Santiago

It has been so long since I wrote anything, I am dreading bringing this up to date. Internet was not as plentiful or as cheap in Bolivia and now in Chile, and for 4 days we were out of any sort of contact with the real world anyways. Here goes:

I am in Santiago, Chile right now. This is day two of Julie traveling solo, because Annie had to fly home because of a family emergency (things are looking ok now though). We were able to do the Salt Flats in Bolivia together, and then to take the 24 hour bus from San Pedro de Atacama to Santiago. It wasn´t as painful as we would have thought. Chile is nice, it is so different from the rest of South America. There is garbage pick up, you can flush toilet paper, the streets are all labeled, you can eat the fruits and vegetables, there is hot water (really)...it is like a different world, coming from Bolivia and Peru before then. Santiago is nice, it reminds me a tiny bit of Paris with some of the streets. It is not that cold, although this is the winter here. Everyone is dressed in enormous winter coats, hats, and scarves, though, it makes me wonder if there is a huge snowstorm coming that I don´t know about. The smog is really bad, sometimes you can´t see the Andes, even though Santiago is at the foothills. I heard that sometimes it is so bad that they do not let the children go out and play at lunchtime, they have to stay inside because the air is so bad. Scary.

Yesterday I went to Viña del Mar to the University of Valpariso marine bio lab to meet with one of Gilly`s (from Hopkins at Monterey) collegues. It was very cool to see the station, and to see a familiar face, although this was the first time I had met her. We had been exchanging emails, and it was great to see someone in sea of other Santiagoans. She was so cute and sweet, and tested my Spanish skills because she wanted me to practice. It is coming along, surprisingly well for never having taken a formal class. Anyways, today I have just been bumming around the city, and tomorrow I leave ridiculously early for San Jose, Costa Rica. I will have about 10 days to travel around before my program starts. I am excited for warm weather!!