At 9 in the morning we had our second orientation meeting which lasted about an hour. Lizette continued to fill us in on many important cultural tips. She told us that it's very rude to yawn or stretch in public (2 things I'm very guilty of!) and that we should just get used to people staring at us because Chile isn't very diverse in terms of ethnicities. Lizette shared a lot of her funny stories about how she's embarrassed herself by saying certain things in English and encouraged us that even if we make a mistake with our Spanish not to be shy.
Our entire group was bursting at the seams for this meeting to be over because at 10:15 we were scheduled to load up on our oversized and obviously American bus to go to Vina Cousino Macul, a vineyard. Luckily, Lizette stayed right on schedule and we departed for the vineyard to go to the wine tasting!
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| Driving into the vineyard. |
Talk about absolutely breath taking! All of the trees were changing colors and the weather couldn't have been better if we tried. We spent about 15 minutes just taking pictures of the place and marveling at the beauty.
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| The gorgeous walkway down to the cellar. |
Our tour began as we walked through the lush trees and entered into the room where there were antique machines scattered around to represent the history. We continued into more rooms that had large barrels that once held wine but were empty for decor purposes. So of course, all of us Americans jumped on the opportunity to take cheesy pictures with them. After this we all came together and listened to our tour guide explain how the vineyard worked and he showed us the area where all the wines are made. This part of the tour was very dark and cold so when he told us it was time to walk outside and go into the cellar for our wine tasting no one complained!
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| Where the wine is made. |
This cellar was enormous! We came down a set of deep stairs and walked around 2 more rooms that had hundreds of empty barrels and our guide continued to tell us more about the wines that used to be there. He showed us a room that had wines dating back to 1927! After this, the guide came around to the bar area to begin the tasting. We started off with a sweet Chardonnay and it was delicious! He told us that it had been made using pineapples and apples so even the smell of it was enough to let us know that we were getting a very high quality wine.
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| (left to right) Emily, Kirsten, Me, Mitchell Before the wine tasting! |
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| The first wine we tasted. YUM! |
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| (left to right) Kelly, Me, Kristen Exactly what we wanted! |
Once we finished the first glass, we came back upstairs to try the second wine which was Cabernet Sauvignon--a rich red. Compared to the sweetness of the Chardonnay, this one was a little too dark for me but nonetheless it was also very delicious and I imagine it would taste great when paired with a good meal.
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| The second wine we tasted. |
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| Me in front of the vineyard with my complimentary wine glass and the red! |
When the moment came to leave the vineyard, everyone wanted to stay longer. Up next thing on the list was to go to lunch in the Barrio Bellavista at a restaurant called Mosai Cafe. This was a very nice place to eat and our options again were rather limited as we had to choose between chicken with rice or french fries, steak and french fries, or a plate of french fries with steak and eggs on top. Playing it safe, I ordered the chicken and rice but before our meal came we each received an appetizer. Mine was a green, thick soup that was actually very good and reminded me of an egg drop soup. Our meals arrived quickly after and just as soon as we had the food in front of us, it was gone. Much to our surprise, a small strawberry platter followed our main course and besides Mitchell, no one hesitated to finish their sweet decadence.
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| The surprisingly good appetizer. |
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| Dessert. |
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| The plaza where we had lunch.
When lunch was over, we wandered through the plaza for a little bit to look through the smalls shops and then we headed over to Pablo Neruda's house in Santiago that is named La Choscona. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside (my mom won't be too happy to hear about that since she loves him!) but the outside was interesting enough. The intricate graffiti that was painted on the walls leading up to his house was an indicator of his influence and certainly a reflection of Santiago.
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| Just one of the many graffitied walls outside of Pablo Neruda's house. |
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| Pablo Neruda's house in Santiago. |
Once we finished the tour, we headed back for our last orientation meeting where Lizette told us everything we needed to know about our classes at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso and some final advice about meeting our families. We reviewed the schedule for our first day of school and a few of the other planned activities for the rest of our stay. As this meeting was over, Emily, Kristen, Mitchell and I all stayed back with Lizette and Lorna to discuss the details about our Veritas program.
Lorna opened up our meeting with a beautiful Spanish prayer and I got goosebumps! She and Lizette went on to explain our special schedule since the four of us signed up to do more than just take classes here. We have the option to volunteer at an orphanage every Wednesday night that's just for girls (sorry Mitchell!) and this just about had me jump out of my seat I was so excited. We looked over our detailed schedule and it began to fully sit in how unique our experience was going to be.
After we discussed the specifics, we all parted ways and Kristen, Emily, and I met up with Kayla and Kelly to go to the grocery store to get an easy dinner. Of course, none of us could decide what we actually wanted so we wandered through the aisles trying to figure out what combinations we could make with the familiar items we found. I walked away with tortillas, turkey, and cheese to make quesadillas namely because I wanted something that tasted like home before the big day of meeting our new families. Walking back home was a hoot since it was Saturday night and the nightlife was starting to pick up but we were all too tired to try and muster any extra energy to do more than pack.
Sitting in our Veritas meeting, I caught a glimpse of the change God is making in me. This time last year I would have been kicking and screaming about coming down to Chile and being thrown into a completely unfamiliar place to help a country I know little about. But He's given me His eyes to see the beauty in His planning. Lorna was telling us how she and Lizette believe that nothing in our lives happen by accident but rather by God's perfect plan and after my short time here I couldn't agree more. He has already caused me to rely on Him in ways that I wasn't even sure I needed and there aren't words to express how excited I am to see what's in store.
I'm in the process of playing catch up with the last few days so be patient with me as I try to find time to write! Pray that the Lord would show me what to do and more importantly say next and that He would bless this nation with healing. I'm already learning so much and I can't wait to see what's coming next!!
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