Dresden

Dresden

On the 28th we left Berlin for Dresden. Dresden is an absolutely gorgeous city (seems like I keep saying that, I must like this style of architecture), but after Berlin fell in WWII the center of the city was bombed. No one is sure of the reason it was bombed because the war was basically determined and the city had no industry. Unlike Berlin, the citizens of Dresden decided to rebuild in the city exactly as it was. Looking at the old churches and buildings it was obvious what part of the building had been destroyed and which part had survived. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

I don’t know if you all have noticed, but my blog is not nearly as detailed as my entries from Chile. This is because my ability to use the Internet here is not so good. Every hotel charges by the hour to use the internet (this hotel in Munich charges by the 15 minutes). So, I am unable to look up and check my facts about the buildings and history. Sorry. I’m not even sure if you care, but it’s fun for me to learn more about the city I’ve visited. This is just as much an online blog as an online diary for me about my trip.

Dresden has castles and palaces and museums and small shops and beautiful churches. I really really loved this city. We stayed with the sister of my dad’s cousin’s wife (if that isn’t confusing). It was fun to meet another side of the family and they have invited me back to visit. Hopefully, I will learn some German this semester and then I can go back and actually understand the conversations and even watch TV.

When I was in Chile, the majority of the shows were American shows with Spanish subtitles. That was nice for me, and if the shows were in Spanish I could at least speak the language. Here, not a chance. Unless I want to watch CNN all day….

Word of advice…. Learn at least a little bit of the language before you go to that country or bring a lot of DVDs. I have plenty of books and magazines, but after a long day of reading information at museums the last thing I want to read is BusinessWeek or BeeWoman.

Berlin

Very early (too early for me) on the 26th Clemens, dad, and I left Borken for Berlin. On the way Clemens insisted on stopping for the best pizza ever about 30 minutes outside of Potsdam. It was good…. But the cool part of the town was this huge pink house an artist built. Just look at the picture, it’s really neat.

We stopped in Potsdam to look a palace built by a Frenchman. The grounds were gorgeous, from the outside the palace was gorgeous, but we weren’t able to go inside unfortunately.

Then, around 4:00 in the afternoon we arrived in Berlin. Our hotel is located in West Berlin surrounded by some very beautiful and modern buildings. Berlin was bombed almost to the ground during WWII so there is a mixture here of old buildings and new. This picture is of the only part left standing of the church near our hotel. The citizens of Germany left the church as it is as a monument to the stupidity of war.

On our exploration of Berlin, we hopped from subways to trains across town. We saw the Reichstag, Check Point Charlie, A Story of Berlin (the history of the city), an Atomic Bomb Shelter, the Jewish Museum, and wandered the streets looking at the differences in the buildings and between East and West Berlin. If anyone goes to Berlin, you have to go to the "A Story of Berlin" museum. At least in this museum you can get a taste of what this city is all about. Then, I would recommend the Check Point Charlie Museum and the Jewish Museum. All of these museums are very interesting and we could have spent days in each of them reading all of the information. Everywhere you look there was something else to read, but my favorite part of all of these museums was the layout. The museums were interactive and you could touch stuff. The rooms were set up almost like a maze, so literally you could get lost wandering through history. The Jewish Museum's design and layout was symbolic of all kinds of stuff. Next time I go through I want to take the tour to learn all the symbolic meaning of the slanted floors, weird windows, and odd structures. And... the Jewish Museum was not as despressing as we expected. Since the 15th century when Constantine declared Christianity to be the state religion, the Jews have been pursecuted. Everytime they built themselves up in society, they were torn back down by jealous Chrisitians. But, somehow this religion has survived all of these centuries.

"The museum itself is a work of art, blurring the lines between architecture and sculpture."

If you guys are as interested in the Jewish Museum as I am (it's so neat) here's a good link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Museum_Berlin

A quote to end on by Barouch de Spinoza:

Borken & Muenster

Okay everyone…. I hope you all had a very very Merry Christmas. The 23rd, 24th and the 25th we were in Borken with Clemens’s family. After lunch on the 23rd we all went into a town (about 40 minutes away) called Muenster. Muenster is a very beautiful town with old buildings and expensive boutiques (just my style J). Also, they have a huge Christmas Market. The Christmas Market is set up throughout the entire city, with little booths set up everywhere selling everything from Gluewein (a very good hot red wine with herbs and sugar) to Christmas ornaments to expensive presents to handmade crafts. It was really interesting and fun to wander through the streets of this city.

After lunch on Christmas Eve, dad, I, Lynn, Anton, Clemens, Benedict, Felix, Max, Johanna, and I piled in two cars and drive to two castles nearby. We unfortunately could not go inside the castles because they were closed (probably because it was Christmas Eve), but it was still fun to look the castles and the property from the outside. Then, when we had returned home Mechthild & Otto had placed all the presents in the living room. So, once everyone else had their presents wrapped and downstairs we started to open presents. It was so fun because everyone opened one gift at a time. Like, I opened my present, picked up a random one, and gave it to the next person. It was fun to open gifts like that. Then, after the gifts and a quick snack for supper we all got ready for Christmas Eve mass.

Just to let everyone know, I am not catholic. I am not a big fan of catholic mass, but on Christmas Eve dad and I were taken to a catholic mass spoken entirely in German…. It was a very beautiful church and the choir sang very nicely. I did not understand a single word, and I prefer my one-hour protestant Christmas Eve service…. 9 a.m. to midnight in church is soooo long…. Then, unlike Christmas Eve at home, we all went to a pub. Clemens, my dad, and his brother Max went to a church party where they had some drinks and then met up with Felix, Benedict, Johanna, and I at the pub. Everyone goes out for a few drinks on Christmas Eve. A very good German tradition I believe….

This is a picture of Otto (Clemens' dad lighting the candles on the Christmas tree)

We celebrated the 25th a lot different from my tradition at home. The tree had real candles on it that we lit before we opened presents on Christmas Eve and then again at lunch on Christmas day. Also, Clemens parents are not divorced, so I didn’t have to go back and forth between two houses. Due to not going to bed until after 7:00 a.m., Felix and I slept until nearly 2:00. I think it was perfect timing because we were up just in time for lunch. The lunch that we had was a very nice Christmas dinner with goose and all kinds of other traditional German foods. Later in the evening, Clemens’ aunts, uncles, and grandparents came over for coffee and dessert. All in all, we had a very nice and enjoyable Christmas.

Amsterdam

Wow.... Amsterdam was an experience. After about 8 hours of traveling (flight to Philly then a 6 hour flight to Holland) and probably an hour of sleep, we arrived safely to Holland. We spent 2 days exploring Amsterdam, and now I am at Clemen's house for the Christmas (Clemens was our exchange student last year).

Amsterdam is a cool city because there are canals everywhere. There is a new canal every block or so. Way back in the 1200s and 1400s, the ship owners built their houses and storage facilities close to the canals for convience. Every house has large hooks at the top to hoist furniture up and down. The steps inside the houses are very narrow, so moving is impossible w/o using the hooks. The houses are side by side, with apartments inside the houses.... Behind most of the houses is a beautiful (but small) garden, green grass area. Towards the center of the city the houses have 4 or 5 floors, but all the houses on the same block are the same size. This is because it was rude to build a big house next to a small house. So, the poorer merchants built 3 story houses further from the city, and the richer ship owners built their 4 or 5 story houses near the center of town.

BIKES are EVERYWHERE. I almost got run over I don't even know HOW many times by people on bikes. And all the bikes look like they are from the 1940s (style wise) Hans said they all look a little old because if you have a nice, new bike it gets stolen. Clemens said this style is popular because it is nearly impossible to break.

The Red Light District.... wow. Prostitution is legal here. You can find any race, any size, and any aged woman (mostly 20 to about 55) just waiting for a customer... they stand half naked in a clear glass door all over the place. If the drapes are closed, they are with a client. It was crazy... There were sex stores all over the place, even a few sex museums. Oh, and coffee shops where they don't serve coffee. Resturants and cafes and pubs do not sell pot, but they sell alcohol. Coffee shops, on the other hand, do not sell alcohol, but they do sell pot. Listen to this Dutch law. It is illegal to grow it and sell it, but they turn their head to that so they can tax the sales. So, you can sell it in a coffee shop, smoke it anywhere, but you can't sell more than 2 grams at a time and you can't have more than 30 grams in the coffee shop. Interesting.....

My dad has a friend from Holland who grew up in Amsterdam, so our second day he came to the city and gave us (Dad, Lynn, Anton, and I) a walking tour of the city. That's when we went to Anne Frank's house... it was so moving to be there.... very interesting to see where they lived and hide from the Nazi's... if you ever get a chance to check it out you really should. The steps were so narrow, the bedrooms so small.... yet it seemed as if they managed. It's so sad that most of the family survied until the last month or so of the war (after they were discovered).... poor Otto (Anne's dad...)

Around 3:00 in the afternoon Hans daughter Stephanie came and met us for a boat tour of the city. That was neat. We got on a canal boat and were given a tour of the city from the canals.... I must say I didn't pay that much attention because Stephanie and I were speaking Spanish. Later, Hans's other daughter Alina met up with us and the three girls went shopping for a few hours. The shopping here is really nice. Really really nice. Designer clothing, normal clothing, and of course touristy stuff.

I really enjoyed Amsterdam. It's fun to just wander around and get lost in a city.

OFF TO GERMANY

Hello hello....

My dad and I are skipping the holidays this year... so I will be in Germany for the next two weeks!

I'll be posting my pictures again and you guys can leave me messages and stuff just like last time :)

LOVE YA!

**Home Sweet Home**

After numerous problems with my flight, a 7 hour lay-over in Argentina, a 10 hour flight to D.C., waiting for over an hour in customs, loosing my luggage, and having the worst sore throat ever, I am finally home. The airlines manually inspect ever piece of baggae and you can't take an liquid or gel articles with you on the plane. My deoderant & nail polish got confiscated.... bummer

I think this flight was the longest trip of my life.... I left Vina del Mar at 6 a.m. and didn't arrive in Weirton until 2 p.m. the next day.... all because of that damn 7 hour layover in Argentina.


But... I'm home and my adventure is over. This past month was the best month of my life..... only those of you who know me extremly well know how much this has helped me with so many different aspects of my life.

**Iquique will always have a special place in my heart**

*Chucha*

Yeah.... normally I would be really pumped to be coming home tomorrow. I have my wine, my pisco, my souviners, everything. Then I go to LAN Chile today to ask about what I can take on the plane since terrorists are ruining everyone's life. Yup. I can take with me on the plane these 3 things: my passport, my flight ticket, and some money. How fun and fabolous is that? So let's see, I arrive at the Santiago airport around 11:00 tomorrow. My flight's at 2... 3 hours to Argentina....4 hour lay-over in Argentina...10 hours to D.C. .... hour and a half in the airport....then another hour to Cleveland

Yup... I'm going out tonight and staying out as late as my body can handle because I'm going to have nothing else to do except sleep ALL DAY LONG.

*muah* When I am reunited with my cell phone in Cleveland, I will call everyone! And Daddy, I'll call you from a pay phone in D.C. I guess.... they still have those right? ;)

Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, & Reuñca

I'm staying in a bangin' apartment with one of the coolest families I've met here. They have a daughter whose 21, a son whose 19, and another daughter whose 14. And their grandmother is the sweetest person ever (definately reminds me of my grandma...miss you grammie!) But anyways....

Yesterday Tannia and I went to Valparaiso and basically lost ourselves in the city. We rode "ascensores" which are like the incline in Pittsburgh. Valparaiso is a city built into the hills, so there are 15 ascensores to lift you threw the city. They were built between 1883 and 1916 and look really rickety, but are actually really safe. I rode Ascensor Concepcion & another smaller ascensor that I don't remember the name.

~Ascensor Concepcion was the first ascensor to be built in 1883 & was orginially powered by steam. The entrance is kind of hidden inside the Turri cock tower.

We went to The Paseo 21 de Mayo & the Museo Naval. The view... wow. I love this city. Every house is so colorful & everywhere you walk the view is just as beautiful as the last place you where.

We left there & went to La Sebastiana which one of the houses of Pablo Neruda. No wonder his poetry was so gorgeous...his house is absolutely amazing. Every room is set up with huge windows with an absolutely gorgeous view. He was intriged by the sea & had a passion for ships so the stairwells in this house have portholes for windows & are kind of narrow like those you would find on a ship. Every wall & room is bright and colorful to represent the color & brillance of Valparaiso. And he collected all kinds of neat stuff that are on display in his house. Honestly, if you go to Valparaiso and don't go to La Sebastiana you're out of your mind.

Later in the afternoon I met up with my host brother from Iquique (Carlos) and we went driving around in Rueñca and the other little beaches on the other side of Viña del Mar. (Picture Viña del Mar and to the left is Valparaiso and to the right is Rueñca. All like a 10 minute drive from each other. And standing on the beach in Viña you can see both cities)

*Pictures*

I'm not sure how many of you are computer savy so I just want to let you all know that I have posted pictures of Santiago & Valpariaso. I have so many pictures now so they are on multiple pages. ;) Only 2 more days......

Weather

Okay. Forgot to tell ya'll about the weather. In Iquique it was "winter," people were wearing gloves, scarfs, and winter jackets. Did I mention that it was about 70 degrees? I was walking around in t-shirts looking at these people like they were nuts. I think one day it was actually cold enough to wear a jacket. But gloves and a toboggan COME ON NOW. LOL It was comical. At night, it got chilly. At night when I went walking around with Fernando I would wear a long-sleeve shirt, jeans, and my jacket. I didn't spend much time on the beach since it was only 70 or so. I got some sun when I went to Huayca (the desert), and it was hot there. I really don't want to know how hot it gets in the summer if these people thought 70 was cold.

In Santiago, it was like 50 degrees. Rainy & cloudy. But the snow-capped mountains were beautiful. Unfortunatly, I didn't get to go skiing so I can't do a comparision for ya :(

Here, in Viña del Mar it´s probably 50 or 60 degrees. Today I wore a turtle neck and no jacket, but at night you need the jacket. It´s no freezing, just chilly.

Yup. That´s the weather. Oh yeah, and in Iquique everyday is the same. Sunny. Maybe cloudy for a little bit because it´s winter, but it NEVER EVER rains there. The Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world. Here, in Viña del Mar and Santiago it rains. It rained today :( my first day of rain in a month.... But it only rained for about 30 minutes.

p.s. Viña del Mar & Valpariaso are the most beautiful cities that I have ever seen.

Chao Chao mis amigos

Santiago

In Iquique, I lived with a doctor who has a sister in Santiago. Pola invited me to spend a few days with her family in Santiago, and Jose has a friend in Viña del Mar that has also invited me to stay with him for my last three days. Very exciting for me because I have this opportunity to know three more cities. In a few hours I am leaving Santiago to go to Viña del Mar, but yesterday I explored Santiago. Another adventure for me because I was all alone in a city that I do not know AT ALL. Pola and Arturo had to work all day yesterday, so it was either explore alone or sit in an apartment all day by myself. Pola gave me some direction on where I should go and how to get there and off I went. I took a metro (subway) to Palacio de la Moneda, which used to be a residential palace for the presidents of Chile but is now the official seat of government. Underneath is a small museum with some interesting culture displays.

After I was done wondering around the square, I hopped back on the metro to the Museo Nacional Bellas Artes... me encanta este museo. I loved the exhibit of photos from Abelardo Morell. After a few hours of admiring the paintings and photography and sculptors of Chileans artists, I walked around in the park next to the museum and wandered up and down the streets. For about 4 hours I basically lost myself in the city.... it was so relaxing. Did I mention I don´t want to come home?

Then last night this family had a party for Cote for her 27th birthday. So I met some family and friends and chilled for a little with them before I went out with a friend that I met in Iquique. We went to a local pub for a drink, and had a Long Island Ice Tea... but it was different. Had 2 different liquors in it and WOW, so much better. You´d be surprised at how much sweeter the drink is here and with Sprite instead of Coke. And when they serve drinks here the give you this glass filled with liqour, a bottle of Sprite or Coke, and an empty glass with ice cubes. So you mix your drink yourself. Basically, I had 3 Long Islands for $4.00.... quite fabolous.

Dia del Niño

Okay, so here in Chile they have a holiday called ¨Dia del Niño.¨ It´s like Father´s Day and Mother´s Day only for the kids. It was this past Sunday (August 6th) and I went with Jose Fuente's family, Jonathon & Karina and their family, and one other family to a huge park in Huayca. Here we had a cook out and the kids ran around and played all day.

For me, this was my final cookout with two of my families. The final time to play with Hanson, Matthew, and Nicolas... the last time to chat with Loranne & Karina.... it was a really special day for me because I was able to spend the entire day with my families before I left for Santiago. And I know I'm coming back as soon as possible, so I shouldn't get sad about saying good-bye. But it's so hard to say good-bye to people that you love so much.

**FINALLY**

Okay, I'm not sure if any of you care, but I am currently a little excited. Today (my first day in Santiago) I went to the mall to have some coffee with my new "mom" and her sister at the mall. Then they had to leave to go do something and I just walked around the mall for a few hours. AND I FINALLY FOUND RANCH DRESSING. It's called something completely different, and it's not quite as good buuuuttt at least it's something b/c I was dying for some fries & ranch. :)

Okay.... so about Santiago. It's big. The snow-capped mountains are so beautiful. It's not too cold, turtle neck & jacket. It's raining right now. Yup, basically I'm back in West Virginia except in a bigger city with bigger mountains....

Tomorrow when I know more about the city I'll fill you all in. I just thought you would rest a lot better knowing that I have finally found some ranch dressing.

~Chau Iquique~

Saying good-bye is so hard..... saying good-bye to the boy, to the families, to my friends.... I am so thankful for this opportunity, it has truly been the best few weeks of my life. I can't wait to come back to Iquique with Patti in March.... I can't even find the words to write other than that good-bye is so hard.

In an hour I'm off to Santiago for 2 days, maybe going skiing at Colorado on Thursday, then Friday and Saturday it's Viña del Mar and Valparaiso.... my last few adventures and my final good-byes to my friends who go to college in Santiago & Viña....

This time next week I won´t be Staci Malibu anymore.... this time next week I´ll be home and it´s back to my life, my responsibilities, and my obligations.....

Un poco triste...

Wow.... this month has really flown by. Especially the last week or so. Tonight I didn't feel like going dancing or to the pub or bar because my body needs a break. And, I'm just not really in the mood. Tomorrow I'm going to have a cookout with Jose's family and another family that I'm close with... and I think it will be the last time that I see them & today I ate dinner with the Fuentes family.... I leave Tuesday afternoon for Santiago, Viña del Mar, & Valparaiso so it's hitting me that I'm not going to get these moments back.

For any of you that know me really well know that the past year or so of my life has been rather fast-passed and stressfull. Work...school....ski team.... relationship.... This has been the perfect relaxer for me. I've been able to unwind and really have fun. No responsibilities no obligations. And I've come to appreciate every single moment because life is too short. I had one month here and I can honestly say that I did everything I possibly could. I went surfing, parachuting, to parties with a lot of different people.... I was homesick one day/night and only was bored for 2 afternoons. As I reflect on my time here, I can't recollect much time spent sleeping. Everyday I did something different. I'm really proud of myself for actually "livin' it up" as much as I possibly could....

At least Patti & I are coming back here for Spring Break.... that makes things a little easier for me to say good-bye to my friends and new families here....

~Staci Malibu~

Okay okay.... maybe I should talk about the culture here a little bit. Any of you that knows me very all, knows that I am a very time & detail oriented person. I always like to know what time I need to be places and what time events start & whose going to be there and what we are going to do. Not that I'm ever on time or it really matters, I just like to know. Yeah... here it's impossible to know any of this stuff. Which makes it rather difficult sometime. Especially when someone is like do you want to go out tonight. Sure, what time? Whenever..... that doesn't make things very easy for me. Or they'll say 11 and won't show up until almost 12.

They eat mayo on EVERYTHING.... which now I do too. It's actually kind of good on a hot dog w/ some ketchup & avocado. Or rice... or corn.... yeah I know sounds gross but it's good

The girls are all pretty and laid back. The guys are cute & love to dance.

Parties don't start until at least 11:30... you don't go to the bar until 1... it stays open until at least 5 or 6 a.m. Drink specials start at 11:30 and end at 2. By one, get one for "happy hour" most of the time.... Pretty nice for those people that don't like to go out early. Adults go out and go dancing until 5 a.m. ANNNDDD they go out during the week sometimes, and stay out late even if they have to work in the morning.

Lunch is the most important meal. Families typically eat together and eat a big lunch. It's normally to take 2 hours off of work for lunch.

THERE ARE DOGS EVERYWHERE. Like homeless dogs... it's actually really sad because noone takes care of them so they are kind of ugly....

PDA is normal. It's normal to see people cuddling and kissing on the beach or in the parks. You greet y our friends with a kiss on the cheek, and you typically greet everyone when you enter a party. (which to me is kind of annoying because i don't know everyone and it's so time consuming)

Empanadas are amazing :)

Most families have at least one nanny to care for the kids and cook. Sometimes two. And other families don't have any.

Every house has high walls or gates over doors and windows because robberies are common. All the houses are extremly bright and colorful. The insides are gorgeous, most everyone has a pool in their yard. Grass is not common because it never rains. There is grass, but it's expensive because it has to be watered ALOT.

They listen to a lot of techno in the club, which i can't stand. Salsa is soooo fun to dance to, but I need practice. And of course my favorite is reggeaton & hip hop. It's really common to hear old American songs from the 80s and 90s. But their the classics so it's fun for me. I can flash back to different eras. I love it when they play American songs because I can sing along. Not very many girls wear heels here.... which sucks for me because i LOVE my heels. It's just so hard to walk here because of the sand and dirt and uneven sidewalks and distances. It's easier to dance in tennis shoes anyway.... hmmm what else.....

Noone knows what the hell a "coach" bag is.... 9 west & Guess are really popular. Sketchers for tennis shoes too, but the sketchers here are actually cute. The tennis shoes here as a whole are really cute. The clothes are more or less cute, some I like others I don't.

EVERYONE watches the Simpsons (it's in Spanish) and everytime I introduce myself the first thing they say is "ooo Staci Malibu" yup... I'm a Barbie here. LOL I'm pretty much the only girl with "blonde" short hair and honey colored eyes. So, I'm normally the center of attention because I'm different. Which is cool sometimes, but sometimes I just want to be normal you know?

I hate being called "la gringa" or a "gringo." I hate it when people try to talk to me super fast and when I don't understand they automatically assume that I can't speak Spanish when the truth is they just don't talk properly. And they ALWAYS want to practice their English. Honestly, if I wanted I probably could never have to speak Spanish. Chileans speak really poor Spanish for the most part, a lot of slang, and they slur their words together. But, when I talk to people who are paciente and can speak properly if they try or if they are from Peru or Colombia or another country I can understand. It's fun for me to talk with people from other countries because I don't feel so bad about my inability to understand everything because they tell me how hard it was for them at first too and Spanish is their native language. :) And they always tell me how good my Spanish is which makes me feel good because sometimes I get so frustrated.

hmmmm that's all I can think of for now.... and I have to get ready to go out dancing... it is my last Friday in Iquique gotta live it up while I can ;)

chau

Parapente

So.... I just realized that I haven't written anything about when I jumped off a mountain. I'm sure you've all looked at the pictures though....

My first weekend here my Spanish wasn't so great. I understood the majority of what people said, if I listened really closely.... but normally I didn't listen very closely. Which made my life rather exciting. So when Jose asked me if Saturday I wanted to parapente, sure. No problem. Then.... Saturday morning rolls around and I figure out what parapente is. We drive up to the top of the mountain here in Iquique, me, Connie, her dad, and another guy (the other guy has this huge brightly colored bag thingy).... I'm looking around at the top of this mountain like "wow, this is really pretty up here" and I'm taking pictures. Then I turn around and this guy is putting on a helmet and hands me one. Okay.... what did I get myself into? Connie decides she doesn't want to do it because she's scared of heights (loser) and it's just me and this instructor. But for some reason I'm not really nervous. I get all strapped into this contraption (a giant parachute) and watch another guy take off. He just walked to the edge of the mountain and was in the air. Pretty simple. I'm thinking to myself, "okay if I watch one more person I'll be fine, I won't be nervous or anything" but nope. My instructor (who is strapped in behind me) tells me to start walking and because I am a midget I didn't even have to jump off the mountain. The wind just lifted us right off the ground. I think he jumped though because he was like a foot taller than me.

It was so relaxing. We just floated around with the birds for like a half hour or more until we landed on the beach. So beautiful.... so relaxing.... and I was not nervous or scared at all. Definately an adventure I recommend & would love to do again....

Another adventure...

Okay, so yesterday I went to a friend's for lunch, then with Jose to change my flight so that I can go to Santiago, Viña del Mar, and Valparaiso for a few days, then the mall. While I was at the mall (of course buying new clothes because I´m bored with mine), I called a friend. He says, sure come to my house don´t walk around alone. Problem, I can´t understand how to tell the cab driver how to get to his house. Which is different than the last time I was there b-c he moved. So, I get in the cab, he tells the driver how to get there. 10 minutes later, I´m standing on the street in a place I don´t recoginze and my freaking phone won´t work. Yeah.... you know how in Morgantown around 9 or 10 on a Thursday or Friday it´s nearly impossible to get a call out. You know that weird beeping and then the disconnection that we get? Yeah, that happened. EXCEPT the difference here is that my phone here isn´t a plan. It´s like prepaid minutes or something, I don´t know and I don´t really understand. And whenever it feels like it, it runs out of minutes and I´m stranded. On the street in front of what might or might not be my friend´s house.... Thank god the cab driver was concerned for my safety and didn´t just drive off. He waited and then offered to take me back to my house. So, as we´re driving along chatting (the driver insisted on practicing his English which was fine with me) BAAAAAMMMMMM we get hit from behind. Yup, I was in a traffic accident yesterday. Minor, I mean I think the cab got messed up a little bit, but I was perfectly fine. So, we continued on our merry way back to ¨my¨house. As soon as I walked through the door Christian called wondering where the hell I was.... it would happen like that. He couldn´t have called when I was standing outside his door.

I hate my cell phone here, it is worthless. I´m sorry, but it is pointless to have prepaid minutes because when you have an emergency and you´re out of minutes, your screwed. I will always and forever have a ¨plan¨ even if it is more expensive!!

posting

YEAHHHH

Thank god Clemens is intelligent, because I'm definately not. Now you guys can post comments without signing up for an account.

SWEETNESS. I like reading your guy's comments, it makes me smile & remember how amazing my friends are.

MISS YOU ALL

My Cellphone

Hey, I'm going to take a minute to talk about my cellphone. Yesterday I had like 5 phone calls, but I answered none of them. I just want to let everyone know that for me to use my USA phone, it's like $1.50 a minute. And when you call me, your name & number doesn't show up. So for all I know, instead of it being a close friend it might be someone that I really don't feel like talking to you know?? Not to mention my dad just might kill me if my cell bill is outrageous from answering all these phone calls. Buuuuttt.... I do have a cell phone here, a Chilean cell phone. So, if you REALLY want to talk to me great. Leave me a message on here, facebook, AOL, or e-mail me and I'll give you my cell number here. ORRRRR just talk to me on AOL. It's totally up to you. I just don't want you all to think I'm being a brat by not answering my cell. I just enjoy my life too much to see it end when my cell bill comes in the mall for the past month. ;)

Fotolog

Okay, so today I hung out with a new friend (Maria Jose) and she told me about Fotolog. It's like a blog for pictures. I can upload pictures and you all can leave messages really easy. I am under the impression that to leave a message for me on here it's a pain in the ass because you have to create an account, but on Fotolog you don't have to. It's like posting stuff on facebook for those of you that know what facebook is. The only downfall is that I can only post one picture a day. (and I didn't know how the rotate the picture, so the first one is sideways....i'll figure it out someday) So, I'm going to add a new picture of me every day, write a little bit about the picture and then you guys can leave me some love.

You don't understand how much I appreciate the comments left on my blog, it makes me feel like you guys really do miss me. I write this blog for those few people that enjoy reading it, and for my friends and family that I miss so much.

So check out fotolog if you feel like it and leave me some love so that I know I'm missed....

*MUAH*

~Cony~

Okay, now that I’ve had time to mourn the loss of my friend I can write about her. So Cony, this is your special tribute. Cony is the daughter of Jose who lives in the US with her mom. She was here the for about the first week I was here, but then unexpectedly and suddenly she had to go home. Which was very traumatic for me. See, she is fluent in both Spanish AND English so she was my personal translator. Without Cony I am forced to actually pay attention to when people talk to me. And I hate to say it, but without Cony my life is just not complete. LOL Cony and I had a different adventure everyday, I’m telling you this girl is out of control. Always wanting to go somewhere and look for an adventure of some sort. What kind of adventures did we have? Hmmm…. There was the surfing lesson, parachuting, and the time we thought the nanny was a burglar. Don’t know that story?

So, I am staying at the house of a doctor and his family, but the first 10 days he and his family were in South Chile for a vacation. So it was just me, Cony, and the nanny. Also, the doctor had his hardwood floor re-done, so we couldn’t walk through the front door. We had to use the sliding glass door to the kitchen, walk through the kitchen, outside to the pool, then into our room through another sliding glass door. We couldn’t lock the doors, because they didn’t have locks or keys. And we were limited to the kitchen, our room, and a little computer room to hang out in the house. Cony’s last day, we forgot the keys and she had to scale the wall to let us into the house, which after she did that made me feel real uncomfortable. I mean, it was rather easy (but incredibly funny to watch) for her to scale the wall, then enter the house with the unlocked doors. Later that night, before Cony and I were leaving to go to Papa Gallo for some drinks all of a sudden the door in the kitchen is pulled shut. Strange. Then the light goes on. Cony is like “Staci, there’s someone in the kitchen.” We totally didn’t think it was the nanny because she always talks to us, so we start freaking out. Not to mention, it was the weekend and we hadn’t seen her in 2 days, so we thought she was visiting family in Bolivia. There’s not much noise being made or anything, but we can see shadows. So I’m like, okay Cony we need to call the cops just in case you know. As soon as she starts whispering in her cell phone, the lights go out. Like 5 minutes later I see shadows in the window of the bedroom of the nanny, so I creep over the window with my mini pepper spray (thank you mommy). And I discovered that it was the nanny in there after all. But…. I mean, who the hell does that? Who the hell comes in late at night when two girls are there and doesn’t even speak to them. I mean honestly, we were scared to death. And we truly did not believe that the house was safe (robberies are pretty common here), so we went to Papa Gallo’s then the beach with friends until the sun came up.

That same night, while on the beach we for some reason decided it was a good idea to instead of walking down the ramp to the beach, we would run/walk/sink down the huge sand dune or whatever it was. Then, we ran up it like 3 times to go back into the house to get a sweatshirt, use the bathroom, etc. Talk about amusing…. Oh yeah, and the nanny apparently not caring about us very much locked the kitchen door from the outside. And took the key. Which meant we couldn’t get into our room…. Unless we walked on across the hardwood floor. So, we did what we had to do. Yeah, let’s see passed out at 7:30 a.m. get woken up around 9:30 by the man who did the floor and get lectured in Spanish….. not cool. I had no clue what he was saying. Spanish + early mornings after late nights = not happening

I’m sorry for all of you who are reading this and not caring. And Kelly, yes I know that I am probably rambling, buuuut Cony I know that you will appreciate these stories. So everyone else either quit reading or enjoy!

Hmmm…. Then there was the day when we were bored, but our feet hurt so incredibly bad that we could not possibly walk around the mall any longer. So we decided to see a movie. The only movie we could see was “Over the Hedge” only called “Vecinarios Invasores” and completely in Spanish. And we liked it…. Not so much the little kids climbing all (literally climbing) over the theater. Over chairs, crawling up and down the aisles….

Then, there was the time at Zofri when we bought clothes and the crazy salesman (who yes, spoke some English just not much and not very well. I mean my Spanish was better than his English, which didn’t say very much for him at the time.) wouldn’t let us leave the store. I think we said 50 times we did NOT want to buy jeans since we had already bought boots & jackets…. And then there was the crazy guy who like I thought was going to like attack me or something. La la la we were just walking along talking about boys and how cheap liquor is here and all of a sudden this creepy guy is like staring at me and walking towards me. And when I say staring in mean like creepy, staring with a passion into my eyes and my face. Like all the way to like 5 inches from my face, but thank god keeps walking in the other direction. “Cony, did we meet him last night with Johana or what? Who the hell is that?” She had no clue….. creepy is all I can say.

Cony and I almost got beat up by some women at the festival for the Virgin del Carmen in La Tirana. We were minding our own business waiting in line at the church to see the Virgin del Carmen when all of a sudden I get nudged in the hip. This women behind me is trying to get a head of me and Cony because her daughter or something was with other family in front of us. (This line was long & we had been waiting for quite some time) I mean this lady was honestly, rude. We were in line first and she was obviously behind us. She kept nudging me and nudging me, but Cony and I weren’t moving and we had the upper hand because the little fence thing was to our immediate left so we couldn’t be knocked out of place. Then, she nudges me again this time almost knocking me over and I finally turned and looked at her. She rattled off something in Spanish, which I ignored because I didn’t care too much. Then she said something else along the lines of me letting her in front of me and I was a brat and I looked at her just o-so-sweetly and in perfect English “I’m sorry mam’ but I don’t speak Spanish.” Cony & I won of course & walked up to see the Virgin (which wasn’t all that amazing actually)…. If you don’t think that was funny I totally understand…. But had you been there and seen this lady and her face ooo soooo funny. Especially since she knew I spoke Spanish….. it’s the little things in life which amuse me so much.

But Cony…. My favorite memory with you is when your dumb ass forgot to get your change. So, we decide while were at La Tirana to buy some souvenirs, which were like a dollar. We both pay with $20s (the money is different here, but to explain the exchange rate and pesos right now, just isn’t worth it) and bounce. Like 20 minutes later, we decide to buy another souvenir. Except Cony can’t find her money. I’m like, oh god you lost your wallet, someone robbed you. “Wallet, who needs a wallet? I just throw my money in my huge suitcase of a purse and try to find it later. It’s only tough to find when I have a zillion items in my purse and it’s pitch black outside….” So we’re in the middle of the street trying to find her money, her dad and her are going through her purse while Nicolas is holding his cell phone for light and I am silently laughing. Her dumb ass had forgotten to get her change from the woman earlier. So we had to walk all the way back across town and convince this woman that Cony didn’t get her change. Needless to say, she bought a wallet that night.

Cony my love…. Our goal lives on through me & I have fulfilled it the only problem is that your not here to enjoy it with me. But, when I return we will be reunited and create a new goal & live it up ;) MISS YOU!!!!

Zofri & Mall de los Americas

Okay, so Iquique has lots of places to shop here.... which means that I am in heaven. Iquique is a port city and it happens to be basically the cheapest city in Chile. Everything here (or so I've been told) is basically cheaper than any other city in Chile because it's a port city and because of Zofri. Zofri, is a HUGE "mall." There are tons of stores just kind of crammed together, but everything is so cheap. For example, a bottle of Jack Daniels costs ummm $8. They have tons of electronic stores, too bad I'm not into electronics so I can't give you a comparision on prices. But it has to be cheaper because there is no TAX. The entire area of Zofri is duty free.... you can buy a Mercedes, a BMW, and all the other kinds of cars at Zofri, I bought boots & a jacket so far and I plan on buying some jewlery before I leave. Oh yeah, and the other thing that is different about Zofri, the stores are so tiny inside, but all the stuff they sell is on display in the window panes. To cut down on robbery I assume. So it's pretty cool to shop, it is the ultimate window shopping.

Lets see.... then there is the Mall of Americas. It is like our malls. The quality of clothes is better than that in Zofri. There are some clothing stores with decent clothes, but more of the clothing stores in Zofri are kind of cheap with poor quality clothes. (Not ALL but the majority). So if you want to buy clothes you go to the Mall of Los Americas or Ripley. Ripley is like the Chilean version of Kaufman's. And you can't go into Ripley without your Ripley card or you pay like double the price. (Thank GOD I have made some shop-a-holic friends that of course have a Ripley card)

And there are all kinds of small street vendors with local crafts and jewlery that are really neat to look at....

Pica

Okay, I think that I should probably update this blog. I've been lazy with it the last few days because I was kind of homesick and needed to keep busy otherwise I'd think about home too much.

So, last weekend I went basically to the middle of the Atacama Desert with a Rotarian and his wife. For those of you who don't know, the Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world. It gets like no rain ever. We went to the Huasco Valley where a friend of theirs lives so that I could see what life in the desert is like. Their friend is an anthropolist professor in Iquique, but on the weekends he and his wife drive to their house in Huasco. Yeah, if you thought West Virginia was boring and in the middle of nowhere definately re-think that one. This guy lives in a FOR REAL ghost town. Waaayy back in the day there used to be more water in the area and a society lived there. So he is studying how they lived. On my pictures, I took a picture of what looks like trenches or ditches in a row, that was their system of irrigation. I understood about 3/4 of what the guy was telling me about the desert which was pretty interesting. But I don't want to type it out just in case I misunderstood. I'd hate to put my foot in my mouth and mis-educate everyone.

That night we stayed in the town (there is a town about 10 minutes away from that guy's house in the middle of nowhere) at a Rotarian's house. The next morning, all I wanted to do was take a shower, but apparently when you're in the middle of nowhere they don' t have hot water.... so I was dusty and gross all day. Sunday, we went to Pica & Matilla. Neighboring towns that have natural hot springs & like natural hot water pools. The towns are sooo small though, not much to do & I am not so much a fan for the middle of the desert. I give major props to those brave souls that live there because it is so hot, not much color, & definately nothing to do.

I have pictures posted from Huasco, Pica, & Matilla on my webshots, so check those out because it just takes way to long to put them on my blog.

When I get back....

Things that I plan on doing ASAP:

1. Eat a gigantic steak salad w/ lots of ranch dressing
2. Eat onion rings w/ ranch dressing
3. Eat french fries w/ ranch dressing
4. Lie in the grass
5. Play golf
6. Go to Bent with my girls, drinkWashington Apples & Pineapple Upside Downcakes
7. Wear stilettos & a skirt to Bent
8. Play with my kittens
9. Eat Fettucini Alfredo
10. Take a nice, hot shower (these showers here are killin' me... now I'm in a house w/ 3 other girls and I'm always the last to take a shower)
11. Eat a Ceaser Salad
12. Call all of my close friends as soon as I land in D.C. (at 6:45 a.m.)
13. Can't wait to sleep in my bed
14. Drink too much with Randi
15. Go out with George to my favorite bar
16. USE MY 21 ID
17. Drink Captin & Ginger Ale
18. Be scandolus with Patti
19. Spend time with my family & friends just talking about everything I missed
20. DRINK MILK & LOTS OF IT (the milk here is totally different and sucks!)

Missin' ev'ryone

Two nights ago I went to a party with my friend Carlos and his friends. So far everyone I've met has been so nice and understanding with my Spanish. Some people have wanted to practice their English and others have helped me fix my mistakes in my converstaion. Until Friday night... I met two guys who had the audacity to say to me "I don't understand you, speak English." You know, their English wasn't that great, but I tried to understand them. In that moment, I started to miss my friends. My slang.My cuss words. My 3 Olives Cherry. My clothes. And yes, my stilettos. The girls here don't wear stilettos & they never have on skirts or dresses. Jeans & cute tops. I'm sick of my jeans and shirts. I want to get dressed up and go to the club with my girls. I want to wear my stilettos and fall all over the damn place.

I miss Patti & her popped collers... I miss phone calls from people (like Baker & Maggie) begging me to come to the club... I miss Randi getting me to drink more than I should....I miss my "sanctuary"....I miss my big and her boy stories.... I miss Jennifer's random comments.... I miss talking to my close friends (and you know who you are) & complaining & speaking English .....I miss the food of the Pines (just to clarify, I don't miss the work or the situations that I have to deal with daily)... but I do miss my co-workers (my fellow slaves) & my managers & my favorite members that are so nice to me everyday I'm there.... I miss the mountains & the grass & the river.... and I miss seeing a NORMAL hot dog....I miss my family & my pets....I miss drunk texting & getting drunk dialed.... I miss my seXI's....I miss Bent & Vice & Lizard & RANCH DRESSING

I am having a good time here, I just want you all to know that I really do miss you. A lot.

*muah*

La Comida

I think that I have spent sufficient enough time here to have formed an opinion about the food. First of all, it’s extremely difficult for me to go out to eat because I have no freaking clue what the menu is saying. Yeah, I can speak Spanish and read Spanish, but specific names of fish, and meat, and dishes that is a whole different ball game. Annnnd, so far all the restaurants that we have eaten at the menus don’t have descriptions of the food. Just the name and the price. So, I typically just take a whim and hope for the best. For those picky eaters, I think you would starve to death.

With every meal, there is “Ensalada Chileana” and it is sliced or diced tomatoes & onions. Sometimes it is a little spicy (which is how I prefer it), but most of the time it’s just normal. I love tomatoes and even more onions, so sometimes that’s my favorite part of the meal. Their “salads” don’t have dressing. You get a plate with lettuce & whatever vegetables comes with the type of salad you unknowingly ordered. I couldn’t eat the one “salad” with cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and lettuce because I NEEDED dressing. All I want is a little Italian and I would be okay…..

I’ve eaten a lot of different variations of meat, and they’ve all tasted normal. I had a really good kind of fish the other day. But my favorite so far has been Empanadas. Emmm…. I had one with cheese, one with like meat, onions, and egg or something like that, and one that had seafood in it. (an empanada is basically bread folded over something like cheese and then fried a little bit) The seafood one I didn’t care for much, but it was worth a shot.

Let’s see…. I’m going to talk about the combinations of food. Like, for example when I think of hot dog I think “chilli, onions, ketchup, mustard, maybe coleslaw, relish” something along those lines. Right? Right. Here, nope. It’s more like “salsa verde, tomatoes, avocado, mayonnaise, maybe ketchup or mustard, salsa, hmmm what else, onions.” Just imagine how weird that would look. Now, look at the pictures. Yes, a hot dog fast food jammie @ the mall, and yes I ate one of those things. With avocado, tomatoes, salsa verde, & mayo and surprisingly I didn’t throw up. Actually it was quite delicious. For another combination, try ketchup in your rice. Or mayonnaise. Or both. Quite good once again. Let’s see… last night I had pizza with hot dog, pepperoni, chicken, the normal cheese and marinara sauce, and pineapple. Not so good…. I have to draw the line somewhere with the obsession with hot dogs. I mean, hot dogs aren’t even real meat…. Blah… I’ve eaten pizza that just had cheese & ham & tomato on it (no marinara sauce)… it was okay. Honestly right now I could go for some BCW pizza right about now (Kelly can you hook me up w/ some from Curly’s pleeeaaazzzze?)

I am obsessed with “manjar” on my bread. I could try all day to describe it, but I would never do it justice. It’s the texture of peanut butter, but it’s sooooo sweet. Almost like honey but not as sweet. Basically it’s my heaven on earth of Chilean food right now.

Don’t drink the milk. It’s gross. It’s so different than US milk, they sell it in cartons & it’s warm. You treat it like juice, only refrigerate after opening. Either drink their COLD chocolate milk or only put it in your coffee. Their juice is really good. They have tons of juice in all different flavors and it’s completely natural. My fav is Pineapple. Emmmmm…..

They have McDonalds and KFC here, but I haven’t eaten there. I really don’t care for either when I’m in the USA, so it makes no difference to me if I eat it now. Apparently, in Santiago there are more American restaurants.

Enough for now….

K-World Ltda.

The pic on the left is of their warehouse, and the right is Karina with a huge shipment of clothes. She's 5 months pregnant :)
















I have finally found out where all the clothes go that the Goodwills can't sell.

Yesterday I hung out all day with Karina & Jonathon Rameriz. They're really close friends with Jose and they have their own business of import/export. They buy used clothing, shoes, toys, etc from Goodwills and Salvation Armys and then sell then to people in Bolivia. The people in Bolivia are very poor and buy the stuff like hot cakes. But, the won't buy the high heels because the mountains are so hilly.

I helped Karina out with some business today because she need to talk to an American guy in NC & I did the talking/negotiating for her. She wants me to help her out when I get back to the US. She needs someone to find new suppliers, check the quality of the shipments, and negotiate prices. Pretty cool..... This kind of job is down a lot over the phone and threw e-mail and involves some traveling. Who knows, but it is pretty cool that I got a job offer and I haven't even graduated yet.

This picture is of the high-heels that they throw away because Bolivian people won't buy them.

Opps....

So, the plugs here are different than in the US which means that I have to use an adapter for everything. Not a big deal. Yeah, right. I tried to use my hair dryer for the first time yesterday & definately knocked the power out of the ENTIRE FREAKING HOUSE. And the plug for my hair dryer exploded. Not too sure why that happened, but it did.

Only I could blow-up my hair dryer and knock out the power for the entire house.....

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are not cool. A few days ago, Connie and I were all alone in the doctor´s house when all of a sudden everything rattled back and forth for 30 seconds. Then stopped. It´s kind of freaky because you don´t expect it to happen, then all of a sudden it´s over. Then two nights ago, I was trying to fall asleep when we had another one. This time it was smaller, less startling. But after both earthquakes, I kept thinking ¨wonder if we´re going to have another one, a bigger one.¨ It´s definately a strange sensation. When I was lying down, it felt like someone was on the left and right side of the bed pulling it back and forth.

I hope and pray that those two are the biggest ones that I experience....

La Ducha

I´m just going to take a few minutes to vent about the shower that I have been using here. Just to clarify, not all showers in Chile are like this. Actually, I´m pretty sure it´s just the one that I am using at the doctor´s house. It has a freaking mind of it´s own. Like, for about a minute the shower is at a perfect temperature. Then, BAM it´s scalding hot and my skin feels like it is on fire. So, I try to fix it. Again, for a minute it´s perfect. Then, it´s like ice. I don´t get it. I just don´t get it.

~Runas~

Friday the 14th, Jiovana called Connie and I to go out. (Jiovana is the 20 year old daughter of a Rotary member that I met) So we got ready & Jiovana and her 15 year old brother picked us up around 8:30. They took us to this local restaurant that was going to have a live band later in the night. Runas was really chill place where I drank some amaretto Sours & Connie had a Pisco Sour. Personally, Pisco Sours are better than Pisco with coke, but that's just my opinion. By the end of the night, Jiovana's mom, two girl friends of Jiovana, her dad, Jose, another Rotarian friend (Jose's best friend to be more specific), and 4 guy friends of Jiovana, and her boyfriend had joined us at Runas. We didn't really eat a meal, we just ordered an appetizer that was meat with onions. It was really good.

Jiovana is really cool, she talked a lot but I understood most everything she said. We started speaking some Spanglish because she wanted to practice her English, so that was kind of fun. And her dad moved down the table to talk to me, which was neat. I carried on my first full conversation entirely in Spanish with him, and let me tell you after about an hour my brain literally HURT. You can't imagine how difficult it was because I had to pay complete attention to everything because I didn't know some words so I had to pick up on context clues. And anyone who knows me, knows that I have a slight problem paying attention 24/7.

Around 2:00 a.m. Jiovana, Connie, Jiovana's brother, and her friends left for a club called "Salsa Morana." From the outside, the building was so ugly. Actually, on the inside it wasn't that pretty either. Pretty basic. To be honest I liked the layout of Coyote better, but it was still fun.

The DJ was pretty good. I thought that the song selection was kind of random though. They had pieces of really old American songs (like I'm talking classic songs from the 90's and 80's) mixed into their rap songs, but it was cool. They played just enough to make the song interesting. Salsa is really fun to dance to, you actually have to have some coordination and skill to dance to it. They played some techno, which I cared for about as much as I care for techno in the US. They played some old snoop dog songs, some 50 cent. Nothing like brand brand new, but the songs were still cool club songs. But most of the songs they played were either reggeaton or salsa.

Let's take a minute to talk about Latin boys & their dancing skills. First off, as soon as we walk in some guy wants to dance with Connie and his friend wants to dance with me. So, we consent. Within 45 seconds I decided that I had made an awful mistake. The guy that I was dancing with..... wow I can't even put into words what he was attempting to do. First off, we thought the 3rd guy that was with them was the one that wanted to dance with me, not the short guy. Secondly, he was like just comical to watch. I had to look up, left, right just anywhere but down (and i say down because he was my height but was dancing with his legs bent so much that he was at the level of my chest or lower) because if I looked down I started laughing. Thank GOD Jiovana's friend saved me, too bad it took him about 5 songs to realize that I needed to be saved.

Then, there were the "artistic" dancers. Everyone knows that I LOVE to out to Vise Versa & I have never in my life witnessed this type of "artistic" dance. It was interesting to say the least and I think I should just leave it like that.

Then, Latin men as a whole. WOW. If what they saw about dance ability holds true DAMN. I mean that's all I can say. But, I am going to elaborate. They have so much fun when they dance and they don't have to be wasted to dance. They dance for fun. And the dancing is different here. You don't dance pressed up on the other person the whole time, and girls don't really ever dance real close to each other like we typically do in Morgantown. When you dance here, on some songs (like reggeaton) you dance close. But for the most part you dance with a little bit of space and the guys are really good dancers. They move their hips and I don't know it's just cool. The guy I was dancing with was really good at Salsa. Salsa is so fun to dance to. The hip movements are so rhythmic and you don't stand in one spot. You kind of dance around in a circle but everything is about the hips. And the guy spins you around and pulls you close or pushes you away. I would love to dance Salsa more often.....

Jose keeps telling me that in another life I was Chilean. If you think about it, I love Salsa, reggeaton, the food, the culture, the people, the night life....

Reglas/Regalos

Yup, already made a language mistake. I was trying to tell Jose that I wanted to go to the car and get the gifts that I brought for his family. And everytime I said it, he gave me this funny look. Then it dawned on me that I kept saying "I have rules for your family" instead of "I have gifts for your family" Now, everytime we go out and people ask about my language skills, Jose makes sure to tease me about this instance.

Rotary Meeting

So once I finally arrived in Iquique, I ate dinner with Jose's family and showered. Then at 9 p.m. Connie and I went with Jose to his Rotary meeting. Apparently they always have their meeting late. They don't meet at lunch because lunch here is like our dinner. Families eat together, people come home from work to be with their families and as far as I know the kids have a break from school to come home for lunch. Dinner is more like a snack with bread, cheese, ham, and something else light. And there is always tea and coffee available. I like eating like this because I normally don't want to eat a big dinner anyway.

Back to the meeting. I think I understood 6 words out of the whole meeting. It was difficult for me because they started discussing something and everyone was talking at once. It sounded like a jumble of words and sounds to me. But after the meeting I talked to some of the members and it was much easier 1-1. Some invited me to their house for dinner and another guy has a daughter my age that he said he would have call Connie and I.

For food they served everyone a sandwich & when Connie and I asked for water they gave us that carbonated water stuff. So we learned that you have to ask for "agua sin gas" or else they give you carbonated stuff.

ME

Why I Could NEVER be a Surgeon

Friday the 14th Connie and I ate lunch with her dad, Lorraine, and Nicholas. After lunch Jose was going to drive us to the mall (Mall de las Americas), but first needed to stop at his office. He is the general manager of the local hospital and offered to give Connie and I a tour. It was really cool because we went everywhere. The hospital here is so much prettier on the inside than in the USA because the walls are blue or pink or purple depending on what part of the hospital your in. It's much more welcoming & homey. I think that if we changed the color of our walls then people wouldn't get so freaked out in the hospitals, but that's just my two cents.

During our tour, some surgeons invited Connie and I to watch a surgery that was about to take place. If anyone of you have looked at my pictures you will see what we watched. For those of you with a weak stomach like myself I suggest that you don't look because it is GROSS. Connie and I didn't totally understand what happened to the guy, but it was something along the lines of some type of object fell on his feet possibly when he was lying down because there was a HUGE cut on his right foot and his left foot was broken. The surgeon had to remove skin from this thigh and transfer it to his foot. That was gross, but it was pretty cool watched them stich it up. If I had the stomach to be a doctor, no I can't even think of what I could want to be because every time I think about the blood I want to throw up. Yuck. I have the stomach of my mom (thanks a lot mom). Anyways.... We also got to watch the doctor's put the cast on the other foot. I was like they were making paper mache, except not. LOL

After the surgery, Jose took us into the maternity ward. Me, not paying attention which is not so good when your Spanish isn't so wonderful, agreed to watch a birth. Some girl was going to have a baby NATURAL. Only a little bit of drugs (como se dice CRAZY?). The nurse took me in the room & told me about the procedure & what was in the room. That was all I needed to see. So we left the room before the birth THANK GOD. I think I would have passed out cold if I would have watched that. I'm adopting. Just so everyone is well aware of my plans. Or if for some reason I accidently get pregnant (once I'm married of course) I want to be under the influence of very very strong drugs for 3 weeks after. I want to feel nothing. I'll have 18 years with my new kid I don't need to see them in the first 24 hours of their life. I am cringing at the thought of that pain.....

La Tirana

Despite its religious importance, there is little life in this desert town for most of the year. It lies 72 km southeast of Iquique, 20 km from Pozo Almonte and 1,773 km north of Santiago, at an altitude of 995 meters above sea level. With its population of something over 560 inhabitants, it has been declared a Typical zone, and it enjoys a privileged climate with sunshine throughout the year.

It springs to life each year between July 12th and 18th, when thousands of visitors arrive to witness the fiesta in veneration of the Virgin del Carmen. The spectacle reaches its highest pitch on July 16th.

The village, of great cultural importance, is distinguished for its church, which stands on the Plaza de Armas. On one side is the Museum of the Virgin of La Tirana, in which are kept the offerings made to the virgin and other articles used in the fiestas held in her honor.

The most striking thing about the people are the dances performed on feast days, with groups coming for the most part from Arica, Iquique, Tocopilla and Chuquicamata. The dancing is accompanied by varied instruments such as trumpets and whistles, and the dancers dress in brightly colored costumes. According to researchers, these dances are said to come from the ancestral rhythms of Inca ceremonies, with traces from other Andean cultures.

The church of La Tirana was built at the beginning of the 20th century, after the previous building had been destroyed by two earthquakes, which occurred in 1868 and 1877. The parish priest Friedrich was responsible for the construction. The old church has been reconstructed and today is used as an alternative on feast days.

To reach this picturesque village from Santiago, Iquique or Arica, travel to Pozo Almonte on Ruta 5, either by public transport or in a private vehicle. From Pozo Almonte, go south on the same highway, then at km 9 take the turning to Pica and go 11 km to La Tirana. There is good, regular public transport from Pozo Almonte to La Tirana during the fiesta.

**I didn't write this, just so you know. But I thought that this was a better explination than I could ever write. I got it from this website http://www.turismochile.com/guide/la_tirana/

PICTURES

Good morning everyone. I am way to impacient to try to upload all my pictures to this site because you have to do it one by one. Yeah, not fun. So, what I did was created a webshots account that is very very easy to use. So, I will add my pictures there and whenever I do I will put link to the website on my blog post for the day. Well, Connie has been watching my post my pictures all morning and we are dying to go to the beach. So here is the link. Enjoy the pictures and I will write the stories of my adventures later.

http://community.webshots.com/user/stacimelissa

Two days ago, Connie (on the left in the pink shirt) and I went to a club called Coyote with one of the girls we are living with. In the picture with me and two other girls, the one of the left is "Fifa" and I don't remember the other girls name. It was so loud that I could hardly hear anything, which made it really difficult to speak Spanish. The girls (for the most part) were really nice and a few knew English. But I don't know which was harder, trying to speak Spanish or trying in interpret their broken English. I tried the Chilean drink of choice "Pisco" and I'm not a huge fan. It tastes a lot like Whiskey and I'm not so fond of Whiskey. It's a little sweeter and I think has a higher alcohol content, but I'd rather drink vodka. The music and the atmosphere of the club is very similar to those in Morgantown with the exception of Salsa. But something that I thought was really unique, was that Sophie (who is only 16) was allowed to go to this party (her friend's dad owns the club) leaving at 11 and had permission to stay out until 5 a.m.

This part of Latin culture I could get used to :)

~Surf~

There are two beaches in Iquique, and currently I don't know the name of either of them. Yesterday, Connie and I were walking on the beach (which is directly in front of our house) & we walked all the way to the second beach. Not too far of a walk, but enough of a walk that we took a taxi back to the house. During this walk we decided that we wanted to learn how to surf. So, when we arrived to the second beach (which is more popular than the first) we found a surf school and signed up for a lesson later in the afternoon.

If you thought learning how to surf was hard, try to learn how to surf in Spanish. Thank God for Connie otherwise I would have been lost. And f.y.i. the water here is FREEZING. I mean it is their winter so what should I expect right? It's like the temperature of the water in Ocean City, MD. Surfing is a lot of fun & I am so proud of myself because by the end of the lesson I was able to stand up on the board and ride in a wave. A very small, very very small wave, but I am still proud of myself for being able to do it.

Just picture this scene. Staci KLUTZ of the world who has no balance on the ground in tennis shoes learning how to surf. Staci who speaks broken Spanish & only understands when people speak slowly and use proper Spanish learning how to surf from a guy who speed talks & uses words that I never in my life heard before..... Needless to say I had a good time

Just so everyone isn't confused....

Originally I came here to stay with Jose Fuente and his family. He has a wife, an 8 year old son Nicolas, and a 16 day old baby girl Maria. But he lives in an apartment & his mother-in-law is in town to help Lorrania with the new baby. Also, Jose has two children from a previous marriage Jose & Connie. Jose and Connie live in the US with their mom. Connie is 15 and is here for the month visiting as well. So, Connie and I are staying down the street with a friend of Jose. Carlos is a doctor and his wife's name is Alejandra. They have three girls Sophie (16), Gabbie (13), and Maria (4) & a nanny from Ecuador. Connie is a big help for me because when I can't think of the word or phrase or I don't understand something she helps me.

Got it?

The Do's and Don'ts of Traveling

Don't:

*Wear a Victoria Secret bra with underwire because it will set off the metal dector in every airport everytime you change plans
*Leave your laptop on the table when you are getting searched because some stupid lady will knock it off the counter
*Pack your gum in the only bag you checked because taking off and landing in an airplane sucks when you can't chew gum to keep your ears from popping
*Take any bill larger than a $20 when traveling to Chile because you will not be able to change your money in the airport
*Panic in the Santiago airport just because you can't change your money, need to pick up and then recheck your luggage in an airport that you have no idea where to go, and because your flight was delayed so much that you'll probably miss your flight. Panicing only makes you forget how to speak Spanish which is not good when noone around you speaks English.
*Panic when your cell phone doesn't work and you don't know how to use the pay phone because even if you could use the pay phone you wouldn't have any money to use it with.

DO:

*Fly first class or business class because coach seats on the flight from Washington D.C. are not very comfortable. It is very hard to sleep when you have no room what so ever.
*Eat the pasta for dinner on the plane because the meat just looks weird
*Remember that LAN Chile planes are more comfortable and the food is better than UNITED planes
*Ask the nearest nice lady to help you when you are on the verge of tears
*Hope that this woman is pacient with you
*Repeatedly call the family that is supposed to pick you up at the airport
*RELAX
*Breathe a sigh of relief when all of your luggage and the family that is supposed to pick you up is at the airport
*Drink a lot of pisco when you finally have the opportunity

Estoy en Chile

For all of you who were worried about lil o'le me flying to Chile, I am alive and well. The weather is good, so good in fact that Connie and I are going to learn how to surf. Connie is my 15 year old translator, she goes to Brooke and is also visting her father for a few weeks. So we are chillin' out together for a lil while. I am lazy right now and do not feel like writing all about my flight here soooo i'll do that later because it is an interesting story and my state of mind would currently not do the story any justice what so ever.

But, off we go to change our money & learn how to surf....

~The Countdown has begun~

After worrying and waiting for months, it's finally offical. At 7:30 p.m. on July 11th I will be departing from Cleveland, Ohio for Iquique, Chile. For one month I won't wait tables & I'll be able to speak Spanish and layout on the beach. For those of you who don't know, I'm 20 (about to be 21 in a few days) & have a double major in Marketing & Spanish. I'm a student at WVU, a skiier, a sorority girl (Alpha Xi Delta), & a slave to my job.

*2 weeks untl I'll be in Chile*