Half Way Mark!!!

Alright chaps, I am halfway through my week of doom! Today I had my presentation over the Mapuches. Last time I gave a presentation she said I looked at my notes too much. I will give her that since I wrote out my entire speech on my paper! Haha. Even if we mess up or don't use perfect grammar, she wants us to practice and get comfortable speaking in Spanish. For someone as timid as I am with Spanish, that is a hard task. No worries, I rocked it :)

Tonight my Cultures in Contact group got together and spent forever trying to find a fun way to present our interviews. Everyone is going to making a powerpoint, so we knew we had to go above and beyond! Entonces, we have created a show, and we have music for the end of our presentation. I hope ours rocks everyone out of their seats so hard that the teacher has no choice but to announce us at the winners! That would be absolutely fantastic in my book!

Finally, we ended up running into our new Chilean friends that we met over the weekend. It was a fantastic day! Tomorrow we are going to rock our presentation, and then tomorrow night my Chilean friend Manuel is going to help me study! YAY CHILE!

Unwind from Peru

Hey everyone!!

This week zoomed by, because I was sick or SOMETHING, and every night I was out before 10pm. It was ridiculous! Still, this week was pretty fantastic!

Wednesday in Cultures in Contact, we were assigned a new project. We have to go and interview Chileans on the street and make a PowerPoint about it for class. It was so scary at first, so I tagged along with Gillian who knows A LOT more Spanish than I do. After awhile I got some nerve and went on my own though. Yay me :) Everyone was so nice

Thursday after class Derek and I met a new Chilean guy that he found (stalked) on couch surfers. We are all desperate to meet new people, so we are trying everything we can think of! Well we met Niko (Nicholas) and he was fantastic! We told him about our Chilean hunting, and now he is getting all of his friends together next Thursday so that we can meet them. Isn't that awesome!? After our meeting, we decided to get together with Lindsey and have a movie night. Actually, we wanted to catch up on all of the new tv shows, but they were taking FOREVER to load!! We ended up surfing pics on facebook and watching the Disney version of Robin Hood.

However, before I got to Lindseys house, I had a little mini adventure. It was 10 pm, so I decided to take a collectivo (a cheap taxi that goes around in the same loop over and over) to her house. Since the collectivos go in a specific route, I have to take two. I made it half way to Lindseys house and then had to try and flag down another collectivo. Only problem, they were all full!! There was a guy walking down the sidewalk, and he started walking over towards me. )I am not afraid of people on the street, but I always try to be aware of my surroundings) He asked me (in broken english) if I speak English, which I thought was very funny, because I obviously do not speak Spanish. He offered to help me flag down a collectivo, but, yet again, they were all full. I asked if it was dangerous to walk at this hour, and he said that I was fine. He lived at least 15 minutes away from Lindseys house, but he walked me all the way to her front door. It was so nice!! We chatted in Spanish and a little in English, and he knows French, so he spoke some French to me. He is studying psychology at the University of Valparaiso, which is right next to my host brother's University. It was very nice of him. Good stranger encounter!!

Friday was a very crappy weather day, so Lindsey and I stayed in bed and watched The Ugly Truth. Later on Friday I watched I Love You, Man...I know, very productive day.

Last night the girls got together and we went to a cafe for awhile. Then Ashley's new Chilean buddy invited us over to hang out. It was so much fun! We met some more super nice Chileans. I feel like things are finally coming together with meeting new people and actually making Chilean friends!

Today I am trying to buckle down and get on my homework. I almost feel badly, because I never have school work. WELL, all that changed this past week when my teachers decided to go crazy with assignments. THIS WEEK I have two tests and four projects, and I learned about all of them last week. Yeah, I know, maybe I could have prepared ahead of time, but, oh yeah, South America doesn't use a syllabus. BOO ON THAT! Haha it's alright though, I am truckin through the workload!!

BTW...The Nightmare Before Christmas en Espanol is La Extrana Navidad de Jack.

PERU!!! Best Vacation EVER!!!

Last Wednesday night I left for our adventure in Peru!!

We all had our last meals at home and then met up at the bus station. Ashley's host mom offered to drive us, so I met them at their apartment to take off. Haha, we almost missed our bus, because her mom stopped to buy cigarettes along the way, knowing exactly what time we were supposed to be there. No worries though, we all got on the bus together. Ashley and I started off the trip right jamming out in the bus! That was a blast. An hour later we landed in Santiago, Chile. We were dropped off further than we were told we would be, so we had to grab a couple of taxis to the airport. Derek, Gillian, and I shared a taxi that had the most ghetto television we had ever seen in our entire life! It was basically duct taped into the car. However, there was a dance show on, so we were entertained. Our flight wasn't until something ridiculous like three am, so we waited in the airport playing cards in a Dunkin Donuts. We went through the trouble of putting all of our liquids into one bag to check it, only to realize that you are allowed to take liquids onto the plane. Our flight took us to Arica, a city at the very north of Chile. We went straight to find the bus station. A VERY nice lady helped us book our bus to cross the border into Peru. We had a few hours to kill, so she let us sleep in a back room. It was absolutely amazing!

We crossed the border in Peru...almost flawlessly. Three of us have student visas and three of us have tourist visas. Well it turns out if you have your student visa then you need a Chile ID card with you. We haven't picked up our student ID cards yet, so they almost didn't let us out of Chile. That was a but scary, but we were fine. Once into Peru we were fighting against the clock to get to our train to Machu Picchu on time! We rode on a bus through the night, which was supposed to arrive around 5:30 am. Sidenote: That was my first double-decker bus ever, and I loved it! Our train was scheduled to leave at 7 am. Our bus ended up arriving an hour later, and we had to take a taxi to the train station. Even though the train was still there, we missed official check in by seven minutes. The taxi drivers said that the train would stop at another station and we could race it over there. For an hour the taxis sped through the mountains, upsetting all of our stomachs quite a bit! However, we made it with ten minutes to spare and were allowed to get on the train. That was my first train ride!! It was so pretty, but it definitely went a lot slower than I imagined trains would in my head. We arrived at the city of Machu Piccu and immediately fell in love with the little tourist town. First we put all of our stuff in the hostel and then we spend the day exploring. We went to all these little shops, a gorgeous little Church, and then restaurants fought over us. One person from each place was standing outside with menus offering us free drinks or free nachos and discounts, it was awesome! We ended up getting free pisco sours and a major discount from the food. Most of us tried Alpaca for the first time, and Derek got a guinea pig, which is a delicacy in Peru. YUM Alpaca meat is absolutely delicious!! South America is obsessed with Pisco Sours, but I just don't find it tasty. Oh well. That night we went to sleep VERY early, because we had to be up VERY VERY early to hike Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is a famous natural wonder in Peru, and about two to four thousand people enter every day. On the edge of it is a mountain called Wyna picchu, and the first four hundred or two hundred people who arrive get to climb it. Everyone knows this and shows up early to get in line. We were out of our hostel by four am and heading over to the entrance. There was a line for buses or you could walk. We decided to walk, of course. What we didn't realize is that we would be hiking for an hour and a half straight up the side of a mountain. It was so bad! We have a few pictures from Machu Picchu and you can see the road that curves all the way up to the entrance, and we hiked straight up through the middle of that. We made it to the top before the sun rose, so that was really nice! We were actually within the first hundred people there, so that was really cool! The park opened at 6 am, and we were allowed to start hiking up Wayna Picchu at 7am. There was a warning saying that you needed to be in good health, and they were not kidding. We spent four hours on that mountain of doom. We ate lunch in a cave, and we sat on rocks that were literally on the very top! It was the most incredible view I have ever seen in my life. Everyone needs to go, because pictures absolutely cannot express the beauty of that place! Peru is absolutely gorgeous! There were a couple of parts that were absolutely terrifying, because they didn't have a walkway and you would have to climb a ladder. I have a picture with a rope where you had to pull yourself up the side of the mountain, I thought I was going to freeze and just fall off the side. AHH!! After the mountain most of us took naps and lazily walked around the rest of Machu Picchu. This is also when we fell in love with the cuteness of Alpacas!

After our day of sweat and glory, we took our first shower...for the first time since Wednesday night. That was on Saturday! I don't think I have ever gone so long in my life without a shower! The next morning we left bright and early with fears about what lay before us. You have to understand, we are poor college kids, and there is only one form of transportation that is allowed to bring people into the city, the bus we took. That bus is only a couple of hours, and it costs $71 for the cheapest ticket. Taking this into consideration, we decided to illegally walk the train tracks three hours to a place where we could take vans to a nearby town. Our hostel said that people did this all the time, and it was relatively safe. I was scared we would be caught and taken to a jail in Peru where someone would have to come bail us out! Not ten minutes into our hike we reached our first tunnel. THAT got everyone's blood pumping! TUNNELS?! We sprinted through in hopes that a train would not come at the same time and pummel us. We had another one of those and a super shady bridge that felt like it was falling apart. However, I am still alive and don't owe any fines to the Peruvian government! We took the van which led us to a bus that we took to Cuzco.

It was eleven pm, but we found a really great hostel for $10 a night. We put three people in each room, had a private bathroom, a television, and hot showers! ALSO, coolest thing ever, The Emperor's New Groove was on TV! We saw "Cuzco" in CUZCO! Haha that was such a highlight! Gillian, Derek, and I found an awesome restaurant, and I have the most amazing pasta with pesto sauce ever! It was absolutely delicious! We got to sleep in the next morning, and then we spent the day exploring the beautiful city! We found a huge book sale, and I bought the Count of Monte Cristo in Spanish! I am so excited to start reading it to my host mom! All day people would bring baby llamas and try to get us to pay to take pictures with them. That is when we saw a baby llama in a bonnet, and that was amazing! We ended up at a small cafe with our new friend Rachel. We had met her on the very top of Wayna Picchu, and she had been walking the train tracks the same day as us. We decided to celebrate our achievements with the most delicious ice cream ever! We had basically been living off of bread, so it was nice to have some dessert! That night we left at 10 pm and took an overnight bus into Arrequipa (Spelling??).

We arrived around six am, dreading that nothing would be open. Let's face it, South America enjoys sleeping in much more than we do! HOWEVER, we found a rockin restaurant that served the most delicious breakfast ever! We stayed there eating and talking until the tourist places opened. Our goal was to get to Colca Canyon, which we didn't realize was six hours away from the city. After much bargaining with a tour place, we got the perfect deal! We took a local bus over the city with the canyon. That was the amazing ride where a woman actually put a llama underneath the bus!! That night we stayed in a hostel that fed us dinner (with amazing alpaca) that night and breakfast the next morning. We had hot showers, and a personal guide! We got up about 5:30 the next morning and our guide took us to the side of the canyon where he told us all about the Incas and we got to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely amazing! We ate a filling breakfast and ran over to our bus. WELL, we were taking a local bus, which means fit as many people as possible! HOLY COW, I thought I learned this concept in Guatemala. This was an entirely new experience! There were health code violations left and right! We had the isles packed! However, we eventually got to a spot to watch Condors, and we met up with a real tour bus. Condors are HUGE! Their wing span is 3 meters across, so imagine that when you look at their pictures! Then we rode with other tourists, getting off at certain spots and taking pictures. One of the last stops, it had actually started snowing! SO RANDOM! It was gorgeous! Throughout all of our bus rides we went through every single climate!! We rode through desert and mountains and plains and towns, and we fell in love with Peru! When we got back to Arrequipa we took a taxi to the bus station where we had "beds" on the bus. That actually meant that the chairs were super comfortable and leaned all the way back, which was definitely enjoyable. That took us all the way back to the southern tip of Peru. It was time to find a bus to take us over the border. Goodbye Peru!

Due to the problems getting across the border the first time, we were nervous Chile wouldn't let us back in. However, everything went smoothly and we made it back to Arica with no problems. No problems except that we had an ENTIRE day, and we had no plans. Last semester a guy named Jorge studied abroad at OU and became friends with one of the Lindseys. He told her if she ever came to Arica to call him to hang out. After breakfast and hanging out in the center square and getting super sun burned, Jorge came to hang out with us. He took us to his gorgeous home, and his mom cooked lunch for all of us! The food was incredible! Plus it was the first home cooked meal we had, had in a week! Jorge had to go to work, but he said we could stay at his house and rest all day. Are you kidding me?! This guy was amazing!! He is so nice! We spent all afternoon resting and watching tv and taking naps. Then his mom came to get us to serve us dinner!! She made ham and cheese paninis! TO DIE FOR!! We all ate until we thought our stomachs would explode! At 11:30 pm Jorge came back and personally took us all to the airport! It was a great last night with the most amazing hospitality EVER!

Our 1 am flight brought us back to Santiago, and then we took a bus back to Vina Del Mar. Needless to say, we are finished riding buses for a VERY long time! I thought I was going to pass out, but I again had been three days without a shower, and I didn't want to get my bed nasty! I stayed awake cleaning, unpacking, and organizing my room. My sister was here, so we all went out for lunch. After lunch, I passed out. I woke up for about fifteen minutes last night, but I rolled over and went back to sleep until this morning. After all of the traveling and hiking, and I definitely needed a sleep coma like that! However, I feel much better now, and I am excited to be back in Vina! That was most definitely the most adventurous vacation I have ever taken in my entire life, and now I have the itch to travel all over!!

If you get the chance though, I ABSOLUTELY recommend that you make your way to Machu Picchu!!

Vamos a Peru

It's finally here! Tomorrow Lindsey, Lindsey, Ashley, Gillian, Derek, and I are heading to Peru! It is going to be a crazy awesome adventure all hardcore backpacker style! The consensus seems to be take a pair of pants to wear the whole time, shorts if you want, two shirts, and a jacket. That is supposed to last me tomorrow, Wednesday night, until we get back early next Friday morning! Haha I have never been on a backpacking trip where I wear the same clothes everyday, so this will be new for me! No worries though, because we will be spending a few nights in hostels where we can shower. However, we will be spending at least two nights deep in a canyon with indigenous people where we cannot, so three days of six smelly gringos. That sounds super fun! I am just excited, because we are taking basically every form of transportation available. We are taking a bus from Vina Del Mar to Santiago, flying from Santiago to the tip of Chile, riding a train into Peru, and then taking a taxi into town. Doesn't that sound absolutely grand? The whole reason to go to Peru is to see Machu Picchu, and if you get the chance you most DEF need to look up pictures! It is so incredible! Just be patient for about a week and a half, and I will be able to tell you all about our adventures and post tons of pictures. Please keep up in your prayers, and I will check in when we get back.

Best Saturday EVER!

Today made history as I am starting my second month here in Chile.

I went running with my friend Derek, another student in the exchange program, this morning. See, we go to the beach A LOT, but we only even put our feet in the water. Even that is super difficult, because the water is freezing! The water here is super cold, and we are still in the winter months. Well, today after our run, we decided to take the leap. We went out onto the beach, took off our shoes, and sprinted into the water! I was debating whether I wanted to dive in or not, but it didn't matter. About four feet into the water, there was a drop off, and I went straight under water. Just as fast as we went in, we sprinted back in. We jumped around a little and then I decided to go in for a second round! THAT WAS NOT SMART!! I went under the water, and when I tried to run back out, the current caught me. My head was above water, but the water was so cold I couldn't catch me breath. I started freaking out!! I was literally able to stand, only feet from the shore, but I thought I was dying. Derek was like "Lauren, you are fine." It took me a minute to realize that I was actually fine, but I still had to work hard to get out of the water. I was soaked and freezing!!!!!

It was an awesome day!

Left in Valpo

I HAVE THE BEST STORY EVERRRRRRRR

Today I missed my grammar class, because I had a meeting for my volunteer program. I know I have mentioned it before, but hopefully starting next week I will be working once a week in the morning helping a teacher who teaches English. Yes, that was an overuse of teach. Today we made our way over to Valparaiso, the town next door, where we had our meeting at the Catholic University. It is one of the most gorgeous schools I have ever seen. They had a huge indoor grotto, and their chapel is incredible! There was a guy selling cheap used books, and I fell in love. We spent about twenty minutes pouring over old Spanish books. The oldest book I found was from 1922. The pages were all browning. I almost bought it just to show everyone the book. However, I reminded myself that I am still reading the Spanish book here in my room, so I am going to finish that first. We met with the teachers to talk about what was expected, and some people took longer than others. I was finished, so I wanted to go hang out in the chapel for a minute. I told Lindsey to grab me before they left. I sat in the gorgeous chapel, prayed, journaled a little, and then I realized that a lot of time had passed. I didn't want to rush the girls along, but I wanted to remind them with my presence that we still needed to get back to the school. That's when I discovered that they didn't need me to realize they needed to get back to the school. The room was completely empty; the group left without me. Hahahahahahaha!!! I called Lindsey, whom I had asked to come and grab me, but she didn't answer the phone. Then I called Ashley, who upon realizing I wasn't there, started freaking out!! They were like, OHHHHH NOOOOO!!! It was totally ok though. Getting back and forth between Vina and Valpo is SUPER easy!! The weirdest thing is, when I got on the bus, I actually knew the girl sitting in the front. She is from another program, studying abroad here in Vina. I felt so much better having someone to talk to the whole time. I made it back to the school only to be flooded with hugs and apologies. It was such a great experience!! I made it around on my own in a different country! YAY ME! Hopefully it will be the last time people forget about me though :)

Noche International

Today was such an incredible day here in Chile!!!

Tonight was my first class on Cultures in Contact. At first everyone was a tad upset, because it was all English speakers from the US. Then two German girls and two boys from Mexico trickled in. Still though, when class started there were NO Chileans. Then our teacher came in and explained that there was a mix up with administration, and the Chileans won't be joining our class until next week. That was totally fine, because our teacher is amazing!! He has so much to say about politics and traditions here in Chile. He is very funny, and it looks like we are going to have some really fun projects. Next week should be even better with the other half of our class there! Our first project is to enter a photo contest here in Chile. We are supposed to take a picture of something that we thinks represents Chile. Of course, my mind immediately went to stray dogs. My teacher was like, "If you are thinking about stray dogs, that is a great idea!" MY TEACHER READ MY MIND! It was insane! Now I have a couple of weeks to try and produce an amazing picture that could potentially win me MONETARY COMPENSATION!! (Not to mention, a brand new camera)

If my class wasn't good enough, tonight was international night. We all thought it was just going to be North Americans, but I met a whole bunch of people I didn't even know were exchange students. See, if you actually know Spanish, you can take classes with Chileans at the main campus. I am at the international campus, because I am terrible at speaking Spanish. No worries though, because I AM LEARNING!! Entonces, I met a few people from Spain and talked with some girls from France! I got to practice my Spanish and meet new people!! It was an amazing night!

Now for the cherry on top of the sundae that was my day today....I came home to find my sister Karla!! She had a whole bunch of tests this week, so she came home to sleep and take a break. She is leaving at 5:30 am tomorrow morning, but I am still excited that I got to see her.

That is that. This Wednesday was an INCREDIBLE Wednesday!! YAY CHILE!!