Some Things That Have Surprised Me About Chile

But first the daily recap:

Today Josh and his group had some actual school work to do... way back the class divided up in groups to study certain aspects of business in South America. His team chose the soccer industry - right up Josh´s alley. And yes, a very serious topic. Before his 11am meeting this morning we went up a big hill and got to see great views of all of Santiago... way fun. Then Josh´s team met with executives from a local soccer team, which they found super helpful, informative, and interesting. My friend Kendra and I hit a nearby mall to kill time, but met up with the boys later for a tour of the staduim, which was very interesting. After lunch Josh and I headed off on our own and visited a VERY cool city park - Cerro Santa Lucia. What makes it extra special is that it consists of a steep hill in the middle of the city. We climbed past little chapels and arches and such and found ourselves higher than most buildings from the top. More great views of the city, as well as the hill we were on earlier. So much to explore around here!

But now for my list:

-Eating is relatively easy, even for my somewhat picky husband. He always finds items on the menus to suit him, and not just cheese and bread types of things. We´ve had excellent meals of Chilean sea bass, mahi mahi, and shrimp. And then today we found a place that served such authentic local meals as lasagne and pizza. But it was yummy.

-We haven´t been stuck in traffic yet.

-There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE. I can´t think about them too much or it makes me cry. But I´m super surprised that they aren´t dead on the sides of roads, because Santiago is a big city with lots of cars. I guess they have learned to avoid roads if at all possible. Also, they´re not agressive and can mostly be found sleeping in the sun. And they aren´t even that skinny - people must kind of take care of them, feeding them scraps and putting out some water from time to time. Otherwise I don´t know how so many could survive. But seeing them makes me miss Riley.

-There are a lot of things in English here. Several TV channels, as well as signs advertising sales and such at department stores. Much more English than I would have expected.

-American brands are very popular here. Haagen Dazs, Pantene Pro-V, Dasani, KFC, etc. All very available and easy to find.


Tomorrow will start BRIGHT and early, as we´re leaving the hotel at 6:30 am. We fly to Puerto Montt right away and then immediately go white water rafting there. We´ve heard that the water is ice cold... should be interesting!

Now we´re off to spend our last night in Santiago.

Happy Birthday Mom Brown!