i dare you to read this.

here we go now! haven't updated in ages. this post may tend to drone on a bit, so feel free to skip any not-so-interesting parts (or just not read it at all). i believe the last time i legitimately updated was before i left for mendoza. we'll take off from that point...

MENDOZA, argentina.

pretty mendoza.

what a trip this was. since mendoza is a relatively touristy city in argentina, i was not expecting it to be too radically different from vina. i was really wrong. the vibe there was completely distinct. it felt like a quaint little fairy tale village. i especially loved the trees. there were tons of them, big and beautiful, edging the downtown roads creating some nice sunshade and some beautiful light effects in the mornings. the buildings felt much more historical, like there was a purpose and story behind each one. i wish we would have gotten more of an opportunity to explore the city during the day. the only time we were able to walk around were the first and last mornings there.

hostel independencia.

we left vina on a friday night after going to a speaker at our university. we took a bus to mendoza, which first stopped in santiago. the bus ride was relatively comfortable, and i probably could have gotten some pretty decent sleep had we not been interrupted by customs (lights on suddenly - "get off the bus and bring all your stuff!!!!") so many times from 1-3 am. also, i left my chocolate under the bus which was a bummer...ha. we got to mendoza really early in the morning and after much discussion, decided to take a cab to our hostel. we weren't allowed to check in yet, but the hostel provided us with breakfast and let us all crash in their living room, where we watched average joe: jared returns (quality 5am entertainment). around 8, i went out exploring with aly and shannon, where we discovered the northface store (?!), an atm (always good despite the high service charge), and a few adorable shops. we all dressed up in ridiculous (ly awesome ;)) outfits, including crazy patterned leggings and fanny packs (classic chilean style, not so stylish in argentina).

us girls in mendoza.

we went on a bike tour of local vineyards, olive oil, and chocolate shops. the bikes were rode were super retro. i noticed as we biked around how vintage all of the cars were. i seriously felt like we were transported to the 1970s, and i enjoyed pretending like i was in "my girl." we had lunch at a vineyard, which felt like a magical little french countryside retreat. the food was delicious, and we ran into some other girls from minnesota (one of which lives in my apartment complex in vina?). after the tour, there was a big bouncy thing set up for us to play on, which provided a good hour of entertainment. that night we went to a big buffet, where we were pretty much in bennie heaven. we were there for a pretty decent chunk of time (like 2-3 hours?!). afterward, we went out for a little bit, but i was exhausted and starting to freak out about the next day's activities, so i was ready for bed.

me, caroline, brenna, and steph and the skydiving place!

sunday...got up really early to head out for SKYDIVING! wow was i freaking out! i went with brenna, steph, and caroline. the guy (i'm definitely blanking on his name...) ran into our hostel while we were finishing up breakfast, telling us to hurry up and get in the car to go. we picked up two other couples on the way and made it out to the middle of nowhere, where the jump would happen. we got our tutorial, became best friends with the photographer, facundo, stopped at a cute (and ridiculously cheap) little almacen, and basically waited all day for our turn to go (which was last). caroline was the first to go. she was so ecstatic afterward, which made me really psyched to go.

now i'm free, free fallin...

it was quite the experience. we all wrote "hi mom! hi dad!" on our hands, and my ink was starting to wear off while going up because my hands were sweating so much. facundo and the other guys were comforting me, but i was seriously just ready to do it! stepping onto the plane wing was definitely the most intense part. all of your extra skin blows against your face in the wind and you can barely breathe. since you're attached to the guy, you dangle your feet off the plane until he swings off the wing and you're off! the free fall is impossible to explain unless you've experienced it. after falling for 20-30 seconds, he pulls the shoot and you go shooting into the air. my ears kinda freaked out at this point. it was really fun to steer the parachute down. i got a little distracted in the landing because i was excited to see everyone, but i got down okay! :) the bus ride back was hilarious. we were all really high off the experience and were laughing SO much! brenna did this funny little hand motion during her free fall video which we dubbed "the brenna." we did a lot of that during the ride back, talked about how "nobody would understand" our experience, and even made a secret skydivers handshake. it was a good time!

right after the landing!

all dolled up at the hostel.

we spent that night checking out the feria and dressing up for an even better buffet (tenedor libre=free fork) experience at las tinajas. we all agreed it blew the first place out of the water. we headed to bed and woke up early the next morning to explore before catching the bus straight back to vina. it was such a wonderful weekend away!

my chanchito <3

the next weekend was donald's infamous birthday party followed by pomaire. pomaire was interesting, but it was a weird experience being shoved all together into this remote little pottery village for a full day. we had a humungo pot of meat for lunch. i also got some chocolate covered strawberries and a jumbo marshmallow cone (don't let it's ice cream cone appearance deceive you) covered in hard chocolate. my favorite part about pomaire was the chanchitos (little pig figurines). they were everywhere in all different sizes! i'm such a sucker for cute little things like that, and they supposedly bring good luck (all the better). i even got the chance to make one of my own during our clay sculpting play time! my other favorite part of the excursion was calling my host family, only to have my real mom come on the line and tell me she was at their apartment! i got SO excited when i heard her voice! when i got back, i stopped quickly at the apartment, gathered my things, and headed to the best western hotel to meet up with my mom and brother!!!

mom & owner of a restaurant - we were their last customers!

it was SO wonderful seeing mom and david! the best part of their visit was just getting the chance to spend time with them. i definitely enjoyed all of the fine dining as well. we hit up a good amount of the restaurants in vina. i also introduced them to the vina starbucks, where one of the employees asked me how mendoza was (now that's good customer service). my mom got to go to the gym two mornings with glady, which they both seemed to really enjoy!

my fam!

outside of a great choriana joint!

fuerza mineros de chile!

on tuesday night, i went out with my brother and a big group of friends to tutix in vina. tutix is a karaoke bar, and tuesday is the night to go, especially that night since it happened to be the night they started the miner rescue. the place was full of anticipation, and we were all ecstatic when the first miner, florencio avalos, was brought to the surface in the capsule. the rescues continued throughout the next day. it was so incredible when they pulled the last miner out. i am amazed at how much this experience brought everyone together in chile. this has been such a challenging year for the country but has also been so full of joy and accomplishment.

lori and an adorable baby that stayed with us!

the next few weeks up until atacama truly flew by. i have really enjoyed getting to experience a church congregation in vina. my host sister lori introduced me to a place called union church, and i have gotten the opportunity to go quite a few times. a couple of weeks ago we went to their evening coffee house bible study, which was wonderful. it's hard to maintain a spiritual lifestyle while abroad, so i definitely have enjoyed having this church available for me. the people there are really fascinating. one of the lead pastors is from ireland, met his chilean wife while studying in california, and moved here without knowing a lick of spanish. now he's fluent and is raising his family here. another girl we talked to studied abroad in chile during college, met her husband here, and has lived here for 5 years now teaching english. everyone there is so kind and welcoming! i have also been busy working at the hogar and sanatorio, both of which have been the perfect volunteer experiences for me. i love all of the people, kids and adults alike, that i have been able to work with. they are really inspiring.

top of cerro mauco!

the weekend before atacama, i got the opportunity to have some major chilean family time, which i LOVED. on saturday, i climbed cerro mauco in quintero with cesar, glady, simone, and a family friend, leopaldo. i was expecting the whole climb to take about 3 hours, but it took double that! we were all SO exhausted afterwards. i didn't bring enough water, and my shoes were less than ideal for the hike. it was still a blast though and an amazing time to spend some time alone and reflect. on sunday, i went kayaking with cesar in quintero. it was way harder than i was expecting it to be. the kayaks were open so the the water could flow freely in. i thought it was going to be freezing, but the hot sun made it really enjoyable. i got some entertaining tan lines from my wet suit. everyone there was so nice! after getting back and eating, the family made a trip to jumbo with ellen to get some atacama supplies. despite trying to get to bed early, it was a late night with all the packing involved. the next morning, the group left for ATACAMA (next post)!

cesar & i!