¡Chao! ¡Espero Que Hablemos Pronto!

Hola todos,

This, my 115th blog post, is my farewell blog. After a wonderful travel in South America and keeping a blog about all of the adventures that I have had, it is time to finish my schooling, and make some money before embarking on my next adventures. I hope everyone enjoyed reading my blog and had a few laughs.
I will miss writing in this blog, and am so happy I created it. This blog holds hundreds of memories of my trip. Irreplaceable memories, that I have been able to share with you all.
Below is a link to my photobucket account where I have uploaded all of my pictures of my adventures into the South America and Chile 2013 folder. (In My Bucket is all my pictures of Ecuador.) But, beware, there is no organization in my account, so there may be times when you don't know what exactly you're looking at!
 http://s910.photobucket.com/user/annatalarico/library/

¡Espero que les gustiera mi blog y hablamos pronto!

Yours truly,

Anna Talarico

My tribute to Chile back in the U.S.:  preparing Pisco Sours.

First Week of School

Hola todos,

I am officially done with my first week back to school. I have organized all of my classes, and my schedule is actually quite nice. My earliest class is at 11:45, and those of you who know me, you understand that I probably couldn't handle any earlier. Thankfully I don't have any homeowrk yet, so this weekend has been reserved for getting used to the college scene, and seeing people that I haven't seen in nine months. This is so strange. Last night I went out with a friend and I ran into several people, and it was strange to say, "Hey! How are you? (It has been nine months since I've last seen you)."
Monday is Labor Day and I never have classes on Friday (I am a master at making good schedules: both efficient and convenient) so I therefore have a four day weekend. Then, I have school on Tuesday, but then it's a Jewish holiday and I don't have school Wednesday nor Thursday, so after Tuesday, the next time I'll have class is next Monday. Ha! I am very slowly easing my way back into the schooling system.

First Day of School

Hola todos,

Today was my first day of classes. Eh. My first class was Portuguese which was 201, it was a class higher than the level I would've taken after 100 (101). But I thought, why not see how it is? Oh my goodness, it felt like I was in a class in Japanese. I was telling my friend that it was just like the movies how the poor student (myself) is sitting in class and the professor comes in class speaking the language rapidly and the student wondering what was going on. Luckily I know the professor and she told me that I had to take 101 before 201. Thank goodness anyway because I would have died. I stayed anyway for the class and yeah, I knew nothing. We were partnered up to ask about our summer and I kind of just looked at the person... And then just started to speak Spanish hoping she'd understand me. Haha. I thought to myself, okay of all language that I would be thinking in that isn't English is Spanish. Let's not push it now.
The next class was Latin American Cinema which is interesting. The next class was a little strange, but hey, at least I have one class set in stone! I hadn't realized how much of a pain senior year is. You have to take specific classes to satisfy your major... but it is not that easy. Trust me.
Either way, the first day wasn't terrible but I would so much rather be in South America. Luckily though one of my roommates is Puerto Rican and speaks Spanish so we can talk together. (All my roommates are really nice. Our room consists of Alba, the Puerto Rican, Jayme who is white, Tanasia who is African American and myself. I tell people all we need is an Asian and we'd be a perfect representation of diversity for SUNY Albany.)
I do miss South America and wish I were back. But, I know I will get into the groove of things here and not feel sad about being in the U.S. versus South America. I just don't know when.
I will write again in the next few days to let you all know about my classes tomorrow, but sadly, very sadly, my blog is soon coming to an end.

Going To School Tomorrow

Hola todos,

Tomorrow, is back to school. (I move into my apartment tomorrow, and start classes on Monday.) As written in my previous blog, I am not excited for this. I would much rather be in South America, speaking Spanish, experiencing culture that I am still learning about and meeting lots of new and interesting people. Being in a place I don't know well.
Instead, I am going back to school... A thing that I have become unfamiliar with. Do you know, the last time I had a serious class was over nine months ago? (The end of fall semester at Albany.) I mean, no class was taken seriously/ we didn't even have class in Chile. I am not excited to have to sit at a desk, listen to a professor, and take notes. And worst of all, write papers,take tests and read boring textbooks. A person can learn so much more about a topic by experiencing it themselves.
I  suppose I'm also nervous. The fact that I haven't had a serious class in nine months has not only made me not used to the idea of class, but has put a damper on my studying habits (or lack there of) and schedule when in school.
Oh well, at least this is my last year and then, I will win the lottery and spend the rest of my life traveling in South America!

Ten Days Back In The U.S.

Hola todos,

As of today, I have been back in the U.S. for ten days! Ah, so strange! Last weekend, we went to the Hamptons to visit friends of the family... Don't worry, Long Island hasn't changed. It was nice to lie on the beach and go into water that wouldn't freeze you to death. I also got some more color and the awkward tan on my chest is disappearing.
This week, I went into the city a few times, went clothes shopping (yay! So in need of clothing), and unpacked, then packed for school. This was both easy and hard because all of my stuff had been packed coming back from Chile so one would think that that would be easy, just put them in the car and continue to Albany, but no because I needed things I didn't have and had things I didn't need in my suitcases, therefore, I unpacked and packed at the same time. Who would've thought that that was possible?
It has been nice to be back in Irvington, but I am ready to go school. Not necessarily that I want to go back to school, but just want to be busy and see people. I'm actually not excited for school at all.
It is so strange to think that I have been out of Chile for ten days already. Weirdly enough, I actually haven't felt super upset. When I first got back, I told myself to not think about it. Just go with the flow and do the things I need/want to do here. And, maybe I'm in denial about leaving Chile, even after ten days, but I'm not thinking about it until my mind is ready. I'm sure the sadness will come soon enough. But I can tell you all this much: I would much rather be in South America than going to school!

I Miss Spanish

Hola todos,

The first few weeks being in Chile, I missed English and just wanted a break from Spanish. It was so frustrating trying to speak it! But now, las mesas (the tables) have turned. I miss speaking Spanish.
Six months ago, I never thought I would feel this way right now, but since I was speaking it so much, for so many months, it became a part of me and was my language of choice. I'm not saying of course that now back in the U.S. I'm having difficulty getting back to speaking English, but I do think in Spanish, and want to respond to people in Spanish, that mostly being, "cachai?" and "cacho." (We need to assimilate those words into the English language.) When the guy who mows the lawn, who is Ecuadorian, was over a few days ago, I was so excited to speak to him! So we chatted and chatted, and I realized, after comparing his Spanish to mine, that I really do talk like a Chilean! His Spanish is pure and clear and mine is cut-off and filled with slang. That's what Chile does to you!
I want to try and find some people that I can talk to in Spanish at school, not only to keep it up, but to satisfy my need to speak Spanish (preferably a Chilean who will appreciate my accent.)
This is a good thing I guess. I mean, that shows how much Spanish I have learned and how much I was speaking it. Of course that also shows how much I miss Chile.

Back To NYC!

Hola todos,

After being in Santiago for so long, Santiago became my surrogate city (my real city is NYC). Returning to my real city, everything felt so strange. One may assume the strangest part about returning to NYC would be how large and busy it is. But, that wasn't the strangest part. Although Santiago doesn't have skyscrapers, it is still quite busy. The strangest thing was the people. The people as a whole looked so foreign. I was used to Latinos: brunettes, tan skin, and short. But in the city, there were tall people, blond people and everything in between. I must admit, I will a little in awe. But imagine, most of you would be too, if you hadn't seen such an eclectic array of people in six months.
As I walked down the streets, most likely looking like a tourist because when I saw leopard print in the stores I had to stop and take pictures and because I probably just looked over-whelmed. Another thing I found strange was that I could understand everyone around me. In Santiago, yes my Spanish is good but it's not my native language and I do need some brain capacity available to fully understand. But English, it's natural. Therefore, while in Santiago, when I heard someone speak English, my ears perked up. So, when returning to NYC and hearing English conversations around me, I couldn't help but think to myself, oh my goodness there are people speaking English! I wonder where they're from? Ironically, hearing English conversations still made me feel like I was in Chile.
Since it was restaurant week, which a New Yorker would be a fool to miss out on, I went out for Korean. Gosh I missed Korean. It was wonderful and I savored every bite.
Afterwards, I walked down 6th Avenue to Bryant Park and sat in the grass looking at everything and everyone, again, as if I were a tourist. It was a strange experience with NYC that I was surprised to have had.

Korean appetizer

Main dish! Ah, I love Korean!

Picture Update

Hola todos,

I just want to let everyone know that I have updated my blog posts with pictures, so check them out!

Leopard, Leopard... Leopard?

Hola todos,

As I mentioned, there was a lot of leopard in Argentina. However, I failed to mention that when I returned to Santiago, there was leopard there too! It was apparent that the fashions in Argentina slowly drift into Chile. But, when I wear my leopard skirt, I will always think of Argentina.
The weirdest part of this however is that upon my return to the U.S.A., and my first visit to NYC since being back, I saw leopard print, not everywhere, but in many places! WHAT?!? There were leopard shirts and jackets in store windows and people wearing other leopard accessories. WHAT?!? I am thoroughly confused by this because now I'm thinking, does NYC get their fashion from Buenos Aires? Because although there's leopard here, there is much more in Buenos Aires. This concerns me. In a few weeks is everyone going to be wearing leopard just like Buenos Aires? Come on NYC, I thought you would know better.

A dog in Santiago wearing a leopard jacket

In NYC a leopard dress

In NYC, an entire wall of leopard!

In NYC a leopard jacket

Back In The U.S.A./ The Return of Cheddar

Hola todos (Or should I say hello all),

After a long, long flight Monday night into Tuesday morning (remind me to get a high-salary job so I can fly first-class/ have my own private jet anytime I travel), I arrived back to my homeland. So strange! When leaving the plane and realizing how hot it was, I took off my jackets. (I bought way too much and brought back 130 pounds of things... basically another human being. I didn't have space for my jackets so I decided to wear them, therefore I was wearing a tank top, a long-sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a fall jacket, another fall jacket, and my winter jacket.) After realizing it was warm and being happy about this, I was so confused when I saw all the signs and advertisements in English. Where's all the Spanish?
I then continued on to get my other human, still in a daze not just from the change in scenery but also from lack of sleep. I got my other human being at the luggage pick-up and then continued on to find my mom. It wasn't very hard to find her, considering she hasn't drastically changed since I left and is still really tall and blond and towers over all the Latinos who were leaving the flight I was on. She was very happy to see me, and equally relieved as to see that I survived the trip. We then walked to the car to drive home.
The weather wasn't the best: it was cloudy and a bit rainy. A tad symbolic. It was so so strange to see the house, and even weirder to see my room! But wonderful to see my nice big comfortable bed and, the reunion between my cat and me! I missed Cheddar so much and although he tends to act a little nonchalant and uncaring, it was hard for him to hide his happiness upon seeing me. (Since I returned he has spent every night cuddling with me.)
I brushed my teeth, chatted with my mom for a little bit and then Cheddar and I took a much needed nap. I woke up and ate dinner, it was really nice to have a home-made dinner. The rest of the night, my mom and I chatted and I showed her all the cool stuff I bought and I gave her her gifts! A wooden moai she uniquely named Mr. Moai (everyone see where I got my creativity from?), some alpaca socks, and a pair of lapislazuli and copper earrings. Cheddar and I retired early back to sleep.
It was so strange being back, but I hadn't processed anything yet. It was too much to handle and think about.

Noticeably Changing

Hola todos,

People say that it is difficult to say if you have changed or not. As in, a person most likely won't wake up in the morning and think, Wow I've changed! And I agree with that. However, there are rare occasions when you really think about what you were like a month ago versus how you are now. I can say that I have experienced that. I have actually noticed that I have changed. 
Of course I've changed physically (apparently I grew (who would've thought?)). But, on a more meaningful and important level, I have mentally changed, for the better. Although I can't exactly explain the change, it is interesting to realize that a few months ago, I would've reacted to or done something differently than today.
Change is always good now and then and it would've been impossible to not change from my experience in Chile and South America.

A Student, A Sailor, A Fish Cleaner, A Traveler

Hola todos,

Of the many people I met in Easter Island, Conor was one that I traveled a lot with; probably since we're Americans and understand each other! When Conor first arrived, it was very obvious that 1. He did not speak Spanish and 2. That he was American. I can always pin point a fellow American. He apparently had just arrived from a very long flight experience with several lay-overs, so when he arrived, John and I offered him a glass of wine and we all started chatting.
I always thought that people stopped at Easter Island during a long period of traveling such as going to French Polynesia or Santiago and continuing on traveling. However, Conor went to Easter Island, just to go to Easter Island.
He had worked on a boat on the Mississippi River for the summer and saved up his money for this trip. (Every time he mentions Easter Island he has to add that it has the most isolated airport in the world.)
As we continued on chatting, he told me about how he worked as a fish waste cleaner in Alaska. As in, mopping away the guts and what not. (Pleasant sounding right?) Well the story is, he was flown to Alaska to work with the fish business last summer. He asked me to guess what the longest work week was that he had, and I guessed, 80? 85? No. 126! 126 hours in one week! It was for two weeks during the peak of the season. He explained his schedule and how he basically only had 4 hours to sleep each night before having to get up again. However, he explained that when you're working like that all day, you want to socialize because you're alone for so long. So instead of going back to sleep, he would go out. Therefore, basically getting no sleep. He told me that because of the sleep deprivation, he had started to hallucinate. His example was when he was sweeping water/fish waste into a drain, he looked down and saw all of the people he knew swirling around. Luckily it was only for 2 weeks and not the entire summer. After hearing this story, I assumed he did not enjoy it. I mean, cleaning fish guts and not getting any sleep? However, he said that he was so happy he did it not only because of the experience and the people he met but because he realized that if he were able to do that, he could do anything. 80 hour week? Please, that's nothing.
Conor stayed at Easter Island until Monday, so was there for three more days that I was. He said that after I left, the rest of his trip was quieter and more calm, but he still had a great time and got to see plenty of places. He even saw the sunrise.
Conor is 20 and studies at Washington State and is actually starting classes on Monday, so soon! He is majoring in journalism and screen writing, and is interested in going to the Czech Republic to study abroad.
Conor and I traveled very well together and we agreed that we should travel together again some time soon. So, who knows, maybe I'll go visit him in the Czech Republic next year when I've graduated from college.

Conor and his ceviche

English Language: Conquered, Spanish Language: Conquered. Up Next: Frisian

Hola todos,

In Easter Island, as noticed in previous blogs, I met a lot of interesting people from all around the world. This one guy I met, Dirk, is from Friesland, a province of the Netherlands. The first thing you all must know about him is that he is 6'6". Yes, 6 feet 6 inches!
After I visited the Netherlands in 2009, I realized that I will be going there to find my husband. Tall, blond, and attractive. Since Dirk is 6'6", I went on to saying how wonderful that is, because since I am relatively tall (5'8") and value someone tall.
Anyway, he works temporarily at a drilling rig in a middle of nowhere town in the north west of Canada. (But c'mon, all of Canada is the middle of nowhere... Kidding.) The job is for nine months and is interesting/ great because each month he works two weeks and then has the other two weeks off. For that reason, he is able to travel during those two weeks, hence his trip to Easter Island.
He spent four days, I believe, there which really is how long one needs to experience the island. He took full advantage of these few days and went to see the sunrise not once, but twice! Very admirable.
One night he joined Conor, John, and me for dinner to celebrate John's last day. For some reason, a large portion of the conversation during dinner was what I look for in a spouse. It must've been from the comment about his height. So, we got very detailed and I pretty much have a perfect vision of a man that I would marry. The only problem with this of course is that those specific needs may limit my options. But hey, I won't settle for less.
Like the Brits and me, and then Conor too, we all teased each other about where the others are from. It would have been rude if we excluded Dirk from the teasing. We didn't want to, we had to! He was a two for one because not only was he from Friesland and spoke Frisian, which is not a very common nor most likely useful language, but he is also working in Canada. Conor and I had a great time with that one. Friesland wise, Conor and I had to tease about how useful the language must be. About how if there's any language to learn next, it is Frisian, we're sure that sometime in the near future they are going to make Frisian one of official languages of the U.N., and that you're automatically bound for success in the business world if you speak Frisian. Canada wise... I mean my fellow Americans should understand, it's Canada. The 51st state, the hat of the U.S., an extension of the U.S. Canada's not threatening, they're just... Canada. (I don't mean to offend you Canadians! Just jokes.) Either way, Conor and I enjoyed teasing, but of course we kid. I'm sure Friesland is a perfectly nice place (with lots of tall men) and Canada, besides 90% of it being frozen tundra is a nice place as well.
Since he's lucky and gets to travel every two weeks, hopefully he'll come visit me in NYC, considering there's a 99.99% chance that he will make it to NYC before I make it to his frozen tundra town or Friesland!

John's farewell dinner. From back left: Dirk, me from back right: John, Conor

That Is A Fit Piece of Crumpet

Hola todos,

As mentioned in the previous Easter Island entries, I met several Brits. First the Andys and then John. The Andys were traveling and their next destination was Tahiti. Jealous.
The other Brit was John who had come here as a final destination and was then traveling back to Santiago and heading back to London. For a while before Conor came, my group of friends was with the three Brits and a girl from the Netherlands. Naturally, the Brits ganged up against me for how incompetent and incapable we are as a nation. This was in a completely kidding way, just playing up the stereotypes of an average American. Of course I played along and would say things such as, Well as a fat American..., but more fun was when something happened putting the U.S. in a favorable light, I would hold me fist up and chant, "U.S.A.!! U.S.A.!! U.S.A.!!!!!" I more so did this more discreetly in case any of the people didn't like Americans and wouldn't approve of me chanting.
One of the main jokes was the English language, or as I would say, the American language. " I don't speak English! I speak American!!" And they agreed with this as to the fact that us Americans completely butchered the English language. They absolutely hated the way I say "Water," because like other Americans, I pronounce the "t" like a "d." (You can say it to yourself now.) Therefore, I looked for any excuse to say, "water."
While on the language topic, they taught me some English slang such as, a "bloke" which is a man, a "bird" which is a women, "fit" which means attractive (more so than in good shape), and a "piece of crumpet" which also refers to a girl.
They also had to brag about how England conquered a lot and let America go when they got bored of the taxation without representation. I asked if they talked about conquering the U.S. in school because John is a teacher and he said no, that we're just another country that they conquered. It's funny because obviously we gained our independence from England so our freedom from them was kind of a big deal. Fun fact: The British stole a moai from the island, so the Rapa Nui people don't like them very much. They stated how there really was no reason for them to come to Easter Island... Just go to the museum in England to see one.
After the Andys had left, it was just John and me until Conor came and of course when I realized he was from the U.S., I had to chant, "U.S.A.!! U.S.A!! U.S.A.!!!!!" We Americans now outnumbered those damned Brits.
For the next few days, Conor, John, and I partook in adventures together while John taught us slang. Golly gee chap, what great fun!
After I left Easter Island and was back in Santiago for a few days before coming back to the U.S., I got together with John who was there for a few days, and we went out for my final pisco sour and chorrillana that night, and then the next day climbed San Cristobal. It was a lot of fun. One of the fondest memories I will ever have of John is the only two sentences he knows in Spanish. Which are: ¿Te gustan búhos? [if yes],
¿Te gustaría ir a un santuario del búho? Which means: Do you like owls? [If yes], would you like to go to an owl sanctuary?.... Of all things to know!
I can say that those Brits were fun even though I hated their British guts. But I kid.

A Woman of Many Colors

Hola todos,

As mentioned, I laid out on the beach my final day in Easter Island. One of the main reason I did this was because I had gotten a dark tan on my chest shaped like the V-neck that I had been wearing the day before. Therefore, I tried to get rid of that.
Well, it didn't entirely work that well. I now have that main darkest V on me, then a lighter tan on my chest from the bathing suit I was wearing, and then no tan under the straps of the bathing suit. In total, I look like a tri-color creature that hadn't exactly formed into a normal skin tone yet. Oh well, at least I have some color! I'll be going to the beach in the near future, so I won't return to college looking too strange.

100th Blog

Hola todos,

I have reached my 100th blog!! Crazy right?!? 170 days in Chile, and over 100 stories to tell. To me, this 100th blog not only represents 100 blog posts, but it represents 100 memories, 100 good times, 100 reasons why I'm happy I chose Chile, 100 reasons why I should return, 100 reasons why I will return.

Easter Island By Darkness

Hola todos,

After Conor and Felipe went surfing, Conor and I went to go see my final Rapa Nui sunset. It was nice, but not the best one I have ever seen. We walked home afterwards to take warm showers and then went out for my final-hurrah dinner with a guy from Belgium who was traveling. The place was good. Conor and I shared ceviche (obviously) and a piece of grilled native fish, Toremo.
When we finished dinner, we headed back to the hostal to get changed and meet up with some of the others. We were going to go out to Pea again which apparently is even better on Thursday nights. We had some pisco which, if I haven't mentioned, is all they drink in Chile. I only felt it appropriate to have a final cheers with Easter Island with pisco. We headed out to Pea at around 11:30PM to go see the live dance show prior to the club really opening.
Upon arrival, we went in and saw that the tribal dance show going on, similar to Kari Kari. There were men wearing [not much] clothing made from grass, and face paint. Just like Kari Kari, they were taking people from the crowd. Since it was my last day, Felipe insisted that I just had to go dance. I disagreed and said no, but then realized that he was right, so I allowed one of them to grab my hand and take me out. I definitely looked like one of those awkward white people from Kari Kari. Since I wasn't entirely sure how to dance tribally, I started to mimic what the guy was doing. He was doing all these tribal dance moves that I can't even comprehend, but I still tried. It was fun, and if I looked stupid, it doesn't really matter because I most likely won't see most of those people again.
After that adventure, the club opened and we all started dancing. I tried to teach Conor how to dance. Not to spread the stereotype, but white boys cannot dance! It's as simple as that. Sorry, Conor. Since I had spent nine months in Ecuador and six months in Chile, I can say I have a rhythm, so I felt confident in trying to teach him a little dance. Well, he got better. But, two hours was not going to get him to "Dancing With The Stars" level, but better than nothing. We ran into some of the people that we had met over the past few days and chatted with them too.
All of a sudden at around 2AM, all the lights went off. I thought the bar was closing, but apparently it wasn't going to close until 3, therefore I assumed that they were just having a break from the music and lights. But then everyone started leaving so Conor and I left as well. We decided to walk back to the hostel and maybe hang out there for a little bit. Well, it turns out, the power on the entire island had gone out! Imagine that, not a single light on an island over 1,500 miles to the closest other land mass! Since neither Conor nor I had a phone or flashlight, we walked back to the hostel in pure darkness, the moon was just a small sliver. We marched there to help avoid tripping. Although, I accidentally stepped on a dog and Conor fell over a huge log. No serious damage though. We ended up stopping at a playground along the way which sounds strange, but we weren't going to go to sleep yet and I hadn't ridden a swing in forever. We swung for a little bit and then tried to slide down a slide made of wood... why would that make any sense? We ended up just sitting on the slope and having to push the other with a lot of force to move them. Either way, a fun break from walking in the dark.
We continued on to the hostel and once we arrived at the hostel, we decided to lie outside on the sidewalk and look at the stars. We saw several shooting stars, and the milky way was as visible as the moon. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Apparently the Persieds (a meteor shower) was at its peak that night. The most incredible thing is that the stars were so vibrant and visible yet I couldn't even see Conor right next to me. 
All in all, it was a wonderful eclectic array of adventures. I couldn't have asked for a better final night in Easter Island.

Conor on the wooden slide

Easter Island By Car

Hola todos,

Well, I am back in the U.S. But, I'll talk about that later.
The last day I was in Easter Island, I decided that what I really wanted was go lie around on the beach called Anakena at the northern tip of the island. Conor decided to join.
Since not only I returned my bike but also because it felt like death sitting on it because of the horse back riding prior, we ended up sharing a car with some people in the hostel who were heading that way. The ride was about a half hour.
We arrived at the beach at around 12PM. Thank goodness, we made it for the peak sun hours, I needed some sun. When we arrived, we changed to our bathing suits which felt wonderful to wear and Conor went into the water. Apparently it was very wonderful, but my main desire was to just lie in the sun. Who needs to swim? But, after I needed a break from the organized tanning (an equal about of minutes on each side of the body, because if you're just walking around on the beach, there's no way to predict how the sun will tan you and inevitably you'd have to walk or stand one way for a certain amount of minutes, then do the opposite. Tanning 101)  I decided to be a tanning dare devil and got up to feel the water and walk around. I cannot say I found the water particularly warm. I stood in the shallows being a coward while Conor went in again and started riding the waves. I felt like a wimp, but hey at least I made it to my knees. And Conor told me all about it. Same thing. We walked over to the grass of the beach and looked at the moai. I must say, by this point I was kind of moai-ed out, but they were still beautiful, I just didn't gasp in the beauty of them like the previous days.
We also walked over to the lava rocks on the sides of the beaches and looked around at the little pools of water.
We left at around 4PM because Conor wanted to try surfing with a guy in the hostel named Felipe, who surfs. That was okay though because I reached the peak hours of sun. Although I still am not completely one shade, I look Italian again.
Conor and Felipe went surfing, however there weren't many waves so they kind of just floated around working on paddling. I watched from the shore and took a few pictures. A nice day.

Conor and Felipe surfing

My final Easter Island sunset

The new friends we met! Conor on the far left. (Notice the awkward tan I have)

A Kiss On The Cheek Goodbye

Hola todos,

In a few hours, I will be heading back home to the U.S. I haven't finished writing about Easter Island, but I only find it appropriate to write about my last goodbye to Chile in.... Chile.
So, after 5 months and 3 weeks, I am saying goodbye. Chile, you and I have had a wonderful relationship and I hope you enjoyed me as much as I enjoyed you.
Therefore, I give you a kiss on the cheek goodbye because that's the South American way. This is also most likely be the last kiss on the cheek of greeting to saying goodbye for a long time.
But don't worry Chile, I will be back soon.

Un abrazo,

Anna Talarico

Easter Island By Horse

Hola todos,

Wednesday, we went horse-back riding. That was... an adventure. Conor, Karen and I met up to go to the highest point of the island in which it is possible to see ocean all around you. We got picked up at around 9:30AM and went to the hotel in which we would be leaving from. Let me just begin by saying that this is very representational experience of South America.
We arrive and are greeted by our guide. We then go over to the shed to gear up i.e. with protectors on our legs/covering our shoes. And then, he asks if we want to wear helmets. Obviously we said no. But, only in South America would they ask if we wanted to. In the U.S., you will factually be wearing a helmet. More so, it was only Conor's second time riding a horse. Only in South America.
We went over and got our horses and headed out. We were imagining a tranquil, calm ride... well, we were in for quite a surprise. When we got on the trail to go, the guide whipped the horses and we started trotting! Without helmets! I'm thinking, wow, really? So we're trotting and naturally because none of us had really horse-back rode in quite a bit of time, our bodies were not used to being bumped around atop a horse. Therefore after an hour of trotting, we're getting sore. There was even one point when he whipped the horses and we started cantering! Cantering! I was fine with it because it's smoother than trotting, but still! A person get actually get injured if they fell off while cantering. Either way, we continue to trot and I asked the guy if we could walk for a little bit and he said how we couldn't because we needed to get to the top of the mountain by 12. We're all thinking, okay, well at least we tried; we can do another hour of this.
Oh goodness, by the time we were up there and got off the horses, our legs pretty much gave out. But, pain and soreness aside, it was absolutely gorgeous. We could see not only the entire island, but the entire ocean all around us. There were hills upon hills around us and then nothing beyond. Just blue. It was very blueautiful. (I have been wanting to use that word for days now). We took some pictures and breathed the fresh-unlike-Santiago air and enjoyed the warmth and sun. Then, we were off to return.
Thankfully the man said that it was going to be a calm walk down the hill because horses can't trot down hills. We were all very happy about that. We started off the first little bit with him true to his word, but then towards the end, he started to whip the horses to trot again. Of course. We are all very sore at this point and I laughed the pain off at how this would never happen in the U.S. Also, my horse was kind of evil and started to run me into tree branches. As in, oh look there's a tree with many branches sticking out and they'll probably hit the person riding me. Perfect let's aim for it. Therefore, I'm riding with my arms protecting my face. This happened about five times. There was even one occasion when the horse was about to run into a big thorny tree and the guide didn't really do anything, he just told me to be careful because the tree is thorny. He didn't guide the horse in a different direction or anything, he just mentioned that I should find a way to not have my entire face slit open. Therefore, I had to basically lean my body to the side of the horse to avoid scratches all over my body. As ridiculous as this was, I couldn't help but laugh. Finally we returned back and happily mounted off the horses. It was a wonderful feeling.
We said goodbye and then wobbled back into town to get some lunch. We were lucky and found a place that had couches to sit on. We sat there and drank juice and talked about what we had just been through. We made it home and just collapsed. There was no way we were doing anything for the rest of the day. Therefore, we made dinner: my left over pasta with broccoli, squash, oil, garlic and cheese. Really good. We relaxed the rest of the night preparing for the pain we were going to endure the next morning.

The Demon Horse and me

The walk to the top

Some of the other horses/ at the highest peak on the island

The town from the highest peak of the island

Easter Island By Bike Part II

Hola todos,

The evening before when the Andys left, a few new members joined our hostel club including an American named Conor. He came along with us the next morning to the Orongo crater. We biked there and bought the tickets we needed to get into the park which costs CH$30,000 for internationals. However because I had a Chilean I.D. I got a discount and only had to pay CH$10,000! I felt special. We ended up leaving our bikes at the bottom of the mountain and just walked up it. At the top, was a crater filled with water and Lilly pad-looking plants over the surface. All around was ocean. There was a little island off the coast (Motu Nui) in which years and years ago, there was a ritual of a group of indigenous men who swam to the island and finding the first egg laid there by a manutara (type of bird), and then swam back to the mountain and climb it successfully. The winner was declared "Birdman of The Year" and secured control over distribution of the island's resources for his clan.
We went to the small museum up there to read about Orongo, and then we saw the tiny huts (I believe 54 in total) where the villagers lived. Everything was beautiful. Also, a dog we named Daisita (little Daisy) accompanied us the entire way. She bought tickets with us and then climbed the mountain with us, went to the museum up there with us, looked at the huts and came down with us. She was such a cutie pie!!
We then climbed back down and went into town to get something to eat. We therefore got natural juice of Guayaba which is a type of fruit and ate sandwiches. We were thinking about going for a boat ride afterwards, but it was getting late and looked like it was going to rain soon. Instead, we biked back to the hostel and relaxed and chatted with the other guests. Since it was John's last night, we had to celebrate the evening.
That evening, John, Conor and Dirk, the guy from the Netherlands, and I all went out for dinner. We went to a place right on the water and what did I get you ask? Yes, ceviche. We got pisco sours and chatted. Did you know, when you're attracted to someone, your eyes dilate? However, this is unreliable because it also depends upon the lighting so if it's dark out, your eyes are going to dilate regardless of whether you like them or not. Either way, I thought that was an interesting fun fact.
Afterwards, we went to a bar and had a drink. We met some very interesting people there. Very interesting.
It was a great night, one of the best during my stay.
The next morning, Conor, a woman from England (yet another Brit) named Karen and I were going to go horse-back riding!

Daisita trying to pass John

The crater

Daisita majestically looking over her terrain

Look at the ocean!

A streak of pink flowers on the wall of the crater

The island they would swim to

A little house in the Orongo village

Thank goodness for juice. John on left, Conor on right

Daisita decided to come visit us at the hostel and take a nap

Easter Island By Quad/ATV

Hola todos,

Monday, John and I decided to rent a quad or ATV for the day and do the big loop, in which you see most of the moai, with the other Brits. We all met up at the beach, Anakena, and enjoyed the view and the sand. Then Andy and Andy decided to stay there longer since they had already done the loop. Therefore, John and I continued. We spent about 3 or 4 hours stopping along the way back to town looking at the abundance of moai (including the one with 15 moai, which was beautiful), caves and the ocean. We encountered the magnetic rock which wasn't as magnetic as we had hoped. We were dropping keys and coins onto it to hope they'll attract but didn't work. They say if you have a compass it will screw with it though.
We also went to the quarry which was gorgeous. It was a crater filled with water. Around the crater and on the sides of the hill were dozens of  absolutely beautiful half buried moai, as in only their heads were visible. Very cool and a lot of fun. The quad was great. Luckily there were no near-death experiences.
John and I had decided to stop at a market and he got a fish that we cooked with pasta, shellfish, and a lot of oil, lemon and garlic. With a side of wine. It was Andy and Andy's last evening (they left for Tahiti at 11PM). Side note: Flights from Easter Island go to Santiago or Tahiti. Because Tahiti is so far from Santiago, normally most flights have a connection at Easter Island.
The Andys were great fun and they would be missed.

The beach!

Moai on the beach

Dogs love sand!

The magnetic rock

The 15 moai

A new edition to the moai. They say she has a pea head.

Look at all of them!

They're definitely more ahead in life than I am (Buh dum cchh)

A half buried moai

The quarry

A close- up of the quarry

Easter Island By Bike Part I

Hola todos,

On Sunday, The Brits: Andy, Andy and John, Mariska and I went to go rent bikes to do a half day loop.
We ate breakfast and then went to the bike place. I rented a bike for four days and John and Mariska rented bikes. Andy and Andy decided to rent a quad though because they were planning to go to the east side of the island at dawn to see the sun rise, which is a popular thing to do. (You see the sun rising behind the 15 moai. I didn't have much a urge to do it though.) Therefore, we took the loop by bike and they took it by quad. However, we thought the quad couldn't go on any further after a certain point so they headed back (we actually had just made a wrong turn). We continued on and saw some moai and several caves (which is Rapa Nui is Ana, so I was then called cave woman). It was so beautiful! The water was a deep blue, to think that the closest land was thousands of miles from the island. We made it to the port and watched the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful!
We returned to the hostel that night sore from the uncomfortable bikes and then the Brits and I went out for dinner to a place and ordered lots of food. I of course, had ceviche again. Since it was Mariska's last night, we went out for a few drinks. It was a tranquil night.

A moai

Many moai

A cave

There were lots of cows

The ocean

The cliffs

The beginning of the sunset

Easter Island Days 1 And 2

Hola todos,

Although I sat (laid) in First Class on my way there, I was still tired when arriving. Therefore, when I arrived, I met a guy that was staying at the hostel with me so we went to the hostel called Kona Tau, put our stuff down and then walked to the water. We saw a few moai and were in awe (little did I know how many moai I would see the next few days).
We then went and had a tuna and cheese empanada to eat which the size of my head and very good. The rest of the day, I laid in the grass by the water and basked in the sun. Then, I went back to the hostel and went out for dinner with a girl in my hostel room named Mariska who is from The Netherlands. I got ceviche and a piña colada. Very tropical of me. We then headed back, chatted, and I went to sleep early. The next morning I was planning on going to the beach.
I woke up the next morning at around 9AM to eat breakfast and go to the beach, but it was raining, which I was secretly okay with because then I didn't have to get out of bed, so I slept until 1:30PM. That was wonderful. For the rest of the day, I sat outside reading a book since it was pretty rainy.
That night, Mariska, three Brits and I went to something called Kari Kari which is a tribal dance show. The indigenous dress up in tribal clothing and dance to music. They even brought gringos onto the stage who of course couldn't dance and awkwardly moved around. I hid in the shadows of the chairs when they were getting people. But one of the not so lucky Brits was pulled up. Quite funny.
Afterwards, we returned to the hostel and I made myself some pasta. Then I got dressed, and then we all went out to a place called Pea. There, we danced and chatted, it was fun.
Over all the first two days were fun and I felt like I made friends fast! The next day, Mariska, the Brits and I were going to go for a bike ride.

A statue

A moai and me trying to imitate it. I'm a tourist, what can I say?

Kari Kari

The dancers

Andy dancing like a true gringo

The chief