"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day. And I believe in miracles."
~ Audrey Hepburn

6.10.2011

Autumn in Santiago

One of the things I am loving about Santiago right now is how beautifully the seasons are changing.


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 I am from Southern California where, let's face it, there's not much of a difference between 
summer and winter.  Although I still happen to think that LA is the best place IN THE WORLD 
(hehe sorry I miss it), I have always fantasized about strolling through central park on a lovely 
autumn day, sitting safely in a London café while rain pours outside, and jumping 
around in the snow in one of my cousins' backyards in Cleveland, Ohio. 
Life is tough when it is sunny every day! Hahaha... :P

 
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Anyway, every morning when I step outside of my apartment and take my first breath of the fresh
morning air, I can't help but to notice a little smile forming on my face. The autumn here is just so 
gosh-darn beautiful -- especially after that rain we just had, which cleared away all the nasty smog. 
It is such a contrast from those relentlessly hot summer days we experienced when 
we first arrived in Santiago for this exchange program. 

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Yesterday, my friend Jade and I wandered over to a nearby park and allowed our inner
seven year-olds to run wild! A few days before, I saw a picture on Jade's Facebook page of her 
doing a handstand in the Atacama desert (located at the North of Chile... it is actually the driest 
desert in the world) and I was soooo jealous! I have never done a handstand before but have always
 wanted to (maybe you remember my pitiful attempt while on top of Machu Picchu?)! 
 I am always wayyy too afraid of falling on my head and dying a slow, painful death.


courtesy of Jade's Facebook 

Well good news! JADE TAUGHT ME TO DO A HANDSTAND! 
Other good news, while I did fall on my head at first, I did not die a slow OR painful death! (yet...)

practicing...

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I DID IT!

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This means I accomplished goal 
#084: Do a handstand!

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We also did other fun things like backbending, bar flipping (?), and tree climbing. 

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As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, later that night, I met up with a bunch of students from 
my program and had a Thanksgiving feast! I mean, you try and picture autumn without Thanksgiving!
 It just doesn't sit well. The feast turned out amazing! I made French Silk Pie. Never Fails. 

the process:


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the feast: 

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 To end this photo montage, here are a couple pictures of me holding a hedgehog. Yup.

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8 comments:

Sarah said...

hahah I just have to comment on the last photo because I'm getting a PYGMY HEDGEHOG for a pet when I move to Philly! :)

maybe you can come visit her??

xo

p.s. um, you are beautiful. k bye.

Anonymous said...

dang girl, you be lookin' GORGEOUS! maybe i should go to Chile...

i miss you so very much. a little more than a month until i see youuu! wooohoooo <3

boo

Marcella Alyssa said...

You're getting a hedghog??? Hahhaha that is wonderful! I am coming out to visit the first chance I get!!

Boo - hehehe thanks little baby. Love you & miss youuuuuu

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

omgggg your hair is so long! Are you still planning on donating it at some point? 'Cause I was thinking you'd look super chic if you did something like this: http://www.haircolors.tk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/hair-color.jpg

Anyway... where does one find an actual hedgehog? Like, one to keep as a pet. I thought they were wild animals, lol.

Marcella said...

HAhaha seriously it is soooo long. I think I will leave it long for the summer and then chop it all off in September! (and yes, donate it). I think the link you sent is bad or maybe I just don't understand hahaha. But I'd love to get a really cute bob and possibly color it.

Sarah said...

yes, a lil bebe hedgehog. technicalllyyy illegal in CA. and PA. but entirely domesticated! and adorable.
xo

Unknown said...

I love autumn colors