22 hours through the Chilean mountains...

after a trip to the fish market downtown and another trip to a fabulous Chilean beach, I sadly had to leave Santiago and the wonderful Benjamin family. I am so thankful for their hospitality (I stayed there a week longer than intended!) as they were brilliant hosts who taught me a lot.

so early early early in the AM Mrs. B and Michelle brought me to the bus station. I chose a VIP bus since I was going to be on it for 22 hours... leather seats which fully recline, a man who serves you food and drinks constantly, and of course movies. I was really surprised at the bus station how many of these gigantic double decker buses there were, most decked with pimpsized seats and all with a wait staff. Busing is very common here in South America, although it is very common for them to be stopped by riots or break down (just a part of the adventure).

We said our tearful goodbyes and I got on. Hoping to sit by the hottest South American bachelor ever, I was a bit disappointed by the dumpy business man I got instead. He was a bit odd but a great companion, speaking in English and Spanish and teaching me the ropes of these VIP buses. Across from him was a traveling journalist finding rare places in South America to write about. He loved to sing to his iPod, which I found hilarious. Both were really helpful.

The view was INCREDIBLE. Going through the Andes was outstanding... like I said the mountains are huge, and the buses somehow wind about on these tiny little roads. One road was literally 30 steep turns for about a mile, reminded me of a fruit roll-up. This was the first time I have enjoyed customs, just because the view was amazing.

The movie selection was a bit intense for my taste - first at noon they played 35 mm, a really vulgar film with Nicholas Cage. I was very surprised considering there were multiple families on the bus and was offended myself. Then The Patriot added some spice to conversation as everyone suddenly thought the UK was so mean to America and I became really cool. Lastly before bed was Valkyrie, also quite violent... The bus driver must have felt a bit macho that day.

We arrived in Buenos Aires safely 22 hours later. Sleeping next to a stranger is a bit awkward, so I was relieved to have a hostel bed for the next night. And a shower. I smelt like a drag rat.

a very deceptive mountain and Presidente Piñera

It´s election day, which means nothing is open. Here in Chile if you sign up to vote but do not go they will charge a HUGE fine, so it is a great idea to make voting on a Sunday.

Michelle and I decided to hike the mountain you can see from her backyard. From there it looks large, but definitely manageable. As we walked out of the house her dad gave us walking sticks (ski poles) which we thought were unnecessary. Boy, we were wrong.

After about 15 minutes I was already pretty winded. Considering the heat difference from home and my lack of physical activity I was OK with it. But the farther we went the steeper it got. The mountain was covered in yellow grass which made it look rather flat. My feet knew differently and the poles were used pretty soon into the hike. Once we reached a flat portion there were half a dozen horses just grazing at an overlook of the city. Absolutely gorgeous.

Another water bottle later and lots of rests under tiny brush trees we made it - almost to the top. At that point I was so hot and slipping that I let Michelle go ahead, but after a short lunch break she also decided it was not worth it. The view we got was still unbelievable - we could see her school fields, her neighborhood, and part of the city. It´s understandable how fog gets caught as these mountains surrounding the city are gigantic. The Andes makes the Rockies look miniscule.

When we got back (very dirty, I might add) we started watching the elections. Most of Michelle´s friends were rather conservative, voting for Piñera, but the other candidate, Freí, represented the socialist party that reigned for the past 20 years. It was awesome watching them count the votes up, every area with a tiny margin difference. Piñera pulled it out. Freí made an interesting speech about the beauty of democracy and the flourishing economy in Chile. After he resigned his candidacy, he drove to Piñera´s camp and joined him for a personal handshake, photos, and a speech. I could tell by the Benjamin´s faces that the entire election, and switch to a conservative president, was a big deal. Chile has a lot of great things going for them and hopefully this business and outward-minded president continues to encourage that.

Cookout and Half Birthday

One exciting thing about Michelle´s house is you never know who will be coming over next. Michelle and I had a lazy few days after our huge day at the beach, but I stayed easily entertained... The day we returned Lily and Rafa came from Brazil. I feel blessed to have met them as they both are amazing!

Then was my HALF BIRTHDAY! I know very few people care, but my mother always made my half birthday special because my birthday was during the summer when my classmates couldn´t celebrate with me. I think it´s great to celebrate because it reminds you how short the year is.. I feel like a lot has changed in the last 6 months and it will continue to change for the next 6.

To celebrate Michelle and I went to ´the club´, a resortish pool, spa, work out area and country club in the Andes. It was GORGEOUS. We wore robes everywhere, laid out, had people serve us food, and ate chocolate ice cream. Perfect way to celebrate! That night a group of Michelle´s friends went to an improv show. I LOVE comedy, and even though it was in Spanish I understood most of the storylines.

The best part was afterward all the girls wanted to go to dinner... AT McD´s! More french fries! I think it is so cute how much they love McDonald´s here. We sat around in the parking lot eating and chatting.. All of Michelle´s friends are absolutely wonderful (not surprising) and really welcoming. Most of the conversation was about the elections on Sunday... will post more on that later! All in all a wonderful half birthday and I am excited to be 22 and a half.

On Saturday a Chilean and Canadian family joined the mix, and we had an amazing cookout with choripan (sausage and bread) and burgers. With three languages it was very interesting, but everyone was so nice. It was great to see a real community... no one seemed afraid to speak personally or explain struggles because the environment was so supportive. It was a true demonstration of how sharing with one another can be so positive and the vulnerability most people in the States are scared of is necessary for closeness. I strive to find such a group in Seattle and be that support system for all my friends back home, even with the distance!

I am going to continue posting tonight until I am caught up... stay tuned.

La playa!

I told Michelle when I arrived in Santiago that I REALLY wanted to go to the beach. When choosing a post-grad trip, getting some sun was high on importance. So she grabbed some friends, Nati and Cota, the night I landed we headed on our way.

First we stopped downtown and grabbed some drinks with friends. I tried my first Pisco Sour which includes a raw egg (I like all drinks with eggs!) and it was decent. Next we stopped at a Pronto, which is a speedymart gas station. Nati and I picked up dinner - they served hot dogs, french fries, and hamburgers! Perfect way to greet an American.

An hour later we arrived in Viña del Mar where we went to my first South American club. Kids can go out when they turn 16 here, so it was difficult finding a place where college graduates fit in. After Cota led us in 10 different directions around the city (it was at least midnight at this point), we ended up at a place FULL of Argentines. Argentine boys are known by Chileans as being quite arrogant, but also much more attractive than Chileans - which will make the next few weeks a bit more enjoyable. They also prefer cumbio music to reggaeton, which upset me a bit since I was really in the mood for true electronic or reggaeton. We danced a bit, shooed off some dumb 18 year olds, and made our way to....

...the CASINO. Yes, Vegas veterans, I found my way into another casino within a week of leaving Vegas. I was extremely happy to cash in the Euros my mother kindly gave me and did decently enough at Blackjack to pay for my trip to the beach. The casino games were all in English, which was quite refreshing, but drinks were NOT free. Not as fun as the US where at least you get something for your losses. We started getting sleepy and landed at Natís grandma´s house around 5.

I LOVE Nati´s grandma´s house. It is this little cabin on the beach with three bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms have mulitple beds to house her family members who decide to visit en el verano. I decided I will do the same when I´m older to entice company AND enjoy the beach at all times. She made us breakfast (fresh bread, fruit, juice) and we sleepily got to the beach by noon.

The beach at Reñaca was absolutely beautiful, and my pale skin was very, very happy. After a few hours of sun we went to a small market. From Reñaca we drove to Valparaíso, a cute artsy town I have 5,000 pictures of. The town is gorgeous and full of art everywhere. So many walls are covered, and a famous poet keeps his beach home there. I fell in love with it, but from conversing with locals it is becoming much more touristy.

For lunch (I´m documenting most of my meals for Megan Hamilton) Nati showed me her favorite dish there called chorillana, which consists of french fries covered in onions, beef, and egg. Absolutely gross and delicious at the same time. We shared a huge serving (think Don Juan-sized). The restaurant is COVERED in people´s writing. I wrote ¨I´m awesome ¨ on the wall and hope to find it when I come back.

For sunset we climbed sand dunes about three stories high and watched the sun fall over the water. It was breathtaking and I LOVE playing in sand, so I was in heaven. The best part, of course, was running all the way down.

We went back to Nati´s grandmother´s house where she made us delicious spaghetti and spoiled us a bit more. I noticed her earrings looked like a pair my grandmother had - and then she said she got them in the USA! I took a picture to show Grandma Norman, but I SWEAR they are the same. I really enjoyed abuela and will definitely remember her.

A few tan lines, money in my pocket, and lots of french fries later (we had them again later in the week - I´ll post all of that later), we drove back to Santiago. Great and busy first 24 hours in a new continent.. the girls informed me later that they usually take three days to do everything we did in one, but I am very grateful for speeding things up to show me the coast.

God is good

so, I promise I will actually post stories sometime soon, but tonight all I can think about is how much God is revealing to me here in Chile. I feel incredibly blessed to be here and am surrounded by absolutely amazing people. I really feel He is opening my heart and showing me things about myself I have ignored for so long... The experience is humbling my soul immensely and allowing me to rediscover what life is like walking with Him and relying on His will. The first stop in Santiago was exactly what I needed to start the trip.

Hope all is well at home, please send me emails of your own journeys because all I keep getting are WSJ updates and dumb Facebook events I wouldn´t even attend if I was actually in Austin. Also, if you´re bored this guy is awesome: http://www.jonahrocks.com/video.htm.

paz y amor

Best quote so far...

At a club in Valparaiso, a random guy struck up conversation -

¨So where are you from?¨ (I stick out as a foreigner)
¨Texas.¨
¨Oh, my cousin lives in Canada!¨

I definitely laughed in his face, and he was pretty confused.

Safe in Santiago

Hola amigos! I got on my plane from Panama City fine although I pretty much fell asleep in the airport waiting on it. I was craving pizza and was very fortunate to get ravioli and bread (pretty much the same, right?) An Aggie in the mining business sat next to me and was a great resource. He was formally from Columbia and lives in Houston now commuting to northern Chile as necessary. I might meet up with him later if I travel north.

I am safe in Santiago, staying with Michelle´s family at their house a little north of the city. It is BEAUTIFUL here. You can see the Andes everywhere you go, and the climate is perfect to leave all the windows and doors open. Feels like paradise. The city is well planned and getting around took no time. Population is around 6 million, so it is in no way small. Everyone says Chile is the most European, and I can see where they get it from.

Tonight Michelle is taking me to a beach about an hour away. We plan to go out tonight and then lay out all day tomorrow... I told her it feels like my birthday!! Hopefully I do not get too sunburnt (we are close to a hole in the ozone layer), but I don´t think I´d really mind.

Love you all, more stories to come!