update and more photos!

The mine we went in near Oumey.

That blue-ish tinge on the ceiling was what they were mining for. (I think?)

Ashton and Seth on la micro!

On the way to the vineyards. This is Casa Blanca valley.

Ashton and Whitney at sunset!!!

It is raining. Again. Not that it has rained that much, but its more then I like. hahaha (and it didn't start until about 10:30pm anyway so I really dont have anything to complain about...)
I like to think I am sooo Chileno, I have changed my facebook to spanish and have downloaded some spanish music (AND am listening to it...) and I eat once instead of dinner with the rest of the family AND throw in some Chilenismos whenever possible. hahahahaha Today i was walking back from class and I walk past this car dealership and the guard for the cars said "hello" (yes in english) and I responded with "hola" hahahahaha. (thats the first person to say hi to me when on the streets, and he didn't say it in an uncomfortable creepy way, it was more like look I can speak some english! and since I walk past him everyday a couple times a day at least its was friendly. jaajajaja). Soon enough I'll be less of a wannabe.
Classes started this week... I am taking a intense schedule really, nothing very fun (ie the music class or the enviornmental class sound more exciting). I've got a class about chilean myths, legends, traditions and folklore, a class about politics, social change and human rights in chile, another class called cultural anthropolgy in chile, and social diversity, development and globalization in latin america in addition to the spanish course. And all those are in spanish... yikes! The politics class is going to be hard, the teacher is kind of intense. it will be interesting but intense because my history knowledge is minimal to none to begin with let alone world history knowledge... The hardest class is going to be cultural anthropolgy because the teacher is a true chileno. (the other teachers are true teachers and may or may not be native chilenos). The first day of this cultural anthro class (tuesday, we have each class twice a week) the teacher didn't show... and hes in a band. A famous band called Congreso. They were super popular in the 70s and were sort of an anti-pinochet band and if you mention Congreso to any native they know who you're talking about so thats sorta neat. But he speaks soooo fast and with such an accent or something that i think I caught maybe 1/4 of what he said in an hour and a half. And when we asked him to slow down he said hed slow down a little but its better to learn the language at its normal pace (which is fine, except we also need to learn the material...) and he doesn't use powerpoint or have any notes and just comes in and talks for an hour and a half and then you're done... the other profs stop to make sure you are following, try to get a little class participation in and some even use powerpoint... so it will be VERY interesting to say the least.
Thats just a quick summary for now, we'll see how everything is going after a few weeks.
Here are a few more pictures:

PHOTOS!

The view of Vina from the top of a hill on a road that separates Vina from Valpo

This is Valparaiso. Its super colorful, older and hillier than Vina del Mar.

These are some of the houses in Valpo. Super colorful!!!!

Most of the group at our favorite spot, Cafe Journal.

Me at wine tasting!!! In the Casa Blanca valley (or next to) at the Matetic vineyard.

There are a few pictures so you sort of have an idea of what its like here, sorta? I will try to take some of my house and family and school and stuff so you can get a better idea. and of course none of the pictures do much justice to the area.

COMIDA!!!

Here is long awaited food blog... (i understand long awaited is a slight exaggeration).
Food and meals here are different, there is no way around it but at first they seem pretty minute.
For breakfast I have cereal, right now we have a granola and fruit mix and then a bran flake and fruit mix which are actually really good. They have real pieces of dried fruit (strawberries, raspberries [they are huge on raspberries here], raisins) in them so even though they aren't coated in sweet flavor, its still pretty sweet and delicious. I also have some yogurt and/or torta if time permits. Yogurt is mostly the same, just some different flavors. Like fruit and nut with yes, real pieces of nuts and dried fruits in it. And then the pineapple and others dont have fruit in them, so go figure. Since I am still a meal behind I also get the torta option... (torta is like a cake they have for desert/once right now its chocolate for my dad's birthday, before it was yogurt or a coconut). But Ive been eating the tiniest amount of cereal ever so by our break at like 10 I'm starving and then go down to the little market thing near school and get an instant coffee (I have yet to see a starbucks or any true coffee shop [except for the ones in the ritzy part of Valpo where we went on Saturday], they seem to only drink instant coffee).
Lunch is the big meal here, and its a lot later then in the US, during the week about 2ish and during the weekend about 2:30-3ish. And you have a first course (today was tomato soup!) then a main course, and there is salad and bread on the table [by the time i get through the first two plates i dont have room for anything else so now they think i dont like bread or salad...] and then desert of some sort. Fruit salad is a good one that we've had a couple times, and its not as much melon persay, its got apples, bananas, pineapples, sometimes a marichino cherry, and a little orange. Its incredible! I will always make room for that even if they have to roll me away from the table afterwards. hahahaha. One of my brothers and my mom are home for lunch (today was a chicken breast and spaghetti and tomato soup, all freshly made!) sometimes both brothers or Diego and his polola and last Thursday natalia was home too so it changes from day to day (today was me, my mom and dad and Gustavo). And everyone sits around and eats together. But you dont wait for everyone to et their food, you are supposed to eat it when you get served so it doesn't get cold. And when you are done with your plate you put it in the kitchen right away even if everyone else is still eating (which has been the weirdest thing for me, because they take it when Im done, and then i feel bad for them taking my plate and putting it away...).
Dinner is the most different. There is cenar and there is once. Typically once comes at about 6ish and its just pan (bread) and torta and maybe some ham and cheese for your pan and some tea. So kinda like tea time?? hahaha then there is cenar which is usually really late, like 9-11ish (again depending on the family and the day). My family just has once at 8:30. But they are getting me adjusted to eating late and eating smaller portions then, so to do that they have been giving me another serving of lunch. hahahaha. so the rest of the family has ham and cheese sandwiches and I have pasta and chicken for example. hhahaha. And tea. (except for Gustavo, he has instant coffee...hahahaha). Its the same thing every night and everyone has the same quirks, like the kids all like some cold water in their tea or coffee, but dont just let it sit for a few minutes to cool down... And everyone sits down together for their meals (except for breakfast) and then after everyone is done do people start to leave (mostly just my sister and my dad sometimes).
Then there are just some different things and tastes here that surprise me and what not:
they LOOOOOVE mayo. ohhhh man. on everything and its sold in bags! hahahaha but they have these hot dogs called compeltos which are super popular (have i mentioned they say super? super bien or super rico or super frio. i've picked up on it? hahaha) and they have relish, mayo, avacado and tomoatoes on them... For lunch sometimes the salad is a vegetable (ie corn) and then they just put spoonfuls of mayo on it and mix it up. ahhh! hahahaha
Salads are different. they are just vegetables spread out (like lettuce and next to it are some shredded carrots and then next to that is some cut up celery) and they put lemon juice on it for dressing... i was surprised at how good just the lemon juice was on it. hahahaha.
We had some egg, chicken soup yesterday for lunch and they squeeze a bunch of lemon in that as well.
Olives. they like olives too! for my dad's birthday celebration, we sat around the living room area and had or'dourves of olives, artichokes (?) two types of cheese (fresh cheese, its white and doesnt have too much of a taste, its pretty moist, ie when you cut into it some of the water/milk drips out) some meat/cheese rolls (ham and cheese on toothpicks!) and some peanuts. In a typical meat empenada, there is ground beef, onions, olives (whole black olives with the seeds still in them) and egg. They are much better then they sound. hahahahaha
I dont think they really go out for dinner at all and no one makes food for just themselves or anything. There is no peanut butter or easy mac or snacks! NO ONE SNACKS!!!! hahahaha they have all these vendors selling snacks and stuff on the street (ie popcorn, roasted almonds, candied apples/grapes and then legit vendors w/ candy and magazines) but I haven't seen many people buy anything. hahahaha and their grocery stores and gas stations dont really have snacks either. for example a gas station has about 1 aisle of food stuff and then the rest is just other stuff (an aisle of bread i guess... hahaha) and drinks and then stuff for your car or personal hygine etc. its weird.
And the things that we have to refigerate at home (ie eggs!) they dont here. my theory is that its just too dang cold in the house so if there is no room in the fridge, then no big deal... crazy! hahahahaha
Contrary to popular belief there are no chiles in chile. in fact my family hates spicey food. sometimes guacamole can be made too spicey!?! and my family eats a LOT of potatoes and rice. one or the other (or both) for every lunch (and dinner for me...) and there doesn't seem to be the fishy influence I had imagined which is good! ahahaha
anyway Im sure there will be another blog or two on food, but thats just sort of the basics for now. i hope all is well! eat some chipolte for me!!!!!

Chao!

End of week 1

Hola amigos!
What a first week!!! There is just sooooo much to take in!!!! Its already gotten a lot easier to understand people and I have a somewhat better grasp on the area around me and how to get around (I still prefer to walk everywhere then try to take la micros!!). I am still pretty shy about talking to people but that too is getting a little easier. I'm not exactly sure where I ended last time so I will jsut do a quick recap of the week.
Sunday: arrived with host family. I was super nervous but they are very nice and by dinner it was slightly less nerve-wrecking.
monday: We had class at 8:30 and I was pretty sure I knew how to get there, but had allowed myself lots of extra time. My dad walked me to class... hahahaha so there wasn't any trouble. We had dance after class and learned some real salsa-ing so that was pretty fun.
Tuesday: class again and then some of us went to the Chileno office of investigations to register our visa and we had to take la micro. It wasn't as awful because we had a lady leading us and paid for us and everything... but it was really crowded and we could only stand. It made me see how easily your stuff could be stolen because you are hanging on for dear life with your hands above your head and the people in the seats could just sorta fall into you when the bus moved and take your stuff... so yet another reason why I dont want to take la micro.
Wednesday: More class and then we had a big tour of Valpo and Reneca and Concon! This was a 6 hour bus tour!!!! It was cold and overcast and everytime we got on the bus no matter how hard we tried, we were falling asleep... oops! We did see some cool stuff though. At Reneca there were sea lions! (of course I didn't bring my camera because i was thinking it was a walking tour when they said a 6 hour tour of valpo the day before...) so that was neat! And the rock formations were half normal rocks and half lava. It was cool, Im going back next weekend con mi hermana and will take pictures. Then from there we drove to Concon and stopped for some empenadas!!! They were prettty good! Then back on the bus to Valparaiso (valpo for short). Its verrry hard to describe Valpo. It is sorta similar to San Francisco in that is hilly and on the water, but the houses and the architure are sooo neat. They are soo colorful!!! We stopped and went into Pablo Neruda's house (a famous poet who won the Nobel Prize for literature). That was one of 3 houses he has and it was one of a kind. You weren't allowed to take pictures inside (not that I had my camera...) but it was so cool. It truely an artists house. And his view!!! He overlooked Valpo and the port! So cool!!! We took an asencor up to Concepcion and walked aroudn there. There is this graffiti everywhere that isn't really graffiti, its really good and cool looking!! we eventually made it back to Valpo, had some dinner and then played cards with my brothers and Diego's polola (whos name is Fran, short for Francesca, not caty like i thought... hahahaha). So they tried to teach me a new game, but it was really me just holding the cards and Gustavo telling me where to put them. hahahahaha. and Fran said she didn't like that game very much, but I think it was just so they didn't have to try to keep explaining it to me... hahahaha. SO we played some 21 with dominos. hahahahaha
Thursday: Went to class and then walked around Valpo and stuff. (i think??) Then at night we met up after dinner and went to a bar sorta called Cafe Journal (where all the gringos go (a gringo is anyone who doesn't speak spanish, it doesn't matter where your from, if you dont speak spanish, you're a gringo)) and hung out there for a while then went to a discotheque called Stingray. Laura's brother knew someone and he gave us all coupons to get in and for drinks and stuff. We got there really early (at like midnight!) and so that was sorta nice having the place to ourselves. Its weird because they are allowed to smoke inside. So by the end of the night everything you're wearing smells like smoke. A group of us left at about 2:30 or so and it was just starting to get crowded. Its nuts!! I was told that people dont go out to the bars until 12 and then the clubs until 2 or 3 but I didn't take them seriously enough... Tan loco!!!!
Friday: Was a holiday so no one had school or anything. It was POURING!!!! oh man. I dont think I've ever seen so much rain!!! Shelby and I ventured out to the mall to go see a movie (oh someday during the week my sister and her pololo went to the mall to get a few things and I am really close, like 5 blocks...) so that was fun. It was reallly rainy but I was glad to have gotten out. There isn't really a family room or hanging out place like is common in the states, and without heating (and cold wooden floors!) everyone just sits in their beds and watches tv during the day or after dinner etc. So all day it rained and everyone just does their own thing (they also sorta shut their doors to keep the heat in?? i dunno) so i was glad to get out of my room! (we saw made of honor but the spanish name is Quiero Robarme a la Novia which means I want to steal your girlfriend) The weather made me pretty depressed but when I got back after some dinner me and Gustavo and my brother played some cards and they retaught me the game we tried to play on Wed (my mom helped me) and its actually pretty fun. so that put me in much better spirits.
Saturday: I slept in again (noon two days in a row. yikes!) and when I got up it wasn't raining anymore!!! and it was beautiful!!! SO that was great!!! We had lunch and then I met up with the group and we went to valparaiso to try to explore. When we got there half of the group went on a little boat tour and half of us went to explore and look for a snack (guess which group I was in... hahahahaha). So my group (yes the snack group... hahaha) decides that the resturants will be up a little further from where we are (we had no idea where we were though) so we start walking up a hill. Oh man we walked up that hill forever! hahahaha It did make me super glad I was from CO though. I wasn't sweating at the end and my legs didn't burn like the others! hahaha so once we finally got to the top we thought we were close to concepcion and we knew there were some little cafes and stuff there so we start asking for directions and find out we are still about half an hour away! So after walking for a good long time we get to concepcion, the boys went to go find a bar (which in the area there wasn't one its a very artsy, upscale european-like area.) and the girls (and seth) had some coffee and cookies. The boat crew met up with us, we walked to the asencor we had taken the other day and took it down and went back to Vina for dinner (mind you it was 7 on a saturday night...) so we BACK to cafe journal to eat and have some bebidas. we had some delicious! food (at a normal dinner time for us gringos! 7pm!!!) and then had some drinks and a group of us went back home at about midnight and the rest stayed there.
Sunday: I slept in AGAIN but I dont feel as guilty because I dont think my family has really left the house all weekend. (actually i did hear my brothers come in last night a little after I did I think, at least one of them, the other came in later and I think I had woken up when he came in). we had lunch, i thought my mom said earlier but really it ended up being later then normal. (like 2:45 instead of 2ish??) then I met the rest of the group at the beach to play futbol (but i was about an hour late so the games had ended (that and the broken glass in the sand...)) and explored the beach for a while which was pretty cool. its going to be sooo sweet when it warms up more!!! Then Joeys host mom invited us all over for empenadas!!! so that was really cool and we went over there and hung out then i came back, had a little once and finished some homework and here i am!
So overall it has been a pretty great first week. Definitely lots to adjust to and I will try to blog later this week to point out some of the differences that I have noticed and are taking some adjusting. A lot to do with food and eating habits etc.
I hope all is well for everyone else!!!!
Tomorrow is class and then I get my Chileno ID card! (that means im official!!! and a little less gringo-ish?? maybe?) and then we've got dance. hahahaha
OH Thursday was also my dad's birthday!!! I will have to have a whole blog on food/eating in the near future... Es todo for now...
Chao!

HOLA!!!!
Today is the end of day 3 con mi familia. And my spanglish is INCREDIBLE. my spanish is not as good though... hahahaha. I am learning sooo much though. Some of the kids in my program were talking today about how quickly we are picking things up, we can already understand a lot more then we could on sunday so thats really cool. I like to throw in some of the slang that i've been learning about and stuff and throw it in and my host fam loves that. hahaha they get quite a kick out of my "chilenismos" hahahaha
I shall recap... Monday was the first day of spanish class. That went pretty well. Somehow, contrary to my opinion I got placed in the "advanced" spanish class. So maybe I know a tiny bit more then I give myself credit for? No se. Then despues de class we went to a department store called Ripleys and most of the group bought cell phones so we can try to stay in contact with one another. At home I had lunch with my mom which was good. Its a lot easier to communicate with her. She talks slower for me and quieter and she knows some english so at least she understands more of what im experiencing then the rest of the fam. (at least thats what I think...) After lunch I met Mateo and we went to dance (he lives really close) and learned some real salsa!!! (Im not really sure what we've been doing for the past lessons, but thats alright). I am truely dyslexic (sp?) everyway I was told to turn, I went the opposite way. It was beautiful. hahahaha. We didn't have "dinner" until 8:30 again and that was REALLLY intense. My brothers were both there, Diego con su polola (girlfriend in Chilean, novia is when you're engaged) and Naty had her boyfriend, and Gustavo is just very animated anyway... so it was reallly loud. AND they were telling their mom about how they had a party at the house in 2004 when Naty and their parents went to Santiago for the weekend... so that was pretty funny. "mom you cant get mad, we'll tell you if there are no consequences because whats passed has passed." hahahahaha talk about setting themselves up for trouble! hahahaha so it was a very interesting dinner. (PS my dad walked me to class! I didn't have to take the micro or worry about getting lost or anything, it was glorious!)
Today (Tuesday) I went to class (8:30 every day! que temprano!) and then after class we went back to ripleys for more phones and then I went home for lunch and everything. This time it was just me and my brothers and Diego's polola (i think her name is caty, pronounced caught-y??) so that was cool because it was more relaxed then dinners and they had music going and everything. Its neat because they eat every meal together. its not like oh hey i made some mac and cheese if you want some, they come and get you and you all sit down together and everything. its neat. Then i went back to school to meet up with the group and we went to go get our visas registered... had to take la micro! No me gusta. Then a group of us walked around townand that was cool, I had no idea how much more there was, and we didn't even get to the beach! (that was our destination and we made it to the water, but not the beach). At dinner it was the fam minus Gustavo and plus Naty's boyfriend, (his name starts with an A...) hahahaha and once again loud and craaaazy! hahahahaha. Oh and Naty y yo y su pololo went to the mall to pick up some things and that wa neat. Its super close! i had no idea! and its HUGE! they thought all the malls in the US were big and that their mall is really small, but its 5 stories and jsut crazy! hahahaha. You can buy batteries here individually, they just open a package and give you some. and you have to go to a special writing/arts and crafts type store to get a highlighter! then we went to the grocery store for bread. It was also weird because at the pen store, you tell them what you want, they get it, give you a reciept, you pay for it and then go to ANOTHER counter to pick it up... it takes forever! hahahaha
Its still freezing, especially at night/the morning, by about 3 its reallly nice out. I made the mistake of wearing a scarf to the police station (and my coat...) i was sweating before I even got to school, then we waited for la micro the rode the micro... hace caliente!
Tomorrow we are taking a big tour of Valparaiso (I am in Vina del Mar) after class so that will be fun I think. Oh I also showered today AND we got a new calefont! and its automatic!!! (but im not sure if its actually working yet or if they have to fine tune it tomorrow? I know they are coming tomorrow to work on it some more but Im not sure if I can shower or not...) wahoo!
anyway thats all for now, bed calls!
Buenas noches!

now really, what have I gotten myself into?

aye aye aye
We met up with our host families today. Turns out all the spanish I was thinking I understood in class and high school was all a lie. My family has been talking to me, and I sorta get the general topic and based on their reactions/tone etc I can guess their feelings and try to react appropriately, but thats about all. Its a mess. I am anxious to get really good at spanish so I can carry on a conversation (or at least answer the questions mostly correctly the first time they ask, or say more than one sentence in another tense other than present...) but getting there is going to be long and painful.
They are soo nice though, I was so nervous but really everyone is very nice and fun and understanding. I am a littl confused because there is an old man that lives here they call maestro. and they introduced me and maybe described him as an abuelo (grandfather) but from what I did understand at dinner, he is not related to them at all. And Im not sure if the brothers live here or not... I'm pretty sure one does but I haven't really seen them all day (one went to work, his second day! and the other went to soccer?? no se) so I really dont know.
Class starts at 8:30 tomorrow, and they showed me how to take the micro and everything, but that is far too petrifying and its only like a 20-30 minute walk, so I think I am going to walk, at least until I find out how close the other kids live so we can coordinate something?
This whole eating thing is probably going to be the death of me, either by over eating or starving. or maybe some unique combination of both. Today we had this HUGE lunch, it didn't look like that much food, but about a quarter of the way through I was "satisfecho" and then they ate "once" at 8:30 which (I ate leftover lunch! hahahaha) is cakes and breads and tea/coffee. Not even dinner! And to think that in real life situations they have once at about 6 or 7 and then at 8-10ish (maybe later) they have dinner. Crazy!
I can't wait for spring/summer! No matter how many layers I have on nor what they are made of makes me much warmer. Apparently if you live here, you develope a higher tolerance for cold. Its not colder then winters in CO by any means, I would compare the weather during the day to October or November in CO... but no heat inside... That will get to you bones because its a cold slow chill freeze. hahahaha My host family put a electric blanket on my bed! So have been so accomodating and awesome so far!!
They gave me a cell phone to use, but I have no idea if it is just for now/emergencies or what. I need to ask, but I also need to know what they are saying when they respond. Same with showers.... Mi mama y Naty told me about the calefront (the thing that you have to start to heat the water...) but Im not sure what they were saying. I thought they said they are getting an automatic one this week? or that its better to shower at night because then it doesn't take as long... No idea. So im going to not shower tomorrow morning and worry about it after class. hahahaha
Their house is very simple. No one has anything on the walls. There are some paintings one of the boys did in the family room, thats about all, for example Naty's room doesn't have any posters or pictures or anything up. I am anxious to hear other people's impressions and thoughts.
Its only 10:30 but I am exhausted!! (i couldn't sleep last night because I was so nervous). And Naty's boyfriend just got here... its a school night! que loco!! and she is getting up at 7... or leaving at 7, Im not sure. I just know mi mama said she would get me up then too?? so i set some alarms. I have to get a clock! and a watch! hahahaha (and a normal size toothpaste. hahahaha)
aye aye aye.
Thats all for now, bed calls!!!

ADIOS!!!

(ps wish me luck tomorrow on getting to school and back (twice!- dance class at 2:40. hahahaha))

orientacion

Hola!!!
So I have survived now 2.5 days in Chile!! (though really the first day doesn't count since I slept pretty much the whole time...) yesterday we met up with the group and everything. I lied in my last post. I said there were 5 people from DU, but there are actually 4 in my program. there is one girl who goes to George washington University but is from Colorado and then another guy who goes to CC. so out of 15 there are 6 of us with colorado ties. CRAZY!! in the hosteria lobby they keep playing some english songs... like buttercup and then old macdonald had a farm and just now i heard the barney intro song...hahahahaha. Last night we went to the local pub (all the bars are called pubs) and it was kareoke night and there was already a group of people in there when we got there (a group of lawyers actually) so we tried to sing along with them and then they tried to sing along with some english songs. Its interesting to see what american songs they have, the first song they played for us (thinking wed all know the words...) was Frank Sinatra, then Michael Jackson... so popular songs, but no one knew all the words. hahahaha so that was funny.
Today we went on a walk aroudn a national park close to where we are staying. It was really neat, we had a guide who would tell us all about the flora and the history of the area. It was in a valley sort of and one mountain was more tropical and the other was much more arid and desert like because the sun shines on it all the time and then the valley was a river bed. And all three areas were different temperatures! It was crazy. Then we went into an old closed mine which was interesting because they showed us what the common metal (?) (mineral?? no se) is. I will upload pictures later. It was scary because we had two head lamps, one for the guide in front and one for the guide in back, and thats it! It wasn't very far but still scary! hahaha reminded me of the movie the descent! hahahah
The water is safe to drink, but it contains more minerals then Americans are used to or something so we aren't allowed to drink the tap water yet. We have to start off by putting ice cubes in a drink then a week later we can try to drink one small glass of water with a meal a day and then go from there. Of course I didn't know that so I just went right ahead and filled a nalgene and was drinking that. I haven't really had any problems other than feeling kinda gassy... sooo we'll see. hahahaha (they said if you dont get the runs within a few hours you're fine...) hahahaha
We have been trying to learn how to dance... yesterday they taught us salsa and merengue... hahahahaha thats quite the experience but then last night some of the people got up and tried out some of their moves and the locals were giving them some pointers and stuff. it was pretty neat! we've got another dance class in about a half hour.
Tomorrow we meet our host family. AHHH! im so nervous!!! I think they will be fun and everything will be fine, its just the whole speaking thing that Im really nervous for.
I will update again when I can. there is already so much to talk about!! and im starting to think in spanish...
adios!!!

Hola de Chile!!

Im here!!!

Yesterday I left Denver at 3, flew to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Santiago. We touched ground at 8 am (there is a 3 hour time change from denver to here, I am now 2 hours ahead, so jet lag wont be too bad) and i was off the plane, through customs and checked into my hotel room by 8:45 i think. it was quick and painless. i am staying at a hotel right across the airport drop off/pick up so thats good. I did not want to have to deal with taxis and everything especially since I am meeting up with the rest of the group tomorrow morning at 9 :45 am.

Flying in was foggy, so there wasn't a whole lot to see. it was neat though because the fog was settled on the ground and the mountains were nice and clear. I was sitting on the west side of the plane so i was overlooking the ocean, but when we were cirlcing waiting to land (delayed to due fog...) I saw the east siade and the mountains were a lot bigger and snow covered and everything so that was neat. Today i am going to take a nap, shower up, organize my stuff (turns out in the 3 day bag i packed at home I forgot to put shirts in... oops! hahahaha) and hang out by the pool or something? Its definitely winter here. I walked out to the hotel and could see my breath and wished I had a sweatshirt on or something slightly more substantial (and was also very glad i wasn't in shorts and a t-shirt like the guy next to me on the plane!)

Im anxious for the rest of the group to get here and get started!!

Adios!