Finishing Up!

Hello, everyone

Well, I feel like I should be writing my final reflections on my time here so there may be a bit of that intertwined in the doings of the past couple days.

Tuesday night, Rachael and I went to an interesting restaurant in Viña del Mar called Restobar. We got to sit on a balcony outside and relax, which was really nice. I had a delicious pineapple daiquiri and "churrasco a lo pobre." Churrasco is kind of like roast beef, and I had it in a mix of fried eggs, french fries, and onions. It was really good. I like their random mixes of food here.

On Wednesday I went to class, as usual. We went around two cerros (big hills) to view the street art and graffiti that is super common in Valparaíso (in case you can't tell from all my pictures). It was pretty cool, but we were walking SO fast to get through everything in an hour and a half. It was a bit chaotic, but still better than sitting in the classroom. After classes, I went home to eat and drop off my things. Then Rachael and I went to the archaeology and Francisco Fonck museum. We were told by our friend, Kat, that it was the best of four in the area. It was pretty cool, but nothing incredibly exciting. Even though I really like history, I think art museums are more interesting for me. I spent the rest of the day finishing up some homework and starting to pack (AH!).

Our classes today weren't too exciting. Things are obviously starting to wrap up and slow down a bit. Rachael and I went to some shops by the university for a little bit after school. Sadly, we ran into two of our friends as we were walking and found out that one of our friend's had her iPhone stolen right out of her hand on the street by our school. It was a completely ridiculous situation. I feel horrible, and it's the first case our group has really had of robbery. I'm about to have a huge and delicious lunch with my host family because it's really nice outside. We'll see what the rest of the day holds! Rachael and I wanted to go ziplining in the Botanical Gardens here, but they only will open it for a group of 12 because it's the winter here, so that's pretty disappointing.

In general, this has been a very interesting trip. I've found out that I do not want to live in a city in the future. It's too overwhelming for me, and I just don't like it. I love to be in nature and see trees and grass and other green things. As much as I love Spanish and the history of Latin America and Spain, living the culture is so, so different from learning about anything. It's been exhausting, but my Spanish has definitely improved. It's going to be really different to be back in the United States, especially in the intense heat that's been going on! I'm so excited to see everyone though and be able to relax and speak in English. I hope everyone's doing well, and I can't wait to be back on Sunday.