The End of the Road - Weeks 27 and 28

Hey Everyone!

I spent the last weeks of my time in Chile gearing up for my trip to Patagonia and saying good bye to all the amazing people and places I had met and explored during my time in Santiago. I am so thankful for this experience and grew so much from it, so without further ado: my penultimate blog post.

Monday, December 2 - Thursday, December 5

-Getting ready for Patagonia
-Saying bye to lots of my gringo friends and some Chilean friends
-Finishing up last minute administrative things with school and finally finishing all my classes and sending in my last paper
-Exploring some last minute places in the city and gifting buying for friends and family

Friday, December 6 - Thursday December 12

PATAGONIA TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK aka the most amazing 5 days and 4 nights hiking the W trail that I never ever want to do again. But I am so glad that I did it! Below are some photos of the beautiful sights that I saw when I was hiking!

Friday, December 13 - Monday, December 16,

-Getting ready to go back to the States, packing, saying bye to the last few Chilean friends and gringo friends left
-Last Cerro San Cristobal, last empanada, last cazuela, last day, good byes, tears
-Last cazuela for lunch with Nora
-Wrapping up my time here in Chile with a nice little bow

Sorry for letting this sit for so long! Thank you to everyone who read my blog. I really appreciate it. Be on the look out for a wrap up post in a few days/weeks. Have a happy holidays and new year!

Besos,
Lesley

Weeks 25 and 26 in Chile

A crazy two weeks! My mom and her friend visited the first week and then my sisters and dad joined us for the second week. It was so great to see everyone after over 6 months apart. Hope you enjoy!

Monday, November 18, 2013

-Took Mom and Mrs. B to class; met up with them for lunch in Providencia at El Arbol (vegetarian restaurant); went to CIEE for class but the teacher didn't show up, so I filled out evaluations, went home and then went back out to meet up with Mom and Mrs. B for dinner at Patio Bellavista

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

-Went to San Joaquin to turn in my final paper; done with 2/4 of my classes! So crazy!
-Met up with Mom and Mrs. B to head to lunch after their classes at Emporio La Rosa, where they got to try the best ice cream in all of Santiago. After that we headed back to the hotel to relax, and then I went out to a cafe to meet up with my friends to study for our final that we have tomorrow. Can't believe how the semester is winding down so quickly.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

-Took my last final in art and then met up with my mom and Mrs. B to head to lunch in Providencia. We had some delicious Thai food. After that, I went to my final class of the semester, so it is safe to say that I only have 3 semesters left of college and less than a month left in Chile! Ahh! After class and hanging with friends for a little, I met up with my Mom and Mrs. B to head out to dinner in Lastarria again. This time we decided to try Sur Patagonico for a delicious dinner and wine selection.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

-I didn't have class today since I am done so I spent the majority of the morning sleeping in. After my Mom and Mrs. B finished class, we all met up for lunch and decided to head to Mercado Central to get some fish. Along the way, we walked through a lot of El Centro and showed them Plaza de Armas and a few beautiful churches in the city. The lunch was great per usual, but since it was so hot out we decided to get ice cream on our way home. After a long day and resting a little back in the hotel, I was set free to go meet up with some friends for the night. We grabbed sushi for dinner and then headed to Bellavista to go get mojitos at our favorite place.

Friday, November 22, 2013

-Since school's out for summer, I've been sleeping in and enjoying spending time with my family. Today we spent the day setting up for the rest of my family's arrival in Santiago by doing laundry and doing some grocery shopping. That night we went out to an amazing secret restaurant called Dugnad, which is run out of an Argentinian couples' home in Santiago. They serve 8 different plates with 8 different wine/juice/beer/sangria pairings. The dinner was amazing and so was the company of my Mom, Nora (my Chilean mom), Mrs. B, and a food critic friend of the chef named Raul. What a lovely night out!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

-My Dad and sisters arrived this morning and I could not be happier! Once they arrived and everyone had settled in, we headed to lunch in Lastarria to Casa Lastarria where my dad made zero attempts at speaking Spanish and instead ordered "a cheeseburger and another beer" in English... Good work Dad. After lunch we walked around the neighborhood, explored Bellas Artes a little bit and then climbed Cerro Santa Lucia before heading back to the hotel to relax. That evening we had a lovely dinner at Astrid y Gaston where everyone loved their Peruvian food, especially the ceviche.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

-On Sunday, we went on our first tour with Santiago Adventures. Our guide, Marcelo, met us in the hotel and took on us on a lovely tour of Santiago. First we went to El pueblito de Los Dominicos artisans market, and then to one of the highest points in the city to catch an amazing view. After that we headed into the center of the city and walked around - visiting el Museo de Bellas Artes, Mercado Central, Plaza de Armas, la Iglesia Metropolitana, and La Moneda. After that we headed back to the hotel to relax until we headed out to dinner at Tierra Noble, a lovely steak restaurant in the Sanhattan area of Santiago.

Monday, November 25, 2013

-Today I took my family around to some different parts of Santiago. We went down to San Joaquin to see the La Catolica campus there and where I spent most of my time studying. After that we headed over towards Costanera Center to have our Chilean shopping experience in the 6 story mall with literally everything imaginable inside. We also had lunch at the mall and then headed some to relax until our phenomenal dinner at Borago. It was an 8 course tasting menu with wine pairings, using food and wine endemic to Chile. Some of the most amazing and creative foods/dishes I have ever tried. My best dining experience ever!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013
-Valpo/Vina/Casablanca trip with my friend Cristobal as the tour guide. Check my Facebook for lots of beautiful pictures, but here are a few just in case
-Zanzibar with Greg and Jessica for dinner

Wednesday, November 27, 2013
-Hiking in El Morado, but the park was on strike so we had to go elsewhere to hike; Banos Morales afterward
-Bocanariz for dinner

Here are some photos from our hiking trip.

Thursday, November 28, 2013
-Craft Fair in Parque Bustamante and Emporio La Rosa for lunch
-Vina Aquitania
-Bar California for Thanksgiving Dinner and to watch the Steelers Game

Friday, November 29, 2013
-Human Rights Museum, Parque Quinta Normal, Basilica de Lourdes
-Lunch at Galindo for typical Chilean food
-Resting and packing and then we met up with Ricardo, my dad's work friend, and his family for dinner at Puerto Fuy and then I took Haley out in Bellavista with some of my friends to celebrate our last weekend all together in Santiago

Saturday, November 30, 2013
-My family's last day in Santiago; went shopping for gifts at Feria Santa Lucia and then we took the funicular up to the top of Cerro San Cristobal and had empanadas for lunch; finished packing up and took them to the airport
-Went to my Chilean friends house for a good bye gathering for me and another gringa from my program

Sunday, December 1, 2013
-Spent the day at home, resting for the hectic two weeks, updating the blog, uploading pictures, and working on my final paper

Hope you enjoy! Sorry for all the lists... Ask my parents and sisters for my details on their trip. It'll be interesting to hear their perspective on Chile as opposed to mine.

Two weeks left and one of which will be spent hiking in Patagonia! Can't wait!

Besos,
Lesley

Week 24 in Chile

Read about another fun week in Santiago. Plot twist: my mom and her friend come to visit me... Ohhhh! Exciting!

Monday, November 11, 2013

-Spent the entire day finishing up my take home final

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

-Meeting with Alejandra about my final and then class all day, but I turned my final in and am officially done with 1/4 classes in Chile. SO CRAZY

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

-Class all day; finally made my art presentation, which went fairly well I think, so that's good! For DDHH, we went to a Mapuche community in this comuna of Santiago called El Bosque
-Walked from Oriente to Casa Central; my sense of direction in this city is amazing and I know it so well know
-Went to La Piojera and to Bellavista for a few drinks with some people from my program and their new French friend

Thursday, November 14, 2013

-Fiscalia to make my statement about my phone and talk to a detective; was able to identify the guy who stole my phone and they said they are going to go to his house to look for it, so that's awesome that justice is getting served and so quickly too!
-Met up with Angie and Phyu Sin in Bellas Artes for lunch - Buffalo Waffles and my first time at Emporio La Rosa for ice cream
-Went to pay for all the tours for my family for the visit, can't wait for my mom to get here on Saturday and for everyone else to join the following weekend!

Friday, November 15, 2013

-Civil Registry to apply for my Chilean ID; with a registered visa, you can't leave the country without an ID or  you get fined
-Breakfast in Bellas Artes with Suzy because we were up so early that it was only 10 by the time we were finished with the Civil Registry
-Skype call with Career Services at Tufts to discuss internship opportunities
-Salsa club and Bellavista with friends; I was once again a really bad dancer, but my partner was very patient with me which was nice and taught me a lot of the moves, by the end of the class we could almost get through the whole dance at the intermediate level

Saturday, November 16, 2013

-My mom and her friend arrived in Santiago today! Met them at the hotel and then we went to my house for brunch with my host mom, they checked in and we spent the rest of the day walking around Bellas Artes/Lastarria, where we went for lunch, and climbing Cerro Santa Lucia. Had a nice dinner in Bellavista at Como Agua Para Chocolate

Sunday, November 17, 2013

-Breakfast in the hotel with Mom and Mrs. Burgess and then to mass at Iglesia San Francisco right next door; Today is election day so everything is closed and everyone is voting; Michelle Bachelet did all of her press and set up her campaign headquarters at our hotel, so we watched everyone set up and then watched her give a speech outside the hotel; our room faces the street so it's like we have front row seats to the whole celebration; the election was inconclusive so Bachelet and Matthei will be doing a run off in December; can't wait to see who wins!

Another eventful week! So glad my mom is here! Until next time.

Besos,
Lesley

Week 23 in Chile

Another crazy busy and fun filled week in Santiago! Hope you enjoy!

Monday, November 4, 2013

-Slow day, spent doing homework, planning my family's trip to Chile and finalizing those details, and taking care of some other administrative type stuff that I need to do before I leave the country

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

-Class all day and then spent the greater part of the evening finishing up my Charlie Chaplin essay; a friend drove me and two other gringo friends home; super funny car trip from campus back to our houses

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

-Class all day as always; spent a lot of time working on my paper and finishing it up; had a meeting with Alejandra, one of the program directors, to go help edit my paper
-Tried to go get a pedicure and made an appointment, but was refused service because the woman at the desk couldn't find my reservation and didn't believe me and then proceeded to be super rude to me; Customer services isn't really a thing here...
-La Piojera and Miercoles Po with my friends!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

-Nothing all day; there were protests and stuff and I was tired so I didn't go to class or do anything all day. Super productive!

Friday, November 8, 2013

-My mom is coming to visit in a week and we have a nice dinner planned at a hidden restaurant called Dugnad, but since the restaurant is small/private you are required to pay beforehand, so I had to go to the bank to deal with that. Then I went to Las Condes to the Fiscalia to deal with more stuff for my stolen phone. I have to go back in a week. Because I was over by where my former host mom Ximena lives, I decided to give her a call to see if I could stop in and say hi. So I did that and got to meet her son Diego who was visiting from Canada and also see my friend Keku who is back from the US. Later that night, a few friends and I went to the most amazing electronic music festival called Creamfields. Highlight of the night: being front row for Zedd at 5am. It was quite an awesome experience!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

-We all slept at my friend Biz's house because we didn't even get there until 6:30am. We spent the majority of the afternoon hanging out and making mac n cheese because we were all craving some American food. For dinner, I met up with some friends for our friend's birthday dinner. I couldn't stay for the party afterwards though because I was so exhausted from the night before, so I headed home.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

-Working all day! Take home final due Tuesday! We are in the midst of the final weeks of the semester, so now I finally have all my work due and am extremely busy. Good news is that my mom gets here in less than a week!

Until next time!

Besos,
Lesley

Week 22 in Chile

Another beautiful week in Santiago, Chile. Hope you enjoy!

Monday, October 28, 2013

-Spent the majority of the morning working on internship applications and getting some work done and then I had class in the afternoon
-Mondays are always low key days for me here in Santiago, especially now that the semester is coming to a close, I need to be able to utilize my free time to its fullest

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

-I was sick all day with a stomach bug, so I didn't do anything except for sleep and not eat anything and work on some applications. I did learn that I was offered an internship down here for the next 6 weeks at Instituto Igualdad with another student from the program, so hopefully my schedule permits me to take this opportunity because it sounds amazing! If not, maybe I can come work for them over the summer.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

-I was supposed to leave to go to Chiloe, an island in the south, tonight, but because I am still sick I decided to cancel my trip down there. I don't think I'll have another chance to go though, which is kind of a bummer.
-La Piojera and Salsa/Cumbia bar with some Chilean and Gringo friends. I tried to salsa and utterly failed. I was definitely the most awkward gringa in that bar. I have zero rhythm and my Chilean friends tried to teach me, but to no avail. I'm just not a good dancer apparently.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

-Literally did nothing all day except plan my parents trip and start working on my paper that is due next week; I have  ridiculous amount of work due these next 3 weeks because its the end of the semester. I don't have any finals, just a lot of stuff due until finals start.
-I FELT MY FIRST TREMOR IN CHILE though which was exciting. It was a 6.5 magnitude earthquake, with the epicenter just outside of Santiago. The whole house was shaking. Really interesting experience.
-Went on Pub Crawl to celebrate Halloween with Tufts people and CIEE people. Chileans actually do celebrate Halloween. Lots of people were dressed up and we even had some Trick or Treaters stop by!

Friday, November 1, 2013

-Spent the day doing homework and relaxing at home and then met up with some friends later that night at a really cool bar in Bellas Artes, a trendy neighborhood near my house. The Bar is called Bar The Clinic and is based off The Clinic newspaper, which was a really liberal paper. The bar also has an art gallery and a movie theater inside. After the bar we went to a party at a Chilean friends home with all of his friends from colegio (high school). A lot of them spoke some English, but they all grew up speaking French at school because they went to a French school. I've met a lot of Chileans who can speak French because of their school, but not English. Nora's grand kids go to an Italian school so they can speak Italian.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

-It was a beautiful day out, so I met up with some friends and we all went to our one friends house to lay out in her garden and sip fresh squeezed juice. I ended up getting sunburnt, per usual, but my friends all got tan. After a long day in the sun, we walked over to Plaza Nunoa to grab some milkshakes and then we all headed our separate ways. Lovely day!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

-It was even more beautiful day today than yesterday, but unfortunately, I was kept inside all day writing a paper. I did get to utilize my little balcony to enjoy the beautiful day! Spring in Santiago is just wonderful!

Time is flying by! I don't think I'm ready to leave yet. There's still so much I want to see and do here in Santiago and in Chile in general. I won't get to do anymore traveling though, which is a bummer. I guess I'll have to come back to Chile to visit Chiloe and Easter Island. Although I am headed to Patagonia in December which will be amazing!

Well, until next time!

Besos,

Lesley

Week 21 in Chile

Another phenomenal week in Santiago de Chile. I can't believe I only have a little over 6 weeks left in the country. Where has all the time gone? I am really starting to wish that I could have stayed here for the whole year, but even so, I'm excited to head back to Tufts in January. Gotta love that Boston winter.  Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this week's adventures!

Monday, October 21, 2013

-Went to talk to the program about my phone and found out that I can get reimbursed for almost the entire cost of an iPhone so that's good; I should hear back in another day about the police report and everything, so I guess this situation isn't turning out that poorly; it's still really annoying though
-Had class and learned about Mapuche culture from a Mapuche woman - the first I've met during my time in Chile
-In the evening, I finally planned my end of the year trip to Patagonia/Torres del Paine to hike the W! SO EXCITED FOR THIS ADVENTURE!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

-Class all day and spent the majority of the time working on a presentation that I have due on Thursday; most of my work is starting to be due now, so the end of the year will be hectic. This is different from the US because at American universities, we have work constantly due whereas here it's only reading or nothing and then bam! you are swamped with final papers and presentations and final exams

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

-Class all day and then a meeting at CIEE to get some help on my presentation that I have to give tomorrow; After that I spent the remainder of the evening, working on said presentation and making myself a script so I wouldn't mess up my Spanish in front of a bunch of Chileans

Thursday, October 24, 2013

-Class all day as usual; I spent the majority of the time during the day freaking out about my presentation and writing myself a script so I wouldn't mess up. I was really nervous, but it turned out really well and I was really happy with my presentation. The class seemed to have received it really well too, which is just great! Now I have an 8 page paper about my presentation due in two weeks.
-After dinner and class, I met up with some friends at our favorite bar in Plaza Nunoa called HBH; they brew their own beers which are pretty good actually

Friday, October 25, 2013

-Spent the day home, doing work and planning stuff for my family to do while they are in Chile in a month; I have some applications coming up soon and I need to start planning for summer internships, so that was pretty much what I spent my day on
-After dinner, I met up with some gringo and Chilean friends to head out for the night; we started at a Chilean cumbia bar that was unfortunately not having live music that night, so I will have to go check it out some other time, and then after that we headed to Bellavista to a popular dance club and ran into so many other gringo friends!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

-In the afternoon, I walked with some friends over to Patronato, which is an outdoor clothing market over by La Vega, which is the hugeeee fresh produce market. Santiago has a lot of really awesome markets with lots of really inexpensive stuff. It's awesome! After the market, we all went to dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant in Bellas Artes. Then I walked home. I was really proud of myself because I was able to get us to all of our locations with just my knowledge of the city and the streets. We didn't get lost once. So proof that I actually know what I am doing here. Finally!
-That evening, some gringa friends and I met up with some of my Chilean Red Bull friends and went to a party with them, that just so happened to be at the house of a member of a Brazilian pop group called Axe Bahia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO2OjAU1_VI) WHAT THE WHAT! I didn't learn this until the next day though, but still so cool! We might even go to a show of theirs now.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

-Spent the afternoon with a Chilean friend walking around his comuna of Conchali, which is north of where I live and a very typical Chilean place to live. A lot of people in the program live in the wealthier neighborhoods of Vitacura, Las Condes and Providencia, while I and 3 others live in El Centro, which is still fairly wealthy in the areas where we all live, so it was interesting to explore any area of the city where normal, middle class Chileans live. There were a bunch of feria type things where people were just selling things out of their homes. There were streets and streets of this and also a ceviche and mariscos stand, which according to my friend are the best in Santiago. The ceviche was actually really good though! I didn't try any of the mariscos though, but they also looked delicious. It was definitely a different experience, but one that I am glad to have had. The good thing about having Chilean friends is that they can show you what actual, normal Chilean people do as opposed to wealthy gringo tourists.
-After my adventure in Conchali, I spent the rest of the day at home doing work and relaxing after a long weekend.

Next week, we have a long weekend so I am headed to Chiloe in the south! Can't wait! Soooo, until next time.

Besos,
Lesley

Week 20 in Chile

It's unreal how time has flown by. I can't believe I only have two months left in this beautiful country. I don't think I have time to do all the things that I want to do. It's crazy!

Monday, October 14, 2013

-Spent the day party planning with Nora; she's letting me have a bday party on Wednesday (even though my bday is tomorrow) before Miercoles Po or whatever since Wednesday is a big night to go out; she's really into party planning and is having the Nana come to help clean and we went to buy all these little hor d'ouerves type things today that are going to be delivered tomorrow; she wants my friends to help come set up and we are gonna go buy drinks tomorrow; she's having some of her friends come over too since they all know me as well
-Class and then homework!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

-BIRTHDAY!!!! 21!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!
-Spent the day in class but met up with a bunch of friends at a local bar/brewery to celebrate my birthday and watch the Chile vs. Ecuador game. A win for Chile would mean qualifying for the World Cup. Long story short, Chile won and the whole city went absolutely nuts. When big things like Chile qualifying for the World Cup occur, everyone congregates in Plaza Italia (near my house) to celebrate. So in typical Chilean fashion, everyone headed there to celebrate. There were fireworks and flags and chatting and general debauchery. So much fun!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

-Spent the morning helping Nora set up for my birthday party; Nora is awesome and is letting me have a party here tonight for my birthday! So fun!
-Went to the Museo de la Memoria y Derechos Humanos with my DDHH class; I've already been there 2 times, but there is always something new to look at or discover in this museum. I wish there was a traveling exhibit or something though.
-21st birthday party in my house with so many gringos and Chilean friends and Miercoles Po for my birthday! So much fun and such a great way to celebrate. Not the American 21st birthday I thought I'd have, but a way more fun version in Chile! Nora did such a great job helping me plan everything and it all went off without a hitch. Everyone had a great time.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

-Spent the whole day in bed which is obviously a sign of an awesome 21st birthday!! DUH!!
-Major protest again today and my classes were cancelled because the academic department was on strike for the day, so it was also the perfect day to stay in bed because I literally had nothing to do :)

Friday, October 18, 2013

-Spent the day doing work and hanging around the house
-Met up with my friends to head to the Wisin y Yandel concert! Super fun reggaeton concert. Very different than in the US because it was just the one artist for 2 hours and then the show was over. No opening acts or anything which was a little different
-Went to Plaza Nunoa afterwards since the night was still young with my gringa friends and then some Chilean friends came and met up with us for a little. I really like Plaza Nunoa, such a fun and relaxed area with lots of great bars!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

-Spent the day hanging out with a friend and doing some homework
-Zombie Walk in Santiago and encountering people dressed up as zombies on the metro
-Went to my soccer where we won 2-1 in a very tough game! The other team was super aggressive and pushy and pushing our team for no reason. So at the end of the game, one of the girls from our team elbowed the meanest girl on the other team in the face and a full on Chilean girl fight broke out. It was so funny and startling at the same time. That girl totally deserved it. She was awful.
-After the game and dinner, I headed to La Reina to meet up with some Chilean friends for a pregame and then we all headed to a party after but what was a good night turned into an awful night because when I headed home I got my iPhone stolen by the taxi driver... I'm fine and nothing else was taken, so it's more annoying than anything. I had been so careful for so long and so I'm really mad that this happened, but at least I'm not the only getting stuff stolen. This week people had their phones and wallets stolen in a park. Ugh Santiago.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

-Spent the majority of the day at home doing homework and talking to friends, but in the evening, I met up with a Chilean friend so I could go file the police report for my iPhone. I explained to him what happened and he told the police so they could understand it and get it right. So now they have all the information and the license number for the taxi, so hopefully something good comes of it or that driver gets fired. They said they are gonna call me about it!

So that's all for this week. All in all a great week spent celebrating my birthday, except for that minor hitch of having my iPhone stolen. Regardless, I'm still loving Santiago!

Besos,
Lesley