Well, this weekend has been very busy and really fun. Friday night I relaxed at home and did some homework. I got to sleep in on Saturday a bit, which was very nice. The weather has been gorgeous here recently in the upper 60s and low 70s. Therefore, I decided to read outside on my porch on Saturday. I finished the short novel I had to read for my film and literature class called "El Cartero de Pablo Neruda." On Saturday night, I had a real "once" with my host family and friends. Usually my host mom, Claudia, makes me and Christine a bigger dinner while they have more snack-like food. I chatted with all of them for a bit and then Skyped with my Mom. After that was the real adventure of the night!
The night life in Chile is literally crazy. Many people don't go out until midnight or two in the morning! Thank goodness I have friends who want to leave a bit earlier in the night. Taryne, Rachael and I met at the metro station at 9:45 to ride into Valparaíso last night. Rachael and I hadn't been out in Valparaíso at night before this, but Plaza Aníbal Pinto had been recommended to us by our Chilean professor and Chielan tour guide who is a student at the same university as us. We met up with our friend Elizabeth once we got there and checked out a couple places. Unfortunately, not a ton is even open until a bit later. We found a cheap place to hang out in for a while. Then we went to a restaurant that looked kind of like the Rainforest Cafe. It was really fun.
As we were walking about after the restaurant, we saw a huge crowd of people outside a "discoteque" that our Chilean Conversation and Culture professor had told us about, called Mascara. She said that they played a lot of 80s music and that it would be really fun, so we decided to go in! We got in pretty quick due to the fact that we're "gringas," but we still had to pay a $7 cover fee. Interestingly, the word "gringo" is not meant in an offensive manner here like it is in some other Spanish-speaking countries. It simply means any foreigner in the country.
Anyway, the music they played was hilarious. We heard George Michael, Spice Girls, Banarama, and tons of Lady Gaga. We loved it. We actually ran into one of the Chilean tour guides and his friend at the discoteque. He was super friendly and nice. Also, there was a performer who did aerial silk acrobatics to one song. I have literally never seen anything like it. Well, at about three in the morning we decided to head out cause we were exhausted and the smoke was getting to us. There don't really seem to be laws about smoking in public places, so when we go out at night all our clothes end up smelling. Mascara was really bad though cause everyone was smoking in the confined dance areas.
Rachael, Taryne and I took a micro home, although we had to wait for it to fill up so it took awhile.
Today, Rachael, Taryne and I went to Cerro Concepción in Valparaíso and explored a bit. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the water was super blue. We decided to find a café that overlooked the ocean and city. We found one with some delicious food and coffee/juice/milkshakes. It was a super fun day. However, I'm exhausted now after my one late night like a real Chilean would do. I'll be going to bed early for classes tomorrow!
Also, there tend to be musicians who play in the metro illegally who are actually super good! I decided to record one pair today, and I'm going to try to get more in the future! Have a good night everyone.
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