After rushing around seemingly non stop for five straight days, it was definitely a nice change of pace to have a free weekend to ourselves, with no obligations and unlimited possibilities to explore. I already feel like I am honorary Chilean because of how we have been welcomed into the community, and even though we stand out like a sore thumb it seems like we aren't ordinary tourists any more. As such we decided not to do any real touristy sightseeing but rather wandered around our home city of Vina del Mar and got a taste of real Chilean culture. We met up with Mimo, who took out to lunch where we tried some terremotos (earthquakes), which is strong Chilean drink with pineapple ice cream. After lunch we were able to do some shopping at the local markets, which was great since I needed to get some gifts and souvenirs for myself.
The beautiful, bustling city of Vina del Mar
As the sun began to set, I and a couple of my friends made the probably ill advised decision to go plunge into the ice cold, winter water. However, I had never been in the Pacific Ocean before so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. It was absolutely freezing and dirty, but it was a great adrenaline rush and now I have a good story to tell. There are several videos to back up my story too. One thing that we saw was the sunset on the beach, which I realized I have never seen before since I've always lived on the east coast. I feel like I might have seen it in Europe at some point, but I don't remember it, so I'm counting this sunset as my very first. That night, we went over to our guide and friend Camilo's apartment and hung out with a bunch of his friends on the roof. We celebrated two birthdays, one Chilean and one of ours, and I met a lot of new Chilean friends who laughed at my attempts at Spanish and showed me some really crazy and fun Chilean party activities.
Sunset on the beach
On Sunday we really took a day off to relax and recover. We went out at 1:00 to get something to eat and watch the Chilean soccer game at a local Taco Bar. Chile lost to Mexico 1-0, even with all of us wearing our knock off Chile jerseys. The atmosphere was not as great as I anticipated, but we were at a less popular place and I think that most of the people were probably watching the game at their homes instead of going out since it was in the early afternoon.
After the game, we basically just relaxed for the rest of the day. I caught up on glee and updated my journals. We got dinner at a delicious Italian place and finished the night off with some quality gelato. The food has been tremendous all throughout the trip, but then again, I am comparing to Market Central food, which was my fine dining all year at school. Though we did not take advantage of the free day to see some more exciting places, I think we all needed a day to just rest after the long week we just had and the busy week we still have left to come.
Some true Chilean gelato?
The more and more I stay here, the more attached I feel to this country and its fantastic people and traditions. I feel like I am becoming one of them and I really wish we could stay longer than two weeks. I also really like and get along with all the other Pitt students on the trip. We really lucked out and got a great group of people who are all eager to explore and experience everything that Chile has to offer.
Until next time.... adios!
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