Am I in heaven?

Yesterday my family took me to the Tarapaca winery in the Maipo wine region about one hour outside of Santiago. My "mom's" sister and brother-in-law (Maria and Rodrigo) live on the grounds because he is one of the supervisors there.

It was probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen! The winery sits in a valley surrounded by gorgeous tall mountains that are lined with grapevines. The house that I'm standing in front of is the old vineyard house, which has been converted into a hotel and meeting place for weddings and events.

The vineyard was even cooler because it had a few golf holes! This is definitely a place that I'd love to visit again (next time I'll be sure to bring my clubs!).

Apart from the amazing scenery, we had a delicious lunch of grilled salmon and a fresh organic salad with ingredients straight from Maria's garden. Yummy!

Day in the country and night with my cousin

Saturday was an interesting and fun day. I went with my "mom and dad" to the Chilean countryside to hang out with my "dad's" GSE team from last year at one of their parent's house. We had some AMAZING food! Lots of fresh veggies and meat for lunch and fresh papaya and ice cream for dessert. Yum! We sat around the table and talked about lots of different subjects and most of the time I just listened, understanding about 65% of what was said. I will catch on to this Chilean accent soon!

That night, I met up with my cousin Joe and his girlfriend Ashley for dinner. I felt like a little kid because my "parents" dropped me off and picked me up. Too cute. After a long day listening to Spanish, it was nice to converse with them in English. I'm so glad that we got to get together south of the equator. Today my family and I are going back to the countryside to visit the vineyard that my "mom's" sister and brother-in-law own.

The weather is once again beautiful and sun-shiny and unseasonably warm.

Tired to the bone and loving it!

I can't remember the last time I had breakfast in bed, but this morning my host mom and dad brought in a tray with coffee, toast with homemade jam, juice and fruit while I was Skyping with Chris for my pure enjoyment. I'm still laying here as I write this, hoping that the coffee will kick in (and fast). Though I am feeling the effects of 2 days of running around Santiago all day long with few breaks, I couldn't be more content. This is a beautiful city and the people are AMAZING.

Yesterday we went to the Supreme Court in the morning, the Public Market midday and the National Museum and Cathedral in the late afternoon. Last night we got together at a Rotarian's house with Rotarians from the district, including the district governor, and the GSE group that is leaving for Western NC on Sunday. We had a great time visiting and drinking Pizco sours. I was home by 10:45 and knocked out cold by 11. Today while the rest of my team visits Cajon del Maipo I am going with my Chilean mom and dad to meet up with my dad's GSE team from last year that went to Germany (he was a team leader on the trip!). We are driving an hour and a half to the mountains to have a cookout. Though I will miss my American teammates, I am excited to spend the whole day in Spanish in a place where no tourists ever goes with people who treat me like a princess! Sounds pretty good, huh?

Santiago, Day 2

I'm too tired to write very much! It's almost 2 am and it's been a long and wonderful day! Our team rocks!! In this photo we are with the mayor (white shirt) of one of the neighborhoods of Santiago. There are 40 neighborhoods and each one has it's own mayor, trash pick up, public health system and school system...very interesting! We are having experiences that tourist would never have. I'll write more tomorrow. Now it's time for bed!

Santiago, Day 1 with My Family

Day One in Santiago was fantastico! I spent the day with Javier and Ximena (pictured here), mostly in their home. We ate a fabulous seafood lunch, took a siesta and then later in the evening went to the shopping mall. After shopping, we came home and had a cheese, fruit and wine dinner. Delicioso! I am looking forward to a day with our team doing a vocational visit and touring Santiago today. We have our first presentation at a Rotary club tonight.

We're here!

I am writing this blog from Santiago, Chile in the home of Javier and Ximena Cuevas. It is a beautiful and warm day in the city. We arrived around 8am this morning and were pleasantly surprised to find out that we're in the same time zone as home. No jet lag definitely makes the trip much easier!

Today I am spending the day with Javier and Ximena. I have my own room and bathroom and already feel so much at home. They have been wonderful to me so far and I am really loving speaking in Spanish again! We are planning to have lunch, then a siesta (yay!) and then possibly go shopping or explore the city a little bit. The rest of our team is spending the day with their families. We will get together again tomorrow!
Hasta luego!

Less than one week...

What a beautiful city!! I cannot believe that this time next week our GSE team will be in Santiago, Chile. I am really excited and have so much to get together before leaving.

I looked up the weather and it looks like it's going to be in the mid-70's to 80's, at least for the first part of the trip. The exchange rate is 582 Chilean pesos to $1 (today at least), though it's hard to know exactly how much that is since we don't really know how much things cost. I look forward to updating my blog with photos and great stories while I'm there.