Swimming in the Salt...

While in the desert (San pedro Atacama) we took a tour to some of the famous lagoons...Laguna Cejar, Laguna Tebiquinche and Laguna Ojo!! Each lake was amazing...imagine floating with no effort at all....Swimming in Laguna Cejar was an amazing experience. The high salt concentration makes you float so you can lie on the surface and feel like you are lying on a lilo. You can swim freestyle with your head out of the water and when you try to swim you have to make an effort to push your legs back into the water. If you stand up without touching the bottom, you can bob up and down with your chest sticking out of the water, its hillarious. It is an incredible feeling.

When you get out, your skin starts to feel tighter, like it has a mud pack on and soon you get a crust of white salt all over when the water dries off. A jump into laguna ojo solved that problem and took off all the salt! Then we travelled down the bumpy road to Tebiquinche the salt flats....what a BEAUTIFUL place it was!!!!!!! It looked like a huge flat snow field...it was amazin!! The photos we got here where magical, the colours of everything was out of this world!

Pucón

FEB TRIP TO THE SOUTH

My journey to the south of Chile 1st began in Pucon, I had heard of an active volcano you can climb there and great rafting opportunites. Volcano Villarica is almost 3000 meters high and towers over the tiny village, puffing smoke from its crater like a toy steam train. I decided to do the 8am climb to avoid the lazy lot who ascend four hours later. Equipped with everything u could possibly imagine we climbed for a shattering five hours to get to the crater, over boulders and rocks and snow. I was a wee bit scared seeing how high we had to go up and the fact that it was an active volcano. I asked our guide a French-Canadian Ricky Martin look-a-like, to reassure me that we would indeed have good warning if the volcano decided to erupt. Oh yes, he said, the smell of burning flesh is very distinctive. Happy days!!!

Standing at the crater was...emmmm great... the sulphur burns your nose, makes your eyes sting and tastes like crap. The best bit though, was coming back down. We put on extra waterproofs, helmets, and a plastic nappy-like thing round your ass, and then luged down the whole 3 kilometers. It was fantastic!!!!!!!! It took us an hour to come down what we had climbed in five. Plus we passed all the losers who started their climb at 12, so I screamed really loudly and shouted "Not long now!" which was a big fat lie. hahah!!

After spending the next day teaching myself how to walk again I thought it was time for some hot hot hot...termas!!! We went to Termas Geometricas...and wow, it was DELICIOUS!!! A dozen hot springs, and a freezin cold waterfall at the end. I think we spent easy 5 hours there lapping up the roasting water which was heated from the volcanoe...which I believe was 37 degrees!!

As far as rafting goes, I thought it was gonna be a wee beginners touch, o no...the chileans like to "rip the arse out of it". Rapids here in Pucon reach a level 6...the higest u can get and we reached a level 5...whitewater rafting...it was AWESOME!!!

Then came my bus ticket to Puerto Varas.........

Techos Para Chile

Techos para Chile is an organised volunteer programme for the people of Chile. Although Chile is the most developed country of South america it still has more than half of its populations living in poverty and people living in unbeliveable conditions.

This programme literally translates as Roofs for Chile. Its a charity organisation that gets groups of people together at different times of the year. They come together and build houses for the homeless, they put a roof over their head. It is strictly for university students and all you need to do is be enthusiastic about helping those who really need it. The constuction can be individual homes to shelters, and it takes place all over Chile in different towns.

As it is now summertime in Chile and school is out, I really wanted to volunteer for a project like this, so when I heard about it I was anxious to sign up. I spent 3 days with this volunteer project and it has so far been one of the best experiences of my life. I heard so many stories and seen so many things that I didnt even know was possible. I have never seen so many people express so much gratitude for our help. I stayed in a local "hut" while volunteering, very basic but it gave me a reasonable idea of how some of these people lived. I also got to visit other towns, and some looked like hurrican had hit it, and alot of the houses (if you can even cal them houses) where built illegaly on a plot of land, the sad thing is the government cant do anything about it because the country doesnt have the money to rehouse at least 40% of its population. So these people are using the electricty and water from local sources but not paying, so things can get very complicated.

Therefore Techos Para Chile, in my opinion is the of the best projects for this corrupted environment and the best way to help those who really need it!!

I really learnt alot on this 3day adventure and would def sign up again in the furute. Thanks to team Conce who made it an unforgetable experience!

Driest Desert in the World

JAN TRIP TO THE NORTH

After a broken down car, 4 buses, 1 plane and a train we FINALLY arrived to Calama, where we would spend one night before going to the beautiful San Pedro de Atacama. (Might I add...public transport is about as reliable as northern irelands weather). So Calama....not a very beautiful place at all...populated by limping dogs, old drunk, twitching men and some more twitching dogs...I hope its not somethin in the water!!! (This is when i thought...Damn, why didnt i get that rabies injection). On our way travelling here we passed through some strangely beautiful areas, which to be honest looked like some countries had used for nuclear testing. Pink and grey blurry landscapes dotted with reds and blues.

San Pedro de Atacama is a small dusty town in the Andean Mountain range not to mention the driest desert in the world...and being 4,600 meters above sea level "coco tea" is the local drink for the altitude sickness. Although they didnt tell me that after u drink it u throw up 2hours later, nice touch!!! Not to dwell on my health....the water is 100% NOT drinkable..its full of acid and salt and it kills your stomach!! Atacama is also home to some of the most beautiful surroundings in the world!! The road here was beautiful, sooo different from anything I have ever seen before. Patience valley....a road that I swear looks so short, but goes on for at least 40 mintues!!!

I spent my days here being a real tourist, on the excursions, museums and everything. The hole town of San Pedro seems to be a backpackers magnet...most of which have hanging dreadlocks, scruffy clothes and flipflops, fashion statement i guess?!San Pedro is ridiculousy expensive...its also hot as hell but at night.......i have never felt cold like it, its so dry and so high that it holds absolutely no heat whatsoever.

San Pedro is home to Salt flats, valleys, laguns, oasis and geysers, and SANDBOARDING!!!! Its amazing looking through my photos it looks like 4 seasons in 1 day...the salt is so white that it looks like snow and ice. Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley)and Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley)were breath taking...the sunset was the most beautiful I have ever seen, the clearest sky in the world (fact) with the brightest stars!! At the top of the Sand dunes in the desert, water is a MUST...dune jumping was FANTASTIC just as much fun as sandboarding (which nakers you...but great fun) Iv a few cool videos of this so ul have to check them out.

While here I had a hilarious/gross camping experience (in the back of some1s garden, with an outside shower and MINGING toilet with restricted water and an annoying little kid) followed by a more comfortable night in a hostal (Hostal Cabur). Here I met a few people from the US they were great crack but one of the guys kept going on about O'bama and civil rights in latin america. I knew I couldnt stand anymore when he spoke to the non english speaking owner saying how he needed a FAN for his room..."a FAN...F-A-N, its too hot!!!" what he really needed was a SLAP....S-L-A-P!!!...anyway the show must go on.......so the journey continued to the Geysers and the Laguns!!

Easter Island aka Rapa Nui

One of the world's most famous yet least visited archaeological sites and must I add....paradise!!! So glad I took the opportunity to go here, the place is complete paradise and so peaceful. It has the most basic of things, its in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with 1 supermarket on the hole island but you could easily travel the island in 2 days....and check this out, u cant even find it on google map!!

A 5 hour flight from Santiago, 1 flight every 2days and the smallest airport I have ever seen, it was like a little lego builiding. On arriving to Easter Island we were greated with hula necklaces (real flowers) and a freshly squeezed orange juice!! This is one of my best trips so far, the island is completely magical!!! Everything about it, the people, the history, the beaches and language it really is a once in a life time experience. And im sure it isnt anything short of hawaii. I knew I had arrived in a different culture when the cops were wearing hawaiin shirts with their badge attached and hula shorts, (this is one example of hundreds of how relaxed this tiny island is).

We stayed in a apparment which grew bannanas, oranges, coconuts, pineapples, u name it they probably had it, and heres something new, on the island they grow over 15 different types of bannanas, impressive eh?! Nothin in my hole life compares to Anakena Beach, it was just out of this world!! PURE golden sand and crystal clear water, palm trees...I have been to Paradise!!!

As the island is filled with so much history I took a tour of the island soI could learn all about its heritage, culture and people. The pictures say it all, honestly I cant help but smile when I talk about this place. Im sitting here writting and I could go on and on forever trying to explain my time here but words really cant explain it!! We visited caves, Moias (the huge statues), volcanoes and beaches, my tourguide Ian was great he lived in England for 20 years but is originally from the island. What i loved about the island was thta every shop, every tour group, every tourguide where all natives, u could only own a place if you were a native, that way they are keepin their own special culture alive! Every street had a story and with every story their was something magical! The natives are very protective and very proud of their culture and love to tell travellers about it.

Although Easter Island is part of Chile, it is very independent and has its own idividual identity. The people look very different to Chileans, the marjority of them are verrry beautiful (im not saying chileans aren't).

On the island I got to do so many things, climbing caves, exploring volcanoes, horseriding, moutainbiking, surfing, SCUBADIVING and living a non materialized life!! I loved it!! Being there made me really appreciate the simple things in life, such a beautiful place cant be spoilt with such things like Malls, TVs and bascially money. Everything about Rapa Nui was soooo relaxed, life here has no boundaries, no backdoors, life is life!

The fields were like organised jungles with the most beautiful and colourful flowers ever.

Trying to experience the culture I went to many dance shows, known as the Polonesian shows. The instuments they used were unbeliveable, the music and the daners were incredible. Of coures the girls were stunning in all the different outfits and the guys dressed in no more than a loin cloth. I also went to church service and again every1 was dressed in hula shirts with shorts and flipflops, even the dogs came to repent their sins, lieng at the front of the churches, dogs where everywhere!! Although there were hundreds of dogs, horses were the main source of transport here, forget the car, horses ruled this island. It was normal to see a sign on ever street "caution wild horsee, keep watch". it was also normal to see a man on a horse with one hand on the reign and the other hand with a can of Escudo (beer), no laws for drinkin and driving here!!

Another sign which made me laugh "Caution, coconuts and limbs may fall on your head", and for a little pep talk before I went scubadiving the instructor kindly told me that more people die from being hit on the head with a coconut rather than dieing from a shark attack.

This was def the perfect place to spend my last day of 2008 and the first day of 2009. Driving along the coast, around the island, into the sunset was a great way to end 2008 of course followed by a traditional Rapa Nui party. As for scubadiving.........WOW!! I never new so many colourful fish existed....and I got to swim with a turtle which was huge!! I would really consider scubadiving as a career (eh danielle). The peacfulness of swimming down 20m in the pacific ocean was the best experience of my life!

Well that was an extremly short blog on my expericne in Rapa Nui...if u ever have the chance dont hesitiate ...GO!!!!

Christmas in South America

Well Christmas was def a different experience over here!! Honestly cant believe i stuck it out!! I think its important to include the fact that I found it really difficult around christmas time, which I knew I would but I had the best people around me so they made it alot easier! Although im still not missing Belfast I really misss the people in it and the "craic" with all my friends. But this will always be an experience that Im going to have and be able to look back on, not many 18 year old girls from NI can say they spent christmas in South America, eh?!

To be honest sittin on a deckchair, 30 degrees outside and listening to "Im dreaming of a white christmas" being played through the patio speakers, I have never felt less "christmasy" in all my life! Its not such a huge celebration over here, and people reallllly dont care about the presents its all about family time. Spending christmas over here really opended up my eyes, and yeah this is going to sound so cheesy but it really isnt about the presents its the people around you and of course the turkey. People here are so warm and welcomin and you cant help but cherish them all for it, the people def made my christmas here what it was, fabulous!

Chile is full of truley religious Catholics, so you can only imagine all the traditions that they had leading up to and on christmas. One which I really enjoyed was the candle lighting starting from the 4th sunday before christmas. 4 candles of different colours each representing different things, for example peace and forgivness. Each Sunday the families would gather around the candles with all the lights out and read a piece of scripture and short prayers. Another MAJOR part of christmas is the fact that they open their presents on the 24th rather than 25th. The 24th seems to be christmas day. So this day 24th, kicked off with a bit of Mass (experiencin the culutre) at 8pm and there where hundreds and hundreds of people there, it was in a huge field with a stand at the front with different people reading form the bible and singing, it was a nice ceremony and the amount of people that attended was incredible! After the 1 hour long service we went home and had our christmas dinner (minus turkey and stuffing and potatoes), ok ....so it actually wasnt really a christmas dinner at all, meat, rice and salad. ohhhhhhhhh not forgetting my dessert ;) Yes I made banoffee Pie, and if i do say so myself it was delicious!!! Iv turned into quite the wee cook out here!!

After dinner we drank champagne and sat out on the terrace, the humidity could have killed!!when the clock struk 12 it was the long waited present opening time. Mum had sent me a parcel and it had been siting under the tree for 3 weeks so u can imagine how anxious I was!! I also got a lot of cards sent form home and little gifts thank u all so much, it really meant alot! So around 2.30am after evry1 individually opening all their presents I went to Melanies house as her sister was having a bit of a party. For christmas she had me the most beautiful little book ever!!! Photos of us, and everything we have done, lots of little songs and rhymes, I will def keep it forever!!

On top of family dinners and parties I went to a work christmas dinner!!how funny!! For the restuarant I help out in, the infamous "Kikis", I dont even know what it was we had to eat but it was delicious and myth has it, that it you taste this soup then you will stay there forever, so fingers crossed!!

25th, Christmas day I went to melanies house for a bbq with all her family...how strange a bbq!!!!!! We had a bbq, drinks went in the pool had music, it was such a different experience, but I had so much fun!! Melanies family are the best, they have done so much for me and they are such nice people!! That night, was probably somethin close to an episode from the OC!! A bonfire on th ebeach with all friends.....perfect way to end a perfect day!!

Just another great day in the fabulous Chile, eh?!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Down with the lingo

Its about time I tell you some of the chilean lingo that iv learnt! Honestly after studying Spanish for 5years I didnt worry one bit about speaking spanish, as I always did when I went to spain on holiday so I thought yeah itll be a little difficult but ill get the hang of it.....3months later and yeah I have!!!

Slang.............the slang here its...pffft!!!! The parents dont even understand conversations between the young people sometimes so yeah....good luck gringa!!

1. CACHAI used at the end of every sentence, literally i think this means catch, but in chilean form its "do you get it?""understand?" a phrase that I heard often...."Ahhh la gringa no cacha nada" aka The gringa understands nothin!! thanks guys!!

2.ONDA this is used if your talking about a cool guy or good atmosphere...BUENO ONDA...ese chico es bueno onda, hes a cool guy!!

3. BAKAN, CHURO extensively used with young peolple meaning ultra cool

4. PONER EL GORRO - to put on a hat, this use this to mean to cheat on someone

5. FOME meaning boring, bad, dumb, silly, referring to something u dont like.

6. GUAGUA means baby

7. LUCA is like we would say a quid (1000 peso bill)

8. POLOLO/A boyfriend/girfriend, poliando (dating)

9. PUCHA/ CHUCHA is when something bad happens or doesnt go your way, I often here pucha que fome!!

10. YA QUE BUENO (my ultimate favourite)...translated as yeah, watever!

11. TIRAR UN CHANCO ...to throw a pig...aka to burp

12. WEÓN .....aka an idiot but also used for a friend

One thing i also noticed is that they call older people tio y tia, like unlce and aunt!!
When talking about a friend you dont just call them like...Sarah, its LA Sarah...ALWAYS!! eg: estoy con la Sarah

Chao Pescado = See u later aligator

they use ita with EVERYTHING, como estai gordita, amiguita etc...

that will do for now...watch this space

Schools out for the Summer

So, I finished school on 16th Dec and it was so sad to say bye to all the little kids, even tho I know I will be seeing them again in March! you really grow so close to them when your are with them everyday and within my 3 months of teaching there I can honestly say I loved it, yessss mum I actually enjoyed work!!! Everyday I was easily motivated to wake up at 6:30am and take the over crowded, smelly school bus to the other side of town where I would see all the chicititos!! Throughout the last term I have really helped out alot with the junior school and I feel like I have really accomplished something. I loved being the "cool" teacher everyday they were over hugging u and it doesnt matter if they have already hugged u once they will hug u at least another 10 times that day, they really look up to you and u have to be so careful about everything u say and do because they really pick up on it, so fast!!!!

The last week of school we had the christmas concert it was alot of hard work but the end result was great!! 4 days of 8am-8pm to help with the concerts, tiring but worth it!!

I took part in the 3rd basico, "secret friend"aka secret santa. At the beginning the kids had to write letters descirbing themselves so their friend could guess, and on the last day we exchanged girfts! On top of that I got alot of other presents!! One that really stuck out was this little notebook Ignacio made for me. He had glued all these coloured pages together and wrote on every single page, never go home to ireland!! it was so so soooo cute!!

Well their new term starts in March so im back for that anyway, kinda like our september so new classes, new teachers etc!!

Well thats my time of teaching over for now, and I def loved every minute of it!! It would make me think of teaching as a career, but mmmmm well see!!!

Chao

Graduation/ Prom

What a night it was!!!

After being told "No its not a formal, its a prom" the first thing that came to mind was Grosvenor formal and I thought noway, that would be hard to beat!! let me tell you...it most def was up there with it! It was "Off the hook". I was more than happy o get a dress on and a pair of heels :) It was soooooo classy and must I add a free bar all night aka 7pm til 5:30am, also there was an icecream vendor beside the bar, free icecream too, random, but went down well!! Everyone looked great and the boys scrubbed up well. The parents of the graduates came also and it was honestly great banter. On arriving we got photos and a pisco sour (and I was wrapped into a long debate about whether Pisco is actaully Peruvian or Chilean, considering my dislike for Pisco I decided best keep my opinions to myself before some sort of riot broke. Here Pisco is "it" like we have potatoes, they have pisco) nice comparison, I know ;)

After chatting outside and waitin on everyone to arrive we went in to the dinning/dance room to have some food. I could of swore it was some1s wedding, the decorations and everything were all wow! Of course as a "VIP" (I seem to strike lucky everytime) I was outside in this huge white tent with red and pink roses everywhere, with waiters rushing to your every need. With swanky music and the best company ever the dinner was a laugh. That soon ended and off we went to the dance floor for the next 5 n half hours! EVERYONE I mean EVERYONE hit the floor with their moves, there wasnt any billy no mates sittin in the corner. The latin music was def my fave, through in a wee bit of my salsa, (Courtney u know what Im talkin about after our dance classes in ards ;)
Now, I dont even notice the lack of english songs which is great, I find my self singin along with all the reaggetone and the latino beats (everyone finds it hilarious when I sing in spanish to all their songs, im not sure wether its my attempt to sing in general or its my pronountiation haha)
After a looooong night on the dance floor, OH not forgetting the Brazilian part, they brought out all carnival things, hats, feathers, whistles everything and everyone went crazy, enjoyed it alot! Of course everyone told the DJ i was irish, so he done his best to find and irish song and everyone danced around me in a circle wanting me to do some type of Irish dancin, instead I grabbed the nearest person to me (Thanks javiera) and we boogied together.

In no time the lights where on and the broom boy was out, 5:30 and everyone was dieng for an after party. Instead of the beach we headed to Polli´s house where she has the bigest pool ever! Despite the 1hour journey to get there and the added hour due to every1 stopping the bus because they felt sick it was a geg, typical singing/shouting (much like grosvenors bus to the Cremlin).

Pollis house was mad to say the least, as everyone was prepared for the beach we all had out bikins so in the pool we went and then I curled up on the sun lounger and fell asleep for 2hours which felt like 10mins. Spent all day at Pollis house with a bbq and lots of water. Time to go home so walking out of Pollis house I didnt actually realise that we were in the middle of nowhere. We went to take the "Micro" home (the local 4a metro), nothing could be seen for miles, the road just went on....and on...and on...and on, surely a micro didnt pass through there, but after a 40min wait it did, a nicely packed out Micro which came from 3 towns back!! I think this was a true south american experience, on this overcrowded bus, no air, so so soooo hot I felt like id just done a 4 mile run, and looking under someones armpit out the window I could see all the farmers in their field planting an picking their emmmm plants lol! Paolas 5 minute squirt of bottled water and the latin music blasting from the drivers stereo in the front made it enjoyable.

Arrived home around 4:30pm and straight to bed I was, to wake up again at 9pm to go to a friends birthday...nice!! Ill let u think of a word on how i felt on sunday...

anyway, Prom....
como te fue?
buenisimo!!!!!!!
"como la Zorra" ...do not use this apart from when ur with friends ;)

Comida...comida, comida

Aka, food food food!!

I tend to pay close attention to what I eat (unless of course I have spent a night on the town in which case I can be easily distracted by the piping steam of French fries and other deep-fried, grease-drenched delicacies). Of course here, drunk food also does exist (minus kebabs)but there are a couple of extra perks. For less than 20p there are the most delicious little empanadas that can cure any alcohol filled belly. Little stuffed pastries filled with cheese or onions or meat or mushrooms or all of the above are just big enough and just right!


But life definitely doesnt consist only of drunk food and for that I am grateful. Chileans seem to be big on eating lots of fruits and vegetables. The avocados called ´paltas´ (not aguacates) are delicious here and so are the rest of the fruits. I have fell in love with pineapples. Teressa the maid makes the most delicious smoothies.

Breakfast isn´t a meal grande like it is in the UK. In fact, people usually drink a little coffee (cafecita) or tea, eat a little bread and cheese or fruit and they´re done, no greasy ulster frys. Since I am never on time in the morning (or really any time for that matter) I never have time to sit down and eat before running out the door to get to school so really not much has changed.


As for lunch, however, its a biggger story. Lunch, or almuerzo, is the most imporant meal of the day. People eat a lot for lunch. Almuerzo usually consists of 3 courses soup, salad then main course and dessert with a coffee. Oh, and wine of course, wine. While its nice to enjoy a wee glass f wine everyday, I am beginning to understand the incredible importance of the siesta.
Dinner is not dinner its ´once´. Once is bread and manjar also for once there is cheese and jam, ham and avocados and other fruits. Dinner and lunch is kind of like in reverse. Wine is usually a part of once and coffee and tea are always a part of once. It is kind of nice to eat a giant meal at 1 or 2 and then have a small meal and tea before bedtime. Really nice, actually.


So that´s the food issue. My Chilean family tells me that I eat ´como un pajarito´ which means like a little bird. Well thats the food issue :)

Chillin in Chile

So Kamikazee (a club) were doing a casting for a new promo group to advertise their new year party! I decided to go along with Javiera cuz she wanted some extra money for the summer! (Considering no1 here has a job and evvvveryone sponges of their parents it seemed like a good idea) So off we went, and next thing I know im having my photo taken and sittin an interview with 3 Chilean guys!!!! Yesss you guessed it, (i couldnt miss this opportunity, I dont miss many eh?!) i applied to be part of the new Kamakazee Promo Team!!! annnnnd I got it!!! hahah!! I dont think I stopped laughing that whole day...i NEVER would have imagined I would be sitting an interview and having a photo shoot in Chile with a bunch of spanish speakers!!!!!but there ya go....and work starts at the end of this week :) annnd the money is pretty good so, that wil aid my trip to Brasil!!

Im off to the north of Chile, possibly Peru and Bolivia we´re gonna see how time goes! and on 20th Feb.....BIENVENIDOS A MIAMI!!!!!!! like seriously, it is possible to be so lucky!!!! everything has worked out excellent, apart from my flight home which is costing ALOT to change the dates!!

Well, Im back in the school working all of March and back to sunny Belfast mid April (I think)...but watch this space, plans seem to change ALOT here!! No1 is ever on time and and no1 EVER sticks to their plans, its quite head melting!!

Driving automatic cars is not fun!!!

Another boat trip on Sunday, nothing like lieng on the deck and soakin up some rays!!

Christmas has offically started here, last night we had like a wee "ceremony" for the 4h Sunday before Jesus was born, Im not really sure but they do this every Sunday up until Christmas and light different coloured candles which mean different things, its really traditional and supposidly religious, but it turned out to be quite funny and not takin seriously at all, but Im sure Ill get the idea of a Chilean Christmas anyway.

So at school the kids are doing a christmas Concert and its driving me crazy!!! Now i understand why teachers get stressed!!!! Trying to teach Jingle Bells to 90 6 year olds who dont speak english that well...its quite a task!! anyway we have resorted to frosty the snowman cuz some of them know that!!

Week 10 and 11

So after constantly putting it off I finally made Irish Stew!!! be proud...be very proud, it was good!! but mum dont b thinkin ill be cooking when i come home :) it was a one off!!lol!! But at least the family didnt invite round all their mates for lunch that day.....oooo wait they did. The pressure was on...but it was a success!!

Last week we spent running about gettin all decorations for Javieras party, I was a little bit scared when she bought 42 bottles of Pisco and 10 bottles of vodka (alcohol), how many people had she invited???? But the actual day of her birthday we had a pool party a bbq, music and ended the night in the new Casino, i didnt dare play anything, i just casually blended in in the background however Im determined to learn to play the chilean game "cacho" but its soo confusing!!

The christmas tree is offically up!! Its so wierd to be decorating the house and the garden with christmas decorations when the sun is splittin the trees, but it was a nice day and I can happily say I decorated the tree (hem hem, mum never actually lets me!!) :)

So it was the night of Javieras actual party and all I can say is MTV!!!! Bouncers, vip, guestlist, dj, bartenders it was great and I loovvvved all the coloured balloons in her pool!! looked great!! and i got to wear a dress an heels....wuhhu!! It was a heels party...thanks to me ;) All the girls had their heels kicked off within an hour, suppose its just like Belfast!!!

WELL.......i experienced my firts earthquake on sunday!!!! scary stuff!! I thought my time was up...only lasted for a few seconds but was soooo freaky, iv never ever experienced anything like that so was a bit scary but app it happens all the time in summer, so ill be gettin use to them!!

At school weve been working on the christmas concert for 10th and 11th Dec and its so funny allt he little kids are singin frosty the snowman, and in their accent its just the cutest thing ever!! The older ones have a theme of the UK so im trying to help there although does anybodyactually know anything about Wales.....i have no idea!! They have extennnsivly used fairies and leprachauns for N.Ireland...I suggested Ian Paisly and the Sash but I dont think thats what they are looking for!! (not really but I know that will make emma long smile)!! Can´t believe I only have 3 weeks left here!!!!!! Im going to be sooooo sad when I have to leave, well that is if im not coming back to work here in March, but thats another story!! Sports day tomorrow and we had a class field trip today to a national park, was good, but 90 kids..not so good!! Seen Chiles national animal and flower and it was a nice day out with all the niñitos!!

Took a trip to the beach yesterday to a place called Tomé....ANOTHER paradise!!!! The scenery was beaaaaaaautiful!! it was a private beach so it was just three of us on this hugeee beach! The beach houses there can be rented out over summer so I would love to get one with a few friends it was like something from a film! The sea stretches sooooo far it meets the sky with a mist rising in the middle, nothing to see for miles!!! All the houses are on a huge hill that leads down to the beach this was really beautiful, unfortunatly no pics, the camera died...of course!!
While we were there a few guys came and started doing all these mad jumps and backflips they had music and were doing all this freestyle dancing, was so good!! While I was there I seen alot of signs "Danger of Tsunami".."Evacuation Route" so, between the earthquakes, hundreds of volcanoes that there are here and the possibility of tsunamis I´d say Im pretty safe!!!

Huge charity event this week called Teleton!! It lasts 26hours and everyone goes to the bank "Banco de Chile", online or phones up and donates money. Its kinda like children in need, huge huge event, everyone has it spray painted on their cars, including last years total so that they can beat it this year!! Its for all disabled children and poor areas of chile (which Iv seen alot more of)!! Ireland is actually everywhere, i went to the store the other day and they were selling "Sandwhich Irlandes" ....apparently it had Irish chicken!! ....im sure it did!! well i didnt try it anyway so well never know!!

Welll....enough for now muchachos!!
take Care...emails welcome!!!! I wanna hear all the bizz!!

sarah xxxxx

Well the

Life in Concepción

So....lately I have been so busy, with everything you wouldn't believe!! To mention a few, I went to Chile vs Argentina rugby match which was actually at Saint John's school , their rugby pitch is very impressive, one of the best in Chile I believe. Chile pathedically lost 71-3, lets say its just like going to see Northern Ireland attempt to play football!! That night I was invited to the Country Club where the team was hem hem..."celebrating" their victorious win, anyway I went and had a great time!!

Last week a group of friends and I went to Knockout...the hottest club in town...jaja!! No, it was a really good night, but seriously the parties herelast forever, especially when the car wouldnt start and we had to push it home at 6am, but still I was able to make it in school for 8am!!! I can safely say I splet like a log that night!! Spent the whole might telling creepy guys..."sorry we dont speak spanish"well that plan backfired when one shouted...its ok i speak english!!! On top of that lots of bbqs and the usual days at the beach and the pool, I think its impossible to get sick of this life....=)

School Time...

In the school I had to put together a presentation on the giants Causeway because some of the older classes were studying “Myths” so of course Finn McCool was included in there, it went really well!! Also had to do a powerpoint on Northern Ireland for the younger pupils, because it is a British school they are really interest in everything in Belfast from the people to the religion to food and to animals, and I cannot count how many times I have been asked about Guinness and Whiskey. WE DON’T ALL DRINK IT!!!! Apart from working in the classes, I help out in the junior library, I take a lot of the kids for “story time” it’s a way for them to get use to my accent. On Thursday afternoons I also have Art club, it’s only with 10 kids but when there are 10 7 year olds and a lot of paints its hectic!! I have to plan what they can paint etc, right now we are painting Santa’s and Christmas cards. I avoid speaking Spanish with the children because all their classes until they are 13 are in English (their English is really impressive) and mainly because I’m not allowed to speak in Spanish with them. There is this one little girl Macarena who asked, “Miss, do you know any Spanish?” and I said no I don’t know any, so we have to talk in English and every since she brings me a word in Spanish on a piece of paper and tells me to “learn” it for the next, she’s so cute!! I have to say working with kids is definitely eventful no two days are the same!! If I have told you about the story of the girl and her dog bones you will know what I mean.

Apart from that I have been on many day trips with the classes to museums and parks and picnics. The other week I went to a really poor school in San Pedro and donated some books form the library, I also have spent some voluntary days there reading to the children and helping them with everything really!! The school has been great in giving opportunities for voluntary work, they had a project in San Pedro to build houses over a weekend it was a really great experience!! I also went with a church organization to the same place to help with shelters etc!!

Santiago

Well, spent Halloween in Santiago is was definitely a different experience to Halloween in Belfast, no fancy costumes aka no girls dressed up in the shortest nurses outfit they can find!! Instead we had our own fancy dress, in bikinis. The pool party was awesome!! I was in Santiago for a long weekend at the end of October until 2nd November, wasn’t quite how I expected to be honest, was probably about the same size as Belfast, taking advantage of being a tourist I took the “Touristik” bus. Got to see everything in Santiago, which wasn’t really that much mainly buildings and statues although I did enjoy San Christabol hill, with the statue of the virgin. Valentina and I (a friend from Santiago) took the teleferica which went really really high up to the hill through the most beautiful park ever. Met some Mexicans there and we had a wee converse about Ireland, as you do!!

The best thing about Santiago was definitely the Mall (de las condes) it was like a city its self, it was huge with a boulevard and a live jazz band on all day and night, the restaurants where delicious…..Que rico!!!! Tasted my first Peruvian meal also in a gorge restaurant, food was very spicy but great and of course with it came a Pisco…que asco!!!!really not getting use to the drink at all!! It was so funny walking through the supermarket in Santiago and hearing ”you can call me Al” upper sixths song!!! It made me smile J Santiago was a successful trip, a lot of shopping, what I enjoyed the most was the main Plaza, it was beautiful and the buildings where impressive!!!! Loved the reggaetone band playing in the market and all the paintings also!!

Buenas Aires

Well, last night I just arrived back from Buenos Aires, what can I say....the city is magical!! And the Argentinians are feos!!!!!!! very delicious indeed!! I stayed with a friends friend in argentina and the family were so nice and really helped us to see around the city!! they introduced us to "factor A"aka factor argentina and they say anything random or strange that happens is simply factor A!! for example in the spanish fountain/monument there was a guy casually swimming......NAKED!!! he happily got out and danderd on down the road!!!
Seen soooo much in the city and it is completly different to Chile!! The weather was crazy, very hot and humid, around 34 degrees celcius every day!! Apart from the beautiful Argentinians I did see a lot of the city. Huge city and taxis and scooter take over about 90% of the road, the driving is crazy, seems traffic lights are just there for show!! From the buildings to the cafés, buenos aires is definitely the european city of south america, learnt alot fo history about the city too was really interesting but ill not bore you with it!! The amount of dog walkers was unbelieveable, every day I seen about 13 people with 10 dogs each walking through the parks!! I loved the late night flower shops that were open, they were beautiful and always looked better at night time. The ice cream was wow!! The meat.....delicious!!! I HAVE to mention La Boca, if you ever have the chance to go to Buenos Aires, La Boca is the place to go there is a street called La Caminito and it is fullllll of music, painters, dancers and of course the unforgetable coloured houses!! It was really fabulous!! The Tango show at Senor Tango was unforgetable....from the horses, the dancers, the costumes the live band and the hall it was superb!!!!!!!! I am dieing to go back already!! The clothes in argentina were dirt cheap, the handcraft "ferias"were amazin, Puerto de fruta was the best in Tigre, bought a few things...yano ;) !! While at Tigre we took a boat crusie along the river it was like Venice, the houses on the river and there was actually a boat that sailed about selling food etc, just like a shop, the thing that amazed me the most was the gas station in the middle of the river!!! To mention a few more memorable things was the Cemetery, the grave where like houses, the Design Mall, mechanical Flower (opened at sunrise and closed at sunset with hundreds of colours) oooh the japanese garden was beautiful also!!
"Si buscas un amigo comprarte un perro" If your looking a friend, buy a dog!! This was a free tshirt i got at a feria!!! One thing i really loved about buenos aires was the atmosphere, the whole vibe of life was great!! well i cud go on forever about it, but for now that will do!!!

October Blog

Sorry I have been so bad at keeping posts on this blog but I am making sure to keep in contact with everyone.

Well people this is number two of the updates i promise itll not be as long as the last one!! Iv alot to say yano, Im surrounded by these chileans all day and all night long, no escapin, but I have to say they are the friendliest people I have ever met! Im already invited to a prom (yihoo) and about 5 different people´s houses on Christmas including lots of relatives house across South america.wuuhuu!! "Work" has been goin great gettin use to this hole "Miss Sara" thing its a geg!! The little kids hang off my legs and clap when i walk in the classroom its such a different attitude over here compared to back home. The kids run up jump on ya and kiss ya on the cheek and its totally normal to hug, kiss and show a little bit of affection to the kids, if you dont its actually seen as quite rude! It was book week last week its been hectic , there have been storytellers, magicians, plays, parardes everything, all the wee kids really luv it!Startin to understand sooooo much more, its amazin how much u find urself learning after a few weeks, well really its about time, learnt alot of Chilean words and slag, which i dont think is too good for my Spanish but its something knew. There is this word they use allll the time, "Cacthai" translated as "You know what I mean" but at the start I was like, so what is the verb of that word and the past amd the future tense....but no such thing its just an invented word!! Another thing i found really funny, they call eachother "gorda" but in a pleasant way, como..."Hola Gordita" and another thing, if you put a S at the end of anyword it changes its meaning to the opposite, so by calling someone "Feos" (feo) you are actually saying that they are really good looking!! So yeah I could say Im gettin the hang of it, other slang words like, vacan (actually havnt found a relevant translation for it yet, its just threw in there anywhere) it´s kinda like "Que vacan"...like how cool!! Most of all I love when they try an speak with my accent its hilarious, "Aye right" thats the funniest!!

Just took part in a character parade all the little kids choose their fav book and dress up as a character from the book...and yes i did get roped into dressin up ...as a doll!! Honeslty was so much fun, book week doesnt sound like fun, but everyday was so different and so much fun!! Teachers Day...i swear it needs to be brought to NI it was sooo fabulous, i got so many presies from all the little kids and about 40 cards aswell, "Miss Zara happy day of the teachers, with a big kiss", keepin them all they r so sweet!! After this teachers day we all went to a beach called "Ramuntcho" (not to be found on any map)and it was like paradise no joke,,,the sand the water, it was a wee cove and there was about 50 of us so we fitted on it nicely!! It was with all the older pupils at school they r about 18/19 so we had a fabbb time, one of my best days here so far!!

The parties are great, beach parties are awesome!!! but beware,,, CATEPILLARS do bite and it DOES hurt!!! Dichato was another beach party we went to with my new wee friend Melanie shes brilliant, jst clicked when i met her!! Thats when a few people received a few early fonecalls from myself...again apologise, its the hole time difference thing!!

o my goodness it was hilarious...Catalina (the mum) I met her brother the other day and the first thing he said, "Hi nice to meet you..soooo mmmm did you have any toilet problems due to our water?" I actually stared at him waitin for him to laugh even a smerk.......but nope...nothin!!! Incase of my spanish skills misleading me I asked him...what do you mean?...well if that isnt the worst question Iv asked since iv been here....the conversation ended and i made a quick exit aka i went bright red with "skunderation" and wanted the ground to swallow me up. But for anybody that is concerned...no i havnt had any problems with the water here...thanx ...hope u havnt just ate :S

Planned a wee weekend trip to Santiago over halloween its a huge city and is about an hour on the plane so me and catalina are goin 4 a wee shoppin trip for 4days, and guess what....they have a house there so ...aye easy enough!

Just back from a weekend in Viña del Mar, it is the Miami of Chile no joke the place is gorjus!! about 70 people on the beach to watch sunset when i arrived and the next day hundreds of ppl my age on the beach which was lovely!! Wasnt too lovely on the 8hour bus journy tho. I was actually quite curious 2 see wat the "coaches" were goin to be like, but they wer pretty decent wee TV, pillows nal...wel flip i knew i was lucky when i looked out the window n seen a wee man on the back of a wagon with chickens and his suitcase....god knows where he ended up!! but at least he got there for free haha!! Seriously tho some of the places here are like paradise, i actually jst stand there and am like, WOW!!! havnt got all the pics up cuz there are far to many, but everyone should be lokin forward to a preview at mi casa when i come home!!

The weather has been fab here, gets a little cold at night but sure! Been in the pool nearly erveryday this week gettin a little bita sun, but im not too tan so dont be hittin the sunbeds!!

Two of the PE teachers at my school are from England their dead nice and iv been to theirs for BBQs n drinks etc, and we play RADIO ONE!!! I missed Chris Moyles!!! lol...they just got engaged and are plannin on stayin here, theyv been here for like 2 years and havnt even gone home yet. They have been EVERYWHERE in south america, so they have been given me some info! We went to this club called Almendra and it was pretty good, i think iv found my new local...move over Box!!haha.

The food has been pretty good, its all freshly made and no crap, but o my....there is this thing here and its called Manjar....and its delicious, its soooo good!! u can put it on anything, like nutella but not cuz nutella is rotten!! il bring some home. ull love it!!!!

I have already took part in lots of voluntary projects, after book week we visited an poorer school in San Pedro de La Paz and I spent a few days witht he children, bringing them books and writting materials, was really good experience I really enjoyed it!! Ill tell you more about it in my next mail. Also there was an activity last week in which some of us spent the weekend in San Pedro building shelters etc, was a really touching experience, you really seen that the local people was soo thankful for your help and it was such a rewarding experience for me, again thats another story!!

Right....i promised it wouldnt be as long so i better shut up now!! so much has been hapnin n iv missed so much out..so keep an eye out 4 number 3!!Missin everybody loads...Lots of Love Sarita/Sarilla/Sarah xxxxxxx

It has been the Chilean festive week here so there has been lots of family bbqs and parties and im honestly recked! Had an amazin time in the mountains the money these people have is ridiculous, and of course im not complainin. The house Josefa has in the moutains is like something out of a film the whole place is so beautiful and peaceful you cud just live there. Skiing was actually one of the best things i think ill do, was so much fun and once i got the hang of it i was pretty good, only fell twice!! Im thinkin of becoming a skii instructor haha!! In their house they have a sauna a hottub a swimming pool and two other houses to rent to people!! Was great sittin in the cabin at night time with the big fire on drinkin "Piscola" its actually stinkin!! Their local drink, but u have to pretend to like it.

Everything is just so different here, like we stood and thumbed a lift up to "Las termas" the moutains wer you skii cuz its a good 15mins from Josefas house, and every1 is just so friendly but oviously you get the odd dodgy character so dont worry im not niave. 6 of us stayed at her house and we had bbqs and went to the "snowpub" the local disco, but its no box!! had a really good time. And every1 was amazed about the new "Gringa" .....moi!!!! the disco are priobly just how u imagine all Salsa and Daddy Yankee music its sooo much fun!!

its so wierd to see people on the roads on horses wearin panchos and sombreros. i wanted to take a picute but id look like a real tourist and EVERY1 here expects me to have ginger hair haha!! some of the houses here tho are reeeeeallly sad, like what you wud imagine or what you have seen on TV of south american countries. but im in the rich bit so no worries...im going livin it up on huggggge hill that has gates to enter and a guard. it looks over all of concepcion and across the lake where school is!! its really beautiful gona get pics up soon. so ill send use them.Like eveyday i just sit and think....wow im actually in south america, its pretty amazin!!! Cant believe how cheap things are here either like a bottle of coke is about 50p and a 2 hour bus journy ticket was 2pound, clothes also . clothes shops are actually nice so i dunno why evey1 dresses rather "rare" here. might have to send a few boxes home before i do, il not be payin 300 odd euro for clothes lol! annd the other night in the restaurant the owner gav us food for free just cuz im "irish" so i suppose its good for some things.Iv really made lots of friends and iv only been here a week.

The Spanish is ridiculous here their grammar is actually terrible!!!! and the slang is phhhh...but ill get there!! They drop and add letters left right and centre they use "Catchi" alot which means, "do ya know what i mean" ...tryin my hardest to speak spanish not Chilean. Well this is my second day at school just got my time table and iv got loads of frees each day, which is good! Iv got classes later with Flo´s little brother, he has been tellin everyone about me lol, "Miss Sara". the school is lovely, actually massive there is a kinder garden part, a prekinder garden, junior school, middle school and senior school. Luckily I just teach in junior school which is like ages 6 to 10. Its very wierd sitting in the teachers room and absoloutly EVERYBODY is facinated by Ireland and I think i have possibly became the best ambassador for Ireland, everyone wants to go.

I got lost last night when i went to meet Flo, was actually quite good that I did cuz i seen the most beautiful sunset ever took a picture but it doesnt do any justice. I ended up finding my way back to the house after walking aboutfor haf n hour n the brother drove up with Flo in the car they wer drivin about looking for me. Cuz there are 2 entrances into Lonco park and i went down the wrong one of corse. I´ll know not to do that again anyway. We went for "coffee" I had a vanilla latte and it was actually lovely!!! with about 5 sugars. Tryin my best to taste everything but its a definate no no to fish. The family Ive moved in with are so kind iv really got lucky since ive been here (not with the apple of course) and for any1 who doesn´t know that story, NEVER bring food to south america it results in a fat ass fine!!!! The family have two boys and the mum is so happy to have another girl in the house so they r treatin me like a princess, bought me a fone and theyv even asked me to go to easter island after xmas.

We have a maid called Teresa shes really nice and asks me what i do and dont eat and wants me to make "Irish Stew" haaha watch me!!

Really enjoying my work at the minute its really nothing I expected but its brilliant, I would really encourgae anyone who had the opportunity to do something this to go for it!!