Isabel Riquelme Chillan

... s, house, out in the country. Jaun has a twin brother, Sergio, and they could not be more different. Jaun is the younger of the two and is very reserved while Sergio is a funny character. The road to Jaun’s home was narrow and unpaved. I don’t know what was scarier, dodging cavernous pot holes, driving though what seemed like the Rio Grande, or nearly killing a flock of wild turkeys that had congregated in the middle of the road ...

... of home! i stayed at this pokey little hostel which was actually someones house, in a teenagers bedroom covered in posters for ladies and basketball players! Without realising it i was the only one ther who wasnt 17 years old and on an international exchange program, all very excited to be away from their teacher! my highlight was cable tv and chilling out for an evening.. however i did have a ...

... well a tad run down, no wifi (even though it was amusingly painted all across the house in BIG letters!) and the windows looked like they were about to fall out but it was clean and thats what matters. We got settled and went off to see the sights and eat. Cathedral was different very modern compared to any others we had seen on the entire trip, apparently this concertina effect inside withstands earthquakes, very different, then we ate ...

... should be able to find a room inside. I think the lady who owned the house was as surprised by our request for double room in her hostel (with private bathroom preferably, thanks) as we were to find out that it was in fact just her house and that she didn´t usually take in paying guests (not least because she didn´t appreciate them relieving themselves in front of her hosue). The fact I am able to write about this now having not lost fingers and other ...

... afternoon. But, no train or road transport, due to the collapses, might be fixed "Sunday or Monday" so my expedition instincts switched on, and I booked a flight for Tuesday night, "just in case". Still no transport links and it is now Monday afternoon, so feel the expense was justified. No photos for this entry, unless you want to see puddles. Manuel buggered off to Concepcion for the weekend ...

... bus) even though we didn´t arrive until 2pm. I´m not sure if we´ll ever voluntarily eat ham again. We saw the contrast between Argentina and Chile even as the bus came down out of the snowy Andes that we passed between (I think it was the first time the young group of Israelis in front of us had seen snow). Most of Chile gets much greater rainfall than Argentina, and the sub alpine forest was notably lusher, with frequent waterfalls. The ...

Chileans measure distance by blocks rather than kilometres or miles - it took some getting used to as my colleagues asked me how far I live. About eight blocks from the office. My three-month solitary journey in Chile, Brazil and Argentina is coming to and end and another trip is about to start to travel around the world. It has been an amazing, emotionally overwhelming and interesting experience. I have... -seen things words cannot describe, I hope to ...

... el extremismo político. El pasado miércoles mató a ocho personas. Horas antes del tiroteo había publicado un video en YouTube que muestra la escuela de Jokela y una foto de él, roja como la sangre. En su manifiesto decía: "estoy preparado para luchar y morir por mi causa". Su causa era una sociedad que a sus 18 años ya veía algo podrida. Ayer fue un día de tristeza en Finlandia. Las banderas de blanco y azul ondeaban a media asta en cada ciudad del país. Con ...

... student to arrive one of these days. The house is lovely - we have a fire place, nice garden with a patio and BBQ. Looking forward to warm summer nights under the vines drinking artisan beer (Juan is making it) and tortillas with my new housemates. This trip has been truly amazing. Most people here seem completely happy with their lives without all the latest gadgets and material things that are seen as important ...

... of stuff and shabby dogs white crosses (I was later told that Chileans are not really that religious, the Catholic church is not doing too well) and Chilean flags, it was almost worse than the US. (I later found out this is all because of the independence month celebrations.) One thing remained at the West side of the bus as a continuous, snow-capped, beautiful landmark - the Andes. I first saw them from the plane (spotted another ...