I´m on a BIKE (and..)!

Hello all!
I am slightly tired because I got a bike yesterday (!) and just got back from an awesome ride up the coast (no big deal...). Ah, and I feeeel good. This is being written at the end of a really nice week. The weather has been so lovely (although today a little chilly with the wind), and I have just felt really good. I re-arranged my room so that my bed faces the Ocean. It is hard to have a bad day when you wake up with your feet at the Ocean and waves... I have been getting SO much more comfortable with the language (this has been happining for a while now), and no longer have to "turn on my Spanish brain". It just comes more naturally now, and I´m soooooo glad :). Also, I met up with my friend Connor (he is a fellow CU-er) and we have started planning a trip to Buenos Aires in November! I am SOOOO excited, and can´t wait to have my first out of the Country (Chile) experience. I have heard that the Spanish is very different there (duh) and am excited to be able to differenciate between different dialects now that I´m actually understanding this one!
I have met so many new people recently! It is amazing how things just happen so naturally. I had heard that the first few weeks or months are a little strange to ajust to, and then you reach sort of a climax with the language and everything, and that is totally where I am right now. Everything just has this really good rythm that I´m following and enjoying a lot. The Chilean people are just so nice and fun and welcoming. They are always so willing to share everything with everyone, and its really nice. Ha, last night we were at this bar, and I arrived a little late (I had met some friends on my way and chatted with them for a bit) to meet up with Amelie and her friend who is ALSO named Amelie AND, they were sitting with these two people (Chilean and Peruvian) who I assumed were friends of theirs. Turns out that they were total strangers that just offered to let them sit at their table. (side story- they were supposidly cousins, but were MAKING OUT a lot, like allllll night! Ha, que raro....)
But, yes... Chile is just great. I feel like my whole experience down here is like the life of a flower. Planted, beginning to grow, and continuing to grow and spread itself furthur. Ah, life...And I do miss everyone- my family, friends, Boulder and such, but its hard to be upset when I can just walk to the Ocean- or even just knowing that I am here and BEING here, its really tranquilo. And my host family is SO awesome. I really feel like I am a part of the family. Like we are of the same blood- and we are, in a sence... We All are. Yea, good time to just think. About everything, about nothing. My thoughts are constantly fluid, and mostly good. And my bike will set me free! No more paying for the Micro! :) Que buennnooo.
Anyway, thats where I´m at right now, and I hope you are all enjoying fall and life ingeneral. Remember "la vida es corta- disfrutala!" Life is short, enjoy it!
Chau! :)

Besties

Hello all!
So, I was thinking last night about all of the wonderful people in my life, and decided to tell you all just how much you mean to me. This goes out to all of my best friends. My family, family friends, and friends who are my ´family´. You know who you are, and I hope you know how much you all mean to me, but in case you don´t I will tell you...
You are my roots and my rocks, my sky and my ground. From each of you, I have acquired tools that have helped build and construct the person I am today. You have given me wings, reality-checks, shoulders to cry on, and experiences to never forget. I am so fortunate to have such a strong web of support to catch me and support every effort and endavor of mine. Every conversation, smile, and hug is manifested deeply in my soul. You have seen me low, and high, and everything in-between. From you I have gained strength, perspective and wisdom, and I appreciate everything. Every one is so beautiful, and I am so humbled by the fact that I have been lucky enough to share my life with such wonderful people. Thank you all. Everything you have given me is gladly returned to you in love and light. So salud to all of you, and all of the relationships you share, and everything you are.
I hope you are all staying healthy and maintaining a good relationship with the most important person in your life- you! Thanks for reading, I love you all more than there are words, waves or stars.
Chau!

Mi viaje al Norte

Hello all!
Well, I am writing back safely in Viña after the greatest trip of my life! It started when Bailey Valian came to visit Chile last Friday (the 11). We hung out (and went out) in Viña and Valparaíso for the first day she was here,then Amelie Kastning, Jeannie Winkler, Bailey and I cought a bus to Chañaral Chile (11 hours away!) where we arrived the next day on our way to our final destination of San Pedro de Atacama. We stayed in Chañaral, and passed the time going to the Ocean and hanging out around the town. We had an 11 PM bus the next day, so during the day we went to the Pan de Azucar Parque Nacional and had the most lovely time! We drove up to this lookout point that was breathtakingly beautiful. Desert on one side, Ocean on the other. We then came down for the most delicious fish lunch we have ever had! Again, eating on the most beautiful beach... We then went back to our hostal to find out that we couldn´t stay there longer because he had to rent out the room, so we literally just ´hung out´for abuot 6 hours while waiting for our bus. Fortunately for us, we are all fun and creative, and managed to make our oun deck of playing cards (good thing I brought my notebook and colored pencils!), and played cards and drank cheap boxed wine until our bus came.
Then, for the next 11 hours, we drove to San Pedro de Atacama. When we arrived the next day, we were greeted at the bus station by a lovely lady who offered us a Hostal to stay at. Since we had nowhere else to go, we said yes- and good thing! It was so nice! There was a central spot to hang out with tables, chairs and hammocs, and at night they lit a fire for everyone to enjoy. There was also a kitchen and we were able to make our meals, and converse with people from Chile, France, New Zealand, Israel and Austrailia. While in San Pedro, we went to these natural Geysers and Hot Springs, and were fortunate enough to swim while the first snow fell on us! It reminded me of being in Colorado in the winter :). We also walked around the town, and encountered the CUTEST group of kids dressed up for the Cueca (because it was Chile´s national holiday). Then, we went to Valle de la Luna, and encountered LOTS of wind, and some of the most beautiful sights I have seen. We walked thruogh this canyon that was just magical, and felt the Desert energy as we froliced amongst the rocks and sand. We then climbed a huge dune, and watched the sun set over the Andes.... Just another day in the life..... Later on that night, we went back to our first Hostel (we had to change hostels the last day, but liked our first one so much we went back to say hi) and helped two girls visiting from Tel Aviv, Israel to celebrate the Jewish New Year. We ate Apples and honey with them to ensure a ¨sweet new year¨. It was awesome. Then, later that night we went out with our Chileana friends dancing in San Pedro.
We finaly came back to Viña after a 22 hour bus ride with smiles and memories we will never forget. The ONLY thing that soured the high was the fact that, while we were gone (my family was gone, too) a robber came in and stole some of my family´s jewelry, money, clothes, and my laptop. I am not so upset that my actual laptop is gone, but more upset that it was just taken, robbed from me. I´m pretty bummed, but think I can still survive without it. My host mom has offered to pay for it, but I am more concerned with using any extra money to travel and get a bike!
So, in a short nutshell, that was my week! There are many more stories, of course, but there are also a lot of pictures on Facebook (both Amelie and Jeannie took a lot) to fill any blank spaces. I hope all is well with everyone up in the North! Today is the first day of Spring here, and I am looking forward to a beautiful time down here.
Until later, Chau!

Viaje al Norte

hello All!
I am fortunate enough to be writing this from my room with the lovely, beautiful, wonderful Ms. Bailey Valian blowing her hair right next to me! Amelie and I got up at the (dark) hour of 5:15 AM to catch a bus to Santiago to get to the Airport to pick her up, and we are all so excited (as you can imagine)! Tomorrow night we will begin our journey up the Northern coast of Chile for the next week! We will begin by going to Chanaral, a port town with tours to la Isla de Pan de Azucar (with a wildlife reserve); then we will head up to Antofagsata, where we will shop for food to bring into our final destination of San Pedro de Atacama! In San Pedro we will encounter hot springs, and the beautiful town of San Pedro (in the desert). We will be going by bus for the journeys, and it will take about 22 hours in total from Vina to San Pedro. We will be staying in hostels the whole way, and are sosososo excited! i will try and find an internet cafe to keep you all updated, but if not, I'll be sure to write all about it when we get back (sometime next Friday).
Caio!
Celine :)

Pausing, to smell the flowers and change paradigms

Hello all!
I am writing now from Rencagua, Chile where my friend Camilo lives. He is staying with my family in Viña and invited me here this weekend. It is really beautiful to sit and watch the rain fall. We came in late last night, and were greeted by his family with warm food. Today we have eaten breakfast and lunch and it has been warm and wonderful. I am very proud of the fact that I can understand more and more every day. I read the newspaper today, and was so thrilled to be able to UNDERSTAND the articles! ¡Qué bueno! So, these last few days have been pretty eventful...
Thursday night, I hung out with Amelie, and discussed possible traveling plans for when Bailey is here. She has that whole week off from school, and I don´t, but I am thinking of maybe taking a little time off anyways. At first, I didn´t want to miss so much school (which actually isn´t that much) but then realized that 1)Bailey will be here! and 2) I need to take every travel oportunity possible (especially with Bailey and Amelie!), so I will get to go to somewhere really cool for a week instead of sit in a classroom. Anyway, back to Thursday night... Amelie and I hung out, and then I went to this place Sausalito (which is part of our campus) to meet up with my friend Francisco from my (ex) Philosophy class for this fiesta that was happening there. I went and waited and waited, and couldn´t see\hear anything or anyone (including him) so I left to meet up with Amelie at a bar. While I was there, Francisco called and appologized ( I guess there was another enterance to the place) and agreed to meet up with us at the bar. He did, and we ended up having a lovely time, and he walked me home to be safe. It turned out to be a good night after all.
Then, yesterday (Friday) we went to Rabuco with CIEE. It was SO nice to be there! It is this small town in el campo, and we visited a grape farm (not for wine, but for eating\juices, etc...) and then ate empenadas and learned Cueca. My friend Connor and I volunteered to demonstrate the dance, and he was a great dance partner. Then, we walked around the property and into all of the greenhouses filled with flowers! They were soooooo beautiful (Mom, you would have Loved it!) pansies, marigolds, and countless others- alyssum.... So many beautiful things. Each table had flowers in their different stages from seeds to sprouts to fully grown blossoms, ready to be sold. There were women in there who planted one seed, row by row into the tiny planters. It seemed pretty monogomous, but work nontheless... Every plant was so distinct and vibrant with color and smell, it really calmed my mind, and made me feel very tranquilo. After that we played games (like 3-legged race, sack races, tug-of-war) and finished the day with postres and té. Then, once I returned to Viña, I turned around and took a bus with Camilo to Santiago, then to Rancagua which is where I am now!
The Paradigm shifting is becoming more and more of a daily occourance. For instance : I used to get peeved when people would try and "espeak eh englisch" to me, even though it was obvious they couldn´t speak English. Then, I met a French girl and told her that "Jue parlee un pu de Francais", and she didn´t seem too enthused. I then realized that my intentions were soley based on the context that I may be able to communicate with her in another language-Her language, even though I didn´t really know how to connect fluently. Thus, I am a lot more pacient when people try and Espeak Englich to me, because I know they are only trying to connect- and what´s wrong with that??? Another instance happened on the Bus, when I was trying to get comfortable. I had taken off my shoes (It was about a 2 hour ride) and had put my feet up between the (empty) armchair in front of me and the window. Camilo made a comment about "wow, make yourself comfortable!" and when I asked if it was bad, or wrong, he replied "its a little feo". So, getting "comfortable" on a bus isn´t quite ordinary around here. But then, I wonder WHY NOT!? Why is it not "ok" to make sure you are comfortable? I guess its not like I was horribly UNcomfortable, but it was just nicer to put my feet up.... Oh well, just another thing to learn. HOW TO ABIDE. Or Adapt? no sé. Either way, thoughts are still tranquilo as I figure out day to day how I want to spend my time living in this world...
But more on that later.
Caio all! ¡Stay healthy!