On the road through the Andes to Mendoza.
So I’ve been back from Mendoza for awhile now, but as usual I’ve been too lazy to actually put up any photos or post about the trip. I went with three other girls from various ISA programs. It was a very quick trip–we only had one full day in the city–but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The bus ride was really beautiful. The Andes are fantastic, so it makes the eight-hour bus ride pass pretty quickly. The bus company we ended up taking was less than wonderful, unfortunately. The TVs in the bus played aloud the whole time, so getting any sleep was pretty much impossible for me. The movies they showed weren’t exactly, uhh…the greatest quality either. We made it there safely, however, which I suppose is all that really matters.
The first night we didn’t really do a whole lot, but we were able to meet up with my friend Elisa who I know from college in the U.S. She took us to one of her favorite restaurants and I splurged on a pizza that I couldn’t possibly refuse to eat. Diabetes or no. My glucose wasn’t too happy with me, but I’d been pretty good so I had to treat myself.
The next day we started our tour of the city with Elisa. She took us around all the plazas and the city’s enormous park. I felt much more at home in that type of city than in Valpo or Vina. The climate is different, for one thing…it’s drier and more pleasant, even if it is a bit cooler at night. The city is also laid out in a much more sensible way that is easier to navigate than say, the hills of Valparaiso. The streets are wide and lined with trees that are hydrated by a system of channels hat run throughout the city (can’t remember the name of them now). With all the parks and plazas it just has a nicer feel to it somehow. I really miss having parks and greenspace to spend time in. Although it is winter here, so I suppose I wouldn’t be spending a lot of time in a park even if there were any. I guess I’m just missing the warm weather and sun in general a lot these days.
A calle peotonal (pedestrian street) in Mendoza's downtown.
After having lunch in the park we split up and some of the girls went paragliding while my friend Sarah and I opted for wine-tasting. It was neat, but I get a little bored. Once you’ve done one, you’ve sort of done them all. I did end up buy a bottle of really delicious organic white wine for the equivalent of US $5. Incredible. All in all it was a nice tour of the area.
Since getting home I’ve been kind of busy trying to study for my end of semester exams and such. I can hardly believe that I have less than a month now until I go home! I would still like to take one last trip somewhere, but I’m not sure if I can get it together in time or not. I have two tests and a presentation this week, then two tests the following week…and if I don’t pass them I will be in big trouble. Not that I think I will fail, but I can’t afford to slack off right now too much (says the girl who is writing in her blog instead of studying).
In addition, I’ve gotten sick again for about the billionth time since I’ve been here. It started last Friday with just a sore throat and some achiness, but then on Sunday I woke up with a fever and feeling absolutely horrible. I could barely get out of bed. Vivi took me to the doctor who told me that I have some sort of virus, but it’s not the flu. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory for me and some “Flemex” cough medicine type of stuff. So far I do feel a lot better, but not 100%. I’ve been sleeping a lot and trying to take it easy so it doesn’t get any worse. I certainly hope it’s passed by the weekend.
Anyway, there you have the most recent update on life in Chile. Nothing much exciting is going on at the moment, but I’ll keep you posted (albeit probably a bit tardy).
