Almost a week has passed since we returned from Santiago and it is starting to feel normal to be back on campus again. I just learned, after some research, that I experienced sun poisoning while hiking and that is why it felt so great to sleep on the cold airport floor while waiting for everyone to check their bags. After a few nights of good sleep, lots of water, healthy food and exercise I feel back to normal as I’m sure most do. Though it has been great to sleep in my own bed and socialize with friends, I am yearning for the kind of education that is fostered abroad instead of in the classroom. On the Ohio state university seal is the phrase “Disciplina in civitatem” which translates to education for citizenship. We are here to learn how to contribute and grow as individuals in order to give back as citizens of the places we come from. This idea gets lost in the constant pressure to get good grades while studying on campus, but is emphasized while studying with the university around the world. I miss everyone’s passion and how eager we were to experience the things we love in the context of a different culture. I wish there was a way to instill that curiosity to a much higher degree while studying in Columbus.
Author: Carly Chelovitz
The Hike to End All Hikes, Episode 2
Now officially separated from the rest of our hiking buddies, we rested for a moment in some rare shade before traveling onward and literally upward. It was midday, around 85 degrees, and we had already climbed the equivalent of 300 flights of stairs. Rico noticed the mood slipping as we trekked on and began to play some music from his phone, and everyone immediately became re-energized. We walked to the beat and got to know each other better by asking funny questions about one another. We were all growing hungry, but decided it would be well worth it to hold out on eating our packed lunches until we reached the waterfall. The mountains began to flatten out as we neared our destination and we were SO grateful. We reached a park ranger who informed us we were cutting it close to making it out of the park before it closed and that we could only spend 15 minutes at the waterfall once we arrived. What we all thought would be a chance to relax and recharge before the four hour hike back turned into a quick jump into the water, a few rushed pictures, and shoving a few bites of food in before retracing our steps. We began again, extremely excited that the majority of our return would be downhill. We continued to ask questions and share stories and we jumped down the face of the mountains, watching each one of our steps as it is much easier to wipe out on the descent. We hiked this way for a few hours, and as we neared the last stretch of the hike, we found the rest of our group! We were so excited to meet back up and share stories of what had happened and what we had seen over the course of the day. We had seen a waterfall, they had seen giant hairy tarantula. We were all grateful to be alive after an unexpectedly hot, grueling, and physically exhausting day. We finished the last hour of the hike together and returned to the base all in one piece, give or take a few cuts, bruises, and cases of dehydration that were to be expected after a day like ours.
The Hike to End All Hikes, Episode 1
During our free day, a decently sized group decided we would tackle a hike in the Andes mountains closest to Santiago. We had all done research before we left on which mountains we would need a guide for, which mountains actually had trails, and how we would go about getting there from downtown Santiago. We talked to our tour guide, Sergio, and he recommended a place about 30 minutes outside the city called Las Aguas de San Ramon. We woke up bright and early Friday morning, packed our bags with what we thought would be enough food and water, and headed out. Once at the site, we were given an option of a one, four, or nine hour hike. Figuring there was a small chance any of us would return to the Andes any time soon, we decided on the nine hour trail and were on our way. About 30 minutes in we were feeling it, and around half of the group fell back. We met up later on when we stopped to rest and cool off in a small river and waterfall, then continued on and tried to stay together as best as possible. When we became separated, we would yell ‘HELADO’ into the mountains and await a response from the rest of the group. This was our way of making sure we weren’t too far apart and that nothing bad had happened to anyone. About four hours in, our group gave a resounding ‘HELADO’ – and no response. We tried again and still got nothing back, so assumed we had gone too far from the rest of the group for them to be able to hear us. We debated hiking back to them, but decided to keep trekking since we had to reach certain checkpoints by certain times in order to be allowed to make it to the waterfall, and we were falling dangerously close to falling behind.
Travel within Travel
Ayer se ubica como uno de los mejores días de mi vida hasta el momento. He aquí un breve resumen de lo que pasó:
montañas -Watched pasan a Pink Floyd durante dos horas
-Toured La casa de Pablo Neruda y mirado a su colección litografía probablemente más tiempo que nadie jamás
-Drew Valparaiso de arriba a abajo
-Toured La ciudad y vio la más bella pintadas y murales de mi vida. Sintió totalmente inspirado por todo. Comprado obra y fue consolada por serigrafías en las paredes. Se recordó que la letra impresa no está muerto
-Found Un agujero en la pared lugar sándwich en un accidente que Anthony Bourdain había sido rellenado y nuestras caras en las rocas. Subió alrededor y dejar que el Pacífico salpique nuestros pies
-Cambio En trajes tan rápido como sea posible y se fue al océano a gran velocidad, dejando que el agua fría de hielo se convierten en nuestro mejor amigo para las próximas horas
-Frank Perdió sus gafas, Rico puede haber experimentado la hipotermia, y Kaz era del mismo color que la arena
-Walked Por el paseo marítimo y tuvo éxito en la búsqueda de un anillo y un novio
-fieltro Gusta llegamos al final de la tierra al final del paseo marítimo, regresamos a la tierra, se convirtió en una de las cajas de arena, sol, y la pizza
-Más montañas y Pink Floyd
-Más El Huerto, la conversación y el vino
-Reír tan fuerte que no puede respirar
-Más amigos.
Santiago Interacts Better
We took the bus to El Parque Infantil and I was presented with a feeling of utter joy that was so overwhelming I began to tear up. We sat watching the children play in the water, exuberant with every interaction they had with the water, the ground, their mothers, fathers, each other. I sat and took it all in, becoming more amazed by the human connection every second. I was reminded of the importance of attempting to make a connection with everyone you meet and the impact this can carry.
Fast forward two days and we are enjoying a group lunch at a beautiful outdoor restaurant called Mestizo. We had just finished a bus trip to a small private university, Universidad Adolfo Ibanez. My first impression was similar to that of the college I attended my freshman year – small, antisocial, lacking diversity due to the steep price. But as classes ended and lunch rolled around, the public spaces turned into mini social paradises. Since the students do not live on campus, they made incredible use of the campus in between class instead of retreating to their dorms and apartments. It looked like such a great release to be able to socialize to that degree and it left me wishing that Ohio State students would simply walk with their heads up to class. Frank Brought up an interesting point – was it due to growing up up in a predominantly warmer climate that was condusive to utilizing outdoor space well? What if we were to build a city in a colder climate, but treat the outdoor public spaces as if it was warmer? Would the social culture begin to shift?
There is always something to think about.
First Moments
We have landed in Chile after a 10 hour overnight flight on which I dreamt of various approaches to my next lithography project. As we touched down, the sun was beginning to rise over the Andes mountains and they appeared as some kind of flat construction – three pieces of faded paper pasted onto one another and hung around an entire city.
I had forgotten what travel really felt like, the freeing energy you feel walking down a street on the opposite hemisphere as your own. An odd familiarity paired with an uneasy feeling of knowing absolutely nothing makes me feel like a child again. It felt wonderful to have these feelings again and to recieve happiness and joy from the simple act of presence.
We dropped our belongings at the hotel and 20 girls managed to change in a bathroom made for three. From there we headed to Cerro San Cristobal – rode the cable cars up the hill, joking the whole way up but taking a few silent moments to absorb the sights around us. When we reached the peak I was able to spend some time alone to recharge and reflect, reveling in all the intense feelings travel provides.
Pre Departure!!!!!!!!!!! Blog!!!!!!!
Packing this morning was nothing short of interesting. The zipper on my bag finally closed with one roommate sitting on top of the bag while two more zipped it shut. Other than that, everything leading up to the Santiago trip has gone very smoothly. I have always had difficulty sleeping and resting on planes, so my hope is to be able to at least get a few hours of shut eye before a full day of outside travel. Regardless, I am very excited to visit Cerro San Cristobal tomorrow and no amount of exhaustion will store me from racing someone down the mountain of slides! Finding vegan food has already proved to be a challenge in the airport, but I have a feeling it won’t be an issue in country with Santiago being such a large city. Today, I taught Meg to play my favorite card game at the Columbus airport and she totally crushed me in it. So far, that has been the only down side of the trip! Hopefully that is the worst thing that happens all week.
Carly Chelovitz Bio
My name is Caroline, but I go by Carly. I am from Akron, Ohio and graduated from the Akron School for the Arts with a fine art focus. This past year, I studied at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon and upon finishing two semesters there, the best option was for me to transfer to OSU. Now, I am a second year BFA student deciding between an emphasis in painting or printmaking. My roommate introduced me to this program because she was applying as well, and I became enthralled at the idea of being able to practice art outside of the U.S. because it is something I have not yet had the chance to do. I have spent the past few summers in Spain and the fact that we would be able to speak Spanish on this trip made it even better. I am most excited to be able to see some of Santiago’s famous murals while we are there.
When I’m not in class, you can probably find me at the RPAC or cooking vegetables. I have a passion for weird vintage and fur coats and the entire space under my bed is dedicated to them. If you ever see me on a weekend night you may catch a glimpse of one. I have no idea what career path I am going to pursue, it is terrifying, but that is okay.
Carly’s selfie
