Trent Mason | Santiago: Chile Culture and City

My Santiago Reflection

March 24 2017March 24, 2017

Santiago was quite an experience for me. I’ve learned a bit about Spanish cultures before in high school, but Chile was an extra step in that development. Being in Chile was a refreshing change for me. I loved being immersed into new area that at first seems alien to me, but after getting a closer look at all the things that make up the culture, it’s not all that different, but still unique.

The people of Santiago were generally very nice and relaxed. I’d probably contribute that to the stray dogs being all over the place, but I don’t know. I felt comfortable whenever I had to speak to someone, whether in English or Spanish. That really helped me adjust to the new surroundings and relax. That is, until I lost my wallet. Other than that though I felt safe for the most part and enjoyed whatever it was we were doing.

One of my favorite parts of Chile was the art. It seemed like there was some kind of sculpture or painting around every corner, especially in Valparaiso. It made what could have been another normal city into a lively and vibrant environment. Speaking of environments, there was so much landscape. Even inside the city! I thought that was a really cool feature that Santiago had. It made the city feel like it was more than just an urban, concrete fortress.

Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls 3/17

March 18 2017

These are some pictures from the trail

These are some pictures of the trail

This was a long day. The plan was to have we our free day to go to the mountains and go for a long hike, approximately 9 hours. Thankfully it wasn’t actually that long. We started at 8:30, which became 9:00 when we weren’t all ready. So we called an Uber and made our way to the mountains. We started around 9:40 on what little ignorant me didn’t know would be one of the hardest, mentally, physically, and spiritually, challenge to ever happen to me.
It started rough. Nice vertical climb up a dry and desolate path. Eventually we reached the top, and I was very glad I could rest my calves a bit, this was only a tiny, minuscule portion of the events to come. We continued on the path and it became easier. Not sure if it was because my legs were beginning to go numb, or stretching really helped. The path started to become more vegetated and shaded, until we reached the first landmark. A smaller creek and mini waterfall. So of course, we took a little break to climbed around the water. Then we continued on, more excited than ever, what a fool I was. We ran into another group of osu students that wanted to keep going as well, so there’s about 12 of us now. The next portion of path, was what I call death mountain #1. Long story short, it sucked and I thought I was going to die. After a good 20+ minutes of climbing, we reached the top. It had a nice view so we took a group picture, good use of a break. Then we continued forth. This part was much more level compared to what we just went through.
It didn’t last long.
Introducing death mountain #2. Just as high and just as long as it’s brother. We reached the top of that, but we were starting to spread out. I lost contact with the people behind me, and couldn’t keep up with the ones in front of me. I was alone. To be continued….

3/16 -Memories

March 17 2017March 17, 2017

So today was a fairly simple day. Go to the cathedral, the park, museum of memory, then eat. I’m really glad we got to go to the cathedral too. I’ve seen some cathedrals in Spain before and they are massive, even compared to the one we saw today, but I appreciated the use of space that this cathedral had. Like adding the crypt underneath the alters (I think). Which I also though the crypt was really cool how it shows a transition from the clean white marble, to the rougher, tan marble and wood hand rail ends and steps. I’m curious on why the hand rails were purple too. The only reason I could think of is it was supposed to be a wine like color, and the wood ends are like the wooden cups that Jesus would have drank from. Other than that it’s a mystery to me. The park we went to today was actually really cool, we took a walk around the whole thing after doing a sketch and it had some real interesting trees and features to it. It was a fun time. The memory museum today though. That got a little deep. On an architectural standpoint, I though it had really good spacing between each display and the path you would follow was easy to go through. As for my emotional state, it made me feel numb. I couldn’t read almost everything in the museum, but the images speak for themselves. Knowing that an entire country was changed in a single, devastating day, makes you think for a moment. I don’t know exactly all of the details, but I got enough to understand that a lot of people were torn apart during this time. Wether that be because they lost someone dear to them, or had to leave everyone dear to them. The museum captured what was to be felt and understood about its history, and I’m glad I was able to have this experience be a memory that I won’t forget.

Museum of memory

Picture outside the crypt

Picture inside the crypt

Day 2: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

March 12 2017March 18, 2017

My drawing of 4 different shades of the wooden statue in the chapel

Continue reading Day 2: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step →

Trent Mason Biography

January 12 2017January 12, 2017

Hello, my name is Trent Mason. I was Born and raised in the small town of Marengo, Ohio, just a bit north of Columbus. I am a first year student majoring in architecture and hopefully minoring in business. I have really enjoyed every part of my college experience, (minus the shower quality), and am so excited to add this Santiago class and trip to my list. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to take this class is because I took 4 years of Spanish in high school and took a class trip to Spain. It was an amazing time and inspired me to continue traveling abroad in college. I am a very chill person that enjoys time spent relaxing with my friends. I am usually a quiet guy until you get to know me. It’s not that I hate talking, I just don’t know what to say half the time. I’ve been growing into a much more social person though, with some help from new friends.

Some interesting things about me are that my family owns and operates a dairy farm, I have a beta fish in my dorm room named Caesar, and I’m the third generation to attend Ohio State.