Last day.....

So, I've failed at updating this but I doubt that anyone reads this, so it really dosen't matter. Right now I am getting ready to pack my bags, and there are a few things that I will always remember about Chile.
1. The people are so nice and genuine. Many times I have been invited to a house for dinner, or to stay and vacation with a family over the weekend. If you ever get a chance to go to a country here in S. America, choose Chile.
2. Buses can be good and evil. Once you learn how to balance, buses are your friend because they are cheap and fly like bullets.
3. Never drive here. I've been in two accidents(minor) because people here turn a 2 lane road ito a 3 or 4 lane road. Crazies.
4. Scope for the deals. If the shopowner sees you are shopping around, he's more likely to give you a better deal.
5. ABBA(disco) and Regaton occur at the same time, as do ballads(that's what friends are for) and Lady GaGa. Strange, I know, but eclectic.
6. Chileans show their affection through food. LOTS of food, lots of bread. Food here is cheap, so people buy alot of it.

OH KAY. So i have a meeting in an hour and have to pack.
Love you all.
See you on the flip side...of the world.
Ashley

LO SIENTO

So sorry for not updating for the past 4 days....but my life has been a whirlwind. To be fair, i tried to update Friday, but blogspot deleted the post. Here's a quick rundown for what i've been doing these past few days:
1. Santiago day 1... a day trip to santiago to meet some of Barbie's friends and just get to know the city a bit.
2. Friday = day of rest
3. Santaigo day 2...I went with my 4 friends from the U.S. to see the more touristy things of Santiago like the Museo de Bellas Artes, Plaza de Armas, Catedral, and Cerro San Cristobal. The most epic was the unexpected, two hour hike, or pilgrimage, to the giant statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of San Cristobal. I will save the whole story for in person because I couldn't give it justice here.

I just honestly can't believe I climbed that mountian. haha.

ANYWAYS.....today I am cooking an old american favorite for lunch for my family...meatloaf. Because I am on the 4 day countdown until I leave. Really, it's 3 days with one in the airport. :(
More videos and pictures and such to come!
Besitos,
Ashley

OYE

SO, I had written a great post with details and then it was deleted. Here are the yo's and whoa's of my day.
(-) Lost my ATM card
(-) My direct airport transfer isn't going to work out. I bought tickets to Santiago for Marian and I that way I don't have to navigate the bus station and transfer to the airport by-myself.
(-) I was again hackled to join Herbalife after climbing 7 flights of stairs.
(+) Las Camas: Free hot massages that go for 40 minutes. All you have to buy is the $4 t-shirt. Totally worth it, now I need to shower because I used the same massage bed as half of my city. haha.
(+) Homemade gluten free bread and peach marmalade.

Amor y besos,
Ashley

mmmmm.....tecito(tea)

So, I thought I had made peace with mayonase, but if I could get veggies that are warm with no mayo, I would be so happy.

I got to assist a little bit at the Sanatorio today but I mostly bounced from person to person watching mostly because my patients had some lung problems today and I am not authorized to do respiratory therapy. Then, my ususally happy patient in the gym cried to whole time, mostly becuase she has an ear infection and was lying on her stomach(not a favorite position among the kids). So even though I enjoyed work, in retrospect, it was a pretty bad day. The fact that my little Juanita smiled and recognized me made it all worth it.

After work and lunch, I FINALLY made it to the Museo Fonk. It was filled with mummies. I think that these people liked mummies more than the egyptians. There was also an exhibit from easter island which was neat to see one of the stone heads..they are HUGE! On the second floor it was all natural history, animals, spiders, whale bones..etc. Most of the animals said underneith "ALMOST EXTINCT" which made me laugh a bit because I was like, if they are almost gone, why do you have one stuffed in your museum? Still, it was pretty cool, and osme were a little freaky.

Now, I am sitting at home, watching TV, doing my laundry, and waiting for everyone to get home so I can cenar (eat dinner).
Amor y besos,
Ashley

The "LUZ DE DIOS" is very dark...

Yeah, the Light of Christ funeral home had plants dying in the front window and it was all dark on the inside...haha. made me laugh.

ANYWAYS, today was a beautiful day which resulted in a sunburn, but it was all worth it to get out of the apartment and walk araound outside for a few hours! The Herbalife fanatics were still staying with us, so I was committed to the idea of exploring this afternoon.

Today, work was amazing. I got to do half of the treatment on the patients. My half was the right side...haha. Anyways, it feels great to be getting more responsibility. I hope I am not annoying to Daniela but she teaches me more than anybody else, which is awesome. It's kind of sad that I am going to be back in the US and not be able to touch a patient. Oh well..at least I am being reassured that this is what I actually want to do with my life. It's a good feeling.

SO, this afternoon on my way home from work, I saw a new "small business" fair outside of the mall. After lunch, I bus-ed to the mall to the fair and they had the cutest little things. In the same plaza there were TONS of Tarot Card readers and oddly enough, tons of customers. Could tarot cards be more popular than Herbalife? I'm not sure. After the sea of small business stands, I went to the centro just to walk around where I went to my favorite Artisenal Fair to look around, to the bank, the grocery and then home, where I had tea with the Herbalife women.

Now, after saying good-bye to the guests, I am watching Los Simpsons, and relaxing before dinner. Que bueno esta dia!
From a lovely view of the sunset in Vina,
Ashley

Viaje!

SOOOOOOO I'm back from my weekend away! Here's a list of things we did (none of these pictures are mine) 1. We went to La Campana, a large research area for Darwin. It's a huge mountian that's really popular to climb, or trekk. To get to la Campana, we had to drive 1 hour through Olmue and up a mountain. It was like our family trip through Arches National Park in the Jeep...except it was not smelly. We also got lost on the mountian, seeing there are many trails and no road signs. Finally we made it and it was beautiful. The saddest part was driving up the mountians and seeing all of the poverty. People live in shacks on the mountian side and climb up and down it every day to work. Many of them have horses they ride and park outside of work. Very funny but hard to catch on film from a moving car. 2. We went to a typical Chilean resturaunt for lunch. It was an asado..an asado is like a giant grill cooking any type of meat that exists. They cook fresh meat that you pick out and then they bring you enough food to live off of for a week. It was sooo relaxed. When you first arrived at the resturaunt (No me olvides)(don't forget me) I was a little skeptical becuase it looked sketchy from the outside, but in true chilean fashion, we entered, walked through the front room onto a back terrace that was HUGE with an amazing ambiance. I honestly didn't eat for the rest of the day. 3. All of these places were in the city of Olmue, a micro climate where we in the U.S. recieve all of our fruits and vegetables. The people have very little houses built into the ground to resist earthquakes or teremotos. The houses are made of a mixture of adobe and cement and everyone has a horse in their house, for transport. Who needs a car when you can ride your horse to the market and use it's poo to fertilize your feilds? Anyways, Olmue was super cute. We were suppose to find some artisan shops but none were open so we stopped to buy some manjar and marmelada. If you ever get a chance to try manjar, try it. Caution: really really rich!!!! At the end of the day, we went to Marians house which was literally settled in paradise on a nautre reserve where the mountians and sea meet. I met her family and we watched spanish movies. Today we went to the Posada. It was the nature reserve with wild horses where you could kayak to the sea. Sadly, it hasn't rained here in months so there wasn't enough water to kayak but it still was beautiful to walk around. Now, after an epic bus ride home, I am going to scavange for food somewhere. I will leave you with a video from the earth day celebration in Valpo on friday. Besitos! Ashley

cold, so cold.

******************UPDATE************************************
SO, we actually went to Valpo yesterday. It was fun. It has a downtown feel of london with the bohemian hillside of France. I love Vina though. Valpo is too dirty and urban for me. Sadly, my camera was not working. BOO. But I did take some cool video that I am going to post when I have more time. In valpo we watched an "Earth Day" festival, went up an ascensor to different boho neighborhoods, and just awed at the radically different city that is right nextdoor.

Sadly, on the way home with 50 of my best friends crammed in the bus, i got micro-sick. It's like car sick, but I was on a micro. The pathway from the apt. to valpo on bus is like a game of shoots and ladders: Very curvy, bumpy, and no speed limit.
So, I spent the rest of the night sick to my stomach and throwing up. What a great experience. I've been sick in multiple ways this whole week. I don't know what's going on... I think i've been jinxed. Everyone's told me that I've been so lucky since I got here. haha. wrong. When I woke up this morning, the herbalife fanatics that are staying here tried to give me a milkshake. THey said i wouldn't need to eat anything else today and it would give me all the energy I need and not mess up my stomach. I politely refused and I think..no I know..I offended them (you can't refuse things here, it's like giving back a gift). Oh well! I'm escaping for the weekend! Yay! So most likely I won't be here to update but look forward to a HUGE update sunday night, provided I'm not sick. :)

**************************Original Post*****************************************
So, I was originally invited to do two really cool things today but I had already made these AWESOME plans to do stuff with Barbie and Dani. Now, let's notice the time I am posting this (3:37pm). So, it's safe to say that all of my plans fell through and I wish that I was doing one of the other two really cool things right now.

Today started off beautiful and warm (20 degrees C). The first hour and a half at the hospital was great because I was actually learning things and got to help. After that, I went to a presentation that lasted the rest of the time. Every nurse, PT, nutritionist, x-ray tech, dentist, school teacher was there to walk around with this guy. Honestly, I still can't tell you what he does. I think it's something along the lines of complete rehab for patients but I'm still unsure. Anyways, so we walked around with him to 5 different patients and listened to everybody present their case(at the same time), watch him take notes, and then advise a course of action, i think. Honestly, some people were wearing masks, everyone was talking at once, and everyone was talking very fast : a mix that dosen't do very well for my spanish.

After the hospital, I came home and got stuck in traffic which made my commute 45mintues. As soon as I walked in the door I was told to hurry up and eat because Dani and I had to leave early, then Dani came into the room, said she had to leave now but would call me to meet her for Equine Rehab and after we would meet up with Barbie and go to Valpo. So I ate lunch, and waited in my room for Dani to call. Well, I did what any college student would do and fell asleep. Two hours later, Dani still hadn't called and it was about 30 minutes past when we were suppose to be there when Olivia came into the room and said that Dani was coming home because she was having company over. Apparently, Barbie's mom and little brother were coming in for the nation-wide Herbalife conference this weekend (I knew that there was a reason I was going away this weekend..:P ).

So Barbie's mom and little brother are here and have gone to eat lunch. I guess I should go introduce myself but there are 5 people in a 4 person kitchen right now, that makes for an awkward and all-over bad idea. So I have no clue what my plans are for tonight. I know we're going to the grocery at some point. It's just kind of a bummer because the day went from warm to freeeeeeezing and cloudy, all of my plans fell through, and I am bored with nothing to do, since I can't really leave because of the company. I may go see another movie... just to get me out of the house, but i really hate going alone. We'll see what the night brings!

Desperada,
ashley

Lazyyyy dayz

sooooo today has been lazy. I am no longer allergen-owned. :) I woke up and went to work where I actually learned SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much. I finally learned how to streatch a shoulder, hamstring, and mobilize the scapula. I've always observed this, like a million times, but I've never gotten to do anything. Daniela keeps letting me do more and more. I guess people are finally starting to trust me here.

After work I got home and just chilled around the apt. today. I was going to go to a museum, but I'm trying to leave some fun things to do next week. It was a pretty day today, so I opened the windows, sadly it was windy so the sun was wasted on cold wind from the south. I had to do laundry anyways, which is an adventure here since the washer and dryer are on the balcony(The windy balcony). Sorry I've been so boring lately, yesterday was spent sleeping, tomorrow I have a busy schedule and the weekend is going to be packed with fun and adventure.

Chao Chao,
Ashley

It's the Itchy and Scratchy Show!

Interesting twist.

So today I got to help alot at the sanatorio. At the end of the day I was cornered in the locker room by the head pediatrician and the head nurse where they started to question me, as if I was some random sketcho off of the street. Apparently, they had no clue I was going to be here and told me I stuck out like a sore thumb. I originally thought I was going to be kicked out, but then after the hot seat, they ended up just introducing themselves and leaving. Strange.

After work, I went to the bank, came home, ate lunch, and went to see Vicky Christina Barcelona. It was a great movie, but the ending could've been sooo much better. Maybe I'm just a sucker for cliche endings. Interestingly enough, I got home and started to itch all over when I found out, I have the hives all over my body. I guess I am allergic to something here, huh? So basically, I've been knocked out on benedryl all night, and plan on sleeping the next 8 hours away. We'll see if I make it to the sanatorio 2mrw. If I'm still like this, all I can do is sleep or I'm going to itch myself to scars.

me pica mucho!!!
Ashley

Why is it always and ugly day when I want to have fun?

So today I woke up to another world of clouds. Anyother day, I wouldn't mind, but today was the day that I was suppose to go see the beachland....boo.

After work, which was slightly boring, Marian picked me up and we toured Renaca. Apparently, malls are very popular here. So, we went to the mall, to a famous coffee shop and then to the Hollywood of Chile. It was amazing and beautiful, but you couldn't see two feet in front of you. Oh well!

After Renaca, we headed to the seaside to Pablo Neruda Overlook in Con-Con(Everything in this country is named after Neruda) which was SOOOOOO pretty. There were local artisans there making crafty things so of course, it was a great place to buy some regalos. The point was a huge black rock archepelago. The waves crashed against the rocks and it was a sight to see (or is it sea...haha). After that we went for a traditional chilean lunch on the shore. Lots of mariscos, lemon, and lettuce. perfecto. I had my first taste of Pisco Sour (a lady's drink they say). It was alright, and tasted NOTHING like I thought it would.

Even though the day was ugly, I loved touring the shore and seeing what chile was like in a non-commercial neighborhood. Tomorrow I have to go to the bank and get more money...I've been enjoying the shopping recently. I think I have enough to get to work, and then to the central with about $1.00 left.

Cheers and Salud to 14 days!
Ashley

ABBA?

So, fun fact: the Disco group ABBA is very popular here. I usually hear "Super trooper" at least once a day. :) Something else strange: Nobody has seen Mamma Mia. You'd think it would be the most popular film here ever. Anyways, today was pretty average. I woke up early ate breakfast, and just as I was getting to leave, my house mom made me another herbalife milkshake because she dosen't believe that I eat breakfast. haha. go figure. Anyways, it took me 20 minutes to catch a colectivo today. I arrived at work late but I didn't miss anything. I met two new patients today and got to assist. I am really learning alot about PT for severly disabled kids. I could prob. have my own patient by now, but that will not happen. One day! After work, I ate my lentils(after all, it is Monday), and went to the Museo de Fonk, a small chilean history museum about 5 cuadros from the bus stop. Even though there was no reason for the museum to be closed, it was. So, I mean, I had the rest of the afternoon. What is a girl to do but shop. So I went to another artisan fair and bought a few regalitos and decided to try a few of the local chocolates. I had been meaning to check it out on Thursday, so I guess I can just switch the days. NO big deal. I'm always looking for things to do in the afternoon. As I returned to the apt., the sun was beautiful. The bus driver let me off a little more at the top of the hill than the others (about half do this). At hte top of the hill is Pablo Neruda's looking point, a beautiful way to look over the city, sea, and beach. I photo-ed some and then came home and now I am watching Fever Pitch in spanish. haha. go figure. I have been in the country for 13 days (tomorrow will make 1/2 of my trip) and I am going to celebrate the half way point with a guided tour of Renaca and a lunch in a real resturaunt. I'm really excited! I have a full schedule this week and weekend traveling and meeting up with friends and things. :) Chao Chao! Ashley