Location: Santiago, Chile
Dear Friends and Family,
It’s hard to believe that it’s already October and that I’m just one week short of having been abroad for 3 months! Writing this update to quickly bring you up to date on what’s been going on down here since The Northern Expedition. =D Mmmm… lots of Ms. =)
<left> To begin this update, I bring you… sun block. That’s right. This is the stuff that you put on when you go to the beach and stuff so that your skin doesn’t peel off after you fry in the sun! =) Now, what’s so special about this particular sun block, you ask? Well, it’s so special because it’s made of GEL! Yep, my much sought-after Coppertone Sport Gel. Too bad I only managed to get it *after* the long trip. =)
I guess you had to have been there to understand how much I looked everywhere for this stuff while in northern Chile and Bolivia… meanwhile, I was forced to stick to using the nasty, greasy, *regular* lotion-type sun block. Haha. =D
<right> Anyway, getting into the real part of the update, I just wanted to share a map so that you can get an idea of where The Northern Expedition took me in Chile and Bolivia. (refer to updates 6, 7 & 8 for The Northern Expedition) =)
Most of the area covered on the outward journey to La Paz is marked in blue and the area covered on the return journey to Calama is marked in red.
Our beginning and ending point of Calama is the city that you can barely see the letters for under the big E in Chile. =) I think you can see Uyuni, Oruro and La Paz on the Outbound route and Arica, Iquique, Tocopilla and Calama on the Inbound route.
Mayhem – Anyway, if you’ve for some strange reason been following the news about Bolivia, you might’ve discovered that I might’ve still been in La Paz. (Do a search for “Bolivia protest” on Google News and you’ll get plenty of info. =P) The day after we left La Paz to return to Chile, protests began in La Paz and other cities in Bolivia in opposition to proposals to export natural gas and have been going on to date. According to news sources dated as of yesterday, there have been over 25 injuries and 7 deaths during confrontations between protestors and security forces. Additionally, bus services between La Paz and Arica were suspended and only just recently reinitiated due to security concerns after a Chilean bus was stoned by protestors. Knowing that we just barely made it out of Bolivia, I’m just reminded that God’s watching over me. =)
Malady – I couldn’t really think of a word that meant sickness that started with M… but I guess this is close. =) I like the Thesaurus function that Word has. =P Anyway, I got sick shortly after returning from The Northern Expedition and I’m just finally starting to feel better. I’ll probably take a last dose of my 3rd different type of cold medication tonight just to be safe though. =) Being sick always tends to remind me that I can’t get by on my own but need to rely on my best friend Jesus. Philippians 4:13! Yay for health! =)
Machu… Mexico – So… this past weekend was supposed to be spent exploring the ruins of the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu with my parents… but plans changed and I found myself spending the weekend with my entire family back home en el Distrito Federal de la Ciudad de Mexico. =)
<right> It was great getting to spend time with my family and I thank God for allowing me to see them this past weekend. If you haven’t met my family, from left to right are my brother Andrew who’s a senior in HS, my dad and my mom. As you can see, we’re all happily wearing one article of llama-designs on alpaca wool each. =) Now you know what my real family looks like in addition to knowing my Chilean family (see Update 1)! Oh yeah, and as expected, my parents weren’t too happy about my haircut. Oh well, I don’t think it looks that bad and many other people agree with me… it’ll grow back soon anyway. =D
<below> Most of the people I know seem to think that Mexico is a really poor country and that Tijuana represents all of Mexico… just to clear up these misconceptions, Mexico has good and bad neighborhoods like any other country. =) Here you can see some nice-looking residential neighborhoods that have lots of green trees and stuff. =)
Mexico’s sky was amazingly clear over the past weekend and not at all like the brown haze that I’m used to… it was actually blue! =D Thanks God for rain! =)
While back in Mexico, I rediscovered another gem of random architecture. If you remember my Update 2, I made fun of Santiago’s gi-normous cellphone building. =)
<right> Well, here’s the pantalon gigante of Mexico City! =) I guess it makes it easier for people in the upper levels of one tower to get to the upper levels of the other tower if the top is connected? Yay Mexico for giant pants! =)
Next, a trip to Mexico wouldn’t be complete without authentic Mexican food. =)
<left> My favorite: Tacos al pastor.
Even tacos at the airport in Mexico City are better than the ones I’ve had down here in Chile. =D
<right> And speaking of food: Combo #1 at EmpanadaTodos. Small drink, Empanada (with choice of 25 different fillings) and a mini apple-empanada thing. Just in case my description of an Empanada as a “half-moon shaped Hot Pocket-type food” didn’t work for you (see Update 8). =)
Madness – If you didn’t know… the Terminator is now governor of my state… Craziness. Let’s just hope he can fix the problems California is facing and better not make them worse. Time will tell. =)
Movies – Granted that it takes forever for movies to come out down here… I am completely clueless about the most recent movies that are playing in the States… so when writing me about movies, remember that I’ll be completely lost! =P
Just to give you an idea of what I’ve seen since last Friday… I saw for the first time: X-Men 2, Phone Booth & The Core during the 16 hours I spent flying to and from Mexico. Also, I got to watch Italian Job with my dad at the theaters in Mexico. And earlier tonight, I *finally* got to see Bad Boys 2 in theaters. Bad Boys 2 came out on July 18th in the States (which was 2 or 3 days after I left for Chile) and it finally showed up in theaters in Chile 2-3 months later… Boo! =)
Moon – It starts with an M and I happen to have a picture of it that I took as I flew back to Chile on Monday… =)
<right> White clouds to blue sky with the moon on top… blame the 3x zoom for the tiny moon. =)
Well, I believe that’s all the Ms that I can think of at this time… perhaps I’ll close with…
Mayday – Help! I need to read thousands of pages for my exams and papers coming up this week! =P And come to think of it, I think I need to write a page on an idea for a paper for tomorrow. Haha. =)
Thanks for taking the time to read my updates and for keeping me in your prayers! Let me know if there’s anything that I can pray for you!
- Dan