Puerto Varas and Team USA

First and foremost- VIVA USA EN LA COPA MUNDIAL! What a game and finish by Landon Donovan. Add that one to his most goals ever scored in a USA uniform! The fact that I had to watch the game and most important goal in USA soccer history on a scratchy internet signal in Southern Chile truly tops the mark. Okay, it wasn't the internet signal's fault as much as it was the website I found to watch the game on. I kept battling with two different computers for a steady stream and ideally wanted to listen to it in anything but the previously chosen language of Arabic. And which Chilean producer chose England-Slovenia as the better match to show on TV? In any event, I didn't know how to celebrate the goal except to yell Spanglish at my host family and then start texting exclamation points with brief comments to friends back home. (Family, forward my phone bill to Team USA HQ in Chicago).

The reason for this post is not to ooze on the recent successes of Team USA because I told you we had the tools to be successful. Check my Facebook status before the World Cup began for proof. Last week the Chilean Ministry of Education decided it would benefit my program, English Open Doors, if the entirety of my region' volunteers (Los Lagos) met in Puerto Varas for a collection of meetings about English debates, etc., for the weekend. Thus a fellow volunteer, Luisa and I took an hour or so long bus-ride to Puerto Varas in the pouring rain. I counted 11 straight days of rain yesterday when I finally saw brilliant, sizzling sunlight. And then it rained in broad daylight..

We arrived at the Puerto Varas bus station on the outskirts of the town. After walking down a hill we soon came across Orvis stores, a huge casino, and a North Face store. Then we walked along the regionally famous Lago Llanquihue. Even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits because seeing and hearing water was simply refreshing. We had hoped to see Volcan Osorno on the other side but that never happened. I guess the postcards took all the good shots. Our hotel was also phenomenal offering great views, several antiques, and some real cool artwork. Our room keys were paintbrushes with keys attached to them. The city is most definitely a tourist hub offering outdoor adventures to the mountains, rivers, and of course Volcan Osorno. After a fun night at a bar called Barometre that offered a DJ, pool table, the fine Chilean beer Austral, and fun with other volunteers and regional coordinators we sat through meetings all the next morning.

Later that afternoon after we left the hotel and found a new hostel, several other volunteers from the area joined us at a cool, Jimi Hendrix-hippiesque, French hostel. When we first rang the doorbell to see if they had room, the owner opened the door and said, "Que Tal?" As in what's up and what do you need? He said they are very slow in the winter so this was a surprise to him. They offered us a great bunk room for very cheap and it was in the heart of the town so how could we turn it down!

Bottom line is that the weekend gave me the opportunity to get out, see a different city, hang with friends I made from my time in Santiago, and hear their stories with school and their host families. One of my personnel favorites is that a buddy had nearly 200 girls Facebook him wanting to be friends. Hence the reason all of my privacy settings are up. Here are some Chile by the numbers/facts for you all:

17: Days I went attempting to grow the beard until it became unbearable.
1: Comment from a random guy who said, "Mira, un gringo naranja!" Look, an orange gringo...
4: Times a day I take the micro or bus to and from school.
4: Days I have seen the sun. That will change or hopefully will change when winter vacation comes. Its not as bad as it seems though
3: Number of weeks off I have for winter vacation!
Profe: The name the students call me. Its an abbreviation of Prefesor.
10: Roughly the number of times I have thought about Mi Cocina. UPS??
1: Times I have been in a car full of Chileans and listened to an Rick Ansley/Michael Jackson remix.
Senor de los Anillos: The Lord of The Rings in Spanish. Going to watch it now.

Hope everyone is well. Things are great here! I want to hear your stories also so spill for me.