Thankful for.....

It's Thanksgiving this week. Ya know the funny holiday where Americans watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, eat, sit on the couch and watch football, eat desserts, nap and then go shopping the next day. It's a bizarre tradition for anyone who hasn't grown up with it to understand but Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The food, football, family and a million reasons to be forced to count your blessings. This year my family will be here to celebrate Thanksgiving in Chile. So here's what I say Thank You to Chile and this whole experience for:

• the countless times I laugh and smile because I don't know what's going on
• ice cream (manjar, peanut&chocolate, Gran Duke, Mora)
• empanadas (chicken, corn and cheese)
• my health-not dying in Bolivia and not having massive scars from the bug bites
• public transportation and somehow not getting ran over by buses 
• the bagel shop
• strawberries and all fresh fruit every day
• having the ocean just a walk away
• skiing in the Andes (the PERFECT blue bird day at Portillo)
• improving my Spanish and finally having a clue as to what is going on
• my iPhone 
• being able to see desert, high plains, glaciers, mountains, beach 
• peanut butter (even if it is $7 a jar)
• parents sending me a care package
• casual reading books
• skype and Viber
• runs along the coast
• sunsets over the ocean
• for kind people giving us gringos directions when we're lost
• nights at Merano, Oasis, Journal, Juglar spent sharing stories

Shout out time because what I'm most thankful for are the people in my life here who have contributed to this being an incredible experience-

• "the boys" (Mat, Mark, Murphy, Logan, Brandan, Austin, Paul, Rob)- for the countless teasing and calling me "mom", quoting movie lines that of course I have never seen, the women jokes and having the goal of me becoming an alcoholic (not even close to happening).  But the never ending big hugs and times of laughter and sharing in the greatest adventures I've ever had
• Meghan, Kelly, Jen- for somehow still dancing with me and just laughing at my "dad" jokes. For baking every week and sharing in my love of chocolate and peanut butter. morning runs on the beach or sunset ice creams. oh and thanks Jen for providing Netflix to all of us. thanks kids. 
• Caroline- Tuesday/Thursday school bus rides
• Andy-for your grizzly bear look but your kind heart :) for also being my dance partner and keeping me safe at Mero
• Cali&Erin-for pizza night and sharing in all our adventures here and life pre-Chile. and Cali for sharing books, laughter and Morachas.
• Jaime- for help planning trips and making endless copies for personal matters. and for getting me cookies :)
• Megan&Tyler- for your Christ like presence
• Nate, Jason, John- for sharing your funny stories about your travels and for providing endless laughter listening to your raps
• Emily, Megan, Eden, Nikoll, Lexi, Myrna, Lindsey- for the nights at Lime, or the nights out or sharing in our baked goods
• Jody-for being my first friend and roommate in Santiago
• Casey&David- for waiting with me at the bus stop to go home at night for what seems likes hours. and David for giving me your jacket those first few weeks when I was always freezing
• Sam&Ben- for sunset walks, undying love for each other and your senses of humor.and Sam thanks for being my partner in Patagonia next week.
• Taylor-for being the only one in ISA with a Southern accent 
• Hannah&Alex- for keeping me alive in Bolivia and showing us around Cusco. for showing us the nightlife and Cusco on a lighter note. and for Hannah coming to Patagonia next week
• Manuel Casanueva- for being all of our favorite professor here. for teaching not from the books but rather from documentaries and personal experiences. and for dancing in class.
• Kristoff, Pierre, Anna, Ina, Lorenzo, Michael and all the other international students from outside the USA- for sharing your cultures and speaking english even though it isn't your first language
• Macarena, Giovanni, Esteban, Carlos- for giving me an insight to Chilean life
• my host family and all their friends- for taking me and loving me as your own. for laughing at my mistakes and enjoying my successes. for teaching me about Chilean culture, sharing your food, and for contributing to me growing as a person. 
• Brittney, Rachel, Annie, Laura, Garret Kiki, Allison, Ali, Irene, Sam, Rylie, Katrin, Susie, Hannah, Megan, Ana (DU friends)- for your support and encouragement and listening to my adventures via skype and viber. and for sharing your adventures with me.
• Allison, Tiffany, Angie, Mike, Devin, Zoe, Brad, Steph, Kylee (friends from home)-for being interested in my life and keeping me updated on what's going on at home. for sending snap chats of the fall colors or the falling snow
• Mom, Dad, TJ- for allowing me to come on this journey and supporting me. for listening to me ramble on skype. for enjoying my success and adventures with me. I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with all of you here. 

So thank you all for contributing to my baggage as I carry it along with me on this journey called life!

ISA 

the boys

Andy

Rob, Murphy and me

"We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives."-JFK

a few of my favorite things

It's time for Oprah's annual favorite things list so I figured I'd shard my favorite things about my time abroad. My list doesn't include high priced fancy purses and make up. Some would say it's on the simpler side of things, but hey life is simple when you don't choose to complicate it.

1) Baglemania- Chile's only bagel shop. The only bagel shop for 17 million people! It's located upstairs of the Santa Isabel on 1 poniente and 9 norte in Vina.  The owner even gives a 10% discount to students. They have different types of bagels, but only plain cream cheese. Nonetheless it's a little taste of home. http://www.bagelmania.cl/index.html

2) The beach- promising beautiful sunsets every night. The best sunsets were in August and September. I'll miss watching the waves kiss the shore.

3) Empanadas- Chicken and cheese, hawaiian, cheese. The best empanada I had was with Andy in Reñaca at a little shop next to 6 other empanada shops. El Mono in Con Con had great empanadas too.

chicken, corn and cheese empanada

4) Ice Cream/Gelato- Bravissimo & Mo's.  Manjar mixed with chocolate, or maybe mora (blackberry) or frutilla (strawberry). the Grand Duke flavor in San Pedro de Atacama was amazing too. It's usually $3USD for 2 scoops of ice cream in a cone.

5) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand- my favorite book I've read here. I recommend it to everyone. A story of courage, determination, survival and family.  The movie comes out Christmas day 2014 so you have a bit of time to read it before you see the movie.

6) 500 peso coins- 500 pesos=$1USD so when you get a 500 coin it can be used for so many things. Murphy has a stack of them to buy coffee at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I love them for the bus, Cali buys treats with them.

7) iPhone 4S- thankful for this gadget and all it's fun-snapchat, instagram, viber, ScoreCenter.  And thankful to the camera and it's fancy panorama pictures

8) Buff Headwear- I have 2 buffs with me that mom got me for my birthday and I love them! I have a headband and an original buff that I've worn as a headband, neck gator, and beanie.  Everyone should own a few buffs http://www.buffusa.com/sports

9) Pizzeria Ecuador- we discovered this place last week on Calle Ecuador in Valpo (#277 calle Ecuador) The pizza was super good. For $7USD you get 3 toppings on an 8 slice pizza so last week we tried a strange combo of chicken, onion and honey. Turned out to be tasty dispite what you are thinking. Can't wait for pizza Tuesday tomorrow to try something else.

10) Guatero- a rubber bag filled with hot water with a fabric covering. It's used to put at the foot of your bed when it's cold and it keeps you nice and warm. For those of you who know me well know that I am ALWAYS cold so this was a lifesaver the first few months here. Mama had it ready for me every night.  I'd say it's pretty close to being as good as my electric blan ket back at DU.

guatero

11) Cupkiss-  discovered by Kelly and Meghan. A secret gem located on 14 norte and about 2 poinente in Viña.  The little shop has about 10 kinds of cupcakes-lemon, blueberry, strawberry, peanut butter, nutella, white chocolate, vanilla, and our favorite....carrot!  At $2 a cupcake it's a good thing we didn't discover this place sooner or we'd be even more broke

12) Sal Merono (better known as the beach clube)- okay this place isn't actually one of my favorites, but every time I've been a new adventure occurs.  Like the one time I went and forgot to bring any sort of ID so I used Kelly and passed back. You only have to be 18 to get into clubs and bars here so it wasn't like I was doing anything illegal I just forgot my id. Funny thing is Kelly had her MA ID and she's about 5'2" and 110 lbs and has light brown hair so anyone in the states would clearly laugh at our attempt, but it worked.

13) my journal- for all those stories that I'll look back at laugh at in a few years, or months.

14) avocados, strawberries, clementines- each eaten on a daily basis. No produce is pumped fill of pesticides and preservatives so it's all fresh. Produce is generally very cheap too

15) ted.com/talks, documentaryheaven.com- for those times when nothing is appealing on NetFlix and you want to learn a thing or two

I think I've had lots of favorite moments here that aren't necessarily "things". Like the mornings spent baking, or walks along the beach at sunset, or Sunday lunch with my family. Moments of sitting on bus rides somehow still enjoying ourselves 12 hours later. The times playing cards and listening to oldies music. The times spent meeting up to do homework with friends but really just sharing stories of our lives. Those would be my favorite moments.

“Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.” - Sarah Kay

Climbing to heaven

This past weekend we took a trip with our program down south to Pucón(International Study Abroad). I think we were all hesitant and had our reservations about going with the program because there were around 60 of us and 3 coordinators and at this point we're pretty over the whole kindergarten field trip stuff. But nonetheless they paid for our bus tickets and cabins in our "included excursion" so I guess that saved a little money while we paid for everything else on our own.

            Thursday night began waiting for 40 minutes at the bus terminal and collecting our $10 for 3 days of breakfast from the trip coordinators.  The 12 hour bus ride began around 9pm.  The routine has become very familiar at this point-put your bag under the bus, find your seat, talk to friends and eat snacks for a few hours, try and get comfortable and sleep around midnight and see how long you can stay asleep.  Never mind the ever changing temperature in the bus, flickering lights, occasional kick to the back of your seat and that one person who snores. After finally getting to Pucón around 9:30am and checking into our cabins we boarded another bus and set out with all 60 of us for a tour around Pucón. The weather was super rainy which turned out to be pretty fun as we climbed up to 3 waterfalls and all pretended to be the next Tarzan. We sampled 5 kinds of bread and some sort of milk in an old Mapuche hut (indigenous group), went to a lake and natural hot springs and the waterfalls. After the drive back all smelling like wet dogs it was time for us to make dinner on our own.  After making fettuccine alfredo, chicken and broccoli it seemed like going to bed was the best idea. Meghan, Kelly and I shared a queen bed with Jen having the twin to herself.  Believe it or not 3 people in a queen isn't bad unless someone is an ugly sleeper and makes noises when they sleep (mmmm Meghan). Saturday we went hidrospeeding.  Another activity that is probably outlawed in the states or would at least require a waiver, but in Chile all it requires is some cold hard cash.  Us 4 girls and the guys piled into yet another white van and made our way to the river.  We suited up in those ever form fitting wet suits, water socks, helmet, life vest and to top off the outfit...flippers.  We also got our little foam boards that would be floatation devices for the next hour. Quite a comical scene as we jumped stumbled in the glacier water ready to float over some rapids. The guides we were with would ask us to try and stay in a line like ducklings with their mom, but that obviously would prove to be difficult and not as fun. We made it down the class II rapids laughing most of the way, in between shocks of water rushing over our faces. After learning we only went through class II rapids and our guides have done class V I'm determined to find more places to hidrospeed.  Fun fact- Mike Horn holds the record for highest waterfall hidrosped/riverboarded in Costa Rica on a 22 m (72 ft.) waterfall.

After some wraps for lunch and singing entertainment provided by Kelly and I we headed to the lake filled with glacier water. As if we weren't cold enough from the river Kelly and I went for a swim and stayed in the water for almost an hour while everyone else hung out on shore soaking in the rays and quite possibly letting their stomachs soak in some beverages (but that's not legal in public places like the beach so we'll let you leave what happened on the beach up to your imagination).  Regardless it was a lot of fun just to be outside in the sun with friends.  Saturday night was more pasta and chicken for dinner and then bed time at midnight.
      Sunday morning's wake up call came at 5:50am and I was pumped. I've always loved mornings and this was going to be no exception. We made breakfast burritos in the dark for fear of waking up the other members of our cabin. We met the boys and our tour guides at 6:45am and got suited up in our climbing gear to climb a volcano.  We had boots, jackets, helmets, backpacks...the whole bit. In our white van we headed about 40 minutes to the base of Volcan Villarcia. It was a beautiful, sunny day as we hopped on the chairlift. Jen survived her first ever chair lift ride and after that we were ready to start our 4 hour ascent to the summit of the active volcano.  As I looked up the mountain I kept thinking about "the ants go marching one by one" because there were probably 20 tour groups all keeping a steady pace up the switchbacks.  The volcan had just gotten fresh snow so the whole climb was in snow. Our guide paced the front and we all followed like dutiful soldiers. At the beginning everyone was talking and the boys played our favorite 20 questions game, but towards the end everyone was silent. It wouldn't have mattered if you did talk because the wind was so strong that you couldn't hear anything.  Our cramp-ons and ice picks became our best friends up that mountain. I wouldn't say hiking it was the most fun, but the summit was definitely worth it. After reaching the summit just before 1pm celebration ensued.  A gallizion or so photos were taken, sandwiches were feasted on and beers were shotgunned using an ice axe to open them. Brandan lost a bet and had to lay naked in the snow; Kelly, Meghan and I took our 5 layers off and ran topless through the snow making the other people on the summit wonder if we were from the circus or something.  The smell of sulfur was powerful much like the geysers at Yellowstone. There aren't very many places where you can peer into the top of an active volcano. We had climbed about 4500 ft. The summit of the volcano is 2,860m (9,383ft). The decent was only about 2 hours because with the help of your butt and ice pick you can slide down for good chunks of time, walk for a minute or two and continue sliding down.  The fog had rolled in so you would slide into complete oblivion.  The feeling of penguin sliding down a volcano is something everyone should experience. So go for it the next time you climb a volcano.  By the time we reached the base we were all soaking, but completely elated.  There's something about conquering a physical feet like a mountain and realizing you're only a small part of this great big world. Standing a top an active volcano above the clouds looking out to the vastness almost gives you the feeling of being invincible. Maybe not invincible, but the feeling that if climbing volcanos is possible what is impossible?

Pucon Tours was awesome to go with and for $95USD for 2 days of entertainment we were happy.

     After a quick swim in the lake, showers, and chicken salad we piled back into a bus to head back to Vina.  After several jokes about the Jac bus station, manjar and cookies, predicting my friends futures, and me asking a million questions we all fell asleep  attempted to sleep. We arrived in Viña around 7am and had classes that day.
    Now back to the title of this post it comes into play with a book I read on the trip called Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander. I've read a few books now about people's near death experiences and their trips to heaven and returns back to earth.  Reading a book like this when you're with a big group of people makes for a great conversation stater because everyone has their own opinions.  I don't know how much of people's "journeys" to heaven really happen and how much of it is a chemical released in your brain after you die but it's interesting to read about.  After discussions between my friends and me we've all concluded that we just want to go to heaven one time, and never come back. Say what's up to the Man upstairs and hang out with Him for the rest of eternity.  I think heaven is a happy place full of incredible powder ski days, beaches, waterfalls and millions of new and old friends. All I know is that if heaven is as great as my life has been the past 20 years then I'll be happy for eternity.

Meghan, Jen, Kelly and I

photo cred: Brandan Clark

Ants go marching one by one photo cred: Andrew Bernstein

Time

Time: "the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole." 

  In the United States and many other places in the world the ticking of a clock is always present. Even if you don't think your conscious or subconscious recognizes time believe me it does. You know that saying "time flies"? Well does it? I mean obviously it's just a figurative saying because time can't FLY, but what does that saying really mean? That life is just happening quickly and we don't take time to sit and reflect about what is actually going on around us? "being on time" or "staying on time"in Chile is less revenant than I've ever experienced before. I have professors that have shown up half an hour late to class or ended class ten minutes early, or both.  Some Chilean students have just left class in the middle of a lecture.  The buses don't run on a schedule and you can't find any info online about them.  Mass always starts a few minutes late, restaurants close for a few hours on Saturday afternoon. I'm convinced the Chilean postal service just picks days they choose to deliver mail and other days just holds onto the mail.  Mom told me something the other day that rings so true; she said "I think that's the biggest thing you've learned down there. How to be at the mercy of others. Going along with whatever comes your way." It's true. Going along with the public transportation, the countless strikes of the postal service, trash men, registration offices, and school where classes may be cancelled last minute or professors may come late.

I think I enjoy what I have been able to experience here and have really learned to just slow down. I find myself walking quickly on the sidewalk until I catch up with a group of chatty teenagers and at their mercy I walk behind them with a slower pace. Or when I see a grandma and I catch up to her and it's almost like a punch to the face, when I am forced to slow down and take in all that's around me. We live in a world where everything is trying to be sped up. We speed read, speed date, speed walk all in hopes of getting more done.  My life has been go, go, go since I was 5 years old and that was incredibly emphasized in middle and high school when I was up at 5am to ice skate and mom would turn my lights off at midnight while I was studying if I wanted to skate again the next morning. In college that continued as I spent countless nights watching the sunrise and taking power naps on the floor of my freshmen dorm lounge at 3am. I'd walk around campus with my iPhone sending emails on my way to class and making phone calls during breaks. I'd eat meals with my laptop open so I could study for a test. I'd be in the car going skiing studying flash cards.  This isn't to say that these habits are bad because I think I've accomplished quite a few things in my 20 years, but it's like living in the fast lane 24/7. I've always said I love everything I do. I love tutoring, skating, playing lacrosse, skiing, working out, organizing events, volunteering, etc. but it's easy to get caught up in the rush.

Here I sit without a phone and stare into a friend's eyes when having lunch because there are no other distractions.  I walk down the sidewalks and look at the flowers and smell the bbqs and listen to the blaring soccer games on tv roaring out people's windows instead of being fixed on an iPhone.  I stay in bed because it's okay to not be awake by 8am on the weekends.

I'm sure I'll continue to go back to my life being busy, busy but I'll be more conscious of time. I'll realize how important it is to just be present in the moment.  I think being present only improves relationships with friends, coworkers, family, etc. And after all, the world needs more love and compassion.

I recently watched this Ted Talk and Carl Honoré sums it up perfectly. It's really, really worth taking the time to watch it. He discusses the view of time in the west saying we have an idea that " You either use it or lose it. Time is money" If time is scarce do we have to speed up our lives to do more with that time or just enjoy what we are already doing?  Is it possible to slow down and still enjoy our lives and have adrenaline rushes without being overloaded and constantly on the run? I'd like to think so. 

Nature-what a pretty thing

So it started off with an idea and ended with an adventure.  Brandan messaged me and told me he wanted to take a trip down south and I told him I was in. So Wednesday he and I bought bus tickets to Puerto Montt for Brandan, Logan and I.  Thursday night we left Viña at 5:45pm. On the bus Brandan ended up sitting next to an American.....and the American happened to be from Utah and graduated from Waterford (nearest high school to my house) in 2011and played lacrosse there. Small world! We woke up in Puerto Montt and got off the bus at around 10am. Soooo if you're counting that's roughly 16 hours on a bus. Good thing we all slept a little bit a least. Honestly traveling on these buses isn't as bad as you might think, they're generally pretty comfortable. From Puerto Montt we decided we wanted to go to the island Chiloé.  It's the second largest island in Chile at 3,200 square feet after Easter Island. We made up our minds to go to the town of Castro and bought our tickets for $12. Rode the bus and ferry to Castro which ended up taking nearly 4 hours. Brandan has a Lonely Planet book so that was fun to actually use a book because usually we just walk around and see where our feet take us. The book recommended a great restaurant with a special daily menu so we went there. The boys enjoyed fish while I had pork and mashed potatoes.  Castro is a little fishing village on the coast where "all the guys have long hair, beards, and their ears pierced"-Logan.  After deciding we wanted to go to the national park we got on ANOTHER BUS! This one had seats for 14 people, but in

true Chilean fashion we fit 30 people on board. The ride was beautiful and we arrived 

bus from Castro to Cucao

at a hostel 2 hours later. So if you are counting still within 26 hours we had been on buses for 22 hours.  It's amazing how bus travel becomes part of your trip as you look and see all the country side along the way. Our hostel was only 2 years old and one of the best infrastructures I've seen in the country. Maybe that's why it was $26/night/person. We made pasta and chorizo for dinner and then sat on the dock looking at the stars. It's hard to beat the sound of a distant ocean, the breeze over the lake and looking at the stars with friends.   The next morning we got up at 7 and ran to the ocean followed by throwing rocks at bigger rocks for 20 minutes. ahhh simple entertainment. The hostel made a great breakfast of homeade WHEAT bread, eggs, fruit and yogurt. Best breakfast we've had here. After breakfast we paid the $3 fee to enter the national park and hiked for a couple hours. There was no one around which made for a peaceful journey. After leftover lunch we wandered the little town of Cucao where we could have easily been in Ireland. We saw sheep, horses, pigs, cows, and chickens freely roaming. After bidding farewell to the beautiful hostel and simple town we bused back to Castro and then bus/ferried to Puerto Montt and then a 40 minute micro ride to Puerto Varas.  We were stunned at the beauty of Puerto Varas as we arrived at dusk.  We stumbled upon a hostel Margouya ($16/night), a quaint place full of personality.  We settled in and headed to buy pizza for dinner and sandwich stuff for the next day.  After a minor scuffle between three 70 year old German men who didn't want Logan sleeping in their room we went to sleep. Really why are you staying in a hostel when you're in your 70s?! That's just asking for trouble. 

Puerto Varas

       Sunday morning we woke up and made breakfast and set out on a.... bus to the waterfalls at Patrohué and then on to Lago Todo los Santos. A $4 bus and a $3 entry fee to the waterfalls and we were set.  Lewis, Clark and their trusty Sacagawea were having an adventure. Often times we'd say "are we in the jungle, lava field, the Pacific Northwest of the US?" and then there were the 3 snow capped volcanoes in the distance.  The water was some of the clearest I've ever seen. I proceeded to fill my water bottle straight from the lake and none of us have gotten sick yet! We hiked around for almost 5 hours that day keeping ourselves occupied by playing a little game started by someone saying "I'm thinking of a [insert "animal, movie, person, place, restaurant, or food here]".  The other people try to guess what you're thinking of by asking yes/no questions. So it's like 20 questions, but you have unlimited questions. Endless entertainment. The beauty of this incredible peaceful, serene place cannot be captured through words. I'd say it's like the Tetons+Red Fish Lake+Canadian Rockies+Valdez, Alaska. You get the idea that it was GORGEOUS! We took time to just sit and look at this beauty we were amongst. Most people we saw that day were old couples on vacation or young couples on their honeymoons. How cool is it that we're in our 20s doing what they're doing? Another opportunity to be thankful.  After another $4 bus ride we made it to the supermarket to buy ingredients to make the nachos I've been talking about for 3 months.  A little rotisserie chicken, chips, cheese and homeade guac makes for a feast for kings folks. Logan left on a bus that night and Brandan and I took hot showers (much needed after a few days) and watched as the Red Sox beat the Cardinals :) 

Volcan Osorno

   Monday Brandan and I wandered the city finding churches, chocolate shops with the best chocolate in Chile, a giant cross on the hill, and a delicious lunch at Barista Cafe.  We also found a Patagonia clothing store, whoop whoop (don't worry mom I didn't buy anything)!!! We continued to talk about the beauty we were surrounded by in the German town with wide roads and greenery everywhere seated on the lake at the base of volcanoes. Brandan said "isn't amazing how nature sounds different in different places?" and that got me thinking. The birds sound different in Hawaii compared to Alaska, the waves in a lake sound different than those of the Pacific Ocean but yet it's all still pleasant. We left at 5:15pm for the 13 hour ride to Santiago and then the 2 hour ride to Viña arriving in time for class at 10am (see we do go to school).

     These were definitely some of the prettiest and most tranquil places I've ever been. Thanks mom and dad for dragging us on all those trips as kids where we spent little money and filled our days hiking, camping and skipping rocks. You've contributed to my love of nature and my constant curiosity to see more of the Earth's beauty. I guess all those road trips when I was young have taught me to love looking at the window dreaming and thinking. Spending time on all these buses allows for great conversations. I love to ask people questions and there's plenty of time for that when traveling. Some questions for you to answer that we all answered....If you were granted 3 wishes right now what would they be? If you had 1 million dollars right now what would you do with it? If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? 

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” -Anne Frank

Everyday life

I guess I can write about my everyday life and the reason why I really am here...SCHOOL.  They call this "study abroad" meaning that we are expected to go to school.  I go to the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Vina del Mar and it's the #1 business school in Latin America. It looks AND feels like highs school, but somehow it's not.  There are less than 2,000 students and a quarter of them are international students. I have a few classes with locals which has been fun to get to know them.  Everyday everyone gets on a big tour bus to go to school. There are 3 pick up locations so I walk about 15 minutes to the bus stop and jump on with a bunch of other students. The buses run every hour and a half so you have to plan that around your class times. it's a strange concept, but it's free transportation and gets the job done.  I do go to school when I'm here, but honestly I learn more outside the classroom. I learn more when speaking spanish to our tour guide at Machu Picchu or eating meals with my host family when we talk about politics or about the drug trade.  So here is a glimpse of a typical week (no such thing) at my incredibly relaxing, adventurous life down south.

View from school at night

School

Monday~sleep in and read. Go to 1 hour of class (Socialism, Capitalism, and Communism in Latin America).  I really like the professor and we always talk about interesting things. He raises a lot of points that I would never here in the states.  We often talk about facebook, drugs and corruption around the world. After class go to the gym or come home and hang out.  I usually help my older sister with her English homework and then maybe cruise to the beach to catch the sunset. Vensa (14 yr. old host sister) and I eat dinner together every night at 9:30. Mama is in the kitchen with us talking and serving us our soup, main dish, and whatever we want for desert.

Tuesday~Spanish class at 10am.  It's supposed to be a conversation class, but usually we listen to miss Maria talk about different aspects of Chilean culture or one time we watched a movie about futbol.  Break from 11-3 so either go to the gym or hang out with Logan and Murphy. We either sit out in the garden overlooking the ocean as the boys enjoy beverages or we've watched Austin Powers.  3pm is Latin America in the Age of Globalization taught by a 30 year old who majored in philosophy. He is king of incredibly longgggggg and uncomfortable pauses in his sentences and really just wants to talk about philosophy and how and why things are the why they are. "But what is a horse?" he literally asked this question in class and we spent half an hour discussing it. 4:30pm is my two and half hour Strategic Leadership class with students representing 10 countries.  This class could be really cool, but no one participates and we read off of slides a lot.  After class finishes at 7 it's time to take the bus home and hang out.

baking cookies

Wednesday~ baking/cooking day. Meghan, Jen, Kelly and I go to one of our houses and make scrambled eggs for breakfast and bake cookies. We've become quite the bakers considering our circumstances. We still aren't quite sure what baking soda and baking powder are in the grocery store so we use one of them and somehow things still work out.  We've had to substitute oil for eggs before too.  Today we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they were delicious despite having the consistency of a sponge. I met up with Katie who is the older sister of a friend at DU who currently lives here after she studied abroad and met her husband here when she was my age. She had a can of pumpkin for us and we'll forever be grateful for it because Chileans don't have the pumpkins we have in the states nor do they have canned pumpkin. It's my 1:30pm class from Monday followed by Latin America Culture and Identity. This class only has 7 students in it and is basically a history class of Chile. The professor can't be over 30 years old and often has at least 10 english mistakes a class, but he's a nice guy.  After class it's the gym or recently I have been babysitting for an American family living here till December.  This babysitting gig has been awesome to get a little bit of income and it's fun to hang out with the 11 year old boy and play Madden or FIFA on the x box.

Thursday~Spanish class at 10am with lots of my friends. Break again from 11-3 so either gym, finish/start homework, or hang out.  Globalization at 3pm and then Culture & Identity at 4:30pm.  After class it's either time to leave to travel for the weekend or come home and hang out until we go out later.  Thursday nights can turn out to be wild adventures or nights where I watch Happy Gilmore on Netfilx.

Friday~ No class! if we aren't traveling or skiing it's a day to hang out or go on local adventures.  I've gone to zumba & pilates with my host mom before or I'll go on a run by myself.  Mama, Vensa and I usually eat lunch.  Friday nights are usually spent hanging out with friends. Kelly, Meghan, Jen and I either get ice cream or meet up with friends at a bar (Journal, Oasis, Juglar have been popular destinations in Vina).

Saturday~ hang out again. Maybe go for a run or hang out on the beach. Maybe take a micro to Con Con (20 minutes north of us) and hang out on the beach there or get empanadas.  Or maybe get frozen yogurt in the mall.  Usually a big lunch with the family occurs in the early afternoon.  Saturday nights are similar to Thursday and Friday. Either a trek to the beach club or Valpo or hanging out in Vina.

Frozen yogurt at the mall

Sunday~ sleep in and then go to mass at 1pm with my host parents. The church is beautiful even if I can't understand much of what people are saying.  They don't have hymnals so I can't even follow along, but I enjoy it. After mass it's a big lunch with the fam and usually some extended family. Lunch lasts for a few hours.  After lunch we usually hang out as a family for a little bit.

As you can see it's pretty relaxed. There's always the occasional trip to the grocery store, futbol game to watch or errands to run with Mama that make things interesting.  I'll have 22.5 credits that transfer back to DU towards my majors and minors so I'm not complaining. School has been quite easy, which has been a really nice break. 4 classes are in English since they're what would transfer back to DU and then I have the 1 Spanish class.  I've had lots of time to casually read, take walks, write in my journal and talk with friends both here and abroad.  Really I've learned to enjoy the simple and basic parts of life. I wake up every morning to a bowl full of bananas, pears, apples, strawberries (recent development), and kiwi that mama has cut up.  I put some yogurt and oats on top and it's perfect! I make my bed every morning but Mama remakes it and it always looks like a hotel! My laundry is also done for me every day. It's pretty nice to not have to worry about any chores or errands. It's also a weird feeling not having a bunch of stuff to do. I'm use to getting less than 5 hours of sleep, playing 2 sports daily, volunteering, being in charge of organizations and taking 19 credits so this is a BIG change. But it's a change that I think is good for me. It's been good to learn how to relax and value relationships with people more. Three months later and I'm still enjoying my time here!

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony."-William Henry Channing, American unitarian clergyman

An Adventure through Bolivia and Peru

*warning: this will be long. set aside approximately 7 minutes and grab some popcorn.

Since most of our friends from DU are rendezvousing around Europe meeting up with one another we decided it was our turn to meet up with some familiar faces. That happens to be a little more difficult in South America. Logan and I have friends studying in Cusco, Peru (Hannah and Alex) and they were going to be in Bolivia for their spring break so obviously we joined them. Rob knew that Logan and I are pretty cool people and wanted to come on an adventure so he tagged along and I'm sure glad he did. For under $250 on LAN airlines we had flights booked for a 9 day trip flying in and out of La Paz, Bolivia. I had been sick the prior week taking medicine for a bad head cold (this part is import).

Thursday October 3: Bus ride from Vina to Santiago at 10pm for $5USD, then a taxi ride for $2/person

Friday October 4: Leave Santiago for Iquique, Chile 5:20am after hanging out for a few hours in the airport doing cartwheels, playing old maid, Rob sleeping. Arrive in Iquique at 7:30 and have a layover until 4pm. There is NOTHING in the airport except white walls and metal chairs. We did find a wheelchair to have races with and a tv to watch some Piers Morgan. No wifi, no heat, expensive food....no bueno. We finally boarded our plane and thought it was funny that we never got our passports checked but figured whatever. Then a lovely flight attendant came up to Logan pointed and said "international police". So we talked with the lady and she said he needed to talk to the police in the airport, but didn't think Rob and I needed to. We explained that we should probably all get off the plane and figure it out so we talked to the customs patrol in the airport who blatantly had watched us walk past them before and they stamped our passports and we got back on the plane as everyone looked at the Americans. I was miserable on the flight as my head was about to explode from the pressure and my cold.
       We landed in 14,000 ft. La Paz and headed through customs. Americans have to pay $135USD to enter the country. The money needs to be in American dollars and needs to be new and crisp. Logan found this out the hard way as the customs guy wasn't going to accept one of his $20 bills. We were like "well what are you going to do if you don't accept this, I promise it can still buy you whatever you need." He finally took it. I had found forms online to fill out for visas in Bolivia and we used those, but they barely looked at them.  Moral of the story is carry nice US bills.
        We stayed at the Wild Rover Hostel ($7USD/night) and met up with Hannah and Alex. Much welcomed reunion.  We all hung out and I talked to Hannah and met her friends and then started feeling awful. I found the boys in their natural habitat....the bar! I went up to Logan, gave him a big hug and just started crying. I guess my face was completely pale and my lips were blue so we decided I should probably go to bed. This was the first impression people got of me and in a bar none the less. I threw up and just coughed all night. Day 1 wrapped up and I was miserable.

La Paz

Saturday October 5: We walked around La Paz and had lunch at a mall stand for under $2USD each. We did some shopping and found many things like dead and small llamas and goats, a Hangloose belt buckle for Logan, and placemats for Hannah's apartment.  We went on a walking tour of the city with Red Cap Walking tours. Best free tour I've ever had. The guides knew all the little quirks about the city and told us all about the people. Like why do the women wear little top hats...... because the Europeans brought them for the men hundreds of years ago but they didn't fit their heads so they figured the women would want them! That night we stayed at the hostel resuming our positions of boys at the bar and Erin in bed.

Sunday October 6: I think I stayed in bed till 3pm while everyone else figured out our plans. We then went to the fighting Cholitas match.  This is the most bizarre thing I've seen in person. We were front row with hundreds of other people watching Bolivian women in big skirts wrestle men in tight Spiderman costumes. At one point a lady had one guy tied up in a plastic bag and was throwing water bottles at him. The audience chimes in while throwing popcorn and soda at the wrestlers.  This is a weekly event for the locals and boy do they love it. Logan and Alex bought masks so maybe they'll practice and be back, in the ring next time!

Cholitas wrestling

Monday October 7: DEATH ROAD. We woke up and left the hostel at 7:30 and drove with our tour guides up to a lake just over 15,000 feet to start our descent on the world's deadliest road.  Our tour company (Overdose) had great equipment with full clothing and good mountain bikes. I was feeling absolutely awful and hadn't eaten much in 4 days, but my stubborn self wasn't going to let this opportunity go. Later I found out my friends all talked behind my back saying "who's going to tell her she can't do it? she looks awful" but being the good friends that they are they let me come along and made sure I made it.  The road is about 40miles long, with about 13,000 feet in altitude dropped. There have been almost 20 people killed on it in the last 15 years with the most recent death being an Englishman last year. The road averages 10 feet wide with a  2000 foot cliff on your left. You ride through rivers and under waterfalls watching as you pass roadside graves along the way. Cars still drive up and down the road so you are constantly listening for on coming traffic. Rob, Alex, Logan and Hannah were cruising as I was leisurely behind. You can look up videos on youtube for buses falling off death road if you want to see what we were dealing with. For $65USD we had a whole day of biking, lunch, snacks and transportation.  I never felt REALLY unsafe on it. It seemed pretty casual, but it doesn't look that way in pictures. We had a guide in front and behind us the whole time too.
      Since we don't have spicy food in Chile Rob and Logan were on the hunt for it in Bolivia. They heard about a place with really hot curry so they went on a little man date with our 2 new Danish friends and Alex. I guess the food wasn't even that good and they ended up just drinking a lot of milk and eating a lot of rice. Andreas (danish kid) did conquer the challenge and got a t-shirt out of it. The others just had miserable stomachs. Hannah and Alex went to the salt flats for the rest of their break while we stayed at the hostel.

overlooking a 2000ft drop off

Tuesday October 8: Woke up early to catch our $7USD bus to Copacabana on Lake Titicaca. We thought we just have one casual bus ride and arrive 4 hours later, but oh no. We switched buses twice and since they didn't assign us seats to begin with we were shoved to the rear of the bus, ya know that row that everyone dreads sitting in because the seats don't recline and there's no leg room? That was us. Me and my 2 friends who are 6 feet tall.  I slept most of the way and was pretty delirious. We ferried across part of the lake on a little boat while our bus was safely escorted across on a wooden platform.  After finding a hotel (Hotel Mirador) to stay at in Copacabana we hopped on a ferry to Isla del Sol.  The hostel was $5.75USD/night and included breakfast with a lake view! I slept on the ferry and on a bench on the island as the boys hiked the island and were even lucky enough to take pictures of llamas which only ended up costing 30 cents.  Funny how they can turn anything into an attraction! When we got back to the hotel I decided I should probably get a doctor.  It was like ordering room service.  10 minutes after the front desk called the doctor a young Bolivian man and women walked in my room. They took my temperature and asked how I was feeling.  Good practice for my spanish.  Logan was gone for a few minutes and when we came back he got to talk to the doctors because I was delirious and couldn't comprehend much. I didn't even spell my home address correctly on one form! They gave me a shot and some pills and an oxygen machine. All night I got to sleep with tubes up my noise and had a machine next to me that sounded like a dirt bike engine. Poor Logan got to deal with it all and had to go to the ATM to get more money to pay for the doc. Rob got to sleep with the snoring Danish kids in another room.

Bolivian Doctor

Wednesday October 9: Mr. Doc came back at 7am to collect his $180USD and his oxygen machine. He told us that I was safe to travel to Peru and I needed to keep taking my pills.  I basically had severe altitude sickness combined with the flu and a cough.  That's a really bad combination that I hope no one ever has.  I was feeling a little better and relieved to have the tubes out of my nose. Gosh I hope when I'm old I don't need oxygen.  The boys said I had a little color back in my face.  After 3 buses we made it to Cusco, Peru. In total our $14 bus rides took about 11 hours.  There are at least a gazillion speed bumps in Peru and 99% of them are unnecessary out in the middle of the country side. There are so many little houses that populate the Peruvian countryside and I can't help but wonder what the inhabitants do all do. What continues to amaze me is the fact the every home or shack in South America has at least one tv AND has dish or cable. I don't even have cable in the states and these people living in unfinished houses with tin roofs have cable.  We checked into our Eco-Packers hostel and got some local Peruvian food. A complete meal of soup, drink, chicken and rice, and jello was $3USD. right on budget!

Thursday October 10: At 11am we decided it was time to trek to Machu Picchu.  I knew it was an adventure to get there, but I didn't think it was THAT far. I mean people come to Cusco to go to Machu Picchu right?   We told our hostel owner that we were ready to go and asked for directions. He laughed and told us it was too late. He said we should wait till the following day. Oh no buddy, we are going today, don't underestimate 3 adventurers! I scribbled down some directions, we each bought a snickers bar and set out. We took one taxi to Quibamba terminal in Cusco where some lady helped us out of the taxi and into a van. Not sure if we were doing what we were supposed to, but figured we'd be going somewhere.  It was a 4.5 hour van ride. Rob made a new Peruvian friend who decided that his shoulder was a comfy pillow. The road was beautiful, but incredibly winding. The van stopped so we got out in Santa Maria where a guy asked us where we needed a ride to. We got in his hatchback with 2 other people (shoved one in the trunk) and made our way. He told us we should stay an extra night with him because there was going to be a big party, bummer we couldn't make it. He stopped in Santa Theresa and we got out where another guy asked us if we needed a ride. Well we did, so we hopped in his car and drove another 40 minutes or so.  This road was pretty scary and should actually be called the deadliest road. There was actually an accident on it the next day that killed 51 people who were coming back from the big party.
We were safe though and it was gorgeous.  We got dropped off at the train tracks at Hydroelectrica and wished a safe journey. In total it cost about $15USD/person for all our rides. I was amazed at how willing people were to help us every step of the way. We started our supposed 2 hour walk on the train tracks at dusk. Our walk ended up taking about 3 hours because it was slower in the dark and we took our time. It was a pretty magical thing to walk through the valley of Machu Picchu with a half moon and no other light. Might not have been the safest thing, but hey we're in our 20s and ready to adventure. We watched as the clouds would roll in and out and see the shadows of the steep mountains. Rob almost lost his beloved Colorado Rockies hat that he's had since 8th grade and turned around for a 15 minute sprint to find it alone on the tracks. Feuf! Logan and I just pondered life (or at least I did while we sat in silence) while Rob was gone. We enjoyed those snickers bars and I can assure you that a snickers has never tasted so good. If you get a chance to go to MP I recommend doing what we did one day because it was such an adventure and so magical. We were so happy when we finally saw the lights of Aguas calientes (city at the base of Machu Picchu).  We arrived at our hostel around 9pm and went in search of some dinner. After getting burgers we settled into bed bracing ourselves for our 4am wake up. The boys were relieved that I finally had color in my face and was finally talking! I was back to part of society.

Friday October 11:  4:10am wake up. We all got dressed and ate our breakfast of bread super pumped for the day. We walked through the city buying our bus tickets from aguas calientes to MP ($18USD/person), entrance ticket $24USD/person with a student ISIC card (must have the card), and train ticket back to Cusco ($80USD/person).  The morning reminded me of Black Friday shopping with everyone out in the warm clothes holding their coffee as they wait in line, except no one was fighting for the latest and greatest toys.  After boarding a tour bus we made the 25 minute ascent to MP. We found a little guide, Jose, at the entrance to the park who accompanied us for about 2 hours.  We ended up entering the park around 6:30am and watched the clouds move in and out. I definitely recommend getting a guide. It was Rob's idea and Logan and I were skeptical, but it was informative and interesting. It was good to practice our spanish too.  Jose came at a pretty penny of $12USD/person.  The ruins of the ancient city are stunning. They were such smart people thinking of everything from when the best harvest time was to building structures able to withstand earthquakes. They thought of every single detail.  We hiked the mountain "Machu Picchu" and got a better look at the ruins.  The boys tried to bring some summit beers but the entrance worker thought otherwise as she heard them clanging in the backpack as Rob bouldered up the mountain after misplacing his ticket. We hiked about 2.5 hours gaining incredible views with every step. Words will not do MP justice, so please visit it for yourself or look at lots of pictures. It was amazing though.
    We took a train, because we decided that the train track walk and all the taxi rides was too exhausting and long.  We were all tired and smelt awful after not showering for a few days and hiking, but hey we just hiked Machu Picchu! The train was a nice passenger train through the valley complete with snacks. We got dropped off in some little tourist city and then look a $7USD/person van ride back to Cusco. This time it was only 2.5 hours. I fell asleep again as Rob joked that I was asleep twice as much as I was awake on the trip.

    That night Alex met up with us and showed us the night life. Oh what a nightlife scene there was. It's known for being a party city. We went to a few different bars and there was an absurd amount of 50 year plus people out and on drugs. It was bizarre! There are loads of tourists in Cusco so we didn't stick out too much. People were on the street just selling drugs, which we don't see here in Chile so that was interesting. I again was annoyed with the amount of cat calls and guys that tried grabbing me, but welcome to South America. After a bed time of 4:30am were were exhausted!

Saturday October 12:  Hannah made it back to Cusco so she and Alex played tour guides.  We went to some Alpaca factories and wandered through fields of llamas.  We went to a few markets with uncooked meat hanging from the ceiling and the brightest color flower stalls.  We tried a fruit that had dark, sweet seeds similar to a pomegranate but citrus tasting. We went to a few flea markets and enjoyed trying on panchos and headbands. Cusco is a very neat city with a mix or Spanish and Incan architecture. It's very touristy in parts, but beautiful and clean. I have over 100 bug bites on my legs and as I rubbed cream on them locals walking across the street stopped dead in the tracks and pointed at me. That was a funny experience having heads literally turn as they walk past me, and not look in a good way.   I ate dinner with Hannah and her cute host family, and Logan went with Alex. We left Rob to drink at the hostel. The Peruvian, and Bolivian, people speak so clearly and slowly so it was great to actually have fluent conversations.  At 10pm we left from the main bus terminal on a 11 hour ride direct to La Paz for $33USD/person.  We had fully reclined seats which was very welcomed. I slept for awhile except for when the temperature dropped below freezing inside.  When you cross the border here you walk with your passport through a series of offices from both countries. The peruvians asked if we had any drugs and made one guy we were with roll tobacco cigarettes for all the employees.

Sunday October 13: Arrived in La Paz around noon and left our backpacks at the Wild Rover Hostel in bag security. We shopped in the local markets after lunch. Lunch consisted of Coke and meat+rice+veggies for each of us and was $4USD for the 3 combined!!! We each got fresh, 32 ounce smoothies from the juice ladies for a dollar each. If you're on a budget go to Bolivia! We bought some last minute souvenirs and journeyed to the airport. You have to pay a $25USD/person exit tax on top of the visa fee we had already paid just to leave. That was a blow at the end of the trip. But that meant getting money from the ATM which left extra money to buy us some pringles and chocolate covered almonds. We took our 2 flights and made it to Santiago around 11pm. Instead of sleeping in the airport until morning and taking a bus to Viña we got a taxi. Nice little shuttle home and I was asleep by 2am.

                   One of the greatest adventures I've ever had.  I was miserable for part of it, but still enjoyed it. It was odd feeling incredibly awful, but yet alive and present where I was.  I didn't really talk much for the first 3 days and just walked behind everyone. It gave me a good chance to reflect and take it all in.  I'm incredibly thankful to everyone who helped me while I was sick especially Logan.  It's really nice knowing I have good friends who will never tell me I can't do something, but will do everything possible to keep me happy and safe.  I never realized how sick I was, but after hearing from people afterwards about my appearance and mannerisms I guess it was bad.  I loved going with no plans and figuring things out along the way. I recommend this sort of travel if you're confident and you are traveling with competent companions. Rob and Logan were perfect for that, figuring things out along the way and always being upbeat. We've got friendship bracelets from Bolivia as little reminders of epic travels.  Congratulations on finishing this novel you just read! Thanks for sharing in our journey. Now it's time for you to create your own journey today!!!

market in La Paz