the people i´ve met

my week of vacation was incredible. highlights included one crazy hike to the top of mnt esmeralda in iquique, however, we were told it really was not a mountain, just a huge hill. but i dont know, to me it was one of the biggest mountains in the world, especially since the bottom half was all sand. it took in total about 4 hours to hike up. a great night´s sleep and super stong legs, and one of the most beautiful views in the world was what i got out of it. i think that was the closest i have ever felt to being on top of the world.

so where are the pictures? good question. my camera is lost, somewhere in the mail between the u.s. and chile. however my friends have pletny and i promise soon there will be a photo site!

on the way to iquique i was lucky enough to sit next to the cutest chilean 2 year old in the world who woke me up at 6 am screaming ¨chica! chica! mira!¨ he was patting my head and pointing out the windows. we were driving throught the andes, and he thought it was just the most amazing thing ever, and i have to agree with him. so we sat together, he in my lap, and stared out the window for the next hour just pointing and saying wow. he was so great.

after iquique we went to la serena, on the way to la serena we (me, and 4 gringa friends) were sitting in the bus station when we noticed someone taking pictures of us! two young chilean guys thought there were being all smooth, but little did they know their flast gave them away. when we noticed we called them over and asked them what the heck they thought they were doing! of course they had no reason, and we ended up chatting away for and hour before our bus came. their names were elvis, (yes, elivs) and miguel. after we boarded the bus on of the attendants came to our seats and told us to look out the window. elvis and miguel were chasing the bus and jumping at the window holding up a sign with hearts. haha.

in la serena i continued to meet amazing people. we stayed in a hostel named hostel santa maria. maria was and older woman and she was the owner of the house. her very hippie-esqe son ran the place, and spent the nights serenading the hostel with his african drum and rainstick skills. i loved it!

at the hostle i met 4 incredibly beatuiful, smart, funny, and nice german girls. across the board, wherever i have traveled, i have always found germans to be over the top beautiful and nice, guys and girls alike! me and these girls had the time of out lives sitting out one night in the back yard which was more like and exotic patio, and shared stories over glasses of wine. i got all their email addresses and cant wait to one day meet up with them again.

one afternoon we went to the beach. the water was a bit cold so we ended up just laying out in the sand. after a while i got a little restless and was by the shore looking for shells. two little boys asked to see what i was collecting and after a few minutes of conversation i was invited to help them build a sand castle. so the two seven year olds, ignacio and carlos, and i sat and played in the sand for quite some time. i also have pictures of this on the way too! these two little boys were so funny. they thought my american accent was hilarious and kept asking me to repeat words and say things in english as the erupted in laughter. after the castle we flew their kites for a bit until it was time for them to head home.

finally, the most interesting person i met. it was maria, the owner of the hostel. i woke up early one morning to go for a run and when i came back she made me a coffee and a huge glass of water. she and i sat and talked about various things, but she was really interested in talking about politics. politics can be a touchy subject here, both with the us and chile´s history with pinochet. but she was more than open to sit and tell me her life story and what it was like for her growing up under pinochet´s regime. she told me about how she could never see a doctore and get treatment for her cancer, and how she thinks that what bush has done with iraq has saved the iraqui people from their own pinochet. it was so interesting to hear this point of view, and very eye opening. that thought had never crossed my mind, but i did think about it for a while after. i love being able to talk and listen to people of all ages and hear their stories and tell them mine.

and finally we headed back to valdivia, and when i walked into my house here, i actually felt like i was coming back to my own home. during my vacation i was homesick for mama, papa, cristobal, y dani. the feeling of being welcomed was so great. valdivia is one incredible new home!

love love love and more love for all!
i miss you!

p.s. i have sooooo much more to write, about stray dogs, cows (which i am deathly afraid of), salsa, farms, music, santiago bus stations, oh man. more to come!

so much to write!

i have been bad! i have not updated this blog in far too long! lets see if i can remember what has happened since i last typed to all of you!

currently i am in very northern chile sitting at a hostel in a town called iquique. this city is muy hermosa! right on the beach, nice sunny weather, a great break from the more fridgide temperatures we have been expierencing in valdivia. just kidding, its not too cold in valdivia, but it is no where near as warm as it is here! but before i get into my week of traveling heres a bit of an update of what has been going on.

classes are great. i really like all of my teachers, especially the professor of my chilean history class. he is by far the most interesting and funny. class work has kept me busy. but the great part is we dont have any classes on friday so that gives us an extra long weekend every week!

i am continuing my salsa dances . . . as for progress, i think i have hit a dry spell. but it is still so much fun. i also am practicing with the university women basketball team! its been fun, but i have to say, the girls dont seem too stoked to have a gringa on their court. so as for now i am just a part of practices. well see where that goes.

last week a bunch of gringos and chileans went out to a karaoke bar! somehow, and i have no idea how, the word got out that i used to be a big backstreet boys fan. well, low and behold, who was the first one up on the stage to start off the night with ´i want it that way´ complete with dance moves? oh it was me- senorita margarita. thank god for my back up gringa vocalists!

hmmmm que mas, que mas? sticking out is still pretty uncomfortable. i am trying to deal with that, but it is quite a process. to tell you the truth, i really dont like to walk alone anywhere even in the middle of the day, because being such an oddball is not the most comforting feeling, espically alone!

my chilean family is still the best! little cristobal just did a big presentation at his school for the chilean independence day (which is tomorrow) and he recited a pablo neruda poem. it was priceless. he felt on top of the world delivering that poem to a crowd of parents and friends all by himself last wed night. and after, he had a lot of fun intrucing me, his new sister, to all his teachers and friends. what a cutie!

so i have a week of vacations so me and four girlfriends decided to road trip up the coast and back down again. so after 35 hours in a bus we are finally in iquique! two days here, and then we are going to have our own version of the motercycle diaries (minus the motorcycle, and minus visiting several countries). we are going to cruise down to coast and soak up as much chilean culture as possible. tomorrow we are hiking to and old incan monument on a hill here in iquique which used to be a ceremonial sacrifical site (sp?). and then we are going to spend the rest of the day celebrating chilean independence!

more updates to come as we travel down the coast. ¡i miss you all and love you¡

katie

cheek kisses, jets v. sharks, niebla, and one horrible soccer team

it has been a while since i have updated so here are a few more chilean tidbits to clue you in on. first of all the cheek kisses. i have to say, we need to make a change in the united states. i get so excited whenever i see any chilean on the street, or meet a new one because i know i get a kiss on the cheek! its the most endearing gesture ever. what better way to greet a person or meet a person than to give them a peck on the cheek! every morning i wake up to one from each of my family members, and each night i fall asleep to one! but i am a bit sneaky, i dont let little cristobol get away with out a big hug too, beacause we all know hugs are just as good.

as for cristobol- he is so damn adoreable! recently i have noticed that when he wants to play a card came, or playstation, or practice his english, he runs upstairs first and sprays about 50 pumps of cologne. granted i spend half our time together coughing . . . i think its cute!

jets v sharks? west side story? what is that all about. its a long long story, but lets just say that accepting drinks from chilean boys comes with a few expectations. thus, one night after leaving a club with my chilean and gringo friends, i ended up in the middle of two feuding groups trying to explain to that that i can be all of their friends, and we are all friends, and we really dont need to fight. that is the short, super sugared down version. email me if you want the long winded version!

on saturday my program took a trip to niebla which is an area on the coast just south of valdivia. oh. my. gosh. i can not even descirbe how incredible it was. the weather was not so great, but still, its hard to think of a time where i ever saw anything as beautiful as the landscape there. we went hiking up some rocky clifs right on the water. then saw an old spanish for and castle. the history here is so rick and amazing!

and finally one horrible soccer team. that team would be the chilean national team. sunday was a sad day for chile. we lost to brasil 5-0!! however i was so entertained by just watching my family and all their friends get so intense and so into a game that had just about no hope!

salsa lessons are going strong. i actaully have to finish this blog up and go to my next lesson!

besos para todos!
katie