The Language of Laughter

Thursday night I got on a bus to go to Pucon, a small city in southern Chile. We left Vina around 8:30 and were on the bus all night long...twelve hours. The bus was nice, for a bus at least, the seats were pretty big and leaned back pretty far and had nice leg rests--but long bus rides are still the worst. I hate riding in buses or cars for long hours so I was pretty claustrophobic and ready to get to Pucon to say the least. Luckily, my friend had some Dramamine that helped me sleep part of the way there. Once we arrived in Pucon we dropped all of our stuff in our cabins and got on a tour bus with guides who took us all around the city. We went to beautiful waterfalls, saw the Mapuche village, and finished the tour by swimming in the hot springs that were sooooo relaxing.

That night we decided to make dinner at our cabin (ISA is very good about getting us places to stay that we can cook at). We had gone to the store and bought the stuff to make fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. After we got back from the hot springs I started cooking....so I'm battering the chicken and the flour isn't sticking very well and I was like okay well it's just because it's Chile and it's different...I mean for real, lots of the food is just different here. My friend Jack was watching me and told me not to worry about it because his Chilean family cooked with light battering. So I was like huh okay well then I start to fry it and after a while the flour has started cooking really weird in the chicken and my friend Amber gets out of the shower and I'm telling her how weird this flour is cooking on the chicken then Jack is like "Oh my god, did you guys get flour?" I grab the bag and in the store I'd picked up "azucar flor" not "harina" haha what can I say, "flor" was in big black letters on the bag and it looked like fine flour....we rolled on the floor laughing and ate caramelized chicken for dinner. I mean it wasn't fried chicken but it wasn't bad, and the funny story that came from it all was worth it completely...oh that powdered sugar.

The next morning Jack and I woke up to hike in the National Park. It was the cheapest thing we could do and was well worth it....so pretty. There were tons of waterfalls and of course I swam in one of the catch ponds....SO COLD. I can't even explain the beauty of this wonderful place...

Crossing it off the bucket list!

We hiked this mountain all the way up to the top where there were four lakes..it was the most peaceful place ever. It was different from hiking La Campana which was basically dry mountain..this place was full of water and everything was green. I was definitely sore but such a good sore.

That night we came home and had an asado complete with chorizos and jugo. Our whole group was housed in cabins that each had a grill and all circled a pool and lounging area. We were the only people in the place so that was also nice. We went out for drinks at one of the local bars that night and had a wonderful time. Even though we were in a touristy town, there were hardly any people there but the locals...we pretty much had the town to ourselves.

The next morning we woke up and kind of just hung around town. We went down to the lakes, lounged around the pool, and had lunch at Chef Pato. That night we got on the bus around eight...as much as I love Valpo, I wasn't at all ready to leave Pucon. I wish I could've just brought Mama and Papa down and stayed another few weeks there. It was so quiet and peaceful compared to the barking dogs and endless sirens of the city. I think I probably liked it so much because it was so similar to the feeling I get when I'm in my small hometown. Gruver isn't my favorite place to be in the whole world, but I do love my people there and the quiet stillness where you can look up at night and see a million stars is a breath of fresh air--Pucon was a lot like that--a breath of fresh air.

We got on the bus and I had a harder time coming back than I did traveling there. I decided to let my mind wonder down the whole "I live in Chile" road and it was great. I first thought back to the last time I was on a bus for twelve hours and came to the conclusion that it was probably in high school for sports..which as much as I hate buses, nothing is better than being on a bus with your team. From there I thought to myself..."Ha, never would I have thought three years ago that I would've gone to school in Austin and then live abroad in Chile." I have always had huge dreams but making them a reality has been the best experience of my life. I definitely am so thankful for my parents and family who have all been so supportive--I couldn't be more blessed. It's just the cherry on top that I have the best Chilean family ever here. God definitely is the master planner. I mean it took some planning with my parents, but ultimately God was kind of like, you decide where you want to go and...GO. Every person and place in Chile is a new adventure for me. I learn more about the world and myself every day here.

Chao.