Chapa Verde

About three weeks ago, Melissa and I went to a private mountain for an overnight ski trip- gratis. Melissa has befriended her school's librarian who invited us to come with her and her friends to Chapa Verde where we snowboarded for free! Chapa Verde is south of Santiago, about three hours away. We only intended to stay for the day but we were invited to stay overnight and so we took up their offer! We met such awesome and wonderful Chileans that night and had a such a great time.

Leaving Rancagua

The mining town of Sewell

I'm ready to tackle the Andes

Strapped in.

The wonderful Chapa Verde crew! We partied that night...


Melissa & I with the Chapa instructors



Melissa, Cathy and I



Dance party up in heerrrr


party in the mountain


Lovely.

aquí está un video de Chapa Verde

Month Three of Living in Chile

I still can hardly believe that I'm living in Chile. I really do have the ability to surprise myself because since senior year of high school, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go to college right away, but I did at my local community college. During my three years there, I wasn't sure if I would make it to a four-year college, but I did. I went to Montclair State and it was good but I still hadn't found my path. When I graduated July of 2008, I decided I wanted to live abroad. After doing much research for programs abroad, I finally applied to Thailand and Chile to teach English. My fantasy became more tangible. Then I received the call from TeachingChile in May 2009 and I exuberantly accepted. And so here I am, an expatriate in Chile. I love it. It's turning out better than I could imagine. So so so much has happened in the last few months, and I am so proud of myself for bringing myself here all on my own.

Plaza de Armas

The Plaza again



by Parque Bustammante

Our living room

Coming soon: pictures from snowboarding and San Pedro de Atacama

Everybody is inlove in Santiago

Be it in a park, restaurant, bus, mall, subway, or bar, everyone is makin' out in public. Enserio. Tongue and all, head clasped in hands, booty-grabbing- the whole shebang. It's amazing! All of us gringos were quite surprised by the amount of PDA here. From teenagers to adults, everyone is tonguing! It's just accepted here, unlike back in the States. How many times have Mark and I been scolded because of our affections toward each other. I don't think the phrase, "Get a room" exists here in Chile.