Chile is beautiful for many reasons. One being that family is still a big deal here. The family unit is very close, and I am very blessed to be a part of that here. My Chilean host family is wonderful! Last night after dinner we sat around and talked for about 2 hours! Two hours of chatting in Spanish, and I enjoyed every minute of it! I learned a lot about Chile and the differences in other South American cultures from our dad, Enrique. He is a super sweet dad and drinks a bottle of wine every day with us. We all had two glasses each and finished a fine red wine from Viña del Mar. Viña is known for its red wine, and we are taking advantage of that! Just some perspective... a good quality bottle of wine here costs about 8,000 Chilean pesos which is about $16. A regular bottle of wine is 4,000 Chilean pesos ($8)! So cheap, but so good.
Chile is charming thanks to its little town called Valparaiso. Valparaiso (or Valpo) is basically the sister town of Viña del Mar. We can just hop on a metro and head over for the day, which is exactly what we did this afternoon. I learned a lot about this culturally rich town. Our tour guide was a local, and he said the best way to describe Valpo is with the english word, "quirky." And I think that he was spot on. Valpo is a city that has no flat land. The hills ("cerros") are right next to the ocean, so the city is built straight up the hills. Your neighbors live next to you, above you, and below you. They get up a hill riding a "Funicular", which is basically a tram. They are also famous for their bright colors and graffiti on every blank space. But this graffiti puts all others to shame, because it's really art. I'm adding pics from Valpo, but don't forget to read about Catholic Chile, and busy Chile below!
Ok, so I am super pumped because about 95% of Chile is Catholic. Not a big deal for the most part except that I get Holy Days of Obligation off. Basically any Catholic holiday is a holiday for everyone! So because of the Church, I get like 3 four day weekends! Oh and did I mention that I never have school on Fridays here?? Sweet! I have been to the Church here but I need to take pictures. Stay tuned for that. For those of you that know me well, you know that I love my Catholic faith. I will need to devote a blog or two to that. But not today.
Lastly! It's getting really busy here in Chile. We had our Academic orientation today, which was really exciting. I am going to be taking some cool classes to learn about the culture and history of Chile and Latin America. We also have an AMAZING opportunity to volunteer in the community while we are here. There are six programs to volunteer in, and they range from helping adults with disabilities, to playing with orphans, to volunteering in the hospitals. I am going to volunteer in the hospital. I will be able to talk with the patients in the nursing home (which I will love), feed children who are mentally or physically disabled, and talk with kids who are bed-ridden for the rest of their lives. It will be an extremely hard volunteering position, but I want to serve the poor. They are the poor. I am grateful to be here, and I don't want to just come back with pictures and cool stories. I want to leave behind some smiles and better days for others. As I get into this opportunity I will write more about it, and I will ask for prayers for those I work with.
Overall, Chile is going to be something I will never experience again in my life. I can't wait for the rest of the adventure.
God Bless!
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