south america
In 2015 when I was a student in Santiago, I also attended Pride parade, celebrating and reaffirming the rights of all sexual orientations and gender identities. This time it was a little colder, but with the same amount of "special" alfajores and beers being openly sold in the streets.
Read MoreI spent a long weekend in Valparaíso, a main port city about an hour and a half's drive away from Santiago. It was a much-needed weekend to relax and spend time with friends, eat famous empanadas and explore the various hills.
Read MoreSecond time in Chile, third time on Cerro San Cristóbal, a hill in the center of Santiago. The teleférico was completely worth the 2290 peso ticket price ($3.60 USD) to see sweeping views of the city after a hard rain.
Read MoreI travelled to the wine region of Colchagua and the coastal towns of Pichilemu and Cáhuil in central Chile with my study abroad program. It was three days with biking, wine drinking, and lots of food. Group travel still isn't my favorite, but it was worth it to fall asleep with the sound of breaking waves outside my window.
Read MoreThe week of September 18 is the time Chilean independence is celebrated with cook-outs (asados), outdoor festivals (fondas), and strong drinks including the terremoto - pineapple ice-cream with grenadine and alcohol. There is a military parade in O'Higgins park in central Santiago and outdoor celebrations all over the city.
Read MoreI finally got my last film roll developed. Giving English lessons basically fuels my film developing fund... I'm very excited with these, especially the ones taken on my first long (4-hours up, 3 hours down) hike in Reserva Tricahue, in the 7th region (Maule) of Chile. These are all un-edited negative scans.
Read MoreI think Nunu deserves her own post, for being the big presence she is in my life. Personally, I prefer dogs because they're a little more durable, but she holds her own for weighing all of 5 lbs...maybe a bit more, but most of it is fluff.
Read MoreColchagua region = wine, more wine, and empanadas apparently. I wouldn't know because my bus didn't stop at the magic empanada place. This was CIEE's last weekend excursion, a last gulp of fresh air before finals in a month, and it was so beautiful.
Read MoreSmall things: photo edition. I've been in a rut lately, not taking photos, not doing anything different. I just watched a TED talk about getting out of your comfort zone and not letting fear or uncomfortableness get in your way of what you want or who you want to be. (And yes this sounds like wisdom on a Pinterest board) Ugh. I hate it when I read/watch things that are timely and essentially serve to kick me in the pants and then I have to get off my butt and do something about it. I guess watching Netflix and eating manjar aren't the key to achieving my dreams. They can complement it, though. And I'm going to count eating manjar as cultural immersion. Yes.
Read MoreIt's fall here. The bike paths are covered with leaves, crunch and dull brown. It's usually pretty cloudy, and walking to the apartment yesterday I realized I couldn't see the cordillera. It was completely covered up by a mix of clouds a smog. In the midwest US it would have the decency to rain once in awhile and release the clouds, but no such luck here. It is nice breaking out the fall clothes, scarves, jeans...but the sad truth is I still don't have much of a wardrobe after packing so light. But I do have two pairs of jeans now, so that's exciting. Okay, less talk, more photos.
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