Detour to Somewhere

nothing like a little blizzard.

2009-12-27T13:51:00.005-06:00

i knew that we were going to have a white christmas full of

snow men, sledding & ice hockey, but i sure wasn't expecting a blizzard!

fearing the oncoming, beautifully 'bad' weather, mom, dad, alli, zack & i stayed in the cities for christmas eve

& waited for christmas morning to make the three hour adventure up north to visit family.

(pictures from christmas day later to come)

however you spent the holidays,

i hope you all enjoyed sharing some time with close friends & family

i kinda like history. & dolphins.

2009-12-21T09:42:00.004-06:00

the straight of magellan

{punta arenas, chile}

{i spy, with my little eyes, TWO peale's dolphins}

i've always loved studying history, so to be able to actually put my foot in the strait of magellan {eak!} was pretty much like an early holiday gift to myself.

pinguinitos

2009-12-20T11:40:00.000-06:00

seno otway

on our last day in patagonia, we went on an adventure to find little penguins on the shoreline of the strait of magellan. at seno otway we watched the penguins march to and from the shoreline to their burrows & they really were the cutest little things i've ever seen.

torres del paine, patagonia.

2009-12-18T12:32:00.000-06:00

my poor camera was

rained on

snowed on

& hailed on,

but it somehow managed to make it through torres del paine.

{water fresh out of the stream--the freshest, purest, mmm tastiest}

tinto.

2009-12-17T11:26:00.015-06:00

although i'm actually starting to appreciate the

the busy streets of minneapolis

{aligned in fluffy,

fresh snow}

nothing can be compared to patagonia.

{how amazing is that?}

winter wonderland.

2009-12-16T19:17:00.000-06:00

isn't my sister beautiful?

i may have missed out on fall photos this year, but

i love how my holga captures winter.

i can't wait to take more.

{dear loves,

all i want is a pack of film for christmas...

& maybe some new socks,

or a space heater.}

old|new

2009-12-16T12:11:00.000-06:00

my camera is...

well...

a little overused?

that might be a little better word than

broken?

{i'm sure it can be fixed BUT until then

more old before new}

gingerbread coffee

2009-12-15T12:38:00.011-06:00

i woke up this morning

& couldn't figure out where i was

when i finally forced myself out of bed

& walked into the empty kitchen

i found a little note...

i am so lucky to have such a great family.

no como "chao"

2009-12-14T10:36:00.011-06:00

considering everything i love about chile, the people are what I will miss most.

"es como 'see you later' no como 'chao'" - nelson

{my family}

{wesli's family}

{carlos}

{johan}

{diego}

{maca}

{nelson}

{nano}

junto a ti

2009-12-13T09:43:00.001-06:00

I woke up this morning and looked out my window to the sun glistening off of the snow & the wind blowing off the single last leaf on the old birch tree. it finally has hit me that I’m home.

today…

I won’t wake up & have coffee in valparaiso while looking out to the most amazing view of the ocean

I won’t walk around & search for fun graffiti

I won’t rush home for almuerzo a las 2:00 with my host family

I won’t take a little siesta before going to the beach & meeting up with my friends

but last night I realized that it might not be as hard adjusting as I had thought.

I was so happy to see my sister & my brother-in-law at the airport (with a delicious skinny latte from caribou in hand). even though it will be easy to adjust back to my old lifestyle & it is great to be near my family again, I really will miss chile & I’m not sure what I’m going to do without my friends.

te extraño mucho mucho y te quiero.

it's almost that time...

2009-12-06T12:35:00.000-06:00

with only 4.5 days left...

detour to somewhere is going to have to shut down for a while.

I want to spend every minute I can

enjoying my last days here in this amazing country.

{which means I'll be away from my computer}

I'm heading back to the states on friday

& as much as I want to stay in chile

I cannot wait to see all the beautiful people waiting for me back home.

I'll be back as soon as

move on to my next adventure.

{playing in the snow at my new home}

ciento 80 y tres

2009-12-05T12:49:00.013-06:00

my little coffee from ciento 80 y tres

reminded me of the little cappuccinos that nanny & I

used to get in italy.

& for some reason

my trip to this cute little hole in the wall/coffee shop/gift store

made me feel all reaDy for the holidays.

so many colors.

2009-12-04T14:18:00.012-06:00

today, I'm trapped indoors

& I wish I could

go explore...

for 6 more days there's always tomorrow...

volunteering.

2009-12-03T05:04:00.002-06:00

today is my last day volunteering with fondo esperanza and jefas de hogar.
I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to my wonderful class & all of the amazing employees at Fondo Esperanza, but I'll have to make the best of my last day & remember all of the good memories throughout the course of these last four months.
~*~

i'm excited to surprise my students with a little end of the year party

with treats & english music!

{pictures from 26 de noviembre de 2009}

bodega.

2009-12-02T19:01:00.002-06:00

{28 de noviembre de 2009}

all of us gringos jumped in a bus the other morning and headed east to visit concha y toro.

"Today, Concha y Toro is Latin America’s major wine exporter and with presence in over 130 countries, one of the world’s most important wine brands."

check out the website to see a complete list of the wines & learn more about the history of the vineyard.

xo

where are you hiding?

2009-12-02T18:51:00.000-06:00

{26 de noviembre de 2009}

--my eyes are glued to this blockade--

can i be painted to forever stay

{shh} callao

2009-12-02T11:58:00.000-06:00

{27 de noviembre de 2009}

when round 2 of charades turns

into a night of dancing...

5 letras + 5 de mis amigos

entra al cuarto
subele el volume al radio
que nadie se entere de lo ke vamos hacer

(shhh) callao

do you hear what I hear?

2009-12-01T05:36:00.003-06:00

who's ready to jUmp into december?

i hope you all are getting ready to celebrate the season in your own special way.

with evergreen trees

& holiday lights.

baking lots of little treats.

reuniting with family & friends.

making (or wishing to make) snowmen.

watching a christmas story.

& so MUCH more holiday fun.

{27 de noviembre de 2009}

{I never expected that jUmping into december would be so difficult}

"i wear DAB by J-LO"

2009-11-30T19:15:00.001-06:00

I've been back from patagonia for over a week now & I still have yet to say anything about my trip!

because there is so MUCH to say,

I think I'll just give you all a little peak for now

& I'll have to wait until I get back to the EEUU to blog about my adventure.

{I just don't have enough time left here}

~PATAGONIA~

19 de noviembre de 2009 - 21 de noviembre de 2009

{day one: horse back riding. puerto natales, chile}

{day two: torres del paine, chile}

{day three: punta arenas, chile}

yellow flowers paint the landscape.

2009-11-29T19:14:00.002-06:00

{valparaiso, chile}

gobble gobble.

2009-11-29T14:27:00.004-06:00

THANKSGIVING

~26 de noviembre de 2009~

i awoke this morning

with devout thanksgiving

for my friends,

the old

and the new.

~ralph waldo emerson~

ponche, ponche, ponche

2009-11-29T13:31:00.002-06:00

~25 de noviembre de 2009~

{kenna, carlos & yo fuimos a valpo porque yo quisiera encontrar una taza para mi colección. yo encontré una en las tiendas cerca del puerto en la plaza Sotomayor.}

~*~

El Ritual

Almirante Montt 48  

Valparaíso, Chile

{next, we went to the base of cerro concepción for ponche (chopped up fruit blended up with white wine).}

{I’d recommend visiting el ritual for a dirty, ‘scene’ & local atmosphere. before stopping in for pitcher of ponche & tasty finger foods, be prepared for the obscure local art, the house cat lurking around the tables, and the armless, life-size mosaic women staring you down as you order your drink. with lively music and a quick & pleasant staff, you’ll arrive without any intention of going someplace else.}

{hah. look at the creepy man sticking his tongue out behind us!}

{mmm! slurped down our drinks & then went to the guys dpto.}

round 1.

2009-11-27T07:22:00.002-06:00

{14 de noviembre de 2009}

two weeks ago, wesli & i went out for girls night...

but then we decided that girls night would be better with the boys

~*~

yesterday, all of us gringos got together with our host families to celebrate thanksgiving (pictures to be posted later this week). although we didn't have pumpkin pie, my mom's organic stuffing or cranberries, I definitely wasn't the least bit disappointed. I was thankful to be celebrating the holiday with such great friends and 'family.' after the feast, wesli came over for a sleepover. we stayed up giggling at the pictures from our last girls night & I'm super excited because later tonight we're having round 2 of charades.
~*~

{girls vs boys}

johan: pajaro & canguro

carlos: flamenco & tortuga

nelson: mariposa & michael jackson

I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving & were able to spend it with those you love.
{i'll make sure to capture us girls winning this next time around}

directions.

2009-11-27T05:43:00.031-06:00

hoy

wesli & yo

fuimos a la playa

& then we made pasta

for lunch

& ate it

w/carlos

& johan

& diego

eso, no

mas. ♥

what are you thankful for?

2009-11-25T13:15:00.001-06:00

happy thanksgiving!

although I'm really not ready to go back to the united states, I really miss my family & I wish that we could all be together for the holiday.

~*~

I miss my dad & his goofy jokes.

I miss my mom & her hugs.

I miss my sister & watching GG together with a bowl full of popcorn.

I miss my brother-in-law & trying to sleep on the floor to the sound of his guitar & my sister yelling at him to play a new song.

I miss all of my relatives & wish that we could all be together tomorrow to cook, enjoy the feast & watch football.

~*~

more importantly, I'm thankful that I am lucky enough to have all these great people to miss.

{pictures from thanksgiving last year at nanny's}