Blogs from Viña del Mar, Valparaíso Region, Chile, South America - page 13

I have been thinking of some more things that you all (and me) might consider different or odd coming from America. Here are a few things that are typical in Chile but I have found to be a little strange.... read more

Having arrived at Vina del Mar unexpectedly we remained optimistic and decided to suss out some digs and base ourselves here. A tout approached us at the bus station and in my usual pessimistic style I (Emma) believed we were going to get ripped off but accommodation was on offer so we decided that we would take a look at the place and go from there. It turned out to be a nice room located near to the bus station, with a kitchen (= cheaper food). It was kind of apartment style with rooms and the shared kitchen but no owner/manager etc on site, so we decided to stay. Vina del Mar is a town with palm lined avenues, quite clean and decorated by horse drawn carriages along the seafront - for tourists of course, and ... read more

Here is the link to alot of the photos from the wedding. Thanks to my great friend Matt Lowry (and his wife Julia for letting him buy an incredilbe lense for his camera! jk) and the wedding photographer Carolina, we have tons of pics. Here are about half. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/chorcos/CarlosAndToriSWeddingPhotos Married life is great and so far I highly recommend it. I love having that special person to always be there to support me and comfort me and talk to after a long, hard day at work. He is my perfect compliment and God has blessed us both incredibly to have been able to find each other....of all places in Chile. I am still amazed everyday that I am here and that I am married to such an incredible man. Life sure has taken some unexpected ... read more

This post contains politics and history... be warned! Alright so I'll just jump right into a little background summary of Chile: In 1970 Chile did something no other country had ever done... they DEMOCRATICALLY (meaning voted, fairly) elected a socialist leader. His name was Salvador Allende. A lot of people like Allende, he was good to the working class and the poor however, the rich were not so happy with Allende taking their money to give to the poor (this is what happens in a Socialist society to make things more equal). The people of Chile were doin alright but the economy was TERRIBLE. The US government was, of course, living in fear of these "terrible" socialists due to the Cold War and fear of communism (Allende has ties to Cuba). They believed that Socialism could, ... read more

Really, I was robbed! Totally crappy! I got mugged by 2 18-20 year old jerks. The worst part was Zach's camera (the only camera we had since mine broke in Bolivia) was in it and our memory card! What crap. The good part is that Zach is super cool and of course didn't care. I got a new cell phone and new keys and even though I really liekd the purse (from Argentina) it's not a HUGE loss. Once again I am without debit cards... The good stuff, we had another awesome asado this weekend! Tons of meet, grilled mushrooms and great people pretty much the perfect day. We had fun hanging out at the botanical gardens and grillin up a storm well, till it got cold. The fall is slowly rolling in and this is ... read more