Santiago stopover

So we have had the stop over in Santiago and now I am on the plane to Argentina. The stop over was incredible and I loved every second of it. I remember when I arrived at the airport I was so nervous to meet the other exchange students and apprehensive about what I was embarking upon. I didn’t have to worry about the exchange students, they are some of the most amazing people and I am honestly going to miss them so much this year because they are all in Chile and Brazil. 

Anyway so day 1: 

It was so amazing because Jasmine came to the airport and Svenja + my family and while saying goodbye was hard, I still didn’t feel like I was leaving for a year. Then we started the 12 hour plane journey to Santiago; Chile. Brooke and I played a lot of who wants to be a millionaire (yes we won it!!) and watched a couple of movies and had about 4 hour sleep in total which wasn’t so bad. We arrived in Santiago at about 1:50pm and then didn’t get through customs until about 4pm. Sarah, Victoria and Louis’ families all came to meet them at the airport and that was super cute. Also Max and Nacho came to the airport (they were nz exchange students last year) and so it was really cool seeing them and they were to be our translators for the trip. We then met our other chaperone Norah and also Patricio (he basically organised the stopover for us). They were such amazing people and I am so grateful to have gotten to know them over the past few days. We then came outside to a wall of heat and eventually hopped on a bus, shattered but excited and made our way to our hotel; Hotel Fundador. 

We were all very hungry by this point and we weren’t disappointed. We had a solid 4 course meal, with Ceviche, a lot of bread (which I couldn’t eat) and a lot of meat (like a massive helping) and then fruit or pancakes for dessert. We were so bloated by the end but it was amazingly delicious. Then we went upstairs to quickly change and get ready because we were going to go to the biggest mall in South America. We took the metro there and it was rush hour. I don’t think I have been so squished or sweaty in so so long. It was ridiculously packed but luckily I was with Zayyen and Max and so I was looked after. When we arrived at the mall it was very commercialised and had a big American influence and honestly we were all so tired we hardly looked around. We then went up the tallest building in Chile (and maybe it's the tallest in South America idk) and the views over the city were incredible and I was so appreciative of what I have and what I am embarking on. The boys then grabbed some food and then we jumped on a slightly less crowded metro (although no less hot) and got back to the hotel for a shower and some internet use. I was sharing a room with Victoria and Sarah and it was really nice with them. We then went to bed with excited thoughts of what was to come.

Day 2:

We woke up at 7am to our alarm and went downstairs for breakfast. I had fruit and yoghurt because it was basically all I could eat but boy the fruit was so good. The watermelons were like 3x the size of ours and the strawberries and blackberries were so so delicious. Then we all jumped on the bus and started the long journey to Valparaiso. During the 2 hour journey the scenery changed like every second and it was so beautiful everywhere. The majority of the group slept but I was to glued to the window admiring the scenery to even consider a nap. We arrived at around 11am and went into the parliament house. It was really interesting learning about the history and how their government worked. We also sat and watched the senate which was very interesting to see how it all worked. 

We then got back on the bus and drove on a bit further with the intention of heading to the port. We got out and saw a little market where Victoria and I both got matching bracelets.  Following this we went down to the water and there was some chilean music and we all kind of jammed to it. Then we hopped on a private boat and took a spin out on the water. We saw a seal lying on like a floating kind of buoy thing and got really close to it which was cool and the views back over the city were so beautiful. We then got off the boat (and of course I slipped and nearly ended up in the water haha) and back on the bus to head over to this place on the water for lunch. It was a gorgeous setting and half way through lunch a pair of buskers came along and jammed out some Chilean tunes which was sick. 

The food was quite interesting.. and I tried a lot of seafood with the appetisers (Rose and I were the adventurous ones) and then the fish arrived and it was like a steak, it was the size of the whole plate and looked like pork or chicken, it wasn’t that great and Louis had a similar deal while majority of others got massive portions of fried fish and chips with egg, which looked slightly better. 

We then got back on the bus and went to Viña del mar (another city) which was about a 20 minute drive away. Max told us that the water in Chile was freezing and so we didn’t change out of the jeans and gear we had had to wear to get into parliament but we hopped off the bus and walked onto the beautifully inviting beach. I went straight down to the water and felt it and it was so perfect. So Rose and I went running into the water in our jeans and bra with Zayyen and Louis not far behind in their underpants. It was like being at a beach in nz, although a bit colder and with a sprawling city for a view and not trees. The waves were so massive and really dumpy and sand got everywhere, all through our jeans but it was 100% worth it. We were in the water for ages and then eventually got out to head back to the hotel. 

We changed on the bus and got sand absolutely everywhere ahaha I felt so bad. Everyone except Victoria and I slept on the way back and we just chatted and listened to music. When we got back we all had showers and got ready for the night at the Chilean night club. 

At 8pm we all went downstairs and got on the bus to head out to dinner. When we arrived we were all seated at a long table and just chatted. Then lots of Rotarians came and they sat at the table next to us. Shortly after that, the Chilean dancing started in the room next to us and we could see it all through the glass partition. It was so crazy and cool. Ofcourse Zayyen got up and did the dancing when they asked for people from the audience and it was crack up as. Dinner slowly trickled out and I was starving by this point as I hadn’t had much lunch. Unsurprisingly the main was a massive portion of meat with a small side of veges and chips. We all finished and hit the d floor because the Chilean dancing had stopped and it had turned into somewhere to dance and jam. Zayyen, Rose and I were on the d floor all night and Zayyen especially was a sick dancer. We danced with everyone and even got some of the Rotarians up. By the end we were all dripping in sweat and Rose and I were both dancing with this random Chilean for a while haha. 

We had dessert somewhere in the middle and were up on the stage for awhile dancing. Occasionally they had some English songs which we all screamed at the top of our lungs and the occasional spanish song came on that I knew like bailando and la mordita. I just put my everything into it. 

They had the most crack up bathrooms with pictures of hot guys with abs plastered all over the walls and that was honestly so cool and different from nz, well in truth the whole night was. By 12:15am we were all so tired and we got on the bus at 1am all still buzzing. When we got back to the hotel we said goodbye to Max for forever which was sad cause he couldn’t make it for the next and final day. We were all keen to get in the pool as we were all so sweaty and so we ran upstairs but it was locked and so we all headed off to our rooms. We didn’t get to sleep until 2am and I was so shattered.

Day 3:

Louis, Zayyen, Sarah and I had decided to get up at 7am to hit the pool and when my alarm went off up we got. Zayyen decided to stay in bed though so it was just Louis, Sarah and I. The pool was small and quite cold so we didn’t stay for long but it was quite refreshing at least. Sarah and I got changed and then headed down to breaky. It was more of the same for breakfast and then we went upstairs, packed and got ready and were back downstairs again for 9am. We had a city walking tour in the morning and went to the national library and walked up this hill to a kind of tower type thing. We sang some hsm (ofc) and just had a great time. At 12pm we got back to the hotel and hopped on the bus to go see some other sights. We stopped at this massive building and honestly idk what we were going to do but we weren’t allowed inside and so then we ended up at Burger King cause Louis wanted some?? hahah and then we jumped back on the bus and started the hour and a half journey to the ex- chairman’s house. We got there at around 3pm and then went straight in the pool! We swam for about 4 hours straight, only stopping to have some food. We then performed a couple of songs, a waiata and the boys did a haka which was very cool as we made Graham proud! 

After this Sarah, Finn and Victoria’s families came to pick them up from the house and it was so so sad saying goodbye because even though we had only known them for a little bit, they had become like family. 

Rose, Brooke, Louis, Zayyen and I then got on the bus and made our way back to the hotel where we had to say our second lot of goodbyes for the day to Brooke and Louis which was very sad but  finally Rose and I went up to our room to pack and chill before the big day the next day. 

It’s crazy now how I've become so accustomed to the little Chilean gestures such as kissing people on the cheek when you meet them. Also having a massive serving of meat for like every meal and hearing Spanish around me all the time. Speaking of which, I can already feel my Spanish improving although I know it’s going to be hard in Argentina cause the accent isn’t as nice and clear as the Chilean one. I'm very nervous to meet my family but I have a feeling this year is gonna be a good one.