Sunshine in Valparaíso

Last night I stayed at a friend's house to finish a group paper, which meant that this morning I had to catch an early Metro back to Valparaíso. Although I wasn't initially thrilled with the prospect of getting up at 6:30, I have decided that mornings are my favorite time of day here.

I walked down the hill in Recreo just as the sun was beginning to tint the shoreline. There was a mist over the ocean muting all of the colors of the sunrise and the houses on the hillside. It was so beautiful. Best of all, it was quiet. When I walked through the park near my house the birds were chirping; something I hadn't heard here.

The rest of my day was beautiful too! It has been sunny and warm the past couple days...it reminds me of September in Michigan. My class was canceled, so I spent my afternoon wandering around the city. I stopped to get an ice cream cone at my favorite diner. My host mom told me it is over 100 years old. Everything is homemade and fresh...and a cone costs $900 pesos or about $2 dollars. Today, I tried Chocolate Italiano which was dark chocolate ice cream with raisins and chunks of sweet bread. I have decided that they have the best helado en Valparaíso.

There are monuments all over the city. Most are testaments to the colonial roots of the city...and most are covered in graffiti. That is one thing I love about Valparaíso; symbols of the past are everywhere, but so are reactions against it—testaments to different ways of remembering and accounting Chilean history. 

This statue marks Av. Francia, the street I walk to get to class everyday. Right across from it, in the afternoons and evenings, I can usually find my favorite candied-peanut stand.

 My apartment is on the same block as this church, La Iglesia Sagrados Corazones. It is under construction right now and is covered in scaffolding, but even still, it is breathtakingly beautiful.

The best word I can think of to describe this city is: alive. There is so much color, movement, music...the smell of fresh bread, fried peanuts, fish stands, and rotten fruit, the sound of dogs barking, car horns blaring, and vendors shouting out prices...

Sometimes, I cannot believe that I actually live here! Everyday I walk a new street, meet someone, taste  or see something new. As much fun as it is exploring here, I am so excited to head out of the city...and the country...to visit Mendoza, Argentina this weekend! I'll keep you posted! XOXOXO.