Vamos a la Playa!

-
That's right the beach! Well in this case it wasn't actually a beach but a fishing port. I had the pleasure of spending the day with my host mom in Talcahuano. Talcahuano is a beautiful little fishing town that is known for it's population of sea lions. The sea lions gather in the port at the base of boats waiting for the fishermen to through them the scraps. It seems like these sea lions are living the life, free food and easy hunting, I don't think there is anything better.


I spent the afternoon with my host mom as the wind played with our hair and we watched the boats. it was a relaxing and much needed weekend. My host mom told me the history of Talcahuano, it is just a fishing town so it is mainly filled with lower middleclass families that work as fishermen or in a factory. In 2010 an earthquake struck the BioBio region of Chile and severely damaged Talcahuano. As we drove through the city we could still see the ruins of old buildings that had collapsed during the quake, and there were more that what I could count. Also because of the port after the quake there was also a tsunami in Talcahuano that flooded the first 20 or so blocks of the city until the hillside of the city. The destruction that happened in the quake is still so apparent in Talcahuano, but the kindness of the locals was even more apparent. At the port everyone was calm just enjoying the day watching the sea lions play.


In Talcahuano I also ate my first completo and had mote con huesillos. So a completo is the world's best decked out hotdog. The one I had was a hotdog covered in pico, cilantro, mayo, and spicy garlic. My host mom had one that was with scrambled eggs and caramelized onions. Seriously though, no joke, the States has been making their hotdogs wrong. Mote con huesillos is a juice that has mote (barley) and huesillos (a dried peach) in it. Trying this for the first time was extremely weird. I see barley and I think soup, I do not think tea, and then there was just a whole dried peach dropped in as well. It was a little weird to get my brain around but Oh was it DELICOUS! I highly recommend it.

















T-minus 67 days

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Throwin' it Back

-
Image
As the millennial I am, I´ve decided to throw it back today to a few years ago when I went to Africa. Yeah I get what you are saying, “Joy seriously? Africa? What does this have to do with South America?” Just buckle up and hold on because I am about to share one of my favorite memories with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Not too long ago I went to la inglesa Genesis here in Cochabamba (it’s a super cool church you can find them on facebook, youtube, instagram and the like at 'denesisCochabamba'). Anyways during worship the band decided to slow things down and they played a song where the chorus is as follows: “I have decided to follow Jesus The cross in front of me, The world behind me. No turning back. No turning back.” During this song as we were all praising God in this small house church, my mind was brought to a small church near the coast in Sierra Leone, Africa. Before we dip into the fadeout let me give you some quick background i
Read more

Working Hard...or hardly working

-
Image
So it's been about a month now since I started my internship in Bolivia. Can you believe that?! I can't. Time sure does tend to move quickly. Anyways...I thought I would fill you all in on what exactly I am doing for my internship. So with out all of the technical mumbo jumbo I am updating the blueprints of the water and waste water systems for a municipality that provides services to a small section of the city. As of right now their plans are out of date which makes it difficult to expand and maintain the network. Thus that is where I come in! I have the technical knowhow of the computer systems to be used and the time to wander around the streets collecting data on the piping network! In all reality I love walking. I could walk 20 miles before I would ever run one, so I am really excited to spend my days outside! *Don't worry, I'll also be with someone who knows the area so I don't get lost or wander to far and all that. At least until I learn more of where
Read more

Holly Week/Semana Santa

-
Image
First and foremost I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! If I am honest with all of you the hardest part about studying abroad has been being away from my family during the holidays. These are the days when I miss home the most, but it’s okay. Promise. At the same time I smile at the memories and traditions that I have with my family because when I am away from it, it also reminds me how blessed I am. **To give you an idea of how my family does the holidays, at 22 I am the youngest and we still do an egg hunt…it is a blast and no easy feat.** Here in Bolivia I was able to participate in the traditions of another family, and let me tell you, I partied it up like a Catholic this Easter. I went to the pueblito of Anzaldo which is a few hours from Cochabamba up in the mountains. Here is the daily run down of my trip: Thursday: We went to the house were all the action was at, we will call it Uncle Joe´s. And Uncle Joe´s everyone was served a small bit of bread and some
Read more