Vina Del Mar, Chile

Our travels have finally begun!

2008-12-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

The day we got home from our rent a car trip, Kelsey and I packed up and moved out of our apartment, it was so weird actually leaving after living there for so long! We moved all of our things over to 2 Poniente to hang out for the night and get our things ready to head to the airport. At 4am we headed to the bus station in Vina and then we were on our way to Santiago. We check our suitcases, which weighed about 60lbs each and we were only allowed about 45lbs....but we got out of paying the overweight fee, go us! We arrived in Arica, Chile about mid day and headed to our hostel. Arica is the northern most city in Chile, and known for its beaches. We headed to the beach for 2 days and got our plans together. We met some great guys from London, who we ended up singing karaoke with at a bar that night!! We then hopped onto a train and headed across the border into Peru. We from there got on a bus to Lima, it was a 20 hour overnight bus....long ride! But we made it here to Lima, we are staying in a little suburb outside of the main city of Lima. It is located right on the coast and yesterday we watched paragliders cruise the coast and walked around the city and ate a great lunch. today we are packing up our huge suitcases to head to the airport to both check our heavy luggage and to meet Chris and Erika at the airport! We are so excited to have everyone arrive and to begin our travels around Peru and head to MacchuPicchu! I will make sure I keep you all updated on where we are going and what we are all up to!

Cajon de Maipo (Failed attempt at hotsprings!)

2008-12-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving Kelsey, Amanda, Ganes and I all decided we really wanted to head up to Cajo de Maipo. It is a valley in between the Andes just a few hours outside of Santiago. We decided the easiest way to do this on our time was to rent a car.....who knew this would turn into the craziest 24 hour road trip ever! So we go to Alamo to rent a car, and they do not have th pathfinder we are looking for, so we settle for a 4 door compact Peagout......it was a comfy fit with the four of us and our luggage to say the least! So we head out, taking our time, and not exactly knowing the directions.....great start! After about 5 hours we finally get on the right track and stop for dinner. For some reason we weren't in a hurry, but we should have been because it was getting dark..whoops! We finally make it to the gravel road, this gravel road winds for at least 30 km, every bump, every rock, we all feel through the bottom of our little compact! About 20 km in, Kels realizes we are running out of gas....soon the gas light comes on and we are still going up! So we decide to keep going to see if we can make it, at this point it is dusk. We come to our first obstacle, a lake over the road, but Ganes gets out, does the rock test, and we continue on. About 20 minutes later, now it is really dark...... we come to a river crossing the road, this time the rock test doesn't turn out so well...we cant cross this river, our car is not high enough off the ground. So we turn around and decided to go about 50km back to the closest town to get gas and go from there. After making it to the gas station, PEWWWFF, we ask everyone in the town about getting a ride up there, even these 14 year old boys sitting on a truck (we offered them alcohol, turns out all they wanted was a Coke!)....no one can help..So we decide to park and at least enjoy the amazing stars for a few hours. So we all get outside and lay on the ground for a few hours. The stars were incredible, we each saw at least 5 shooting stars, YAY!! We then get a little bit scared to set up the tent, so we cruise around looking for a hostel or campsite.....long story short that was not successful! Oh yeah and the cars starts to sound like a rice rocket.....the muffler has fallen off....so Ganes gets out to temporarily fix it. We then get back in and are a little freaked out, so we decide we should sleep in the car where we can lock the doors. WHAT A NIGHT! 4 grown people sleeping in a compact car....haha the pictures sure sum it it! So we wake up in the morning and decide to head back to the river crossing, but we still cannot cross, so we head down, but the road we were on was well worth it, it was beautiful! All in all it was an amazing trip, well worth it, unfortunately we never made it to the actual hotsprings but we have a pretty good story to tell now!

Estoy Agraziada por.....

2008-11-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family! I had an amazing Thanksgiving down here in Chile, probably one of the most memorable thus far! In the morning, before the festivities as you can see by the photos, Kelsey and I decided to get some sun. We put our chairs in the pool, it was that warm! It is so bizarre being in a summer climate for the holidays....it seems like we should have been celebrating 4th of July! However, later we celebrated with all of us gringos of course, Chileans and French. We all contributed dishes of our choice to the final meal. Kelsey and I made very good homemade mashed potatoes, Ali and Erin did twice baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, crystal made an asparagus casserole, Dave handled the turkey and the stuffing and we had some great desserts. For what cooking utensils we had, lack of pots and pans, the smallest oven alive with no temperature monitor in the dirtiest kitchen ever, we made an AMAZING meal! It was the last night that all of us would all be together before we parted our separate ways to travel and go home for the holidays. We all went around the table and said what we were thankful for, in espanol of course. It was amazing to hear what everyone had to say and how much everyone really appreciates the happiness and joys in life. We all drank wine and gin and tonics and celebrated well into the next morning! The turkey finally cooked, after only 8 hours haha, we didnt eat until after midnight. And because the oven sucks so bad the oven smoked for all of those 8 hours filling the house with smoke..... but after a great round of hot potatoe with our baguettes in the kitchen we were all ready to eat a big feast and celebrate! I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving with your families in the states! I hope everyone is healthy and well, I cannot wait to catch up with you all as soon as I return to the states. As of right now, in 2 hours Kelsey and I are flying up to Northern Chile to have a few beach days before we meet up with Chris and Nick and Erika in Lima. I am so excited and cannot wait to update you all on our travels in Peru! CHAO!

PichiLemu! Surf Capital of South America

2008-11-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we decided to head south to check out Pichilemu, Chile. It is a tiny little surf town on the Pacific coast of Chile. Near Pichilemu, is a place called Punta de Lobos. It is one of the best spots to surf in South America. When the waves are big here, they are HUGE. We enjoyed the weekend watching surfers, walking the beach, eating at an amazing coastal restaurant and enjoying one anothers company. Pichilemu is a great weekend trip from both Santiago and Vina del Mar, beautiful beaches, incredible waves and a one of a kind sunset!

The "W" Torres del Paine, Patagonia Chile

2008-11-18T11:23:00.000-08:00

Patagonia is the southern most tip of the South American continent. In order to get there from Santiago you must take a couple hour flight. Living in Chile and being so close to Patagonia, I knew that it was going to be my one "must-do" trip while down here. So I booked a round trip ticket to Punta Arenas from Santiago for about $200, a good deal! After I booked my ticket and told my buddy Crystal what I was planning on doing down there, she booked one along with me. Our plan for the trip was specifically to visit Torres del Paine National Park. Most pictures you see anywhere of Patagonia are taken at this amazing place! So in order to adequately see the park you must hike. So we decided to do what is called the "W Circuit." The W is a trek that is in the shape of a W, that is a total of about 80km for the entire trail. We only had about 3.5 days to see it all so we were a bit rushed. So we packed up our "mochillas" spanish for backpacks, with 4 days worth of food, all the warm clothes we owned, a tent, sleeping bags and mats (because we were camping of course! Much Cheaper!)

When we entered the park on Tuesday morning it was pouring down rain and very cold. We waited to board the catamaran that would take us across the lake to where we would begin the W. We arrived at about 1pm in the afternoon, it was pouring down rain, windy and cold. We headed out to set up camp. After our tent was adequately set, we headed off for the first leg of the trail, 11km each way, to see Glacier Grey and the icebergs. Besides the awful rain and wind and clouds, what we could see was incredible. It was the first time I have ever seen an iceberg and a glacier that goes right into a huge lake! Really amazing! We then headed back down to camp in the pouring rain, we are now sopping wet, shoes, jackets and all! Fortunately there is an octagon room called the kitchen where campers are able to hang out, cook meals and dry off. We stayed inside for as long as possible! When they were closing down we made friends with the workers and ended up drinking wine with them in the bar and after a few bottles of wine and pisco sours, Crystal and I ended up being able to sleep in a luxury tent with carpet and mats for free! Night one was a success! We were warm and dry, major plus!

Day two, the middle part of the W. Before we head out, our friend from the night before was working the breakfast shift in the restaurant and hooked us up with a huge free meal! We then packed up our tent and headed to Campamento Italiano, about 2 hours and 7.6 km. It was an overcast morning, no rain, and perfect hiking weather. We could just begin to see the mountain Paine Grande and the teal colored lakes. We made it to Italiano and dropped our bags at the shelter and headed up Valley Frances. This hike was 5.5km each way and about 2.5 hours each way. When we began, this was the most difficult part of the hike so far, but we had dropped our packs so we were doing ok. We got some great views from the look out of the glacier before the clouds rolled in. Within 15 minutes it was a monsoon. The hardest rain and wind I have felt at the same time in my whole life. There were parts of this trek I thought I would maybe die....but we made it back to the shelter sopping wet once again. We could ring water out of ever layer of clothing.....soaked to the bone. So we loaded up our packs and headed on to the refugio where we would camp. This trek was another 5.5km and 2.5 hours away. The weather began to clear so we began to dry. However, the wind was not letting down, there were points where Crystal and I were physically knocked down to the ground by the wind, some 100km an hour! The wind was causing a hurricane over the water! We just barely made it to the refugio before getting completely drenched once again. At this point we were inside drying off, dreading putting up our tent...so we decide not to. 3 other peoples tents have broken and blown away in the wind at this point....so we end up being able to squeeze into a big tent with 3 Chilean hiking guides! Not the most comfortable night of sleep, but we were warm and dry and never had to put up our tent!

Thursday we woke up to sun and blue skies, FINALLY!! It was more than we could have ever asked for, and we appreciated it so much coming from the storms we had just weathered for two days! So we headed to our next refugio, Chileno, were we would camp that night. The journey was about 11km and 5 hours of basically all up hill. This is were we began the ascent to the Torres, the main attraction of this national park. We made it to the refugio at around 330pm and the workers there told us to continue on to the lookout because the weather was good and who knows if it would hold for tomorrow. So we pitched our tent, left our bags, and continued another 5.5km straight up! At one point we were scaling a rock field of huge boulders to get to the lookout. Through snow, sun, wind and rain we finally MADE IT TO THE TOP!!! It was the most amazing feeling to know that we had done it! The sign that read "End of Trail" was very symbolic to Crystal and I, we had really done it! It was the hardest experience of my life, but the most rewarding at the same time! So we enjoyed the view, took a lot of pictures, the sun was out and patted ourselves on the pack for a job very well done. We then hiked back down to the camp where we waited to cook our meal. Turns out the cook liked us a lot and gave us this amazing left over pasta with chicken from their dinner! Crystal and I and our two friends from Cali and Colorado literally downed this 12lb pot of pasta! Then off to our tent, which we ACTUALLY slept in the third night!!

Friday we woke up, packed up our things and began the journey down. It was at least 6km all down hill which at this point was very hard on our knees, each step was a painful jab to the knee. Once we made it to the Torres Hotel we continued to walk 7.6km on the road to the entrance of the park. Friday again was a sunny, warm beautiful day. We definitely lucked out on weather the last 2 days. And after 80km of hiking, we successfully completed the "W" in the Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia!

What an incredible experience! I learned so much about myself those 4 days and appreciate so much more in life. At times I felt as if I could not take another step, but pushing myself to finish was a goal I never thought I could achieve. I am so proud of myself for kicking ass on this trek and now am one of the few people in the world that can say I successfully completed the "W" in 3.5 days! And after doing the trek and exploring one of the most beautiful places on earth I can only recommend that you yourself visit the Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia Chile and see it firsthand. It is incredibly worth it!

Cachaqua Chile, Island of the Penguinos

2008-11-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

So today my roommate Amanda had the excellent idea of heading about an hour north on a Micro (small bus) to this coastal town called Cachagua. Apparently it has a large population of Humboldt Peguins, a beautiful beach etc. There were 6 of us along for this day trip. We head to the bus stop to catch a Micro and we finally get on the right one but after an hour and a half of circling neighborhoods and headed in sort of the right direction we wonder why we haven't arrived...After it is too late, we realize we have missed our stop, Whoops! Oh well, we will just get off at the next beach down, grab a bite to eat and them catch a bus back, easy as that right....haha not really. We end up getting off in the middle of no where but manage to find an empanda place to have lunch. We relax and have lunch in this funky place that seems like a ship. We then go out to wait for the bus, an hour and some later and a lot of pointless pics, we manage to get on a bus to where we were ACTUALLY trying to go! We finally arrive in Cachagua, and I assume from the pictures you can all tell how amazing it truly was! Anyways, today was an amazing day trip but at 5am tomorrow morning I am off to Patagonia! I am a bit nervous right now...but as soon as I get there and meet up with Crystal I will be fine! Can't wait to update you all with beautiful pictures from Patagonia! Chao!

Some new photos!

2008-11-05T11:19:00.001-08:00

Just a couple of photo updates! I am off to Patagonia, one of the most beautiful places in the world, on Sunday! I will be there for a week. I am planning on doing a 3 day hike through Torres del Paine with Crystal and then to Tierra del Fuego, the southern most tip of South America for the weekend and Kelsey will meet me down there. Can't wait to tell you all about it and show you pictures!! Chao for now!

Menozo, Menolos, MENDOZA, Argentina

2008-10-28T13:59:00.001-07:00

What a whirlwind weekend! I have officially visited my second South American country, Argentina! This past Friday, 6 of us from here in Vina and John Kelsey's friend from Santiago all boarded international buses headed for Argentina. After the curviest road of my life (30 plus half circles in all), very intense customs (long story short, I lost my arrival papers from Chile....but thank goodness they still let me pass), being cooked alive the top of a double decker bus and uncomfortable seats we made it to Mendoza, Argentina by 6pm on Friday afternoon. We walked for about what seemed like an hour in sweltering heat (we aren't used to heat like that in Vina) we finally arrived at our hostel, which to our surprise already had 3 people in the room we were supposed to fill up. So no worries, they made it work, they just added a few more bunks....so here we are in a 10 person bunk room....the 7 of us and 3 strangers. The strangers turn out to be 2 guys from Australia and one dude from Israel. We get situated and head out to dinner, Mendoza had some amazing food and great wine. We partied the night away and woke up in the morning to head out on an excursion. We ended up going out to the wine country and renting bikes. Once on bikes we rode from vineyard to vineyard wine tasting, touring and eating. All in all it was an amazing day. We returned to have a great steak dinner (well everyone besides me!) and then to wine it was once again! Sunday our bus didn't leave until 10pm at night so we explored the city, and ate....and waited for the bus. We finally made it back home to Chile at 5:30am Monday....needless to say no one made it to class or work that day, we all caught up on very needed sleep! All in all what a trip! Great memories made and a successful trip to my second southern american country!

PHOTO UPDATE 2!

2008-10-21T14:38:00.001-07:00

PHOTO UPDATE!

2008-10-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

This update will be purely visual! Here are some recent photos I have taken in Vina the last few weeks. I am still having an incredible time down here. The sun is out everyday and I am loving every minute of it! Two major trips are now in stone. This Friday we leave for Mendoza, Argentina! November 9th I leave for Punta Arenas, PATAGONIA, Chile!! (Google image these amazing places) I could not be more stoked for both of these journeys. Stick around for updates on how they go!!

It's an incredible view from up here!

2008-10-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

The view from our apartment is unbelievable.....arguably the best view in all of Vina del Mar, Chile! Whether it is daytime, sunset, dusk or night the view from our balcony is simply unreal! I wish you could all come down to visit because pictures just don't seem to do it justice! Besides our incredible view, life in Chile is perfecto! We go to the beach, have family dinners, walk a lot, work, go to class and travel....life doesn't get much better, especially in South America! We are in the planning phases, we are going to try hard to get to Mendoza, Argentina SOON, Patagonia (the very south tip of Chile) is a must and of course our route through Chile, Bolivia and Peru to finish up our expedition in December

Beer Pong in Chile, con una pelota de ping pong!

2008-10-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Most Chileans, unfortunately have yet to hear about Beer Pong, so thank goodness us Americans are down here to teach them! Last week we decided to start a round of beer pong. However, they don't exactly have "keg cups" down here in Chile. We ended up using plastic/paper birthday party cups! It was an incredible night and we all had a lot of fun!

Mi amiga Kelsey!!

2008-10-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

YAY- I am happy to announce that my best friend from school has finally arrived here in Vina del Mar, Chile! I could not be more excited to have her here. She arrived on Sunday morning and we took the whole day to get situated set up "our room" and hang out! Long story short, Kels' room is about 5 feet wide and 8 feet long......so in other words we both share my room, which has its own bathroom, full bed, TV and balcony! We are getting along great! So far we hung out at the beach yesterday, took a field trip to a winery where we got a tour and did wine tasting, we ate empanadas mmmm, and have been exploring the city!

Movin' On Up!!

2008-10-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

This day could not have come soon enough! I have been in Chile now for almost 5 weeks! And it is finally beginning to feel like home. One small change in my life down here has already made my time more enjoyable. Being October first I had the opportunity to relocate. I moved out of dos poniente and into an apartment. WOW what a difference. My bed is no longer on the floor, I have a big bed, my own bathroom, balcony and TV! The apartment is on the coast line and has a tremendous view of the beach, the city of Valparaiso, and a view of the sunset! It really doesn't get any better than that! Kelsey arrives Sunday morning and our other roommate named Amanda arrives Sunday morning as well. We are planning to rent a car and drive to Santiago Saturday and pick up Kelsey from the airport, so I will update you all on how that is coming along!

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

2008-09-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

So here in Chile their independence is a huge deal, therefore, everything basically closes down for the week so people can celebrate. Our school was closed the entire week last week, meaning no class for us! We had a vacation from our vacation! So on Friday we went to the bus station in Vina and bought tickets to San Pedro de Atacama, the very very northern part of Chile, which happens to be a desert. The bus ride was only a little more than 24 hours...each way! But when we arrived in San Pedro, we all realized the long bus ride was well worth it. If you get a chance google San Pedro to get a better idea if my pictures aren't enough. It is one of the most unique towns I have ever visited. The roads are dirt, the buildings remind you of an old wild west town. the restaurants are outside, no heat, no ATM and they turn the electricity and water off at night! We had some amazing adventures up there. We went sand-boarding in the desert (take snowboarding and put it in the desert, but you have to walk up the sand hills!) we hiked up to watch an incredible sunset and moon rise from these mountains, we woke up at 4am to go to -11C weather to watch the early morning geysers steam, we swam in hot springs, visited a flamingo reserve, hiked around some salt flats and ate some amazing food, bought some great hats, mittens and socks and ultimately had an incredible time. This town with a population of only 1,900, is an incredible oasis, unlike any other I believe I will see. People travel from all over the world to visit this incredible place and I could not be more happy that we decided to sit on a bus for 24 hours in order to experience it!

Portillo, Los Andes. Chile

2008-09-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

I think it is safe to say that I had a top ten ski moment of my life today! We left this morning at 530am and headed for The Andes. At about 930am we arrived at Portillo, a small mountain resort smack in the middle of the Andes Mountains. This incredible place is one of the most magnificent locations I have ever seen. Although small, Portillo had some incredible opportunities to offer! We could not have asked for better weather, sunny, clear, and WARM, wow, at times warmer than Vina! There was no one on the hill, Oh except for the US SKI TEAM, the Canadian ski team and some Austrian and Norwegian skiers! They were gate training! Apparently we picked the right spot! The area is pretty small, maybe a couple Aplentals, not too much steep terrain, but the beauty of the surroundings, the weather and the soft spring snow made up for that. They also not only have chairlifts, they have 5 person palma-lifts that drag your ass up a steep steep run. They have 4 of these scattered around in places where it would be too steep to put a chair. Talk about an interesting experience. Take a rope-toe, that goes straight up with a tiny seat, going 3omph haha WHOA, what an experience. I cant wait to explain this all in person, but i hope that gave you a little insight, and again, pictures do this place no justice. It is a MUST SEE first hand, resort. AND it's cheap too!! Oh and also on our way up, an avalanche fell on the road right before we reached it....then we waited while they cleared it and kept going, WOW!

Arriendo de Bicicletas

2008-09-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our first excursion on our own was a bike trip to the next beach town to the north. We rented bicicletas and rode along the coast to Renaca. What a beautiful ride, the pictures really do not do this place justice. I wish you could all come down here and check it out! We have been doing dance classes a few times a week to learn La Cueca, a traditional Chilean dance, that imitates roosters dancing, because next week is Chilean independence and it is a huge party and people dance la cueca in the streets. We will now be adequately prepared....well maybe, ha-ha right now we all look pretty ridiculous doing this dance. The weather seems to be warming up some, we can survive without the propane heater. It is supposed to be close to 75 this weekend yay, but still about 40 at night, que frio!!!
I just set up a Skype account, QUE BACAN! that's how cool in Spanish. I love Skype already, it is so cheap and you can call cell phones, land lines and computers, who knew!! right now we are in the process of planning a trip this weekend. It look slike we can rent a car for about $30 a day, so with 4 of us, very cheap. We would drive to Santiago and then on to the mountains, ski a day and then just explore until Wednesday. We need to be here then because that is the big party for independence day!

Gringos Del Mar

2008-09-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

Our first "ASSADO" also known in the US as a BBQ! Last night we had a BBQ on our patio with all of us roomates, some of Pamela's Chilean friends and others. I was able to capture a few pictures that give you a little insight on their version of a BBQ. Basically you cook sausage and meat and hang out, drinking Pisco, a native Chilean alcohol that can be compared to Rum, and Chilean beer. Except BBQs dont start around here until 11pm and end at 2am and then you go to the discos until 5am or so!! As you can tell I am having an amazing time and would love to here from everyone about how things are going in the states!

Clase de Espanol con Jennifer

2008-09-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

Today was our first real day of spanish class. Yesterday we did an orientation at school and then went to a winery for wine tasting and tour. So today was really the first day. I had forgotten how exciting it is to learn new things...I mean in a school setting, ever since I graduated I havent really sat down to learn anything, so being back in a class environment and using my brain, retraining to speak spanish, is so refreshing. I have spanish class from 1pm to 4pm everyday starting now for 2 weeks then we have a week off for Chilean independence week (HUGE PARTIES) and then one last week. So i basically explore in the mornings, run along the boardwalk, then go to class, and explore until sunset, eat dinner and hang with the girls at the house. Tonight our director Pamela who lives with us made us dinner, it was very sweet. Unfortunately it started raining this morning and isnt supposed to stop until friday, also it is FREEZING, I dont go anywhere without my blanket at the house, of course we have no heat and concrete walls and floors....haha oh well is fun to laugh about! Tomorrow we are going to go to a salsa class and learn some dance moves and go out on the town, so ill update you all after I do that! CIAO

Vino, New Friends & Sunsets! I love Chile already!

2008-09-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

BEAUTIFUL

"I can't believe you did this by yourself" ~all of the other interns down here

2008-08-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

I have never been more nervous than i was this morning....I woke up and heard my house mates around the house. I had no idea who they were, where they were from and what languages they spoke. For about an hour I laid in my bed, heart racing, deciding what the hell I was going to do. So... I got up and to my oh so pleasant surprise were 2 girls in the room next door from Boston, my exact age, and so much fun. I really lucked out on them, I think they will make my experience much more comfortable and fun.We spent the day eating empanadas, walking the boardwalk and checking out the mall. Vina is an amazing city but WOW it gets cold at night, at 6pm it was 13degress celcius, whatever that converts to, it was cold, but worse than that our house is 10 degrees colder than outside. I slept with every sweatshirt I brought!!Also i was in for a little treat to see the actual house in the daylight...let me just say, Wallingford is like the TajMahal compared to this shack. Borderline probably not at all worth what i am paying to be here BUT that said, Ali, Erin and I are making the best of it and having fun regardless and are laughing off the small things! School starts tomorrow and I cant wait to begin learning Spanish and every Friday we have excursions. These include surfing, canopy zip lining, a wine tour and a fiesta! I cant wait to tell you all more about whats happening down here!

4:40 am and I am finally here!!

2008-08-31T01:41:00.000-07:00

WOW, what a day! 24 hours ago i was leaving LA now i am in my bed here in Vina del Mar. Everything went very smoothly, thank goodness!! Made all my flights, all were on time and my bags along with me! I couldnt really se the town comin in, so i am excited to explore tomorrow! One thing i am noticing is that it is way colder here than i expected!! Good thing i have some extra blankets!! okay well i need to get some sleep but ill write tomorrow when i can actually see where i am! CIAO

San Salvador, El Salvador

2008-08-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

I just arrived here in San Salvador, my first stop along this crazy day long journey! I slept the entire five hour plane ride! The airport is tiny, it reminds me of Maui, and everything is green as can be, and by the looks of my view from the plane window, big cities are quite different down here! Surprisingly enough i found this computer with free internet at th airport, this is already unlike the USA! Well i need to stop chatting and go find my next flight that leaves in an hour!! I will update as soon as i get somewhere else with a computer. Love and miss you all, already!

A Career?? No, I think I'll go and live in Chile!

2008-08-26T12:03:00.001-07:00

So here I am. Sitting in Seattle creating a blog because I, unlike the majority of my friends, am putting my career on hold (well not on hold just not starting one!). I have made a kind of last minute decision, within the last month, to move down to Vina del Mar, Chile. It is a beach town on the pacific coast, located in the center of Chile. While in Chile I will be attending an international language school where I will study Spanish for 3 weeks. After those 3 weeks I will have a week off for a holiday down there and I am hoping to rent a car and drive to Patagonia! After that I begin my internship at the international school. I will be doing a marketing internship for them, marketing their language and abroad programs to universities around the world. So basically, I am off on a crazy adventure and cannot wait to keep everyone informed as to how it is going! Wow, well I have one more night here in Seattle. That means I have about 24 hours to get everything I need done.....Okay well i will check in when I make it down to California on my birthday, YAY 22!