Finally here!

I'm finally in Viña del Mar! The fight from Dallas to Santiago was 10 hours, and luckily the seat between the guy in my row and me was empty! So we switched off who got to lay down and sleep, haha. He was super nice--he and his brother own a lodge in Chaiten and go down to check up on things a few times a year. (I totally looked them up online--check out their photos here, they are unreal! How can you catch fish that big??) The meals weren't bad either--breakfast was a hot croissant/yogurt/fruit, and lunch/dinner was an indian curry with spinach and rice. Nommm.

One thing I am sad about is that since I was in the center part of the row, I wasn't near a window, so I didn't get any photos of the Andes when we were coming in. Big regret because the sun was setting and the view was breathtaking. I should have just asked someone. Oh well. On the flight back, I'll get some shots.

We got into Santiago around 8:30 CLT (CLT is 2 hours ahead of EST, just as a reference), but then I didn't get off the plane til around 9 because I was in the back. It seemed like forever that I had to stand in line--I think that both the visa line and customs took 2 hours total. I met some girls going to PUCV on the plane/in the airport, and it turned out that the three of us were all riding in a taxi van to Valparaíso together. The two hour ride was long, but it was fun to chat with people who are also international students! Valparaíso at night is so pretty--the lights on the hills were reflecting in the water so beautifully. Viña del Mar, where the three of us all are living in a home stay, is about a 15 minute drive from Valpo. It's equally beautiful in it's own way--it's called "La ciudad jardín" or "The Garden City," and there's flowers and trees everywhere. It's also much more gridded than Valpo.

After a hot shower, a quick tour and some food cooked by my host mom (it was so precious, she had rice and mushroom casserole and salad for me), I called my parents, and went to bed. Phew.