Viña del Mar and Valparaíso!

On April 11th, there was a Rotary conference and we went to the 5th region of Chile. I got on the bus that picked up exchange students at 8 and we were off. I slept unto more people got on. The bus went from Talca all the way up to Santiago. Once there, we got off and met up with the kids living in Santiago. And there, I was reunited with Jodie! 

We were assigned buses and headed on our way. We stopped at a church 

and then we were off to Viña del Mar. It's a super well-known city and a beautiful city on the sea.

It is also known for the big clock of flowers. So we got some pictures by that.

All of the Inbound students!

Then we wen to the Stadium where a big musical festival is held. Festival de Viña. It's a big music festival in Viña del Mar which is supposedly

international. Although I've never heard of it.

I watched it this year in February. The stadium looks a lot bigger on the TV.

The area surrounding the stadium there happened to be a fair of anime things. There were so many costumes. I liked this one the best. hahahaha. Get it?? They are Sims!

For lunch, we went to a Chinese buffet! I was excited because I hadn't eaten Chinese food all year, but was slightly disappointed. The food didn't turn out to be that great. And the sushi was NOT sushi. It, in fact, contained hot dog. Gross!

After lunch, we took a bus a little bit further til Valparaiso or Valpo. This building is the Armada of Chile.

It was a pretty hot day and we spent it walking. I didn't mind too much because the streets of Valparaiso are absolutely gorgeous. The city is one of lots of hills and bright graffiti.

We got some yummy alfajores. A Chilean dessert made up of cookie, chocolate, and manjar.

As we were walking there was a guy that wanted to do a show for us with his spring puppets. So we sat on the ground like preschoolers and watched a puppet show. :3

I loved the colorful stairs:

And the colorful everything.

Anabel (Germany) and I:

I would have liked to buy a little painting, but they were pretty pricey.

There were lot of street acts. Like this dancer. A guy with a black morph suit with a second head.

 

While the guide was talking, we saw a fire in the hills. No one thought much of it at first because they are normal because of the dryness. 

We continued on our tour and then it started getting serious. It got bigger and bigger and ashes began to fall like snow. Whole burnt leaves started to fall.

I really like this picture:

We kept on the tour of the city and we went to the harbor. All the while, the cloud of smoke grew. We got some cotton candy and went to see some ships.

Some of these turned out like war pictures.

Bridget and I:

We went to the cabins and I roomed with Jessica, Morgan and 2 other girls. That night, we were gong to have a dance, but people were tired and so we just sat up and talked. I liked it a lot better. It was awesome talking with these girls. 

A morning game of foosball.

After lunch we got on the road home. I sat with Bridget and we reminisced about our exchanges and thought about how hard it would be to leave. We talked about what we'd learned and what problems we'd had. That was the point that going home started to feel real.

The fire which had started as a common hill fire, grew and grew and made worldwide news. Over 2,500 houses were burnt which left 12,000 people homeless and several deaths. The amazing thing about the Chilean people is the way they come together after a natural disaster like that. In a country with so many earthquakes, fires, and tsunamis, they have learned to work together and pick each other up.