Very late last night I returned home from one of the most fantastic weeks of my young life. Going anywhere with exchange students is usually entertaining and lovely, but going to Patagonia, to Torres del Paine the official "Eighth Wonder of the World" with a group of exchange students was greater than I could have ever imagined. So much stuff happened over the week and there is no way I can capture all of it in a single blog post, but I will try to give you guys a general day-by-day summary of my experience in the South of Chile.
On Saturday night I took a bus to the Santiago airport with the other 7 exchange students who live in or near Rancagua. We got to the airport at like 11pm and met up with a bunch of other exchange students from other cities. When the clock stuck 00:00am, the longest birthday of my life began with the sounds of "happy birthdays" in many different languages. Everyone gave me hugs and when we finally boarded the plane I had a lot of cards to open from all my friends in Chile! I tried to sleep in the flight but I was too excited! When the plane landed, we got on a bus which took us to a boat which took us to an island full of adorable penguins! We spent my birthday exploring the island and taking wayyyy too many penguin pictures! When we got to our hotel in Punta Arenas, we were given free time to shop and walk around the city. It was a really nice day but we were all super exchanged and ended up taking naps for a lot of the afternoon. We ate dinner at the hotel and after dinner we went on a night walk by the beach. It was beautiful! I got back to my hotel room at 11pm with Katie (my roommate) and I thought it was finally time to sleep. I was wrong! Katie and Alex had boughten me a cake and them and a group of girls came to my room singing with balloons and birthday cards! I felt so loved and it was the perfect way to end my birthday!
On Monday we got up early and drove from Punta Arenas to Porta Notales. On the way we stopped in many places to take pictures and while we were on the bus we sang songs and played games and danced. It was a long drive but we had fun! When we got to Porta Notales we were given the afternoon to explore the city and go shopping. It was soooo windy! We all wandered around and had a good day getting to know eachother.
On Tuesday we got on the bus and spent all day driving to Torres del Paine. On the way we stopped in many beautiful places to take pictures! Driving though Torres del Paine was so incredible and it was so windy it felt like the bus might blow over!
On Wednesday we got up early to go on a boat ride out to sail along the ice burgs in Torres del Paine. The water was so blue and the ice burgs were so cool! It was freezing but absolutely worth it. After the boat ride we drove all the way back to Porta Notales.
When we got back to the hotel that night, we decided that since it might be our only times in Patagonia in our lives, we had to try and swim in the ocean. So like idiots, we all ran from the hotel in makeshift swimsuits and straight into the freezing ice cold Patagonian glacier water. We all had to dunk our heads before we left the water. Luckily the hotel was right across the street because the wind was blowing hard as we ran back to the hotel with numb bodies and pumping adrenaline. We got the weirdest looks and it was definitely an unforgettable experience. 
On Thursday we went on a boat ride all day long around Porta Notales. The mountains looked stunning and it was a very relaxing day. We were all pretty tired for some reason and ended up sleeping in a big boaty sleep pile. When we got back to the hotel, all the exchange students went out dancing until 3am as our own little goodbye party!
On Friday we went to an old folks home before leaving and brought all the grandparents presents and danced with them. We actually had a really good time doing this even though the place was pretty depressing. In Chile family is very very important, so the old people at old folks home in Chile feel more left out than they do in the US, I imagine. Unfortunately I left my camera on the bus while we were visiting and I don't have any pictures, but it was a really sweet experience!
After http at we took the bus back to Punta Arenas to catch our plane. It was a long day of travel after a very long trip and I am still tired after sleeping in the day after. I sat next to my friend Florian on the way home and we talked a lot about how fast all this stuff goes by and how hard it is to wrap our heads around what we are experiencing every day we live in Chile. 
I know that was a pretty terrible summary of my South Trip, but I am just glad I could share a little bit. I am still so tired from my journey and my voice is gone from talking and screaming and singing. The South Trip was beyond amazing and now I really really need to start saving up for Easter Island! Our group of exchangers is getting so close and I really want to go on another trip like this with them. A million "thank you"s to my parents for making this trip possible. I will never forget this week!
Wow! You are having such a great experience. You are an example for us all how to live life to its fullest. Every day for you in Chile must be like 10 here at home. Another language, a different culture and lots of new people. Adventure, dream and have fun !!!
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