Michael Swanberg

m1swanberg

Michael Swanberg

Y'all know me!



South America » Chile » Easter Island November 13th 2007

Ok, this one's a long time coming, my apologies. For now, no words, just pictures. Enjoy!... read more
Photo 2
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Photo 4

South America » Argentina » Mendoza » Mendoza September 25th 2007

Well, my week of no school has finally ended, so its time to update y'all, complete with my own pictures! (But I still 'borrowed' some from other people for the camping trip which I didn't have a camera for. The week started last Friday morning (the 14th of September) with a crew of six of us heading to the bus station in Valparaiso to catch a bus to Santiago, where we then did some subway-hopping to get down to the south of Santiago to catch our final ride in a bus to a campsite called 'Cascada de las Animas'. Little did we know, that bus was the only one that went that far south and only came every half-hour or so, so whenever it did it was immediately packed to the brim with people. We missed ... read more
The Group at Cascada de las Animas
Wanderers!
Football

South America » Chile » Biobío » Yungay September 19th 2007

Hello Everyone! Just a quick post here to share a couple of important things: 1) Happy September 18th! Today is Chile's big national holiday, meaning lots of grilling, empanadas, wine, and cueca. I'm taking a dance break right now to write this post and pack for #2: 2) I'm going to Mendoza, Argentina tomorrow! Three companions and I leave at 9 in the morning (which might be a little interesting with the 18th celebrations tonight) and get back on Sunday. I have no idea what we're doing, but we have the week off so we're trying to take advantage! 3) I GOT A CAMERA!!! I finally gave in and just bought one at the store the other day because my replacement got stolen in the process of coming here from the U.S. Its nothing special but ... read more
These Are The Vistas
Cueca

South America » Chile » Biobío » Yungay September 4th 2007

LOVE Congratulations Luke and Erin!!! LISTS I've been here for a month and a half, and having settled into the swing of things, it's time I start making sure I make the most of my time here. I started making a list of things I have done so far and things that I want to do while I'm here, and thought I'd share them with all of you. So here goes! Goals For Chile: * Visit Easter Island * Snowboard in the Andes * Surf * Go on a wine tour (they have world-famous wine here) * Spend New Years in Valparaíso * Hike/Camp in the mountains * Ride all 15 of Valparíso's ascensores * Hang out in a hot spring in the Lakes District * Visit the Atacama desert * See the green flash of ... read more
Rabuco Queca!
Artemisa
Walking along Errazuriz

South America » Chile » Biobío » Yungay August 30th 2007

Well hello to all! As promised, I am really bad at keeping this blog updated, but don't worry my camera is on the way and then it will be easier to think of things to talk about! Well I've just been kinda getting into the every day life here. I now have a Chilean ID card and student ID so I actually feel like I kind of belong here. Well, until I remember that I'm a really white kid with red hair and blue eyes walking through a country of dark complected, dark haired, dark eyed people! Some people have been wondering about what the reaction is to people from the United States here in Chile, and as a very obvious "gringo" I think I can offer some insight on that. First of all, the word ... read more
Ping Pong
Fiesta

South America » Chile » Valparaíso Region » Valparaíso August 8th 2007

Hello All, Well I haven't written anything up here for a long time, so I think it's time. Where to begin where to begin? Life is crazy here, that's a good place to start. My classes started last week, and in my first 8 classes, the professor failed to show up! No warning, just no prof. This is kinda what life is like here. Things just either happen or don't happen but there's no time to think about it because as something is failing to happen, something else is beginning. What in the world does that mean? Good question. Maybe its just because I still really have no idea what's going on, but I feel like everything that happens here is a surprise! Ha, for example, after a particularly late Saturday night this weekend (not that ... read more
Cats!
Stairway to...?
Valpo!

South America » Chile » Biobío » Yungay July 19th 2007

I'm moved in! Today around 6 o'clock I was picked up by my host family and they brought me to my home for the next 5 months in the hills of Valparaiso! I live with a 47 year old art teacher named Emma, her two sons Carlos (22) and Francisco (18), and their dog Pele (although if you ask Emma, she says she has 3 dogs!) Its a small house that we live in but its cozy and very comfortable, plenty of room for everybody. Both of my brothers play guitar and soccer, one is a sociology major at the University of Valparaiso. Tomorrow Francisco is going to give me a little tour of the city and show me how to use the bus system and how to get to Vina del Mar and all that ... read more

North America » United States » Georgia » Atlanta July 15th 2007

Well hello to everybody, or maybe nobody if no one actually reads this. I thought it would be a good idea to start this travel blog for my trip to Chile so that I have some way to let everyone that takes the time to look at it down when I forget to update it. But no, really, give me a couple weeks and I'll try to stay on top of it and we'll all be happy! So here's a little background: I'm going to Valparaiso, Chile through CIEE to study from July 15th (Yep, today!) until January 3rd. Well, let me be clear, classes start on August 1st and end on November 24, at which point finals begin and run until December 10th. At that point, I just have to hope that I've actually made ... read more




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