It is my 2nd week in Concepcion and 3rd week in Chile. It feels like I just walked off 9 hour plane right yesterday. During this week in school, I have made new friends and furthered my friendships.
This past Saturday and Sunday I was pleasantly surprised for my host family to bring me to the country side. I finally experienced a Chilean BBQ; it was big and it was delicious. During our stay we played karaoke, walked through the forest, and ate a lot of bread! This blog is not only about bread, but this being my third week in Chile, bread has had a huge impact on my way of life.
When I wake up, breakfast usually consists of bread and a type of jam with also some turkey, cheese, or butter. For dinner, we usually eat more bread, and oh is it good. My host family's aunt makes fresh bread in her home and delivers it to us serval times a week, it's so delightful.
On Monday during the school day, I visited a body's exhibit. This exhibit travels around the world and displays real dissected human bodies. Super cool! Because I'm an anatomy freak, I couldn't pass up this opportunity. Just look at the joy.
Tuesday, we headed to the University of Concepcion. Here we had tour guides to show us around the school. It was much nicer than I expected and I was very impressed with the campus. If you didn't know, this country is crawling with stray dogs. They are EVERYWHERE. From the Atacama Desert to Santiago to Concepcion, they defend themselves on the street. I made a few dog friends along the way, and a few of them followed us around on our campus tour, they were our other tour guides.
After a long battle with my sinuses, I finally decided to get some medical help. I was "checked out of school" early on Tuesday (this hasn't happened to me in quite some time). We headed to the local urgent hospital, here I legit sat in a hospital looking room. After a consult with the Spanish teaching doctor (thankful my host sister is a great translator), I was given fluids, steroids, and antibiotics. Needless to say, a few days later I rapping the Spanish lyrics to Despacito (feeling much better).
Our next big adventure was to a coal mine, under the Pacific Ocean! We suited up with a hard hat and battery belts and headed 25 meters into the hole where many men spent their long days working.
On Thursday, my teacher informed me he was going to visit the body's exhibit....
How could I turn it down, again. I payed close attention to details on the cadavers and was even more amazed the second time. --but not in a creepy way.
Friday was the day we were all waiting for. After 3 hours on the bus fighting over Toddy Cookies (similar to Chips Ahoy) we finally arrived to Chillan. We walked off the bus and it smelled of eggs, just as I was warned. There are natural springs in the ground that look like swimming pools. The water is made of actual water and hella sulfur, which is where the sweet smell of eggs comes from. The pools are naturally heated by the volcano we were swimming on top of. How cool! It was hard to put a bathing suit on when there was snow on the ground, but the springs were very warm and relaxing. After, we all went to the city of Chillan to shop and eat lunch. It was either all the sugar I consumed or just exhaustion, but I was completely wired on the bus ride home. Needless to say, my school week ended with a bus sing along to bohemian rhapsody and attempting to tigerland dance in 2 feet of bus aisle.
I can't believe I only have one week left here. I feel sad because I will never experience something so sweet like this trip. I also have vivid dreams at night about home. It's not about my friends or family (sorry) but it's about Raising Canes Chicken Tenders and hamburgers. I'm having an amazing time here and I have so many sweet and caring new friends who also share the same interests as me that I hope to continue our friendships when I get home. But I don't think one more week will be enough for me, I truly do not want to come back..... sorry BR.
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