Thinking back on it now the week seems to have been about as eventful as others but I have plenty to ramble about ... per the usual ...
Last week I decided to join a sailing class! I had my first lesson friday and it was scary, fun and wet. There are only 7 students in total facilitating plenty of hands on learning. We went out in pairs in these tiny little sail boats. They had the mast and the steering part (bear with me, the class is in spanish) with just enough space for two people to sit and work on each part at one time. Of course I had the getting slammed in the head with the mast experience ... which was better then falling if I had fallen into the ocean! Win some ... lose some : ) Classes are fridays for two hours for the next 8 weeks! Hopefully I'll get some pictures ... once I make it onto a real sailboat!
The same evening I went with a few friends to a salsa club in Valparaíso. Being gringos we got there early, avoided paying to get in and caught the tail end of happy hour. There were two Chileans in the group who were language exchange partners of people in our program which was nice and always good to be talking to new people and practicing spanish. As the majority of our group left for another venue I decided to stay behind with a friend, Sarah, and the two Chileans. A great decision because I actually go to dance salsa with one of the Chileans! Luckily of the two I danced with the one who knew how to salsa and it was really fun! I've gone to a few of the free dance classes so I had the basic steps down but in most classes the guy to girl ratio forces me to be the guy ... harder to learn that way!
Last week I decided to join a sailing class! I had my first lesson friday and it was scary, fun and wet. There are only 7 students in total facilitating plenty of hands on learning. We went out in pairs in these tiny little sail boats. They had the mast and the steering part (bear with me, the class is in spanish) with just enough space for two people to sit and work on each part at one time. Of course I had the getting slammed in the head with the mast experience ... which was better then falling if I had fallen into the ocean! Win some ... lose some : ) Classes are fridays for two hours for the next 8 weeks! Hopefully I'll get some pictures ... once I make it onto a real sailboat!
The same evening I went with a few friends to a salsa club in Valparaíso. Being gringos we got there early, avoided paying to get in and caught the tail end of happy hour. There were two Chileans in the group who were language exchange partners of people in our program which was nice and always good to be talking to new people and practicing spanish. As the majority of our group left for another venue I decided to stay behind with a friend, Sarah, and the two Chileans. A great decision because I actually go to dance salsa with one of the Chileans! Luckily of the two I danced with the one who knew how to salsa and it was really fun! I've gone to a few of the free dance classes so I had the basic steps down but in most classes the guy to girl ratio forces me to be the guy ... harder to learn that way!
******I'm issuing a warning for the following paragraph ... if you have a weak stomach don't proceed ... skip ahead! ******
As I was heading home with two girlfriends from Valparaíso wednesday night we noticed a group of Chileans eating completos (Chilean hot dog which included tomatoes, avacodo and mayo) and staggering a bit ... didn't think much of it and found our way onto the bus to get us home to Viña. The same group got on our bus. I was seated by myself behind the two girls and one of the staggering Chileans sat down next to me. Fine. Until about 3 minutes later when he starts vomiting, yes I was terrified. And it wasn't only because it was the first time I had decided to wear out my cute satin diesel flats ... it was of course my first concern but this guy was seriously, seriously throwing up in the seat next to me. I nearly jumped into the seat in front of me and really wasn't even able to say anything, I just sat there in utter disbelief. Luckily he did finally get up and I guess left the bus, at which point I jumped across and got as far forward on the bus as possible. This was definitely the worst experience I've had here and luckily one of the very few. I'm sorry to have shared ... eeeehhh.
Completo ... part of a balanced Chilean meal.
Safe rambling ...
Classes have been the same. I'm frustrated that we haven't found out about the dates for our final exams in any classes, especially with wanting to figure out traveling and specific dates for heading back to the states. Tentative plan is to spend at least two weeks traveling Patagonia and then head to Arizona ... hoping to get to Oregon ... and the fly from LAX to Paris, the cheapest way to get to Europe, spend a week with a friend who lives there, Valentine, and then make my way to Denmark for the semester. We'll see ...
I've got more stories but I'm going to hold off. Sorry for not updating as frequently! I'll have more Monday!
P.S.
In case the reason why I haven't been bombarded with post cards is because you all lost my address ...
Irene Lehne
Avenida Brasil 2950 (PIIE)
COPA
Valparaíso
Chile
AND ... If you really want to get a hold of me ... you can find a cheap phone card and call my cell phone!
+ 569 766 249 14
I really miss hearing from everyone the most ... and peanut butter : )
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