Tonight we leave on a wonderful adventure. Classes are over, so two other girls from the program and I are taking a week and a little bit to explore the country south of Santiago. We're taking an overnight bus to Pucón, a small tourist town near Lago Villarica and Volcán Villarica about 10 hours southwest of Santiago; I'm not sure how many miles or kilometers. We don't have a definite plan. It's going to be something like 2 or 3 days in Pucón, 2 or 3 days in and around Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, a coupe days on Isla de [View Full Entry]

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I’m sorry that it’s been so long since I updated. I can’t even remember the last thing I said. I’ve been busy, but you probably wouldn’t know it based on what I recount here. Keep in mind that the average commute to any given place is between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on time of day and how I combine Micro (buses) and Metro (subway). And I’ve also had homework this last week, which has not been a regular thing throughout the session, thank goodness. I have a final tomorrow at 3 and a paper and final on Thursday. After that, [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday in Santiago there were a large number of people protesting, mainly education. It started as a peaceful march, but then, according to my friend who was nearby, someone threw a rock and all hell broke loose. The march was never ok-ed by the government, so the police were more or less just waiting for something to happen. Sewage water was sprayed and tear gas released. I just missed most of it as I was getting off the Metro near school. The ground was wet and the gas lingered in the air, making my nose burn, but it wasn’t a big [View Full Entry]

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Valparaíso is a weird city. Weird, but beautiful. Mostly. We certainly made the most of our short weekend there. The bus ride out to the coast cost $6000 round trip, or about $6 USD each way, and was about 1 hour 15 minutes. We got off the bus with our backpacks and started walking south in search of a hostel on the other side of the city. At the top of Cerro Concepción we discovered a pink and green building, Casa Familiar Carrasco, in which we found lodging, breakfast and a gorgeous roof view included. After dropping off our crap, we [View Full Entry]

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First of all, I just finished some homework. Yes. Homework. Santiago is not all fun and games. It's only mostly fun and games. Second of all, tomorrow I'm leaving this smoggy city to explore Viña del Mar and Valparaíso! We'll be there all weekend, probably. I'll take lots of beautiful pictures and have lots of beautiful experiences. There are a couple really cool cemetaries we'll probably check out; Pablo Neruda had a house in Valparaíso that is now a museum, I believe, and I'd really like to visit it. I think we're more or less going to wing it, because it's [View Full Entry]

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I started classes today. My schedule could not be sweeter, unless the days here were longer. The sun sets about 615 or 630, so it gets dark fairly early. I have Latin American History MW 3-5 and Chile's Native Cultures of the South TH 3-5. I never have to wake up early! Word on the street is that some students are taking over a building tonight and there will be some protests tomorrow. For those of you who don't know, students in Santiago have been protesting the education system, I think because they lack the basic supplies they need for learning, [View Full Entry]

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Well technically I'm back in Santiago, but this (long) entry is all about my trip to the northern part of Chile. Some of this might be repetitious if you’ve read the last entry or two, but now I have pictures so you can really understand what I’m talking about. Monday we flew into Calama, a city in the Atacama Desert. We stopped at Líder (supermarket, like Meijer) to waste some time and buy some snacks and, most importantly, bottled water. The tap water in San Pedro de Atacama is not nearly as safe for American tourists as the water in Santiago. [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick update. in an internet cafe in san pedro de atacama, a tourist-y uoasis of less than 2000 people in the driest desert in the world. today we went sandboarding in la valle de la muerte, or valley of the dead. there are no living organisms in the valley, except the sandboarders. its amazing here. pictures to follow when i can get back to my own computer. monday we explored, tuesday we watched the sun set in la valle de la luna, or valley of the moon, so named because it looks like an entirely different planet, wednesday (today) [View Full Entry]

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I finally figured out this whole internet-computer set up they have going on here. I'm wearing new shoes, but I'll be packing them soon when I pack for our trip to San Pedro de Atacama. Despite having to wake up at a ridiculous hour tomorrow, it should be a good time. We're going to Valle de la luna, Socaire, and el Reservo nacional flamenco, where supposedly we'll see lots and lots of flamingos! There will be pictures of them when I can use a computer again. These photos are from the drive from the airport to la Universidad Andres Bello, where [View Full Entry]

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here i am. its on the chilly side, no pun intended. i managed to sleep a little on the plane from miami, which was delayed, just like the flight from chicago. but sleeping on planes is never good enough. the seats are uncomfortable, my neck cramps up, my butt falls asleep. maybe if i could afford first class with those fancy seats that recline i wouldnt be complaining. as it is i was in coach. and not sleeping well. we rode a fancy bus that smelled like lemon cleaner to la universidad andres bello, where we had a brief introduction to [View Full Entry]

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