Hotel Patrimonial Valparaiso

... br>This week was full of little adventures. On tuesday me, Evelyn, and Katie went to the zoo and out for sushi (I know, kind of bizarre), and when we came back we went to watch a movie at Benjamin's house with Andres, Laureano, Nico, and Oscar. It was nice to relax and do something brainless.... yes, going out is not brainless... I have to speak a lot of Spanish when I go out, thank you very much ...

... about signing up for classes. Fortunately I have an awesome history student to help me choose my classes, most of which will sadly be with foreigners. I'm trying as hard as I can to get some classes with Chileans, but for now I'm speaking with the Chilean ISA organizers, the people I meet in markets, my family, and Oscar's friends (with whom we played an extensive game of World Monopoly). <br><br> I keep going back and forth with my confidence though ...

... the head....alright enough with scarying everyone, eddie and i have been fine. we think we are decent at blending in and i am glad that i am not traveling alone when we were walking around at night. <br><br>the highlights so far have been walking around all the random little streets, and seeing Pablo Neruda´s house in isla negra and here in valparaiso. his houses were amazing and had so much character. each item had some crazy historical signifcance or was from one of his ...

... he knows my professors, coordinators, and many others that are dealing with my study abroad program. (He says he'll buy them a beer and put in a good word for me - haha!)<br><br>I love my host family and my new friends, but I miss everyone back home, too! I hope everyone's enjoying the summer back home! For those of you in Ferdinand, have a great time at the Heimatfest!<br><br>Chao Todos!<br>

... Missing the last Metro we walked home to our increidbly ornate mansion hostel in Londres which resembled a mini-paris. We walked home with one of Chile´s many canine gangs (there are dogs all over the place here!) accompanying us home. They chased taxis with their limping legs on the main road as we walked along side doubling up with laughter on some occassions or too terrified to look on at others.

Valparaiso is supposed to be the 'cultural center' of Chile, home of writers, artists, bohemians, etc. It was a thriving port town into the 1800's, until the Panama Canal was opened. It still has some shipping, and is also a summer refuge for Santiagoans, who also head for Viña del Mar north of Valpo, which is basically luxury condos on the beach, kind of like Miami Beach on a hillside. Valparaiso, like seemingly ...

... of about 10c. I took the truck route into Valparaiso Port via Placilla and nearly got carbon monoxide poisoning in the tunnel from all the truck fumes but it was better than staying on the boring Autobahn. Stayed at Vina Del Mar for the night, it has nice beachs and the skyline is like a minature Surfers Paradise. Tomorrow off to La Serena approx 450kms.

... a great start to my Chilean adventures. It´s a really quite unique place, unlike anywhere else I´ve been on my trip due to it´s geographical setting , higgledy-piggledy layout &amp; cultural character. Valaparaiso is a UNESCO world heritage site and designated as the "cultural capital of Chile" by the Chilean congress, which meets here in the city and not in the capital Santiago. Valparaiso´s character comes from it´s setting amongst many hills or "cerros" which ...

... darin belehrt das es amerikanische Soldaten schaffen sich in 20 min so vollzutrinken das sie nicht mehr stehen können....um ehrlich zu sein wusste ich garnicht das so was geht aber ich wurde eines besseren belehrt...sind wohl richtige Kerle,gell? Hoffe das die deutschen Soldaten in Afghanistan nicht so krass drauf sind ;-) Ich bin jetzt also hart am üben um diese Wonne auch meinem Körper anzutun;-) Valparaiso ist eine Künstler Stadt und in der ...

... was shut, so we found another perfectly decent place round the corner to catch up on our news, email and booking reservations. <br><br>(It sounds like our friend Lucy's now in labour, so H we're thinking of you all, please keep us posted!) <br><br>From here we'll probably find somewhere down by the water to eat and then have a fairly early night because we're tired from the coach trip.<br><br ...