Estoy Perdido

Ok, so here goes: the last few days have been insane. But, this is one of the times in my life where I am definitely out of my comfort zone, but I really like it. This is a different challenge than I have ever faced. I am finally getting the chance to 'live in the moment'. I don't have to think about the future...just yet. I am having a hard enough time figuring out what I am doing right now. I get teh chance to see the sun set...watch it falling to the other side of the world. So I will begin where I left off. I ended up spending Saturday with a scottish girl, Shona, and an American girl, Desiree. We meet up at the catacombs in Lima, which were really impressive. Unfortunately they don't let you take pictures there, but that was ok. I probably wouldn't have taken any just because my stomach was not feeling so hot. I was extremely thankful for the outside air once we escaped. We then went to a restaurant not too far way and ended spending some time there. It seemed like a popular place, but they definitely had a mice infestation... Anne, I think we could have used a few of these guys...they probably were better at breeding than our original mice... But one of the girls ordered some interesting meat dish. I think it was probably chopped up kidney and liver, it didn't look quite as appetizing as one might hope. We then ventured off to get ice cream + pepto...great combo. We were stopped by a church procession, which was pretty neat to see. And then ran into locations where we were definitey the only gringos. Once we got done downtown, we went back to Barranco. I definitely suggest heading out there if you make your way to Lima (Beth, we will probably stay there while in Lima). The beach is right there, and it seemed to be a safer location overall.

Then I took a taxi to the airport with another American. She was heading back home and I was heading to Santiago. Once I got my ticket I realized that I only had 30 minutes before people boarded, and I just started running (I felt bad for ditching her). I had forgotten my visa (or piece of paper that is needed while staying in Peru...I had to make a mental note to not forget it again), my bad. That took a bit more time, but I made it to the plane right before boarding. The item that kept me from eating my arm off (I was really hungry by that time, only having rice for lunch and no dinner) was a kit-kat bar. Highly suggested for traveling.

Plane was great, a much better experience than the flight from the States to Lima (take TACA or LAN if anyone is going off to visit). The only problem is that I arrived and made it through customs at 3 (and 130 dollars shorter...they really need to take away the reciprocity fee). As soon as I stepped out of the airport you could tell an extreme difference between Santiago and Lima. I will explain more about it later. The van dropped me right off at the apartment (I'm staying with Katy Walter's friends) at 4am. This is when the fun began... I ended up trying to converse with the doorman who didn't speak a lick of English. No one answered the door at 4am, understandably, and so I thought I was going to be in some trouble... just at that point a guy came in from a bachelor party that knew english and lived in the building (his name is sebastian). So sebastian invited me to hang out with him until 6am (when I told Conner that I was going to be there) and we talked for the two hours. He didn't let me leave until I had a beer and till I gave him my word that I would come back to visit the rest of Santiago with him. The hospitality that he showed me was second to none (he said that it is typical of Chileans to be that hospitable). I went down at 6 to meet up with them and thankfully Conner answered the door. I slept till about 10 and enjoyed a breakfast with the Chasers (they had completed ACE in the previous year {a great program through Notre Dame where they teach for two years}). I then ran around the center of Santiago, which ended up being really enjoyable. It is a new experience just learning how to be by myself, but I am enjoying it. I went to Mass last night with the Chasers, and it was beautiful. It was a packed house, understandably so due to it being Palm Sunday.

So let me explain the title. I have been lost since I've been here. This phrase (Estoy Perdido) is now part of my vocabulary, along with como puedo llegar a...

I am now in Valparaiso. A coastal town just 1.5 hrs away from Santiago. I decided to come here for the day and will probably end up in Vina del Mar by the end of my two days away from Santiago. I am sorry that I hadn't posted as regularly, but will try to do so soon.

I miss each of you. Take care.