Olivia Takes Chile

At the airport!

Last Saturday, one of my best friends in the world came to Chile! Olivia, Emily and I have been best friends for almost 10 years. Since day 1 we’ve been completely inseparable so it only seemed natural that Olivia would come visit us while Emily and I were here for the semester. It may sound like an outrageous spring break to most people, but to us it was simply completing the last part of the puzzle. It just made so much sense for us to be together. Luckily, Olivia was able to use frequent flyer miles to get here and was able to avoid having to stay at a hotel by staying at Emily’s apartment so that made this all that much easier. 

Exploring Valparaiso

            We had so much fun taking her all around the city and the surrounding areas. On her first night here, we took her to Viña del Mar, which she fell in love with just as quickly as Emily, Kyle and I had. Emily’s boyfriend has an apartment in Viña, which we stayed in, and he knew the area really well so he was able to take us all around Viña and Valparaiso far more efficiently than if just Emily or I took her. Back in the city, we took her to Cerro San Cristobal (the major hill in the middle of the city), Los Dominicos (the pueblito full of artisan crafts) and even to a few sushi restaurants. Fun fact: I consumed my first piece of sushi ever during that week. The verdict? It’s not that bad!

Olivia and Emily went on a beautiful nature hike

            Unfortunately, last week was my first full week of classes and Emily had her classes to attend as well so Olivia had to be a little flexible with what activities we could do when. But she was so great and understanding, it all worked out! We all managed to do something together every day – even if it was only for a few hours. It felt like we were back in Lexington, MA enjoying another high school summer.

At Emily's school concert!

            On Friday, Olivia’s last full day here, we attended a concert at Emily’s university. The day started at around 4 pm even though the concert didn’t start until 8. Everyone was just having fun on campus hanging out, drinking, eating, and meeting new people. It was such a different experience than any other “school-sponsored” activity I had ever been to in the U.S. People here are just so much more mature and can handle themselves far more appropriately so it’s okay for people to drink and party and it’s known that people won’t get into fights or get out of control. I didn’t recognize the bands that were playing, or any of the songs that they sang, but I had fun nonetheless. Even though the metro was closed when we left the concert and we ended up having to walk a long time to the next bus stop (we ended up jumping in a cab at the end), we made it home eventually and I still wouldn’t change anything about that day.

Old friends and new friends

          

  It was really hard having to say goodbye to Olivia at the airport but Emily and I are so grateful that she was able to make the trip here at all.  This experience has been so incredible to me and I love that I can say I was able to share it with my two best friends.