Once my group and I flew out of Cuenca and into Quito, we slept over in Hotel Quito for the zillionth time (brought back memories of when we first arrived to Ecuador, awww) and flew out of Quito to Santiago de Chile. We landed a little after 6 in the morning and I must say, it was a beautiful view to see the pinkish-purple sunrise with all of the gigantic mountains surrounding you like arms pulling you in for a hug. That's what I felt when I got my first look outside of the aeropuerto.
Unlucky for me and two other girls in the group, we had to go register at the police station and wherever else as soon as we put our stuff in the hotel. Us three girls are the only ones to have our visas here and all we wanted to do as soon as we got to Santiago was sleep. Everybody else got to but us. That was a long day. Day two was much better and I was in a happier mood. Also, it was rough for me at times because my computer and the hotel's Internet were having a love/hate relationship while everybody else who had a computer had a love/love relationship (Thanks for letting me borrow your computers, Meg y Rachel y Mary!). I really needed to fill my parents and boyfriend in on how I was doing and whatevs. After some exploring around the city on tours and eating with my group, I was ready for day 3 sin el Internet and to tour, have orientation, and get ready to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay for 6 days.
Buenos Aires is full of beautiful people. I saw many tall, skinny girls with long straight hair and dark skin. The men are also beautiful, lots with dark features and bright sky blue eyes. I couldn't help but stare at them too; everything and everybody was wonderful to look at. The air was super humid and heavy in BA and it was raining when we arrived, which I guess is normal during the summertime there. I also noticed that cars with tinted windows are extremely popular. It was difficult to find a car without them! Once we got settled in the hotel for a bit, a few friends and I wanted to grab some grub. We asked the front desk where a good place to eat was, and then we walked 5 blocks or so from the hotel to a great restaurant with great red wine and a good stew that was called "carbonada." The description read "a bittersweet stew with peaches, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, onion, beef..." that got me there. I ordered it and couldn't be happier. It was delicious! I am eating my way through Sudamérica. I then ordered a dessert called "isla fontana" (I know it's 'isla' something, I forgot the second part, but bare with me) which was absolute HEAVEN. Egg whites formed into a whole pie that looks so white and almost like cheesecake but to the bite it's so soft and airy and light! It tasted so sweet and so gooooood! Also, it came with dulce de leche (oh dear Lord, watch out) which I dipped every single bite of my Isla into. My mouth is watering as I write this! Aside from eating, we visited many museums (I'm a fan of self-guided tours, but....) and saw many things and also had to attend classes. Three days later, we left and from Buenos Aires, my group and I took a 4 hour ferry (waking up at 5am to catch a 7:30am ferry, aye) to Montevideo, Uruguay which is right across the bay.
Ah, sunny, windy, and warm Montevideo. Complete with ultra-tan people (their skin is a dark, reddish-brown color), dulce de leche (good and bad), and WATER! After my group and I toured some museums and the city a little bit, on our last full day in Uruguay we went to Punta del Este and spent the day in the small touristy town and had fun at the beach, though it was a somewhat gray day. It was my first time in the ocean (up to my knees, that is) and seeing a jelly fish up close! I was like a little kid in a candy store; excited, amazed, and more than happy to be at the beach.
Thursday was our flight back to Santiago, stayed overnight yet again in Rent-a-Home (love that place) and Friday we had a seminar class and then at 5:30 we met our host families! :)
(All of the above I wrote on Sunday night. The rest, I wrote today, 28/2/11) Today was VERY successful with el micro (the bus) and el metro (the subway). This morning, after my host brother helped me to get to the metro stop of U. Católica, my group was waiting in the metro and once everybody got there, we walked to la Universidad together for orientation, had a free snack and ate lunch, then went down the street a little to U. de Chile for seminar classes. Busy busy and excited for the new semester to finally begin!
Chau!
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