Chile

There are a couple of things that  I love about Chile.

First of all, there is the way that they treat their stray dogs. Stray dogs are often seen around the city; sitting on street corners, sleeping near cafes, crossing streets in pedestrian walkways, etc. But unlike in the States, these dogs do not appear to be malnurited or mangey. Instead, they often sport healthy looking hair and friendly countanences. This seems to be because instead of rounding up the puppies and bringing them to the pounds, stray dogs are taken care of. Chileans seem to take pride in feeding stray dogs. One of the central parks in Santiago is set up with serveral public dog houses and watering bowls. And it is not too shocking to see people on the street walking by dogs give them a pat on the head or words of appreciation. These are not stray dogs, the city's population has clearly adopted them collectively.

Second of all, they serve avocadoes on everything. I love fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. And Chile, with its California like climate (though flipped; cooler weather in the south, warmer weather in the north), is a prime place for agricultural treasures. All the fruit is delicious. The only problem comes when you discover an overripe apriot or bruised cherry, because unlike the States the fruit is allowed its natural demise. You just have to be careful to pick the best of the crop. Avocadoes are especially popular here. I have seen them on most of my sandwiches and salads, and have even seen them on the hot dogs (on some thing called an Italian hot dog, which is called so because it has avocados, tomatoes, and mayonnaise; the colors of the Italian flag). This phenomenon of perfect fruit extends to their "jugos naturales" or Natural Juice, which is usually some kind of slightly sweetened fruit that has been juiced or blended. The most common types being Pina (pineapple) and frambuesa (raspberry). I  usually order frambuesa, but the domasco (apricot) might just be my favorite (unfortunately, I have only seen it in one restaurant in Valpariso).

Third of all, the best Vanilla Ice Cream in the World is produce and sold in Santiago, Chile in what is considered by some to be the best Ice Cream and Sorbet shop in Santiago, Chile called the Empirio del Rose. If you are ever in Santiago, this is the place to stop for Raspberry and Mint sorbet, Chocolate and Orange ice cream, and of course, Vanilla. Most Vanilla ice creams are plain and are what you have come to expect from ice cream, but the vanilla served here tastes as close to vanilla, cream, and sugar as you will ever get.

Fourth of all, the parks are breathtaking. From Cerrito Santa Lucia (a small hill in the middle of Santiago City with a castle in the middle and a tower from which you can see all of Santiago on a clear day) to the square in the middle of Vina del Mar. They take excellent care of the parks; it seems that every time you walk through a park there is someone there tending the plants or sidewalks.

Fifth of all, which I feel like I have to mention for my dad, there is never a long wait for a train when taking the metro (seriously, no more than like 3 minutes when transferring or after missing the first one). Added to that, the metro is pretty clean and people are pretty good at giving up their seats for people who need them  more. A huge difference overall from the DC Metro system that I am used to.

Sixth, the views from the hills of Valparaiso (a city to the Northwest of Santiago near the coast) are breathtaking and the palms trees of Vina del Mar (North of Valparaiso, still on the beach) provide picturesque shade from the obvious sunlight that heats the sand of the beaches. While Valparaiso's coast is more of a shipping port, you can hop on a commuter train from the Bellavista stop to the Vina del Mar stop (like my mother and I did our last full day on the coast) and ten minutes on the train and you are in a beachy, tourist city with people in bikinis lying on the beach getting a tan.

PS please forgive all my misspellings of Spanish words. I can barely spell in English, let alone a second language.

Vacation

For the past week and and a half I have been back in the United States, enjoying a break from travelling alone in worlds unknown. Instead, I spent the weekends at home near DC with my parents cleaning out my bag and repacking for South America, and the week in New Orleans visiting my aunt and grandmother on my father's side.

My family is heading to South America for our annual winter holidays reunion. The only Christmas that we have ever spent apart was the year my grandfather passed away. Holidays in my immediate family are important for being together. Even the year my sister spent in Australia, we all headed down under to celebrate together.

Why Chile this Christmas? My brother is spending his first quarter of Junior year abroad in Chile. And while my family doesn't need an excuse to travel, we used this one anyways. So for the next 2 and half weeks I'm back with my family.

People often ask me where I got so brave to travel. The thing is, my family travels. It is part of what we do together. Just walking down the street of Chile we compare it to the places we've been together before or the places we've seen on our own.

Of course, the family reunion is not complete until my sister joins us in Peru next week, but we are anxiously awaiting her arrival!