I've got some time to kill so I figured I'd write a quick update.

This weekend me and a few guys I met at the hostel went to Viña del Mar. It's a gorgeous little coastal town about an hour and a half away from here. The five of us--three ex-fraternity brothers from Seattle, Chicago, and Alabama, an NYU film graduate from Brooklyn, and myself--stopped by to visit two of our friends, also from TeachingChile but who got relocated to Viña by their choice. All of them are hilarious and great fun and it was really nice to get to spend time with the lot of them. I anticipate and look forward to many like excursions in the future.

I've never seen the Pacific before, so I found the experience especially titillating. The town itself was absolutely stunning. I'll post some pictures below; there are always more on my facebook, feel free to friend me. On friday night when, after drinking Stella for $2 USD a bottle (gonna be drinking a lot more of that), we finally made it to the beach, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Admittedly, I feel like that a lot, but even so, the first contact my delicate toes made with the savory waters of the Pacific was a tad overwhelming. I squealed like a pig at a trough of fresh slop.

Some of mah friendz

The next day, after a gourmet breakfast prepared by our resident NYU alum--sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes, fried sausage and onions, and scrambled eggs Gordom Ramsey style, a breakfast whose quality was, frankly, shocking--we headed for the beach. We spent the day there galavanting about: tossing a frisbee, a much-missed activity which I need more of desperately; frolicking in the Pacific, again overwhelming; and, of course, drinking.* That night, we tried our hands at the salsa at one of the top clubs in the area, according to my roommate. I was embarrassed thoroughly but still managed to have a blast. I've made it a goal to improve.

This week is going to be a relatively easy one. We had to design a placement test for the incoming students, but it looks like we won't have classes until April. So, we're doing things remotely for their social media platforms, which means I'll have time to travel. Hopefully I can make the most of it. Let me know in the comments if you've got any ideas!









*A footnote: I finally managed to find a good canned beer that is both inexpensive but not overwhelmingly shitty. Looks like beer's back on the menu, boys! (Forgive me for the LotR reference you know how I can't help myself.)