Two weeks ago I went back to the city center to pick up my Chilean ID card. I am "official" now :) How exciting. The cards are pretty cool and there is even your fingerprint on the back. I believe it is my right thumb-print.After picking up our IDs (there was 5-6 of us who went to pick them up together) we went to the bus terminal and bought tickets to Mendoza, Argentina. This process usually does not take more than a couple minutes but for some reason it took us about an hour. The lady processing our tickets had to make a bunch of phone calls and do all sorts of stuff and then she accidentally booked the wrong return date so she had to fix that.Later that night I went out with a couple friends for pizza and ice cream. We went to Diego's Pizza (the place that I had the strange pizza at before). Our waiter could tell we were not Chilean and we got menus in English. This turned out to be one of the most amusing things I have seen here. The translations on this menu were absolutely hilarious!!! Since I went two weeks ago I am having a hard time remembering what they were but there were things like buckets of tomatoes and onion wheels. Those are not even the funniest translations but they only ones I can remember at the moment. I ended up getting garlic cheese bread that was super good. After pizza we stopped at Bravisimo which is the favorite ice cream shop here. I was having a really hard time deciding which flavor I wanted and finally decided on alfajor (an alfajor is a popular Chilean treat. the most typical kind is two cookies with dulce de leche in between, all covered in chocolate). Unfortunately it did not taste a thing like what I was imagining- a mix of cookie, manjar and chocolate. YUM. It had a bit of a fruity flavor so my guess is that this was not your typical alfajor flavor but rather an alfajor fruitilla (an alfajor with strawberry jam filling instead of manjar, not very common but they do exist). I was not the only one disappointed with my ice cream that night, in fact nobody really got what they wanted/expected. Oh, well we will be back. As we were finishing up our ice cream a huge pack of dogs wondered by the shop and got into a bit of a fight. Surprisingly, I really like all the street dogs here. I am not a huge dog person but they really don't bother me. I like it when dogs "adopt" our group and follow us around or run with us along the beach. It's comforting to have a dog friend.
A couple weeks ago I noticed my bag/purse that I bring to class was starting to rip. The holes kept getting bigger so I got some thread and a needle from my mom. The inside of the bag is made out of a plastic-y fabric so I wasn't sure if sewing it would really work. Unfortunately my doubts were correct. The holes I sewed up just turned into bigger holes. I really like this bag so that makes me sad. I guess I'll have to see if I can find some sort of adhesive patch or something.
On the 15th I had my first day of service learning. I am teaching English to a class of 15 3rd and 4th graders. I was really nervous because I have never taught a class before and I was on my own for 1.5 hours with a bunch of little Chilean kids. I didn't really know what, if anything, they had learned before so I decided to start from square one. We went over colors, numbers, days of the week, seasons, some simple phrases, classroom objects and body parts. Since they are young kids I knew their attention span would not be super long and decided to incorporate lots of activities into the class. They colored pictures, played a form of concentration, did a word search and learned "head, shoulders, knees and toes." All in all it was a very good class and the kids listened well. The last 15 minutes were a little chaotic but it they had been very good up until then. They were not quite as well behaved this past week. There was a lot of chatter throughout the class but I didn't plan half as many activities so that could have been part of the problem. We didn't cover very much information either but I think for the most part it was new whereas the week before they knew a lot of the info already. Our theme this past week was food. After learning a bunch of the vocab I had them do a crossword puzzle. There were 15 pictures for clues. It took a surprisingly long time for everyone to complete the puzzle. I guess it is not important how much info we cover, if they are learning that is what is important. After my first service learning day, I took a collectivo (like a taxi but with a fixed route) home and quickly changed into my "soccer outfit". I had to leave half an hour later to meet in the center. As a group we were headed to the Chile vs. Argentina game. Our bus ended up being a little late but eventually the "big bad teal" bus (as our director likes to call it) showed up and we all piled on. For some reason this trip to Santiago seemed to take forever. The bus ride was longer than normal and I'm not sure why because we have been to the football stadium before and it didn't take as long. I think we took a different route so that could be to blame. All I know is that after about 3 hours we were all ready to get off the hot, stuffy bus. As we approached the stadium, we could tell we were getting close because there were vendors all over the place selling shirts, flags, hats, food, etc. This time we got dropped off right in front of one of the gates. I was hoping that we would get dropped off in the same place as last time b/c I really wanted to buy a soccer scarf. I had seen them last time but didn't buy one and had decided to buy it this time. Since we got dropped off at the gate we didn't have a chance to buy stuff from the street vendors. We had to go through security to get into the stadium. This time they didn't check my bag, the lady just let a bunch of us pass by. We did have to go through a metal detector. I'm not sure what good that did though. If you had a cell phone or a camera you had to hold it in your hand as you went through, I feel like it beeped for a bunch of people but you just kept going... Since the school organized this trip we got really good seats- the 5th row or so. It was a beautiful night and didn't even get cold. This was a nice change from the rain and cold we had at the last game. Even though the seats were close and you could see the game better, I think I enjoyed sitting in the nose-bleed seats better. The crowd was more energetic and the game overall just seemed more exciting. This could also have to do with the fact that there were a lot more goals in the last game. Chile won 1-0 so it was not the most action packed game. I was disappointed with my sandwich at this game. Last time I had an amazing turkey, tomato and avocado sandwich. This time the bread was different, there wasn't as much turkey and they ran out of tomatoes. Can't always win I guess. Beating Argentina was a really big deal. I have heard a variety of different statistics and some say it was the first time Chile has beaten Argentina in 80 years! Very cool to experience such an important event. When I got home from the game I finished packing for Mendoza because I had to be at the bus terminal in less than 8 hours.
Our morning started out with making a huge bag of trail mix. Everyone brought an item to share- peanuts, chocolate chips, pretzels, mini cookies, cheese puffs, and about 6 different types of cereal. We mixed everything in a big shopping bag and divided it up into plastic baggies. It was fun and delicious. Not long after leaving the bus terminal we were served coffee and alfajores. I was surprised by this b/c I didn't think we would get any food on the bus. After a couple hours in the bus reading, talking and sleeping people started talking about going through the Aduana at the border. You are not allowed to bring fruit, meat or cheese, etc across the border. For most of us that meant we had to eat our sandwiches before getting to the border. Once again my mom had packed me a monster sandwich pretty much the size of a soccer ball. I didn't really want to eat all of it at once but I didn't want to throw it away either, in the end I ate it all before the border, what an accomplishment. At the border we got to get out for a bit and walk around while waiting to turn in our papers and have our passports stamped. The cool, fresh air felt amazing! After going through two different lines we had our luggage checked but let me tell you it was not very intense. They put our big luggage from under the bus through a screener and all our hand luggage was "checked" but they hardly opened it up and peaked in. Some people had "forbidden" food in their bags and didn't get caught. After getting back on the bus we were surprised with lunch- ham sandwich, cookies and pop. Having just eaten the world's largest sandwich, I wasn't hungry at that moment but a couple hours later when I woke up from a nap I found room for the sandwich. We were all very excited to get to Mendoza after spending a good 8 hours on the bus. After taking out money at the bus terminal we walked to our hostel. That night we went out to dinner at a restaurant that someone's host family had recommended. It was like a higher quality Old Country Buffet. They had everything- salad bar, HUGE meat grill, pizza, pasta, sushi, Chinese, empanadas, desserts, etc. It was a delicious meal and I think I tried a bit of everything, no kidding. I can't even tell you how many plates I went through. I had the best pork I have ever eaten! The mini empanadas were also excellent. Pretty much everything was good except the chocolate ice cream was contaminated with fruity flavors. A few hours later we all waddled out of the restaurant and headed back to the hostel where we hung out for awhile. Later some of us went out to a bar and a club, both of which were fun. We even ran into some other students from the US who are studying in Mendoza and one of them was from St. Cloud. Crazy, talk about a small world. The next morning started out with a breakfast of sweet rolls with manjar and tea. Our first activity in Mendoza was a bikes and wines tour. We rented bikes and they gave us a map of some vineyards. It was a ton of fun! We went to 4 different vineyards. The first one was our longest stop. We got a tour of the vineyard and museum and got to sample some vine. The next stop was a little 2 family run business that makes chocolate, preserves and liquor. There we got a short tour and sampled chocolate and liquor. Unlike the last vineyard, we had to pay for the tour and tasting but it was less than $2 so it was totally worth it. They had a little shop and I bought a box of 16 mini alfajores. They were cute and delicious. Then we headed out for a long ride through some towns, along the highway, down a tree lined avenue and through the country. Finally we ended up at the last two vineyards on our tour. We just looked around quickly because we didn't really want another tour (nor did we have time). On the bike ride back my bike started to act up. The seat kept sinking backwards and about every 5-10 minutes the chain would fall off. This made for quite a frustrating return trip. I was very, very happy when we pulled into the plaza and returned the bikes. That afternoon we went to a restaurant for lunch. I had a chef salad that hit the spot perfectly. I have not eaten many salads here so it was just what the doctor ordered. After a relaxing lunch we wondered around town for awhile and then went to Carrefour (grocery store) to buy dinner. The group (well mainly a few people) cooked dinner. We had chicken breasts stuffed with a sauce from the second vineyard, chips and guacamole, and some cooked vegetables. It was all very good. The next morning started out a little earlier. We had to be ready to go by 9:00 to catch the bus for our day long adventure. Our first activity of the day was rafting. The fun and adventures began way before we got into the water. First we go a safety talk where we heard all about how to rescue each other if we fell out etc. Then we had to go get all our gear. We were each given a full wetsuit, a jacket, boots, helmet and lifejacket. We had a lot of fun getting the wetsuits on :) We then piled into a bus a drove down the road for a little while. Once we got to the river we divided into groups and had to carry our rafts to the river. They were heavy the ground was uneven, not a great combo. I was in a raft with 3 others and the guide. It was a great experience and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Since none of us fell out during any of the rapids, there was a certain point in the river that was slow and shallow so our guide had us all jump out of the raft and hold on to the rope on the side. That was kinda interesting but fun. Before we knew it, the rafting was over. We all took hot showers when we got back to the base camp and then had lunch at the little cafe. I got a huge sandwich with roast beef, ham, cheese, lettuce and avocado. It was really good! When it first came out I thought there was no way I could eat it all but I definitely did. When it came time to pay, which we did after eating for some reason, I was a little annoyed. My sandwich cost 20,000 but the people who got the same sandwich but without the roast beef only paid 10,000. It probably wouldn't have changed my order but it's still strange that there would be such a price difference. There wasn't a menu at the restaurant, you just asked the guy at the counter what there was a he told us our options. It was a strange system. After lunch we had some down time before our afternoon activity and I ended up taking a nap in the sun for 30-45 minutes. It was very nice. For canopy we all got harnesses, helmets and gloves. We then climbed to the top of one of the nearby hills. The area was sandy, rocky bluffs with the river. The canopy course consisted of 6 different cables. You got hooked up to the cable, put your dominate hand behind your head on the cable and the other one held the ropes attaching you to the cable. This activity reminded me a lot of the high ropes courses and Wolf Ridge. It was not quite as scenic here but going over the river was really cool. It was certainly a memorable day. Once back at the hostel we all took a short nap. Later I went with a couple girls to the Chocolate factory where we got a short tour. There was a guide but we were at the back of the tour group and couldn't hear and word she was saying. We basically just walked along one side of the factory on a second story walk way and got to watch everything being made. It was neat. On our way out we got a handful of chocolate covered raisins. On the way in we all got a piece of chocolate. Of course, after watching all that chocolate being made, we bought some in the gift shop. For dinner that night we went out to a Mexican restaurant. People got everything from tacos to enchiladas to fajitas. The fajita platters were enormous! They came with 16 condiments, 3 types of meat and tortillas. It was a good restaurant but not really anything special. While we were there the lights went out for a minute so that was interesting. Later that night a bunch of people went out to a huge club but I decided to stay back at the hostel along with a couple others b/c I was exhausted and just really needed to sleep. The next day was more relaxed. We spent the day roaming around the city, visiting different plazas and just enjoying the beautiful Argentina weather. You could wear shorts and a t-shirt all day and all night long. It was just perfect. Instead of going to a restaurant for lunch we all went to the grocery store and had a picnic in one of the plazas. It was fun, delicious and cheap! After we had our fill of plazas we went back to the hostel to meet up with some of the others who had stayed behind. The whole day we were a little confused. At one point someone asked "what time is it" and got two very different answers. All our cell phones said one time and our watches said another. What happened is the time changed in Buenos Aires (which must be connected to the phones somehow) but it hadn't changed in Mendoza. We were quite confused for awhile but the front desk guy at the hostel cleared it all up for us. After dinner at a German style restaurant on the street we headed to the bus terminal. The bus ride back to Vina was not very comfortable. I attempted to sleep for most of the ride but it didn't work too well. Bus seats are not the best place to sleep in the first place but then the bus kept alternating between hot and cold. We had to go through customs once again. No problems once again. Before we got off the bus, we had to fill out some forms and the guy was telling us that some souvenirs (mate cups made out of gords, preserves, etc) and stuff people bought would not pass but luckily no one ended up having their stuff confiscated. We got back to vina around 6:15 in the morning.
Once I got home I slept for about 1 hour before I had to leave for class. That was just the beginning of a very sleep deprived week.Since I had been gone for 4 days in Mendoza, I hadn't touched my homework. The worst part is that we had a senior seminar midterm essay test due on Thursday. I spent the majority of Tuesday and Wednesday working on the essay until the wee hours of the morning.Thursday was another extremely busy day. I woke up early, re-read my essays and packed my bag for the day. After 3 hours of senior seminar I ate my lunch at school and went to sailing. Kari and I sailed together for the first time. We did alright, had our fair share of problems but didn't fall in. We may not be great at sailing yet but it is fun and we are improving. One of the guys at sailing lives in Chorillos just like we do so he brought us back to Kari's house. After changing close and getting a quick snack, we headed out for trapecio. Class was super fun and we did a lot of new things. After trapecio Kari and I met up with a bunch of other people at a bar in Valpo. Our next stop was a club called El Huevo. We had to wait a little while to get in but it was worth it. There was a bunch of different rooms, each playing a different type of music. I've never had so much fun at a club before. 3 hours, or so, later a bunch of us decided it was time to go home, leaving another half of the group at the club. I got home at 4 am, 20 hours after I left the morning before. It was a great day but very long and exhausting.
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