The Chilean South tour was absolutely amazing. There were 40 of us exchangers from all over the world. We left the 8th and came home the 15h of november. Throughout the tour we visited Chiloé, Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Pucon, Valdivia and many more cities. We we able to do a zip line through a chilean forest and above a gorgeous river with rapids. Every day we traveled to different cities, museams, fairs and nature scenes. It really is true that Chile is like a whole world in one country. In the north it is pure desert and sand dunes but in the south it is cold with crystal lakes and volcanoes. Hopefully one day I will go to the north and put up some pictures for you guys.
Back to the tour.... For three nights in a row we stayed in Puerto Varas where we made day trips to see different beautiful locations. In Puerto Varas we stayed in little 5 person cabins overlooking a gorgeous lake. We had kitchens and everything so us U.S. girls got together and made all the foods that we missed from the U.S.: french toast, chocolate chips pancakes, ramen noodles, and quesadillas (well... mexico...).
During one of our day trips we went to Chiloé which is an island off of chile. It was so pretty and unique. There were old houses built on poles above the oceans. I have never heard of that before in any other location. We were able to go to the art fairs and buy hand-made crafts (I was going to try to send out presents from these fairs for christmas but there just wasnt time for all of that).
Meanwhile, in the bus, we all tried our best to speak only in Spanish and got to know each other. We talked about all our different cultures from around the world.
On one of our last days we went ice skating. I, being a Minnesotan, didnt have very many issues getting out there and skating, but that wasnt the case for everyone. Many of the exchange students had never seen a skating rink outside of the hollywood movies. We all helped out though and by the end everyone was skating together.
It´s such a weird feeling being an exchange student because I get to be so close to so many people. But, at same time, while we´re laughing together, I know that the chances of us ever meeting in our lifetime are close to nothing. The tour brought us all really close and well... all of them, but 4, are leaving in January and I will never see them again. Funny how that works huh?
I dont know what else i could write about the tour. My posting on the blog has been close to zero because, as most of you know, i changed families here and internet access is less available in my new house.
I only have one more week of school before my chilean summer! I am very excited, it should be great! School has been going really well. I do basically everything now and understand it. I took my first novel quiz this week. I read El Túnel in spanish and took a test on it! AND and i got an A! It was so amazing because I was able to understand everything. My class was a little mad though becuase my teacher was so proud of me that he made a point to tell the whole junior class about my high grade on the test. It didnt help that the majority of the class got Bs, Cs or lower. :)
I think that is everything for now but HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I love you all!
Back to the tour.... For three nights in a row we stayed in Puerto Varas where we made day trips to see different beautiful locations. In Puerto Varas we stayed in little 5 person cabins overlooking a gorgeous lake. We had kitchens and everything so us U.S. girls got together and made all the foods that we missed from the U.S.: french toast, chocolate chips pancakes, ramen noodles, and quesadillas (well... mexico...).
During one of our day trips we went to Chiloé which is an island off of chile. It was so pretty and unique. There were old houses built on poles above the oceans. I have never heard of that before in any other location. We were able to go to the art fairs and buy hand-made crafts (I was going to try to send out presents from these fairs for christmas but there just wasnt time for all of that).Meanwhile, in the bus, we all tried our best to speak only in Spanish and got to know each other. We talked about all our different cultures from around the world.
On one of our last days we went ice skating. I, being a Minnesotan, didnt have very many issues getting out there and skating, but that wasnt the case for everyone. Many of the exchange students had never seen a skating rink outside of the hollywood movies. We all helped out though and by the end everyone was skating together.It´s such a weird feeling being an exchange student because I get to be so close to so many people. But, at same time, while we´re laughing together, I know that the chances of us ever meeting in our lifetime are close to nothing. The tour brought us all really close and well... all of them, but 4, are leaving in January and I will never see them again. Funny how that works huh?
I dont know what else i could write about the tour. My posting on the blog has been close to zero because, as most of you know, i changed families here and internet access is less available in my new house.I only have one more week of school before my chilean summer! I am very excited, it should be great! School has been going really well. I do basically everything now and understand it. I took my first novel quiz this week. I read El Túnel in spanish and took a test on it! AND and i got an A! It was so amazing because I was able to understand everything. My class was a little mad though becuase my teacher was so proud of me that he made a point to tell the whole junior class about my high grade on the test. It didnt help that the majority of the class got Bs, Cs or lower. :)
I think that is everything for now but HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I love you all!
