¡Hola, mi querida pterodáctilos!

Hi from Chile!
I've officially been here for 3 weeks now (hard to believe), and I think I'm settling in. My Spanish has improved to where I can actually understand most people, which is a relief, and I've begun to make friends with the people working in my office (all under the age of 30). I think I can call myself a true Chilean after living and dying with every play during the World Cup games (Chile hadn't been in the World Cup for 12 years, and hadn't won a game there in over 40. Everything stopped for the games. No exceptions. We're talking changing hospital surgery schedules, here.). Unfortunately, my cooking skills need some work, but hey - you win some, you lose some.

All in all, I'm having a fabulous time in Patagonia, "where the world ends." It hosts some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen, and I would recommend to everyone that they try to visit at least once.

Things I've learned in Coyhaique, Chile:
1. The neighborhood behind my house is ghetto. Not recommended for running.
2. I will NEVER attempt to cook fried chicken again. I didn't think it was possible for such a small stove to create so much smoke.
3. Avocados and mayo go with everything.

Yep. That would be a grocery store aisle of mayo...in bags.

4. The "macho" culture is alive and well in Chile, complete with middle-aged men leering from their pickup trucks.
5. The county prison is less than a mile away. But no worries, "it's just a little one."
6. Someone in this country needs to discover central heating. Immediately.
7. This may be one of the most beautiful parts of the world...evidence:




CM

Wwwwwwwait. Guys....guys, guys guys guys...you know what's really interesting? Ham...and water.

Carni Crush

There was lust. There was love. There was Tony and Kevin, wearing very little clothing, serenading girls they didn't know. Oh, and there was some baller skiing. All in all, a very successful Carni Crush weekend.

Evidence:



Fans!



Tony and Kevin's proclamation of love.



Audrey, Cara, and I letting Dylan McGuffin know how beautiful he really is...almost like part-time model.

Post V-day love!
C

Birthday Shoutout

Tomorrow (today already in France) is Meri's 21st birthday, and since we can't be in Grenoble to say 'happy birthday' in person, we sang to her today on the frigid slopes of Mt. Weston. Happy 21st Meri! We miss you!




-AM

Harvard Nordic Goes Backcountry

Well the new academic schedule put in place this year allowed for one thing and one thing only: SKIING. That's right, (almost) an entire month devoted to nothing but feeling the flex of our skis beneath our feet, the chill of the air against our faces, the powdery snow against our legs and the satisfaction of craisins in our bellies. We spent just about two weeks in Jackson, New Hampshire training on fresh powder and perfectly groomed, corduroy trails. After returning to Cambridge, we were treated to a delightful afternoon of skiing in Chris City's new backyard! Check out the photo documentary of our adventure, ending with some video clips of a round of Dave McCahill's favorite game to play on skis.

Clare and Trevor excited to start, with Chris City in the background applying kick wax to all our skis (per usual).

Scush and Alena anxiously waiting for everyone.

"Tor, just because you're on your skate skis doesn't mean you can outrun me."

Men. Being men.

"Audrey! Don't fall into the river!"

Smiles!

"Yeah, guys, I don't think that lake is frozen."



"So?"


Audweeeeeeee!


I'm on a boat.... don't you ever forget.

ROCK SKIS.

OMG... hot. so hot right now...

If all else fails, hug a tree.

Team America


Now for the videos... everyone starts with only one ski on. The point of the game is to be the last person on your ski, meaning you need to get everyone else's ski off. Kevin, Trevor, and Tony managed to make it to the final three.

And the rest looked something like this:


Thanks to Liz for a great dinner!

Ultimate Recovery Food: Crème de Marrons

Harvard Nordic, today I made you proud. For the first time, not only was I not on the last page of results, but I was on the first! And high up there too, 21st overall out of 388, and the 6th woman! Let me paint a little picture...

Setting: Autrans, Rhône-Alpes - where all the nordic skiing in the '68 Olympics took place

Event: the 32nd Foulée Blanche (rough translation: the white stride)

Distances: 42km, 20km, 10km (me!), and 5k

Number of Racers: 2200. not kidding. no really. take a look.

(and this only shows half of us)

Time taken to cross the start line: 14 minutes 8 seconds

Final Placement Overall (out of 388): 21st

Final Result only counting females: 6th

Needless to say, the trick to this race was maneuvering around all the small children, old people, and generally slow racers. The snow was amazing, so even on my rock skis, it felt like I had rockets on my feet, and a lot of the time, the best thing to do was hop in the tracks and double pole around the other skiers. All in all, what with the giant purple Milka cow mascot, the big blue squirrel of Autrans, and the course that took us through the village center, past little shops and houses lined with spectators, this was definitely the most festive and most fun race I have ever done. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time, but I definitely made it hurt.

Men's Top 10 in the 42k

Highlights:

1. Spent the night at the director of my program's father's house (he's 91) with 4 generations of her family, and after dinner (giant raclette--an interactive meal experience where you melt cheese in a tabletop oven type device and pour it over potatoes and various meats.) he spent an hour telling me about his time in the mountain troops in the army and his role as director of all nordic skiing in the '68 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.

2. The refeuling stand after the race: hot wine, tea, cocoa, juices, cheese, dried fruits, oranges, and of course, crème de marrons chestnut spread in a tube. Yes, a tube, a metal one, like toothpaste or Neosporin.

3. My souvenir: a custom buff!

Much much much love from afar,

Meri

Eastern Cup Opener Day Two: Past, Present, and Future

Another cold day of awesome racing in Presque yesterday! Sunday was the mass start classic race, 10k for women and men. The course was pretty straightforward, nothing too challenging except some serious downhill S-turns which became demolished, and the rest was long gradual uphills with alot of striding. Cara went off at 10:00. After dialing in kick wax and juicing up the skis she was good to go and got off with a bang in the tight pack of women's racers. She went into the woods after the uphill mass start in a solid position. Coming through in the first lap she was in 36th, and skied her way up to 27th! She skied efficiently and strided the hills well for an awesome race.
The mens race went off at 11 and after Tony and I got our skis ready to go we joined the horde of racers on the line itching to go. The gun went off and we established good position early. The race went very well, and aside from the usual mass start carnage on hairpins and what not, we felt fit and smooth and skied well. Tony brought it in for 39th and I came in for 49th. We were stoked to be racing again. We felt fit and relaxed skiing and striding, which is what we are looking for this early in the season. Former Harvard Pterodactyl Ollie Burress had a good one, finishing 17th, and future Harvard skier Chris Stock had a great performance coming in 12th.

After the cooldown we piled into the car for the 6 hour trek back to Cambridge. We stopped at Subway in hopes of seeing our esteemed nordic colleagues from Foret....
Have a Merry Christmas and safe Holiday everyone.

-ksprague

(sorry I don't have too many pics, my camera was frozen solid)