Weeks 19+20

Wow. First of all, 20 weeks! That seems like sooooo much, and yet it all just flew by. I now have officially less than a month left in South America, and I know it's going to be gone in the blink of an eye. However, like the rest of the semester, I plan to enjoy it to the fullest and see and experience as much as possible.

The middle of week 19 was a sad time, as it was the end of my time with all the amazing people and friends I met through IES. We had our good-bye dinner on July 4th, which meant going to an American restaurant with red, white, and blue decorations, and singing the National Anthem in the most gringo way possible! While dinner was average, the dessert was phenomenal, as were the toasts thanking everyone who made our (the students) time in Chile unforgettable and life-changing. For those of you who are reading my blog, I miss you! Chile just isn't the same without you-thank you for making my time here so truly extraordinary.

 

Wednesday was also the day my friend Eric (from the United States) arrived in Chile. We had a trip to Patagonia (Southern Chile) planned together, and we left the next morning bright and early for Punta Arenas. There we were rewarded with wonderful seaside views of the small town and walks along a clear blue ocean. The town is the farthest South in Chile you can fly to, and is along the Magellan Strait, incorporating a lot of that history into the tourism available in the area. While there wasn't too much to do, we enjoyed the fresh (cold) air and the beautiful sights. A strange thing about being that far South is that the sun never seemed to fully rise: it was more like the sun rose to a certain point and then sank in the same point-weird, but definitely a cool thing to see. 

On Friday night a friend we met in Punta Arenas invited us to a traditional Chilean asado (BBQ) with him and some friends. It was super rico, with more than three different types of meat, all grilled over charcoal even as it was snowing outside! To assure that we'd return to these new friends again, the next morning we kissed the toe of a statue in the plaza principal of Punta Arenas, the legend being that those who do so will one day return. 

After worrying about my lips accidentally freezing to a statue in the middle of Punta Arenas, we traveled onto Puerto Natales, about three hours north and a portal to visit the Torres del Paine National Park. Our first day there we missed out on tours and, being Sunday, nothing was open, so we had a relaxing day exploring the town and seeing the local sights. The next day we embarked on a tour that brought us first to the Cueva de Milodon, followed by the park. The aforementioned cave is famous because a while back an explorer found the remains of a giant prehistoric creature there-a dinosaur called the Milodon-as well as other ancient creatures and humans. It was pretty cool to explore deep into the cave, and the difference in temperature between the inside of the sheltered cave and the world at large was stark. 

Following the cave, we piled into our van and headed toward the Torres del Paine National Park. Along the way we saw many beautiful landscapes, and even some condors, rabbits, foxes, and guanacos! (Similar to the llama, but they jump!) We were rewarded by views of the towers themselves over both a cristal blue lake as well as one that had an extremely high Ph and was a turquoise green/blue. Unfortunately we were unable to enter the park itself due to poor road conditions (much of the park and surrounding area shuts down during winter months) but it was still gorgeous and an unforgettable sight.

Upon returning to Santiago, I showed Eric around cerro Santa Lucia and to the center of the city, hitting sights like La Moneda. We also took a trip to the zoo on cerro San Cristobal before he left to go back to the US, which was a lot of fun!

Friday morning my family made it safely to Santiago, to start our 2 weeks of traveling together! So far we've shared many empanadas and stories, both about home and about my new home here. To give them a general idea of what Santiago is all about, we went on a "Free Tour" walking tour, with a spunky guide and a lot of good information. (For those who are going to travel to another country/city, this group is excellent, and I highly recommend them.) We also went to Pablo Neruda's house in Bellavista (my 3rd and final Neruda house!), to Campus Oriente, to visit my host family, and out to dinner with two of my tandem partners. After dinner I took my little sister Mandy on her first night-life experience, where we chatted at a bar for an hour before heading over to the infamous Galpon 9 for dancing! It was a ton of fun :) Today we headed out to San Pedro de Atacama for the next few days, and I can't wait to see what's in store!!!

For my regular readers, I just wanted to give you the heads-up that I'm traveling, and thus my blog posts may not be as consistent as they were during the semester. However, I plan to keep posting until I return to the US, so keep reading!