Skiing in the Andes

So I can now officially say that I have skied in the Andes Mountains!! How insane is that? Last Friday, some friends and I went skiing at Valle Nevado, a resort about 2 hours away from Santiago. We went through a company that provided the transportation, equipment, and clothing if you needed it (mittens, snow pants, goggles, etc) and it worked out so well! About 30 minutes after leaving Santiago, we started the climb into the mountains. The road was literally a one-lane road that twisted back and forth all the way of the mountain. (I do recall our bus passing other buses though. How? I don't want to think about it.) Apparently, in the mornings, there are only cars and vans going up the mountain, and then around 3pm, there's only traffic going down.

This is the view from the main lodge/hotel building. I only used the bathroom, but I suspect that it's a hella nice place.


The weather was absolutely amazing the whole day. In the morning the sun was shining, which kept me so warm I didn't even need to wear a hat. It cooled down a little bit, but it was still super nice. The snow was amazing. Really, I've never skied in more perfect conditions. I had a smile on my face all day long. I still cannot believe that I got to do this! Like really, the resort was on the TOP of the Andes. Not in the Andes, on top of the Andes!



















Around 12:30, two other girls and I stopped skiing at grab lunch. Right next to one of the chair lifts was a restaurant with tons of outdoor seating, so we sat outside and ate lunch! So not only have I skied in the Andes, I have eaten lunch in the Andes too! Ha!


















Mountains, mountains, la la la


















See the end of the chairlift? See it?! It goes all the way to the TOP!





















So, it was an amazing day. People are talking about going back this Friday, but I've been calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so it would be weird to go, um, twice. However, it's low season, so I hear you can find cheap deals if you look for them. We found out the resort next door (next mountain?) had a 3-for-1 deal once we had already been skiing for a couple hours at Valle Nevado.

My legs declared mutiny overnight, so I was pretty much out of commission all Saturday. Is that normal for a 20-year-old? Geez.

More pictures on facebook. My friend has some pictures too, so I'll steal those and show you guys once she puts them up.

Saturday night I went to my first discotech, Subterraneo. If I'm ever in need of overly sweaty Chileans, I now know where to go.

I started volunteering at the YMCA last Thursday and that was a lot of fun. I'm helping teach an English workshop for adults. We went over past tense and the future tense. We did this game where Person A had a bunch of cards with problems on them and Person B had cards with things that he "will" do (future tense) to help. I don't know who wrote this game, but some of the things Person B will do are "I will murder you" and "I will buy you a gun." Person B is clearly a bit disgruntled.

Oh, and Patty sat me down yesterday and was like "I'm really worried about you. I don't think you're eating enough." Oh honey, that is the last thing you need to be worrying about. Goodness gracious. I was honestly at a loss for words; I had absolutely no response. All I could do was laugh at her.

Good luck to everyone starting school this (or next) week. However, I don't feel sorry for any of you because I doubt any of you are taking a Chilean poetry class. Yeah, a Chilean poetry class which makes me wish I had a friend like Person B...


besos!