El Fin

So this is my final half hour...I am driving to Santiago airport with my host mom, brother, and sister and will probably be sitting in the airport for quite some time until my 9pm flight. I'll be stuck in Canada from 5am-10am and then in Cleveland by 11 or 11:30am....to rush into the awaiting paws of my beautiful doggy! (and parents/brother...of course). I'm not looking forward to the temperature change from 85 to 35 and will probably suffer some kind of withdrawal, but I'm excited to get back into the holiday spirit. The waterworks haven't started yet, but after spending all day at the botanical gardens with my family yesterday (my WHOLE family, including both sisters and ex-husband/dad), I can't imagine a better way to go. I'll post one more time with more complete reflections on the experience overall, but I should probably start zipping up those suitcases. Hasta Luego,
Lorena

The Last 3 Sunsets

Puesta del Sol: "pway-stuh dell soul" n. sunset

I've began counting sunsets. I have two left after tonight's, which will happen in a few short hours.
The sky has been playing tricks on me recently and I suppose Mother Nature gets the last laugh. When I planned for the past two days to be lazy beach days, getting some last minute rays before I go repeat winter all over again (remember I just recently survived winter and made the transition into summer within the last month), the sun has refused to come out until six p.m. and has chosen instead to give me a cold, overcast sky.
I haven't done anything dramatic in my last week here in Chile, as I mentioned in my previous post. However, the past few days have been uneventful, boring, and wonderful. I've lost all pretense and pressure to be doing something grand and memorable, choosing instead to be a happy bum who embraces spontaneous activities but is happy without them as well.
Most days I wake up late (I can't seem to sleep until 4am lately), hang out in my room until lunchtime before eating almuerzo with my family. I'll go to the gym for a Spinning class in the evening and try to squeeze in something from my bucket list someone in between or afterwards.
On Monday, I attended a friend from Frisbee's birthday party in downtown Valparaíso on Calle Ecuador (where all the best bars are) with Rochelle. It was very easy and simple, just a big group of foreigners and a few Chileans sitting together for a few hours. The birthday boy may have gotten a bit sick, but I suppose thats a rite of passage for most.

On Tuesday, Rochelle and I visited the sand dunes between the cities of Reñaca and ConCon. There has recently been a big uproar to save and protect the dunes from high rise apartment/condo development that has been grossly popular along that stretch of beach. I even signed a petition my host brother was passing around. My friend Felipe also came along with us after he finished his day of classes at the history building of PUCV near my house. (hold your wedding bells ladies we're just friends...and I've got at least 5 inches on him). Felipe is in fact my ONLY friend from my University, and we didn't even meet through school because he has been on strike the entire semester until just recently. Once we got to the dunes, it took ten difficult minutes just to climb to the top of them before we could look out at the stunning (however overcast) view toward Valparaíso on one side and ConCon on the other. It felt as if we were in Egypt and also reminded me of the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. There were some stray cardboard boxes left behind after past sledding adventures (we didn't try it though, the thought of climbing back up was too daunting) as well as scattered bottles from late night drinking adventures no doubt.
On Wednesday I did my last round of Christmas shopping (done so early this year!?) around Viña del Mar with my wonderful host mom for the majority of the day. I could say what I bought, but then I'd spoil the surprise for many of you! Mamá Sonia and I also ran some other errands around town, from buying a new broom and dustpan for under $5 to bags of funny little mini-peach looking fruit to make into marmalade. She even put up with my characteristic indecisiveness when it came to picking out gifts, bless her soul. After a double round of spinning class I came home and realized I STILL had a box of USA style (gringo) pancake mix! I decided to make banana pancakes á la grina for my host siblings while listening to Christmas music to get in the mood. My host brother Dani had never seen them before and exclamed: "Ah son como los wafles!" (they're just like waffles!). We ate every last one.
Today, my mamá made home-made empanadas neopolitana as a surprise. They have oregano, cheese, and tomato inside. The best. To make the overcast day even better, I had my very first massage. It wasn't quite as relaxing as I had hoped, however, due to my uncontrollable ticklish spasms every time she touched my lower back or forehead or pretty much anywhere else! She told me the more often I have a massage the less it happens, but lady you are crazy if you think I'll ever pay US prices! I'll stick to bribing my friends or massage circles I think, but it was still something everyone should experience.

T-5 Hasta el Invierno

Invierno: "in-vee-air-no" Winter
T-5 Days Until Snow!?

Mural in Cerro Concepción Valparaíso

So I'm down to the final countdown. I will be a "citizen" of Chile for five more days until I fly Santiago-Canada-Ohio (flights never make sense, do they?) on the 11th, arriving at last on the 12th. As some of you have asked, yes this means if you had that letter sitting on your desk, avoiding asking the post office for international stamps, that you meant to mail me weeks ago, you should probably mail it to my house in Ohio rather than to Chile. Oddly enough, the mail has swallowed an unidentified amount of mail intended for me here in Chile so if I didn't write some of you back, it was unintentional I promise!
In the last week I've finished all of my exams, my giant final paper for my independent study of Juegos Mapuches (indigenous games), and have started crossing off things around Valparaíso and Viña del Mar that I always meant to do but never quite got around to it. One of my favorites has been going to my super fancy gym on the water--I've developed an obsession with Spinning classes, so hard but you lose track of the time!
Furthermore, for example, I've learned how to KNIT. Yes kids, I have officially become a grandmother and I sat around at night knitting with my host mom (who is the master) on Saturday night knitting instead of going out on the town. For those of you whose reaction included "Oh lord, that's boring," you're just jealous, and I will not be gifting you a scarf this Christmas! I don't know how to fix my mistakes when I mess up so I'll probably be a bit lost once I go home to the states, but you'd be surprised how many of my friends at Tulane I discovered that know how to knit as well.

Mamá Sonia & me at the Casino

the beautiful cheese plate :)

Last Thursday I also finally visited Casino Enjoy, Viña del Mar that has been an integral part of my running path for the past four months. I always ran around, behind, in front of the casino but never went into it even though the legal age here in 18. A lot of the older ladies of Viña spend their evenings in the casino livin' la vida loca and therefore rack up points and invitations to fun events, including the one my host mom invited me to which was a wine tasting held by the vineyard Tierra Vientos (Earth Winds). It was a white tablecloth event with beautiful plates of cheese and three full glasses of wine to try for each lady in the room. It was an event just for the girls (and therefore 2 of the glasses were white wine). We had their Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with the Chardonnay being my favorite. The Red wasn't too bad, I think I've finally grown to like wine (or at least not make a face at it, like I used to do before I discovered the wonderful world of coffee). We ended up chatting with several of my host mom's friends after the event (everyone knows everyone at that place) but didn't gamble. Paula and I instead ran away to McDonalds for some sinful gringo sandwiches. Such a classy evening.

Recently went to one last Demonstración for Educación!

Moving on, all of my friends have been traveling in the South this week, but Machu Picchu sucked my bank account dry and I chose to stay in town. I've been spending quality time with my host sister Paula and my mom as well as my brother Dani when he's not studying for his finals. The kids all went to see Happy Feet 2: El Pingüinito and I loved being able to understand all of the Spanish spoken, evident by laughing at the correct moments. I can't wait to see it in English, though, so I can see the banter between Brad Pitt and Matt Damon who each play krill. I always said that my PURPOSE and goal for traveling to South America was to see penguins. Well folks, this was how I accomplished my mission.

Grandmothers for Education!

My sister Paula and I outside our house

On another positive note as well, I've been spending time at the beach or the mall or shopping in downtown Valparaíso with my friend Rochelle who goes to Tulane but we had never met before Chile and I'm genuinely happy to have found someone else who wasn't traveling and who I could continue to be friends with once this adventure comes to a close. There are several people, in fact, from Tulane that I have come to consider friends and I look forward to seeing how things play out once we're normal students again. I continue to hear news from Tulane, like the Green Wave Basketball has a record of 9-0 and have caught National attention for it. I look forward to getting back to work with the team and seeing how things are different with so many new players and a new training facility. I still have to find another job as well once I get back (basketball managers are not well paid), so that's a scary prospect...real life is calling!
Anyways, I'm off to the sand dunes in ConCon- the best way to go sledding in the summertime!

Semanas

T-2 Semanas ("say-mah-nahs" n. weeks) Until Landing. 

Where has the time gone? Alrighty...so what have I been doing since my one huge Peruvian adventure ended and now only have two weeks left? I've been getting to know my city and my country a little bit better and finishing off my schoolwork one paper and project at a time...all while trying my best resist the urge to run outside in the sun I've been waiting for all along and scream "YAYYY SUMMER!!"

¡CHILE!

CHI-CHI-CHI-LE-LE-LE

One of the experiences I think essential to any study abroad experience is attending a national league fútbol ("fu-oot-bowl") game. Don't you dare say soccer. When I studied abroad for a short time in Spain, participating in the futbol culture was one of my favorite parts, especially considering they won the Eurocup for the first time in over sixty years while I was there back in 2008. Now, in 2011, countries are already playing World Cup 2014 qualification games, and I had the chance to attend Chile vs. Paraguay in the National Stadium in the capital city, Santiago.

World Cup Brasil 2014 Qualifiers!

A bunch of gringos and a few Chileans all piled into a chartered bus together and make the hour and a half trek over to Santiago, essentially tailgating along the way and painting faces/bodies/clothing/flags. Ironically, once we got to the stadium there was no Jumbo-Tron screen to project video of everyone all painted like they would do in the USA, and all the guys with painted chests ended up sitting in different sections anyway. In the hours before leaving, I bought a giant Chilean flag and paraded around with it like a cape and painted my face with Chilean flags as well because it was impossible to find a jersey. It was such fun to see Alexis Sanchez, hero of Chile and star of the Barcelona team (some say the best player in the world), play on his home stage. Luckily, I learned a whole new plethora of cheers in Spanish and Chile destroyed Paraguay 2-0!

Once back from all the mayhem of fútbol in South America, it was back to school and back to business. Last Saturday I helped to paint a mural at the girl's home next door that I volunteer at each week. We painted an ocean scene and the hope is that each study abroad group that comes to volunteer will paint another little mural alongside it until the whole back wall of the outdoor play area is covered. The girls got filthy and we got a bit painted ourselves as well but in the end it was a great result (however questionable some of the "fish" may be).

Hogar Teresa Cortes Brown Mural

Last week one of my friends and I had to make a video about something in the city of Valparaíso and we chose to document the national student movement that has been happening during our time here in Chile. Despite inhaling a fair amount of tear gas and running from water cannons over our months here in Chile, we were able to capture some exciting footage. We also recorded a poem about the city that you may not understand but just consider it an "artistic soundtrack." Juuust in case you were wondering, we received a perfect score! :)  'Click for Poetry/Video Project I did about student protests since I've been here!

Back at Hotel Piero where our journey began

Some of you have been asking me if it was weird to be abroad for Thanksgiving, aka "Día de Acción de Gracias," and yes, it was very strange. Thanksgiving is a sacred holiday in my household, in fact the only one we host ourselves. I spent my Thanksgiving this year outside tanning, then to a Goodbye Dinner at Hotel Piero ( in Reñaca, where we had our orientation over 4 months ago) for my program that yes, served us Turkey but seemed to forget mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberries, and most any other side dish we Americans are used to. The desserts made by my friends in the program, however, made up for whatever the main meal lacked. I think 75% of our total food intake was scrumptious sweets piled high on little plates we sheepishly took back to our seats, attempting to hide the portions behind our hands before stuffing face. Some of the delicacies included chocolate truffles, a million cookies, key lime pie, pecan pie, apple pie, scotcheroos, ice cream, mint brownies, and a million other mouthwatering temptations. After the meal each CIEE class presented something representative of the semester and then the photo contest winners were announced. There were 2 categories and a $100USD prize for each of the winners. Many thanks to Anne Napoli and Katlyn Leach for helping me decide what to enter into the contest- I came in the top 3 for each category but didn't win! I will set up a link to my 8 entries (you could enter 2 into each category) soon. Finally, nearly 30 of us walked to the beach to read out some hilarious and sentimental superlatives made by a few of our friends. The night was still young, so we took a bus to Valparaíso to go dancing until the wee hours of the morning. While it may not have involved my Dad's famous soup creations (which I understand my brother took over this year?), lamenting the snow and cold weather, fighting for a drumstick, or drinking sparkling cider with my favorite cousin...it was quite the Thanksgiving to remember.

MACHU PICCHU

It took me ages to learn that the double C goes with Picchu, not Machu, but I finally have it down. It's almost like learning how to spell license. 
But I digress, it's finally time to give you all the conclusion to my Peruvian Peregrination which happened weeks ago, but my memories remain equally clear today as they did on the epic climax of my trip. 


11/1/11: Machu Picchu City, Wayna Pichu Mountain

5:00am Wake up call...after a day of vomiting and sleeplessness, I was surprisingly (and finally!) rested and tentatively over the altitude sickness from Cusco (Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu are actually at a far lower altitude).

5:30am A few hesitant nibbles of breakfast and off the buses to take us to Machu Picchu city by 6:00. It is an hour and a half walk uphill that many ambitious tourists complete without realizing how strenuous it will be. A few of the people we met on our tour said it was more challenging than climbing the mountain. I was perfectly content to be transported lazily uphill, curving around 90 degree switchbacks that threaten unsuspected collisions with other buses and plunging to your death below (*cough*Parental unit, I mean everything is 100% safe and all the buses have football field sized lanes and all of the turns are blocked with steel guardrails ten feet high). The drive reminded me of my infamous 12 hour trek through the Andes on the way back from Mendoza, but this time it was hot outside already and there was far more green.

Machu Picchu city...that mountain in the background? Yep, scaled that sucker!

7:30am We arrive at the gates of the city, embarrassed by the number of layers we wore/packed when people were already stripping to tank tops and shorts. Whoever told us its freezing at high altitude especially in the morning...shame on you for making me carry all my extra layers in my backpack up Wayna Picchu Mountain! After wandering around the city for an hour trying to find the base of the mountain, we were already sweating and stressed about making it in time (you have to buy a ticket in advance for the time you wish to go up) and I hadn't fully had a chance to take in my surroundings.

8:45am  The hike up the mountain is 100% ancient stairs. The park has put in place a few ropes or steel wires here and there to prevent more deaths (the number is a bit shady...our first Google search produced details of 3, but other sites claim up to 7), but the stairs are steep. For someone who has never hiked at high altitude (no Ohio and Michigan, your hills don't count...and New Orleans, you DEFINITELY don't count) and who was unbelievably paranoid about coming down with more symptoms of altitude sickness, it was one of the most challenging hikes I've ever done. You can feel your thigh muscles resisting nearly every push upward and your calves squirming in discomfort. Your brain becomes almost more determined to convince you to stop than it does to motivate you to keep going. When someone passed me I would feel ashamed and out of shape, but I had to keep reminding myself that I was 2700m above the ground (which is already way up in the mountains) and my heart was working overtime with a miniscule amount of oxygen to fuel my brain.

10:30ish am: We reach the top!! The view is 360 degrees of unbelievable. The clouds are hovering right there with you, and all around you is GREEN. This kind of green is not something a golf course can buy, it is green green green. I've never been to Ireland (to those of you who know me: ironic isn't it?) but you've got competition lassy. Machu Picchu city is a tiny series of specks off to your right, and the zig-zagged road for the buses looks like a native piece of art itself. There were French, Russian, American British, South American people at the top and it was unbelievable to appreciate and experience such a triumph and natural wonder all together, regardless of who we are.

3/4 the way up Wayna Picchu...look how tiny Machu Picchu is down there!

Once we ate our bread and cheese sandwiches (my first real food in 48 hours!) we took enough pictures to last a lifetime (including one of my friend D and I planking at the highest point!...also very safe of course).

11:30ish am: We descend the millions of stairs. As D said to me, "For what you lack in going up the stairs you sure as hell make up for it going down!" Apparently I am a beast. I credit the years of quick footed Irish Dance skills, but they claim it was because I'm tall and they had to jump half the time to reach a stair. I also got creative, going backwards down steep stretches or grape-vining across uneven areas. It's quite an art. Being so far ahead of everyone gave me even more time to take photos of what barely seemed real, tucked away in the middle of the mountains, high above the sacred river, once long forgotten and pristinely intact. The city was discovered exactly 100 years ago and it was incredibly special to be there during its centennial anniversary. An eleven year old boy from the Pampas stumbled upon it and just one family was living there. Originally, all of the Incans were wiped out by a skin disease brought in by messengers who infected the population.

made it!

12:30sh pm: Blazing hot, sweaty, and crisping in the sun, we found a tour guide (in Spanish!) who gave us a two-hour tour with just a few other people from Spain and Santiago. Elizabeth was her name, and she was from Aguas Calientes and has lived there here whole life and loves it, she never wants to leave. It's hard to imagine but I can understand her happiness surrounded by such beauty, it's hard to top it. Elizabeth explained to us that Yale University (of course) has 85% of all the original artifacts from Machu Picchu (including its mummies...who are mummified in the fetal position so as to die as you are born), even now 100 years later. 80% of the city itself is also in its original state, with only 20% restored, but it is maintained daily to prevent erosion from the many tourists (though limited) who pass through every day.
In several places there were secret things you could never know for yourself, like a site on the back side of the city where you can clap and it echoes through every crevice of the mountains. The Incans used it to avoid shouting. There are also blocked windows that vibrate when hummed into as a religious practice. Interestingly, you cannot touch the sacred rock at the highest point of the city (which is known to emit its own kind of special energy you can sense) anymore because a camera man filming a commercial there broke part of it with a beer bottle. However, most importantly, there are unmonitored herds of random llamas walking around. If it weren't for the overeager Australians sneak attacking them I would have gotten my kissy face llama picture! I will forever be bitter.
It was a perfect day.
 I couldn't believe how much we had accomplished by 2:30pm. We all just sat on the terraced landscape for another hour soaking it all in, not ready to leave one of the 7 Wonders of the World, one of the most unique and precious places I will ever know.
Sadly, everyone is kicked out of the park by 5:00pm anyway, so back to Aguas Calientes we went. Our Japanese roommate in our hostel had cleared out and was replaced by the most interesting middle-aged British man named Mark who was traveling on his own for a few years after quitting his software programming job. He lives entirely off of renting his house in England and has been all over the world, from the far East to Brazil to Chile. He even took an intensive month long Thai massage course in Thailand, just for the heck of it...he recommends it to no one, describing it as one of the most painful and least relaxing experiences you can ever have.

Cusco and Lima Round Two...the End of an Adventure
 11/2/11
We repeated the train/bus back to Cusco, with everyone absolutely exhausted. It was freezing again, even hailing as we sat in the little bus. The one thing that kept us entertained was the adorable dark-haired Peruvian baby aboard. If anyone wants to adopt a child, adopt one from Peru because they are the most beautiful babies I've ever seen.
Once back, we found an organic food restaurant and I had the best food I've had since I've been abroad. I had organic sweet potato fries with a lush Caprese Salad. We attempted to get into the museum at the site of the Incan Palace but ended up just mosying about. All of the boutique fit shops were ridiculously overpriced so we just hit some panaderías for tasty chocolate truffles and shopped at the local artensanía until closing.

11/3/11
Back to Lima. I really enjoyed Lima the first time, I thought it was beautiful and clean and exciting. This time, as we were in our cab from the airport to a new hostel in Centro Lima, a kid walking through traffic at a red light reached into the car from a cracked window and attempted to steal my friends backpack from the floor. It took three people from inside to wrestle it back from him and  NO ONE got out of their cars to help in the struggle that lasted several minutes. Typical. Not even the crossing guard moved to help. At least our hostel "1900 Backpackers" was insanely gorgeous with marble floors and high ceilings and intricate woodwork. We also were able to find lunch at a hole-in-the-wall joint for 7 soles for 3 courses. We visited the MALI art museum and the Bryce exhibit was particularly interesting (more or less a collage of re-drawn articles and magazine covers from the WWII era...hundreds of them). By the end of the day, I had even bought Harry Potter in Spanish..and everyone was sick again but I won't go into that.

1/100th of Bryce's work

While the trip had far more drama than I care to share here that may have ruined it a bit for me, the day at Machu Picchu was enough to make me have no regrets. So go. Drop whatever you're doing and book tickets (and please for the sake of everything that is good in the world, book them all in advance...plane, train, hostel, bus, do it all.) I'm dirt broke now and came back to Chile a bit downtrodden and eager to go home to the States, but if you're with people you love, you're guaranteed the trip of a lifetime.

Full Gallery of Peruvian Photos

Peruvian Peregrination Part 2: Cusco & Aguas Calientes

CUSCO, PERU
n. "coos-co" with an S, not a Z, people.
10/30/11- 10/31/11
Not many photos from this particular episode...you'll see why.

We arrived via Star Peru Airlines (never expect a South American airline to be on time otherwise you're sure to be disappointed. Make sure you come with snacks) in Cusco and shacked up at the youth hostel Eco Packers which had an awesome open air courtyard in the center equipped with couches, a hammock, computers, and ping pong table scattered about the stone floors and semi-covered outskirts. We shared another eight person bunk room with girls from Norway and Ireland who were on trekking trips. While the beds were not nearly as comfy as those in Lima, they did the job. We were already up at 3400m altitude, so what's a few more meters up in the air on a rickety bunk, right? I was deathly afraid of getting altitude sickness the whole time, and my friends reminded me that it was all psychological and I would probably make myself dizzy before the altitude did.

Of course it began to rain as soon as we ventured out into the quaint cooblestone squares of Cusco, but we explored nontheless. There was a large outdoor public mass happening for some Catholic holiday or other (there are so many in South America that it's very easy to lose track) so we hopped into a touristy restaurant for a bite to eat and an Inca Cola (Peru's pride and joy, a yellow bubble-gum flavored cola). Finally, we explored the covered artisan markets for llama sweaters, scarves, silver jewelry, local art, and leather goods. We never buy much because we know we'll have to tote it around for the rest of the trip.
Finally, we returned to Eco Packers only to realize that our plans for Machu Picchu were all half-baked. We had bought our tickets to enter the park for $150 soles (multiply that by .4 relatively for USD) and thought we were set. No no no. You have to buy your train tickets (and find a bus to the train as well) to the city of Aguas Calientes months in advance if you want to avoid spending several nights there, and if you can't find any, you have to book a hostel to stay in as well.  After much frustration and failure of using our US credit cards (including global ones) to purchase train tickets, we finally gave up and decided to wake up early to find the train station in order to buy tickets. I was so frustrated and miserable and paranoid about altitude sickness that my friend graciously agreed to buy my ticket for me and let me sleep another hour. Our tickets, unfortunately, weren't the best and meant we'd have to stay in Aguas Calientes for two nights.
So around 1 o'clock in the afternoon we boarded a big van for the two hour journey up through the hills and poverty of Peru to the train. I should have known it was a bad omen the moment the driver decided there were enough chairs by seating me on a backless lawn chair alongside the seats. Strike one. The train took another hour and a half or two and I was feeling absolutely miserable. I was so nauseous I could barely take in the beauty of the journey, with windows on the train up past the edges of the ceiling to show the mountains and the sacred river alongside us that reaches all the way to Amazonia. When we all descended onto the platform, the altitude sickness took over and I spent the next 20 hours vomiting, crying, wallowing in self-pity, and lying in my bed at our hostel (named Super Tramp?...Strike Two.) while my friends went out exploring the tiny town of Aguas Calientes and handing out candy to little Peruvian kids on Halloween. I finally fell asleep at ten PM praying to Incan gods I'd be okay to climb Wayna Picchu mountain at five AM the following morning.

Stay tuned to find out if I made it.

Peruvian Peregrination: Part 1

Alas, it is finally, finally time to divulge the details of my Peruvian peregrination. It was a very long eight-day journey, llena (yay-nah: adj. full) with activity, illness, frustration, and natural wonders. I’ll try to break it down simply but keep it as entertainingly verbose as possible:

LIMA PERU: 10/27- 10/30

("lee-mah"...not to be confused with Lima, Ohio)

Central Lima

My favorite church

Two of my friends and I (both nicknamed D, which makes for a very entertaining yet challenging way to get their attention) took a bus from the bus station in Viña del Mar to Santiago where you change buses and eventually get to the airport (dreading this process when I eventually fly home with copious amounts of luggage!). Unfortunately, all three of us were sick: both D’s with stomach illnesses of some sort, and I with God-awful congestion and two overwhelming earaches. The flight from Santiago to Lima is about 3.5 hours long and barely feels like an international fligh,t aside from the fun options on the TV screens on the seat in front of you that show you where in the world your plane is currently located or a few movies that are still in limbo between the theater and DVD.  We finally arrived at our hostel, La Casona Roja, late at night, in the safer, young, bar-hopping neighborhood of Barranco.

            The next morning, I still could not completely hear out of both of my ears. Waiting for your ears to pop is worse than the combined anticipation of Christmas morning as a six year old and praying for a crippling headache to subside. Aside from my woes, we ate the typical free hostel breakfast of hearty carbohydrates (2 pieces of bread) and juice. We figured out the clean, organized Lima metro/bus system (not sure exactly what it was) and made our way to Central Lima. We ate ¼ pollo ("poy-yo" n. chicken) lunch/dinner that was unbelievably cheap in Peruvian soles ("soul-As") and experienced a 7.0 magnitude “earthquake” while eating that felt more like a tremor to our well-trained Chilean selves (we all immediately received emails telling us to notify our families that we were alive…hardly anyone on the street or in the restaurant even noticed the quake at all).

Goofing around with wax figures! 

            On full bellies we explored our way into the “Museo de la Inquisición” which was more or less a building of wax-figure torture demonstrations and dim lighting. There was one mysterious, damp, dungeon-like passageway we walked through, but aside from that brief moment of interest, the tour guide spoke incredibly softly and seemed rather irritated with the gringas that didn’t want to read every plaque in every room like the middle school children begrudgingly following her around at the direction of their equally bored teachers.

Wax tortures!

Francisco de Solano: photos strictly forbidden inside

            The high point of the day was the San Francisco de Solano Monastery. The large monastery featured an ancient library with 25,000 old books on dusty shelves raising two stories, reachable only by two spiral staircases in the center. Two large tomes displayed at the front of the room were said to weigh over 30 kilos (double that and then some for pounds). We were good kids and chose the Spanish-speaking tour guide and actually asked her a lot of questions. She took us to the basement level where the catacombs eerily rest…and those of you not familiar with catacombs should know that they are more or less giant community funeral pits. No individual markings, some sorted into bone categories later on by archaeologists in smaller pits. One pit contained 25,000 bodies in a pit that was over 10m deep. These catacombs lie directly beneath the cathedral, with a grate that directly looks onto the pulpit…and undoubtedly released an awful stench upon the unsuspecting church-goers. It all sounds incredibly revolting, but it was fascinating. Monks receive no special treatment in the eyes of God and were tossed right into these pits along with the general Catholic public. Above ground, furthermore, everything is quite peaceful, with incredibly Spanish influenced central gardens surrounded by huge murals (one recently discovered with missing, whited-out faces!?).

MANGO TIME

Who knows

            Finally, when we were all sufficiently entranced and creeped out, we continued exploring and ran into a jugo ("who-go": n. juice) natural stand where we were served PINTS of freshly squeezed mango juice. We later stuffed some Chinese food down at the hostel (there are a lot of Chinese immigrants in Peru as they were once slaves there).  Everyone retired early from continuing illness and exhaustion.

Can you see PERU carved into the hillside?

            On our final day in Lima we went shopping in the trendy Miraflores neighborhood. We hit the artisan markets where I bought many of you your Christmas presents. We of course hit the typical tourist argument over where to eat lunch before finally settling on the recommendation of a random gringo we met on the street who works as a tour guide in Peru. Our lasagna was more like a baked cheese blob with one thin piece of pasta at the bottom. No matter, we eventually ended up back at our hostel where they were throwing a Halloween party at their little bar, but it was a bit “fome” (foam-ay: adj. boring) because no one knew each other and few spoke the same language. One of the Ds and I had a heart-to-heart of sorts (about life, about one of my friends on the trip who inexplicably seemed to dislike me and frequently snapped at me for no reason) before our third friend, another L (so much name confusion!) arrived at 1am. We all hit the sack (aka bunkbeds) in our room with Ecuadorian Nelson and his girlfriend (who we all hated because Nelson was a movie-star quality man who spent 12 years in the USA and understood all of our jokes) before CUSCO in the morning.

Keep checking back for updates on CUSCO, AGUAS CALIENTES, and MACHU PICCHU to come ASAP!

Sorry to keep you all on your toes, but there’s just too much to make you read all at once and I’ll know you’re all a busy folk.

Buenas Noches, besitos.

           

Pucón

Pucón, Chile
n. "poo-CONE, chee-lay"

"lobby" of our cabin property

Palín

So, quickly before I depart for Lima, Peru (and on to Machu Picchu!) on Thursday I thought I'd be prompt for once and update you on my trip down South. I left Viña del Mar last Thursday night for an all-night, 13 hour bus trip toward Antarctica.

Weaving

never did get a sound
out of that horn

After arriving at our "cabins" that were more like luxury cottages with jacuzzi tubs, fireplaces, (central heat!) and full kitchens, it was straight to business. We ate breakfast in the "Castle" main building of the property and were off to the indigenous Mapuche community. The Mapuche are a very proud and welcoming people and sat around the fire with us, answering questions and asking us about our lives as well. We were given a tour of their small museum that detailed their unwritten language, Mapudungun, and history. We ate lunch in their restaurant, which included wonderful home-grown salads, sopaipilla (theirs is made without squash), and fresh bread. We also participated in a variety of "talleres" (tay-air-As) which means workshops. I chose the weaving workshop (which is all done by hand without a loom), which is extremely difficult, I have so much more respect for hand-woven artisan crafts now. Other people in my program participated in wood carving, cooking, basket weaving, and music. I eventually wandered over to the music group to try my hand at some Mapuche dances and musical instruments. We all regrouped to play some Palín, a Mapuche sport like field hockey (I'm now a pro of course thanks to my Juegos Mapuches class). After enjoying a little bonfire with more sopaipilla, jam, and empanadas, it was time for us to head home.

Villarrica Volcano

Rochelle and I about to cross the river!

Me crossing the river!

I had the option of signing up to climb the 9,341 ft. Villarica Volcano with an ice pick an all, but opted instead to go ziplining through the Canopy of the lush forests and over the rushing river created by the melting snow of the volcano. The guides were all incredibly excited to have us there, making jokes the entire time (including the first river crossing when the guide suggested I go backwards and then turns to me and says, "you know how to swim, right?). The zip line had ten different stops, where you typically land on a platform (with a gymnastics mat tied to the tree in front of you to avoid the fate of a bug on a car windshield) and climb up to another platform above you toward another rush of adrenaline and an incredible view. When we finished our course, my friends and I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the artisan markets of Pucón, best known for their wool and wooden products. I'd tell you what I bought, but then I'd be giving away a great many Christmas surprises. My CIEE group reunited for dinner at Fogón, a restaurant I'd highly recommend for its fogón style cooking (brick oven style fire grilling in tin foil) and warm atmosphere.

Mapuche Land

On our last day, we headed over to the parks to see more of the river and three large waterfalls. I'd list the names of these waterfalls but that would require me having paid attention to our guide at the time (oops!). The woods and creeks strongly resembled the national parks in Northeast Ohio, if I had been blindfolded and placed at random, I would have guessed that I was in South Chagrin Reservation or along the Towpath Trail in Peninsula, Ohio. It made me a bit nostalgic. Finally, we ate a bagged lunch (which was originally described as "very small" and we were instructed to bring more snacks...only to discover, in typical Chilean manner, that it included 2 sandwiches, chips, 2 drinks, a candy bar, and 2 pieces of fruit. Why are you allways trying to make me obese, Chile!?)

On our last stop, we went to natural hot springs way down in a valley beside the river. This was a first for me, and hopefully not a last! Each of the hot spring pools were different temperatures, and when we were dying from the most scalding of the pools, we jumped over the rocks into the colder-than-Lake-Michigan river for no more than a minute, and came back. My friends and I started a massage circle and many others were asleep on sunny rocks in the middle of the river. Reluctant to leave and trek up the hundreds of stairs back to the bus, we finally returned to the hotel, packed our things, ate an asado (barbeque) dinner at the hotel "castle" and departed for Round 2 of overnight busing.
Apparently, I'm still alive so I suppose one can survive these buses, but I'm going to be running around like a crazy fool for the next few days getting ready for Peru.

Until then, buenos noches y buena suerte!

Zip line station- Subimos! 

El Futuro

El Futuro: "elle foo-tour-oh" The future.

So just this once, I think it would be more fun to let you know what's happening in my world BEFORE it happens, rather than weeks after. Here's what's on my horizon for the next few weeks:

Wednesday, October 19: Tonight I'm going to my first "Ultimate Nocturno," aka Nocturnal Ultimate Frisbee that we play on the beach with what sounds like glow-stick bracelets/headbands in order to see everyone and I'm hoping for a light-up frisbee (the glow in the dark type are never the right 175g weight and are typically made of cheap, flimsy plastic...oh yes, there are frisbee snobs all over the world these days).
When I get back I'll probably think about finishing my Valparaíso Cine, Historia, y Cultura paper.

Thursday, October 20: At 8pm I'm off on a 13 hour, overnight bus trip with my program to Pucón in the South of Chile! Just as it gets warm here (oh yes, shorts were worn by Chilean nationals today...seems impossible but it has turned out that they indeed must own them), I'm going South toward Antarctica. Did you know on the morning news they give the daily forecast for Antarctica? During this extremely short trip (we pull another all night bus on Sunday) we are going to visit with the native Mapuche people, bathe in hot springs, explore the great outdoors, go zip-lining on the longest zip line in Chile over a volcano, and who knows what else we'll get into.

Thursday October 27: Yep, exactly one week from tomorrow I'm off on my grand adventure to Peru. I'm not planning to travel at the end of my time here (even though classes all finish around the last week of November) due to lack of funding, so this is the big one.
 First stop: the capital, Lima for two days
Second stop: Cusco and Aguascalientes for five days to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World- Machu Picchu...and hopefully lots of llamas.
Nothing specific is planned yet...hoping not to get too horribly stressed out about it but we'll have to see when the time comes! Anyone been? Suggestions?

Sunday, November 6: Potential trip with Ultimate team to play against another team from Santiago! This is only two days after we're back from Peru so in all likelihood I'll be scrambling to get homework done...but hopefully I can make it.

Padres

Padres: "pah-drays" n. parental unit, momsicle and popsicle, momma and papa, the folks, the voices of reason (sometimes)

After a far too long respite from blogging, I'm finally back! I have a good excuse, however. The padres finally traversed the 5,000+ miles to Chile. In the week leading up to their arrival I was running around frantically buying power converters, sending them far too long emails with lists of things to bring, researching fun things you can do in a meager four days, and squirming with anticipation (and skipping a class or two along the way). At long last, directly from the airport, they crossed the threshold of my big yellow house, enveloped in the welcoming arms and excited cries of my host mom before they even got to me. My parents had their first famous Chilean mixed drink, the Pisco Sour, within minutes of arriving, complemented by the Chilean version of Pringles and dip (slightly strange to see Pringles on a silver platter but I'm not complaining!)

My TWO families...and Shelby my gatita!

My host mom (so confused... both my mamá and my mom together?!) prepared a huge fish lunch (which is more like a four course dinner for twenty) for our entire families. My host sister Marcela was luckily in town from Santiago, so all three siblings were present together for the first time (the sisters having been "dramatically feuding" for the past several weeks). It was much easier to converse than I originally anticipated, thanks to Marcela and Paula who both lived in the US and can speak English and help me translate. My Dad's ridiculous personality had them all cracking up for days despite his complete lack of ability to speak/read/understand/pretend Spanish (and is still commonly chuckled at despite the fact that he went back the USA), and my host mom couldn't stop gushing about how "linda preciosa" my real mom is. 

Of course, Mark (the pops) HAD to rent a car, it's practically encoded in his DNA, so he got lost looking for the Sheraton Miramar, the largest, fanciest hotel on the coast, impossible to miss, while Mom and I sat outside waiting for him for half an hour, having walked there in five minutes time. We only had one night there and didn't intend to waste any time using it! After getting settled in our ocean-view room (every single room has a view) and seeing all the US goodies they had brought for me (á la Reese's, Pepperidge Farm, Diet Dr.Pepper, yumm), we headed down to the café for drinks/coffee and the sunset. Though the hotel is on the beach, it was still chilly spring weather for all four days they were here so we watched from our seats inside (which still look directly West over Valparaíso). Of course now, one week later, it's 75 and sunny. Mom and I later explored the gym and jacuzzi facilities while Mark agonized over the Tigers (who, you're welcome world, were able to knock the Yankees out of the post season). Finally, I had to take them to Entre Masas, only the best empanada restaurant in the world.

Quintay, Chile

In the morning, Dad and I rolled out of bed and back to my house to talk to his 8th grade Global Studies class via Skype. I translated their questions about Chile, the University strike, and life in general for  María José (a girl who rents a room in my house)to answer. Typically chatty Mark tried to contain himself in the background and we more or less ran his entire 45-minute class (for what was intended to be a 15 minute interview). After a successful class period, we returned to the Sheraton for a lazy start at the gym and went off in search of a good panadería on Calle Valparaíso (which is actually in Viña del Mar), my parents' favorite street, for all of its bustle and people milling about. We finally made it out to Valparaíso later to explore and search for one of Mark's different restaurant ideas. After getting horribly lost (despite our GPS) in Cerro Alegría (and a few others I believe), we arrived at our restuarant, and it was closed. CLOSED. So we moved on to option two...blocked by road construction. We must have done something bad in our past lives as dung beetles or whatever because it was past four o'clock by this point and we were dying of starvation. We finally settled on a café on the corner of a random street (I had a gigantic egg sandwich which was to die for) and later stumbled upon an artisan shop where Dad claims we spent over an hour buying amazingly cheap and well-made jewelry but lord knows he exaggerates when he wants to be watching Michigan football...not that he could have found it here in Chile anyways. Finally, we switched hotels to "3 Poniente", explored the other side of Viña near my CIEE class building a bit, got lost some more, and went out to ConCon to try the food at La Gatita, famous for its seafood and huge portions. Dad was impressed, Mom and I not so much. To make up for our disappointmen, we hit Bravissimo for some late night ice cream (including my parents' first Manjar flavor.)

Pizza Chef Mark, taking over Mama Sonia's cocina

On Saturday we all trekked out to Quintay, an old ex-whaling town on the water that has become a little scuba haven and tourist attraction for its seclusion, great restaurants, little museum, and great view. We met with my Mom's friendfrom the States and her son, who ironically lives in Santiago and who they were visiting at the same time. We found some great jewelry sold by artists along the beach and took tons of photos. Our meal at "Miramar" was equally awesome. Hopefully I'll stay with Jeremy and his wife Alexa the next time I visit Santiago! By the time we got home, it was time to eat again (for the Americans...the rest of the Chileans in the world were probably happy with their bread and tea). We went to try some Kuntsmann (yes, it's actually a Chilean beer) and I had one that is actually mixed with pineapple juice, try it sometime it's pretty good. We got lost so much driving around anyway that we bought some ice cream bon bons on the street and finished them by the time I was dropped off back at home.

If you're still with me, I know you're my true friend!  Thanks for bearing with me in this incredibly long tome of a post. 

My sisters

Drummers and fire breather!

On Sunday, we cooked pizza from scratch for my host family, something they had never cooked/eaten before!? Patty made one of her famous salads and I "warmed" the Oatmeal Carmelitas that she had made in the states (my favorite!). Every other bite was someone begging for the recipes. I was so glad to be able to give my family a meal for once and even happier that they enjoyed it. After lunch, we went to Museo al Cielo Abierto, an outdoor free graffiti mural museum in the hils of Valparaíso. It was an adventure in itself fitting my three siblings as well as the three of us all in one car, but everyone enjoyed themselves and no one had ever been there (or heard of it) except me so it felt good to be able to pass something interesting along to the Chileans. We all even stumbled upon the end of the carnaval "Mil Tambores Para Violeta Parra," with a group of drummers in the park playing for a big crowd of happy onlookers. After heading back to the hotel and exploring the neighborhood a bit (and finding yet another fun artsy store to buy Christmas presents in...yep people they're all for you), we went out for our "last supper" at the Italian restuarant Divino Pecado (Divine Sin), and it was indeed divine. It was so good I'm considering posting a picture of (yes, I took a picture) my mini pancetta and flank steak kebobs that were each on a toothpick. Dad couldn't stop raving about his food and I was afraid he was going to try and ask for a recipe in gibberish. 

Alas, last day. On Monday we ran some last minute errands (aka buying alcohol, etc. and more presents to take back to the States), ate at Entre Masas again, drank our last pisco sours, did a whirlwind trip through the Calle Valparaíso artisan market, and said our goodbyes to my other family. So strange...I have two families. 

Looking back on it now, a week later, I feel an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and a strong desire for these next two months to just hurry up so I can embrace the holiday spirit and bake cookies and see the rest of my extended family and friends, but I keep reminding myself that a) I would be in New Orleans if I wasn't here anyway and b) I'll miss my family here even more from the moment I wave ¡Chao! and step onto the plane. 

Circle of Vida

Vida: "vee-duh" n. Life

A low key week on a high note!
I didn't do any international traveling this week nor did I jump off any rocks or trot up a mountain on a horse. I did, however, have many good things happen that I would typically take for granted.

Mural on the exterior of the Parque Violeta Parra

First of all, I received my first Chilean grade (it's about time!). In my Valparaíso History, Literature, and Film course I received a 7 on my first test (which was a literary exam about the book Lanchas en la Bahía by Manuel Rojas)!! For you confuzzled Americans, Chileans grade on a 7 point scale, with 7 translating roughly to an A or A+. To celebrate the end of the unit we had a fun class this week where we went to the beach at Playa Ancha and hiked up the cerro a bit to the Parque de los Artes Violeta Parra, a little field and garage-turned-dance-studio where we learned some mambo and other dance moves accompanied by a live drummer, all with a huge view of the ocean through the open garage door.  I haven't seen a dance studio in months so this was particularly exciting for me to be able to dance with an instructor. They hold free, open sessions for the community every Saturday morning that can draws up to fifty or sixty people and I'm considering going. They even had trapese equipment hanging...a new adventure?
I also was finally able to go to the beach in shorts and flip flops and I even laid out in my swimsuit on the balcony of my house a few times on my own. It's not 80, but it's not 40 anymore at least! Winter is a very short but incredibly painful season with no instant hot water and no indoor heat here which makes you appreciate spring that much more. After living in New Orleans for the past few years, the in-between seasons like Spring and Fall are more or less ignored or completely unnoticeable, so it's great to see blossoms and the slow progression to short sleeves (not shorts quite yet, a definite "stupid gringo" indicator (host moms here widely and quite seriously believe that illness is caused by cold, sockless feet and wet hair).
I'm really enjoying my Juegos Mapuches course (indigenous games). We meet on the beach every Thursday morning for class and learn a variety of Mapuche games. This week we played the Mapuche version of dodgeball which throws in a couple more rules about how to get back into the game once you're out. Next we we return to Linau, the more intense co-ed Mapuche version of rugby...let's just reiterate that the last time we played at least six of us left bleeding or injured.
Lastly, I just returned from seeing "Rey León" aka Lion King in 3D. The Lion King was the movie of my childhood, of my generation, and to see it in such digitally remastered clarity and to be able to understand it in another language (every single song was translated as well) was a defining moment for me. It was a way of showing me that I've grown not only in age but in intellect and the Lion King has grown right alongside me. The thing that struck me most in the translations was that the "Circle of Life" became the "Ciclo Sin Fin," or "Cycle Without End."

Fiestas Patrias

Fiestas Patrias: "Fee-est-ahs Pah-tree-ahs" Chilean Independence Day, 18th of September.


1. Algarrobo, Chile
Fiestas Patrias kickoff! I headed about an hour and a half outside of Valparaíso with my brother Dani and his three friends (finally, I was the only gringa amongst Chilenos) to celebrate Chile's Independence Day. Unlike the USA, Chile celebrates for an entire weekend, with most schools off for the entire week (mine included!). Stocking up at a supermarket in Viña del Mar before departing, we headed off with bags of "wraps" (same word) and enough "snacks" (same word again) to feed every single stray dog in Valparaíso. We stopped to walk along the beach, soaking up some long awaited sun and exploring the goods for sale in the various artensanías. I bought a present for a friend (you'll have to wait and see who you are!) which was the first time I've bought anything from an artensanía because I'm a procrastinatory shopper, always making up an excuse not to spend potential travel money because "ehhh i'll be here for three more months, I can do it later, right?" Those of you who know me well are rolling your eyes, but I truly do hate spending my precious Chilean pesos (aka "luka" which means bucks). Apparently I'm not the only one. I was flabbergasted when my brother sent me an email less than 24 hours after our trip telling me to wire 3500 pesos ($7 US) directly to his friend's bank account because he paid for our food with his credit card. After an appalled Facebook status and much head shaking, I told my brother how strange this was that he didn't ask me in person and instead gave me his friends banking number and he explained that its incredibly common for friends to settle money this way. Learning new things every day.

Algarrobo, Chile. (Fran, me, Dani, César, Cio)

But I digress. We all met up with all of Dani's psychology student friends where 13 of them were crammed into a rented cottage close to a great empanada place and "las ramadas," the Chilean version of a state fair put on by nearly every city during Fiestas Patrias. We all enjoyed a very 4th of July-esque casual afternoon before grabbing some empanadas (my favorite being the "Neopolitana" which consists of the fried empanada dough on the outside stuffed with cheese, oregano, diced tomatoes, and ham) and exploring the stands at the fair. The games are all very similar to those at an amusement park, but far more low tech and family operated. Sadly no one seemed to win anything (of course) in the ring-toss-at-bottles game or shoot-the-duck. There were a few unusual things, one being the continuous greyhound dog races and having to pay to play foosball (which is called "taca taca" in Chile so when I was asked if I knew how to play,  I shook my head and they all screamed with glee and disbelief proclaiming I must live under a rock).
Our little group of 5 went to see the sunset at the beach (you have to park faaaaar away per usual) and ended up playing frisbee keep-away with a stray dog who suddenly appeared because frisbee is encoded in canine DNA. I managed to teach three more Chileans how to play so Dad, you can consider my life a success. The Chileans watching us in amazement have probably never seen that many Chilenos keeping a frisbee away from a dog in their lives.
sidenote: I have also now taught 4 Chileans how to use the word "Nifty," which is technically a Chilean ice cream brand, and they find it absolutely hilarious. 
Once we got back to Valparaíso, Dani and his friend Fran and I went to the gigantic "ramadas" at Sporting Club Viña (where I usually play Ultimate Frisbee on their many fields) where traditional Chilean foods, games, dances, and drink (try this: Pisco Sour). I didn't end up dancing any Cueca (despite my many lessons) but there were plenty of caballeros in complete outfits with the spurs and hat and all.

2. Olmué, Chile

mi familia: Dani, Vela the dog, Sonia, Marcela, (Paula)

Asado dinner table- complete with cowboy décor

For the actual Diez y Ocho (18th of September), my host family went to my host Mom's boyfriend's house way out in the boonies at the base of the hilly National Park, La Campana. We had a huge asado (barbeque) dinner with lots of meat and empanadas (surprise surprise). Dani, Fran, and I hiked up a bit of the cerro (hill) to see the breathtaking view and just sat talking for a while, all in Spanish. After dinner we rented a horse for an hour (no paperwork required, God Bless you Chile) and took turns trotting up the steep hill with her. The true adventure, however, was driving back through all of the holiday traffic for two and a half hours for what should have been a half hour drive. My host sister Marcela exclamed "We're moving slower than Windows 93!" and Dani countered, "Psht more like Windows BC."

3. Mendoza, Argentina
Given my ten days sans-escuela, three of my friends and I decided to take a bus about five hours accross the border over to Argentina. After some problems at the border, they finally decided to let the poor sad blonde gringas into the country to buy wine and chocolate. We stayed at Hostel Lagares in a 6 person bunk room but had it to ourselves. Hostels are wonderful for their community feeling: you have to share the bathroom with other travelers, everyone uses the kitchen together and shares the one computer and one TV. We met people from Germany, Poland, and even one from New Orleans who knew one of my Tulane friends who is in my study abroad program.

wine tasting in classy biking clothes

On our first night we found some hearty Italian food (lasagna for me) and chatted up the Argentinean waiter who invited us to go out and celebrate the first day of Spring (a holiday for them) the next night. Sadly we were stood up the next day but ended up meeting the entire University of Buenos Aires futbol (aka soccer to you Americans) team while we were waiting around! We found incredible  ice cream as well at "Bianco & Nero" that would have cost $10 a scoop in the US for the quality and deliciousness, but was incredibly inexpensive.

too original (cheap) to eat at a table

On our first full day we ventured out on our self-guided bike/wine tour, packing our own lunch to eat along the way. Mr. Hugo's Bike Rental has a deal with our hostel (if you stay 3 or more nights, so our 3 night trip worked perfectly) so we were given free bikes for the day. It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny start to the spring so I was able to wear shorts for the first time since I left the States in July. Despite some butt pain from our slightly questionable bikes, we had an amazing day touring local wineries and little chocolate/jam shops. My favorite purchase was a coconut chocolate bar I bought that tasted more like cookie dough. Anyway, rather than pay to eat at the expensive bodegas, we sat beneath the trees with a bottle of wine out in the dusty fields and shared our crackers, cheese, salami, and apples with a sweet stray dog we named Rudy.

Andes Mountains

my best friend the escapee

Day two was a bit colder. By a bit I mean at least 20 degrees. No matter, we braved the wind and cold and trekked out to the Zoo where we made friends with some escaped baboons, feeding them popcorn given to us by a zoo worker despite the "Don't Feed the Animals" signs clearly marked on the popcorn machine. It made me a bit sad to see how overpopulated their cat exhibits were, with many of the big cats alone in a cramped cage. Their birds, however, were gorgeous and I also discovered a newfound love for a wooly, horned breed of sheep called "Ovejas de Jacob," or Jacob's Sheep. That night we also endured Chicago-like cold to go check out the brave souls of the artisan market and their hand-made crafts. Beautiful jewelry and leather goods that would cost an arm and a leg at a craft fair in the US were but a few dollars.
Our trip home was an adventure in itself. To make a long story short, we were on at least 4 different buses for a total of twelve hours. It should have been one bus, five hours. One of our "rescue" buses was double stuffed, the stragglers standing or squatting in the aisles until we reached the  border. However, one of our breakdowns was in the middle of the Andes Mountains for three hours, so we made the best of the situation and explored the stunning landscape, stopping along abandoned train tracks or giant boulders resting on patches of snow. By the end of the fiasco, everyone on the bus were good friends, with plenty of inside jokes and Mate Tea to share.

Lots of Words. One Epic Week of Fiestas Patrias.