La Serena, Chile

The Serena Crew, Greg-Emily-Angela-Amanda-me-Shawn(we found him at the hostel he is from Berkley)-Mike.

These fine young people dance and sing to get money-they were entertaining!

I finally went horseback riding on the beach, let me tell you it was great!

Only Greg and Amanda joined me on this journey...

The beach here was pretty much the same even though the surfers claim the waves are better, the water still cold!

The light house, we could not go...very antique.

The huge fish at the Japanese Garden.

Me on the Bridge at the Japanese Garden.

Me again, so I almost jumped to get on the rock but I was told not to break any bones....

Chorritos at the market plaza.

Souvenirs any one....I love the colors around the market.

You know I am looking for them all around and I found them!!!!!!!

We saw them as we were driving to La Serena and then back again on our way to Vina, I will get in contact with the people behind these lovely creatures....

La Serena was nice it was warmer did not have to wear my jacket during the day. We did not get to see the penguins because it had rained and we did not see the stars either because it was cloudy. Maybe next time....we did enjoy the horseback riding and walking around town!

Ciao,

Jessica

Santiago, Chile

Virgen Concepcion from far at night as we were leaving Santiago.

My mommy will appreciate these pictures!

I walked all of Santiago and then rode up the San Cristobal Mountain to get a picture of the Virgen for my mommy!

Half of the crew, Michael-Miguel and Rachel-Raquel, can you see Santiago behind us.

As we rode up the San Cristobal mountain, kinda sketchy.

The crew minus me, Rachel, Mike, Greg and little Emily (finally someone shorter than me!)

The Cathedral-Metropolitana de Santiago.

Part of Santiago on top of the Santa Lucia Mountain.

La Moneda-their White House, it was surrounded by their military.

I tried capturing a picture of La Torre Entel as we were running to cross the street but was not very successful, it is their telecommunications tower very pretty.

Santiago was unique very smoggy. People move fast similar to New York but it is a nice place to visit to see the Chilean culture. I will visit Santiago again and will post more pictures later. We did so much walking in one day but it was worth it. We basically saw the entire city we did miss certain things due to damage from the earthquake and them because it got dark.

Ciao,

Jessica

Quilpue, Chile

Machine that puts the cork on the bottle.

Mr. Raab the owner of the winery.

Vino, comida chilena, y amigos...

Just below is where all the action takes place.....

The entrance to the winery.

The country where you can breath fresh air.

On the Shuttle getting ready to taste the wine...

The wine tour was not a usual one since the winery is very small and operated by a small number of people. The food was great it was my firs chilean meal and I give it a 7 not too great but not too bad. The owner is old school and likes to do everything organically, he aspires to use solar and wind power some day. I was asked to work at the winery and of course I said yes so in a couple of days you will be ready my adventures at the winery! I will be practicing my espanol and learning how to make wine and beer organically, maybe even drinking some :)

Ciao,

Jessica

The Week so far...

The week has been spontaneous. I started my advanced Spanish class (in order to get there I have to walk 30 minutes, so I am getting a workout each day) and it is pretty easy the hardest part about it is trying to learn the Chilean way of saying things but I think I am catching on pretty fast. Who knows I might be speaking Chileno when I return. I seem to blend in with the natives here they ask me if I am a Chilena the only draw back is when I am with all the “gringos”, they don't seem to believe me then.

Still no bag but I was assured to get it this afternoon if not I will be heading to Santiago and giving them a piece of my mind. Met more people at school Joe and Rachel who will be interning at a winery, Emily who teaches English to little kids, Michael who will be teaching English to teens, and Greg who works at a winery. It’s funny to walk with the group because everyone yells out “gringos” and then they look at me and look confuse.

Chile is known for a drinking country which I had no idea most people have wine if not beer with their meals I of course choose wine if we eat pasta, my roommates enjoy cooking so for dinner we make something different and eat at the dinner table like a family. My family here consist of Kristy which is the mom she is from Illinois, Corey who is the brother he is from the Northeast, Canadian decent, and Angela who is the sister she is from North Carolina.

We all get along fairly well and do many things together. Monday afternoon we just hung out watched TV and drank wine similar to chilenos and it was pretty chill. Since it was gloomy Tuesday afternoon we decided to go see a movie “Prince of Persia”. It was in English with Spanish subtitles so not too bad. We also watched the Lakers beat the Celtics at a bar which served us Kuntsmann Beer and these “gringos” I am with drank like there was no tomorrow three towers for only 22,000 pesos. We have a TV but the only things we usually watch are reruns of FRIENDS and Two and a half men.

Food here is great! I have been to a German place which serves the biggest burgers in Chile, you literally have to share it (even the guys). Here in Vina del Mar they incorporate other cultures, I still have not found any Salvadorian restaurant but we found a Mexican place and their fajitas/margaritas were better than the ones in Texas (seriously). The hot dog or “completo” is very popular here and it is ridiculous everything they put on it but it is great. The official Chilean drink is the Pisco Sour which contains egg white, pisco, lemon juice, sugar, and crushed ice. The one I had was great, it really matters where you get it because I have heard there are some places that do not do it well.

Ciao,
Jessica

Primer Fin de Semana en Vina del Mar, Chile

I made it to Chile but had no means of communication all weekend due to technical difficulties (gotta love the Wi-Fi here in Chile...not!). The flight was dreadful but exciting. It started with a long delay in Houston and a seat confusion but God managed to work things out and placed me next to a missionary group (great group of people they made the four and a half hours go by fast). I then had a connecting flight from Panama to Chile since I was running late I had to sprint across the airport and pray that the plane wouldn't leave me, I made it but did not have time to get my carry-on which for some weird reason was taken from me in Houston. The five hours on the plane to Chile I sat next to a really nice Chilena with her kids and she let me know the ins and outs of Vina and Valpo, where to go buy certain things and even her contact information just in case I needed anything. Was not able to sleep much due to children playing and flight attendants feeding me at night?! (weird)

I arrived in Santiago only to realize I had a missing bag and nobody waiting for me. I was heading to the phone lines when I saw a man holding a sign with Senorita Jessica Rivas on it, yes I ran to him and almost hugged him. He told me they had given him the wrong flight information and had gone to sleep but since it was too cold he decided to stand and hope I would show up. I was on my way to Vina which would be an hour and a half long and was told bag should arrive later for sure Sunday if not Monday.

I was taken to my house where I met my roommates Cory who was on his way to his internship (dealing with animals/food) which is almost an hour away from where we live, Kristy who woke up just a few minutes later upon my arrival and told me the low down on things-she is currently chillin her internship in marketing starts until Tuesday and Christine who was getting ready to leave for her internship in Valpo with an Art Director.

The weekend was great I bought groceries, a cell phone to talk to my peeps here, went to a huge mall that looks like the Galleria in the Houston, ate a burger con palta which is avocado new word!, took a nice walk along the beach, and most importantly felt the earth move for less than 3 seconds. The tremor was 4.6, at 9pm and we felt it in --the couch moved!

Ciao,

Jessica

Fotografias

Versiculos en las rocas de la playa en Vina del Mar

Gente en la Playa



We need these signs!

El Mall de Vina

Cerros in Vina del Mar

Playa en Vina del Mar

Summer 2010

I am sure you are wondering a few questions:

--What in Chile? This summer I will be in Chile interning in a University and working with an Institute on Renewable ENERGY!

--Why in Chile? I felt I needed to leave the country to experience something different. I did not care where in the world but did want to go to Europe but with all the chaos over there Latin America was a better option and Chile offered me the choice I wanted.

--Where in Chile? I will be living in Vina del Mar literally five minutes away from the coast and working in Valparaiso which is about half an hour from where I live.

--With who in Chile? I am working with a program that coordinates everything and I am going to be living with either three or four other American students.

--When in Chile? I start June 7th and end July 31st but will be there a few days before to get acquainted and stay later to explore South America.

Fukuoka, Japan

"....Pa bailar contigo, se me alegra la nota, Quiero cantar contigo, (quiero) una bachata en Fukuoka..."