#6 through #10

6. PUTRE!! we spent almost a week in this little town and I loved it! If I've learned nothing else during my study abroad experience it's that no matter how cool cities are, I'm a country girl at heart.  It was with a weird sense of relief that I settled into the routine of classes and community service up here.  People said hi to us on the street, and things got reallly quiet after about 9:30 or 10 most nights.  The views and open spaces were definitely a relief after nothing but city views for a couple of months.  On one of our last days we visited 7 murals spread throughout the pueblo that depict some of the local history and legends. They were created by kids and painted by the community... very cool.

7. Lago Chungara. We were told that this is something like the highest unnavigable lake in the world which while it kinda sounds cool also doesn't sound that impressive/I'm sure there are ponds that are higher so I'm not even sure if it's true.  Anyways the trip up there was really cool, we met a couple of angry alpacos and a really cute llama!! The lake was gorgeous, it's situated between two giant volcanoes.

8. Finding out that there are flamingoes at 14,000 feet!  So this is more about Lago Chungara but also I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it so here are some pictures...

I had to take the picture through a pair of binoculars because they were kinda far away!

9. My homestay in Belen.  The last 5 days of our excursion to the north were spent in rural homestays.  I lived in Belen, which is a town of between 35 and 40 people depending on who you talk to.  It's kinda eerie walking through the streets because it seems a lot bigger, but most of the houses are deserted because most of the people from Belen have moved to Arica, the city on the coast to find work.  I got to tend the goats with my mama and little 3 year old brother.

My mama makes goat cheese, and it's won all sorts of prizes! Even though it was super fun and interesting, I was definitely ready to get back to a bigger town because while I like small towns there was NOTHING happening in this one... 5 days were enough to get a feel for the town but living there would definitely be tough and although I think it's super sad, I can understand why so many people have moved to the city.

10.  This was actually kinda sucky as well, but last Sunday me and one other girl from the program, Rebecca, went to the airport with the rest of the group and waved goodbye as they all went back to Valpo without us!  Now we're alone in Arica for about 3 weeks to work on our independent studies.  I'm  studying illegal immigration and the racial and social problems associated with that issue.  The work is really interesting and I'm super excited to start talking to immigrants early next week!  The one major bummer is that the homestays are awkward and uncomfortable and REALLY expensive (relative to other options) but we're required to stay in a homestay because of safety and so that SIT can keep and eye on us.

More to come later! I've been pretty bored so the posts should start coming more frequently...