It's been too long!

I've had several interesting weekends since I last posted. And since I'm about to begin yet another activity-stuffed three days of no school, it's time for some updates!

A long, long time ago, in a neighborhood far away, a lone college student made her way up the impressively tall hill which God conveniently placed as a marker for the northern edge of Santiago. Friday, April 9, I visited Cerro San Cristobal (St. Cristopher Hill). The point is basically to go to the top and look at Santiago, or at least the part you can see through the trees. Fortunately for the one or two of you who actually read this and want to be entertained, I stopped half-way up to visit the zoo. Yay animals! Highlights of zoo: there were no penguins since they're breeding; a man tried to feed his child to the camel; condors have huge wingspans; llamas look quizzical; there were at least four different species of swan, my favorite was the Australian black swan; and I don't think it's ethical to stick forty parrots, or 15 eagles and two condors, into one enclosure. The pictures below are llamas and Chile's black-necked swans.





That afternoon I watched the Barcelona-Madrid game. Barca scored right after I sat down and everyone around me cheered, so I decided it would be a good idea to root for them. Which turned out well when the won :)

Then in the evening I went to an international student festival sort of thing. There was a band with Irish music, and I kept thinking they would play some Notre Dame favorite (they didn't). Also present: tons of really yummy food from China, Spain, Bolivia, Chile (surprise! Manjar!), UK, US, Mexico (guacamole!), and other countries.

On Sunday the 11th I went to a church festival called Cuasimodo--derived from the first words in the Latin Mass. The festival comes from the Church teaching that everyone should receive the Eucharist at least once a year during Easter season. But priests in the old Wild West days would be in danger of getting robbed for their valuable chalices and what have ye. So a group of jinetes, or men on horseback, would accompany them. The festival still takes place every year the week after Easter. I had to write a report on it for a class, so I went. I'll be putting up some pictures on Facebook, if I remember.

Then last week I went to a friend's birthday party, which was on a rooftop overlooking the city. The view is so amazing, just seeing twinkling lights heading off until the horizon. And the warning lights on the tops of the tall buildings seemed to be in time with our techno music :) I know I did more during the weekend, but I don't remember right now. At one point we got Dominos pizza! Usually my favorite at home, it doesn't taste quite right here--I blame the new recipe.

Well, maybe I can remember to write up something at the end of this weekend. If so, you can expect an exhilirating insight into my (lack of) study habits and schoolwork! Oh, and I re-published pictures from Valparaiso on Facebook, with descriptions!