was really cool. I got a ride home from Vanessa on Saturday, showed her around Paso and had a lovely time. Since then I've just been hanging out at home, enjoying the weather and peacefulness but wishing I was working. All in time.

Coming Home!?!?!?!?

2009-01-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

The new news is that because my contractor does not have a boat for me (or 10 others) and it doesn't look like they will have a boat for another 2 weeks, they are flying me home to wait around. So I'm coming back to warm weather for about 2 weeks. California spring break, heres I come!!
I'm annoyed with them because I want to start working and making mad dough but I'd rather wait around in California than Anchorage. It's strange and unexpected, but I'll be seeing all you guys within the next couple of days.

Still Alive - Anchorage

2009-01-19T01:32:00.000-08:00

I've been in Anchorage for the past three days just waiting to be deployed in Kodiak or elsewhere. I experienced today an old feeling which I had almost forgot: boredom. While Anchorage is beautiful there's not a whole lot to do this time of year. It's too dangerous to hike I'm told, and I've got no means really of getting out into the wild.
It was beautiful today however, I took some pictures, read a bit, breathed the air and felt happy to be alive.

In Anchorage

2009-01-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

So, I made it into Anchorage two nights ago. We've been staying in a hotel here because the bunkhouse is full of observers. It's been very nice here. It was 40 degrees yesterday, not cold at all even for a Californian like me. However, in Anchorage it was -20 just last week so it can change a lot in a short period of time. The sun rises at 10 and goes down at 6 so there's not much daylight at all. Yesterday I bought the rest of gear I will need, rubber boots, raingear, etc. then we filled out paperwork and I signed my contract. There's no turning back now. We also got paid our first paycheck for training. I hadn't gotten a paycheck in so long I almost forgot how good it feels. Also we added it up and released we had a lot of money left to spend on food and still be reimbursed, so we went out for a night on the town. I had a Alaskan Red King Crab dinner, and it was amazing. Best meal I've had in awhile. Today we have another meeting and then we actually have a day off on Sunday before we go to Kodiak on Monday. I've been lazy with the camera sorry for that, but I will try to take some pictures of Anchorage today.

Seattle Goodbye

2009-01-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

So we just found out that we will be flying out to Anchorage tomorrow night. Basically right after we finish our last day of training we'll go straight to the airport. It's pretty ridiculous but I guess that's the nature of the job.

I also found out that I'll be based out of Kodiak from the start which means I'll be working on smaller boats, likely pot-fishing for Pacific Cod. Most of my training class will be on giant trawler catcher processors fishing for Pollock but me and the other trainees from my contractor won't i guess. The quality of the smaller boats are generally not as nice as the bigger ones (it varies a lot of course) and they probably aren't as safe or seasickness friendly, but I'll get to be in a port a lot more and have 4-5 day trips instead of 2-3 month trips so I'm happy with it.

The schedule we are on is crazy though, I'll be in Anchorage by tomorrow night and Kodiak by Saturday. I could possibly be out on my first boat by Saturday night. It's incredibly stressful and exciting at the same time!

Still Alive - Seattle

2009-01-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

So, I have not updated in a while. Job training has completely ruled my life for the past week and left we with no free time. Basically I get up at 7 in the morn, take the bus to class, get home at 7 in the eve, eat dinner, take a shower, do homework and then fall asleep. I've had class the past two saturdays too. Finally had a day off today, but spent most of it doing homework and studying fish identification for the test tomorrow. I'm feeling kinda like a robot. I am doing really well though and I will be done in 4 days though. I'm really looking forward to finally getting on up to Alaska.

I've also got to meet quite a few interesting people from all over the country, different ages, backgrounds, and such. That has been quite fun and I'm making some good friends, hopefully I'll run into them in port.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

2009 is going to be a good year, I can just feel it.

Lake Washington

2008-12-30T21:56:00.000-08:00

I've been in training the past few days, its pretty intense. Really easy stuff, but there's a lot to remember and we have long days. I used my lunch break to take some pictures of Lake Washington. These were taken right out side of our training facilities. The last one is a place called Sound Garden that sounds really cool when the wind goes through and it's where that awesome band got their name.

Downtown Seattle

2008-12-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Today I got to see some more of the town along with a few fellow trainees. We went to Pike Place Market and walked around a bunch, and I took some pictures. Then I went grocery shopping and picked up lots of soup and top ramen. Training starts tomorrow, getting down to business!

In Seattle

2008-12-27T22:28:00.000-08:00

So I made it up to Seattle successfully. The plane ride was interesting, I sat next to a person with Tourette's. He was kind of having a hard time there, but the plane made it fine. I took a very expensive cab-ride to the apartment I'll be staying at and have started to settle in. The apartment is sort of near University of Washington, seems like a pretty safe area. I took a huge walk around the neighborhood, there isn't much going on in around here. There'd probably be more if school was in session. It's close to Lake Washington which is beautiful. It's very pretty here in general; there's some snow on the trees and top of houses and cars but everything is still pretty green. I tried to take some pictures but it was too dark and they didn't look good. I'll take some tomorrow and post them. It's definitely colder here than California, but it's not too bad, it actually feels kind of nice. Training starts monday so tomorrow is a day off, I'm probably going to take the bus downtown and explore a bit.

Tomorrow I'll Be Gone

2008-12-27T01:22:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody, I created this blog mainly to keep everyone updated with what I'm doing and also to keep a log of my adventures for myself. Previously I have traveled to China in summer 2005, Malawi and Zambia in summer 2006, and last summer I toured the United States with my band. (You can read about this trip and other musical happenings at Real Love Record's Livejournal)Now I'm headed up to Seattle tomorrow and after a couple weeks will be making my way up to Alaska. The last couple months I've been at home not doing a whole lot, I've read a whole bunch of good books, painted a little, hiked a little, wrote some music and not a whole lot else. I'm super excited to get back to work and see a new part of the world. Hopefully I'll keep this updated fairly regularly while I'm in Alaska and during future endeavors. Please comment or better yet email me at klcoons@gmail.com, I'd like to hear what's going on with my friends and family while I'm away. I will end this inaugural post with a little poem that I love and feel is appropriate.

At a Window
Give me hunger,
O you gods that sit and give
The world its orders.
Give me hunger, pain and want,
Shut me out with shame and failure
From your doors of gold and fame,
Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger!

But leave me a little love,
A voice to speak to me in the day end,
A hand to touch me in the dark room
Breaking the long loneliness.
In the dusk of day-shapes
Blurring the sunset,
One little wandering, western star
Thrust out from the changing shores of shadow.
Let me go to the window,
Watch there the day-shapes of dusk
And wait and know the coming
Of a little love.
- Carl Sandburg