Back in Santiago

While it only took us a few days to master the metro and markets of Santiago, we have yet to figure out how to order food. Arriving famished, hoping to get a traditional Chilean dish, bistec a lo pobre, Vianna and Kelsey managed to order one beef sandwich to split. After demolishing it in about 2 seconds, we pointed to the picture and got our food MOUNTAIN, fries topped with beef stew and two fried eggs. With snickers from the entirely male tables in the surrounding area we polished off the entire mountain. Neauseatingly delicious. Liza gets along just fine.


Before our orientation began we had the chance to explore some other events around the city. Highlights include a day trip to Valpairaiso, a picturesque seaside city with elevators up the steep hillsides. The houses are full of character and we enjoyed wandering the streets. Our big goal was to reach the ¨Mirador,¨which usually indicates a lookout. After 40 minutes of uphill climbing after these Mirador signs - behold! - a construction site of the new Mirador apartment complex.Another favourite was the Hipodrome horse races, where we witnessed yet another activity primarily dominated by males. Arriving at a spontaneous hour, we had the pleasure of watching two races. Due to the fact that none of us knew how to place a bet - let alone in spanish- we just picked random horses with pretty colours. Kelsey´s horse, number 13, was chosen due to ´peppyness´... he won. It was also a good cultural experience to take in Villa Gramaldi, one of the torture and execution camps from the Pinochet era.

Valpo

In recent news, all the other volunteers have arrived and we have been in orientation for the past 3 days. After briefing how to teach, we´re moving off to our placements in the morning. We are all in the city of Coquimbo in the region of Coquimbo (about 7 hours North of Santiago) and are teaching in different high schools. We´ve received vague information about our families and will provide details when we meet!

-Las Tres