Pucón, Chile.

This past month has been insanely busy as my classes have started to really pick up, work-wise. And when I say "pick up," I mean, before there was no work, and now, it's work all the time, haha! I've also recently started an internship at a local Chilean hotel that is family-run. It will last until about the end of November when I will then have rotated through several departments including Public Relations & Events, Front Desk, Culinary, Rooms, Accounting, and Laundry.

We had a long weekend just now so with a group of girls, we rode a 9 to 10 hour bus ride south to Pucón, where we were able to enjoy a breath of fresh air for several days. Although the weather was lousy and prevented us from hiking up the famed volcano in the town, we still managed to fit in several outdoor activities that make Pucón such a drawing tourist attraction.

Welcome to the tiny town of Pucón

The one afternoon without rain, we headed out to the river to go white water rafting

One day later, it started to rain, so we decided to make a visit to the hot springs
A 45-minute bus ride away took us to a smaller community to learn about the Mapuche, a local indigenous group in Chile
Blending into Mapuche culture
That weekend, Chile secured a place in the World Cup next summer in 2010 - you might not be able to see too clearly, but there was a major fiesta in the street!
If it hadn't been for the rain, this would've been the volcano I could've said I hiked
The view of the lake near our hostel

Since my last post, I've also managed to somehow turn 21. Not sure how this came up so quick, but let's just say that turning 21 abroad is pretty useless. It's really not that remarkable at all, but I still had a good time, as I chose to go snowboarding in the Andes to ring in the big 2-1. Since we're on inverted seasons here in Chile, I was able to catch the end of ski season before it turns into spring.

The lack of treeline makes for a very white and clean mountain

Yeah yuh - how many people can say they turned 21 snowboarding in the Andes?

One weekend when most of us stayed in Santiago instead of leaving town, we decided to go to a winery nearby to see what all this Chilean vino hype is all about. We went to Concha y Toro, the most commercialized winery in Chile - it's a relatively big brand and it's available in the United States as well.

In front of the entrance - we're supposed to be spelling "V-I-N-O"

Don Melchor vino at the winery

Trying my best not to discriminate wines of all different sizes

So that's pretty much what I've been up to these past several weeks. I'm in the midst of a two-week midterm whirlwind, so it'll be good when we get a ten day break starting next Friday - I'll be going to the north of Chile, so look out for a post after that!