Hi all!

I know I'm really terrible at this, so I'm gonna give you guys a wrap up of what I've been up to. I've really fallen into a rhythm here, and it's extremely interesting to say the least. What I mean by that is that I never thought I would feel almost completely normal here in Santiago. My days are fairly uniform with a couple exceptions, but it's just like a daily routine in the States, only with an entirely different culture and an entirely different language.

I really like my classes and I think I'm doing well in them. We just had our first midterms, and I feel fairly confident, although they have not been graded yet. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if I get a few extra points just for being a gringo.

But speaking of being a gringo, I never knew how white I truly was. Many of the kids in the program have far darker features and pass fairly easily as Chileans themselves. I, on the other hand, have no chance of faking it. I really do get stares everywhere I go, which has been a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, it's fairly uncomfortable as you can imagine. But on the other, people are so fascinated and willing to talk to you that it is very easy to meet people. It also comes with a few other perks (if you will). For example, this weekend we were in a very traditional Chilean bar in Valparaiso where we danced the Chilean folkloric dance, "La Cueca", as part of their independence week celebrations called the "Fiestas Patrias". More to come on that later. However, we spent most of the night just watching, but at the end we all started to join in. As soon as I stepped on the dance floor, everyone just started clapping. Even though a couple other gringos I was with had already been dancing, it took me stepping out on the floor for people to start clapping, just by the nature of being very blonde and having blue eyes. However, we ended up spending the next hour and a half dancing with a bunch of old ladies (and kids as well), and it was certainly one of the funner nights of my time here. The whole restaurant was waving and yelling goodbye when we took our leave.

Yet another interesting part of this week was the fact that it was the "fiestas patrias", in which Chile celebrates its independence from Spain, much like our 4th of July. Yet, instead of taking one day to celebrate, Chile takes a week. Basically the entire country shuts down as people head to the beach or the countryside to celebrate the fiestas. Wednesday, the 18th, was the actual independence day, and I walked through an absolutely empty Santiago, a city normally brimming with 6 and a half million people. We passed the night at a huge festival at the national soccer stadium, which was great.

The next day, however, a couple of friends and I headed to Valparaiso, the second largest city in Chile and the bohemian capital of Latin America. The city is filled with beautiful homes and amazing graffiti, standing as an homage to some of the greatest artists and writers to have ever passed through Chile. It was home to the greatest Latin American poet of all time and Chilean national hero, Pablo Neruda, whose house we went and visited. It is an absolutely fantastic city. We spent our days wandering the hills of the city, seeing all it had to offer. The first day we met a young guy who we ended up talking to for about twenty minutes. After that, he told us that he used to be a tour guide, and he proceeded to spend the next six hours with us showing us all over the place. That night we went to another festival in Valpo, which was also great.

The next few days we just spent wandering the city and hills, which you can do for hours and hours and never be bored. It really is a beautiful place. We played some soccer with some local young'uns and ate empanadas like there was no tomorrow.

The final night we were there we met up with the director of our program here in Chile, who is originally from Valpo. He really showed us another side of the city, we had never seen before, taking us to all sorts of great views and showing us where he grew up. After that, he took us to the oldest bar in town and another very authentic Chilean restaurant. However, it was also him who showed us the authentic Chilean bar in which we danced the night away.

Today, we didn't do too awful much, but we did travel up the coast a bit to some sand dunes called "Las Dunas de ConCon". We rented some sandboards (snowboards on sand) and did that for hours which was really, really fun. And after that, we travelled home!

It was a very wonderful experience and all the while the entire country was filled with patriotism, culture and pride. Truly a sight to behold.

I do have to go to bed now, and once again I will do my best to write more frequently!

I love you all! Ciao Ciao!