So in my last blog, I may have seemed homesick, but I’m not. I was just going through a phase. I’m no longer a tourist, I’m a traveler and I’ve realized there are four stages travelers go through. The first stage, the wandering child, excited to be abroad and exploring a new environment. Stage two, the pre-teen. This is what I went through a couple weeks ago. It’s like going through travel puberty, having one-million emotions going on, and want everything to go your way. Stage three, current stage, the young adult. You begin acting like a local and just accepting everything as it is. By the end of the trip is should reach stage four, the mature adult. I will by this time, accept all that comes my way and be able to handle the situations abroad. Not thinking or wanting anything from my home country. In life we have to adapt to new situations and environments that we are placed in, or we’ll never be satisfied or enjoy what we’re doing. It just need to travel outside a little more and things will be just fine. Believe me, I'm having the time of my life. I'm enjoying every second, because I will never have this exact same experience again. I’m understanding Spanish more now. My Chilean dad and I talk a lot after "once" on any preguntas o dudas I may have. I’m gaining my confidence again. You learn through personal experiences and encounters. I have learned words through certain situations and contexts that makes is easy to remember for the future. “Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.”
It’s Jenny’s B-Day!!!
A lot of students look forward to study abroad because the drinking age is 18 years. There are two things about turning 21 abroad: 1. you turn 21 in another country (exciting) and 2. it’s not the same excitement you get in the US since every can drink at 18. So for Jenny, we made the American experience for her by taking her to a bar, buying her drinks, and singing happy birthday in ENGLISH.
Then the next day, Jenny and I experience our first college basketball game abroad. There is a tremendous difference between the spirit in the US compared to here. It was approximately 27 people in the gym (I may included some players) and there wasn’t much cheering. We're use to coaches dressing very formal and running up and down the court yelling at the players and the "bleacher refs." Here, the coaches were very chill, sitting on the bench with the players. We could understand calls being made, but I don’t think they really care about “traveling” and its not that intense. Basketball isn't the popular sport in Chile... it's fútbol.
Rematch in Paintball
For the first time, I finally had the opportunity to paintball. I was excited and ready for war. I figured that since I’ve played Call of Duty I had the advantage on my side. Our team,“Los Zoros” which means foxes, consisted of 7 females and 3 guys. Our opposing team consisted of 1 female and 9 males, which 2 are Carabineros (police officers), 3 paintball often, and the others just looked intimidating. We didn't know that information until after the games... -__- We had three games with two rounds each: elimination, capture the flag, and zombies. We lost all games except one, they finally got caugth cheating. Personally, we think they cheated all games, because there were some of us that hit people several times and saw the paint burst and they never left the field. I did receive some battle wounds, one on my shoulder and one on my calf. I wouldn't have gotten them if they carabinero didn’t keep shooting me at close contact. I got him back though ;) I got hit in the ear but it didn’t leave a bruise. It's not fair when you cheat.
FINALLY...La Campana
Soooo, I finally went back to La Campana and it wasn’t the ordinary, planned hiking trip. Communication is key! I failed in that department with Sybille and Kim, which I invited, and Sarah and I had to stay back, missing two metros just to meet those two. We’re three-fourths close to our stop and we had to get off and catch another metro because our train needed service. Eventually we meet the others at the last stop and caught the bus to La Campana. Now we’re ready to hike, I think. So this trip I had three goals: 1. have Sybille hike as much as possible, 2. pass La mina (point I reached the last time), and 3. make it to the top, if time permits. It’s 8 of us, and we all begin the hike. Mind you, we’re one hour behind the hiking schedule, and some people aren’t physically/mentally prepared for this hike. The split begins. Danny and Jenny take off, 3 of the girls are not that far in front of us and the rest of us are in the back. I stayed back with Sybille since I dragged her along and she said that she would have never done this in her life. I had faith in her, while everyone else was shocked that she even showed. Sarah was the other “positive head” in our group. The journey becomes a little strenuous for some, we found tarantulas on the trail, and remember it’s six females together. We kept stopping almost every 200ft for 3 mins. During the breaks, two guys from our program (Erick and Kendall) caught up with us, after being 30 mins behind. After an hour, we made it too the lunch stop, people were losing faith in making it to the top, plans are changing. Another 1.5 hours passed by and we’re finally at La Mina. By this time, we all figured that Danny and Jenny made it to the very top (well close to the top). Kim decided to tan, Juliana wanted to rest, and Sybille, Ariel and Sarah were unsure of continuing, and Erick and Kendall decided to hike to Placa de Darwin. Want to know what I wanted, (you guessed it) I wanted to continued to Placa de Darwin. I encouraged Ariel, Sarah and Sybille that we could go to Placa de Darwin and come back. We got ourselves a little rest and continued towards Placa de Darwin. After an hour with fewer breaks and passing Erick and Kendall, we made it to Placa de Darwin, as it was very disappointing. We thought we were going to see Charles Darwin himself (not really). Sarah was really disappointed with the view and her positivity and hope came back, and she wanted to continue to the top. What we didn't realize, after Placa de Darwin, the hike gets really “rocky” (literally), harder, and a little dangerous. About 20 mins. in, Sybille and Ariel decided to stop because they were afraid. I don’t blame them, I’m proud of them for how far they made it. Sarah and I continued. We finally saw Danny and Jenny again (on their way down) and they told us we had about 30 mins. till the top. It’s almost 3pm, so we figured we had the time. It gets a little more difficult for Sarah and I. 15 mins. in, high elevation, and moods start swinging. Sarah wants to turn around and I tell her, “we’re almost there.” I don’t know really, but I stay positive. Sarah’s not trying to hear that. Lolz… After her yelling at me, I told her by 3:30pm (15 mins. from then), we could turn around. You wouldn’t believe it, but at exactly 3:30pm, this is what we found…
the TOP! I have a thing for proving people wrong. NEVER listen to people tell you what you can't do, because they don't know what you're capable of doing! All 3 goals accomplished! Four of the ten group members made it to the top. After 5 hours up, it takes us 3 painful hours to get down. We're trying not to slip off the rocks, avoiding bulls, hopping over dung, and running from giant tarantulas. Let’s just say I couldn't walk very well after that. SO MUCH PAIN!! I had to stretch really good because I had an intramural volleyball game at school the next morning. :(
 |
| Just Another 3min. Break |
 |
| The disappoint of Placa de Darwin |
 |
| We Made It! |
 |
| I'm sitting on top of the world |
 |
| Cerro La Campana |
 |
| The bulls are where we need to go... O_o |
 |
| Las Terceras |
Playas del Norte
I’ll just insert the ISA agenda… “Playas del Norte is an excursion to the towns along the coast of Chile, up to a distance of 80km north of Valparaiso. Along the way, students will observe the socio-economic differences between the different towns, as well as recognize the importance that the fishing, tourism, and artisans economic activity contribute to that area. Students will be given a panoramic view of the ocean at the Roca Oceanica, ride horses on the beach in Concon, discover a community of artisan and old fishing traditions of Horcon, and observe the wealth and forest that surrounds Zapallar.”
I've been through a lot of pain, so I'll rest now!
Hasta la próxima…
Chao!
Fotos de las semanas
 |
| Ella tiene 8 años! |
 |
| Viaje a Quintero |
 |
| Sunset from Viña del Mar |
 |
| How close I'll get to Easter Island |
 |
| Kendall and I |
