Good afternoon from the computer lab of our “school” here in Chile.  Thank goodness for these computers, otherwise I would be limited to my iPhone for blog writing and that wouldn’t work well and all of you would be left post-less…. the horror!  Yesterday I had “off” in the morning, so I did some exploring and then did some tax things for Hacienda, you’re welcome, Hacienda!  And then today, Thursday, I have been here since 9 am and have attended a 3 hour business class (actually interesting and got me all fired up about Bruja’s Bakery) and now there is a 3 hour Spanish class happening and I escaped for a bit.  In just 24 hours, I have read almost an entire book on the Kindle app, so I guess that’s good!  

Anyway, things are going well here.  I am happy to be here and feel very fortunate (or #blessed) to have this opportunity to see a new country, get to help students learn and grow, and get to go on this amazing adventure….but….with that being said, I (so far) do not like Santiago very much.  I know that sounds bad because so many people would love an opportunity to come here, and I am SURE there are beautiful parts and I KNOW there are amazing parts of this country, but Santiago as a city (again, so far), is really not my cup of tea (or coffee… and so far the coffee in this country has been agua de you-know-what).  This is my blog so I’ll give you my real opinion of Santiago so far: it’s dirty, dusty, smoggy, covered in graffiti, and I haven’t seen anything that I’ve said wow that is BEAUTIFUL! 

Again, I am aware that this makes me sound like a selfish a$$ and I truly hope my tune changes- I am keeping an open mind!  Yesterday we went on a walking tour and I thought “this is it! this is when we will see the beauty” but nope.  I think I am too spoiled by some incredible traveling so ignore me and my opinions on this.

Ok, rant over.  Here are some photos!

Our Apartment (the penthouse!)

We have a nice two bedroom, two bathroom apartment that is a 20 minute walk from school and from the offices.  There is a supermarket nearby and the views from the apartment are nice.  Besides it being FREEZING, I don’t have any complaints!  We were able to get some groceries and last night I cooked food to last the next few days.

If I had a real job, this is probably the food I would take for lunch every day.

Walking Around

We visited the Santa Lucia hill, a large hill in the middle of the city with pretty views.

And some very scary steps!

We also visited the Plaza de Armas, got to see the eclipse, spent 4 hours at the park near school, and went to the oldest artisanal market in Chile.

Let’s see, what else?  Oh, I found literal AVOCADO TOAST.

Probably the highlight of my entire day.

Jk, things are good- excited to keep exploring and I will report back on what I find!