Buenas Dias,

So we did not get to the penguins because we could not figure out which bus to take but I did get a chance to explore Vina de Mar. I live in Valparaiso in teh city, but the other students are living in Vina. In Vina we went to a artesian market where you can get a pair or cool earing for USD $1.50. Generally it is the crafts, the food, and the alcohol that is the cheapest here. Electronics are a little more expensive. The reasons for these things is something that we are studying in my economics class called the Latin American Economic Developement.

Last night I went out with the other students to a well known gringo (white foreigner) bar. The second floor had what another student called a beer garden. I really liked the ambience there. Afterwards I went with one hermano Alejandro or Ale to meet up with the other Gonzalo or Zalo at Club Duff a very popular Friday night dance club and bar. The plce was a smidge overwhelming to say the least. We ended up watching kareoke on the bottom floor because the dance floors were just too packed.

The director of our program changed right before we left but the new lady is very cool. She used to direct Tulane{s undergraduate program, is very knowledgable about the area, and her kids (5 and 8) are awesome and well behaved.

I think for this weekend, I will be exploring more around here because we have trips planned for the other weekends. Let me know what you want to hear about. More about Chilean culture to come that{s for sure. Choi!