Adventures in Pucón

July 4 is a pretty exciting day for those from the US. A typical Independence Day celebration involves a parade, some fireworks, and a large BBQ with the extended family in an uncle's backyard. 

September 18 is a pretty exciting day for those from Chile. A typical Independence Day celebration involves everything mentioned above but 10 times grander. 

From what I have heard, Fiestas Patrias used to only be a one-day celebration. And then the 19th was included as a day of festivities. And then the 17th. And sooner or later they just decided to celebrate the whole week. This year was actually the first year my school had vacation all week. So pretty much this year September 18th is being celebrated from September 13-22.

Here's a step-by-step guide to a Chilean Fiestas Patrias celebration:

Step 1: Drink alcohol

Step 2: Repeat Step 1

Step 3: Eat meat.

Step 4: Repeat Step 1 and 2

Step 5: Repeat Step 1, 2, and 3

Step 6: Repeat Step 4

Step 7: Once you are inebriated a good amount, dance cueca, the national dance. 

Summary: Drink, drink, eat, drink, drink, drink, drink, eat, drink, drink, dance! 

For real though. Look at this game at the carnival in town. It's ring toss with alcoholic drinks and if you ring a bottle, that's your prize. 

But think of the children! 

By now you're probably worried that I, being underage in the states but legal here, am taking advantage of this Chilean tradition by getting drunk every night this week. But don't worry, because Colin and I have been in Villarrica and Pucón all week, doing fun things that we will be able to remember.

We set off on Friday night on an overnight bus to Villarrica, Chile. We brought huge camping backpacks, a tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, cooking supplies, etc because we were planning on staying at one of the campsites we found online. We got off the bus and started walking in whatever direction. The small amount of planning I did for this trip included finding some names of campsites online but never getting their information. After a bit of walking we found a tourist information center, but it wasn't open until 9 AM. So we walked over to the nearby lake to wait, and man was that beautiful.

The first step is to admit you have an addiction

So at 9:00 we went to the office and the guy gave us the directions to the three campsites in Villarrica. After the thirty-minute walk, we find out all of them are closed. I started wondering about the qualifications of that worker who sent us to closed campsites. And then I started wondering about the qualifications of the person who looked these campsites up online but didn't realize they weren't open until January.  And then I realized that was me. 

So our only plan to stay at a campsite was already dashed by 10 AM on the first day. We kind of just sat down on a bench and stared at the lake for a while. And when we returned to the tourist office, it was unexpectedly closed. I trusted you, Tourist Information Office, I trusted you.

We ended up just finding a hostel that was $15/night each person. I told the owner that we didn't have enough money to accept his $18 original offer. This is a big step for me - I'm usually too nice to bargain prices. Even though it was a lot more than our original $4/night campsite plan, it turned out to be really great. The owner is a chef and he made us Chilean empanadas every night!

You love empanadas. He loves empanadas. 

Writing this out now, it seems like that whole escapade was no big deal. But in the moment we were super bummed because we didn't want to spend a lot of money and we already brought all our camping gear and we were tired and annoyed with everything. This is where I first realized that this trip was just going to be a test of my faith. When we were just staring at the lake, I asked God to take control of the situation. This is something I should have done before our trip even began. 

Since I've already spent too long writing this post (is that selfish?) I'm going to highlight the best parts of the rest of the trip. 

We went horseback riding! We got to ride through the beautiful Chilean landscape, up and down green hills with farm animals welcoming us at every turn and volcanoes in the distance. Colin seemed to ride his horse with ease. I tried to make it seem like I rode my horse with ease. Let me just defend myself here: First of all, this was my first time actually riding a horse before, so I knew nothing about the form, and the guide's hand motions and grunts didn't help me too much. So I picked my brain for movies that had people riding horses, and tried to mimic what I remember. So between War Horse, Lord of the Rings, Toy Story 2, and Cowboys and Aliens, I think I managed to figure it out. Secondly, I was too heavy for my horse. Going downhill was a struggle to say the least- at times I thought about getting off to give him a break, but I didn't want to try to maneuver that. Thirdly, (and this gets a little graphic) I really had to...use the restroom. And bobbing up and down on a horse is not the best thing to do when you are in that situation. Let's just say that afterwards was the most relieving bathroom break of my life. So during this three hour ride, I didn't know if I was going to make it or not, but if Britney Spears can make it through 2007, I can make it through my first horseback ride. 

WE CLIMBED A VOLCANO! The best part about Pucon is the volcano. Everywhere you stand you can see it in the distance, in all of its glory and might. Our number 1 goal for this trip was to climb the volcano so we went to every volcano-climbing business and finally settled on one, mostly because there was another group we could join (the minimum was 3 people). The night before we made our super-energizing lunches which included lots of peanut butter, jelly, and MANJAR (God's gift to humanity. It's like dulce de leche. Or caramel - but way better. Please pray it will be sold in the states soon). Then the next morning we ate this:

Not what you think it is

Oatmeal with fresh bananas and MANJAR. We met at the business at 7:00 am, got all geared up, and drove to the base of the volcano! Even before we started, I was busting a gut with excitement. There was snow everywhere and the massive monster of a mountain straight ahead. 

At that point I told myself, "Even if I have to turn around now, I am pleased." It was that amazing. But no, we didn't turn around there...not yet. The climb was actually tougher than I thought it would be. The snow made it so every time you took a step, your foot would slide down to where you started, so you had to put in double the effort. 

I took an artistic shot, how many points do I get?

It was pretty slippery so you had to keep an eye on your feet but this was hard for me because of the view. Everywhere you looked, up/down/left/right, there was something magnificent to see. Whether it was the clouds wisping through the mountaintops below us or smoke lightly floating at the peak of the volcano, or the lake down at ground level, it was jaw-dropping. But eventually the weather started getting worse and we got to a point where the visibility was so bad, the ice was so slippery, and the wind was so strong, that we had to turn back. It was too bad we didn't get to the top, but like I said at the base, no matter where I had to turn around, I was so pleased with what I experienced.

Hey Mom look: I'm wearing that hat you made me. Am I your favorite now? 

The whole experience was just so powerful and one where I felt very close to God. He kept reminding me of the Bible verse Matthew 17:20: "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 

No matter how grandiose this strong structure is, God can move it with just one word. His creation is mighty but He is mightier! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you - just have faith! 

Even though we did have to turn around, this was the most fun part. We got to slide down almost the whole way! In our bags we packed little sleds that you can clip on to your belt, and it actually goes pretty fast! The whole time I was just like, "I'm sliding down a freaking volcano right now!" My grin was ear to ear, but so was the snow on my face. 

When we got to the bottom, it was decided that the guide was going to have an asado (BBQ) at his house and the whole group was invited. So after returning to the hostel to shower and pack our things, we went to his house and had an authentic Chilean celebration: we drank, ate, and danced. 

Chile is one long Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial

As you read, listen to this. Play it in the background, and it will get you in the mood. Make sure no one who you don't feel comfortable crying around is near. (Don't worry, it won't be as bad as the first time you heard Adele's "Someone Like You")

I can't believe it's already been a month since I arrived in Chile! I remember back when my first day was over, and I thought, "Before I know it, the first week will be over, and then the first month!" Now I am mad at my past self for jinxing me and making time go by too fast. Why you little!!

The past two weeks have been pretty legit. I actually traveled outside my city, are you proud? Let's start there. With some others through the exchange program, I went to Santiago, the capital of Chile. The Andes are always in view...if the smog doesn't block them, and there are (unsurprisingly) dogs everywhere. So there's this super fun game (I just lost the game) I thought of that's actually spreading. Here are the instructions:

• Rule 1: Go to Chile 
• Rule 2: Walk outside
• Rule 3: Look for a dog
• How to win: If you see a dog, you win

I have only lost once. For all of you still listening to the song, I hope it's at the chorus right about now, because about 10 steps later I saw a whole pack of dogs laying on the grass nearby. One of them was dead. I still haven't decided if that's bonus points or not. Remember when I said this game was fun? 

This building was built to look like a cellphone.
So it was cool for one year...maybe

No matter how high we ascended up the incline on Cerro San Cristobal, Mother Mary was always looking down with a gentle smile . The view from the top was pretty sweet and we even got to see a glimpse of the Andes mountains. Oh and there was a dog up there. Did he ride the incline as well?

Look at that beautiful tower! Too bad there's something blocking our view of it.

We also got a tour of "La Moneda" which is like the White House...but it's for the Chilean president...so it's healthy. The president was actually there using up some of the rooms so the tour was cut short, but at least we got to be a room away from the president of Chile. It's sad the lack of security they had at the door. They literally looked at the top layer of the contents of my backpack and then I went through a metal detector. There was more security at my brother's graduation! But then again, Denzel Washington was there. Oh and there were dogs outside La Moneda.

Do you think the President's guards do duck-faces? 

We also went to the center of the city, "Plaza De Armas" which had street performers, statues (some alive, some not), pigeons, and La Catedral de Santiago. Oh and there were plenty of dogs. 

The school gave us a budget of 10,000 pesos each for lunch. That is $20! Are you alarmed that we went to a fancy place and ordered beverages and dessert with our meals? I mean, if you don't use the whole budget, then they give you less next time, right? 

I went to Chile so I could eat burgers! 

Mote Con Huesillos means wheat berries with a full peach plus super sweet juice.
I want my burger back. 

I stayed for the weekend to visit my brother's friend Gabrielle who actually came to Santiago with him for a semester four years ago. Fun fact (I promise the thing that's fun isn't about dead dogs this time) : she fell in love with a Chilean and now they live happily ever after. Her blog is quite informative and comical, so you should probably read it. THEY HAD PEANUT BUTTER AT THEIR HOUSE! And fresh honey from their own freakin bees. That was a good day. That weekend was full of card games, manjar, ice cream, cool friends, surprise visits, and more touristing! The surprise visit was on Sunday when I visited my brother's host family from four years ago. As soon as they saw me, their eyes got big and they said, "Iguales!!" which basically means "they look identical!" The day before, though, we walked up another hill, saw a beautiful view of the city, ate 'mote con huesillos', and saw our fair share of sad, hopeless, rejected, and lonely dogs (Donate to the ASPCA in the next 20 minutes for a free scratch-and-sniff street dog plush doll). 

My favorite moment of the weekend was on a bus when I heard a "My Heart Will Go On" saxophone solo on what I thought was the radio. This turned out to be a man on the bus with his own speakers, jamming to this heartbreak of a song. I lost it. But being the only gringo on the bus, I thought I had to sing along, so you bet I did. 

This part is called ConConConColin. Concon is a place. Con means 'with'. Colin is my friend. Cachai? We had one plan: to get on a bus to Concon. We literally planned nothing else for the day - it was an adventure. The things we ended up doing:

Walking along the beach.

finding really cool mini-crabs,

drinking Escudo (means Skold in Swedish / Shield in English),

eating both shrimp and crab empanadas,

seeing surprisingly amazing wildlife at a rundown park,

meeting some dogs,

and climbing sand dunes in Reñaca where we could see all of Vaplaraiso, Vina Del Mar, Reñaca, and Concon!

It was super fun. 

So everything is super fun and grand and exciting...until a Chilean tries speaking to me in English. It has happened too many times where I speak to a Chilean in Spanish and he/she responds to me in English. My first problem is that I came to Chile to practice speaking and hearing Spanish. My second problem is that they have such an accent that I don't understand what they say. Colin and I were paying for our subway tickets, and I asked in Spanish, "Two tickets to Puerto please" and I hear something that I totally don't understand. I look to Colin to see if he understood, and after she repeats it a couple times, she then says "In English! Espere!" I then realized that was she was saying was 'Wait' but since we were expecting Spanish and she had such a thick accent, we didn't understand. She wasted everyone's time.

Keep praying for me as I am praying for you all! There are some ministry opportunities that may be coming up, so pray that I will be able to take advantage of them. Love and miss you all!