Hey y'all,
It's been awhile since I've written, so I wanted to give a little update. I finished my teaching commitment at the school on September 1st. On my final day they had a big festival with singing, dancing, costumes, food. I had to get up and dance "la cueca" the national dance in front of everyone and also give a little speech over the microphone, in Spanish, of course. They gave me a nice framed photo of all the students. The students gave me tons of cute letters with drawings and messages of how much they will miss me. I will think of those kids often and hope to see them again.
Some of you may not know, but I have decided to extend my travels for another few months. My flight was supposed to leave Sept. 13th, but I called and canceled the reservation. The airline will give me some credit when I book another flight.
From here, my loose plan is to travel to the southern tip of Chile, by bus, boat, and boots. Navigating glaciers, rivers, waterfalls, cities, and volcanoes along the way. Then head back with a northern route on the Argentinian side through Patagonia to Buenos Aires. From there I will check my funds and head and either look for job or make my way back to the U.S.
It's been awhile since I've written, so I wanted to give a little update. I finished my teaching commitment at the school on September 1st. On my final day they had a big festival with singing, dancing, costumes, food. I had to get up and dance "la cueca" the national dance in front of everyone and also give a little speech over the microphone, in Spanish, of course. They gave me a nice framed photo of all the students. The students gave me tons of cute letters with drawings and messages of how much they will miss me. I will think of those kids often and hope to see them again.
Some of you may not know, but I have decided to extend my travels for another few months. My flight was supposed to leave Sept. 13th, but I called and canceled the reservation. The airline will give me some credit when I book another flight.
From here, my loose plan is to travel to the southern tip of Chile, by bus, boat, and boots. Navigating glaciers, rivers, waterfalls, cities, and volcanoes along the way. Then head back with a northern route on the Argentinian side through Patagonia to Buenos Aires. From there I will check my funds and head and either look for job or make my way back to the U.S.
I have been in Mendoza, Argentina for the last several days. I had to cross the border and back again to renew my tourist visa for Chile. I stayed at this crazy hostel called "Campo Base" that was full of travelers from all over the world. We all went out to dinner one night and had folks at one table from Holland, Switzerland, Germany, England, Argentina, Australia, and the U.S. (which was me). It was like a world conference with no agneda other than getting to know each other and enjoying good food. Muy bien.
I hope you are well and thinking of writing me.
Saludos!
Jack
...writing from La Casa Roja, an old mansion turned hostel, in Santiago.
p.s. yesterday, Sept 11, was also a historic day for Chile. It was the day, in 1973, that the Socialist Party Leader Salvador Allende's government was overthrown by a military strike led by Pinochet and backed by the CIA. Imagine the U.S. medling with other countries governments? Pinochet proved to be a cruel leader that killed thousands of people who opposed him. He was a dictator here for 17 years. Yesterday there were many protests and actions here in Santiago. I don't fully understand it, but it is a sensitive subject with strong emtions on both sides.
