Saturday, September 29, 2007
Daily Trip Recap
So, Im finally back on the US soil and slowly recovering from the trip. I had an amazing time in Chile, visiting Sarita, meeting really cool people, touring the country in a Honda, tasting Chilean wine, and hanging out with the penguins. Below is a day-by-day recap of the trip with some pictures.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Eventful vacation
From Sat morning until Wed afternoon we were in the South of Chile visiting a family of Sarita´s friend Elsie. Each day was full of adventures and good food. Yesterday we went to the coast and visited several coastal cities, including la Isla Negra, where Pablo Neruda spent a great deal of his writing time. I have taken an enormous amount of pictures, but those along with the updates will have to wait until I get back home...on Wed night, we accidentally spilled soup on Sara´s computer...needless to say, it is not usable and with an undecided fate at this moment. The remaining days will also be busy with touring Santiago, a day trip to a nearby vineyard, and more good food and fun times.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Im here
So, after a somewhat eventful flight (delays due to the unexpected Hurricane Humberto), I have arrived in Santiago. I spent all day resting and trying to recover from a cold that appeared on the morning of my departure. My friend Sara who Im visiting here had things to do at her university, so she should be coming home shortly so I can get my first taste of the city.
Overall, my first impressions of Chile are very positive. Despite the treatment that I received at the Chilean consulate in DC and the fact that I simply cannot understand what the Chileans are saying (they talk too fast), I was right away impressed by how organized, clean, and developed the city is. In fact,Chile has now been recognized as the 37th most developed nation in the world and is on its way to becoming the 1st first-world country in Latin America. Since it is early spring, it is pretty cold, but the sun shines brightly during the day making up for low temperatures. Tomorrow we are off to the Lakes District. Im not sure what the internet situation there would be, so I might be out of touch for several days (gasp).
Overall, my first impressions of Chile are very positive. Despite the treatment that I received at the Chilean consulate in DC and the fact that I simply cannot understand what the Chileans are saying (they talk too fast), I was right away impressed by how organized, clean, and developed the city is. In fact,Chile has now been recognized as the 37th most developed nation in the world and is on its way to becoming the 1st first-world country in Latin America. Since it is early spring, it is pretty cold, but the sun shines brightly during the day making up for low temperatures. Tomorrow we are off to the Lakes District. Im not sure what the internet situation there would be, so I might be out of touch for several days (gasp).
Monday, September 10, 2007
Chile: Back to South America
On Thursday I will be leaving on a long-awaited vacation in Chile. I cannot wait since I not only have always wanted to visit this beautiful country, but will get to see this girl:
She was part of the family that I stayed with in Bolivia, and is now living in Santiago getting a Master's Degree in Dentistry. Both of us share a passion for discovering new places, so we are planning on going to several areas outside of Santiago and will finalize our plans once I get there. Who knows, I might even get to see the penguins!
She was part of the family that I stayed with in Bolivia, and is now living in Santiago getting a Master's Degree in Dentistry. Both of us share a passion for discovering new places, so we are planning on going to several areas outside of Santiago and will finalize our plans once I get there. Who knows, I might even get to see the penguins!
Day 3: trip back
On Sunday morning, I met up with another good college friend who was actually one of my first friends at HPU. During the delicious southern-style breakfast (bring on the grits and sausage), we caught up on what has been going on in our lives, and I embarked on another iPod-less drive home. While listening to my favorite radio station from Greensboro, I noticed another new "North Carolina" thing: tons of police cars parked on the highway, but no policemen in the car...interesting way to get people to slow down. Upon getting some cheap gas in VA (YES!), I got back to my beloved DC.
Day 2: campus visit and more friends
Saturday morning started out with some more friends showing up at Ashley's and Brian's apartment and all of us cooking breakfast and hanging out. It was really fun and reminded me of our good ole times as Campus Crusade---these crazy kids definitely know how to have a good time.
We then headed off to the High Point University campus...I had heard that the new president had been on a major fundraising/building/renovating kick, so I was curious to see the campus. However, when I first drove into the campus, it looked sooo changed and different from when I was there, that it was emotionally difficult to be there since I couldn't recognize where the old buildings and paths were. There are definitely some positive changes (like wireless internet), but the school now looks a bit like a country club. I did like this new statue of a mean panther, our school symbol:
and this globe (with Gena doing her "wave my hands in the air like I don't care" act):
After saying good-byes to this group of friends, I headed to the usual stop on my visits to High Point: the Wal-mart (to stock up on cheap laundry detergent and the like). There, I spent a good chunk of time at the $5 DVD bin rummaging through it and at times almost diving in to find some good movies. The minute I approached the bin, about 5 other people surrounded the bin and began digging, which reminded me of a scene I remembered from a show on Animal Planet of lions feasting on a dead antilope:)
After about an hour, I headed to see another dear friend and her baby daughter. We had a blast catching up, reminiscing about our college days, and some of the fun/crazy things we did. Her and her husband have done a wonderful job with their daugther, who is not even a year, but is already walking, talking, and doing sign language.
We then headed off to the High Point University campus...I had heard that the new president had been on a major fundraising/building/renovating kick, so I was curious to see the campus. However, when I first drove into the campus, it looked sooo changed and different from when I was there, that it was emotionally difficult to be there since I couldn't recognize where the old buildings and paths were. There are definitely some positive changes (like wireless internet), but the school now looks a bit like a country club. I did like this new statue of a mean panther, our school symbol:
and this globe (with Gena doing her "wave my hands in the air like I don't care" act):
After saying good-byes to this group of friends, I headed to the usual stop on my visits to High Point: the Wal-mart (to stock up on cheap laundry detergent and the like). There, I spent a good chunk of time at the $5 DVD bin rummaging through it and at times almost diving in to find some good movies. The minute I approached the bin, about 5 other people surrounded the bin and began digging, which reminded me of a scene I remembered from a show on Animal Planet of lions feasting on a dead antilope:)
After about an hour, I headed to see another dear friend and her baby daughter. We had a blast catching up, reminiscing about our college days, and some of the fun/crazy things we did. Her and her husband have done a wonderful job with their daugther, who is not even a year, but is already walking, talking, and doing sign language.
Day 1: Trip and wedding
So, the trip started off on a dreadful note: Thursday night, the eve of my trip, my iPod died! Had it been a few days later, I would be happily walking into the Apple store and buying the new iPod classic (which I now proudly own). However, at that point I was facing a 5.5 hr trip with basic radio which fades out in the rural part of I-85. After about 2 hours of trying to resuscitate it without success, I prayerfully succumbed to driving without it.
The Lord blessed the trip by allowing me to zone out for most of the drive while going 80-85 mph almost the whole way. As always, my first stop in High Point was Chick-Fil-A, home of the best sweet tea in the world. There, I met my big sister with her son, who has grown like a weed since I last saw him, and her new baby daughter.
We had a few minutes to chat and catch up, and then I had to run off to help Ashley, the bride, to get ready. She is perhaps one of the quirkiest friends I have, so getting her ready for the wedding was hilarious (e.g. picking up her wedding dress from the cleaners on the way to the church:). We finally got her ready, and she looked truly luminous.
Right before the wedding, one of my closest friends arrived with her lumberjack-looking boyfriend. I haven't seen this girl in over a year while she was living her post-college life in Honduras. There were some other college friends at the wedding, so we had a lot of fun catching up.
The Lord blessed the trip by allowing me to zone out for most of the drive while going 80-85 mph almost the whole way. As always, my first stop in High Point was Chick-Fil-A, home of the best sweet tea in the world. There, I met my big sister with her son, who has grown like a weed since I last saw him, and her new baby daughter.
We had a few minutes to chat and catch up, and then I had to run off to help Ashley, the bride, to get ready. She is perhaps one of the quirkiest friends I have, so getting her ready for the wedding was hilarious (e.g. picking up her wedding dress from the cleaners on the way to the church:). We finally got her ready, and she looked truly luminous.
Right before the wedding, one of my closest friends arrived with her lumberjack-looking boyfriend. I haven't seen this girl in over a year while she was living her post-college life in Honduras. There were some other college friends at the wedding, so we had a lot of fun catching up.
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