I've been in Valparaiso (Valpo) since Tuesday now. We've been staying at a hotel, but on Saturday I'll be moving in with my host family and the whole situation will change.
On the flight down we stopped in Bogota to get off the plane, go through security, then get back on the same plane and continue. We then proceeded to fly down the coast the rest of the way, which was absolutely breathtaking. There was a great view of the Pacific Ocean and the Andes for about 4 hours. There is a picture below of the mountains close to Santiago.
After landing in Santiago we drove to Valpo, checked into the hotel, and went to sleep. The past two days have been full of the standard orientation stuff. However, we have been able to go out in the city and walk around, which has been nice. Valpo and Vina del Mar (the two cities are literally right next to each other) are right on the coast. The geography is pretty striking. The land starts rising up immediately from the coast, and everything is on a hill. All the buildings and houses are haphazardly crammed onto the side.
Today we were paired up and given different locations in the two cities and told to go find them, get some things there, and then get back. It was fun to talk to locals and figure out how to use a "micro" which is what they call their buses. My partner and I went to a market in downtown Valpo that has been there for over a hundred years. We talked to a bunch of families and bought some food off the street. While we were waiting, the woman at the stand had to start walking her cart in circles cause the police came, and apparently there is a law that you can't be stationary. After she walked in circles for a bit, we got our food and it was tasty.
More updates to come, this one was kind of a cop out, cause not much has happened yet. But I couldn't keep all my devoted readers waiting much longer! Stay tuned for actual updates in the future. The picture at the bottom is of Catherine...she wanted the perfect picture and decided to go out to where the waves were breaking. Needless to say she came back soaked.
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