MORE of day one..the never ending day! :)

This is the skyline of Santiago. The city below...the thick smog, and the the beautiful Andes Mountains :)

Overlooking the Andes...absolutely amazing!

Erin and I on the hill of Saint Cristobal...the view was amazing..well minus the smog

Here are some of the dogs! Oh man they are adorable but covered in fleas. Hannah can I pllleeeaaasseee add more to the zoo? 

Bad photo, but I wans't sure we were able to take his photo for free. But he was playing traditional chilean music while we were waiting or the gondola thingy to take us up.

This is a little pice of artwork in chalk that we ran into before crossing the street by our hotel

June 18, 2009 6:32 pm

This has been the LONGEST day... yesterday day because of travel and today feel like they have just mixed into one. It was way fun getting to explore Santiago a little bit today. The ISA people (Lizette, Cote, Ihor, Caroline) are the nicest people ever. And have given us a lot of tips. 

Today we went to a little cafe and had lunch..and it was a HUGE lunch. I forgot that their lunch was the biggest meal of the day. I was so happy when I found out they had at least one vegetarian option..I had vegetarian lasagne. It was way different than anything I have ever had but SO good. 

We also saw a protest today. Down in the middle of the city, there is this river and people were down there on the sides with little huts they built and fires to keep warm. Lizette explained that these people had taken out mortgages and couldn't pay for them so the rates kept going up and up and so they are protesting to the government. It was crazy..there were police everywhere and Lizette said that these people had been down there for like a month protesting and that today the government were going to go down and pull the people out since Santiago has had a lot of rain and the river is starting to rise and people could get killed. It was crazy, people and police everyone. All kind of people were clapping and cheering the people down below in the river. I wanted to take a photo, but the ISA directors freaked me out a little bit about muggers and people trying to swipe your bags. 

After that we went to one of the major little mountain/hills in Santaigo...it was like 2500 feet up I think, something like that. This mountain/hill was dedicated to Saint Christopher (St. Cristobal) - the saint of travel...but it was odd how there were no statues of St. Cristobal but one massive one of the virgen mary on the top of the hill. We took this gondola ride up it and got to see the skyline of the city. It was nuts how much smog there is here. I mean in some parts you can't even see the city below. But the Andes mountains into he distance are incredible and I know none of my pictures will do it justice!

The money is little tricky to figure out here...but I am working on it with the help of all the other kids. :)

Oh and a freaky story...one of the kids in our group (Luke), he didn't see the ISA people when he got out of customs and there were a few taxi drivers saying that his bus had already left and that they would take him to Viña. So I guess he forgot we were staying in Santiago for 4 days and took them up on their offer and so they took him by taxi on the hour and a half ride to Viña. He paid like over $100. It was a little nutso to hear about, but we are all glad he made it back safely. He told us though that Viña is gorgeous and has quite the view of the ocean. I cannot wait to get there and get this whole thing started. Because right now it only really feels like a vacation since we are just doing fun things and we haven't begun the school adventure. I am having a blast...but I am a little ready for a bit of routine so I can get a little bit more situated and comfortable. Oh and having my other bag wouldn't help either. ;)

The time change is a little difficult to adjust to, and mum you have no idea how handy my watch has been... and yay for it having the right time! :) It gets dark here about 5:00pm because it is there winter time, and that is a challenge going from boise summer weather and time. Oh and it hasn't been that cold here, just a little chilly when you are sitting outside. I cannot wait to get my bag and jacket thats in there!

Tonight we are all going out to dinner, and then I guess some people are going out to the bars and dancing. But I am not too sure about that, I just think that I am here for 6 months while most are only here for a month and a half so they really need to cram it all in whereas I think I have the option to pace myself and not feel like I need to do everything at once. Yeah I guess that is the old lady and spinster part of me coming out. Ugh!

Gosh! I almost forgot! So there are dogs here everywhere and let me tell you this has been the hardest part. I just want to take them all home with me. Maybe Hannah and I can come down here and start a program so these animals can get off the streets? Everyone already has figured out how much of a animal lover I am , and they always ask when I am taking a photo if I am including the dogs too. And of course I am! It is too heartbreaking...especially because they are all adorable, like labs and cockerspaniels. One walked by me today while crossing the street and I had to catch myself from wanting to reach down and pet it and pick it up. Yeah I have gotten some laughs at this. But when you come from living in a zoo, this is pretty tough! Thanks a lot Hannah ;)

Alright well time for a bit of a nap before we go out to dinner. I love and miss you all muchos!