Blogs from Atacama, Chile, South America - page 11

Sean and I awoke feeling quite refreshed and amazingly, neither of us felt hung-over despite our wine-tasting extravaganza a day earlier! Another gorgeous morning, so we decided to make the most of it by going for a run in the Las Condes area. Unfortunately, I did not think to bring my camera with me, but it was probably just as well, since that would have likely turned our 30 minute run into an hour-long one because of all of the beauty we encountered along the run!! I definitely would choose to live in this area if I lived in Santiago!! Beautiful tree-lined streets and so many flowers making the area rich with colour!! Lots of small stores selling flowers and fruits and vegetables, adding to the splendor of this neighbourhood! I wish we had more time ... read more

We decided that for these vacations we just wanted to get away as far as we could. Living in Concepción, my friends and I had always heard of the beauties of the northern part of Chile, so we decided that we were going backpacking there for the summer and see it with our own eyes. We had been saving money all year, had been studying and working like mad, so on the first day of our vacations, Rodri, Pauli, Benja and I bought a cheap bus ticket to Antofagasta and simply took off. Our target? San Pedro de Atacama. First we arrived in Antofagasta and stayed there for one night. We went dancing to a very hip club and stayed there until the music went off. It was nearly 5 o'clock in the morning and we ... read more

I've been getting used to life here again... and this time around I've found myself stopping to think about some of the things that I had gotten used to before! I'm realizing that if my plans go as planned, I'll be spending the next few years here and that's going to be a lot different than just being immersed in a culture for a 10 month exchange. The upside of that is that I will get a much deeper look into the chilean culture and my spanish will certainly benefit. The downside is that I'm just going to have to get used to the parts of chilean life that I don't like or find frustrating! - The Chilean day is much like the traditional Spanish day; people work in the morning, come home for lunch and ... read more

There are lots of pics in this entry! The first ones are the very first pics I took of the apartment, followed by some pictures from yesterday now that I've been living here for a little over a week and have made it into my lovely little home! After those are some pictures of what I've been up to lately. The Apartment I found a great furnished apartment on the 5th floor of a really nice condominium that's actually pretty close to the high school I attended while on exchange. It's on Copayapu, a main road that has colectivos (cheap taxis that follow a certain route according to their number) that go downtown (and to Yaya's house) and to the university. A short walk down the street there is a Jumbo (super market), an Easy (home ... read more

Birthdays James's aunts (who are twins) had their birthday on the 23rd. Tia Gloria and Tia Tita had a birthday tea (in Chile the evening meal is either called Te or Once and is typically a light meal accompanied by tea) on their actual birthday, and then we celebrated again on sunday after the usual family lunch. And of course Yaya made one of her very tasty pineapple cream cakes! Baths Anna was in serious need of a bath and a haircut, so this week I took her to a clinic that does tick and flea baths and grooming! She also got some new jackets to keep her warm at night and I took her to the vet to get the rest of her vaccines. She needs a lot of training but its still very much ... read more