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Published: April 7th 2013
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Wow, it’s already been 10 days since I last updated this blog. That’s crazy, I was sure it hadn’t been more than a week! But I guess that just proves the title of my last entryJ As I have a few trips coming up, I have been trying to use this time to relax and rest up, but somehow I always manage to keep myself pretty busy, which is definitely better than the alternative! I’ve done some pretty fun things in the last 10 days or so, so I’ll try to start at the beginning.
For Easter weekend, we went to the capital of Chile, Santiago. We arrived on Saturday and stayed in a hostel Saturday night. The dumby who printed off directions to the hostel (couldn’t have been me…) wasn’t smart enough to write down the name of the hostel as well, so it was a bit of an adventure finding our way through a city of 6 million. But, in the end, we made it safe and sound. It was my first time staying in a hostel, and I found it pretty cool. We met a woman from Europe who was just kind of traveling around Chile visiting
friends and such. She said she was on her way to Valparaíso, eventually. We knew we had to get up pretty early the next morning for church, so it was a fun but relaxed night for us. I told the three other people who came, Tijana, Josh, and Patricia, a bedtime story. The bright side for them is that they got the worst bedtime story of their lives over withJ
Though we did other things, the main reason we went was so we could attend the church service of Father Chris Cox, a good family friend. He now lives in Santiago, Chile. He had to leave right after the mass for the airport but, thankfully, my friends and I had the chance to visit with him for a bit before the mass. It had been a long time since we had seen each other, and I think he remembered me a bit better than I remembered him! It was so wonderful to have the chance to be at church there. The church was beautiful and the people were very welcoming. Toward the end of the service he was talking about being thankful on this day and he pointed out
my friends and me to everyone there! Afterwards, people were quick to welcome us to their church and one woman even told us the next time we were in Santiago we could come over to her house for lunch!
So after a fun weekend, it was back to Viña and Valpo for another week of class and such. Tuesday rolls around, and I begin to wonder why I have not started a 4 page paper that’s due tomorrow at 8am. Especially since I have four classes on Tuesday. And the paper is in Spanish, which, for those who don’t know, is not my first language. Haha I remember chatting with my host my mom about how I am in Chile, and the last thing on my mind is homework. She told that happens to every study abroad student! It is funny, because even though I get less homework here than I do at Luther, I still have a much harder time getting it all done and being a good student about it. There is a lot of things I am motivated to do, see, and experience here, but homework just isn’t oneJ
On Monday (so probably when I
should have been thinking about that paper), I made my way back to the park I described in an earlier post. I really wanted to check out the people playing chess. I used to play more when I was younger, and the game still interests me today. Although, if you are looking for a conversation, a bunch of chess players is probably not your best shot. Haha, I got an “hola” and a couple head nods. But that was fine, as I was really more interested in just seeing how the whole thing worked. Considering they were all about 50 years or older, they were probably a bit surprised to see a 20 year old gringo come and observe their games. And, I’ll admit, I did feel a bit weird. But one thing I have learned is that if you just take a chance in a certain social situation here, you might feel awkward, but in the end you will probably be glad you did it. That is, in general, how it has worked for me.
Yesterday, so Saturday, a bunch of us (12 in total), decided to make our way to la campana to hike. It was going
sea lions!
They go to the same place every day in Valparaíso, because the fisherman will throw then fish guts and that kind of yummy stuff. to be an all day hike, so we agreed to meet at our metro stops at 7. Unfortunately, the metro opens at 6 every day but…Saturday. It didn’t open till 730, and the first train didn’t get their till after 830. None of us were incredibly happy about missing out on an hour or more of sleep! We took the metro to its last stop, which is probably about a 40 minute ride. From there we got a ride to the hiking spot, which is also a national park. Though I knew it would be a long hike, I had no idea how difficult it would be. It was one of the hardest, if not the hardest, physical things I have ever done. It was about 4 hour hike/climb to the top. The last 2 hours or so was only 2 kilometers, but it was so steep. My legs were calling me some mean names by the end of it. What a feeling of success when we made it though! The view was incredible, and it is just such a good feeling to succeed at something like that. When we got back down, and I looked to the point where
we made it to, I almost couldn’t believe it. Needless to say, my legs are feeling a bit sore today, but it was definitely worth it!
OK, well I will finish up by giving a quick rundown of some of the trips I will be taking this month. This Wednesday (so soon!) some friends and I will fly down to Punta Arenas, where we will spend a couple days. We will also travel to Puerto Natales as well. Down there, we plan to hike, kayak, and see some penguins. Its gonna be chilly...haha get it!? We arrive back super early in the morning the following Tuesday. We then have a couple days to rest before we leave that Friday, April 19
th, for Buenos Aires. This is a trip sponsored by API, which is great, because a lot of our expenses will be paid for. It should be a good time for us all to spend together as a group, and it will be great to see another country! We get back from that on Sunday, and then we have the week of school. Thursday night, the 25
th, we take an overnight bus south to Pucon, where we will stay
until Sunday night. There are so many things to do there, but one of the main ones that I am really looking forward to is hiking/climbing a volcano! Apparently, you can actually see the lava! I think all these trips will be a great chance for me to see more of Chile and the places surrounding it, and every trip will have some unique things to do!
Thanks again to everyone for the support; you are all in my thoughts and prayers!
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