La Serena

Becka and Sarah’s Blog
After a week of rigorous Spanish, Literature, and cultural studies, the weekend was greatly welcomed and our group embarked on yet another exciting endeavor. Munching on junk food, sleeping, and laughing for six hours is surprisingly exhausting. When we arrived at La Serena, a remote beach town north of Santiago, mid-afternoon, we were all happy to be off the confined bus. We split up in to groups of seven and our cabins reminded us of slumber parties and summer camp. We spent time at the beach before dinner and the fresh breeze and warm sand made us feel closer to home. Many of us sat just mesmerized by the sound of the waves, while others walked along the sand or attempted to juggle a soccer ball. Dinner was highly anticipated, and as usual we struggled ordering in Spanish, however it was worth it, as fresh seafood, hot pasta and bread were served. The next day we were joined by several other students from our Spanish school and we traveled an hour away to Vicuna. Unfortunately, the infamous Chilean poet, Gabriela Mistral’s (who we’ve studied in literature class) house was closed, but we explored the isolated, extremely hot town and visited a local church. Then we went for a pisco factory tour and learned about all of the detailed steps to making the notorious Chilean pisco. For lunch, we experienced a once-in-a lifetime, unique restaurant. We went to a solar kitchen called Elqui Solar, where they cooked all of the traditional Chilean food (rice, three types of meat, salad, bread, and flan) with the heat of mirrors reflecting the sun. Later that night we had the privilege of visiting an astrology observatory. The stars have never felt so close and tangible and the tour guide explained in Spanish many of the constellations and wonders of the galaxies. The next day we all slept in and enjoyed a group barbeque before we had to say goodbye to yet another brief glimpse at another South American city.