Canción: "Ven Conmigo"

Hola todos!
Here's a new song for you.
It's the first song I've written in Spanish.
I must admit, some of the lyrics are corny,
but that's okay.
if you can't understand it..
just listen to the melody!
(below the video are the lyrics)
Enjoy!




Letra:

Antes que nada, me gusta tu sonrisa
Y si tienes tiempo y si te gustaría

(coro)
Ven, ven conmigo
Ven, ven conmigo
Me gustaría estar contigo
Vamos, let's go!

Que yo sepa, tu eres simpática
Y el sabor de tu beso está muy muy rico

(coro)

Tienes una buena onda, buena onda ayy
Me gires al revés, me gires al revés en una manera buena
Tienes una buena onda, buena onda ayy
Asi que, dame tu mano y podemos ir donde tu quieres

(coro)

La Familia Chilena

A Mother, a father, a brother, a sister, 4 aunts and 4 uncles, 9 cousins, a grandmother and a grandfather make up my Chilean family tree.
One thing that they cherish very much here in Chile is family. So much so, nieces and nephews are loved by aunts and uncles as their own. I feel very fortunate to have fallen into their branches. They've taken me in as one of their own; a filipino-gringo alien who came from a world thousands of miles away. I kind of feel like Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves or to be more up-to-date pop-sensical, the hero guy from Avatar.

el cumpleaños de niko

My Chilean father, Fernando, is calm and cool, sharing with confidence his knowledge of his country's history and culture. He also teaches me lots of funny bad words.
Special Move: He loves wine and always makes sure my cup never goes dry.

My mother, Sandra, is a mother in its purest form. She's the first one awake and the last one to go to bed. Her unselfish character is extraordinary, sacrificing her comfort for the benefit of her loved ones.
Special Moves: Always has a funny story to tell and likes to brag to others about me.
(*note: don't worry real mom, you're still #1!)

My brother, Niko, is 17 and is non-stop entertainment. Always strutting around with a song stuck in his head, he moves at his own pace with a carefree eyes.
Special Move: Alleviates awkward silences by throwing imaginary grenades.

My sister, Feña, is an 11 year old angel from the heavens. Her high pitched voice strikes cute chords with me, which make me go "awww..". Her favorite color is a lime green and she likes drawing and making me play computer games.
Special Move: Leans on my shoulder while asking adorable, curious questions.

The whole family, minus an aunt and uncle and 2 cousins, lives in Angol. Every weekend is a family event, normally at the grandparents house where we eat plenty and play around with the little babies. Agu is a year and 4months and loves to shout my name every 2 minutes. Sofía is a year and 8months and is quite a tazmanian devil. Those two running and dancing around is pure entertainment for hours.
I often hang outside with my papá and the uncles, drinking jote (a mix of boxed red wine and coca cola. it's grown on me). They are a lot of fun and laugh a lot.

I'm very happy to be staying until the end of the year with them. It would been way to difficult to leave them in July.
Winter is here and thus begins the rainy season. It's been raining almost non-stop for the past 3 days. Fernando, my Chilean father, loves the rain.
"Por qué?" I asked him.
"Porque es vida." He replied.

I miss all of my family at home.
Love to my Mom and Dad, and my bros Rex and Ray!

Chao from Chile..

Song: "The Plates Did Break"

Saludos!

Por fin, (3 months later), I finished recording the song I wrote after the earthquake.
It's called "The Plates Did Break"




More songs to come in the future so watch out now!

Disfruta!

Climbing Volcano Villarrica (+video!)

Standing 9,340 feet tall, it was as if I could see the entire world. I felt like Simba atop Pride Rock, looking upon an earth so vast that I had to turn my gaze left and right in order to capture the panoramic scene.


I hopped into the van at 7am. A dawn pinkish hovered over a cold blue earth while I waited for the sun. It was a bumpy ride up to our starting point. A 1,000-year-old tree stood unimpressed by my 23 years. I wasn't originally expecting to climb the volcano on my trip to Pucón. It was a spur of the moment desire after stopping into a tourism company the night before. I decided it was necessary. What percentage of people do you think ever get the opportunity to climb a volcano? I recently learned a Chilean saying that emphasizes taking advantage of opportunities: "Uno nunca sabe cuándo puede saltar la liebre" which means "One never knows when an opportunity will arise."

It was a five-hour hike from start to summit. Over 5,000 feet straight up one of the most active volcanoes in Chile. Weather-wise, it was a perfect day. No wind. No clouds to block the view. It felt to be around 70 degrees fahrenheit or so, but with the layers I was wearing my body was feeling about 80+ degrees. The steepness increased as we neared the top where a glacier topped with snow blankets the upper cone of the volcano. A guide is required in order to climb the volcano. Provided with equipment by the adventure tour company, I was geared up with spikes for the shoes, a pick-axe, and a helmet. Sweat was dripping down my face at a constant pace. My heart was racing for the finish line. We moved slow and steady. From our original group of 7 trekkers and 3 guides, it came down to me, Craig (a friend of a friend from Wisconsin), a lawyer from Brazil, and our guide, Ricardo. The others died along the way. No, just kidding. They found the hike too challenging and returned with the other guides. Ricardo summits the volcano over 70 times a year, más o menos.

Volcán Villarrica. Pucón, Chile

Reaching the top was quite an accomplishment. As I took my pack off and loosened the strap of my helmet, I lowered my sunglasses in awe of an incredible crater. I could feel the heat stinging my eyes as I looked into the belly of the beast. I could hear the volcanic eruptions of the magma, a sound resembling the ignition of a jet engine. I saw the bright blinding orange tossing and turning, being thrown against the walls of the crater.

It was most definitely an unforgettable experience. It has made my top 10!
Climbing that volcano taught me that sometimes you just have to escape your routine and go on an adventure. Spur of the moment decisions are fun and exciting. It also taught me to never give up because in the end it is worth the hard work.

Here is the link to the video. Enjoy!


Hope you are all well and healthy!