So I have been here in Chile for a week and my has time flown by! Last weekend I got to spend time with my relatives-went to a movie with my grandmother and aunt, had lunch with my mom´s side of the family and got to meet my nephew (?). Actually, I don´t know if you would technically call him my nephew, but he is the son of my cousin. He is 10 months old and adorable. Saturday night I also partied with my cousin Mange. Alex and I went out with her and met up with her Colombian friend and then we went to a bar called Clandestino. We danced all night, until they kicked us out at 5 am. So we didnt get home until almost 6 am, and slept until 10 am, when we had to get up and get ready to go meet my relatives. I was pretty tired, but at least I got a good amount of exercise from all the dancing. Tuesday through Thursday I went to Vina del Mar, where I had studied abroad. Alex decided to stay in Santiago; I think she wanted time to herself. Whatever floats her boat. So I headed to Vina and ended up staying at Matt´s host family´s place. They live in a high rise apartment on one of the hills in Vina, it has the most beautiful views of the ocean, especially at sunset. The first day I just walked around Vina, walked along the beach, and visited places that I used to go to when I lived there. It felt really strange to be back! It was nostalgic and a bit sad, since I was back in a place that I had so many good memories but that most of the people I had shared them with where no longer there. Oh well, life goes on. I got to spend time in the evening with Matt´s host mom Claudia, who is really nice. It was good to catch up with her. Then Wednesday I took a bus to Renaca, a city further north than Vina, and spent the day wandering around there. The beach at Renaca is beautiful! I stopped at a restaurant on the beach and ordered a caipirinha and sat and read a book I had brought. My was the caipirinha strong! I felt lightheaded after, and it was only 2 pm. So then I went to another restaurant and ate a delicious sandwich that consisted of slices of meat, lots of avocado (my favorite), tomatoes, onions, and cheese. Yummy! I was so full after lunch that I could barely walk! So I took a bus to Valparaiso, which is south of Vina, and took an ascensor (elevator) up to one of the hills- Cerro Conception. FYI, Valparaiso is full of ascensores, thats how most people get to and from the hills, since it is almost impossible to climb up and the streets are all sloped. From this cerro, there are some beautiful views. Later that night I went out with Matt´s host brother Andres and a couple of other friends. Like old times, we went to the supermarket around 11 pm, bought some rum and coke, and headed to someone´s house, where we hung out. We were going to go to Cafe Journal, a bar that I always used to go to, but it ended up being too late, and some people had to work the next day. Yesterday I had lunch at my host family´s house. It was so good to see my host mom and host sister. I think I drank too much of a cocktail drink-Mango sour, but I still had a great time, and it was sad to leave. I finally came back to Santiago yesterday evening, and am back at my aunts house. Today I met up with a friend, Tyffanie, that I had studied abroad in Vina with. She married a Chilean and moved here to Chile and now lives in Santiago. So we met up for lunch and caught up.
Tonight we are celebrating my grandmother´s birthday with a dinner at my aunt´s house. It should be fun!
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