Santiago, Chile

Today I woke up at around 7am and got ready for school. I had toast and chocolate milk for breakfast. My student had a doctors appointment this morning, so he didn’t join us on the ride to school. Felipe, my host dad drove me, Carolina, and Nico to school. It was very cold this morning so we put on the heated seats. We arrived at school on time and went to homeroom. Not many exchange students were in homeroom because mine and Megan’s were out. After homeroom we met up at our normal meeting place, the reception building to wait for our bus. We all boarded the bus when it arrived. It was smaller than yesterday so we all sat closer together. On the trip, everyone talked, listened to music and worked on rubix cubes. Part way through the trip we stopped at a store to use the restroom. Before we went t

o the bathroom, we went to see alpacas and llamas behind the store. They were very cute and we fed them a certain type of grass. If we didn’t bring them grass, they would spit on us. After the bathroom break, I bought a chocolate bar I had never seen before from the store to share with the rest of the bus. We got back on and continued the ride. The fog got really thick as we got to the coastal range. The ocean and humidity near the coast affects the climate which makes Chile differ as you travel throughout it. Valparaíso is the third biggest city in Chile. We got a view of both Viña Del Mar and Valparaíso from a hill from the bus. I could see the water was very blue and the fog had cleared. We stopped at the beach for around 20 minutes to take pictures and explore. There was a really cool lifeguard tower that a few of us climbed. The view was amazing. After our quick stop, we headed to a dock where we got on a small boat to get a panoramic view of the two cities. The water was really clear. We also saw a sea lion

on a rock. It was cute but smelled really bad! When we got back we walked to the bus and headed to lunch. We went to a really nice restaurant that looked rather old . The food was amazing and there were so many courses! The appetizers were an egg dish, fried fish, French fries and, of course, bread. We also were able to order another appetizer. I got an avocado chicken salad which was really good. Avocados are prominent in many dishes here. For the main course I got chicken with rice which was cooked very well. We also got dessert. I ordered a brownie, but I couldn’t eat much because the portions are much bigger here. We are on the second floor which gave us a really nice city view. When we were all finished, we went across the street to check out the view from a gazebo and take pictures. It was on a hill so we had a nice view of the water and boats. We took the venicular down the hill to our bus. It gave us a chance to look at the view one last time before we got on the bus. When we reached the bottom, the bus was waiting for us. We got on and drove around places we would have seen if we

had time to go on the walk. The murals were amazing. It made me wish that we had more street art in the US. We left the city and headed back for Santiago College. We arrived at the school and were greeted by our students. We decided to go to the mall, Portal la Dehesa, to hang out. We went to Starbucks and yogurt life. After walking around a bit and eating we left. When we got home, we relaxed and I took a shower and got ready for bed. Today was a great day and the food was definitely one of my favorite meals!

Today was Monday, which unfortunately meant waking up early again. After showering and getting ready, I ate fruit and yogurt for breakfast with Sebastian. His dad then drove us to school and I went to homeroom with Sebastian. After the first class, all the Cary Academy kids got on the bus to visit the Portillo Ski Resort. The further we got from Santiago, the fewer people and cars we saw on the streets. After a long 3 hour drive and 2 rest-stops, we arrived at the ski resort with a beautiful view of the snowy mountains. There we met Felipe, our tour guide for the day.

Although the mountains were not open for sledding, the main hotel was still being used. Felipe began by giving us a tour of the hotel. Afterwards, we each got walking sticks and a pair of snow shoes.

Additionally, Felipe gave each of us some fruit, a cookie and a water bottle. We then walked around the ski resort and stopped at a lake to eat our food and to take pictures. Surprisingly, most of us were hot at this point in contrast to the cold weather we were expecting.

Around 15 minutes later, we began the short walk back to the hotel. We returned the snowshoes and the walking sticks and some people went to change into dry clothes. By this point, most of us were hungry so Felipe took us to the restaurant inside of the hotel. We started off our meal with a Caesar salad which was followed by a choice of veggies, steak or salmon. We also enjoyed eating some ice cream in front of the beautiful mountain view. By this point we were running low on time; Felipe gave us a quick tour of the second floor and then we began the long drive back to Santiago College after using the bathrooms.

Unfortunately we got stuck in heavy traffic and didn’t make it back to Santiago College until 7:45. Sebastian and his mother were kind enough to wait and they quickly took me home.

While Sebastian worked, I watched some Netflix and enjoyed the internet for a bit. Within an hour, the dinner was ready and everyone came downstairs to the dinner table. The dinner consisted of rice, soup, chicken and some seafood. After a nice meal and conversation, I went and showered up for the night while Sebastian finished the remains of his homework.

This morning, like every other morning, I woke up at 6:30.  We started off with a traditional Chilean breakfast; toast with manjar or avocado.  Manjar is basically caramel with a little bit of cream.  I also had another family favorite, chocolate milk.

We arrived at school and had to go to the front office to wait for the bus at 8:15.  The bus ride was very long, two and a half hours in fact, but it was a very scenic drive.  We saw vineyards at the bottom of the mountain.  Most of the grape vines were dead, because Chile is entering winter.

After about an hour and a half of driving we started to ascend into the mountains. The vegetation became sparse and was eventually replaced by snow.  Then we started to ascend up the mountain the ski resort is on.  The road snaked up the mountain and was on the edge of the cliff. The views of the snow capped mountains kept on getting better.  Finally, to the relief of many, we made it up the road and to the ski resort called Portillo hotel.

We started with a tour of the hotel. We learned that the land the hotel is on was originally found in the late 1800’s when a railroad from Santiago to Argentina was being built.  The hotel was originally owned by the Chilean government but then bought by a man from New York ten years later.  We then saw the game and exercise rooms that guest use after skiing.  Finally, we went to the ski rental room to get walking sticks and snow shoes.

It was finally time for our walk down to the lake.  We got our equipment on and started our trek.  It was difficult to walk at times because the snow was two feet deep.  Osamah, Milen, and I really experience the deep snow when we tried to race each other off the path, but we all ended up face planting in the snow.

We continued our trek down to the lake staying on the path (most of the time).  Once we arrived down to the lake, we took some time to eat a snack and take in the view.  Our guide said that the lake is two hundred meters or six hundred sixty feet deep at the center.  It was also very clear because the water comes from melted snow.  We also took some pictures; however, a lot of people were squinting because of the brightness the sun reflecting off the snow.

After staying by there for thirty minutes, we headed back up to the hotel.  We had lunch, and then started our way back home.

The bus ride home was very long. First we got stuck behind some large eighteen wheelers. They had to go really slow because of the sharp turns.  We finally got past them and all seemed well; however, thirty or so miles from home, we got stuck in a traffic jam (or taco as they call it in Chile).  It was very slow and we sat in it for two hours.  We finally arrived at the school and 7:45, four and a half hours after we departed.

We were relieved that we could finally get home, but one last predicament for Cole and me.  Tomas and Javier were locked in the library.  Cole and I had to use are great Spanish to get a security guard to unlock the door for them.  The security guard saved the day, and I was finally able to go home and rest.

Overall, the day was very fun and scenic.

El Mejor Gringo està aqui. Today is Sunday June 4th of the two thousand – seventeen year. Normally I would start off by saying “today I woke up” but that didn’t happen. See it’s normal for Chileans to stay up after 12 on school nights. The crazy thing is on weekends where they stay up hours past midnight having parties that happen until 2-3 AM. This night we had a barbecue which was really awesome. Even though I am vegetarian the meat looked good and some of my friends told me that it was some of the best meat they have ever had. I myself had a veggie burger that I enjoyed with some corn. While I was there I figured out that my exchange student has eaten a panda bear before which I thought was weird. The barbecue was outside during Chilean autumn. It felt super cold as I was wearing shorts which is kinda a dumb mistake from me. I had to go inside after a while because I felt like I was about to get hypothermia or something. Overall the barbecue was a exciting experience where we got to further bond with our exchange students.

Because I stayed up until two in the morning as soon as I got home I fell asleep. I woke up for brief periods of time staring at the light that was shining through blinds, but decided to go back to sleep. I finally woke up around 12 PM so I skipped breakfast. I woke up and watched game of thrones with my exchange student for a while until we left for his cousins birthday party. His cousin turned 23 that day and we went over to his grandparents house. They made some great lasagna and salad that I ate really quickly. Then I talked to his grandparents for a while listening to their stories of traveling the world. Funny enough they have been to more U.S states than I have. Then I talked to his uncle about Football vs rugby and soccer and fütbol. After a couple hours we left the party and went to the mall. I got some much needed chapstick from Jumbo. Jumbo is just another supermarket. While there I also bought some different types of juices that tasted pretty good. After that I went home using the public bus system. That was a great experience as I got to see how public transit systems worked. After that I went home, watched some game of thrones with my exchange student, and went to sleep.

When we finally managed to wake up at around noon, Pablo and I decided to venture off to the “Manquehue” mountain for a hike. With this being my first time hiking up a mountain, I was not expecting to make it to the top of this enormous mountain that stood gaping in front of us.

I was hoping that climbing this mountain would not only be a great accomplishment to share with friends and family, but also that it would help me conquer my fear of heights.  The climbing was really tough at first, but over time I got used to it. I struggled a lot, but thankfully Pablo was always there to lend me a helping hand whenever I needed it. I tried to avoid thinking about how high off the ground we were and instead directed my focus towards the exotic wildlife that was on the mountain. We saw many types of birds, rabbits, and even a herd of my favorite animals, goats!   We also saw many different plants that we don’t often get to see in Cary, such as cacti. With all of the fun I had seeing the wildlife and talking to Pablo, Diego, and Mr. Toledo, I hardly even realized that we were quickly approaching the top of the mountain.

After hours of exhaustion, we finally reached the top of the manquehue!  The priceless view was the reward for all of our hard work. We spent quite a bit of time at the top taking pictures and gaining back energy for the long trip down.  It was so much time in fact, that it was beginning to get dark when we began to head back down. For this reason, we tried to move very quickly so that we wouldn’t have to climb the Manquehue in the dark. Climbing down may have been even more difficult than going up because we had to worry about slipping. Thankfully, we were able to make it to the bottom without any injuries. It was an exhausting, but very rewarding experience.  Being so captivated by the climbing, we nearly forgot how hungry we were. The hunger kicked in when we were in the car, so we decided to go out to dinner. We met with the rest of the family for a sushi dinner. The sushi in Chile is even better than sushi I have had in the United States!  After an exhausting but very fun day, we almost instantly went to sleep when we got home. Climbing the Manquehue was an incredible experience that I will remember for my entire life.

Saturday morning i woke up at 11:00 am and went to eat breakfast with Alfredo.  For breakfast we had cereal, eggs, doughnuts, bread, and milk.  After breakfast, we watched tv while we were waiting for Pablo and Michael to come over.  When they got here, Alfredo´s parents drove us to the Portal mall.

When we got there we ate some food from McDonald´s and then we drove to Michael Epperson´s host student´s house.

We met his dog that was very friendly, and then we were introduced to his family, and then we went upstairs to watch a soccer match on tv with the rest of the boys from the exchange.  After the game was over, we went downstairs to eat cheeseburgers and cake and play soccer in the backyard.  A little while later, the girls parents came to pick some of us up, and we drove to Summit.  Summit is a trampoline park that has many different types of trampoline activities.  When we arrived we had to wait in line for an hour before we were able to jump.  When we were at the front of the line we were handed special socks for jumping on the trampolines.  We then jumped on the trampolines for one hour as a group before we were picked up by parents and drove to Cristobal´s house.  All of the people from the exchange were at his house, and we all talked and hung out together for an hour, before we ate dinner.  For dinner, we ate chicken, steak, and bread, and there were also veggie burgers for people that cannot eat meat.  Everyone in the exchange group enjoyed hanging out and getting to know each other better.  A little bit later, we also ate dessert and we ate cake, and pie.  After a while, everyone left so that we were able to get some sleep so that we would not be tired on Monday.

I woke this morning at 8:21 to my exchange student’s mother calling Javier and I down for breakfast. As i begun to stand up, Javier said, “wait, we have 9 more minutes to sleep, she said 8:30 last night.” After Javier’s extra couple minutes, we went downstairs to a breakfast filled with ham and cheese paninis, brownies and carbonated apple juice. Although i’m still not completely convinced on carbonated water, sparkling juices have definitely been a plus without 100% of the unhealthy aspects of soft drinks. As I ate, Javier scarfed down as much as possible to prepare for his upcoming rugby match. When we finished eating, he went on to explain me the rules and formations of rugby in a mix of english and spanish which made quite and interesting conversation. A lot of things went over my head so Javier ended up drawing a diagram of the normal formation for me.

With that, we were off to the game and I really had no idea what to expect from the game in terms of rules. I spent the time during the game watching but also talking with Michael and Milen and getting to know some students from Santiago College who were also there. Turns out that there were two games and Santiago College won both of them. I still don’t have the best understanding of rugby, but it was interesting to see how invested Chilean people are in a sport that I have no knowledge of.

After the game, we went back home, had some dulce de leche to drink, ate some chocolates then showered to get ready for the next activity of the day. Today was the final of the European soccer championship so we went to Tomas Hauser’s house, Michael Epperson’s exchange students. Before the game, Tomas’ father grilled burgers on the patio and they tasted surprisingly similar to those in the US. While eating, I became acquainted with Rocky, the Hauser family dog who was quite interested in my hamburger. Sadly, I couldn’t give him any and he gave me a look like this…

We went up and watched the game in which Real  Madrid won 4-1 against Juventus. With mixed opinions about the result, we went back outside to grab seconds on burgers and start up a game of world cup on their mini soccer field in the backyard. I also had the opportunity to try some candies Tomas and Javier recommended which i’m pretty sure filled up my entire calorie intake for the day after a single piece. It was like a more crunchy marshmallow which we drenched in dulce de leche.

When the backyard soccer game dragged on for too long to no avail and no winner, we resorted to a few games of FIFA in which I lost to Michael and then to Tomas’ little brother.

On that note, we headed home around 7:30 PM and relaxed for a while. I was still setback from not sleeping on the plane so a few hours of doing nothing didn’t hurt. For dinner, around 9:00, we had a dish called ‘escolaba’ which was basically just a large fried chicken breast. After dinner, Javier and I were both tired so we went to bed.

This morning, I woke up and had avocado toast and coffee with my exchange family. Afterwards, we left for Santiago College, where we hung out with our Chilean friends in their homeroom class. After about thirty minutes, we said “adios” or “ciao” to our exchange students and hopped on our tour bus, which took us to a museum called “Museo Interactivo Mirador”. Here we got to explore cool interactive exhibits like a room with color changing walls, a huge piano, and a bike that played music. After this, we got to experience what an earthquake (about a level 8) feels like inside a typical home in Chile by sitting in the museum’s earthquake simulator. None of us had felt an “earthquake” of this magnitude before so it was very exciting! Then, we headed towards another museum, which was formerly the home of a famous poet named Pablo Neruda. Señor Craig loved this activity so much that he wanted to spend as much time as possible in every room. Before going to the next room, he quizzed us on what we learned at each exhibit. Next, we headed towards the most anticipated part of the day: the Costañera mall. At the mall, we ate lunch and shopped around. For lunch, we ate at a place called “La Sanguchera” because we wanted to try new “Chilean” fast food. After spending some time eating and shopping, we went all the way up (about 2,000 feet) in an elevator to see the views from the top (the tallest building in South America!). We snapped a few photos and then drove across town to the “Pueblito los dominicos craft market”. The market was beautiful and unique and each vendor sold ornaments, pots, jewelry, or other souvenirs. Then, we got back on the bus and went back to Santiago College, where we met up with our exchange students. A group of us drove over to Paloma’s house to hang out for a while, and then we headed over to Pablo’s house for pizza with our whole group and our exchange students. Overall, I think it was one of the best days we have had on this trip!