Time Spent Not Traveling

Since going to La Serena a couple of weeks ago I've been staying in Santiago for the weekends. School has been a bit busy with presentations, papers and tests, but now it really feels like we're in the last leg of classes.

Outside of school I've had a lot of funny lately. Some of us had a girl's night making spaghetti and brownie mix while watching movies. I also ate dinner at the restaurant Agua Para Chocolate when a family visiting their daughter here took a bunch of us out to eat. It's a really lovely restaurant with amazing food. There was also a costume birthday party, I went as Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter (hey, I didn't pack thinking "what would make a good costume?").

Then yesterday we had a university sponsored trip to the town of Pomaire, known for it's pottery. We got to see the "back room" aspects of the pottery and even got to make some pots on a pottery wheel and clay piggy banks! I bought four bowls, a sugar dish, two salsa bowls, five good luck pigs and two vases for less than $9. It's that cheap! Almost every house and restaurant in Chile uses clayware from Pomaire, so it'll make a good keepsake.


Pomaire, the hills are so green!



Oh, and I bought a crochet needle and some thread. Some of the other students studying here knit or crochet, and I thought it looked like a really good activity to take with me when I go traveling. So far my scarf looks acceptable and relatively straight...

I am trying to figure out my travel plans for the rest of the semester. It would be amazing to go to Macchu Piccu, but I'm not sure if I could do anything else. Otherwise I was thinking about visiting the Atacama Desert with my friends and making some smaller trips to other parts of Chile by myself (such as Chiloe and the Lake Country?). Another option would be fly to Lima, Peru, and hang out there for a week with some people I know. Any thoughts?