The next weekend, I went camping with my friend, Nikki, her Chilean brother, and 9 of his friends in Pichidangui. Our camp site was right next to the beach, and it was a lot of fun.

That weekend was the bicentennarial of Chile. We had 4 days off of school, and there were lots of celebrations and carnivals. I went to a carnival-type thing in Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, as well as a ramada (dance floor) in Pichidangui. I'm lucky that I was able to be here for the bicentennarial.

Classes haven't been too difficult so far, and I'm enjoying them. I feel like I have definitely been improving in my Spanish skills, and hopefully this will continue.

**The picture to the left is one of the beaches in Vina del Mar, the city next to Valparaiso.**

Public transportation has probably been one of the most difficult things for me. Using the micros and colectivos is an adventure every time. Micros are the public buses. Generally, it

seems like the bus drivers do not follow the speed limit or the importance of staying in one lane at a time. I'm still learning how to hold onto the bus seats and poles when I don't have a seat (which is often.)

**The picture on the right was shot at sunset

from Paseo Muelle Baron in Valparaiso.**

Meal times and the variety of foods are a lot different than in the United States as well. Here in Chile, they eat desayuno (breakfast), before leaving the house. Almuerzo, or lunch, is the main meal of the day, and is eaten around 2:00pm. They do not eat dinner at 5:00 or 6:00 pm.

Instead, Chileans eat once (on-say), which is a very

light dinner, usually consisting of tea or coffee, bread, and sometimes ham and eggs. Chileans eat a lot of bread, usually at every meal. I've eaten more vegetables and fresh fruit here than ever before. I love going to the mercado near my universidad, because I can buy a kilo of clementines, apples, and bananas for less than a dollar!

**The picture to the right is the main building at my university, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso. I have most of my classes in this building.**

I am taking 5 classes here. I enjoy my Spanish Communications and Chilean Culture class the most so far. I also have a Greek and Latin Etymology class that is very fun as well. My Anglicisms in Chilean Spanish class is difficult because the professor speaks very quickly and softly. I have two history classes, the History of Valparaiso, and the History of Culture. I haven't had too many of these classes yet because the history classes were cancelled this week in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the history department. Happy Birthday!

**The photo on the right is a picture of me in Santiago on top of Cerro San Lucia. The mountains in the background are part of the Andes mountains.**

So far, I've visited Santiago, the capital of Chile,

Valparaiso, where I live, Vina del Mar, which is the city next to mine (which is more of a beachy, tourist town), Con-con, Pomaire, Isla Negra, and Quil-pue. Con-con is a small town near Vina del Mar, but it has beautiful sand dunes. Pomaire is a small town with lots of souvenirs and kilo empandadas. Isla Negra is a town famous for being the site of Pablo Neruda's favorite house. Quil-pue is a moderately sized city that is near Vina del Mar. I visited Quil-pue because a friend lives here.
Next month is going to be a lot of fun. I'm going to be traveling to Argentina with some of the girls from ISA. September 18th is Chile's 200th independance day, so there will be parties in the streets. The government has given schools a 4 day weekend. I'm very excited!

I will update after my next adventures!

La vida es una aventura, viva como corresponde.

Jamie