I can’t believe its August! I’m still doing well here in Santiago. I am adjusting and becoming more comfortable in the city. I get to chat with mom and dad on skype, and that helps. This weekend, IES took us on a trip to La Serena (coastal city north of Santiago) and Valle (Valley) de Elqui. It was relaxing and beautiful and I have lots of pictures. You can view them at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015419&l=81f5d&id=54001690.
Brief rundown of the weekend activities:
La Serena: Stayed at a nice hotel, great chance to shower in a big tub, sleep in a great bed, and enjoy calefaccion (heat)! La Serena is the second oldest city in Chile, so there are lots of interesting historical sites. We went to a fishing dock at the neighboring city Coquimbo, to learn about its economic importance. It was also an opportunity for cool pictures! The beach in La Serena was COLD but very pretty, we hung out and ate lunch there Sunday.
Valle de Elqui: On Saturday we explored this beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. We visited 2 pisquerias (where they make pisco), Puclaro dam/lake, and tiny towns in the mountains (after traveling dangerous mountain roads in our big bus). We also visited the hometown of Gabriella Mistral, an important Chilean poet. Saturday night, we visited the observatory Mamalluca. This region is famous for its clear skies, a great place for astronomers. The view of the night sky there was incredible. Absolutely more stars than I have seen in my entire life. Amazing.
This week, university classes begin and I am in the midst of planning my semester. It is very confusing and there are many conflicting hours of courses. At IES, I will be taking Advanced Spanish Grammar II, a service learning internship (2 hrs of class, 5 hrs of volunteer work per week), and a class on human rights in Latin America.
At la University de Chile, I am considering 2 classes in the government school. Most of the others end too late in the semester. One is “La Imagen de Chile en Pablo Neruda y Gabriella Mistral”, that I’m hoping to get lit credit for at Wofford, and “Chile: Historia, Identidad, y Cultura” because it looks interesting and I need more hours for IES. The frustrating part is that I will not receive specific credit at Wofford for most of the classes I take here. I know it will all work out in the end. Tomorrow I am attending the 2 classes in the universtiy. We’ll see how that goes!
Let me know how everyone is doing back home! Email, write, skype, facebook, whatever. I am on facebook and skype most nights, and I would love to chat for a while! Pray that I will continue to trust Him and that I will find others here to encourage me spiritually.
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