Last papers are in, grades still ambiguously left up to the chilean gods (with chilean profesors it really is pretty unknown), hard goodbyes to chilean friends and family and 1,300 high school girls have been said, and I am currently sitting in the Santiago office getting ready for a two week trip to explore Chile´s breathtaking southern lakes region.
Here are some pictures of the final weeks in La serena.
I just got off from another good ol´ overnight bus which really takes it out of you, and then tonight i am going on the train bus combination for another good 17 hours to arrive at the famous chilean island of Chiloé. It would almost be worth it to make the flight, but in the end the cheap college student in us somehow feel like less of a inconvenience and more of an adventure. Chiloé is a beautiful island community that is known for its forests, fisherman, and colorful houses and it will be an amazing first stop to just relax after finishing up a semester.
Our next stop on our trip will be the city of Valdivia. Valdivia sits at the mouth of 2 rivers and is supposed to be a wonderful city. Middlebury also has a program here and it will be interesting to see how the vida valdiviana compares to the vida serena.
Finally, we will spend hopefully around a week around Pucón and the most famous lakes region. My friend Evan and I are planning to do a several-day hiking excursion in the areas that obviously has its fair share of lakes, but also has breathtaking volcanoes, and lush semi-rainforests. It should be an amazing week to get to experience another beautiful side of Chile before i head back to the states, and you all, on the 23rd of december, just in times to be overwhelmed by the culture shock of american christmas. Cuidense mucho and next semester get excited because i will be writing from the charming city of valparaiso, where i have decided to study in for the next semester.
