Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

I apologize to my mom, sister, grandma and grandpa, because although I loved having them here, Jake wins the prize for being my favorite visitor... :)

After getting home early Monday morning from Un Techo Para Chile, I spent the day trying to catch up on sleep and life and anxiously waiting to hear from Jake. Of course I never heard from him and had to just show up at the bus station hoping he had managed to get on a bus in order to arrive in Valdivia around 7 (we had tentatively figured out that he would get in around that time). Thankfully, he had managed to get one, and got in around 8 or 8,30. I was relieved to see him and had a good laugh when I found out he hadn't called me because he had packed my cell phone number in the wrong bag...

We dropped his stuff off at his hostel and then headed out to get some food at one of my favorite local places here, La Ultima Frontera. It's a neat bar/restaurant with good food and a fun atmosphere. Tuesday I went to class (and also skipped a class.. ha) and Jake came to my house to meet my host family and eat lunch with us. It was a really rainy day so we just hung out inside. Then at night we went out to La Cervecería Kunstmann with some of the other gringos and friends I have here. It was fun to have him meet them and have some good laughs. Wednesday we got to eat lunch with one of my chilean friends. This was fun, especially because she's not quite 5 feet tall, making for quite the comparison with Jake (I missed this photo op unfortunately!). Then at night I made him a typical chilean "once" (dinner) - bread with palta (avocado) and tomato (one of my favorite meals actually!). Thursday was our last day in Valdivia. We went out for lunch again with a friend and then ate once with my host family before heading off to the bus terminal. I almost forgot my camera (would have been tragic!) but thankfully remembered when we were still within walking distance to go back and get it. We took a bus from Valdivia to Santiago and got in Friday morning and hopped on another bus that took us over/through the Andes Mountains to Mendoza in Argentina. There we eventually found a hostel and walked around the city (more to come on Mendoza in a few days).

Overall my time with Jake was wonderful. It was one of the first times in a long time where we were able to be together without rushing from one thing to the next, or be preoccupied about homework or school, or whatever. We got to spend a lot of time talking and catching up. Sharing how we've been changing over the semester and relishing the fact that we're continuing to change and grow in so many similar ways. I also enjoyed showing him my life in Valdivia, and exploring a new city with him. It never ceases to amaze me all the different cultures and landscapes that exist. The mountains were breath taking, and the city of Mendoza was beautiful with the mountains as a backdrop and all the vineyards that the city is known for.

Being with Jake was also a good reminder of the fact that although I'm loving my experiences here, I'm also very excited to be home again. I'm blessed to have met some great people here that I can share this time with, but there's no replacing my friends and family from home. They (you) mean so much to me and I'm realizing the truth behind the fact that relationships are what make life worth while. They take a lot of work but as they say in spanish, valen la pena (they're worth the effort/pain).

I'll try to post some pictures and a few stories about Mendoza in the next few days :)

Chauu