I have the best guardian angel in the world.

Hello friends!

I am writing to you from the bus terminal in Puerto Montt, Chile. As many of you have probably heard there was a pretty devastating earthquake with its epicenter in Concepcion. Two girls and myself came down south for the weekend to do a little traveling, so we are away from Santiago, where there was also some damage done. The quake happened at about 4 in the morning so I was sound asleep and never even felt a thing. We were staying in a little hospedaje (hostel) in Huentemo, which is in the Parque Nacional de Chiloe, and it is right on the Pacific Coast. Until we heard about the Tsunami warning we had been hiking along the coast all morning, completely unaware of what could have happened! It was not until we hitched a ride back to the main entrance of the national park to do a little more trail hiking that we ran into some friendly people from California who told us about the earthquake (which was an 8.5!) and how now there was a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast! How lucky we were! Unfortunately we had just missed the next bus to go back to Castro, which is safer and in the center of the island, and the next one did not come for another hour and 45 minutes. My guardian angel was getting all sorts of prayers, and we decided that we would just start walking and hopefully the bus would come and pick us up eventually. Within five minutes a jeep with 3 seats in the back pulled up and after we found out they were headed back to Castro they let us in and brought us safely back! Unfortunately the main highway that comes down south was partially destroyed near Concepcion, so we have to wait until Wednesday night to return back to Santiago. I also talked to Mama Maria and it sounds like she is doing just fine as well, praise God!!

Until next time, ciao ciao!

Besos para todos!

20 Lessons Learned while living in Chile

1) When staying in a hostel with breakfast included, check to see what that includes.
2) When travel books advise to book hostels, etc. early, do it.
3) Do not, and I repeat, do NOT eat unwashed fruit, especially grapes.
4) When taking the micro anywhere, always give yourself at least 30 extra minutes, in the (not so rare) event that the bus doesn't come.
5) Do visit the vineyards, they are beautiful.
6) Habla español whenever you can.
7) Do not order the paila marina. It is a soup which consists of every type of imaginable seafood and all of its parts. It may provoke a similar reaction to that of eating unwashed fruit.
8) Try a (as in one) pisco sour.
9) Do not pet the stray dogs, unless they are the friendly ones on campus.
10) Travel around. There are a LOT of really cool things to see in Chile!
11) Love ice cream, it's everywhere, and everyone is always eating it. No exaggeration here.
12) Learn to love the Virgin Mary, you'll fit right in.
13) Ask before taking photos of government buildings, lest you get reprimanded and lose your camera.
14) Do not be alarmed by the locals blatantly staring at you, they are just not used to seeing foreigners. Feel free to stare back! It won't stop them at all.
15) Walk around. There are fun and different things to see on every street!
16) Do not order a paella for three people, especially at Donde Augusto's. A group of six and you're set!
17) In public restrooms make sure you take the toilet paper before entering the stall. This will save you some hassle within the next few minutes.
18) Keep your showers short--gas and water are very expensive here!
19) Take advantage of the overnight buses. They are accommodating and will take you to all parts of Chile!
20) Get used to being honked at by taxi drivers, dogs barking through all hours of the night, car alarms going off 24/7 and hearing the words, "Weón! (lots of meanings, most prominently "man")", "¿Cachai? (understand?)" and "¿Quieres comer? (Would you like to eat?)" Today after class a group of us went to Donde Augusto where Ellie and I had previously been promised that if we brought our friends back to eat lunch, we would all receive complementary pisco sours. They lived up to their promise and a group of 10 of us came in today to enjoy (or not enjoy) a 2-hour lunch! The restaurant is located in Mercado central, which consists of fresh fruit stands, other odds and ends, and prominently fresh fish. We were led up to a far corner of the market to sit and after waiting for about 45 minutes we were finally able to place an order. It was a day for trying many new things for Kelsey! We ordered cerviche, which is like a fish salsa. It consists of raw fish soaked in lime juice with some cilantro, and somehow the lime juice "cooks" the fish and turns it into a type of salsa that you can eat. It is actually really good! Marc and I asked the people at the table next to us what they were having because it looked delicious, so we followed suit and ordered it; the Paila Marina (literally translated to "Pan of the sea"). Little did we know that it would include every imaginable type of seafood, from clams to shrimp to oysters to octopus to who knows what else.
I have no idea how many different types of mariscos were in there, but every bite produced a risky adventure. Unfortunately I ended up eating some unwashed grapes the other night and the paila marina produced similar effects for me as the grapes did... I'll leave the rest for you to decode. After eating I explored a little bit more of my neighborhood, which included making a pitstop at the local JUMBO, the Chilean version of Super Wal-Mart.
Yesterday after class I decided to explore a little and went downtown to Cerro Santa Lucia, where there are some beautiful fountains, extremely dangerous staircases and a beautiful view of Santiago from the top.

The typical Chilean looks as follows: asleep, lounging in a chair. Here in Chile the preferred form of exercise is channel surfing, and I have witnessed this first-hand in our house. This photo was at the Plaza de Armas where the sun was shining bright and the mid-afternoon nap time was settling in. Also, as an aside about Chilean culture: it is very common for the men (and some women as well) to work extremely long days (Carlos leaves before I wake up in the morning and may not get home until 10 pm!), but just because they work long days does not mean that they work hard. For professional meetings not only is it common to show up extremely late, it is also common to spend the first hour or more simply chatting and catching up, and therefore leading to working longer days.This photo was taken the same day, a group of us enjoying Santiago, Plaza de Armas. This was also when we discovered that it is a-ok to bathe in the public fountains.

Dinner time.

As I sit down to write this Mama Maria is cooped up in bed with a broken wrist. After coming back from Valpo on Saturday she came home to show me an enormous cast that is dominating her entire arm. Yikes! This means that she will not be doing her usual cooking me meals, cleaning my room, and making family dinners on Sundays, at least for a little while. This must be extremely hard for her because she is used to doing everything for the three of us (Carlos her brother, her mother Alicia, and myself). She usually spends most of Sunday morning preparing a nice big dinner for the four of us, but yesterday was the first time since I have been here that she was unable to. This left her brother, Carlos, to do the work. This seemed extremely backward, and although I have not been here for very long, the machismo part of Chilean society is ever-present, especially in our house. Mama Maria does everything for Carlos from making his bed in the morning to making him dinner when he comes home from work at 9 pm.

So, yesterday Carlos was stuck in charge of making lunch, and although he did a great job it was just so interesting to see the man doing all the work and serving me just like Mama Maria usually does! He made choclo, which is corn on the cob, chicken, salads and we had some fresh watermelon for dessert. Everything was really good, almost surprisingly good for what I would have imagined! I was sitting in talking to Mama and he came in and asked how she usually prepares the lettuce for salads. Even I know how to do that! That is why I was so surprised to have such a delicious meal! The chicken was especially flavorful, and because I never saw him preparing it I began to wonder. But he did assure me that it was his mom's recipe, so I figured he had made it a time or two before. When we finished eating I decided to be a little helpful and help him clear the table. When I was bringing in the dishes to the kitchen I saw a plastic container from the grocery store, with half a rotisserie-style chicken left in it! I guess not all men can cook, but he sure did a great job of hiding it!

No reservations? No problem!

I am back in Santiago after spending the last 24 hours in one of the most beautiful and important cities in Chile, as well as all of Latin America! Valparaíso (Valpo for short) is a world-famous port city known for being the home to many poets (Pablo Neruda) and artists, the Chilean naval base, as well as an intricate system of cerros, or hills. Apparently Lonely Planet does a pretty good job of advertising this beautiful city because there were tourists from all over the world (even simply in our hostel)! I went with Johanna, a student in our program who goes to the University of Michigan, and while she was responsible and made reservations, I had not. We arrived in windy Valpo after about a two hour bus ride, and after finding our way to Hostel el yo yo, I quickly learned that they had no more availability for the night. Uh oh. The "dueño" (he was about 26 years old, rude, and irresponsible) told me that they have to keep two beds open for emergencies (a.k.a. people coming in at 11 pm and not having a place to stay), so if I checked back at midnight and there was still a bed open it was mine.

After putting our backpacks into unlocked lockers and checking the place out, we set out to see what Valpo has to offer. The houses are built right into the hillside, and it literally looks like they are one on top of the other. Due to the fact that Valpo is also the home to many artists and painters, there is a lot of beautiful paintings around the city and the houses and buildings are all different colors. Basically a Kelsey haven. **Side note: For those of you who are not already familiar with my tastes and preferences, I love bright colors. We took one of the famous ascensores, which were funiculars built in the late 19th century to cart people up and down these nearly 90-degree slopes, to the top of Cerro Concepción and witnessed some of Valpo's timeless charm. We spent time maneuvering through the extremely narrow and steep streets until we made it to La Sebastiana, which was one of the homes of world-famous poet, Pablo Neruda. Although we did not go into the museum we were still able to take in the amazing views.
We later met up with some of the other girls (and one token guy, Kevin) from our program who had spent the day relaxing at the beach in Viña del Mar and were now ready to come back to our hostel and cook dinner. It took about an hour to prepare chicken, noodles and a fruit salad for nine of us, but it turned out great. We were able to enjoy each other's company, sip on some delicious Chilean vino tinto (which I believe was an equivalent to the U.S' $2 chuck) and relax. Although the hostel smelled of cigarette smoke and had maybe been cleaned one time in the last 30, no 40 years, it was still a pretty fun time. We had every intention of going out to a discotheque later in the evening, but one thing led to another and we ended up chatting with three Swedes doing a 6-month trek and conversed among ourselves until the wee hours of the morning, and then off to bed we all, including me, went. Johanna had received a recommendation from her host-brother for a restaurant that we should definitely go to, so this morning we spent a few hours walking around, checking out the port, and made our way to Los Porteños. This was a fantastic recommendation because for less than $7 each we got a basket of bread, two huge fish fillets, drinks and a large "side" salad. Luckily we got there right before the lunch rush because within about 30 minutes a massive flood of Valpo's locals came in to dine. We both ended up ordering the Merluza, which was really good, and the best part was that we were the only obvious tourists, even though we did our best to speak only Spanish to each other. Afterwards we decided to walk the 15+ blocks back to the bus terminal to get a ticket home, hopped on the cheapest bus we could find and made our way back to Santiago. On this trip not only was my guardian angel with me at night when I was needing a bed in which to sleep, but also today when I got off the bus. I stood up from my seat and just felt a little weird, and when I got off the bus I figured I should check to make sure I have my camera, even though I always keep it in the same place in my backpack. When I quickly realized it wasn't there I wanted to make sure that the bus driver didn't leave before I had my camera. I sprinted back onto the bus and looked underneath the seat I was in on the bus and it was there. The bus driver pulled out shortly after I stepped off the bus, so you could say I am pretty darn lucky! Until next time, ciao amigos!
This is just an example of some of the public wall-art we saw! Muy bacán!

Burger King, KFC, Subway or McDonald's?

Well the title pretty much says it all! Today after class a few of us decided to kick off the weekend by going to the nicest mall in all of Chile (I don't actually know this for a fact, but if it is not I would be greatly surprised). It is pretty close to us and is called Alto Las Condes, located on Avenida Las Condes. That is basically how things run. If you know of where you want to go and see a street named after it you are certainly heading in the right direction. As mentioned, four of us decided to go to this mall to pass some time and grab some lunch. The mall is strikingly similar to any mall you would see in the US, even comparable to the West Towne Mall, except nicer. After passing by stores such as Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi's, Nike, Adidas, Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren and my mom's favorite, Kenneth Cole, to name a few, we made it to the food court. This is where we were encountered with all of our "favorites": the BK Lounge, KFC, McDon's, Subway, Dunkin Donuts and Pizza Hut. Not only are all of these very American fast food chains, which other countries love to tease us about, but they are located in the "food court" in the mall. The Chileans do not actually have a word for this; they simply call it food court. Apparently they lack a bit of creativity in this field so they decided to not only Chilenise our restaurants but also simply take the whole words for food court, mall, pub, smoothie, etc.

The way they have their restaurants "Chilenised" is that they have the same restaurants, but they have the famous italiano for everything--the McPollo (McChicken) italiano, the Whopper Italiano, and I am sure there is a Pizza Italiano with the Italiano toppings: Tomato, Avocado and Mayo. Their famous snack, the completo italiano, is a hot dog with these very ingredients, and after getting tricked into eating my first one, I'm in no hurry to have another (especially a McPollo Italiano...). The picture above is of one of the restaurants called Doggis which only sells hot dogs with any type of condiment you could imagine.

On a different note, I took a few pictures of our campus today so I can avoid being the total nerd that I am when classes start and there are actually people around. But here is a nice little shot of our courtyard. I'll write more later! Ciao, amigos!

Que linda la gringa!

Now that our intensive Spanish course has officially begun, I have actually had something semi-productive to do for the last two days. The only bummer is that the class is at a slightly inconvenient time--11-1:45. Other than class I have been exploring other parts of Las Condes and I also found out that Ellie Thomas, another chica studying here from the UW lives just around the corner (and to the right, and to the left, and to the left.. that's how directions work here) from me so we have been doing a little exploring as well! The other day we discovered a gym offering a women's kickboxing class and if we want to test it out for free we are able! Maybe we will just explore and find other gyms and "test out" their one-time, free-trial classes? Or I suppose we could just hit the pavement and run.

I have done a few things by myself which have been small victories in my book, seeing as to get anywhere in this city you need to take public transportation which can be a little confusing sometimes. A few of these "victories" include: going to the post office, going to the mall and recovering my lost Valdivia photos, making the 45-minute commute to the San Joaquin campus, going for a run and not getting lost and buying bread at the grocery store. These things may not sound exciting but this is a fairly large city with a lot of people--ergo, small victories create large amounts of joy.

Another victory was getting asked on my first date today! And no, he is not my age, and no, I did not meet him in the discotheque. After a successful trip to the correo (post office), I got off the bus at my normal stop and then decided to take a little walk around and enjoy the beautiful evening. I passed by a nice old man watering his grass (which is very common here; and not only to water the grass but also the driveway and sidewalk..I am a little unsure about this) and gave him my "Kelsey Marie smile" and he asked me if I was in a hurry. Unfortunately I had no idea what he asked me so I just kind of smiled and shook my head. He then preceded to tell me about his grass, ask me about myself (where I'm from, the whole jazz), and before I knew it he was introducing me to his son, who I would guess is close to 40 years old. Apparently he had lived in Connecticut for a period of time and speaks English very well. We chatted for a bit, he gave me his email, and as the three of us were talking Sergio invited me to come have lunch with them! I am welcome any Saturday or Sunday at 12:00 sharp. He inquired about my Chilean family and because I have yet to have a "Chilean papa" he told me he would fill that role and I am welcome in their house anytime. He seemed to be very genuine and in need of a friend. So I suppose when I feel like I want a huge Chilean meal (for free), I can just wonder my way over to 1341 IV Centenario for a visit! He seemed to be very fond of my blond hair, as he told me that the gringa (term for a white person) is so pretty and kept touching my hair. It was quite comical. Maybe I can set him up with Mama Maria? She already asked what he was like! Things are in the works..

Tomorrow Lent begins! I'm excited. Unfortunately I have been unable to find more than one church in the area but if I keep asking Mama Maria she'll keep dishing out the information.
That's all for now, off to finish my homework!

From sea lions to snakes, we saw everything in southern Chile.

Back from our first trip outside of Santiago! Steph, Laura and I took a night bus down south to Valdivia where we (accidentally) stayed in a really nice hostel for the first night, thinking it was actually a lot cheaper than it was. It did provide us a nice opportunity to rest, which was much needed after the 10-hour night bus ride down there. Upon arriving in Valdivia we were able to see the famous Mercado Fluvial, which is a market that boasts and smells of a lot of fresh fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, and even cowboy hats and some used books. We then hopped a quick bus to Niebla, where we heard there was a beach. We dressed in our swimsuit attire but by the time we got there we saw nothing but a seasonal fair with lots of food and crafts (similar to the Cow Chip Throw in Sauk City), and a rocky parking lot jutting out over the water that was the closest thing to a beach we could find. We made the best of the situation and mingled with the locals, tried some empanadas with camarones (a.k.a. oysters) and spent a good chunk of time laughing and enjoying la vida.
After wandering around Niebla, we came back to Valdivia and spent a few hours lounging and recharging in our riverfront room until dinner. We then went to Restaurante Flotante Rio de la Luna, which was a boat-turned-restaurant hosting a wide variety of fresh catches as their main dishes. The food and service were excellent and we could even feel the boat move as a bigger ship passed by, as well as hear the huge, barking sea lions that seek refuge on the docks each night.

The next day we went to Cervecería Kunstmann (a local brewery begun by Germans in I
the 1800's) which was the first real tourist attraction we had been to. The prices were a little higher but the German cuisine was fantastic (even though there were no liederhosen). We made sure to order lots of kraut and red cabbage and between the three of us we ordered two main dishes, a pitcher of beer, and were certainly satisfied. We hopped another typically over-crowded bus back into the city, made a new friend named Juan Pablo, watched a volleyball tournament, and then went and hung out in hostel #2, which gave us exactly what we paid for ($6/person). The rooms smelled of stale cigarette smoke, there were burn holes in the blankets, and who knows the last time the sheets were washed. But the dueña was a sweet woman and she was very hospitable in our two very brief encounters.

The next morning we got up and boarded a bus to nearby Pucón, from where we immediately hopped a bus to the nearby national park, Parque Nacional Huerquehue (where-KAY-way). The bus ride was by far the scariest of my life and I was praying Hail Mary's the whole way up. It started at the bottom of a mountain in Pucón and went about 35 miles to a nearby mountain that it literally scaled. I have no idea how this bus driver does it but apparently he goes up and down that mountain four times a day. It is definitely something you would have to experience to truly understand. Nonetheless, we made it to the park in relatively good conditions (the altitude mixed with dehydration had actually gotten to me) and walked about 45 minutes to get to the refugio (hostel #3), where we were praying there would be an open room. Luckily there was! After taking our shoes off at the entryway and working a deal out with the dueña (which included saving $4 by not renting blankets...), we plopped our things down in our room and headed straight for the beach. The sun was warm and felt so good, and at 7:30 it was still up in the sky, shining bright--that is definitely something I could get used to! At 9 pm it is still light out! We basked, napped and relaxed until the time came to start the trek back to the refugio, first stopping by our soon-to-be favorite food stand to pick up some 1800 peso sandwiches (about $3.50).

We had gotten these same sandwiches for lunch (I actually had the famous Chilean completo-a hot dog with tomatoes, guac and mayo-because they were out of meat to make more sandwiches at the time) and now were getting some to take back for dinner as well. We came in, took much needed warm showers and savored our sandwiches while listening to two 60-year-old Canadian couples eating their 4-course meal, taking back glass after glass of vino, and recounting their tales of their 3-month excursions in Chile. Yes, we were a little jealous, but at least we had the included breakfast to look forward to in the morning!

Morning came and the three of us were quite hungry. We were down in the dining area at 8:30 when breakfast was said to begin but things actually started around 9. We were excited for whatever was in store for us after seeing the mouth-watering dinner the night before. Fortunately this was the first place in Chile that did not have instant coffee! They are famous in our travel books for their French Press coffee and it was great. Unfortunately the breakfast consisted of the coffee and a basket of toast (2 pieces each) with 4 varieties of jams. Let's just say we visited our friend Salvador at his stand and picked up some granola bars before we set out on our long hike.

The hike was so beautiful! Starting out gave me an instant natural high and I was filled with excitement. We found out that we had not actually entered the park yet, so we first hiked about a mile or so (uphill!) until we got to the park entrance, and then about 800 meters until the trail began. Although the trail certainly would not

have met the U.S. National Park standards for trail safety (not that I know them, but I am sure they exist), it was all worth it when we got to the first lookout point. We hiked uphill almost the whole way to the lakes, and at a few spots we were fortunate enough to see a whole lake, set in the middle of the mountains, and a giant active volcano in the background. We also saw two beautiful cascadas (waterfalls), some ancient trees, a black sand beach and lakes with views that literally took our breath away. I would give anything to show you what we saw! We then had to begin our descent back so we could catch the bus back to Pucón, and we finally saw our first wild animal in the forest--a snake! It wasn't very big, but hey, it was something. The trails were extremely muddy, which made them slippery, and yes, I took it for the team and fell in the mud, right in front of some strangers. Luckily this kind of thing happens to me often so it did not phase me too much. By the time we got back we had been hiking for about 4 1/2 hours straight, so we decided to get one last lunch from Salvador. We ordered our sandwiches, went and sat down (we knew the drill), and after going to his mom's kitchen to place the order, he came back telling us that we had eaten their last three sandwiches! Oh well, at least we were paying customers!

We got back into Pucón, watched the sun set over the lake, drooled over the huge volcano in the distance, and checked out the ritzy restaurants and shops. This town is definitely a lot different than Valdivia (which was mainly a college town with not a lot to offer). There were a LOT of fancy restaurants and shops and it was basically like walking through the Los Angeles of Chile. We took a night bus back to Santiago, had some great seats right next to the baño, and arrived back in the city around 8 am. Overall the trip was a lot of fun, and we learned a lot for the next ones that we plan! We already have a couple in mind and tomorrow our orientation class starts so maybe we will meet some more people to join us! I am really looking forward to what tomorrow has in store--I love Chile!

Roll out the barrel.

From vineyards to the Virgin Mary to street vendors, these last two days have been a lot of fun. Yesterday Steph, Laura and I went to Viña Undurraga, which was our first small adventure outside of Santiago. We got to the bus terminal and after being slightly overwhelmed by all of the bus companies, we found exactly what we needed and ended up paying about $3 for a round trip to Talagante. We forgot to ask to be left at the tourist entrance to the vineyard so we got dropped off at the gate for the workers and had to hike it along the highway to get to the visitor’s entrance. We got there just before 1 pm, because according to my book there were tours at 1 and 3:30. Not to my knowledge my book is a little out-of-date and the tours are now at 2:30 and 4. Needless to say, we hung out inside the gate of the vineyard, getting hungrier by the minute (only to discover later that there is a grocery store literally 200 meters away) until the starting of the tour, and had fun exploring, making Samantha Brown videos and snapping cheesy photos.
We originally wanted to do the tour in Spanish so we could practice a little, but the tour guide came over to us beforehand and asked if we wanted to do it in English (and he strongly recommended it). So, we did, and we ended up being the only three people on the tour. And we did not even have to pay more for our own personal tour guide! Que rico! The tour included a tour of the grounds of the viña, which was the first Chilean vineyard to export wine and sits on about 300 hectares of land in the foothills of the Andes, a tour through the mini museum and the aging rooms for the barrels.
Of course there was a tasting afterward (which was not the best idea on a stomach that had not seen food in 7 hours) and although Italian wine boasts its delicacy, the four wines we tried were exquisite. We made our way back to the bus and enjoyed the cramped space and burning hot sun the whole 40 minutes back to the bus terminal.

I came home, not to Mama Maria, but to Barbara, my host mom’s niece, and her 3-year-old, Esperanza who was a little girl with quite the attitude. She let me color in her Mickey Mouse coloring book with her and after they left I spent the night recovering from a long, hot day.
Today we did a little Santiago sightseeing. The three of us went to Cerro San Cristobal, which is a tourist hot spot that boasts an enormous statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of a mountain, as well as an unbeatable view of Santiago. We rode a funicular up and meandered around a while, even though the afternoon was only drawing hotter by the minute. After descending the mount and entering back into the extremely visible Santiago smog, we searched the streets for a cheap, yet reliable restaurant for lunch and cheap is exactly what we found. After much pain-staking decision-making, we decided on a little place with a sandwich board displaying the dishes of the day out front. We sat down and within 30 seconds the waitress brought us salads, fresh peach and melon juices, and we ordered our meals. Luckily there were only three dishes to choose from so this made the process relatively “easy.” After being served a three-course, hearty lunch we were scared to see the bill, just because we are all watching our expenses and this was quite the meal. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that each person racked up a bill of about $4.75! Not only was the food good, but also the service was impeccable. We will return sooner rather than later.

We then walked over a disgustingly brown river and through a gorgeous park to the police station to get our visas registered, only to discover that it had closed an hour and fifteen minutes ago. We then made our way to the bus station and bought tickets for our first expedition! Within minutes we were able to book bus tickets to Valdivia, a southern coastal city, where we will be spending the next three days. We came back to my place and after booking a hostel, I was able to enjoy a nice, much barked at by stray dogs, jog in the evening sun and came back to a delicious dinner that had been waiting for me since lunch. Mama Maria really fits the bill for the Chilean hospitality, and I know for a fact that I will not go hungry anytime soon while in Santiago. I’ll be back on Sunday, pray for safe travels! Nos vemos!

Maybe my bark is not worse than my bite?

After another day of sunshine and 90 degree weather I am settling in after a dinner consisting of a peach and a postre with dulce de leche and a nice long conversation with my host mom and grandmother. Que lindas son.

This beautiful weather makes it very easy to travel downtown and walk around, which is exactly what we did yesterday. Five of us girls went to the famous La Moneda, which is where there is an infamous changing of the guards ceremony every day? or 4 times a month? or every other day? We never actually figured that out, even after asking multiple guards. Hopefully our stars align just right and the next time we are in the area they happen to have the ceremony. Sometimes, that is how just how things work out for me.

Last night we went and experienced some of the Santiago nightlife which consisted of: pisco sours, which are a drink consisting of a special type of liquor with little bit of raw egg for an unappealing texture and some sugar.. they basically just grossed me out, but it was a relaxed, non-threatening environment. A group of us sat outside for a few hours chatting it up, enjoying the beautiful evening. Afterward we made our way to what I would call a ginormous dance party. It was awesome. I am used to the "good" bars and clubs being kind of a secret, but for nearly all of the bars and clubs here, men come out and advertise their bar, the nightly specials, and how the ladies can enter for free. So that is what we did, and we had a lot of fun. It was surprisingly safe as well! This was also where I had the opportunity to sing karaoke for the first time in my life (in public)! What a rush! For anyone who may know me the song choice will not come as a surprise--it was none other than the all-time favorite, Living on a Prayer. We stayed out late, but not with the best of 'em--most people that go out may not come home until six in the morning! I made it home at the early hour of 4 am and slept in, waking up a little after 11, just in time for la Santa Misa (mass) at noon. The church is called Nuestra Señora de las Nieves (Our Lady of the Snows), and it is the best parish family feel I have had in a long time, even though I didn't meet a single person nor am a part of their parish family--there is plenty of time for that!

After lunch with the family I walked 35 minutes to my friend Laura's house and when we walked to the metro station to meet Steph a female dog nearly attacked us! She was laying in front of the gate (many families have dogs, but they are BEHIND the gates), and she just jumped up, started barking and really did her job of protecting the house-she bit Laura's hand! Yikes. I guess I'll be taking a different way next time!
All in all another wonderful day in Chile. I could really get used to this no classes deal.
Que lo pases bien!

One place that does not feel like it sounds.

Saludos de Chile! We have safely landed and spent our first half day in Santiago and it has been wonderful. I walked off the plane and was already sweating. And yes, I am more than okay with that. The flight went smoothly; you can believe me because I was awake for almost all 10 hours and 20 minutes of it. It was all worth it when I opened my window for the first time near the end of the flight and had a picture of nothing other than the Andes Mountains..stunning. The house I live in is located in one of the nicer barrios of Santiago, Las Condes, and is very accommodating. Not only that, but more importantly, my host mom has a great sense of humor. Thank goodness! I would go crazy had I not already been able to crack jokes with her.

The idea of having someone holding a sign with my name on it turned out to be a lot less romantic than I had originally imagined. However, that may have been due to the fact that I had to fight my way through a mob of taxi drivers advertising their companies. This was also where Steph, Laura and I all went our separate ways.

After getting most of my stuff settled in, Mama Maria made me lunch and not only were there fresh red and green peppers and avocadoes, but also some of the best watermelon, sandía, that I´ve ever tasted. I have a feeling that I will not be hurting for delicious fresh fruits and veggies while I am here! I am excited to see and feel what tomorrow has in store! Ciao!

Are you here on business?

Well my Chilean adventure/vacation has officially begun! I am writing to you from the Toronto Airport in the AirCanada Business Lounge. My luck has struck once again. First, I arrived safely to the O'Hare Airport on the Van Galder bus this morning after sitting next to a felon who was recently (yesterday) convicted of embezzlement with tax returns. He has 30 days until he has to turn himself in to federal prison for the next two years and wants to make the most of his time with his wife and four children. I know this because he told me the whole story, including how much money he stole and exactly what he did with it. Just another UW alum making us proud.

I re-ran into Scott and Isaac, two of the guys I met on the bus, at the airport and we had lunch together and chatted about our upcoming travels. After that I met up with Laura, we got onto our flight safe and sound and the next thing I knew we were on Canadian soil. After arriving at our gate we scouted out a place to eat and asked the kind gentlemen at the information desk if there were any more options. Laura's cute personality and my winning smile (combined with our AirCanada boarding passes) scored us two free passes to the AirCanada Business Lounge where there is an abundance of options for free food and drink, including a make-your-own drink bar. Not only that, but free wireless internet. As for now, life is good. I am so blessed.

Hasta Chile!