Terremoto!

When I first got to Chile, everyone warned me about the terremotos (earthquakes).  Here there are two kinds: the natural disaster and the drink.  I have yet to feel any seismic activity, but I have had the chance to enjoy the drink!  It's a fairly simple concoction: Pipeño (sweet fermented wine), pineapple ice cream, and a little bit of flavoring.  The one in the picture is a curacao terremoto...delicious, but extremely sweet! 

Mi Casa

 This is my house for the next five months!  The picture to the left is of the gate that you have to open in order to actually get to the house. 

 Once you're past the gate, this is what you see...

 Here's the dining room (the window on the left opens into my room).  We only eat here for Sunday lunches, or when company is over. 

 To the right we have the living room.

 And here's the kitchen...where I spend most of my time.  This is usually where we eat our meals. 

Last but not least, this is the bathroom.  Pretty standard, except for the bidet that's hanging out in the corner.   

Valpo

                                             My view walking to class...no big deal.

Cerro La Campana

La Campana is a hike about an hour and a half away from Valparaiso.  We got off to a pretty late start and wanted to make sure we had time to get to the top, so this is a picture of us speed walking (to the left).  The first few miles were steep, but not too difficult.  

As soon as we reached the first scenic lookout, this little guy (above) ran up to us.  I'm pretty sure it was a fox, but Max seems to think it was a wolf.  This is also where Darwin's Place is.  I didn't know this before starting the hike, but apparently Charles Darwin stopped at La Campana to conduct research in 1834.  There is a rock dedicated to him with a placard describing his findings.   

 We stopped here for a few pictures and then continued to climb the last 4 km.  It was EXTREMELY difficult, but we finally did it!  The next two pictures show the view from the top. 

And then there's me...jumping on top of the world (literally). 

Sandboarding in Concón

 Saturday, a group of us decided to head to Concón for a day of sandboarding.  We got there and walked the dunes for a bit taking in the beautiful scenery.  We then decided it was time to rent a board.  There were three options:  a snowboard looking one, and then two sled types.  We asked the guy which of the two sleds would be better because the sand was a little sticky from the rain the day before.  He responded: the plastic one.  So here I am ready to sandboard!

And here I am actually sandboarding!  And I don't have a picture of it, but about ten feet after this picture was taken, I was face down in the sand without a board.  Plastic was the way to go...if you like racing down a sandy hill at a million miles an hour.  

Even though I had a bad spill it was a ton of fun and absolutely gorgeous! 

Parque Quinta Vergara

This is the Quinta Vergara park in Viña del Mar.  It's a beautiful place to walk around.  Inside of the park there is an amphitheater which was built for the first international song festival held in Viña (top left picture).  Inside of the park you will also find the Palace Vergara (middle picture).  This is where Jose Francisco Vergara, the founder of Viña del Mar, lived with his family until 1941 when it was turned into a museum of fine art.  We did not go inside because it's closed this winter for restoration, but there were a ton of statues around the house which were pretty awesome (bottomt picture).  

Marching Band Action

Walking to class, a few of us stumbled upon this random marching band in the middle of the street.  We tried to ask what it was for, but didn't really understand.  We walked a little further and noticed that the entire street had been blocked off.  Firemen (bomberos) and police officers lined the street to conduct traffic.  Still don't have a clue what it was for, but it was pretty cool to see!