Monday, March 2, 2009

from one extreme to another

We spent this last week on a tiny island off the coast of Chiloé visiting communities and doing our homestays. It was a beautiful little island with only two hours of electricity a day, and wide open spaces like I´ve never seen before. The boat, la lancha, that we took to the island was a wooden boat with lots of people on it going to Quehui, the little island, and it felt much more traditional than the other places we´ve been on the trip. It was great. We visited two small communities on the island and did service at their churches. We participated in asados at both churches - an asado is llamb cooked over an open fire, potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce, and bread, typically with wine, that is, from what I´ve gathered on this trip, a pretty typical Chilean meal. It was a lot of meat, but it was fun. :) I think I´ll be pretty vegetarian again upon my return from this beautiful land.

The homestays we did were wonderful too. I stayed with three others from our group with one family at their house. It was great. Our host mother had her two granddaughters there, and her daughter and grandson live there. We spoke lots of Spanish and ate really good food. I learned a new way to cook eggs and rice that I´ll definitely be bringing back to the states with me. We rode their horse, walked around the island, and relaxed on the beach. It was a fantastic experience that I wish had been longer.

Then we took la lancha back to Chiloé and went back to the Maldonado farm for a night. It was a fantastic night back with a family that I will for certain go back and visit again in my life.

Now we´re in Puerto Varas on the mainland of Chile and we´ll be here for the next week before we leave Chile. We´re staying in spectacular cabins right on a lake - it´s amazing. Don´t worry, I´m taking lots of pictures.

Well, until next time ... I´ll keep you posted on our time in Puerto Varas.

¡Ciao!
Adrianne

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