Thursday, March 12, 2009

home again, home again

We arrived safe and sound back in Asheville this morning, ahead of schedule at around 10:15! The flight was uneventful, but I didn't get much sleep - though I guess that was to be expected with an overnight flight. 

I look forward to sharing my stories and pictures!

Ciao!
Adrianne

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

last shower in chile!

I just got out of the last shower I will take this time in Chile ... we´ll see if I come back here again one day.

Our last day at the cabins in Puerto Varas were very nice and relaxing. We worked on our papers some, and relaxed some in the sun. It was nice to have that time to reflect on the trip and also to work on our papers. It was also a beautiful day - sunny and perfectly warm all day, with a beautiful sunset to top it all off! Then we packed up our stuff and left early Monday morning and drove to another little town to stay in cabins for the night. The temperature change between leaving Puerto Varas and getting out at Salto de Lagos was incredible. It went up at least 10 degrees F!!! It was so much hotter! Luckily there was a lovely little pool at our cabins! So we all spent a few hours swimming, resting, and celebrating Laurel´s birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday Laurel! Then got up early-ish again this morning and drove to Santiago!

We arrived in Santiago earlier this afternoon and went to the airport to drop off our precious van, Shasha, that we have been so close to for these past two months. We made sure she wasn´t trying to take any of our belongings and waited for our rides to the hostel. It was strange to be at the airport because we weren´t leaving today, but knowing that we´ll be leaving tomorrow. We are staying at the same hostel that we stayed at the day we got here two months ago, and it´s very nice. I like this little hostel, it´s very eclectic and fun. It´s a nice way to bring the trip to a close. Tomorrow we have time to see the city a little bit more, then time to re-pack and put all of our things together to fly home.

We leave tomorrow at 5:00 for the airport, then our flight leaves Santiago around 9:30 for Atlanta, GA! We arrive sometime after 6 am in Atlanta and then fly to Asheville, NC. Safe and uneventful travels are our hope!

Until then,

¡Ciao!
Adrianne

Friday, March 6, 2009

rest and relaxation to the max

We have been staying in the most beautiful little cabins ever! They´re right on the water and so cozy! We´ve been cooking our own meals, resting a lot, doing some sight seeing, working on our papers, and refecting on the trip. It´s crazy to think that it´s coming to an end ... as much as I am excited to come back it will also feel strange to leave.

Let´s see ... we went to Lago Todo los Santos yesterday and sat in the sun for a few hours. We had a fantastic view of Volcán Osorno ... don´t worry, it´s not about to explode. We went hiking/wandering at a national park a few days ago, and it was really pretty. I guess we´ve also done some serious resting, which has been nice. Oh, and our cabins are right on a lake so we went swimming today. It was a little chilly, but totally worth it. The water is so clear and beautiful. And of course, we´ve been working hard on our journal entries for our papers ... I´ve found this week to be quite productive and I think most of the rest of the group has too.

It´s hard to think about the fact that we have two more short days here at the lake cabins, then we start our drive back to Santiago, then to leave Chile. I´m not ready to make a culminating remark on this trip ... so that will just have to wait. I´m not done with this trip yet!

Can´t wait to share all my stories!

¡Ciao!
Adrianne

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