Week 10 - Santiago and back to Conce

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Tues, Oct 20
We got up pretty early, so we had breakfast and jetted to the bus station. I brought my 1 and 1/2 liter of water, figuring that it would be enough. We had about an hour till the bus came, so in the meantime we tried hitch-hiking. It didn't really work, but oh well! Half hour bus ride - we get to Toconao, and it is just deserted. Only a few people were outside, but it was just like a ghost town with nothing open. We went to where there were walls and irrigation canals built by the Incans. We then found a decent size mountain to climb. Evinm and Brad had pointed this mountain out earlier, and we decided to climb it today. Al and I decided to join because we had never rock-climbed before. It was either this or sandboarding. For me, it was a difficult choice, either way I would be giving up something awesome for something else that is awesome. We spent over an hour preparing for the rock climb. Al went first, and he had some trouble right away, but after that it got easier. He did much better than I thought - he got half-way up the mountain. Pretty good for his first try. Evin went next - he also made it only half-way because that is where ther is a very difficult part. When Brad went though, he tackled it and used all of his arm strength to get him past that difficult part of the mountain, and he made it about 3/4. When i went, I finally figured out that I wasn't going to be able to fit into Evin's rock-climbing shoes, so I went in my socks. That ended up being easier than I thought, and I got up half-way like Al did. That got me pumped, I definitely want to rock-climb in the future. It was such a hot day in the desert. We went through ALL of our water. Afterwards, when we tried getting back on the bus we had actually missed it. We waited around a while for the next bus to leave. With our spare time that we had, we tried hitch-hiking, but that didn't work. I'm assuming that people don't like giving toursits rides because the locals are probably sick of the mass of tourists that come here. We were trying to get to the airport as fast as possible though, because we were afraid of missing our flight. The bus that we got on was about 10 min behind, so we got even more nervous. However, we made the right move when we decided to tell the bus driver about our situation. You won't believe this, but while driving, he looked for a taxi on the road, and he stopped the bus when we found one! The taxi driver left right when we got in, and we made it to the airport on time! What a rush, but we made it! What a heck of a day that was, but It felt so amazing when we got to the airport on time, because I had been so worried. That night we checked into our hotel in Santiago. I roomed with 3 other guys, and we spent the night watching the tv in our hotel room. People were just going to rest and go out the next night here in Santiago.

Wed, Oct 21
Today, we got up, went to the free continental breakfast (which was actually really good, was just as good as the breakfast in San Pedro, which was good because of it's many options), and then we went on a tour guide bus through Santiago. That was nice to do, because I got to know a lot more of the city. It was more of a university city than I imagined, but then again it is so big, that there are really many aspects to it. It has many restaurants and fast food places, some that are american (i.e Dunkin Donuts, Mcdonalds, and Subway). It is just a huge city with a lot to do, taxis everywhere, hotels and discoteques galore. There are more gringos than Concepcion, but the wide majority is still Chilenos. The mall is sweet and there is even a zoo on a hill. One of the stops we made was going to the place that the president of Chile stayed. We watched the a band play and the military march for her as she left in a limo. We also visited a church and an antique post office. Here, there was a section that had stamps from all over the world that you could view. How interesting. After the tour was over, we were free to get lunch and do whatever until going to the vineyard Concha y Toro. I went to a sandwich place called Dominos. It was expensive compared to Concepcion! The chorrascos (steak sandwiches) there were descent though. Well I decided to go to Concha y Toro again (I went last time I was in Santiago) for the glasses of wine and to hang out with everyone. It was definititely worth going! We got to go up close to the vineyard this time, as well as see the video that we couldn't last time. I had fun!! When we got back, my roommates (Evin, Brad, and Eric) and I went to the supermarket to buy some stuff to make dinner tonight as well as mojito ingredients. 😊 Then afterwards, we all chilled at the hotel. Our hotel room, by the way, was on the 17th floor (highest), so we figured it would be a good idea to pick our floor instead of the others to party on. I took about a 2 hour nap! That wasn't intentional, but it was nice nonetheless! By the time I got up, Brad and Evin were cooking up meals. They were good cooks! When dinner was said and done, we stared making the mojitos. Evin and Brad taught me so I could make my own. They were really good, but for some reason they tasted better when someone else would make them for me, I don't know why. After a couple, we invited some of the rest of the gang to our floor. Within an hour, pretty much everyone from our group was on our floor haha. It was great times! Afterwards, we all went to Buena Vista (bar/dance club) to dance for a while. Everyone seemed to be having a great time! I can tell how much our group is getting to know each other much better than when we first got here!

Thurs, Oct 22
Today was the day to go back to Concepcion. We didn't have to be in the airport till 2 though, I believe. After breakfast, I checked out the mall with Karl and Catie. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined - it had 3 floors. Everything seemed wicked expensive though! I had a good time though getting to know the malls here more. It seems to me that there are less clothes in each clothing store, but they are of better value! This saves time shopping from store to store. Afterwards we got back and just went on the computers for a while in our hotel room. It was about an hour till 2. So, I got subway for the first time in Chile with Karl and Trevor. It was not much different than the subways in the states in terms of the food they had. The bread seemed bulkier and better quality, and the vegetables are seemed better since they here in Chile I suppose. Honestly though, I couldn't finish a 12 inch because the bread was so bulky and it made me full real fast >.>. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel because we figured our bus to the hotel would be on time.. wrong! After waiting for a half hour we realized that there was a miscommunication with the driver, and that we would have to take taxis instead to make our flight! Well that's what we did, and we made it on time 😊. Interesting day though. We made it back though.. the 1 hour plane ride was quick. What a trip! One of the longest trips I have ever done! I got back home and I just went right to bed! It felt amazing to be at home too!

Fri, Oct 23
You can imagine how much time I spent putting all of my photos on facebook! Today I talked with my brother on skype for about 3 hours.. pretty sweet. I pretty much spent the rest of the day relaxing - it was nice to relax at house for a change. Next week is our trip to the south, so it is this weekend, 4 days of class, and we leave Thursday night for 5 days, so we will be missing a week of class there. Basically, we will be going a long time without having class 😊.

Sat, Oct 24
I spent the morning watching spanish anime.. but I honestly don't remember what happened today. I'm pretty sure I didn't go out, though. I spent the weekend relaxing because I knew that we were going to be going on a trip next weekend.

Sun, Oct 25
I don't think I did anything today. At home though, there isn't much to do besides watch television. What is nice though, is how close my family is. We have some of the most fun conversations at dinner time that last long. Usually my down time is from 3-8, where I don't have class, and I am able to get some homework done. The problem is that lunch is usually so good and satisfying that I am too lazy to get things done..haha. And then dinner is at 9ish, which lasts up to 2 hours because we have tea afterwards and keep the conversation going, and after we usually watch television together as a family, and by that time its 11 where I'm too tired to do homework.. ugh, all of this is probably just an excuse to not do it haha.

Mon, Oct 26
We went over a short story by Jorge Luis Borges in our first class today. We would read the poem, ask the profesor about words that we didn't understand, and then comprehend it afterwards. This is not an easy thing to do, and it takes a lot of practice to master comprehending spanish literature when you are used to english. However, I am getting better with the practice that I get in class! In our second class, we got into groups and did plays. We each got an image and created a play out of what we thought the image represented. For example, our pic was of a couple hugging each other, and we interpreted it as they are hugging for the last time before the guy had to go to jail. The man didn't want to let go of his wife, but he was forced as the police took him away (we created a play based on this). It was humorous to everyone else watching. At this point all I was thinking about was our trip to Puerto Montt and then toLaguna San Rafael. I just had to get through 3 days of classes! After class today, I went home for lunch, and then came back to Concepcion. We were going to celebrate Sam's bday! It was good get-together for our group before our cruise. Everyone brought snacks, and Profesora Luz had cake, so it was all a success. I tried Jote (wine mixed with coca-cola) for the first time, and I was amazed. That has to be my second favorite drink after piscola here in Chile! Afterwards, people went back home to rest for a while, as did I. We were planning on coming back out later that night to celebrate more. I went home to eat dinner, and then I returned to Concepcion. We chilled in Go bar for a while, and then moved to Tercer Tiempo. It was fun! I met a couple Chileans, who were really funny and cool to talk with. It was nice to see the rest of the group (mostly everyone) there enjoying themselves too!

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Photos

Up close to the vineyard
Concha y Toro

Preparing for Sam'd bday party
The view of Concepcion was sweet