i forgot that i had a blog

i don't even know where to begin!!! i had totally forgotten that i have a blog specifically to update everyone on life down here in Santiago.

well, though i initially HATED Santiago, I am quite settled in and learning to live life in this big city. while my parents were here, we did a tour of Santiago and i saw prettier parts that i learned to like. then we also did a tour of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, two cities an hour and a half away.

i finally moved into Casa Suecia, the student residence where i will be living for the next few months. though at first i was a bit shy and didn't know what to expect, i soon found everyone to be very loving and kind and we have become great friends :)

shortly after, my friend Rochelle came into Santiago to also study for a semester! that same day we travelled back to Viña to go to the "Festival de la Canción," the annual Song Festival where all these artists perform for five days, win awards and they choose the best songs in the world. we had lots of fun at the concert but shortly learned that

1) Personal space does not exist in Chile

2) everyone and their mother smokes

3) too much PDA is non-existant

4) Chilean men are assholes

we froze in Viña, which was surprising because it is a beach town and we were so excited to go to the beach! well we were very touristy and returned to Santiago safely.

very early the next morning and on two and a half hours of sleep, an amazing group of six of us got on a bus to go to Mendoza, Argentina. it was the most amazing weekend of my life! we went rafting, toured the vineyards and just enjoyed each other's company and laughter. not to mention we ate ourselves silly because the food is SOOO good in Argentina and AWFUL in Chile.

now we're back here. we threw a party the night we came back, which was again really fun and we always meet new people :)

tomorrow we will be heading out to La Serena, a beach town six hours north of here, for the weekend. i am excited to travel this much because school starts on wednesday :( so from there it gets more difficult to do longer trips.

i miss home a lot. i miss my friends and i miss my family. but i am holding it up here, making GREAT friends and making the most out of my time here in Chile. I have about five months to go and i always must be optimistic about it all.

AND

i am the only "gringa" here...the only girl from the US. THAT is very exciting.

love you all!

in chile

i never thought the day would come that i would finally be here in Chile! the flight was...LONG needless to say and i was kind of annoyed that i had to be in a plane for so long but i am soooo glad to be here.

tomorrow i am supposed to move into where i am going to be living. so we shall see how long it will take to set everything up.

saying goodbye was painful and hard, especially to my loved ones, but just know that you all are greatly missed. Chile will not be the same without you.

the weather here is maybe hotter than in miami because we are in Chilean summer. the food is not all that good, but i was already warned about that before i arrived here.

i am two hours ahead of everyone in miami, just so you know. write to me if you want and i will try my best to respond!

everything is alright

FINALLY, it seems that everything is piecing together.

+ I bought my plane tickets (including the one for LA!)

+ I decided on housing

+ I finished my visa applications

+ I can still work at my office in Miami these few weeks

- I still need a doctor's note to solicit my visa

- I'm broke

- I hate packing 

I'm excited, don't get me wrong, but I am also nervous as to what to expect. I'm the world's biggest homebody and can't live without my family, friends and boyfriend. this is it, the ultimate leap of faith where I must let go and let God.

where the journey begins

i've decided to start reading the Bible from Genesis only to rediscover why i LOVE the Old Testament so much. sooo many of God's men such as Noah and Abraham were called to do the "unknown" and they obeyed God's command.

the only certain aspect of my trip abroad is where I will be studying. other than that, who knows. Maybe i'm supposed to be learning something about trust...

a new day

i have one month until i embark on a journey that will quite possibly change the rest of my life. 

am i excited?

well of course, but more than anything, i am also really scared because i don't know what to expect. 

still, at the same time, i have hope.