Well, another weekend of fun come and gone.

So I know that I've been a little delinquent in my postings, but life sure is busy. Class from 8 until 6:30 or 7:30, then some activity on some days and going out on other days. But anyways, last week we visited a school and I'm getting excited about the teaching these little overly hyper crazy kids that I can't understand. I think controlled anarchy is the best way to describe the school scene. When we arrived the entire school of 800 sang us a welcome song and we all introduced ourselves to the population. Afterwards, the students were set loose, and I thought I was going to get ripped apart. It might be the closest I'll ever get to being a rock star. Several of the children followed us into class and asked for all of our autographs. Being the benevolent soul that I am, I was happy to oblige them. Ha! Anyways, we all gave presentations and I think I did a pretty good job anchoring our group.

Anyways, I keep hearing crazy things about Antofagasta, most of which aren't so good. Apparently there are no trees, countless wild dogs that like to bite people, and a strong chance of getting flees. Oh and there is no water, so I might be kind of stinky. On the other hand, the beaches are supposed to be gorgeous and the professional surfing tour is coming in July. Maybe I can hang ten with Kelly Slater. But mom don't worry. I'll be careful, and I'm sure its going to be unbelievable.

Anyways, last weekend was pretty crazy. A huge group of us gringos went to the beach in Vina del Mar, a beautiful resort town west of Santiago. It shows off Chile's wealth with towering condos and a huge casino. We partied and laughed and had a great time, and I think that we're all raised to be louder than everyone else. I think it must be something in the genetically modified food we eat. Anyways, we had so much fun and its so strange that you can find such like minded and great people halfway across the world.

On Sunday, we caught a bus to Valparaiso, which is next door to Vina del Mar. We took an ascencor (I think that's how its spelled) up to the top of on of the hills and took a gorgeous 2.5 km walk up to one of Pablo Neruda's houses overlooking the city. It was really quite amazing.
Well, I'm getting kicked off my roommates computer, so I'll leave more for another day. I'm supposed to get my schedule soon, so I can send anyone interested information on what weeks I have off. Tentatively the week of September 18 would be a great week as it is the 200th anniversary of Chile's independence from Spain, and I guess the entire country plans parties for a month beforehand on an average year, so this should be extra crazy. It also looks like I'll have two weeks off in July, but I'm not exactly sure when. Tentatively, I am thinking I might plan this to be a week to go to Peru and possibly to Buenos Aires during the second week. There are also alot of other 3 day weekends in which I'm going to try and go snowboarding and visit friends in the south. Patagonia will probably be out until after the trip, because my breaks will be in the middle of winter. I heard that the wind can get so bad down there in the winter that the towns have ropes set up to pull yourself along inside the town.

Oh and I've had my first casualties of the trip. One of my headphones broke and the LCD on my camera broke, although the camera itself still works.

Anyways, hasta manana.