Last day :(

After six months with my host family, I had to say goodbye to them on December 18. They threw me a great goodbye party on my last night in town. I am so thankful for all that they did for me. I really did feel like I was a remember of their large and hilarious family. Some of my fondest memories are from just sitting down at the dinner table, chatting, and laughing with them for hours on end. I'm so glad I found a second family 6,000 miles away from home. :)
Photo 1: The whole crew on my last night in Santiago. For my final meal in Chile, we ate completos. Completos are essentially hot dogs with avocado, ketchup, mustard, and more mayonnaise than meat. They are very, very Chilean.
Photo 2: Me and my bro, Diego. I miss him!
Photo 3: My attempt at Diego's "blue steel" face. He is just such a rock star sometimes.
Photo 4: On my very last morning in Santiago, I visited my cousin Sara's host family. I was very embarrassed that I didn't visit them earlier... especially since they lived about a half mile away from me. Oh well, at least I scored points with the family! :)

Torres del Paine

On our third day of backpacking in Torres del Paine National Park, we finally hiked to the torres. The torres (or towers) are probably the most famous landscape in the entire park for obvious reasons. Although it was a strenuous day of hiking, we made it alll the way to the top and alll the way back down. AMAZING! :) (The torres, not us.)
Photo 1: At the top of mountain #1.
Photo 2: Liz, you really do take the best pictures. There are sooo many "Indiana Jones" bridges in Torres del Paine park. They made me so happy!
Photo 3: It snowed the night before. Luckily, the weather was on our side that day!
Photo 4: The torres! :) We stared at them in awe/ exhaustion for an entire hour.
Photo 5: Reppin' Deidesheim in Torres del Paine National Park! (Side note: Deidesheim is the German village the Pfaffs are from in Germany)
Photo 6: Again.
Photo 7: So proud! This is my "haha Dad! I proved you wrong!" picture.
Photo 8: 18 kilometers in one day. Not too shabby.

"Glaciar Grey"

Photo 1: On the ferry from the entrance to the national park to the starting point of our first hike.
Photo 2: Liz and me on the ferry. After only 30 minutes on the ferry, Liz and I felt like we had gotten our money's worth.
Photo 3: The glacier! It is HUGE!
Photo 4: We were lucky enough to be the only people that close to the glacier at the time. That almost made up for the fact that we experienced terrible weather conditions.
Photo 5: Random pretty waterfall on our "three hour" hike.
Photo 6: I like to call this bruise my "souvenir" from Patagonia. Unfortunately, I think it's going to be a lifelong souvenir, considering there is now a nice little scar on my knee cap.
Photo 7: After five hours of hiking in the snow and rain the previous day, we finallly got to enjoy the beautiful scenery on day 2.
Photo 8: Sometimes the most beautiful moments in life are the "in betweens." This isn't one of the better known parts of the park, but I think it was my personal favorite.
Photo 9: Another beautiful view on our ferry ride to the torres.

Puerto Montt

After three days in Chiloe, Liz and I took a two hour flight from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is known as the world's most southern city. It. Was. So. Cold. We had a great time exploring the city on our first day. On our second day, we traveled by ferry to Isla de Magdalena, a HUGE penguin colony.
By this point we were about 1,500 miles from Santiago. Chile is such a long country! Seeing it on a map really doesn't do it justice. I think about mid way through my second 24 hour bus ride, I finally realized how longggg Chile is.
Photo 1: On our flight from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas. This picture was taken around 11:30pm. The sun rises at 4am-- which is not very condusive to sleeping.
Photo 2: Legend has it that kissing the foot of this statue will bring travelers back to Patagonia. :)
Photo 3: El cerro de Puerto Montt. A beautiful view of the city and, oh yeah, the end of the WORLD!
Photo 4: PENGUIN! We went to la Isla de Magdalena, which is an island inhabited only by penguins. During mating season, there are up to 15,000 there! They were surprisingly friendly and adorable. On a side note: I think this picture looks like an album cover for a penguin solo artist.
Photo 5: Standard Liz/ Kate picture...
Photo 6: Another penguin. As usual, Liz gets photo credit for all of these amazing shots.
Photo 7: On the ferry on our way back to civilization.
Photo 8: In front of a really pretty building in la plaza de Puerto Montt.

Chiloe National Park

After staying the night in Castro, we took a two hour bus to the Eastern side of Chiloe. We were able to spend a beautiful day with our beloved Pacific! Even though we were 4,000 miles away from home, we were still alongside our favorite ocean!
Photo 1: Just exploring a deserted national park. Our first clear day of the trip! :)
Photo 2: Probably one of my favorite pictures of the trip. Liz is an amazing photographer!
Photo 3: Overlooking the national park.
Photo 4: I stepped in mud. A lot of it. The best part: Those were my only shoes for the next 10 days.
Photo 5: For some reason, cows alongside bodies of water = common theme of this trip.
Photo 6: A beautiful, untouched, PRIVATE beach. So many shells.
Photo 7: What we did with said shells.
Photo 8: It was so nice to be out of the city and in el campo. J-Wall, these made me think of you!
Photo 9: So patriotic. "Chileno, Chileno, Chileno de corazon!"
Photo 10: Empanada stand along the river. Too bad we were THE ONLY people in sight. I don't think that guy gets much business.
Photo 11:No big deal. Just a wild horse.

Castro, Chiloe

As soon as I took my last final, Liz and I embarked on a twelve day backpacking trip through Southern Chile. Our first stop: Castro, Chiloe. Chiloe is an island off the Southern coast of Chile, located about 650 miles from Santiago. We spent one day in it's largest city, Castro, before heading to Chiloe National Park.
Photo 1: This market was like HEAVEN for Liz. So cute, so Chilean, so flaite.
Photo 2: Castro's cathedral. It's super old... Insert impressive date here.
Photo 3: The price Liz had to pay to borrow my Cal Dance Team sweatshirt for the day. :)
Photo 4: The infamous houses built on stilts. They don't look very sturdy do they?
Photo 5: Another Liz Hallack masterpiece. Nothing like a walk on the beach in foggy weather to bring out the best in LH Photography!

Volunteer Work at Liceo Manuel de Salas

From August to December, I served as a volunteer at Liceo Manuel de Salas, an elementary school two blocks away from my house. I tutored a group of 30 third grade students on Monday and Wednesday mornings. I worked with a great English teacher, "Miss Dani," who taught me a great deal about working with younger children-- and PATIENCE.
These pictures were taken on my last day at Manuel de Salas. The students through a surprise party for me. Each one of them made a hand written card for me and brought goodies to class. Even though they drove me crazy, I'm going to miss them!

Harry Potter Midnight Premiere

On November 18, I attended the midnight premiere of "Harry Potter y las reliquias de la muerte" at Cine Hoys in Santiago, Chile. Although this isn't a very good example of a cultural event, it goes to show that no matter where I am in the world, I always find a way to see the latest Harry Potter film.
Believe it or not, Chileans are just as enthusiastic as Americans about Harry Potter. Unfortunately, I didn't have the best costume that night... I'm going to step up my game for "parte dos" of Harry Potter!