On the sixth day of my trip, culture shock is finally setting in. There are elements of so many cultures here - I see Spanish department stores, hear American music, eat Chilean food inspired by German cuisine. Valparaiso and Santiago are only slightly dirtier and more chaotic than New York...just enough to make them feel strange and alien.

    The bus system is the biggest challenge. In Santiago, there were almost no marked bus stops. Valparaiso has more, but in both cities, you often have to flag down buses as if theyīre cabs. Confusingly, cabs congregate in designated places and you donīt hail them on the street. Anyway, back to the buses... when there are marked stops, they arenīt named. When you want off, you stand at the front of the bus until the driver decides to pull over. For those of us who arenīt natives, knowing where to get off the bus is quite a challenge. Today I accidentally rode the bus into the suburbs! On the positive side, Iīve seen a lot more of both cities than I would have otherwise. Thanks to tonightīs unplanned excursion, I discovered an area I want to explore more tomorrow (if I can get on the right bus, that is). On the down side, itīs so frustrating to know where I want to go and not be able to get there! Hopefully, as my Spanish improves, Iīll get better at asking the drivers and passengers about where I should get off.

    Food is another interesting experience. Tonight I ordered an "ave, palta, mayonesa" sandwich - chicken, avocado, and mayonaise. Turns out when they say Ļ"mayonaise sandwich" they really mean it. I thought the pile of white stuff on top of my sandwich was melted cheese, so I got a nasty surprise when I bit in and discovered it was about an inch of mayonaise.

    Other randomness: there is no central heating here and there are lots and lots of stray dogs, which means lots of stray dog poop. This city stinks!

    But, bitching aside, I love Valparaiso. Winding streets...mysterious passageways...multi-colored houses climbing up the hills... Everywhere there are signs with arrows, pointing to businesses, restaurants, adn tourist sights. I choose one or two to follow every day. "La Colombina" led me to a cafe perched on the side of a beautiful hill and "La Sebastiana" took me to another one of Pablo Nerudaīs former residences. Itīs winter here and not very many people are traveling. I thought it would be lonely to be the only guest in my hostel, but itīs actually nice. The owner gave me the keys and told me she trusted me not to mess anything up, so itīs like I have my own house!

~Meredith