La Campana

Hey there!
It's good to be back 'home' in Vina after the big trip down South. I had a few days of school, which went pretty well, I think anyway as I still don't really understand much of what my professors are saying. I find that following along in class is like walking a tight-rope. Lots of focus and if you lose it for a second, forget about recovering! Luckily, I've made friends in each class who are very very helpful and patient with me.
In my spare time, which there is a lot of, I've been getting to know my new roommate a bit. Her name is Katie and she is from Arkansas. She's here to teach English at a local tech-school. She's super busy and not around a lot but when she is home, there is usually a lot of laughter!
Also this weekend, I went on a fabulous 12k hike with Kindra, my friend from UM. La Campana is a mountain/National Park located about an hour inland of Vina. We hiked as far as we could in the time we had and almost made it to the top. We also bumped into a girl from Wyoming who knew some people from Missoula that Kindra also knows. Small world! The hike was beautiful, landscapes that I have never before seen. Lots of oddly shaped mountains, lush trees separated by dust dunes, and even a tarantula (granted it was a roadkill tarantula but I still have the heebie-jeebiez)!
Speaking of Kindra, she also has a blog and has a much better description of our hike. She's a bit more on-the-ball than I am about posting. My travel buddy Laura also has a blog with a very complete story about our trip down South. If you want to cheat on my blog and read their excellent writing instead, I won't be jealous.
Kindra's blog is www.ungulatedreams.blogspot.com
Laura's blog is www.chillychilepepper.blogspot.com
My friend Dan has also posted some pictures of Bariloche, which is great since I didn't take many there :) You can find them on his blog at www.danshirley.blogspot.com
Hope all is well in los Estados Unidos, I think of you all often!
-Clare