Fiestas y Viajes

Hola a todos! Things are going well in Chile, but I am little sad because Jeff and Corey are leaving tomorrow. Things are going to go back to normal...but that is ok because I will be visiting them in Brazil on May 1-6!! Yay! Today, I went to Valparaiso with them...I had not planned on it, but they invited me and I had no other real plans--so off we went! It is so cheap to travel there...the hour and a half bus ride only cost around $10 total for both ways. The buses are really nice and they even offer you pillows and blankets! It is like an airplane on land! I have been to Valparaiso with IES already, but we were going to meet up with two other girls that he knows and see Pablo Neruda's house there. I had not seen that yet...only his house in Isla Negra. It was a great day! We arrived there, walked to the center of town, saw the Naval building, the monument for men who died during the War of the Pacific between Peru and Chile, the Chilean Congress building, and saw some great views of the harbor and the thousands of houses on the hills. Then we had lunch at an italian restaurant and had some delicious pizza--my first pizza since February! After lunch, we headed to Pablo Neruda's house. You have to take an elevator up the hill...there are tons of them all over the city because people basically live on the side of the hills. It was still a pretty tough trek up the hill to get to his house after we got off the elevator. We finally arrived and entered his home. They handed us sheets in English to explain the significance of all the things in his home. He has so many different knick-knacks and interesting collections--the decoration is quirky also. All of his houses have a nautical theme to them--he loved the sea and wrote many poems about it. After the tour of his house, we walked back down the hill...this proved to be difficult because it was so steep! Then we hopped back on a bus and returned to Santiago. It was lots of fun and a great way to end our time together in Santiago!

On Friday, there was an IES Fiesta! We had a party at the IES center to celebrate the opening of our new building. This is the first semester that it has been in use! All of the students, professors, and Chilean host families were invited. My Chilean family did not come because they had other plans...kind of sad. All of the students had to make desserts to bring. I made Arroz con Leche (rice pudding) because this is a typical Chilean dessert. My Chilean grandmother helped me make it. It did not go so well because we did not put enough milk in it. I took it to the party and nobody ate it! Haha! I brought it back home, we added more milk, and now my Chilean family and I are enjoying it! Maybe that worked out better!

On Thursday, when I was supposed to meet with Lina, my Catholic University friend, she sent me a text message saying that she could not have lunch because she had a dentist appointment. I was a little bumbed because I was so excited to study the Word with her. But hopefully she will want to have lunch this week and I will have another opportunity to share with her! Please pray that she would come and that she would be open to the gospel!

On Mondays, I am meeting with Alice (the other Christian IES student) to pray with one another and to study the Word together. We are going to study the book of Philippians together...I studied it last summer at the LP and just love this book! I am so excited to study it again with her because she has never read it! I think it is perfect for where we are now in Chile and for our desires to share the gospel with others! Please pray for our time together and that we might encourage one another to grow in Christ.

I have updated my photos and added pictures from my trip to Valparaiso with Jeff and Corey and pictures from the IES fiesta (including pictures of the inside of the IES building). Check them out!

Chao,
Jennifer