End of a great summer, Duke and Lauren style

Well, I just realized that my last blog post is titled “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” it now being March and all I would say that I’m past due for a new post. I have realized recently that when I feel like writing a blog post its usually because I am bored and with nothing to do which usually means there is not much to talk about but when I get behind 2 months, its because I have been doing a lot, haven't had any time for blogs and so much has gone on that it is nearly impossible to fit it in one blog post but I'll give it a shot.

For starters, I finished up my time in Puerto Raul Marin Balmaceda in the Aysen Region of Chilean Patagonia. I caught the ship early in the morning on February 9^th about 2 months after I first met the family. The whole family was up at 5:30am to get me to the dock where it comes in and say goodbye. We closely calculated how long it would take me to get to Santiago to be there February 13^th at 10:00am to meet up with my Dad so that I could stay in Raul Marin as long as possible. I didn’t want to go. We had so many good times that I will always remember. Some days were slower and others were packed with lots to do and people to entertain. Not only did I get to know the family really well, I got to meet many people who stayed at the lodge and was able to learn a little about them as they questioned me with curiosity of what I am doing and what I think of Chile. I also got to hear a lot about the political and economic issues of this desolate area of Chile through many long conversations at the home with guests and friends. It is a difficult issue because there are so many aspects of the area that are inefficient for example travel and the access to food, electricity, water and jobs and there are actually big protests going on in the area right now where people are blocking roads and causing disruptions that started just a few days after I left to get the word out about these problems. But I think too about how one of the main charms of the whole Patagonia area is how untouched it is and how few people there are. This is what makes it so beautiful and what has attracted it to me so much. It is a difficult to find the balance between making the lives of the people who live there better and easier and keeping it natural and not making it so artificial and touched by people. I think that has to be one of the most controversial and challenging topics and problems. Needless to say I fell in love with Patagonia and my family and Fundo Los Leones Lodge and will definitely be back to see more some day soon.

Me and Mama Mery

Me and Nico before our kayak down the Palena River

The whole kid clan

my little furry friends Mota and Pelusa

The house

Once I made it back to Santiago I finally met up with my Dad! I was so excited to see him watching the monitors of the people exiting the doors. When I finally saw his royal blue hat I ran to go catch up with him as he was bombarded with taxi drivers and people yelling. He had brought a whole suitcase of things with Christmas cards, valentines cards, birthday cards and presents and of course a plastic jar of my Nina’s snickerdoodle cookies. When he pulled out the jar he said he had asked Nina, “Why can’t I just take them in a plastic bag so it takes up less space” and she insisted they be in a jar so that they wouldn’t get here smashed. Needless to say, they were delicious and in perfect form. The next day we headed to Iguazu Falls, we had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning for our transfer to the airport, but we got there and mom had booked us a nice hotel with an incredible pool where we lounged the whole next day. We went out to some nice dinners for Valentines day and my 21^st birthday and had some delicious Argentine steaks! I’m not even a big meat eater and they were amazing. On the day of my birthday we spent the whole day at the falls and took the boat that drives you into them. It was awesome. The sight was so beautiful in general and I was just so happy.

Were in Argentina, Brazil is on the right, Paraguay on the Left 

After Iguazu we headed back to Santiago and spent a few days here seeing some tourist sights and doing some prime people watching. Then we took a night bus to Pucon, Chile which is about 10 hours south of Santiago in the mountains. Pucon does tourism right and I think if anyone wants to see the best of the south this is the place to start! The town is very small but the buildings are very cute, there is a big lake and on a clear day you can enjoy the view of the famous Volcano Villarrica. Actually my dad and I ended up climbing the Volcano on the most beautiful day, no joke. There are tons of companies that take you up this second most active Volcano in Chile and we decided that we couldn't miss it. I’m not going to lie some parts were really freaky and I thought to myself what am I doing and who would have ever thought I’d be here with my Dad, but it was so worth it. We spent the rest of the time relaxing at the lake, bike riding to waterfalls, going to the hotsprings, eating out, watching Chilean Elvis at the casino or should I say “El Rey de Rock”, and of course our favorite rock back right on the corner of O’Higgins and Ansorena. It was an amazing trip and I’ll never forget it, we had such a great time and it was the perfect way to end my summer. I’m now officially back in Santiago, with my last semester or 4 months to go. I don’t know what this semester is going to bring me and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. But it will be an adventure and I’m ready so bring it on. Later alligators.

Look, what a pretty volcano...

Alright LETS DO THIS!

Chillin' at the top like a champ ;)

Hot Springs with our Uncle John Shirts, R.I.P. we love you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I´m still down here in northern patagonia, been here for about 2 or 3 weeks. The house is full of life and people again! Right now in the house it is the two parents, Mery and Mauricio, my two new hermanos chilenos, and me. We were laughing the other day cause I told them I´ve only ever had brothers ( Garrett and my Chilean brother in Santiago) and I´m finding that they are all pretty much the same! We´ve had some guests here at the Ecolodge and it was busy and a lot of work, but very fun and entertaining. The whole property here we are living on is actually owned my an American man who has several properties in Patagonia and dedicates them to conservation of the environment. The family I´m living with has lived here now for 14 years, taking care of the land, and just about 5 years ago started accepting tourists in their cabanas on the beach. It is definitely a family run buisness, with Mery and Mauricio doing all the cooking, and the sons doing the kayaking, hiking, fishing, and horseback riding excursions. I´ve been fitting in great here and help out wherever I can. They have had volunteers before and actually weren´t going to have another this year, denying about 10 people until they got to me and I reminded them of a girl that they had 2 years ago, last year it was her brother who came to help. So now I answer in the house to Lauren and every once in a while, Emily, the girl who was here before. haha. I spent Christmas here with the family which was hard because I missed my family alot, but they made me feel very welcome here and part of their family. On Christmas Eve we made a big dinner and had some of their traditional foods and drinks. They house was decorated (still is) and we had a little Christmas Tree in the living room. After dinner we opened the presents under the tree. Mery was so sweet and bought me a scarf and ring. On Christmas Day we ended up having 4 French guests for lunch so we made their lunch and once they left had another nice dinner together. On the 26th 2 American couples came to stay in the cabanas for about 5 days. I got to help out alot with them making them feel comfortable and welcome. It is a lot easier without the language barrier. I did a lot of translating during the week and got to do a lot of the excursions because I was able to talk to them in English. After we were all dead tired, but it went very well. On New Years Eve they had some friends over, made empanadas, which were delicious, and rang in the New Year with Champaigne hugs and kisses. It ended up to be a great night! Our next guests come the 3rd so we´ve been resting alot getting ready for the next group. I´ve been getting to ride the horses about every night which is like a dream. They hadn´t been ridden in about 7 months when we got here so we´ve been trying to break some bad habits but its been great. There are also two young horses that have never been ridden so we are working on  making them more comfortable with being around people. I love them, they are so sweet. Last night we rode the others down the beach as the sun was setting and it was so quiet and beautiful. Its absolutely amazing here and I´m having an amazing time. It was a little more difficult through the holidays not being around my family, but I´m so lucky to have this experience. Also my Dad will be coming in a little over a month for my 21st birthday which I am looking forward to so much! I´m officially over the 6 month hump of my trip and am still as excited to be here as I was when I first came, especially now that school is out and I´m finally getting some summer sunshine. Just like everyone says, `No one studies abroad to actually study`!! I´ve been taking lots of pictures and will up load them as soon as I get to Santiago. Until Later. <3 Lauren

P.S. Small Chilean News Update: In southern Chilean Patagonia they had a horrible forest fire, started by a tourist in their National Park of Torres del Paine. Right now is their peak season and they had to close the park for all of January. So far it has burned about 12,000 hectors. I´m so bummed I didn´t make it down there before the fire, because it is supposed to be absolutely amazing and one of the most beautiful places in Chile. A lot of wildlife have fled the area without homes. The fire is now officially under control but I´m not quite sure if its been completely put out. 

Livin` it up! Patagonia Style

So I made it on to my first summer adventure, FINALLY!!! Right now I´m chillen in Raul Marin Balmeceda in the Aisen region of Patagonia. About a month ago I got in contact with the family who lives and runs a ranch out here in Chilean Patagonia and they agreed to let me come stay with them for a month helping out with whatever needs to be done. They also have 4 tourist cabanas for recieving guests. This place is amazing, I absolutely love it. After the 10 hour boat ride, 5 hour drive down the (dirt highway) carretera austral, 5 min ferry, and 10 min drive to the front gate of the ranch we made it here! (And mind you this was all after i took a 12 hour bus from Santiago) The entrance is really long to the ranch, about 2 miles. First thing you see is lots of trees, greenery and open fields with foresty mountains and hills in the background. The as you continue driving you start to see some of the 100 or so sheep they have grazing. Keep driving and you get to another gate, get out of the car to be welcomed by the dogs barking and wagging their tails. Enter through the garden (biggest garden i´ve ever seen) with carrots, all types of lettuce, spinach, green onions, lavender, other spices, just to name a few of the things I can think of off the top of my head. As you walk through and out the garden gate to the path to the house you see on the left rows of blueberry plants, as well as potatoes growing. And the country style 2 story, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house in front of you. Walking around the house to the right you get to a sort of backyard where they´ve just built and enclose BBQ area with a table and seats. Keep walking straight and you see 2 of the 4 cabanas. Walk past that and there it is, a strip of ocean (no waves, looks like a lake in that way) and sandy beach. I´ve walked up and down the beach with the dogs now everyday and seen groups of dolphins swimming twice. I have yet to go kayaking but they have a bunch of kayaks that can be taken out too. The first couple days the weather was nice, i did a lot of weeding on the paths and some help with cooking in the kitchen. Then a couple days ago the family i´m with left to go back to the city where I met them to turn in their winter rental house and pick up their sons to come back here for the summer, so I´m left here alone for almost a week!! I´ve spent 2 nights here alone so far. It is nice that the sun rises before I wake up and goes down about 11:00pm when i go to sleep, cause usually I´m most scared when its dark outside. In the house, the electricity runs on a generator that we only turn on for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours at night so needless to say, its been pretty quiet. Probably the most silence I´ve experienced in my life, ever. But I´m taking advantage of it and actually getting pretty used to this life. Ive been doing lots of reading, baking, and long walks on the beach which can probably all three qualify in my top 10 favorite things to do. At night the stars are absolutely incredible, so bright and so many!! I have yet to go star gazing though, not that comfortable outside in the dark quite yet ;). But needless to say, its been a great kick off to my summer, as well as the fact that I improved my grades on all my finals from my midterm grades, which makes me excited to do even better next semester. I´m going to miss my family lots over Christmas, but I´m so glad I found a great family to spend the holidays with and a beautiful place to live the next month. Living on this ranch I am living my dream and am so happy to be here having this experience. I wouldn´t have it any other way and everyday I just feel so blessed to be able to do all the things I´m doing. I wish I could upload some pictures but i haven´t really figured that out yet on this desktop. So for now, Chao and Feliz Navidad :)

Teleton

So I said goodbye to my host family last week and have now moved into the apartment where Favi lived. Its nice, and still in the same neighborhood where I used to live which I like because I've become comfortable here. My room is extremely small and everything barely fits, but it works. I won't be here much during the summer so that doesn't matter anyways. It was strange packing up my old room though. I had lived there for 5 months, which is a pretty long time, I got comfortable there in my room with my little routine. It was also nice always having my host mom and brother around. Also my host mom did EVERYTHING for me, which I got very used to... but it is nice now to have responsibilities again. I had somewhat forgotten what that was like, but I like it. When I was packing up my room and putting all my stuff in the living room as I waited for the taxi to come get me, I was a lot sadder then I thought I would be. I don't think I've ever been so sad moving out except maybe from my family's "old house" on 6030 E. Heaton. When I moved to college I was so excited and ready to go and then when I moved out of the dorms, I was like "alright, get me outta here!" and then when I moved out of my apartment sophomore year I was sad, but excited for the summer and all that was in store for me moving to South America. But from my home with my host family, I was just plain sad. The location was so perfect right by a cute string of restaurants and the municipal building and main plaza, also with the new gym that just opened, I had a great little room, bed, closet, and my own bathroom, when I was bored I watched movies with my host brother or went upstairs to bother Mia, and every day around 2:30pm there was a hot lunch on the table for me. But I guess in life things are always changing, and you can't just hold onto the past but you've got to keep moving forward with your head up ready for the next exciting adventure. So thats what I'm doing.

SO, in about a week, or less then a week, when I'm all done with school and the paper that I am delaying writing right now as I am updating my blog instead, I will be heading down to Patagonia for about a month. For those of you who don't know, Patagonia is the name for the whole most southern part of Chile where it is known for many beautiful landscapes and not a lot of people. There are glaciers, penguins, whales, fishing, horseback riding, hiking, greenery (because it rains the majority of the year), really nice, slow moving, mountain people and much more. I can't wait to see it for myself. Next week I will be meeting up with a family I got in contact with to go to their EcoLodge in the Aysen region to help them out on their property and with guests. I'm not exactly sure what's in store for me, but I'm going to go and find out!!

Yesterday Dec. 3 was the Teleton here in Chile. The past few weeks I had  been seeing signs about it, but was never really sure what it was all about, who they were raising money for, and how many people actually participate. Turns out it is a nationwide thing and people get really involved. I got an email about a 10k for the teleton because of the 10k I had ran before and I decided at the last minute to go and do it. I think the extra push was the fact that we got a free shirt for participating... so I went there and they had a total of about 7,500 participate. It was so cool! We ran down the main street in the town in our red shirts while traffic was blocked off. People all up and down the street honking, waving and smiling at us. Then when I got home and turned on the tv, every channel was synced covering the teleton where they told different stories and had entertainment and encouraged people to go down to the bank or online to donate money to reach their goal of 18,000,000 pesos. Which i believe is just shy of 40 million dollars. (i think...) The goal of the teleton is to raise money for people, children in particular with disabilites. The stories shown on the tv were of some of these kids and their lives. Then starting at 10:00pm everyone headed to the "Estadio Nacional" which is their biggest soccer stadium for a free concert which a bunch of different artists. The tv channels were still synced and they would update about every 20 min to see how close to the goal they were. I watched the whole concert which went to about 1:30am and ended with them making their goal. It was just really cool to watch because they kept empasizing "solidarity" and they would sing their song over and over "Vamossss, Vamos Chilenos...." It was amazing to see a country so dedicated and together on reaching this goal and the national pride that they had. It seemed like everyone was so united on this goal and it was really cool to be a part of it during the 10k. I think after experiencing the teleton, I came to like Chile a little bit more then I already do, it was just a really special thing. Well that's about it for now, I better get back to my essay...:/ but here's some pictures in the mean time.

P.S. I forgot to mention also that since I've moved I have a new address!

Lauren Grazier

Jose Manuel Infante 2520 Depto #203

7750000 Nunoa,

Region Metropolitana, Chile

South America

Me and my host brother at Chinese food

Me and my host mom at Chinese food (she took us out for lunch the day I moved out)

The start of the race in front of the presidential palace. Everyone with their red shirts.

Wrapping up the Semester/ Happy Thanksgiving!

So things with school have been wrapping up. Most people are still finishing up the semester, I'm still going strong. I joined the gym that just opened in my neighborhood for the rest of this month and now attend daily my favorite dance class "balie entretenido." It doesn't really translate well so we'll just leave it at that, but its basically like zumba: latin style. Super fun and a good stress reliever for me. Two nights ago Mia (my friend who lives two floors above me in our appartment complex) came downstairs for the last time. She is done with school and now off traveling. I will see her again but she is definitely moved out. It was really sad cause it seems like just yesterday we both moved in here not knowing anyone, but feeling so lucky to live in the same complex. We used to walk to ILP together in the morning the first month and then would constantly visit eachother or walk home together. It was your classic Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz neighborly friendship. I will miss it alot! But soon I'll be moving out too (at the end of this month) and it will be exciting to start a new chapter here abroad. I will be very sad to leave my host family who have been absoulutely amazing, but I will sure me moving on to more exciting, great things.

Me, my host family, and mom

me and mia in valparaiso

Then on Monday, Favi, Mia, Rachel and I threw a little party for our kids in El Monte to say thank you and do something nice for our last day at the school. We brought chips and "negritas" (the best cookies ever). We also made them a card and said how happy we were to get to know them and have this "taller" or workshop with them. After we played a bunch of games, like 4 corners which was by far their favorite, and different relays and stuff. Then after they all went around the table and said something nice about us as well as their teachers. It was really special for us to have that little celebration and I think it really meant alot to them as it did for us to hear all the nice things they had to say. I will probably go back to visit in El Monte next semester. I had the chance to get to know a lot of really great people there and it was really sad to say goodbye. I would put up a picture from El Monte, but I don't have one and Favi hasn't uploaded hers, so when she does i'll add one ;).

On Thursday for thanksgiving, two of my "gringa" (white foreigner, not derogatory) friends had some people over to their house for thanksgiving. Apparently her host mom has a thanksgiving potluck every year because she always has foreign students. It turned out to be really good food, and desserts!! We actually had pumpkin pie!! I took chips and guacamole and salsa, hahah, I know its not that traditional but it was all eaten!!! But it was a great evening, we had a long table with about 25 people and we all went around the table to say what we were thankful for. It was really special and I'm so glad I got to go. Once again, no pictures are uploaded so I don't have any from that either, but i'm sure they'll be coming soon. :)

Peru!

HOLA blog followers! The semester is starting to wrap up which means a lot of work to do and not a lot of time, hence why you haven’t seen a blog post in a while. BUT after my mom left to go home I headed off (the next morning) to spend about 12 days in PERU, which by far was not enough! I was taken aback by how beautiful it was there, I had no idea. We had a few days off of school, which is why I got to spend so much time there. I had been anxiously waiting in anticipation for this trip for so long cause we had planned it very early on. This was because me and 5 other friends from my EAP program signed up to do that classic 4 day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu which you have to book very early cause it is so famous, books up really fast and you have to do it with a guide company. Before the Inca Trail we all landed in Lima, Peru where I spent a couple days exploring on my own as the others headed to Cusco, the town most people stay in who are visiting Machu Pichu. Most people don’t stay in Lima for more then a night because there are so many other things to see in Peru other then the huge metropolis capital, but I wanted to give it a chance. I stayed in the young, bohemian-feel area called Barranco with pretty colors (especially with all the spring flowers) and tons of cute bars and restaurants. I also spent some time in the area called Miraflores, which right next to Barranco. I fell in love with these parts of Lima for all the beautiful flowers and the amazing views of the ocean. In Lima I went paragliding one day, which was short but so beautiful and the next day went surfing. The water felt so nice and I actually caught a few waves, despite being very out of swimming shape (my arms were killing me after). After that I was off to Cusco to start the Machu Pichu adventure. After a few days in Cusco, we all headed to the start of the trail with our guides, five other people, and 11 porters, who were amazing! The porters would carry all of our stuff besides our own personal belongs like food, tables to eat at as well as chairs, cooking supplies, and tents. Their backpacks were about just as big as they were and these guys would do the trail so fast to make sure and arrive to have everything ready at our campsite before we got there and then would leave after us to clean up and put all the tents down. Not to mention about half of them were in sandles. As we were hiking whenever a porter was coming up behind us someone would say “PORTER” and we would all move to the side for them to pass. The hike was so beautiful, but so hard. I was definitely pushed to my physical limits with the difficulties breathing because of the altitude as well as the long/steep inclines up and down the mountains. The most rewarding part though, was on that last day walking the last 6km of the 43km and getting to Machu Pichu to see the clouds clear and the sun rise, from up above at the “sun-gate”. It was absolutely incredible. It wasn’t just the Machu Pichu itself that was so beautiful but the mountains and greenery and bright blue skies with white puffy clouds around it. That is the problem with the pictures is that you can see one part, but when you are there you see everything around you and get this feeling of awe and amazement that such a place exists and you have access to it, despite it being in the middle of nowhere. How the Incan’s chose this place and were able to construct this huge city is beyond me and it’s no wonder it took so long to discover and for the world to  realize it was there. Especially because when it is not groomed since the climate is rainforesty the greenery grows in and can completely cover the ruins in a matter of just a couple months. We happened to be there, actually, on the 100^th year anniversary of the “re-discovery” of Machu Pichu, which was cool even though some of the indigenous people don’t like to call it the discovery because there were some indigenous living there when it was found and they people from the area knew it was there. After Machu Pichu it was back to real life in Santiago. As great as the traveling in October was, it was so nice to finally be back “home” and into my normal grove. Yes, I said “home,” it never felt more like home here until I was gone on and off for basically a month. The only bad part was that meant the beginning of final tests and papers which I am still going through right now and will be officially finished with in  3 weeks. I know this was an extremely fast re-cap of an incredible trip and definitely doesn’t do it justice, but if you ever have any questions or want to talk more about Machu Pichu I can talk your ear off about how amazing it was, so just ask :)

Walking along the coast of Lima, stopping to smell the flowers.

View from Paragliding!

Start of the Trail!

Me, after climbing up the hardest hill of my life. (Paid a porter to carry my bag that day :/)

Porter

Llama friends on another Inca site, or alpacas? can't really tell the difference.

Finally at MACHU PICHU!!

View the top of Wayna Pichu (thats Machu Pichu behind me)

 

Bolivia/ Atacama/ Mom's visit

So October has just flown by! Hands down busiest month here in Chile, but definitely one of the best! It started out with me traveling to San Pedro de Atacama, which is in the north and one of the driest deserts in the world, then to Bolivia and the salt flat of Uyuni, and back to San Pedro. I went with 6 other girlfriends and we had all planned this trip together mainly to see Bolivia. We booked 4 day tour of Bolivia up to the salt flat from San Pedro through a company called "Cordillera Tours" through Chile before hand and met up with them in Atacama. Bolivia was absolutely amazing, and I don't even know where to begin. I saw some of the most beautiful sights I have seen in my whole life. The tour was with  a total of about 25 people in 4 toyota land crusiers with guides from Bolivia. The 4 days we were there I think the only time we were on a paved road was in the small town at the end of the tour. The most amazing thing to me was that the drivers knew where they were going and how we didn't get lost. Literally we were in the middle of nowhere the whole time, it was so crazy, and we would just drive into nothingness. It was also insane cause I'm pretty sure our driver was no more then 24 or 25 and he said that this was just his 3rd year doing the tours. He was amazing. The first day we saw several lagoons and went to a hotspring. Also, we saw some geisers. At the lagoons there were flamingos! More flamingos then I've ever seen, i didn't even know they come from the desert. At night we got to this little "hotel" in the middle of nowhere. All us girls got to stay in the same room, we shared beds to keep warm because it was so cold at night! That first night our elevation was approximately 15,000ft. The highest I have ever been in/slept in. None of us slept that night. At one point we all woke up in the middle of the night at like 1am and said "Oh my GOSHHH, this is the longest night ever!!!" We couldn't breath, couldn't sleep, felt sick, were thirsty, so pathetic. ... but it was hilarious. One of the problems was that we went to be so early because we were so tired, but then couldn't sleep. I kept saying it felt like we didn't have any oxygen in the room because it probably didn't have good ventalation and we were at an extremely high altitude. I was literally was having trouble breathing and felt like I was suffocating, while sharing a twin bed, now who can get a good night sleep like that?! haha. Well they next day we got up bright and early and were off again to see more lagoons and other desert sights. We drove and sight saw all day and landed at a hotel made of salt (because of the obvious excess) in the afternoon. Even the ground was salt, which made changing your clothes difficult, but I guess that what the bed is for. That night the sunset was amazing and then the moon was so bright that you couldn't see any stars. It lit up the whole sky. The only other thing I saw in the sky was Venus, which was shining so bright. It was beautiful. That night we slept better and the 3rd day left to get to the salt flat. We got to the salt flat and it was just forever and ever of while nothingness. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before except maybe like looking at the ocean and how far it goes, but with the color white, and salt instead of water with mountains in the background. Especially then I had no idea how the drivers knew where they were going. There were definitely no gas stations or subways off the path. At one point we were in the middle of the salt flat taking pictures and our friend who always has to go to the bathroom asked her driver, "so is there a good place to pee around here?" he looked to the left, looked to the right, and said "nope". So she found a nice rock to go behind at the next stop. After the salt flat we went to the "train cemetary" near the small town where they dumb the old trains they can't use anymore and we got to play on those. It was pretty cool. Then after the town we were the only ones who were going to be heading back to Chile, because the rest of the people were heading up higher into the north of Boliva. So we all squeezed into one jeep and drove half of the way back that day and half the next. It was about 4-5 hours BOTH days. And our new driver only liked to listen to his cds, which I can't even try to describe how the music ways, lets just say you can only take so many times of the same songs with the same beat over and over. When we got to where we were staying we decided not to bring our stuff down from the top of the car cause we had to leave from the place at 4:30 the next morning. So we slept in our clothes and didn't brush our teeth. The next morning, he played the same 2 cd's again all the way to the border. This time it was 4:30am, so even better. But I have to say the sunrise in the car was absolutely amazingly beautiful. Also with Venus shining so bright and the full moon. It was beautiful. So we eventually made it back to Atacama and spent some time relaxing in the desert. I went sandboarding one day, which is just like snowboarding but on the sand and you have to climb up the hill. It was pretty fun, but extremely tiring and, well... sandy. We also went horse-back riding one day which was great as well. Then I headed back to Santiago for about 8 hours until I was off in a bus to Buenos Aires to meet my MOTHER!!!

SO, like i said i bussed to to Buenos Aires which doesn't seem to bad on paper, but it was needless to say, 24 hours! But totally worth it of course. It was snowing at the border which was beautiful. My mom's plane ended up being late but I eventually met up with her and we stayed at a fancy hotel that had the most amazing bed and pillows ever which was great coming from where I had been staying just a few days prior. We did a lot of exploring in the city. We didn't have much time cause I had to be back for school Tuesday but saw a lot. We went to Caminata, where the tango was born, and did some shopping as well as got to tour the soccer stadium where the Copa America Final was played. It was really cool. The section for the visitors was in the corner and fenced with barbed wire. My mom and I thought that was interesting and funny. Then on our last night we went to a tango show! It had a 3 course meal and was followed by the dancing, singing, and band playing of indigenous music. It was awesome!! It was small and intimate and I was right by the stage. At one point, I had turned around and asked the man behind me to bring us somemore water cause my mom kept bugging me to get some more and it happened to be a DANCER about to go on stage. He laughed and winked at me and I was so awefully embarressed, it was hilarious. Then we headed back to Santiago.

In Santiago, my mom and I got our own apartment where we've been staying for the past 10 or so days. She met my host family and has been coming to school with me which has been great. We also went to my internship together in El Monte 3 times and did Armenian dancing with them. It was really fun and everyone loved her. It was funny because everyone kept saying how young she looked and that she could be my sister and there is no way she is my mom. They went on and on and on. haha but i don't think she minds. She also cooks for me and we've got to spend a lot of time together, its been great. Last weekend we went to Vina de Mar and Valparaiso which are by the beach. It was beautiful and we got to stay in my mom's friends place right on the water. It was an amazing view from their apartment. Now it is her last night here... :( I'm going to be so sad when she goes home, its been such a great visit and I had really missed her. There is nothing that can compare to a hug from your mom and that is one of the things I missed the most. That was the longest I had ever gone without seeing her and it is going to be even longer after she leaves. Now we are just trying to get my dad to plan a trip ;) But, after she leaves I am heading to Lima and Machu Pichu in Peru because we have a holiday. So that will be a good thing to help me get over her leaving. After that its crack down on the studying because my finals will be coming up and the end of the semester! So soon it seems like. Hopefully I can get it together and do well on my final assignments and tests. School is tough as ever and I am having a really hard time with the tests. Its more difficult then I could have imagined. It is also weird cause I am not used to the semester system and it seems to be so dragged out. But anyways, I'll just have to do my best. Until next time!

 

The Group at the border

The Geiser

One of the lagoons

Flamingos in the "Red Lagoon"

Our driver!

The gals again

Driving in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere

At the train cemetary

Heading to the hotel the last night, sunset out the back of the car with the full moon

Made it to Atacama! ...spent a lot of time on this hammock :)