Well the semester is finally finally over! I have to say coming from the quarter system to a semester system is hard to adjust to, but I made it through the long weeks. It was defintely not the end of semester I predicted either. Unfortunately the Tuesday before last my laptop was robbed from a Cafe Literario, which is like a cafe with a library upstairs. I went to the bathroom and within one minute it was gone! It just goes to show that bad things can happen even when you study abroad and you can´t let your guard down for one second...even in a room with over 30 people and two security guards. That robber sure had guts! Everyone has been really helpful through it all. My professors gave me extensions on essays I had to restart, and my host family and study abroad center lent me computers. Plus my sister is coming Monday and bringing my dad´s old one for me. It´s never good timing to have a computer stolen, but in this case the timing could have been worse!
Aside from the whole laptop fiasco not much has happened since my last post. It´s been more goodbyes for the people staying only one semester, which are never easy. I´ve really enjoyed making American friends out of context and sharing this experience with them. It´s just something that will always connect us, ´´that semester in Chile...´´ Plus we all have elaborate, exciting ideas for reunions in the states...Vegas anyone? Now it´s time to look forward and share my summer plans! All of them just kind of came together in the last 2 weeks, and there is actually a lot going on...
- December 10th to January 1st, my sister comes for a visit! We are gonna hang out for a couple days in Santiago before we head to Peru to do the classic Inca Trail trek. It´s 4 days and 3 nights through parts of the original Inka trail, with the last day finishing in Machu Picchu. We had to book it way in advance, because permits sell out really quickly. That just means the suspense and excitement have been building for months! After we get back from Peru, we´re spending Christmas with my host family. I will definitely miss the at home traditions I´ve had with my family, but it will be special to share this holiday with a Chilean family and with my sister! And finally the peak of our adventure will be New Years Celebration in Valparaiso. We´re going to head over a couple days prior and meet up with my friend Andrea from my program. We´re actually going to give Couchsurfing a try, because I almost had a heartattack when I saw the jacked up hostel prices. Sorry parental units if you are finding out this way. For those who don´t know what Couchsurfing is, it is an international, online community where travelers can build a profile and be a couchsurfer or a host. At first I was iffy when I heard about it, but a few people from my program have done it and only have positive things to say. This site doesn´t cut corners on safety either. Hosts and surfers can get reviewed, vouched for, and verified or reported to make it a safe trip. So I did some searching for people who had those credentials, except for being reported of course! The person were staying with has apparently hosted a lot people from all over the world in the past for the New Years celebration. It has the biggest fireworks show in Latin America, and it´s also one of the biggest in the world! It´s also really a popular event, with thousands of people on the beach and in the streets staying out all night and into the morning. And we have to catch the bus back the morning of the first, so my sister can make it back for her flight out of Santiago that night. She will sure have a crazy end to her South American adventures!
- January 3rd to 14th I signed up for a volunteering project through my host university and got in!It´s in Region VII, or the Maule Region of Chile, in a rural town affected by the 2010 earthquake. I don´t know all the details, but it strikes me as a Habitat for Humanity esque project. I honestly don´t know what to expect, because I´ve never done an extended volunteer project even in the U.S. I can´t imagine it not being a rewarding experience!
- Rest of January to mid February A former EAPer recommended a site called helpx.net, where you can find volunteer work on hostels,farms,etc. in exchange for room and board. I got in contact with a family who owns some cottages in a small beach town called Maintecillo. I´ll basically be helping out cleaning the cottages, watering the garden, or other doing other jobs they need help with. Plus staying by the beach in the summer sounds great to me...what can I say, I´m a true California girl!
- mid to end of February My dad comes! We´ll meet up in Santiago, then we´re heading over to Patagonia to do the 10 day circuit hiking trip through Torres del Paine National Park. Just google it, it is absolutely gorgeous. I can´t even begin to imagine what it will look like in person!
Yaaaay! So excited!!
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