Blog Attempt take 2!

So I thought I had already made one of these, but apparently it disappeared? No comprendo!

Well I'll try again! I really want to keep a record of my travels and experiences here in Chile, but have never been any good at actually keeping a written journal, so this is my idea. I'm going to start it with the first email I sent to people, and then try to update it weekly-ish!


First off, I want to say that I love and miss you all! You are some of the people that expressed interest in getting updates from me, or have messaged me on facebook since I arrived! Today was the first time I got the (pretty awful) internet at my hotel to work and I received all of your messages and they made me sooooooo happy I can't even express it! Facebook still isn't really working message wise, so I figured I'd just email you all!

The flight went really well, minus the sleep aspect. It's REALLY long and small seat=no bueno para dormir. (Oh that's another thing, I already find myself thinking in two languages, and sometimes they mix and become hardcore Spanglish, i will have to fix this before moving in with my host family tomorrow!)

When my Mom and I arrived on Sunday morning, we went to our hotel, napped a bit, and then headed out to explore Santiago. I was quickly forced to get comfortable speaking spanish, having to ask for Metro tickets and order food and everything! We saw a lot of the city that day actually! Santiago is a HUGE city (6 million people!) which worried me a little at first, but it's actually really neat! There are a lot of different comunas, or communities, that ecah have a distinct feel to them. There are a lot of people, but they all seem very nice! Sunday, we did a walking tour guided via my Lonely Planet Guide that took us to Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral within, the Presidential Plaza, a LOT of Plazas throughout the city (there are tons of Plazas and Parks), Santa Lucia (a big hill in the middle of the city you can walk up that has incredible views), and La Católica (my school!) which was GORGEOUS! Sunday was also the presidential election day which was absolutely INSANE! When they announced the new president, everyone was driving through the streets honking and standing out of their windows waving Chilean flags. They honked until all hours of the night, it was definitely a sight to see!

On Monday we took a 2 hour bus ride to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, two coastal cities on the Pacific Ocean and at lunch at a little restaurant called Enjoy del Mar (ahaha) where I had my first experience of thinking I order something and receiving something else hahaha. It was still good though! That night, we went to dinner near our hotel and drank Pisco Sours (a traditional Chilean alcoholic mixed drink made with grape brandy). I did notttt like it hahahaha.

Then today, we got out of the city the other direction and went into the Andes! What I think I may have really come to Chile for! We went for a 7 mile hike back into an INCREDIBLE green valley full of wild flowers to a glacial lake. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever hiked in, and I'm so glad I got to do it with my mom!

Tomorrow, my program starts, I leave my mom, and meet everybody else including my host family. I'm really excited for this, but also pretty dang nervous! I hope I make friends really quickly and I hope everything goes smoothly with my host family, including my ability to communicate!

So, that's where I'm at right now! I love and miss you all soooo much! Have sooo much fun at first degree this weekend! And as sooon as I have reliable internet, I want to set up a skype date with each and every one of you!

Much much much love from south of the equator!
Heather