A day in Santiago

Santiago is a huge city, it's the capital of Chile and the center of political riots and marches. To us September 11 holds a lot of significance, but years before our September 11 was another bombing. This took place on September 11, 1973 in Santiago, Chile. The President's house was blown to bits. The democratic government was crushed by a dictatorship, the dictator was Augusto Pinochet. He was in power for a really long time after that. Televisions became extremely cheap in order to keep the people occupied in houses and not thinking for themselves, while books became extremely expensive so as to keep the people from learning and having knowledge.  An even sadder part is that the US actually helped Pinochet gain power.  Fortunately, the dictatorship toppled about 10 or 15 years ago so now the country is back to a normal political system.

Now to keep you from being depressed from that story, here are some pictures of the city!

The President's house

Carabinera (city police officer) with her awesome dog!

En El Museo Chileno Arte de Precolumbino

(Precolumbian art from South America)

 

The art of a contortionist

Men chewing on coca leaves

View from the top of Cerro San Cristóbal
The Virgin Mary sits on top of the mountain, looking over the city.

photo taken by my friend using my camera

 

photo taken by my friend using my camera

An artsy city called Valparaiso

Pin It

Valparaiso is a very artistic city. Graffiti is allowed under certain rules and as long as you ask the owner of the home.

  

Viva Chile

"In the beginning of time, God created the wonders of the world.
When he was finished, however, he saw that he had many leftover pieces. He had parts of rivers and valleys, of oceans and lakes, of glaciers and deserts, of mountains and forests, and of meadows and hills. Rather than to let such beauty go to waste, God put them all together and cast them to the most remote corner of the earth. This is how Chile was born."
- A Chilean Legend

[Vina del Mar, Chile]

my camera is up and running.
:)

tanta belleza

I really need to find a USB cord for my camera. Until then I really don't like posting because I'm addicted to photographs haha.

But I did find a good picture on google that captures the beauty here in the winter.

classes started yesterday and today i successfully made my way to valparaiso, on my own, on one of the crazy city buses called "las micros." i feel pretty accomplished, maybe city life is for me! 

A few sputters and stutters into the night...

So I made it to Viña del Mar, Chile! Que lindo! This is one of the most beautiful cities that i have ever been in! It kind of reminds me of the california coast, but better. All of the houses here are different colors, there are quaint restaurants tucked in every corner, apartments are in the hills overlooking the beautiful ocean, and the streets are full of the hustle and bustle of chilean flair. Unfortunately and most upsetting is that I can't find my usb cord for my camera... so I can't upload any of the pictures right now. I'm going to try and buy one though because I can't really explain it in words, you just have to see it for yourself.

Today was a huge world cup match... Chile vs Spain. So of course every single person was proudly supporting their country by walking around the whole city making all the noise in the world, dressed in Chilean colors, and had the Chilean flags literally everywhere... painted on bodies, hanging out of windows, attached to cars, used as clothing... you name it there it was. The businesses closed down during the game because every Chilean was watching it. I was in my first taco, which is Chilean for traffic jam. Sadly Chile lost, but despite this loss the celebrating went on far into the night.

Today I realized how horrible my spanish is. It's the most hilarious thing watching us converse! It was mostly "que?" "como?" "lo siento... no intiendo!" "ahhh, que significa...?" along with body language explaining things for the first few hours. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it though, I sat around the table tonight just talking and exchanging culutural information with the family. The sons speak a little english, so it helps when they're trying to explain something to me. The family is so nice, I don't even feel nervous around them anymore. I guess it's because we eventually understand eachother no matter how long it takes to get the point across haha.

hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis OH MY!

[wilmington sunset]

even though i am young i have experienced quite a few of life's storms. but one thing is for sure, none of those storms can silence my love for God! this summer has been a turning point and i feel like He is sending me to chile for something amazing. pray that i will have wisdom to do what is right and give it all to Him. by doing this i know that He will create His own storm, one that i can dance in and not be afraid of the flood. all i want in life is to have God's river flowing through me. 

i'm so excited!!

Packing?

The trip for Chile is 4 days away so I finally started my packing. And wow... I think I'm gonna have too much stuff! It's kind of crazy that you don't really realize how much stuff you have until you need to start packing it. I've learned that before and every time I start packing for something it still overwhelms me all over again.
I don't know why I thought this would be an important post, it's just a ramble I suppose. But what else are blogs for?

12

I can't believe that Chile is only 12 days away! I'm excited and nervous. But the entirety of it hasn't hit me yet...