THE END! (Finally :) )

So I suppose I better finish this up for all you faithful readers. I'll pick up where I left off:

Day 2:
Today we woke up and after a wonderful breakfast of bread and coffee we headed off into the Bolivian desert. During this part of the trip we stopped at a few different lakes and were able to look at flamingos. YES, they were pink. This was our longest day of driving and we didn't leave the jeep much. We passed through various Bolivian desert villages that looked abandoned. That night we arrived at what looked like the Ritz compared to the night before. The beds had blankets and there were even showers (they were COLD though). I decided to go for a walk before dinner and started to ambitiously make my way up the mountain behind the hostal. I quickly remembered that we were still at 15.000 ft and had to slow the pace a bit. From the hostal we were able to see the salt flat that we would drive on the next day.

Day 3.
On day 3 we spent most of the day on the salt flat . It was AMAZING! It looked like ice but after some taste testing we decided it was really salt! We stopped at a salt hotel in the middle of the flat and got to look around. Everything was made of salt...it was really interesting to see the different layers. Once we arrived in Uyni, Bolivia we said bye to our guide and headed to a pizza place to eat. I could've stayed on teh street and watched the business of the town for hours. All the women dress traditionally and I felt like I was in a different world compared to Chile. I was supposed to leave that afternoon to head back to CHile but due to rain , the tourist company put me up in a hotel. It was nice to have my own room and go to bed at a decent time. I rode back to Chile with two French girls. Trying to cross the border was quite entertaining. We spent about 2 hours on the Bolivian side because the customs people were eating lunch. once we got across we weren't able to go to the Chilean side and waited in front of the border (aka a line drawn by a stick in the sand) for the next jeep to come pick us up. Once we got to Calama I set off to find a hostal. EVERYTHING was packed and after about an hour of looking I finally settled for a cheap (not as cheap as a hostal) hotel. Eventhough it was more expensive, I really enjoyed my first shower in 7 days as well as the comfy beds. That evening I walked to the mall and ate TONS of salad at a buffet. It was great to have something besides cookies and bread. For the next day and a half I walked around and explored the town. I left the next morning for Santiago , landed by 11, and was in Vina by 1. Everything went smoothly.

AND NOW, I'm home. 2 of my friends drove me to the airport on the 14th. The flight went smoothly and I landed in Dallas around 9. WHAT A RUDE AWAKENING! I was suddenly surrounded by loud americans in cow boy hats. haha. Its been a challenging transition, but it is good to be home. I've been working a ton and trying to get used to suburbia again.

This experience was AMAZING. Sure I had some ups and downs, but I really grew and learned as a person. Thanks for all your comments and your time spent reading this! I am going to try and upload LOTS of pics for everyone to see! CHAO for now....

Bolivia: Mountain HIGH

I started writing this on the 7th...hope you enjoy!

7-7-07
So I´m sitting here under 4 blankets, my sleeping bag, wearing 6 layers,my down vest, my wool hat, and my scarf- in the middle of the Bolivian desert. It´s been an adventure up to this poinit-I will start at the beginning.

Day 1:
AFter 1.5 hours of sleep, I threw all the warm stuff I own into my pack and headed for the bus station to meet megan. From there we went to Santiago to catch our flight to Calama. In the airport I got my 3rd cup of real coffee in 6 months...mmmm. Megan and I sat at Starbucks and promptly fell asleep-oops. Megan woke up and realized our flight was in 5 min so we sprinted to the gate and WHAT LUCK it was delayed an hour. So around 6 we headed up north to Calama...a small mining city in the middle of the desert. We got off the plane and learned it was 14 dollars to go to San Pedro by private bus, or we could take a taxi into town and take a public bus for much much less. The taxi driver promised us we´d be there on time , well as luck has it , we weren´t and the next one was at 10pm. SO we decided to walk around an eat to kill time. When we finally got to San Pedro it was 12:30 and we were dropped off in a middle of a dirt field. hmmmmm. Soj we started to walk looking for a place to stay....or in reality just looking for the town in general. At midnight this supposedly touristy town was dead. There were no lights, all the adobe buildings were closed and we felt like we were in a ghost town. Everywhere we looked was booked and we were on the verge of sleeping in the plaza when some random guy on a bike approached us. THis is how the conversation went:
BIKER DUDE (BD): You need a place to stay?
ME: YES! do you have room?
BD: Well I know of this place outside of town
ME: Ok, how much?
BD: However much you want to pay
ME: (a bit suspicious at this point) are you sure this is a hostal?
BD: yeah, its just some place i know...

So we continued walking out of town to the boonies where there were no lights and lots of run down buildings. I started to get nervous but eventually we got there and it ended up being a pretty sweet place. It consisted of rooms and tents...nothing fancy, but atleast it was a bed to sleep in. I woke up early and walked out to the bathroom to be met by a HUGE volcano right in front of me. I walked to the kitchen to make some tea and started talking ot one of the guys there. His name was Louis and he´d been living there for the past 5 months. He offered me a raw shell fish...a clam of some sort...as an early morning snack...i took it to be polite figuring that would be it. He was like a kid in a candy shop as he watched me slurp it down and quickly refiled my hands with yet another shell. mmmmm nothing like an early morning snack of raw fish. What an interesting guy
After luch we went on a tour to death valley and valle de luna. It was pretty in its own way...no vegitation but awesome rock formations. We walked on a sand dune to see the sun set, so pretty. That night we had a barbque wiht the guys that were staying at the hostal. It was SO fun! We met some guys from france, peru, and argentina. All of them hippies who played the drums for a living. Later in the night we had a HUGE drum circle...everyone playing idfferent instruments, definalty an experience.

7-9-07
This morning we woke up and started for Bolivia. We all started off in big vans and headed to the border. AFter we crossed we headed to the bolivian border (about an hour ride). In about 45 min we were at 4, 300 m...or over 14.000 ft. WOW. So we´re headed on a nice paved road for Bolivia when suddenly the driver turns off onto a dirt "road" (not sure if it can even be considered that)...and points to the paved road saying "thats the road ot argentina, here´s the road to bolivia!". I thought he was joking, he wasn´t. So we headed in the middle of a dirt desert surrounded by volcanos to the "border" (aka a adobe shack with a desk). At about 11 we arrived at a refujio to eat breakfast and to switch into the jeeps. At this point i put on all my clothes and tried to stay warm.

The first stop was teh green lagoon- it looked just like it sounds. Then we headed to the hot springs. Now i´m not sure i mentioned how cold it was, but there was NO Way i was going into the springs. Well when push came to shove I decided to get in. I was without a swim suit or a towl so had to improvise with my t shirt...luckily everyone there was european if you know what i mean. It was SO NICE to get in, surrounded by volcanos, in the middle of Bolivia, CRAZINESS! We then headed to the gyeisers where were AMAZING and at 5,000m! They looked like boiling concrete, crazy! Jose, our guide said that every year one or two tourists fall in and turn into hard boiled eggs...haha.

After the gyesers we headed to the red lagoon to stay the night. We unpacked and had lunch made by a Bolivian family. THis place was in the middle of the deseret with NOTHING but a few adobe buildings. Bolivia is so different than Chile, the women still dress traditionally, and its still a 3rd world country. Megan and I walked to a lookout point, and i got stuck in teh mud :(. The altitude was CRAZY! I slept maybe an hour that night and was sick to my stomach the rest of the time..WHEW never been that high in my life!

Ok, my hands are tired...I write more later!

Ohhhh Chile how I'll Miss You

The 14th is approaching too fast and today I felt especially nostalgic. It's going to be a hard transition but I'm going to make the best of it. I'm going to recap below...

Things I'll Miss
1. The city lights and smells
2. The street dogs
3. The men selling ice cream on the street corners
4. Cheap cookies and fruit
5. Sleeping in (yes, i've finally learned how)
6. Avocado at least once a day
7. Watching all the teen boppers in their school uniforms with their mullet hair
8. The ocean
9. The amazing people I have met here
10. Walking around JUMBO
11. The vibrant night life
12. The people and their willingness to help
13. Mc Donalds soft serve ice cream (yes, its better here)
14. The crazy colectivo drivers
15. Riding on a Micro, standing and trying not to lose my balance

Favorite Memories
1. Torres del Paine..."Goodnight American SWeethearts"
2. Making shakshuka and apple crisp with amazing friends
3. Tall Itay and Short Itay (our friends from Israel)
4. Watching Grey's on Monday afternoons
5. Running a 5k in Santiago
6. Walking around the hills in Valpo (the good parts and the bad parts)
7. The border crossing on my way to Mendoza
8. Being proposed to by 4 16yr olds while teaching english
9. Working at the Colegio with a 3rd grade class
10. DAncing SALSA
11. CAmping on the beach in Horcon
12. Salamanca...the amazing food, views, and people
13. Climbing a volcano
14. Making breakfast pizza with Chileans

Things I've Learned
1. Its ok to tip people performing on the streets....its how they make a living
2. Always wear your backpack on the front
3. Be patient, go with the flow
4. The three greatest things in life: Friends, Food, Dancing
5. Sometimes you need to forget about the work you have...it will get done...and live in the moment, spending your time experiencing the culture, learning about life, and building relationships
6. 6 inches of fries topped with meat and egg will not kill you
7. Walking is one of the best ways to get to know a place
8. Treasure every moment and do what makes you happy rather than what you think others want you to do (although it is important to consider)
9. It's ok to sit around at the table for 3 hours talking
10. Talk to people, learn about them and their stories
11. Don't think you have plenty of time to "do it later" ... if you want to do something, learn something, experience something , do it now.

ok, enough of this sappy Blog....just some thoughts before I make the trip home. HOWDY to the family in NY....wish i could be there this week!!

Salamanca Amazingness

Hey everyone! Wow, time is flying by here, and i'm starting to feel panicked with all the things i want to do still!! This past weekend was a good one. On Friday I got up early and went on an all day field trip with a 3rd grade class that i've been going to weekly. The field trip was for my social geography class, a class that places groups of students in different public schools to do projects with a class throughout the semester. It was so much fun to spend the day with kids.





First we went to the University and gave them a tour and did science experiments. We then took a bus to another building and played games and had lunch. The kids loved it and it was so good to see them happy. THey all come from a very poor neighborhood in valpo. A number of them didn't have coats and a few of the girls didn't have stockings to wear under their skirts (mind you its about 40 degrees here). I've attached some pictures of the kids below. I'm goign to miss them. After the field trip I hopped on a bus to Salamanca to meet Erin, Maren, DAve, and Ale, the Chilean brother of Erin. It was a 6 hour ride and I sat next to this nice man that was from Salamanca. We talked the whole time about EVERYTHING. He has lived in numerous towns in Chile and has decided to retire in Salamanca. It was so interesting to hear his stories and was nice to have someone to talk to for the ride up.
Salamanca was AMAZING. Ale's parents have a house in the country at a vineyard but htey live in town. The house i s HUGE and beautiful. I got there around 11pm and Erin and Maren had just made vino navegado (hot wine with cinnamon, sugar, and oranges). It was just what I needed after being out in the cold. The fire was going and we spent the night talking and playing cards. The next morning we went for a hike up a mountain. It was BEAUTIFUL out and the first time I've been warm in months. The mountain was filled with cacti and by the end of the trip our legs looked like they had gotten in a fight with a cat. That night we cooked Shashuka and apple crisp....yummmmm.....The next morning we made fresh squeezed OJ w/ oranges right off the tree and made french toast for lunch / breakfast. It was so relaxing and I wish we could've stayed longer! Ok, I suppose that is all. I hope everyone is well!

Suenos and Cerros

Hola everyone! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD! Things are moving SUPER fast here and I can't believe my time is coming to an end! School is looking good, except for my cine class...blah. On Friday I went out with some of the other Luther ladies to a vegetarian restaurant on cerro Alegre in Valpo. It was SO SO good! AND it was actually warm inside...the Chileans don't believe in central heating. We each ordered something called a SUENO (dream). Its this brownie like cookie topped with the richest chocolate sauce imaginable. It truly was a sueno. I will definitely have to go back there before I leave!
Last night I went walking through the cerros (hills) of Valpo with one of the chileans I know. We started on Cerro Mariposa (in the center of the city) and walked for two hours on an Avenue called Avenida Alemania. The first hour or so we were in the upper class area with AMAZING houses. THey reminded me of doll houses and were all different shapes and colors....I wish my camera worked! Its amazing how much things can change between cerros. We turned the corner and were in a poorer district of Valpo. This is when my friend said, "if someone tries to assault you, give them everything." and promptly followed by saying, "you said you wanted to walk the cerros tonight, so i figured I'd give you the whole experience." At this point i was a bit nervous...It's not like I stick out or anything..haha. So we're walking on this street that is NOT lighted amongst run down houses and numerous stray dogs. In the end I was glad I got to see the real Valpo but at the time I was feeling pretty nervous. So we're walking and these guys start throwing rocks at us from above and yelling. All the sudden I see bright flashes of light and hear loud popping. It was only fire crackers but I was FREAKING OUT. So we keep walking and I figured that we were going to head down. I was wrong. We crossed into a better section for a while and I felt a little more relaxed. After about 15 min he warned me that this next section was a dangerous one and again told me to give up every thing if someone asks for it. yikes. So I felt like I was holding my breath for the next 15 minutes while walking through this area. We walked past some cops doing a drug bust and continued up the cerro. FINALLY we reached the end of the avenue and sat down to look at the port. It was such a beautiful view. We then headed down and took a micro back to vina where I had a McDonald's burger and tea...odd combo. It was a great night, and I'm so glad I got to experience all of valpo, I'm also glad that nothing happed.
Today the sun is out, YESSSS. I'm going to hopefully spend the day writing a paper...if I can focus, which is rare. I suppose thats all. Miss everyone
Love Cristina

Churiana and Walking in the Rain

Dad, you would be proud....I tried/ate something called Churiana today...let me start from the beginning. I met my friend Jaime in Valpo for a fun filled night. We took the trolley down town and he showed me around one of the marine buildings where his dad works. It was amazing...SO OLD. It is a building for all the generals and ex generals to go and hang out and socialize....defiantly a different class of people. The bar inside was only for men so i was just allowed to peak my head in...a weird feeling. ANYWAYS, then we walked up this little alleyway to this hole in the wall restaurant...this is where I was introduced to Churiana. Churiana consists of a heaping pile (about 6 in tall) of the greasiest french fries known to man topped with eggs, steak, and onions. It was...GREAT. Sounds gross, I know, and I wish i could say that I didn't like it, but man oh man it was excellent. So yes, I ate a HEAPING plate of fries, stake, onions, and egg...which will explain the Chile 20 (instead of freshman 15...haha). Anyways, then we walked to this coffee shop on top of one of the hills in valpo. It was AMAZING. The coffee was real and the view was incredible. We talked a ton about Chile and the different social systems here and just enjoyed the FREEZING COLD night. Then we walked around valpo for a while, JAime is a tourism major so he knows all the places to go in the hills. I love this city, its so unique. We then took a bus to Playa Ancha about 5 min away. We went to his university which is having a strike right now. The students take the university, sleep in it, cook in it, have parties, and rallies. They have a whole system of doing things...people are appointed to be security guards, cooks, cleaners, and much more. Anyways, we stopped in to check it out. There were about 2000 people there, hanging out, sleeping , talking, eating, etc...what a sight. Then we walked by the water for about 2 hours....1 of those hours being POURED on...BRRRRRR. But it was SO SO fun and so beautiful by the water. What an adventure. Now i'm beat and heading to bed. yay. Hope everyone is doing well

A Little Taste of the Bolder Boulder

What a weekend. As many of you know, the Bolder Boulder is a big deal in our family...and last Monday every time I looked at my watch I would think "they just took off," or "here come the elite runners," or "now they are cooking for the bar b que." I was bummed that I missed it but this weekend gave me a little taste of what it would've been like. Erin, Ale (erin's host bro), Amy, and I took off for Santiago on Sat. afternoon. When we got there we went straight to the stadium to pick up our runner packets. The stadium is located in the foothills of the Andes and could easily be confused for Boulder. We got these AWESOME long-sleeved dry fit t-shirts and immediatly tried them on when we got home :). Walking into the tent was like walking into a different country. There were actually ATHLETES there ....with REAL running shoes! SO EXCITING. Anyways, we made our way back to Ale's apartment and headed to the nicest mall I've ever seen to eat shushi....YUM, I tried octopus, pretty sure its my new favorite food. Then we bought Ice cream and cookies and had a relaxing night in the appt. The next AM Erin and I got up super early to get the FULL EXPERIENCE. We got to the stadium and were close to the first runners to arrive. We waited around for about 1.5 hours before AEROBICS got started...yes, aerobics. There was this big stage with these three women leading aerobics for the 1000 runners in their matching t shirts. IT was SO FUN! I laughed the whole time, thinking that this would never happen at home. We finally got ready to start. The starter was talking about the race while we were on the line and all i caught was first we were going to bajar (go down hill) and then subir (go up hill). So we start bajaring and then after about 200 meters get to the first hill. It was a short one, and the trail flattened out pretty quickly. Little did we know, the worst was to come. About 5 min later we were running up the longest hill of my life. At one point we walked because we were able to go faster than running. AFter a while we started down hill and got to cruise the last 3km. Erin and I were 2 and 3 and after crossing the finish line had cameras and mics shoved in our faces ....they soon realized that speaking spanish after a race would be difficult and promptly focused on the next runner coming in. Over all , it was a BLAST and I wish I could do the next 3 (argentina, uraguay, argentina). Hmmm, I guess its a thought. :) I've attached pics below. MARCUS congrats on the graduation! I suppose that's all for now. Time to get back to work. C.

Post race....grrrrrrrr

Start/finish line

Andes mountains

Post race in our SWEET LUTHER-BLUE T SHIRTS

Ohhhhh Argentina How I love you

This past week has zoomed on by...making me realize how important it is to enjoy the last few weeks I have here. On Wed. I went to the elementary school to help out for aobut 2 hours. The kids are starting to be more comfortable around me and I even got to talk to the majority of them. After talking to them I was really hit with how precious life is and how blessed I've been. To make conversation I would always ask about their families and siblings. Out of about 28 kids at least six that I spoke with had a brother or sister in "el cielo (heaven)" I was shocked. After our group left, we were talking on the bus about how its obvious that these kids dont' get the attention they need....something that really frustrates me.
On Wed night I met two of my chilean friends at a concert in Valpo. We then went to their house to cook dinner and watched 80s music videos while I helped them translate their work into english. THEN I got a 2 hour lesson on the history of valpo from the tourism major. Made me realize how much I miss just being able to hang out with people rather than having to go out all the time.
As I am writing this I am on a bus in the middle of the Andes mountains waiting to cross the border between ARgentina and Chile. It's snowing and the view is AMAZING. The border is literally on a mountain in the middle of the Andes. Anyways, we left for mendoza on Fri and ended up spending 3 hours at the border...which wasn't a problem because it was so beautiful. AFter crossing the border we finally made it to Medoza and were met by two hostal owners. We ended up getting a ride with one of them...a 16 yr old who ran every red light we crossed. ANyways, his hostal was in a sketchy part of town where all the transvestites hung out. We were told not to walk alone into the central. Needless to say, we changed hostals the next am. on sat. we rented bikes and went on a winery tour. The first place we went was really interesting and went through the whole process of making wine. The second place was a chocolate shop and winery and at the end we went and ate empanadas before taking the bus back. That night we ate at a buffet. AMAZING. I will need to post pics when i get them. THis was quite the experience. WE waited in line for 1 hour before we were seated. This buffet had everything...even an amaizng salad bar! We ate until about midnight (got there at 11) and headed back to the hostal. Apparently people don't go out until about 2:30 in argentina. We went to this cafe that had acoustic music and were there until about 6. A little different than my life at luther.
I suppose that's all for now. I love argentina....the people, the food, the scenery. everything. hope you are all doing well
Love
Cristina

Where to Begin???

Where to begin? It's been about 2 weeks since my last blog and I'm trying to remember where those two weeks have disappeared to. SO, I'll try and remember to the best of my ability and update you on my life.

Last weekend after the Santiago trip (see below) we had a baby shower at the house for the girlfriend of my host brother. Our small living room was filled with middle aged women oohing and ahhing over all of the gifts. The baby shower went to 4am!!! I don't know ONE mom in the US that likes to stay out past 4am chatting with friends. Yet another huge difference in culture. Anyways, I left the shower at about 11:30 to meet up with some friends in Valpo. I arrived about 30 min later and reached for my phone to call the group I was meeting to let them know I was there. Well, my phone was out of minutes...and I was alone at night on a sketchy street in Valpo wondering what to do next. So I asked someone where the closest place was to catch a bus back home...it was 3 blocks down a dark side street....not something I wanted to be doing alone at night. At this point I was a bit worried, luckily when I turned around my friends I was meeting were standing outside looking for me. After that we went and danced, and I AM actually getting some rhythm. Shocking I know.

On Monday I had an essay worth 40 % of my grade in my psych class. I got up extra early to correct it one more time and print it out. When I arrived at class the 2 other gringas looked just as frazzled and worried about the essay. After looking around I realized that there were about 8 other people in the class that had never been there before. THEN when we turned in the essays only about 6 people had them to give to the prof...the rest of the students "didn't understand the assignment" or "couldn't find information" or "didn't have time" SO the prof listened sympathetically and told them they could turn it in when they get the chance. A little different than Luther. THEN I went to my nutrition class ready to take an oral exam...they like that type of testing here. SO I walked into the profs office a bit nervous seeing as I still have trouble speaking. I sat down and all he asked was to tell him what I have learned...so I did, we conversed , and that was that. Easy A. Such a different world down here!

On Tuesday I worked for the first time in a public high school . WOW. There were about 50 kids in the class between the ages of 14 and 18. The prof was sweet but had no control. In the 2 hours we were there they got one exercise done. This school is for kids who's families can't afford university...Its sad how their future is decided at 14. ANYWAYS, I introduced myself and of course some of the 14 yr old boys made comments...another thing that wouldn't occur as much in a school in the US. Later I was talking to one of the girls and she asked me how old I am. I told her 20 and she started laughing. I asked her why she was laughing and she said that her boyfriend is 24...she's 14. After the class at the high school the prof and I ran to the next school for the next class...she runs from school to school from 8:00 AM a 8:00 pm. Kids go to school in 2 shifts, 8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm. What a late day for little guys....and teenagers too for that matter. The public schools are in such bad shape...its sad to see.

On Thurs. a guy from Luther who is studying in Buenos Aires came to visit us here in Chile. We went out and it was good to talk to someone from Luther who was somewhere else besides Chile. On Saturday we went on another excursion to Pomaire and Isla Negra. Isla Negra is where Pablo Neruda is buried. It is BEAUTIFUL . On Sunday we celebrated mother's day by eating massive amounts of food. haha.

As it gets colder here, all dogs that are pets are seen wearing bright new sweaters and hats. Not joking. Its hilarious!! I'll try and get some pics sometime. I guess that's all for now! I promise to be better about updates!

Love you all
Cristina

PHOTOS

OUr tour guide



tombs
more crosses

Santiago

This week has been pretty low key. I've been studying a lot for the first time this semester and a bit worried about my upcoming tests and projects. On Tuesday some friends and I went out to pizza hut with 3 chileans. Afterwards we walked by the water. The waves were so big that they


were hitting the rocks and splashing over the boardwalk which was about 10 feet up from the beach . It was crazy and a lot of fun. I've never seen such big waves. The pic above is from that night. On Wednesday I went to a school with my group in social geography. Each Wednesday we will be playing games with the kids and teaching them about Valpo. It was quite an experience. Many of them had never seen anyone from the US before and consequently I was swarmed by 30 eight -year olds. Literally had kids hanging on my arms and around my waist asking me to speak english. It was fun but a bit overwhelming for our first visit. Its funny what people think of the US after watching many movies in english as well as MTV. I've talked with at least 2 chileans about what it is really like in the US. People really think that we live like MTV, big houses, parties, romantic dramas, and in general obnoxious. Its interesting to hear their perspectives.

Today was a great day. I went to Santiago with ISA to visit 3 important places in the history of the country. First we went to a center that holds the majority of the accounts and records of the disappeared. The disappeared are people who were taken during the dictatorship (1973-1990) and their bodies were never found. There are still families today looking for their lost loved ones. The next place we went to was the national cemetery. It was probably one of the most impressive sights I've seen in chile. The family tombs were HUGE and beautiful. Many dated back to the 1800s. It was interesting to see the change in social class as we walked through the cemetery. Slowly the tombs got smaller and smaller until they were just piles of dirt with rusted crosses. One area was covered in crosses and during the dictatorship had been a hole where bodies were thrown. The government did their best to identify the bodies but many of the crosses do not pertain to the correct body. The last place we went was a concentration camp in santiago. Our tour guide was tortured for 30 days when he had 19 years and was put in prison for 3 years following the concentration camp. I got goosebumps being in a place where so many people had suffered and died . I won't include details, but some of the torture tactics were unbelievable....and to think it was only 16 years ago that the dictatorship ended. The longest anyone lasted in this camp (which was known as the worst camp) was 16 months. Our guide said that one day of torture in the camp was worse than 3 years in prison. The camp was in a neighborhood and the neighbors thought that it was a institute for the mentally ill. It was only 3 years after when they started to question what really happened in the area now known as the park of peace. I talked to the director for a while about the attitudes today towards the dictatorship. She said that it is not talked about as a part of the history of Chile. It is kept out of the news, out of schools, and in general out of public discussions....something that I find sad. I've attached some pictures in the next blog of the places we visited

A Perfect Weekend

The last 24 hours have consisted of hotdogs, friends, fire, beaches, hippie towns, empanadas, conversation, and a much needed break from the city. So I'll start from the beginning. The guys left about 5 hours earlier than us to head to a small hippie town called Horcon. Erin, Kate, and I waited until about 6 to leave in order to finish up some things here. We found ourselves wondering if it would even be worth going if we weren't going to get there until after dark...it was defiantly worth it. After about 30 min waiting at the bus stop we caught a bus to Horcon and found ourselves squished in the back of the bus trying to stay warm for the 2 hour ride. When we got there we walked about a half mile to the campsite. The guys had set up the tents and had the fire ready for dinner. We camped on a bluff about 10 feet from the beach. It felt like we were the only people out there in the dark listening to the crashing waves. Now this may be SHOCKING to many of you who know me well, and Dad, you will be proud, I ate a HOT DOG...and not just a little hot dog but a HUGE hot dog with ketchup, mustard, and sour crout. And it was amazing , I enjoyed every bite. After that we just sat talking until late. I woke up early the next morning...surprise surprise and had about 2.5 hours to sit by the ocean until everyone else got up. It was really peaceful and I enjoyed every bit of it. Later that day we walked into town and had some AMAZING empanadas. mmmmm. The beauty in that town is overwhelming. There were TONS of street shops with buckets full of clams and crabs...they were all SO cheap too. AFter getting back from camping I just relaxed at home and munched on anything I could find. The white bread is starting to get a little old. haha. Ok...off to go read about cinematography. WOOT WOOT.
Chao

Micros, Colectivos, and.....SALSA DANCING

So I thought I'd give you all a little lesson on the transportation system here. First you have the micros. A micro is an OLD OLD OLD bus that feels like it is going to split in two at any moment. The brakes often don't work which makes it interesting getting on and off. When you are finally on the bus, at times you have to stand up...and by at times i mean all of the time. Don't worry, they have bars on top to hold on to, but if you aren't REALLY holding on with two hands, arms braced and ready for anything, you will inevitably fall into the people behind you...if I didn't stick out enough all ready, now I'm the tall blond giant falling over everyone on the bus. The buses also REALLY like to get close to other buses when they are driving or parking/pulling out. There have been times where I've almost grabbed the knee to the person sitting next to me out of fear for my life. Some of the micros have character. Last night I got on a micro with black lights, stuffed animals hanging from the front window and as David would call it, BLING BLING swinging back and forth on the mirror. The music was also shaking the bus and If we weren't moving it would feel like a regular dance club.
Colectivo drivers are equally crazy sometimes. A colectivo is a small black car...i'm pretty sure its made out of plastic. Anyways, it can fit 4 passengers and is not like a taxi because it picks up four random people and has specific routs. If you ever come to Chile, one of the most important things to remember is don't slam the doors of a colectivo...the driver will get very angry. This is one thing I learned in the first few days. I also fear for my life sometimes in colectivos...especially on the hills that the drivers speed up and down. Hope you enjoyed this little lesson on the transportation system.
SALSA DANCING...I love it. Went last night and I actually feel like I am improving. Its funny,I haven't really ever been dancing in the US...besides line dancing...but I get the impression that its mostly rap or hard rock and people crammed into a small room barely having space to move. Here is so different. They play all sorts of music like salsa, merenge, regatone, rock, and indiginous music. Last night the last few songs were from macchu picchu in Peru. We also did the queka...and everyone whipped out their hankerchiefs and EVEYONE knew the dance...they must jsut be born with it or something. I love this culture.
Ok, I guess thats it. Today I am going camping on the beach...pray that we don't freeze to death. Hope everyone is doing well
Cristina
t w

MISSING: My MIND. If Found, Please Return to; Prat 213 Vina Del Mar , CHILE

Well today was one of those days where you just have to look back and laugh at yourself so I thought I'd write about it. I woke up and finished up some homework and then found myself packing for the day. ALL the incidents today have centered around my quest to find somewhere to do physical activity. So I found myself debating whether I wanted to bring my running shoes or my tennis shoes to try out another day of 80s aerobic style spinning. Once this crucial decision was made ( I chose my running shoes) I was out the door to my first class. My first class ended at 1:15 but I had to leave early because my next class was about 45 minutes away by bus. SO I quietly snuck out of the room and made it to Valpo with time to spare. I got to the ISA office and realized that I had left my bag with my new running shoes in the other classroom. At this point I panicked a bit and tried to recall if i had left them in class or on the bus (which would mean they would be long gone). SO after class I had 1.5 hours before my nutrition class so i jumped on the next bus and made my way back to vina. 55 minutes later I found myself walking away from the classroom, bagless, and angry that I had once again misplaced something that I own. I figured I would go home and pack another bag of clothes and hopefully have time to get to my next class. So I rushed in the door , packed my bag, and caught the next bus to Valpo. About 2 minutes later I realized that I was bagless again...was it magic? no. Was I robbed? no. Was it still sitting on my bed? yes. So this is about the time that I decided maybe I should just get off and walk back....being without a mind and all. So the walk was pleasant by the water and I promptly got home, finding my bag right where I had left it. Then I got a call from my friend who was heading to go spinning...I grabbed the bag and yet again made a 45 min bus trip to the gym...its only about a 2 mile walk, but the traffic is crazy. So i'm sitting on the bus and realize that I forgot SHORTS. So I had three options, go spinning in my jeans, find a cheap pair of shorts, or get off and walk back. i was still determined not to let this day go to waste so i found some BRIGHT RED MAN SHORTS ...because women don't wear shorts here...and FINALLY got to do some spinning. Currently I feel that my mind is coming back, but I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow. WHEW,time for bed. Love you all. C

EARTHQUAKE!!!

SO, Chile is known for having earthquakes. I have now learned that if an earthquake happens, I should go in a doorway. Good to know. ANYWAYS ,there was an earthquake with the strength of 6.2 this morning. Guess who slept through it? Everyone else in my house was out of their rooms, one girl crying, the mom on her cell, the other gringa wondering what all the noise and shaking was about, and I was asleep. bummer. Oh well, maybe next time.

I love the culture of SALSA. I've been three times this week and plan on going next week as well...no, i still do not have rhythem, and yes, I still stick out being 2 feet taller than everyone, but I have SO much fun dancing the SALSA. The music is fun, the dancing is fun, and the colors are fun! It's a different culture. Something that we aren't used to in the US. Its not just a dance, its people interacting with their bodies and their eyes. I love watching the pros after the lessons at the club. Its such a vibrant expressive dance and I am determined to learn. I went to a place last night where the salsa dancing was on the roof...all the walls were bright yellow and it was just a neat environment. The culture is so much more relaxed here, people are born with rhythm and they just move to the music, its incredible. In general, the people here just seem to go with the flow. ...they spend 2 hours after dinner enjoying time with the family, they don't stress about small decisions, they are more affectionate and laugh more. Its great! I think I've learned a lot about how to enjoy life and not always need to be on a schedule, or busy....although I have been going a little stir crazy :)




Ok, so more stories about my quest to get some sort of physical activity. The other day I decided to go lift weights at the university...so I got up early, determined to get there and get some work done. I opened the door to the weight room and stepped in, and looked around , and realized that I was surrounded by about 30 chilean men in a small room with machines I had never seen....yikes. So I sat and thought for about 5 seconds and then decided that doing sit ups on the beach sounded like a much better idea. I t made me think how the international students at our school feel when they walk into the caf and look around and realize they are different. SO today I went to the beach to do some strength stuff. It was BEAUTIFUL, the sun was going down and the waves looked incredible. So I started doing squats and this guy and his nephew who were playing soccer started laughing and mimicking me....I couldn't help but laugh with them..I should've put out a hat to collect money or something seeing as it was entertaining for anyone who passed by. SO tomorrow I will visit another gym. I have realized that I am about 100x happier and energetic with some sort of physical activity, hopefully I'll be able to run soon!!!
This morning I went to a German Lutheran Church in Valpo. It is up on one of the prettiest hills in valpo, Cerro Alegre. It was nice to visit a church, something familiar where I know I am welcomed even with the label of GRINGA (from the USA). After the service we got chocolate cake and talked to the pastor. ....i enjoyed the service, and the cake :). This week it has really hit me how beautiful valpo is. I have attached a few pics for your enjoyment!!!!

These pics are from cerro alegre. I'm not sure how to write around them or why this is in blue but thats ok. The above pic is of all the Luther girls next to a mural. There are TONS of murals in VALPO. Below are pics of other murals and of the colorful houses in the city.







I wish i knew how to put the pics in and write captions under them, but i guess you get the idea. Well I suppose that's all. Miss you all! Hope everyone is doing well!
cristina

PHOTOS!!!

First 5: La Serena....so pretty.
Far Right: Los Ojos in Pucon
BELOW: My dad driving our compact car up a REALLY STEEP MOUNTAIN....being as stubborn as he is, we kept going until the car wouldn't go anymore...then decided maybe we should turn back
BELOW center: Mark and I on our way up to the volcano...yeah, we're cool












Far right: Sliding down the Volcano with our ice pics
Left, hanging out on our way up...it was so windy here.

I'm going to PUMP YOU UP

So today I went spinning for the first time in my life. Let me tell you , what an experience. I got to the gym and started out in the wight room. The gym was filled with the guys who had arms that were as big as my waist...yes, filled with that guy. The guy that walks around slapping the other guys on the back, constantly talking about how much he benched the day before....that guy. Ok, so maybe I'm making generalizations, but it was pretty comico. There were about ten women....3 of whom clearly came from the US. ANYWAYS, back to spinning. So I get in the room and spend about 5 min. trying to adjust the bike. So I hop on and start peddling. The instructor then enters the room very PUMPED UP. He had all his biking gear on and was jumping up and down like he was getting ready for a boxing match. So he gets on the bike and cranks up the music (side note: it was a great mix of 80s workout music..haha). So if any of you have seen Dodgeball with Ben Stiller, this guy reminded me of that movie. Throughout the workout he kept hollering and whooping. I had trouble keeping a straight face. ANYWAYS, it felt great to do something active...haven't been able to run which was defiantly taking a toll on the mood.

Ok, so let me think about this last week. On Friday I went to the embassy in Santiago. I was supposed to wake up at 5:30 to catch the bus....two hours later at 7:30 I jumped out of bed in a panic, threw on jeans, and was at the bus station and on a bus by 7:50. I got to Santiago and realized that I needed to show up with 2 passport photos. So I squeezed onto the Metro and when I got off I ran around asking where I could find a shop to take my picture. I really lucked out and was ready by 10:30...the embassy closes at 11:30. So then I took a taxi to the embassy and had to go through some intense security before they let me in. AFter getting in, it was a breeze. I filled out new paper work...paid $100....blah...and my new passport is on its way. It was so weird talking to people from the US other than students. Afterwards it was only 11, and I didn't ride two hours only to turn right back around. So I met up with some friends and we went to....mark you may not want to read this...STARBUCKS. Now, usually I'm not a huge supporter, but it was something familiar...with real coffee and chocolate. Why go to Starbucks while your in Chile you ask? Because after a long week, something familiar like that really just turns the day around. That night I went SALSA DANCING! The person that was teaching me said I was a fast learner...what a lie. No, I still do not have rhythm, but am working on it!

On Saturday I got to meet up with my Israeli friend that we met in Ushuaia!! It was so fun to see him and hear about his adventures! I think my next place abroad will have to include Israel. Otherwise , this week has been filled with homework so far. I had to write a paper on cinematography! Anyways, yesterday I was taking the Micro (bus) home from class when a huge group of elementary kids got on....and I was sitting there thinking, in certain ways, these kids grow up a lot faster here. It was so odd to see a bunch of 6 year olds paying to get on the bus, clinging to the poles inside the bus, and getting off at the appropriate stops. Hmmm. Well I guess thats all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCUS!!! CONGRATS ON FBLA NATIONALS!!!
Love
Cristina

FLEAS!!!!

Hey all! Well its been quite a week so far. On thursday four of us left for La Serena, a town up north. It has got to be one of the prettiest places i have been! The beaches go for miles and are surrounded by the Elqui valley. We arrived on Thurs and ended up walking down to the beach for a few hours. Then we bought food for dinner and cooked some amazing egg sandwiches. The next morning we slept in and headed to the beach for the WHOLE day. It was so beautiful out and we ended up going in the water. I felt like i was 9 again, playing in the sand and jumping the waves...good times. The next day we went on a tour from 8:30am to 2:30 am. We started in the Elqui valley...a GREEN GREEN GREEN valley surrounded by dessert and mountains. SO PRETTY. The main fruits produced are papaya and grapes so we ended up going to a vina where they produce wine and a papaya farm. The weather was incredible and our tour guide was great. That night we went to an observatory and saw the most AMAZING stares I have ever seen! We also saw a couple of planets through a telescope...really neat. The rest of the time we spent relaxing and cooking. Oh, and why is this titled FLEAS?! Well the hostal was infested and there were nights where i just wanted to crawl out of my skin because of all the bites i got. A little different than the hotels in the US huh?

So that leaves me with TODAY. Well its been quite a long one, we'll start at that. I got up and packed to get ready to leave for argentina. My housemate and I walked to the bus station and took out money. What was exciting about this was that I had forgotten my PIN number all week and finally remembered it so I could get money for the upcoming week and to pay my friends back for the past week. So everything is going fine until i get to the bus. So I take off my pack to put below and this large guy starts to help me. I tell him I can do it myself and I'd rather that he didn't touch my stuff. WELL there was a large women behind me and all the sudden I found myself trapped. I didn't realize what was going on, but thought something wasn't right when the guy took my hair to turn me around...the women then cut my wallet out of my bag and off they went. SO now i am without a passport, credit card, ID, cell phone, insurance card, and keys. After they robbed me some security guards called the cops...20 min. later htey arrived. They brought me back to the house and dropped me off. I was locked out for about 2 hours because I didn't have my keys. I went to the internet cafe to cancel my cards...they owners were really nice and helped me out a lot...I guess its little things like that which make up for all the mis fortunate things that happen. ANYWAYS, all day I filed a police report and now have to go to the embassy to get a new passport. Needless to say, its been a long one, but such is life.

I suppose that's all the excitment that has been happening around here. I miss you all and can't wait to see everyone in 3 MONTHS!! Love Cristina

FAMILIA

Hey everyone! Sorry its been so long! I just got done with spending a week with the fam in CHile. It was SO SO good to have the OPPORTUNITY to see them and show them around. I didn't realize how much i worry here about saying and doing the right thing at the right time until i spent time with them and remembered what it feels like to completely at ease and at home with people . Not that I am uncomfortable in this house, but Its difficult sometimes to think of things to say and always wonder if you are doing the right things. ANYWAYS, I left at 4:30 AM to pick them up from the airport on Saturday. There are glass windows in the airport where you can watch all the people go through customs and get their luggage. I stood there bursting with excitement for about an hour before they came through...looking like they had just spent the night on the airplane...haha. Anyways, we went to the hotel and later walked to San Cristobol to look at the statue of Mary that overlooks the city. That night mark and I went to a jazz club about 15 min away. We got there at 9:30 thinking that would give us enough time to eat something before the jazz started. Little did we know that the club didn't even open until 11pm. The music was great though and I'm glad he got to see a bit of the CHilean night life. The next day we drove to Vina and got settled in the hotel . That night we went to my host home to have snacks and chat. My host mom went on about how young my dad looks and how my mom looks like a "lola" or young....maybe they should come here more often. The next day we went to ....drum roll please....the HOSPITAL! yes, exciting i know. Dad ended up with a sinus infection (I'm sure you love that I am sharing you medical history with everyone) and we spent about 4 hours there just to get a few prescriptions written. For the second half of the week we went to Pucon, a city south of here. WE took an overnight bus and the seats folded out into beds to make sleeping a bit easier. The next day mark and i got up to climb the volcano but the wind was too strong and the trip was canceled. Instead we all went to explore around the parks. We got a tiny car that barely made it up the mountains...quite an adventure. I'll post pictures tomorrow. The next day mark and I actually got to go most of the way up the volcano before the wind kicked up. We made it up part of the snow and then the guide had us turn around. the fun part was sledding down with ice picks. What a rush. Last night we took the bus back to santiago and spent the day walking around and planning what i'm going to do with the rest of my life....question of the week...haha....defiantly open to ideas...
Well i suppose thats all! Happy Easter!!!
Cristina

Camping on the beach

Well, this weekend has been pretty great so far. On friday I don't have classes and decided to go camping with two other people from the program at the last minute. WE packed our backpacks and headed about 2 hours north to a small fishing/hippie town. The bus dropped us off and after walking for a while without encountering a campsite we decided to take a little rest on the beach. We plopped down and sat for about 3 hours, talking, playing in the sand , and people watching. The beach was incredible and the water sparkled. After a while we decided to buy some food and then go searching for a place to camp. We ended up getting some veggies to stir fry along with rice and avocado . After walking for a while we found a perfect place to camp on a bluff about 10 feet from the ocean. The only downer was all the trash thrown around , but otherwise its probably the best place i've ever camped. This beach was so secluded that we felt that we were the only people for miles . We set up camp and attempted to get a fire started. Maren and i hauled over a HUGE piece of wood becausee we didn't have an luck finding something smaller. Needless to say, after about an our of working at it, the fire never started. So we got back to cooking using our only head lamp as light. ....in the midst of cutting veggies, the lamp went out. great. So we ended up cooking and eating int he dark...the food tasted wonderful. The next am we ate oatmeal and then walked down to the beach. we ended up playing in the sand for 3 hours before heading back. What a great mini weekend. I suppose thats all for now. I'll post pics later.
Chao!
Cristina

SAY WHAT??

So contrary to the last posting, classes are proving to be more difficult than expected. I´ve been trying out various classes and so far am planning on taking Psychology of Love and Sexuality, Latin American Short Stories, History of Movies, Vision del Cine, and a Social Work class. I didn´t realize how intimidating it would be to branch out and try to make friends...it feels like the first week of college all over again, except everyone around you already has a group so basically you just have to suck it up and take the first step. I met some really nice people in my organizational psychology class, but the class is going to be killer, so i´m not sure if i will take it. The psych of love class is great. The prof is halarious!! I also really enjoyed both movie classes. Classes are so different here. Its completly different from the community feel that you get at luther. Definatly has been a good experience.

This past weekend our group went to Pucon....a town about 12 hours south of here. WE took a night bus and arrived on fri AM. Pucon is a small town filled with things to do ...one of htem being hiking a Volcano!! I was SO excited to do the volcano, but we got rained out...oh well. THe first day Erin, Maren and I went walking for a few hours. We ended up finding a ton of blackberry bushes and stopped for about an hour or so to pick them. We were covered in purple by the end...way fun. We then went to one of the three lakes surrounding the area. SO PRETTY. The sand was black and we spent about an hour sittin gand talking. Definatly nice to catch up with the two of them. That night we ended up making apple and peach crisp and a group of us ate until we were going to explode. The cabins we stayed in were so nice and we were able to cook all our meals. THe firs tnight we made Shakshuka...the israli dish we learned in Ushuaia. The second day we went on a CAnopy tour. We rode ziplines through the trees and enjoyed the view. What a nice break from the city.

I love living with my new family. They are so funny and we usualy end up talking for an hour or so each night. Last night I watched a Chilean soap opera with the "adopted" son Sergio. SO FUNNY. WEll I suppose that is all for now. Miss you all!
Cristina

Smile and Nodd

WOW. So I´ve been to two classes so far...let me tell you about my experiences. YEsterday I went to a painting and drawing class....yes, I am taking an art class..haha. So I get there, and the prof talks for about an hour...not bad so far...and just as i think i´m off the hook, he asks us to do an aptitude test and draw a picture of our hand. SO everyone whips out their special pencils and paper and furiously starts to work on their masterpiece...I on the othe rhand, rip out a page from my planner along with my mechanical pencil and try unsuccessfully to draw my fingers....lets just say my drawing skills still need some work. Today i have to draw a tree...should be interesting. haha.

This morning I left the house at 7 for my 8 :15 class because i wasnt sure where i had to walk to take a colectivo. Well, I succesfully caught the colectivo at 7:30 and made it to my class with time to spare. HOWEVER, apparently its an accomplishment if the profs even show up...ours was 30 min late. I am the only exchange student in the class and am quickly learning its VERY intimidating to approach large groups of people speaking in a different language who are all about a foot shorter than you. SO in class I learned that we don´t actually use books or really ahve any tests...of course i could´ve gotten this wrong becasue everyone was talking over the prof. Oh Chile. So now i´m killing time for the next 6 hours until my next class (the last one was supposed to be 3 hours but we got out 2 hours early. haha )

I suppose that is all for now. This weekend we are going to Pucon to climb a volcano. Should be sweet. Chao for now!

Classes in Chile

So the classes in chile are like the cufews .....NON EXISTANT. Ok, thats a bit of an overexageration, let me explain. So, classes oficially started yesterday, but i haven´t been to one yet. Apparently the first month or so is not that important, so much so that the profs are also not very consistant no their attendence. I am SO SO ready for clases to start and am getting antsy after sitting around for so long. I am taking :
Psychology of Love and Sexuality
Chilean Short Stories
Chilean modern history
Social work
Movies
Painting (stop laughing....the teacher said you don´t really need much talent :) )
Psychology of Sports
Organizational Psychology
and Psychology of the personality

WHEW. And NO I wont be taking every single one. I have to decide which ones i definatly want to take by the end of march. Otherwise, I ´ve been doing pretty much nothing for the last few days. WALKING a ton, sleeping, and hanging out. Yesterday my housemate and I walked through the hills of VALPO for about 2 hours. We got lost but definalty got to see more of valpo than we would´ve if we actually knew where we were going. Last ngith a group of us made brownies and rented a chilean film...me being the "interperative" thinker that i am had trouble interperating an artsy film in a different language :) Well thats all for now...I´m headed for my first class....hopefully the prof will show. haha. hope everyone is doing well! miss you all!

BACK IN VINA!

Hey Everyone!
Sorry It´s taken me so long to update this blog! Things have been really busy around here. We got back to Vina and went directly to Santiago for orientation. The hotel we stayed in was called "Rent a home"...at first glance we figured it would be a little sketchy, but it was REALLY nice! They were like little apartments with kitchens and living rooms. I lived with two other girls from Luther and the girl who is my housemate right now. Lets see....orientation. Well the first day we went to a statue on a hill of the virgen mary. It was HUGE, something like 25km tall. It was so pretty to look out and see everything. Hopefully I can put some pics up later. The statue was put on the hill because it was the hill that guided the first settlers to the city of santiago. Afterwards we had our typical dinner of peaches and yogurt topped with ceral (so good!). The next day was SO busy and tiring, but interesting! We went to the Moneda...the building where the president does her thing. Its called the Moneda because it was originally a mint and later was turned into a building similar to the white house. After the Moneda we visited a musame of pre columbian art. It was interesting but we were all pretty tired at that point in the day. The next day we went to the house of Pablo Neruda....he has 3. It was AWESOME! He designed it to be like a boat, so each of the rooms are very small and shaped like they were in a boat. He was such a creative person, both in writing and in his art.

Now we are back in vina getting ready for classes to start. We´ve had 2 days of orientation so far, and my brain is still trying to switch back to spanish. There are 47 people in the program and its a great group. I love the new house i am living in. Every evening we sit and eat dinner and talk for about 2 hours. Its like living in a soap opera, everyone is so dramatic which makes the evenings entertaining. I got to see the psych building today where all my classes will be. Its AMAZING. Its near a lake on the outskirts of the city. Its a building with tons of windows and is very open and spread out. I´m excited to take classes there. I´m also planning on joining the college swim team here with another guy from CA. If its goign to be everyday and intense i may re think it, not because it wouldn´t be fun, but because i really want to have time to explore and enjoy new things. ...I can´t believe I´ve almost been here for two months. I´m very ready to start classes and really jump into the culture.

Hope everyone is well!
Cristina

1. Buying chocolate...we were called the women in black by the cashier

2. Last night cooking in Torres....watch out for the MICE!!

3. Torres

4. On the ferry to Chiloe

5. Erin and I ran up this in Bariloche...BEAUTIFUL

More Random Pics!

1. Socializing at the hostel in Bariloche

2. Maren ready to go

3. Crossing the "one person at a time " bridge

4.The whole group

94 hours on a BUS

No, we did not spend 94 hours on a bus all at once, but in 3 weeks we had the pleasure of doing so. Our last and longest ride was to vina. We left at 10am yesterday and got here at 10am today. Bariloche was AMAZING. Imagine a town, surrounded by mountains and lakes, filled with unlimited amounts of chocolate and icecream shops, and composed of a lively and welcoming popultaion. We stayed in a Hostel on top of a hill called La Justina. It was a small hostel, only 14 people, but cute and friendly. On Wed, Erin and I ran up a mountain called Cerro Osno, the view from the top was amazing and worth the pain (vale la pena). That night we had an AMAZING dinner at a resturante in town. It was the first time we hadn´t cooked in a long time, and it felt good to just sit and relax and eat Argentinian steak. The next day I went rafting with a group of 9 people. They came to the Hostel at nine and I didn´t end up getting back until nine. We went to El Bolson (2 hours) and had lunch at a house in the country. We then got on the river for a 2 hour rafting trip. The people in my raft didn´t speak any spanish, which made it an interesting trip of translating admist the " rapids" what the instructor was telling us. I call them "rapids" because they weren´t really rapids. But a goodt ime was had by all. In the group there were 2 argentinians, 3 chileans, and 2 women from Austria. It was fun to get ot kno weveryone.

One cultural ritual that I love in aregentina is Mate. Everywhere you walk, people hav etheir thurmus under their arm filled with hot water and their mate cup and straw on them. Mate is a mixture of herbs tha tyou put in a cup and drink out of a straw that filters the herbs out. Hard to explain. But its more of a social thing. Everyone shares (including the guys in the bus on the way to rafting). Its strong, but I didn´t mind it.

Ok, well i suppose thats all for now. I am going to post some more pics for you all. They are out of order, but I hope you enjoy them!
Cristina

USHUAIA!!!

MORE PICS

The first photo is of us in Punta Arenas before Torres del Paine

The second is of our huge dinner we made with the guys in the hostel

The third is of us cooking meat for the Shashuka

The fourth is of us hiking to a glacier in ushuaia

Bariloche, ARGENTINA!!!

Yes, I am in love with Argentina. WE stayed in Chiloe for about 1.5 days and randomly decided that maybe we need to head back to Argentina. So we took a bus to Puerto Varas and stayed there for a night and a day. What a BEAUTIFUL city! Its right on a lake and is a cute little town. We stayed in a hostel run by a group of people from France. It was our first time staying in a dorm style hostel and I was lucky enough to share a bunkbed with a 40 year old argentinan man...there was a also a guy from Gerany and a couple from Switzerland. We stayed about a day in puerto varas and spent the day walking around and exploring. That night we cooked Shashuka for the second time in 3 days and made an AMAZING apple crisp dish...yes, I am finally learning how to cook and am not half bad. So we finished off a tub of ice cream and the apple crisp and then walked around the city with a guy from NYC and a guy from Germany. The guy from NYC is getting paid to bike around the world and had tons of stories to tell. The guy from Germany will be heading to BAriloche tomorrow so we are hoping to see him again. The bus to BAriloche was long but BEAUTIFUL. It was through the Andes and had great views. We´re staying in a small hostel run by a young couple. SHould be good. Bariloche is on a huge lake in the Andes. There are TONS of things to do and I am excited to find a hike to do tomorrow.

One thing I always look forward to is making dinner with the people I am traveling with. It doesn´t matter if we´ve had a long day and everyone is crabby, we always do dinner togeter. ITs a constant thing amist the craziness. Makes me realize how much I value and need to be around friends and family. I suppose that´s all for now. GOOD LUCK TO THE lUTHER SWIMMERS AT LAC! YOU GUYS ROCK!

Super Bowl Parties with Israeli Men in the Southern- Most City in the World

WOW, that is all I have to say about Ushuaia, Argentina. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach because I know I have to leave here in 2 days. We arrived here on Saturday and have been staying in a Hostel called Freestyle. It is SO GREAT. The people are so friendly and we{ve been hanging out with Itai and Itai from Israel. We´´ve also met people from germany, argentina, boston, denver, and switzerland. The city is amazing...we´´re surrounded by mountains and water and its really incredible. Anways, on Sunday night the Itais from Israel were dead set on watching the super bowl....they wanted to order pizza, drink beer, and watch the game...so we made some soup and decided to join them. At halftime we ran to the ice cream shop and then returned to watch the rest of the game. SO FUN! On Monday we hiked to a Glacier with the Itais (they are both named Itai) and I really enjoyed learning more about their culture. The glacier was nothing special but the view was amazing. After we came back we bought food to make Shasuka, an Israeli dish...It was SO good! Shashuka consists of carrots, onions , garlic, tomatoes, eggs , and bread. You first put a ton of tomatoes and carrots in a pan and heat them up. When the mixture is almost boiling you crack eggs on the top and let them cook. Then it is ready to eat with bread. We made it with meat and peas as well (Emilio, the hostel owner insisted on it) and named it Argen-Shashuka because we ate it with meat. I love cooking with people and then eating all together, it gives me such a sense of family and community. There were 8 of us eating together and the meal was amazing.
Today I relaxed for the morning and went on a boat tour with one of the Itais in the afternoon. The boat tour was 2 hours and we went around to all of the different islands looking at Sea lions and birds. It was FREEZING but the view was amazing and I really enjoyed getting to know Itai better. We talked a lot about traveling and different cultures...he told me he doesn{t believe life is worth living if you don{t learn something each day...I have to say I agree. After the tour I went for an hour run around the city and LOVED IT. It was super cold and rainy, but it was nice to get out and have some time alone. While I was running I met a guy from Argentina who is going hiking with us tomorrow. People are so friendly here...the second you meet them you feel like you{ve known them forever. This is the first place we{ve stayed for more than a night and we{ve developed a family wiht the people here...its such a great feeling to have people to eat with each night and enjoy eachother{s company. I don{t know how to explain it. Its really been a great last few days though and I{m really going to miss this place. The Israelis are already making plans to visit us in Vina hopefuly in April. Its been so neat getting to know them. I love traveling and talking with so many different people, I wish i could giv eyou a clearer picture of everything, but its hard to put into words. The environment here is so friendly and open, its incredible. Ok, well I{m going to go get more ice cream....its only about 4 degrees C but its never too cold for ice cream! Love you all
Cristina

Longest blog of my life

So you may want to grab a drink and a snack before you sit down to read this, because I have a lot to catch up on! First of all, GREAT JOB to the Luther Swimmers, you guys pretty much rock. Secondly, I hope everyone is doing well and I hope classes started smoothly!

Ok, so where to begin. I´m going to give you a day by day description of my trip so far. Just for some background, I am traveling iwth 3 other girls, Heidi, Maren, and Erin. We are all from Luther and are all studying in Valpo.

FRIDAY 1-26, SATURDAY

Today I woke up early and awkwardly left my host family, I think it will be a good change for me, and I had dinner with the new family today and ablsolutly loved talking with them. AFterwards the four of us went to JUMBO to buy food for our backpacking trip...we are going to make a killer trail mix and have some pretty great dinners planned. After shopping I went for an amazing run in Quinta Vigara, a park in the middle of the city that really makes you feel like you are in the country...it reminds me of Phelps park for all you people from luther. Heidi and I then headed to Maren´s house to pack and sleep before our 5:30 wake up call. We went to bed around midnight and ended up talking unil 3am....the alarm went off at four...oops. Anyways, we got to the airport and what did we find??!!! A STARBUCKS!!! YES, a STARBUCKS, now, I´m not one to be overly obsessive about coffee ...especially when you have to pay mad amounts of money for a small cup, but it goes back to the familiarity thing. ANYWAYS, we caught our flight to Punta Arenas....5 hours (by plane) south of santiago. We had a blast and Erin got out her energy by doing pushups in the aisle during our quick layover.

So we finally arrived at the hostal only to find that we had made reservations for the wrong month, we decided to go out and buy a tent and a stove so we could camp out on the lawn of the hostal...the tents are so cheap here, and in the end it was a good investment and saved us quite a bit of money. The hostal was so much fun. Eduardo , the owner is a great guy and helped us get our acts together before our trip. That night we met 2 guys from Israel, a couple from Germany, and a lady from Brasil. We talked with the guys from Israel for a while about their experiences and their country, SO INTERSTING. Lots of Isralies come here after their mandatory 3 years in the army. I´d say about 90% of the people we´ve run into have been from Israel. Eventually we went to bed, all packed and ready for the next morning.

SUNDAY

This morning we ran around like CRAZY trying to get our bus tickets all squared away. I´m sure four white girls with large backpacks running around a city at 8am was quite a sight. We finally got tickts to Puerto Natales...where we spent the night in order to catch a bus to Torres del Paine in the AM. We arrived in Puerto Natales around 6:30 and immediatly headed to the super market to buy food for dinner. We cooked veggies with pasta and topped it off with an ice cream cake...all for about a dollar a person...not bad at all.

MONDAY
Our bus picked us up at about 7:30 to head into the park....all together it was about a 4 hour ride to get to the first camp site. On the way we started talking to 6 chilean guys from Santiago. They were so friendly and decided to set up camp near us and hike with us for the afternoon. It was great to talk in spanish for the day and learn about each of them. They were shocked that we as women were able to carry our packs and start a fire to cook for ourselves...they were always offereing to help, its interesting how the culture shapes them to think that way. THey told us that their girlfriends wouldn´t be caught dead going backpacking. ANYWAYS; we hiked up to the torres for the afternoon. IT was a beautiful hike and there was an incredible lake at the top. I didn´t realize how much I needed a break from the busy city until I got to the National park, it was SO REFRESHING. The very top was all boulders, SO FUN! On the way up we met a couple from Canada, John and Helga. Little did we know, they would soon become our adopted parents on trail. They are professors in Canada but are teaching for a year inCHile. They are some of the smartest, funniest, and kindest people I have ever met.

THat night we cooked an amazing dinner of beans and tortillas...literally, it was amazing and we savored every bite. We then sat around a fire with the Chileans and Helga and John before we headed to bed.

TUESDAY- The most intense hour of our lives

So I wont write every detail of the trip because this could get very long. But today was the most intense day of hiking we would have. The terrin wasn´t bad but the wind was INCREDIBLE. There was one point where it literally lifted me up and threw me into the bushes. It was SO FUN! We hiked along a lake and by the end we were soaked because of all the water blowing onto us. We could see the wind comming towards us by looking out on the lake and seeing the water vapor as it approached. We would estimate the time we had to run before the wind hit us. We would run as fast as we could from place to place and when the wind was about to hit we would sit down and hold on tight to a rock or a tree. I am not exagerating, we were getting blown away and it was impossible to walk when the gusts would come. Usually big gusts would come about every 30 seconds....we ran when the wind died down and did this for about 2 hours straight. Then we hit the "beach of death" There was no shelter on this beach, just black rocks and water. When the gust died down, we booked it to the other side. IT was SWEET! We felt like army people in training. Needless to say, we made it to our campsite, exhausted but alive and running off of adreneline. What an incredible day. John and Helga arrived shortly after and introduced us to 2 guys from Germany who wanted to learn about where they could take some spanish classes. We talked with them for a bit and then went to bed.

WEDNESDAY- Calm after the storm
Today we did a day hike and then packed up our packs to head to the next site about 2 hours away. AT this point we had aquired the name "The Four Crazy American Girls" and were pretty darn proud of it...not sure why we were called that, but i suppose it fits. The campsite that we arrived at was incredible. When we first arrived the ranger gave us a box of old veggies and cheese to use for dinner. Needless to say, we ate like roalty that night. The camp had a hostal and resturante as well. Definlaty for the upper class "I want to go tot he mountains but don´t want to camp" type of people. Anways, we cooked dinner and sat with a couple form England for a few hours. They were also halarious to talk to.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY
We made our way towards administration to catch the bus. On Thursday I headed up to the Glacier ...everyone decided to do their own thing for the day, so we were all on our own. It was a great hike, and ince to have time alone...the Glacier was amazing..I´ll try to post pictures later. On thursday night we stayed at a pretty rustic campsite that luckily had a shelter from the wind to cook food. The two German guys were there as well as a mom and daughter from Santiago and 2 girls from Pikipsie , NY who attended college at Syraycuse....what a small world huh? For those of you who don´t know, I have a lot of family in NY from that area. ANYWAYS, we cooked a FEAST becaseu it was the last day on trail so we didn´t have to ration everything. WE were having a great time until one of the guys mentioned the mice below our feet. I ddin´t think it was too big of a deal, but Maren was a little nervous and ended up on the table...pretty comical...not for her i´m sure (love you Maren :) ) . We then went to bed wishing that we didin´t have to get up so early and miss the home-made bread that the german guys were making for breakfast...I need to find me one of them :) On FRiday we caught the bus back..I met a guy from Boulder...very small world. Friday night we got to the Hostal around 10 and made dinner. We then camped out for the night....way cheaper.

SATURDAY and TODAY!

We´re in Ushuaia! AFter a 12 hour bus ride, running around in the rain for 1.5 hours looking for a place to stay, and figuring out bus tickets, we finally have a chance to relax in the Southern-most city of the world. It is incredible and I am in love with it. WE are surrounded by snow covered mountains and the ocean. There are tons of places to eat and walk around in. Tomorrow we will hike to another glacier wiht 2 Israli guys that we met. Last night we went to an Irish pub and got the MOST AMAZING VEGGIE SOUP KNOWN to MAN...or maybe it was just cold out and the soup was the first real food we had eaten all day....Afterwards we went out with the Israli guys and ended up at a little Cafe talking about our adventures. I´´ve decided that I have to come back to ARgentina in a few years to work or something. I love it. This morning Erin and I went for an hour run and it was AMAZING. The air was cool and crisp and we are in the most BEAUTIFUL town, which definalty is a motivator. AND now, we´re all off doing our own thing...laundry, internet, eating , relaxing, enjoying the day!

I suppose that is all for the day. I´ll add details as I go. I wish there was a better way to capture all of our adventures. I miss you all and think of you all the time.
Love Cristina