by Brianna Langley | Mar 29, 2014 | Opinion
The Driest Place in the World (originally published on Feb. 27) From the snowcapped peaks of Torres del Paine, the Chilean Global Learning class of 2014 journeyed straight up to the north of Chile, and in less than a week, we were in the driest place in the world: the Atacama Desert. The best way I can think of to describe to you what sort of adventures the Atacama holds is to simply take you through what we experienced while we were there, step by step. What I first noticed about the Chilean desert is that it is a place with almost as much topographic diversity and variety as the country of Chile itself. In some areas of the Atacama, all you can see is brown; brown and flat and complete desolation of life (or anything terribly interesting to look at for that matter). In other areas, little bits of plant manage to sprout up in seemingly spontaneous locations until you finally reach the actual oasis, where green is always greener. These are the rare jewels of the desert where exotic plants and thirsty, bright flowers flourish healthily in between the sweetest little villages that provide homes to the human population of the Atacama. Then there are the mountains and volcanoes; beautifully crafted monstrous sculptures that loom in every horizon. The two desert valleys we were privileged to visit during this particular visit to the Atacama were Death Valley and Moon Valley. Both valleys were expansive and had rolling dirt mountains that looked like a frozen sea of sandy brown waves. (Although I’ve never had the opportunity to travel...
by Brianna Langley | Feb 25, 2014 | Opinion
(Originally published on Feb. 19) This entire past week was a complete blur for me. I will try to recount all of our adventures chronologically, but please forgive me if I have to jump around a bit. Let me start by saying that I almost cried at several points during this last week out of sheer wonderment and total happiness. Some of the experiences I was able to have are ones that most photojournalists go their entire lives just dreaming of. Now my goal is to make you (my reader) feel as though you were there seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling and smelling everything right along with us. The first two days of our journey last week were spent in the coastal town of Chiloé, and although being in Torres del Paine, Patagonia was certainly the pinnacle of the trip for me, it would be a terrible disservice to my readers to not touch on this historic Chilean island. Chiloé’s important role in Latin American history really begins in the 19th century, when Chiloé became the main Chilean port for foreign whalers. Moving into the twentieth century, this little island grew to be the main producer of railroad ties for the entire continent of South America. Up until this point, European settlers had mainly occupied the coastline, but with the influx of farming inland, Chiloé slowly became more and more inhabited, and new towns were created. Today, Chiloé is a thriving, sea-loving, friendly island. It is home to Magellan and Humboldt penguin colonies, as well sea otters, sea lions, many different types of gulls and a plethora of fishermen, all of which...
by Brianna Langley | Feb 6, 2014 | Opinion
Due to popular demand, I’m dedicating this article to everything food. However, I’m still trying to decide how I want to go about this, even while I type. As I mentioned in a previous story, Chilean food is nearly undefinable. The best way to approach it is without expectation. Don’t expect it to resemble Mexican cuisine because it doesn’t. Don’t expect it to be all seafood because it isn’t. Don’t expect to have a European dining experience because you won’t. While Chilean food is certainly influenced by all of the above flavors, its very own flavors and combinations are incorporated into the cooking here as well. I think the best way to try to define Chilean food is to simply describe a few traditional dishes that I’ve had so far, and thereby give you a “taste” for what dining is all about down here. Escalopa This filling dish has a similar concept to chicken cordon bleu. Escalopa is bread crumb-encrusted chicken breast stuffed with ham, queso (melted cheese) and beef. While the concept may be similar to that of chicken cordon bleu, the taste is entirely different. The taste of Chilean escalopa is that of hardy, gamey meat combined with the smooth richness of the warm (usually served at a-bit-too-warm-to-eat-right-away temperature) queso harmonizes together just perfectly enough to give every bite of Chilean escalopa a warm, inviting taste. Café Helado This one is tough to write about because it’s one of my favorite Chilean dishes, but I’m not sure if it’s a drink or a dessert; or perhaps it’s an intertwined mixture of the two! Café helado is literally...
by Brianna Langley | Jan 27, 2014 | Opinion
In my experience, I have found the most stressful part of any journey oftentimes accompanies the preparation and anxiety that arises before ever even taking that first step onto the airplane, vehicle, boat, etc. Knowing something about where you’re going obviously helps, but if your destination is somewhere you have never been before, no amount of reading, packing or studying will keep those fears, doubts and second thoughts from festering in your mind. The key is to channel these oftentimes negative feelings into something positive, like excitement or eagerness. If you keep reminding yourself how fulfilling your trip is going to be, you’ll eventually convince yourself that you are excited and eager to be going. Then, one day, you’ll find that you actually are, just as you were when you first decided to take the trip. This was the process I had to work through when I decided to participate in Global Learning. The minute I saw my new home, though, I felt at peace and reassured. Santiago has been nicknamed the city of Saints for the capital’s deeply rooted traditions in Catholicism. This core essence of the city can be felt everywhere, from the world-famous Metropolitan Cathedral to the hilltop sanctuary “San Cristόbal”, where a 22-meter tall limestone Virgin Mary stands, looking out over her loyal and dedicated city. With its towering buildings and ongoing cityscape, Santiago has the potential to feel like a megacity to newcomers. Nearly half of Chilé’s 14-million inhabitants live in Santiago, giving it a population of over 7-million. The Chileans of Santiago seem to be especially proud and in touch with their European...
