Trip to the South of Chile: Day 1

So, on Saturday morning, the Benetton team was assembled: as in a true United Colors of Benetton commercial, our team was quite international: me, a Russian; Sarita, a Bolivian; Elsie, a Chilean; Lisa, a Paraguyan/US citizen; and Gustavo, a Paraguyan. Now, briefly about how the team came about: Elsie is Sarita's friend from church, Lisa is Elsie's friend, and Gustavo is Lisa's friend (and Im of course Sarita's friend). This is the team that traveled together for almost the entire week.

To back-up a bit: we were supposed to leave for the South really early, but Sarita and myself went out to eat the night before (night of my arrival) and talked till late at night, so we snoozed as long as we could in the morning, so when we got a phonecall from Elsie that they were close to our apartment, my mad packing skills kicked in....I left Sarita with an open mouth when I started throwing both of our things that I thought might be even remotely of use to us into my suitcase. The result was that in about 20 minutes we were packed, ready to go, and even had managed to have breakfast.

Upon meeting the rest of the Benetton team, we embarked on what turned out to be a 12-hour drive down to Pitrufquen, the home of Elsie's family. The reason this trip that usually takes 8 hours took this long was because it was a holiday weekend for Chile (Independence Day), and most inhabitants of Santiago leave the city for the picturesque South. Despite the numerous hours of traveling and several long traffic jams, we had fun listening to music, talking, getting to know each other, and bonding. We were rewarded by the sight of the snow-peaked volcanoes and mountains, and beautiful green lush fields with happy hereford cows peacefully grazing in the setting sun. Upon getting to Elsie's parents' house, we were greeted with a warm fireplace, delicious supper, and a welcoming family.

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.

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.

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).

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!

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.