Funny how you can wake up imagining your day is going to play out one way, and go to sleep thinking, ‘Wow, didn’t see any of that coming!’ Studying  abroad is a lot about expecting the unexpected.

Last Thursday I took a bus to Santiago to attend my first big “partido de fútbol” – A national soccer match between Chile and Argentina (awesome game, but sadly, we lost), and spend the holiday weekend with my host family’s family.

I slept in a rowdy hostel Thursday night – and by slept I actually mean laying there wide awake to the techno music that played into the wee hours of the morning.

Why didn’t you join the party, you killjoy? – is probably what you’re thinking.

Well I awoke around 6:30 a.m. on Friday with plans to hike at Cajon del Maipo, a national park located an hour or so out from Santiago. Despite the early start, my hiking buddy Kaitlin and I didn’t head out until almost 9 a.m. because the hostel didn’t serve breakfast until 8:30 – and I wasn’t about to leave without filling myself with all the fresh bread and jam and dulce de leche that I could eat. This girl doesn’t hike on an empty stomach. Continue reading →