I AM BACK IN THE USA!

Things I'm going to miss the most ...

Omg, world! I only have 1 more day!

- Alfajores [cookie sandwich with manjar in the middle covered in chocolate]

- Besitos

- Galavanting in South America

- Palta [avacado]

- Pulling the gringa-card

- Running next to the ocean

- Fake playground-gym equipment

- Eating too much bread (and always blaming Señora Carmen)

- [Almost] always having an abundance of fresh fruit

- Conserving electricity because I only have one functioning plug in my bedroom

- Salsa dancing [ahem, trying]

- Queque (not-too-sweet Chilean coffeecake yumminess)

- Being able to sleep in forever

- Incredible sunsets

- Coca Light

- Classes that meet once a week but are 3 credits

Perú! Part 2

OK, world... Here goes Part 2 of the Peruvian story...

   Friday night (10 julio) we bussed it to Puno, a city on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca... arriving early Saturday morning. We signed up with a tour agency for a 2-day/1-night tour of some of the islands in the Lake, and rested a bit in the terminal until 8am when the tour started. 

** Little known facts: Not only is Lake Titicaca the largest lake in the world, but it is also the highest navigable lake in the world, at around 12,000 feet altitude. 

   Our island-tour included 3 islands, the first being one of the floating Uros Islands, 

which are really old and made out of floating reeds!! The people are very "indigenous" on these very small islands,  with only 8 thatched huts on the island we were on, and no electricity.... However, they now make most of their income from tourism, so part of me wonders how staged it was. In any event, it was really interesting.

   Stop 2 was the island Amantí, where we were assigned the host families with whom we would stay. That's right, world; I just can't get enough of living with strangers. So we hiked up to our houses and had a 'traditional lunch'- including quinoa soup and fried cheese with potatoes. These houses had no electricity nor running water, so it was really quite an experience. Later that afternoon, we had a rather strenuous hike (Surprise!) up to the top of the island to an ancient ruin of a temple to Father Earth, from which we watched an amazing sunset. After returning to the town square and (eventually) re-uniting with our families in the dark, we went home to have a dinner, and then partied with the natives that night! 

Literally- they dressed us up and we all danced to the beats of a local band and had a really fun night! When we returned, it was absolutely pitch black outside, without even the slightest hint of light pollution, which meant an AMAZING display of stars- soooooo beautiful! 

   The next morning (12 julio), we headed off to the 3rd and final island, Taquile, where we hiked around and then had trout that came from Lake Titicaca itself-- sooo delicious! Afterwards, we took the 3hour boat ride back to Puno, where Phuong and I spent the afternoon (a very urban and not-so-interesting city)... awaiting our nighttime bus back to Tacna, (the southernmost city in Peru) where we'd cross the border to Arica, Chile the next morning. Sadly, all of the nice buses were already sold out for this evening, so we had to take a very crampt bus, but it ended up being only 8 or 9 hours, so we got into Tacna and crossed the border really early. 

 

  Monday (13 julio), Phuong took the 11:30am bus back to Viña, while I found a hostal and showered, rested, ate, etc etc in preparation for my early flight back into Santiago. It was soo nice to have a whole day to myself to just be able to rest, relax, and not really worry about the next step of the journey. 

   So this morning (14 julio), I got in rather early to Santiago, got on a bus to Viña, and here I am. Safe and sound in my warm bed. Not at all the trip I had expected to embark on, but a very fun time, full of learning to be flexible and patient... and I'm definitely glad I could go!

However... the end of this trip means the end of my final South American adventure (for the time being), which I was very aware of as I boarded my plane this morning. I only have 5 more days here on this amazing continent!! 

Perú! Part 1

Well world, somehow I made it back from Perú! I flew in this morning to Santiago from Arica... Get ready for a story... 

   So Sunday (5 julio) I spent the night in the airport, awaiting my very early 5am flight out of Santiago. I landed and poked around the small surf town of 

Arica for several hours, awaiting the arrival of my friends (friend from program, Phuong and chileno, JuanJo) who took the 28hour bus to get to Arica. But, surprise! Their bus was late (aka 30 hours total!!!), so they got in around 4 Chile time, and we hopped across the border in a very sketchy taxi as quickly as possible, and got right on a bus to Ariquepa, Perú. This bus ride was supposed to be around 8 hours, but it ended up being more like 10, so we got in pretty early to our hostel on Monday morning. [Note: night bus rides are a good way to save money, because you sleep on the bus and don't have to get a hostel... they are also a good way to save the environment, because you cannot shower.]

   Monday (6 julio), we poked around Ariquepa, enjoying the small but really pretty city... resting from our travels, and just kinda soaking everything in (including the wonderful sun!) That night, after some really really delicious food, we got some news. Turned out that a national strike had been planned for Tuesday and Wednesady (6-7 julio) which would include all modes of transportation, and possibly continue indefinitely. Well, when buses are your main planned mode of transportation, a strike that makes it impossible for buses to travel kind of negatively affects your plans. 

   So we stayed in Ariquepa Tuesday. And we stayed Wednesday. 

   Wednesday night (8 julio), ONE company (out of probably 10) decided it was finally a safe time to drive to Cusco... so we took it. [Note, if nine companies still say it's a bad idea... it probably is.] At about 1:30am (when everyone on the bus was sleeping), we got stopped because of an "unauthorized strike" by the miners of the area. Around 7 and 8am, when everyone on the bus started to wake up (and needed to smoke), we saw that there were about 40 miners, SITTING on a pipe across the road, causing a blockade that affected probably 50 vehicles/ hundreds of people, many of which were buses or trucks delivering gasoline. So we continued to wait at this blockade (which we could have easily just driven toward until they backed down...) until 10am (9 hours) when the Peruvian President was evidently making a national announcement, which would determine whether the miners could stop their strike because they'd won... Well, I guess they lost, because at 10:30, we started to try to turn around (no small feat in a huge tour bus in a very tight line of trucks). After having turned around, we drove for another hour back toward Ariquepa, and guess what we found!? 

ANOTHER blockade by "unauthorized strikers"... this time indigenous people who wanted who knows what (obviously the people on my bus had a lot of help to give them)...

 So we had to wait at this strike for about 2 hours (which included some very heated white people from my bus who just wanted to get ANYWHERE), and eventually, for unknown reasons, the buses were allowed to pass (so long as the buses went across empty and the passengers walked across the blockade... so strange)... As incredibly annoying as it was, it was a really beautiful day, so we got to see some lovely Peruvian countryside...

     So about 22 hours later, we get BACK to Ariquepa on Thursday evening (9 julio), and my friend Phuong and I decide that this is just not going to be the trip for us to go to Cusco/Machu Picchu. Sad, but I just really kinda felt like God was trying to tell me that this was not the time, and it just reallllly didn't seem like a wise idea since I had an unchangeable flight to get back to. Also, we wanted to be able to give the sight the time it deserved (not just one very rushed afternoon)... so we decided to just skip that leg of our journey, and head straight to Lake Titicaca on Saturday (and return later in life). 

   Friday (10 julio), we stayed in Ariquepa once again, and Phuong and I went rafting on the Chili River-- a grade 3.5 (out of 5) -- and it was SO fun 

(even though Phuong doesn't know how to swim). 

The river was ICEY, so we got to wear these awesome wetsuits and incredibly flattering red jumpsuits with our life jackets... so that part was awesome. We were in a raft with 2 Canadians and a guide, and it was just an absolutely beautiful river and experience, with great rapids. Sooo worth it!!

El Día de Independencia

Well hello, world!

   Just before I shipped off for Perú, a bunch of my friends and I had a little 4th of July celebration.... We did the most American thing we could think of-- we went to the Ruby Tuesday's in Viña. That's right, no Starbucks in sight, but Ruby Tuesday's made it over. Ooh, globalization. 

 

  Anyway, it was a lovely way to remind us why we're so proud to be Americans, complete with expensive salad bar, over-priced hamburgers the size of your face, and little American flags, provided by Marcia.

Happy birthday,  America! 

A very Chilean holiday...

   So Monday there was no school because it was a holiday- el Día del San Pedro y San Pablo -- that is, the day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Now, I can't exactly tell you what we celebrated, but I did learn that Peter is the patron saint of fishermen... so we went to the docks. 

   How does one celebrate el Día de San Pedro y San Pablo? Well, there was an all-day procession of San Pedro and la Virgen Maria through Valparaíso [No one really cares about San Pablo...??] ... "San Pedro" was a statue on a boat-platform- thing surrounded by flowers, carried by several men, and Maria was a smaller statue with a Chilean flag (think lawn nativity scenes), carried by ladies in white. So all we got to see was the very end of the procession (the most exciting part from what I understand) when the 2 statue things boarded their separate boats. 

 

  Now, seeing as they do this EVERY YEAR, you might think that they have a pretty good system worked out by now, but no way, readers- you forget that this is Chile. So after much huffing and puffing and awkward maneuvering, San Pedro got on his boat, after which the crowd bum-rushed the boat to try and hitch a ride. Strange. Then it was Maria's turn, and the same thing happened-- only this time we tried our hardest to get on the boat, too, but alas- the gringas were turned away. However, we later learned that they the take a very rocky all-afternoon ride around the port, so we were secretly glad that it didn't work out.

    In other news, I am DONE with classes!! I only have 1 more paper to finish and then turn in via email on Thursday! Woohooo! 

Hasta luego, world! 

Chocolate chip cookies make you very popular.

Hello world,

   Not a particularly eventful week, but I am now DONE with 3 out of 5 of my classes!! 

   Our chocolate chip cookie presentation for my Oral Expression class last week was a big hit (their history is TRULY fascinating) ... After our presentation (which, of course, included samples), everyone was like "Omg! Facebook!! We are best friends! Never forget!!!" Yeah.. okay. You just want more cookies. AND my host fam, though they had doubts about oatmeal cookies, really liked the cookies I made for them... hah! Also, they were just shocked at the speed and ease with which I made the cookies (from a package), ahh, American convenience. How I miss thee. 

   Let's see, I had my final Spanish class, in which our teacher revealed that she actually speaks fluent English because she studied abroad in middle-of-nowhere, Illinois when she was 18. Surprise!  [Note: This revelation reinforced my secret theory that my host fam actually speaks english and has been listening to me skype/gripe and will reveal it to me on my last day at home... don't worry, world. I'll keep you posted.] But seriously, this was a super great class, and I think we were all (all 6 of us) a little sad to see it end... 

   Yesterday was my host parent's 23rd wedding anniversary... and their oldest child is almost 22 and a half... hmmm... We did have cake, though, which  legitimately thought was delicious... so I guess I'm really chilean now. Who knows. (I formerly felt that all Chilean cake was dry and gross...)

   Other than that, there was some drama from the Miami Honors department (as per usual), but it seems like it's all under control... aka I'm out of the country and can only do so much. Also, it's super cold. Not so much outside (though you def need a coat), but inside the house / ice castle I can see my breath. All of the time. Yeah, totally normal. It's ridic how many blankets I sleep in (and you know I sit in bed under all of those blankets when I'm at home) Oh, and if any of you leave a comment saying "Haha- you're chilly in Chile!" I'll punch you in the face. :) 

   Oh, and last night we had a celebrate-3-birthday-extravaganza in Valpo! Fun times, but a group of like 15 gringos and 10 chileans is pretty conspicuous... however it did mean we brought the party pretty much wherever we went. 

   Soooo... this coming week, Monday is a holiday (not that I have classes anyway...) and then I have a quiz on Tuesday morning (which I am NOT looking forward to because it is in my HORRIBLE AWFUL TERRIBLE history class that I HATE and want to DIE) and then a paper for that same class... then a paper due on Thursday for my Modern History class... and then I'M DONEZO with learning! Thursday night is our IFSA-Butler Cena de Despedida (farewell dinner) with all of the madres, which I am thoroughly looking forward to, and then Saturday night I start my journey to Peruuuu! My, how time flies....! :(

Well, I think that about does it - - hasta luego, world!