Tomorrow I leave for vacation for almost an entire month. I\u2019m heading to Puerto Varas in the south of Chile to do some camping, hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities with Theo. We\u2019ll be there for about five days, and then we leave for the island of Chilo\u00e9 to meet up with some of the other people in the program. From what I\u2019ve been told, the island has a very laid-back culture and is completely different from the rest of the country. After Chilo\u00e9, I\u2019ll head to Coyhaique with Theo. It\u2019s a small town in the mountains that is globally known for its fishing. Finally for the last five or six days, I will be in La Serena with Dee and maybe Gaby. La Serena is a beach town on the Pacific that is north of Santiago. Once everything is finished, I\u2019ll arrive in Santiago on March 5 to begin orientation.<\/p>\n
Those are my plans for the next month, now on to some things I\u2019ve done in the past two weeks. Probably the most fun and most authentic cultural experience I\u2019ve had is when I went to a salsa club last Friday with some other gringo friends. We paid 4000 pesos to enter, or about $8. The dance floor wasn\u2019t that big, but the place was packed with people. We were definitely the youngest ones there \u2013 most people seemed to be in their 30\u2019s or 40\u2019s. I had taken some beginning salsa lessons before, so I thought I would be okay and be able to blend in. What a joke that was! I spent most of the night bumping into people and trying to learn how exactly to dance. Despite the learning curve, the night was a ton of fun and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
Another memorable moment, this past Sunday a few of us went hiking in the Andes. The park was about ten minutes from my house and we completed the three hour loop. For the first half, we basically walked uphill and into the mountain range. Although there were still plants, the environment was the closest I have been to visiting a desert. The ground was dirt\/sand and there were many dry plants and even cacti! At the halfway point, we descended into the valley and found a small creek running with much more vegetation than on the sides of the mountain. There we had lunch, ate some wild blackberries, and even drank water from the stream! It wasn\u2019t my idea, in fact an employee there told us it was perfectly safe. After seeing others do it and her telling us that she drinks the water often, we filled our bottles with the water. After a long, hot hike, it tasted delicious!<\/p>\n
Once again, I cannot thank God and my parents enough for this incredible opportunity. To those reading who have not traveled abroad before, I highly recommend it, even if only for a short period of time. Every day I am learning more about Chilean and Latin American culture. Hopefully I can figure out how to post pictures and allow people to comment and follow me. To everyone in the states, stay warm!<\/p>\n
Nos vemos!<\/p>\n
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Tomorrow I leave for vacation for almost an entire month. I\u2019m heading to Puerto Varas in the south of Chile to do some camping, hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities with Theo. We\u2019ll be there for about five days, and then we leave for the island of Chilo\u00e9 to meet up with some of the … <\/p>\n