Erin on an adventure

Since I am horrible about writing journals I figured I'd just post some of many photos I have. Here is where I lived for 6 months in pictures.... read more

When we arrived at the house I couldn’t see much except a big wire cage (the "garage") in front of a bright yellow gate that was in front of a bright yellow house. The gate led into a tiny patio and then we proceeded to go through two more doors until we were finally inside. Once I entered all I could see was a long hallway with doors off to the right. Dodi (the 8-year-old son named after Dodi Alfaed) showed me into the second room, his room, decorated in blue with toys and drawings everywhere. He then proceeded to tell me that this was my room. He was going to share his mother’s room. I dropped off my bags and was led out towards the small living room. On the way I met the grandmother. ... read more

To me, Santiago is an interesting city mixed with smog, an endless amount of wandering street dogs, evident sanitation problems, a homogenuous population, beautiful mountains and what seems like a million "micros" or buses. But I have fond memories of the friends I met there and the friendly Chilean teachers who made our intensive training bearable. Here are some tidbits and thoughts about my two weeks in Santiago: SMOG It´s hard to breathe in Santiago. And it´s not because of elevation, but smog. During an exploration of the city we visited a vertical park with vistas of the snow-covered Andes that were breathtaking. Unfortunately our breath was taken away by the layer of smog that hovers over the city that disrupts the beautiful landscape of city meeting mountains. PACKS OF STRAY DOGS Santiago (and what I ... read more

My first Chilean days My first couple of weeks in Chile were spent in Santiago and although the days were long and a bit boring, there were also sporadic adventures. My first few days I hardly saw more than a 1 mile radius of the hostel we were staying in because our time was filled with classes. A typical day began with me getting up at about 7 or 7:30, lowering myself down from the top bunk, putting on my flip-flops and gathering my showering things. I did all this in the dark while trying not to wake my 5 roommates. Showering at the Santiago Hostelling International was always my least favorite thing to do. If there wasn´t a line for the shower I was shocked, and if the water trickled more than a dripping faucet ... read more