Rock Climbing and New Year's

Guys I went out of the house two days in a row. It was actually crazy. 

Anna before Chile is mocking me because I don't know if I ever had two days back to back to rest when I was at home but now going out for two days straight is literally something worth writing about. 

On Tuesday I went to Viña del Mar to hang out with some of my exchange student friends, Xavier and Killian. Xavier is from the U.S. and actually lives about 2.5 hours from Salem in New Hampshire. Killian is from Germany which is a lot farther away, but we still get along pretty great. 

I took the bus and the train by myself to get to Viña this time around and felt very accomplished. Gonzy, my host brother, explained the whole system to me which was so helpful. I kid you not, he pulled out maps the day before at lunch and broke everything down step by step which sounds excessive but I am so grateful he did because I felt a lot better about traveling by myself in Chile. 

Anyway, when I was on the train there were these two sharply dressed young men, one more Latino looking and the other potentially could have been from the U.S.

Being the country bumpkin I am, I gave them both a smile and a nod when I sat down and didn't think anything more of it. 

However, we all got off in Viña together and when I walked about of the train station to wait for Killian and Xavier to find me, they tentatively approached me and said, 

"Hi, excuse me, but are you from Chile?" 

I laughed a little bit and said no, I'm from the United States. 

They both grinned big and said "Oh my goodness, that's so awesome. We are missionaries from California and Brazil and we felt something pulling us to talk to you"

We chatted for a little while longer and they complimented my Spanish, which I tried not to let go to my head but it still felt good. We swapped WhatsApp information and who knows, maybe I will see them again sometime. 

The cherry on top of that whole story though is that Killian came up to me just as the missionary guys were walking away and goes,

"Anna, why the heck were you talking to those guys in fancy suits?" 

I laughed again and briefly explained, and by then Xavier showed up and we started walking to our morning mission: Rock Climbing aka Bouldering because Xavier corrected me and said it wasn't technically rock climbing but whatever. Rock climbing sounds cooler. 

Basically, we went to this place that had rock walls with different circuits you could do, but none of them were high enough that you needed a harness. They just had thick mats on the floor so if you fell you wouldn't get hurt. It cost about 8 bucks in total for the entrance fee and to rent the special shoes, which for 3 broke foreign exchange students is a pretty good deal. 

We climbed a bunch of different circuits, the boys being a little more adventurous than me, but I still tried quite a few. We also made friends with a guy named Joaquin or Jaccs for short. He knew a lot about bouldering and gave us all kinds of pointers which was super sweet. I think it made him happy that he could practice his English with us, which I felt a little awkward about because I am just so used to speaking Spanish when I am in a Spanish environment but a group of 3 foreign exchange students sticks out like a sore thumb so I didn't really have a choice. 

We stayed at the bouldering place until 12:30-1:00pm ish and then walked to Killian's apartment so he could grab his swim suit in case we went to the beach later. He has the sweetest host sister, and even though I only met her for 10 minutes, I can tell we would get along. 

After that we went to get lunch and decided on an Arabic place and I tried shawarma and stuffed grape leaves for the first time. Both were 10/10, I highly recommend. 

Next we walked to the floral clock that is a famous little spot in Viña and I made the boys take pictures, even though they complained about it. Xavier likes to pick on me and call me a soccer mom, to which I normally make a face but I can't exactly disagree with him because he's not wrong. Oh well. I've accepted my fate. 

Next we cruised on over to the beach and bought ice cream and then sat and chatted for a while. It was getting close to the time I thought Gonzy was going to be done with his doctor appointment, so when Killian and Xavier decided to go swimming, I just went up to my knees because I didn't want to be caught off guard if Gonzalo texted and was ready to go.

Turns out he had a whole other hour of waiting so once the boys got done hopping waves, we walked over to the mall to check out hiking boots because I need a pair for the Patagonia trip we will be going on in March and to buy smoothies. Xavier knows a decent amount about hiking and things so I trusted his judgement, and although I didn't end up buying anything because Gonzy was ready to pick me up, I feel better that I consulted him before that purchase. 

On the ride home I had a good chat with Gonzy. He's been on medical leave from work lately because he hurt his shoulder, and selfishly I've been really enjoying it because it gives me someone to hang out with everyone now and then. He doesn't make me feel stupid or like an inconvenience when I ask questions and I feel comfortable going to him if I need something but don't want to bother Claudia or Gonzalo. That's not to say that I feel stupid or like an inconvenience when I talk to anyone else in my host family, because they are all truly so lovely. It's just been nice to lean on Gonzy a little extra lately. 

The next day I took the bus and train again to go to Quilpué which is the city where my friend Tarek lives. He is the boy who went on an exchange to the U.S. last year in Colorado and now is back in Chile. 

For New Year's Eve I went with his family to Viña again to eat some food at his grandmother's apartment and then walk to the beach to watch the big fireworks show that they do in Viña every year. It's actually one of the biggest firework displays in all of Latin America and people come from all over to watch. It was a bit of a bummer that it was really cloudy so we couldn't see super good but at least I can say that we went. 

When we got done with the fireworks show it was about 1am and we started heading back to Tarek's house because his mom had a flight to catch in the morning. We arrived just before 2am and I was able to call and chat with my family a little bit to wish them a happy New Year which was nice. After that I went to sleep. 

I hung out with Tarek for most of the next day, just chatting and enjoying each other's company before heading home after lunch. I hope I didn't overstay my welcome, I don't think I did but that is the kind of thing my brain likes to torture me about after having a fun time with someone. 

Anyway, that's the recap of the past few days. A couple other fun details are that I have officially been in Chile for 4 months now. A little less than halfway done with my exchange, which feels pretty crazy. Also, I bought some yarn and a crochet hook so I am going to try to dive back into that hobby while I have free time here in Chile. Oh and finally, today is Isaac's birthday and I think we are going out to dinner at a Peruvian restaurant so I may have some fun things to say about that in the next blog post. Check back in to see how it goes :)

Much love always, 

Anna