I thought since this is our blog and Annie has been razzing me to write a bit that I would do just that. I think the most important thing about this first couple of weeks here is how comfortable I feel. In general I do pretty well adjusting to new places, cultures ect and of course the fact that I speak decent Spanish and have studied Latin America for the past several years makes it all the easier. And while I feel I am comfortable here, I think my subconscious is still catching up. Most recently I have had a reoccurring theme to my dreams where I dream that I am in the States telling some friend that I need to either go to or go back to Chile. In the dream I am really worried that I am going to miss out on something important, in the most recent dreams a day or two of school, and I try to figure out how I can get back to Chile quickly. I have been waking up from these dreams, looking around and reminding myself that I am in Chile. When I was traveling through Asia last year I remember having vivid dreams of this same style and I find it interesting that they are now occurring here.
Dreams aside, I really am enjoying Santiago. As a lover of the city life I find myself fitting in perfect here. It is busy, congested, colorful, noisy, polluted with people and traffic and alive. At the same time it is lush and oddly peaceful. And while I thought San Francisco was green, I now believe it has nothing on Santiago. The street we are now staying on is very popular for upper class Chileans and tourists to dine and drink $$$, while one street away is very popular for Chilean college students to get drunk. Needless to say this neighborhood, mixed with perfect weather in the middle of summer, has given us a view into the partying habits of Chileans and I am very impressed. The Metro here is clean, utilized, rapid and convenient. I think it rivals anything I have seen in other major cities. The architecture here is an amazing combination of classic European styles and modern design. I constantly find myself just looking around in awe. I love the little subtleties like cobble streets and decrepit buildings everywhere we have been. In general it has been a visual theme park.
Since this is my first post(thank you Annie for being a bit more diligent)I could go on forever but I am not going to. I have many other things to share about this experience so far and I am sure I will have more in the future but I will end this here before it becomes a novel.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Teaching!!
So much happens each day, and I wish I could remember every tiny thing and blog it. I need a little voice recorder!
There are so many reasons why Santiago is wonderful. I feel so excited to be in another culture, and another culture that is not obsessed with material things and marketing and food and money and petty discourse and rigid work ethics.
Chileans are SLOW. They take their everlovingsweeatasstime doing everything. Going to work, standing in line at the grocery, eating, drinking, talking, walking. On Sunday's the couples lie in the park making out for hours. Few shops are open. The streets are barely patronized. During the week though, it's like a jungle. It is absolutely crowded, packed, disorganized mayhem. People jaywalk constantly and cars just honk and do not slow down. I am terrified of seeing someone get plowed down in the next moment. You spend your time winding your way around people as you walk down the street. It's enormously annoying for me, and I am hoping that wears off!!
Last Saturday at the "asada" (Chilean barbeque) we had a fantastic time. Our host, Joanna, who is friends with my friend in San Francisco, was so wonderful. She made sure we had drinks and food and sat with us and chatted and also pointed out who spoke English (from a bit to a lot) there, which was mostly for my benefit as I certainly do not have conversational Spanish squared away! :) We talked with Joanna's husband as well, a Santiagoan, Jorge. He is a journalist and has written a book recently which has received a lot of attention. It's quotations from prominent Chileans covering the last 200 years. Jesse and Jorge got along great as they both are interested in history and music, and Jorge took Jesse off to introduce him to Pisco, a Chilean favorite alcohol while I chatted with Leslie and David, more locals. Leslie's English was almost perfect. She understood everything I said, which really made me feel spoiled in my luck to find her to chat to! She wants to teach English in the schools in Santiago and is entering a Masters program to get her certificate. So we exchanged numbers so we can meet up and do language exchange! Our second Chilean friends! So exciting!
After the asada we headed over to the California Cantina to watch the Packers game. Our classmates, Walt and Chelsea joined us and we had a great time watching the Packers steal the show!
On Sunday we did not do much. Went to the huge market and bought veggies and fruits. We have found that some of them go bad very quickly, even though we put them in the fridge. We then took a walk down to the supermarket to get some supermarketish kind of things. We walked through this gorgeous old neighborhood called Belles Artes. It's called that because the huge Museum of Belles Artes is there. The neighborhood looks like it was lifted right out of Paris. Beautiful stone buildings with tall, wide windows and shutters. Street cafes with the young and chic lounging and socializing. We saw a "For Rent" sign on the edge of the neighborhood and went to look. It was affordable, but was unfurnished. Sad!
Yesterday Jesse and I taught our first class! We were teaching the servers at the bar next door, the California Cantina, and they were beginners. I taught numbers and Jesse taught greetings and names. It was, obviously, rather flawed, but I found it fun and really exciting. We teach again tomorrow!
Jesse has been cooking our dinners and we have been bringing sandwiches to school to save money. We eat chicken and veggies and rice, spaghetti, etc. It's so hard not having a Trader Joes!!!!
That's all for now!
Hasta Luego!
There are so many reasons why Santiago is wonderful. I feel so excited to be in another culture, and another culture that is not obsessed with material things and marketing and food and money and petty discourse and rigid work ethics.
Chileans are SLOW. They take their everlovingsweeatasstime doing everything. Going to work, standing in line at the grocery, eating, drinking, talking, walking. On Sunday's the couples lie in the park making out for hours. Few shops are open. The streets are barely patronized. During the week though, it's like a jungle. It is absolutely crowded, packed, disorganized mayhem. People jaywalk constantly and cars just honk and do not slow down. I am terrified of seeing someone get plowed down in the next moment. You spend your time winding your way around people as you walk down the street. It's enormously annoying for me, and I am hoping that wears off!!
Last Saturday at the "asada" (Chilean barbeque) we had a fantastic time. Our host, Joanna, who is friends with my friend in San Francisco, was so wonderful. She made sure we had drinks and food and sat with us and chatted and also pointed out who spoke English (from a bit to a lot) there, which was mostly for my benefit as I certainly do not have conversational Spanish squared away! :) We talked with Joanna's husband as well, a Santiagoan, Jorge. He is a journalist and has written a book recently which has received a lot of attention. It's quotations from prominent Chileans covering the last 200 years. Jesse and Jorge got along great as they both are interested in history and music, and Jorge took Jesse off to introduce him to Pisco, a Chilean favorite alcohol while I chatted with Leslie and David, more locals. Leslie's English was almost perfect. She understood everything I said, which really made me feel spoiled in my luck to find her to chat to! She wants to teach English in the schools in Santiago and is entering a Masters program to get her certificate. So we exchanged numbers so we can meet up and do language exchange! Our second Chilean friends! So exciting!
After the asada we headed over to the California Cantina to watch the Packers game. Our classmates, Walt and Chelsea joined us and we had a great time watching the Packers steal the show!
On Sunday we did not do much. Went to the huge market and bought veggies and fruits. We have found that some of them go bad very quickly, even though we put them in the fridge. We then took a walk down to the supermarket to get some supermarketish kind of things. We walked through this gorgeous old neighborhood called Belles Artes. It's called that because the huge Museum of Belles Artes is there. The neighborhood looks like it was lifted right out of Paris. Beautiful stone buildings with tall, wide windows and shutters. Street cafes with the young and chic lounging and socializing. We saw a "For Rent" sign on the edge of the neighborhood and went to look. It was affordable, but was unfurnished. Sad!
Yesterday Jesse and I taught our first class! We were teaching the servers at the bar next door, the California Cantina, and they were beginners. I taught numbers and Jesse taught greetings and names. It was, obviously, rather flawed, but I found it fun and really exciting. We teach again tomorrow!
Jesse has been cooking our dinners and we have been bringing sandwiches to school to save money. We eat chicken and veggies and rice, spaghetti, etc. It's so hard not having a Trader Joes!!!!
That's all for now!
Hasta Luego!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Classes!
We started our classes on Monday! They go all day from 10:30 - 5:30. There are four of us in the class. Us, and another couple from Atlanta, Chelsea and Walt. They are very young, 22 and 23, and just graduated from college. Since they are from Atlanta, they are Falcon fans and Green Bay plays the Falcons in their 2nd playoff game on Saturday. So Jesse is excited to watch it with them. We found an expat bar called the California Kitchen and Bar, and it is right next to our school!
Our teacher James is really great. Very friendly, and eager to help us with everything we could need while here. He is from Modesto! Which is in California! And is only 40, so is closer to our experiences. He's been in Santiago for 6 years and was in Spain for 4 years before that.
We figured out the shower! So it's nice to have longish hot showers!
Jesse has been cooking dinners and we have been taking turkey sandwiches to school for lunch. I have had some stomach (gas) problems for the past 3 days, and I think it was because when we ate out I would get soda because a lot of places only had alcohol or soda and I wasn't going to drink the water. It was pretty painful and annoying to start school with, and I was suitably dramatic about it all. :)
Last Saturday we went to see a friend of a friend who lives here. She is from Seattle originally and has been in Santiago 6 years. She moved here to teach English, but quickly got a resident visa, another job, and met her husband. Now she's pregnant with her first child who will arrive in February. We had brought a mycoach running trainer for her husband from the States since electronics are much more expensive here. So we met up and had lunch, and it was really great to have someone answer all our questions and relax with while speaking English!!
We have to run off to class now, so I'll write more tomorrow.
Our teacher James is really great. Very friendly, and eager to help us with everything we could need while here. He is from Modesto! Which is in California! And is only 40, so is closer to our experiences. He's been in Santiago for 6 years and was in Spain for 4 years before that.
We figured out the shower! So it's nice to have longish hot showers!
Jesse has been cooking dinners and we have been taking turkey sandwiches to school for lunch. I have had some stomach (gas) problems for the past 3 days, and I think it was because when we ate out I would get soda because a lot of places only had alcohol or soda and I wasn't going to drink the water. It was pretty painful and annoying to start school with, and I was suitably dramatic about it all. :)
Last Saturday we went to see a friend of a friend who lives here. She is from Seattle originally and has been in Santiago 6 years. She moved here to teach English, but quickly got a resident visa, another job, and met her husband. Now she's pregnant with her first child who will arrive in February. We had brought a mycoach running trainer for her husband from the States since electronics are much more expensive here. So we met up and had lunch, and it was really great to have someone answer all our questions and relax with while speaking English!!
We have to run off to class now, so I'll write more tomorrow.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
First Few Days
Finally got some time to blog! Jesse has gone downtown to pick up some stuff that we need, and I am hiding in the shady house. It's 90 degrees out there!
Traveling out took a long time. About 23 hours. Our layover's were not too long, so we kind of had to rush in LA and Bogota, which was slightly stressful, but helped to shorten travel time.
We flew into Santiago very early in the morning, so we could only see lights! Which was too bad. We paid our $160 to enter the country for the first time, which lasts for the life of the passport. The customs agent also didn't seem to care that we only had a one-way ticket! Then we went to get our bags, not sure if they had made it through the short layovers. Two of them had. Of course, the one missing, was mine. I had packed for a few days in my carry-on, so it wasn't too devastating. But it's been almost 2 days and no word, so I'm a little apprehensive!
We took a cab to our apartment, and our landlady, Mireya, was waiting. We came in and chatted with her for a while. Jesse did most of the chatting of course, since I speak about 30 words of Spanish. But she was really nice and amiable. Then we slept! We knew we couldn't sleep too much so we could get over our jetlag. We woke up at 1pm and took a much needed shower! And yes, the shower is touch-and-go regarding hot water. :) Sometimes it's hot, really really hot, and sometimes it is randomly cold. Poor Jesse had a totally cold shower this morning!
Then we headed out to explore. We had found out we needed a plug adapter for the computer, so we wanted to get that right away. We went to ask Mireya, and while we were there, her other tenant, Karen, who lives in our apartment with us, offered to take us herself. Which was lovely, because we got an extensive guided tour. Karen is here on an internship to study veterinary medicine. Which is ironic!
Santiago is beautiful. It is very European looking. There are many old buildings still standing, and the streets are narrow and winding like European cities. There are street cafe's everywhere, and there are tons of people everywhere! The sidewalks are always packed with people. There are also street dogs, which is so heartbreaking for me, but they do not look malnourished and they don't have rabies. Karen took us to a huge produce market, and we are very excited to have access to cheap, fresh, fruits and veggies.
After wandering we took another nap and then headed out again to walk around in the cooling evening and find dinner. We had a pizza and some great Chilean wine for dinner, then a drink in our neighborhood, which is quite the nightlife location! As we were walking down the street a street dog started following me. She followed us all the way to the bar, then waited outside for us. So we went to sit outside and she slept near us and barked at any dog who came too close. I had saved some empanadas from lunch but left them in our room. So when we were done with our drinks we woke her up and she followed us back to our apartment and we fed her the empanadas. So of course she waited by the door to the apartment after we went inside! It was so sad, but she didn't look hungry or dirty, so I think she has a decent life in the touristy area of town. :)
Today we walked up to see our school. Classes start on Monday, and we thought it would be a good way to see more of the city. Then we came home on the Metro. It was our first time on the Metro, and it was really easy and clean.
And now I am hiding from the heat and getting over jetlag and Jesse is off on his own city adventure looking for a wash cloth, toilet paper, notebooks, sunscreen and something cheap for dinner!
Hasta Luego!!
Traveling out took a long time. About 23 hours. Our layover's were not too long, so we kind of had to rush in LA and Bogota, which was slightly stressful, but helped to shorten travel time.
We flew into Santiago very early in the morning, so we could only see lights! Which was too bad. We paid our $160 to enter the country for the first time, which lasts for the life of the passport. The customs agent also didn't seem to care that we only had a one-way ticket! Then we went to get our bags, not sure if they had made it through the short layovers. Two of them had. Of course, the one missing, was mine. I had packed for a few days in my carry-on, so it wasn't too devastating. But it's been almost 2 days and no word, so I'm a little apprehensive!
We took a cab to our apartment, and our landlady, Mireya, was waiting. We came in and chatted with her for a while. Jesse did most of the chatting of course, since I speak about 30 words of Spanish. But she was really nice and amiable. Then we slept! We knew we couldn't sleep too much so we could get over our jetlag. We woke up at 1pm and took a much needed shower! And yes, the shower is touch-and-go regarding hot water. :) Sometimes it's hot, really really hot, and sometimes it is randomly cold. Poor Jesse had a totally cold shower this morning!
Then we headed out to explore. We had found out we needed a plug adapter for the computer, so we wanted to get that right away. We went to ask Mireya, and while we were there, her other tenant, Karen, who lives in our apartment with us, offered to take us herself. Which was lovely, because we got an extensive guided tour. Karen is here on an internship to study veterinary medicine. Which is ironic!
Santiago is beautiful. It is very European looking. There are many old buildings still standing, and the streets are narrow and winding like European cities. There are street cafe's everywhere, and there are tons of people everywhere! The sidewalks are always packed with people. There are also street dogs, which is so heartbreaking for me, but they do not look malnourished and they don't have rabies. Karen took us to a huge produce market, and we are very excited to have access to cheap, fresh, fruits and veggies.
After wandering we took another nap and then headed out again to walk around in the cooling evening and find dinner. We had a pizza and some great Chilean wine for dinner, then a drink in our neighborhood, which is quite the nightlife location! As we were walking down the street a street dog started following me. She followed us all the way to the bar, then waited outside for us. So we went to sit outside and she slept near us and barked at any dog who came too close. I had saved some empanadas from lunch but left them in our room. So when we were done with our drinks we woke her up and she followed us back to our apartment and we fed her the empanadas. So of course she waited by the door to the apartment after we went inside! It was so sad, but she didn't look hungry or dirty, so I think she has a decent life in the touristy area of town. :)
Today we walked up to see our school. Classes start on Monday, and we thought it would be a good way to see more of the city. Then we came home on the Metro. It was our first time on the Metro, and it was really easy and clean.
And now I am hiding from the heat and getting over jetlag and Jesse is off on his own city adventure looking for a wash cloth, toilet paper, notebooks, sunscreen and something cheap for dinner!
Hasta Luego!!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Five Days, Really
It is so crazy to know we are leaving in 5 days!
I am flying home to San Francisco tomorrow morning and will spend the weekend packing, running errands, and generally just freaking out. Jesse, on the other hand, is very demure and relaxed about it all. lol.
We have one more run to the storage unit to make. I have yet to decide which clothes to bring with me, but will be keeping it very very light, as the airline will charge us for the weight of the bag and we can always buy what we need there for less than it costs here.
I have been in Kentucky for the last 9 days and had a great time seeing friends and eating/hanging out. It's been hard to stay calm, knowing I'm leaving for South America for a year!
I saw high school friends Lucy, Rachele and Cathy. As well as college friend Emily and her baby, Louis, who was so enjoyable and adorable. I drove up to Harrison, Ohio to meet her half way from Indianapolis. I also saw old co-workers from Lexmark and good friends, Mike and Brandon, who are always tons of fun. So it was a great time back in my homeland, and I am actually kind of sad to leave! Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Jeff all treated me to amazing meals and movies and presents, and am feeling a very lucky girl to be pampered so and heading off to South America to basically enjoy the hell out of myself with my wonderful boyfriend at my side.
On Sunday, the 2nd, we are having a going-away party at a favorite bar around the corner. But only after the Packers game is over, since the aforementioned wonderful boyfriend is from Wisconsin and will not miss it for anything, not even work. It will be great to see everyone, all the friends I've made in San Francisco over the last five years. My friend Nancy who moved to LA has said she is driving up for it! Which is awesome.
Then we are off early early on Tuesday morning for a 24 hour travel adventure to Santiago via LA and Bogata, Columbia. I have equipped the parents with booklets of information regarding our flight information, apartment information and all the phone numbers of every American embassy in South America. Suriname and the French Guineas don't have any, so I guess I may have to call home more often when we are in those countries. ;)
My biggest, most desired goal is to learn Spanish. Apart from just having fun. Oh, and learning salsa. And probably drinking lots of Chilean wine and eating lots of Chilean seafood. And... everything. :)
My next blog will be from Santiago hopefully the day or the next day after we arrive!
Will miss you all terribly, and invite every single one to come and visit us at any time during the year in any country.
Hasta Luego!
Annie & Jesse
I am flying home to San Francisco tomorrow morning and will spend the weekend packing, running errands, and generally just freaking out. Jesse, on the other hand, is very demure and relaxed about it all. lol.
We have one more run to the storage unit to make. I have yet to decide which clothes to bring with me, but will be keeping it very very light, as the airline will charge us for the weight of the bag and we can always buy what we need there for less than it costs here.
I have been in Kentucky for the last 9 days and had a great time seeing friends and eating/hanging out. It's been hard to stay calm, knowing I'm leaving for South America for a year!
I saw high school friends Lucy, Rachele and Cathy. As well as college friend Emily and her baby, Louis, who was so enjoyable and adorable. I drove up to Harrison, Ohio to meet her half way from Indianapolis. I also saw old co-workers from Lexmark and good friends, Mike and Brandon, who are always tons of fun. So it was a great time back in my homeland, and I am actually kind of sad to leave! Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Jeff all treated me to amazing meals and movies and presents, and am feeling a very lucky girl to be pampered so and heading off to South America to basically enjoy the hell out of myself with my wonderful boyfriend at my side.
On Sunday, the 2nd, we are having a going-away party at a favorite bar around the corner. But only after the Packers game is over, since the aforementioned wonderful boyfriend is from Wisconsin and will not miss it for anything, not even work. It will be great to see everyone, all the friends I've made in San Francisco over the last five years. My friend Nancy who moved to LA has said she is driving up for it! Which is awesome.
Then we are off early early on Tuesday morning for a 24 hour travel adventure to Santiago via LA and Bogata, Columbia. I have equipped the parents with booklets of information regarding our flight information, apartment information and all the phone numbers of every American embassy in South America. Suriname and the French Guineas don't have any, so I guess I may have to call home more often when we are in those countries. ;)
My biggest, most desired goal is to learn Spanish. Apart from just having fun. Oh, and learning salsa. And probably drinking lots of Chilean wine and eating lots of Chilean seafood. And... everything. :)
My next blog will be from Santiago hopefully the day or the next day after we arrive!
Will miss you all terribly, and invite every single one to come and visit us at any time during the year in any country.
Hasta Luego!
Annie & Jesse
Monday, December 13, 2010
Twenty Days!
Only 20 days until liftoff! I am pretty anxious and excited! It will be so amazing to be wandering around Santiago.
We are in the process of wrapping up the final things we need to do. Have sold the car, and they will be coming by tomorrow to pick it up. Such a relief to sell the car! And the $1,200 will help too!
We have made 2 runs to our storage unit in Fremont, which is about 40 minutes away in no traffic, but the Bay Area usually always has traffic and the other day we were sitting in the car for almost 2 hours trying to get home.
The room is a total mess right now! But I've done a lot of sorting and packing and feel pretty good about our readiness. I want to have all of it ready to go for when I get back on Dec. 30th so we don't have to run around trying to get everything done. I have yet to go through my clothes to see what I should bring or not. I gave away my warm clothes a year or so ago, which is really annoying! But I'm sure it will be fun buying some in Santiago. I do have my ski jacket, so am definitely bringing that for when it gets 20 degrees!
We have a few more things to buy at REI for when we go backpacking. They don't have REI there.
One of my friends put me in touch with a friend of hers that is from Seattle but lives in Santiago with her husband now. So it's been nice have an American I know over there to ask questions.
What we really need to be doing is studying our English grammar to get ready for classes!
Hasta Luego!
Annie
We are in the process of wrapping up the final things we need to do. Have sold the car, and they will be coming by tomorrow to pick it up. Such a relief to sell the car! And the $1,200 will help too!
We have made 2 runs to our storage unit in Fremont, which is about 40 minutes away in no traffic, but the Bay Area usually always has traffic and the other day we were sitting in the car for almost 2 hours trying to get home.
The room is a total mess right now! But I've done a lot of sorting and packing and feel pretty good about our readiness. I want to have all of it ready to go for when I get back on Dec. 30th so we don't have to run around trying to get everything done. I have yet to go through my clothes to see what I should bring or not. I gave away my warm clothes a year or so ago, which is really annoying! But I'm sure it will be fun buying some in Santiago. I do have my ski jacket, so am definitely bringing that for when it gets 20 degrees!
We have a few more things to buy at REI for when we go backpacking. They don't have REI there.
One of my friends put me in touch with a friend of hers that is from Seattle but lives in Santiago with her husband now. So it's been nice have an American I know over there to ask questions.
What we really need to be doing is studying our English grammar to get ready for classes!
Hasta Luego!
Annie
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Tents and Sleeping Bags
While talking to Dad the other day I mentioned that we had purchased a tent and sleeping bag so we can camp while traveling around South America. He said I should put that on my blog. To which I replied, "I'm not sure how anyone would find that interesting." But here it is anyway!
Jesse says that we will be saving money by camping while we are backpacking. Even after the money spent on the tent and sleeping bags. Some of the hostels have campsites on location, and some campsites are out of town a couple miles. I am mostly concerned about showering then sleeping in a tent...
We also have signed up for couchsurfing.com. It's a community of people who have rooms/couches in their houses that they let travelers use, so that when they travel, then can do the same. We actually have a couch surfer on our couch here in San Francisco right now! His name is Antoine, and he is from France. We are hoping he will write a nice review about us so people in South America will know we are nice and normal people. :)
We have found a flat in Santiago to rent a room in for the first couple months. We got it through an agency that sets up houseshares for foreigners in locals homes. The place we picked is close to the school and in a good neighborhood. Let's hope the owner doesn't mind getting up at 6am to let us in when we arrive from Colombia! :) I will post a picture of it.
I have been studying Spanish AND English. The school gave us a study guide to work on that will help us get started on the course. Grammar is still as boring and difficult for me as it was in 8th grade! Do you know what an auxiliary verb is??
Jesse has bought 2 water purifying gadgets.. One is for taking water out of streams and rivers and the other is for purifying tap water. Apparently we aren't supposed to drink the tap water in Santiago. He also got a back pack for himself. I am using the one he used in Asia. It's still in good condition. The one he bought himself is pretty big since he'll put the tent in it. We then will tie our sleeping bags on the bottom. I have been working out (now and then) to try and get my back and shoulder muscles stronger! Hopefully I'll come home not only speaking fluent Spanish but looking like She-Ra. :)
I got my shots a couple weeks ago. Tetnus, Hep A, Hep B, Yellow Fever, Typhoid. Ouch. My arm hurt for a week! I couldn't lie on it or touch it the first couple days! And it all cost $440!
I am trying to sell my car... not going to well. I wonder who would want a scratched up Chevy Metro with 114,000 miles... but am only expecting $1000.
Only 4 weeks until I leave for Kentucky!
Hasta Luego!!
Jesse says that we will be saving money by camping while we are backpacking. Even after the money spent on the tent and sleeping bags. Some of the hostels have campsites on location, and some campsites are out of town a couple miles. I am mostly concerned about showering then sleeping in a tent...
We also have signed up for couchsurfing.com. It's a community of people who have rooms/couches in their houses that they let travelers use, so that when they travel, then can do the same. We actually have a couch surfer on our couch here in San Francisco right now! His name is Antoine, and he is from France. We are hoping he will write a nice review about us so people in South America will know we are nice and normal people. :)
We have found a flat in Santiago to rent a room in for the first couple months. We got it through an agency that sets up houseshares for foreigners in locals homes. The place we picked is close to the school and in a good neighborhood. Let's hope the owner doesn't mind getting up at 6am to let us in when we arrive from Colombia! :) I will post a picture of it.
I have been studying Spanish AND English. The school gave us a study guide to work on that will help us get started on the course. Grammar is still as boring and difficult for me as it was in 8th grade! Do you know what an auxiliary verb is??
Jesse has bought 2 water purifying gadgets.. One is for taking water out of streams and rivers and the other is for purifying tap water. Apparently we aren't supposed to drink the tap water in Santiago. He also got a back pack for himself. I am using the one he used in Asia. It's still in good condition. The one he bought himself is pretty big since he'll put the tent in it. We then will tie our sleeping bags on the bottom. I have been working out (now and then) to try and get my back and shoulder muscles stronger! Hopefully I'll come home not only speaking fluent Spanish but looking like She-Ra. :)
I got my shots a couple weeks ago. Tetnus, Hep A, Hep B, Yellow Fever, Typhoid. Ouch. My arm hurt for a week! I couldn't lie on it or touch it the first couple days! And it all cost $440!
I am trying to sell my car... not going to well. I wonder who would want a scratched up Chevy Metro with 114,000 miles... but am only expecting $1000.
Only 4 weeks until I leave for Kentucky!
Hasta Luego!!
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