Blogs from Concepción, Biobío, Chile, South America - page 4

Tue, Sept. 1st. Today, I woke up, had breakfast, and took the micro with Oliver to class. In class, we talked about our trip to Chillan a week from saturday. We were going to go this weekend, but some of us were going to go skiing instead. Luckily, Luz (director of the program) was able to switch dates. We also went over the "buen/bueno" and "esta/esa" concepts in class. Its nice being in class with people that you know pretty well. Like, today Lindsay helped some of us better understand the esta/esa concept. We make sure that everyone understands. Then, we got into groups and came up with a list of cultural differences that we notice. We came up with a huge list - it was a lot for just being here 2 weeks! In a ... read more

I took the collectivo to school on Wednesday. I saw the micro pass by my house as I came out the gate at 8:45. We met with Professor Luz at 9:30am to go to the police station and register our Visa's. We had to get on a bus, all 21 of us. The bus was crammed and the driver wasn't too happy because he had to give us the student rate of 150 pesos. Nothing with Professor Luz is ever easy but we still lover her. We eventually arrived at the police station. There were only 4 people working so we took turns going in. They recorded our addresses and phone numbers in Chile and they took our picture. It didn't take as long as I expected but soon everyone was through. It was only 11. ... read more

Welcome to my travel blog! I will be writing daily in this thing. I have been writing in a diary for the first week, and I realized that this would probably be a lot easier! So, enjoy! This will probably be my longest blog, but I'll try shortening it up some in the future. Tue, Aug 18 Today, I got up at 5 in the morning to be in the airport at 6! I did a lot of packing the night before, and I was pretty tired by the time morning came. I was one of the last people to check in (catie was last), but it went well. My 2 suitcases were about 46 pounds each! I probably didn't need to bring so much stuff, but after arriving, I'm kind of glad I did. Anyways, ... read more

My host mom, Marcela, picked me up at the airport. I was really nervous. What if I didn't like my family? 4 months is so long to live with a strange family. What would their house be like? etc.etc.etc.etc. My family has had many exchange students before me which makes me feel a lot better. My host mom drives a red ford focus. We live about a 10 minute drive from the airport. There is a big gate that opens to let you into where our house is. There are 10 house in our gate. We live in house #8. The streets are narrow and rough. Most of the houses in the city are yellow. We pulled into the narrow drive way next to our house. Nobody else was home except for Nana, the maid. My ... read more

Climbing to the top of a hill, we were all amazed by the green of the grass, the freshness in the air, and the view of the Andes cordillera in the distance. Half of us in the program (those that opted for a weekend trip planned for us to the countryside rather than the beach) spent that Halloween morning touring and exploring the sustainable organic farm we were to stay at. We yoked oxen, viewed the fields of fruits and veggies, made compost, watched the farm animals, and were all awed by the number of simple homemade contraptions that were there to help the process. I discovered later that there are only four workers on this farm, a seemingly small number for how large it is. I guess it is just so self-sustaining and so well-functioning ... read more