Today, I love this place

Yeah, that's right...I mean it. I love this place. Don't get me wrong, I am still learning (at times not very gracefully) to take the good with the bad. There is still rubble and dust and construction in the streets and sometimes I stumble through my sentences and at times observing the dietary practices of Chileans all but kills me (have you gotten your daily serving of salt, ice cream, jelly, soda and white bread?). I don't fully understand how the Chilean university system works either-my classes may or may not be cancelled week after next? Hmmm. At the same time, I am learning the bus system better and my Spanish must be improving some. I've eaten at two delicious vegetarian restaurants in Valparaiso, and I even tackled using the stove myself the other night! I used 3 matches to get one burner going, but I did it! I also know how to light the hot water heater now, and I haven't forgotten to do it once this week...no more cold showers for this kid :)

So why do I love this place? To make a long, beautiful, colorful story short...this city of Valparaiso has character. The lower streets by the sea run along in a fairly navegable fashion, full of pastry shops, hot dog and empanada stands, random shoe stores and various bars. There are a couple of big markets and a few plazas, the National Congress building and several churches, random booths with touristy trinkets, the occasional department store and pharmacies every twenty feet. Kind of smelly (though nothing compared to China), dusty, noisy...the lower El Plan district can hardly be called spectacular, although it does have some pretty, old buildings, like the Casa Central of my university. No, what makes Valpo really special is its 42 cerros (hills) that wind upwards from the flat streets below in an alluring maize of cobblestone streets and narrow alleys, inviting you to just get lost in the houses and staircases adorned with graffiti and splashed with a rainbow of colors from bold blues and oranges to cheery pastels. Yesterday my friend Sarah and I spent an hour or two after lunch doing just that, with oo's and ahh's around every corner as we trekked higher, mesmerized by the beautiful paintings that covered every available surface. I found myself pausing every few feet and spinning in a circle on the spot as I tried to take it all in. There was really too much to take in all at once, which is the best part! I know I'll discover new paintings and notice different quotations every time I venture down those streets...and there are so many different streets to see too!

Take a walk with me?

In this cerro, there is no such thing as just a garage door.


Or just a staircase.

Laundry out to dry

!

Don't you just want to take these stairs?

The old with a refreshing splash of new...can you see those fresh cut flowers in the window?

It feels good to love where I'm at :)