Holiiiii!
¿Cómo están ustedes? Espero que bien! Hace mucho tiempo desde escribí en mi blog, pero por fin estoy escribiendo de nuevo ;) No sé por qué estoy escribiendo en español...ok ahora inglés! :D
--->How are you all? I hope well! It's been so long since I have written in my blog, but finally, I'm writing again ;) I don't know why I was writing in Spanish...but here I go in English since that is what the majority of you understand anyway :)
We began classes at the university right after we got back from our amazing trip to Santiago. August was interesting for me since I had to try to get used to not having the group here and it just being Colton, Erin, and I as the gringos. There are other gringos in Arica; the majority of them are volunteers for a program called English Open Doors in which they come to Chile to teach English. Every now and then we'll see a gringo backpacker come through the city. It is to the point now that we completely stare if there is another gringo...you can't help it. They just stick out so much here ;) Classes have been going well. I am taking four classes (a writing, speaking, literature, and elective grammar class). This classes are with Chileans, so essentially they are at a much higher level of academic Spanish than what I am used to; however, the students have helped us out a lot to understand, and the teachers have been great as well. I have three different professors, and two of them are professors that I actually had when I was in the CISP program my first time here. Some photos from my time in August...
For you Mom & Dad---first day of school in Chile ;)
Relaxing day on the beach :)
Gorgeous!!! I live here! :D
Still no Chileans since it is winter here...only the crazy gringos come when it's so "cold" ;)
(Taken in August)
(Taken in August)
Colton and I shopping at Lider to make some quedadillas...I accidently forgot the queso..so we had dillas :D
They have toys you can ride outside of Lider...just like at Walmart!
A really cool mural that I run next to in Arica.
I can't get enough of these hibiscus bushes. So beautiful!
On my running route & the view :)
September came and went! Man, did it fly! As you will see, I was busier than ever. The thing is, I had no classes the whole week of September 18th, which is Chile's Independence Day. The weekend before
the 18th, I headed to Tacna, Peru for two days with Erin. Our friends Mauro and Hernán ended up coming with us for the first day, and we had a wonderful time shopping, trying some Peruvian cuisine (including the best fruit juice in the world), and relaxing. With the guys, we went to this huge restaurant that was on the outskirst of Tacna, and we had a mini asado (bbq) at the restaurant. Here are couple photos from Tacna.
This lady makes the BEST juice in the world, and she's a sweetheart :)
A butterfly made out of flowers in Tacna, Peru
Hanging out under a cool flower structure
Steak smothered in some sauce with mushrooms with baked potatoes and this amazing Peruvian sauce.
I had to get at least one silly photo on here... :)
Once we got back from Peru, it was full force celebrating Chile! Between empanadas, asados (bbq), meat on a stick (yes, I forgot the name of it...), sopapillas, and trying typical Chilean drinks, I was exhausted just from eating food. I went to two asados: one at my friend Mauro's house and the other at Erin's family's house. The night before 18, I headed to Mauro's and celebrated with all my friends. Here's a few photos from that night...
Megan (she's teaching at the university and suprisingly is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa!), me, and Hernán eating some typical Chilean food for 18 de septiembre.
Hernán, me, Erin, and Mauro ( I didn't have a photo of them from when we went to Tacna, so here's one of us from the asado).
Part of the group and some of my best friends from here in Chile.
Hernán and I...yes, as you are probably assumming (if you didn't know already), we are dating :) He's the best boyfriend in the world, and I'm so lucky to be with him! You'll be seeing enough photos and hearing about him in my coming blogs ;)
Well, I'm actually going to leave you here. I will be writing again very soon. I know, I have been absoutley terrible at keeping up with my blog posts, but the thing is, I have just been trying to enjoy as much time as I can here. I know that seven months is a long time to be away, and it should leave me enough time to write my little blog to keep you up to date, but the truth is...seven months isn't enough time at all. This place is amazing, and honestly, it's the people that make this place what it is. I have been so blessed to meet so many friendly, geunine, and loving people during my stay here so far. I can't wait to share even more stories with you all.
I hope you are doing well, and that the cold weather (if you are in the northern hempishere) isn't making you freeze too much. Enjoy your time off on break everyone (holy cow, it's Thanksgiving this week!). Happy Thanksgiving too...I guess...just in case I don't get a chance to write you before then ;)
Take care. Much love from Chile (Cuidate, mucho amor desde Chile),
Katie Lea :)
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