Hello everybody! I'm laying in my bed in Valparaíso, tired, sick of traveling, ready to go home, and not feeling so hot (cuban food in Chile = not a good idea). But, I realized I haven't written in a while, my promise to write once a week has been broken, I'm sorry. Once again, I suck at writing blogs. But I will try to fill you in on what has been going on for the past week!
I left Valdivia on Saturday, Cristina and Roberto brought me to the bus station where my bus to Santiago left at 930 PM. That whole day I had the weirdest anxiety. I don't know how to explain it. I FINALLY felt like I was starting to get the hang of everything in Valdi, and then I had to leave! It wasn't fair. We went out on Thursday with from friends from American Corner and had a blast. It was probably the best night out I have had here. We started at our favorite bar, the Clover, and then went to a discotec in the casino called XS to dance. It was the first time I had been to XS, and it's basically the Wayside- for you CMU folks- on steroids. Awesome. I was EXTREMELY hungover the next morning, which sucked because it was my last full day in the house, but I had an awesome night. I had to say goodbye to my maid, Marisol, on Friday afternoon, and I was so sad! She is such a nice, sweet person, makes delicious food AND cleans my room everyday, and it was sad to see her go. Or, rather me go. Anyway, that night we had a little going away party for me, with Lena and Jake and Tia Nana. Once again, Marisol made delicious food, complete with Chilean staples of empanadas and küchen, and she even threw in a special treat: hard boiled seagull eggs! :) They actually taste just like a normal egg, except mini, which makes them even better. And my host mom gave me a necklace, which is a tradition in their house to give each girl as a going away gift. It is a blue stone called lapis lazuli, the national stone of Chile. Leaving Valdivia was bittersweet. I didn't think I was going to be sad to go, but I really was. I cried at the bus station saying goodbye to Roberto and Cristina, and of the gringos, I was the only one. But I blame it on genetics, See's are criers. We can't help it. Ask my dad :p
We arrived in Santiago on Sunday morning, and stayed there until Tuesday. While in Santiago, we went to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, the highest hill in Santiago, with a view of the whole city. It was so amazing, but the view was a little obstructed because of the smog. We took a funicular to get to the top, which is basically a cart that goes up a hill on a track. And on the way up to the top is the National Zoo, so naturally, we stopped to visit! It was soooo cool!! These animals literally live on the slopes of a hill and their view is the city of Santiago and the Andes Mountains. It's unreal. We went on a tour of the city on Monday which was also amazing, because I had no idea of all the history that is in Santiago! Our tour guide, Felipe, was informative and spit when he talked, but super good. He knew every bit of historical information about the city. We got to visit the Moneda (where the president works), the Courts, Museums, and other important parts of the city, and ended our tour at the house of Pablo Neruda, the most famous Chilean poet. He has three houses in Chile, all are converted into museums, and so far we have been to two of them. Neruda was a really strange dude, he was obsessed with the ocean and modeled all of his homes to look like boats. They have low ceilings, circular windows, and you actually do feel like you are in a boat while you are there. He was also an avid collector and his homes are FILLED with off the wall stuff that he gathered throughout his life. They are awesome, and super cheap!
The past two days we have been in Valparaíso, which is about 1 1/2 hours from Santiago. Today we went to the Neruda house here, which I thought wasn't as cool as his house in Santiago, but still pretty amazing. This house is right in the middle of Valpo with views of the ocean from almost every room, but we could hardly see it because it was so cloudy today! We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city, which is strange and charming. It's almost like people just plopped houses wherever they felt like it, some are on streets, some are in alleys, some are on stilts off a cliff, some are 5 levels, some are little shacks. It is seriously the most confusing place I have ever been in my whole life. And there are SOOO many houses! I don't think my pictures will do it justice. They are all different colors too, which makes the city seem very bright and artsy. Valpo also has a lot of history, and we might go on a tour if we have the time, but honestly, I am just over traveling.
I don't know how people manage to travel for months on end only living out of their backpack. We always meet backpackers in our hostels, some of them who are on a year long trip around the world, and I think they are insane! I can barely stand living out of my backpack for a week. All I want to do is have a room where there aren't 7 other people sleeping in it with me, have my own personal space, and take a bath. That would be simply amazing!
It's hard to comprehend the fact that in 5 days, I will be boarding my flight to come home. I have loved and hated Chile at the same time (mostly loved :P) but I am really a little sad about leaving. As of right now, tomorrow I will probably be counting down the hours until I can see everyone that I love. Until next time, I can't wait to see you all! And I hope you have enjoyed reading my blogs, although few and far between.
