the rough life

okay, so i have a couple minutes to write, so i thought i´d give a bit more of an update. i am currently in pucon, chile, about 12 hours south of santiago, in the lakes district. it is a beautiful town at the foot of a breath-taking volcano. it´s completely organized around the tourism industry for all the outdoor activites they offer, so that makes it pretty touristy, but it´s super lindo (beautiful) nonetheless.
yesterday, the girls and i went white-water rafting in the morning and it was amazing. i really really enjoyed it. we have some great pictures that i´ll share later. then, in the afternoon, we went canopying, which are like long zip lines, through a forrest. it was really amazing. some awesome views of the volcano. today, the other girls went to climb the volcano, but i decided that after doing torres, i didnt want to spend another $90 on climbing. so instead, i rented a mountain bike and went on this trail to a beautiful mirador (lookout) of a little oasis in the middle of nowhere. three waterfalls leading into a lake/river surrounded by green everything. it was beautiful. and it was really nice to have a day to myself.
tonight we´re going to the hotsprings to sit and relax. tomorrow´s the beach, and i think friday we´re going to do something called ´canyoning´ which is like rapelling through waterfalls. then, this weekend we´re going to camp a couple days in a national park, and go back to santiago on sunday.
i never said my life was tough...

as great as this all is, i´m actually pretty excited to get back to santiago. not only will it be nice to have a little stability and balance again, but i really miss my host family.
of course, i will let you all know when i get back and i will post pictures.
chao.

i am alive

i just wanted to let you all know that i survived my 7 day camping trip. it was life changing. it was really really amazing. hopefully i´ll get a chance to write more about it in the future. i´ll also post pictures when i can, but it´s not working right now. so for now, i´m at a crappy computer in a hostel, so i must go.
thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and emails.
abrazos,
kait

i have arrived

alo dear friends and family,
just wanted to let you all know that i´ve arrived...at my current destination. i am now in punta arenas, chile, the southernmost city in the entire world. probably closer to one of the poles than i will ever be again, with the exception of visiting here again. the 12 hour busride turned into 16 and the 30 hour turned into 32, but it is totally worth it. in a couple days i leave to backpack through one of the most beautiful places in the world for a week.
i will post pictures as soon as i am able.
love to you all.
abrazos,
kait

casi lista/almost ready

monday i leave for my month-long trip around southern chile/argentina. i could not be more excited. rough itinerary:
-leave monday, 12-hour busride (the SHORT one) to puerto montt
-stay there for 2 nights, leave wednesday morning
-30-hour busride to the southern tip (i know, we're crazy. my host brother taught me to say "my ass is cubed." okay, it doesnt really translate, but it means you sat in a chair for too long.)
-backpacking in torres del paine national park, known as best place to visit in south america
-back to puerto montt, explore the region
-another part of lake region for lakes, beaches, volcanoes, islands, etc.

so, obviously, it should be amazing. it'll prob be pricey because we're tourists and its vacation season, but it'll be worth it. when will i ever get to do this again. (hopefully soon actually.)

i'm going to "jumbo," the walmart of south america, in a while to pick up some last minute supplies. thank god i've been so well-outfitted by a good family friend. i don't have to buy anything but toiletries and food. and my host mom came home with a bag of chocolate things, coffee, and tea for me for the trip. she knows me so well already. :)

obviously, i will be nearly unavailable to be reached while i'm traveling, with only a few opportunities to check email in hostels here and there. so if you email me, thats why i don't respond.

and finally, a reflection.
as i'm preparing to leave, i've been thinking a lot about a few quotes by an artist from iowa named brian andreas. and as i'm literally traveling to the edge of the world (if ever there was one), this one has been echoing to me:

"they came to sit & dangle their feet off the edge of the world & after awhile they forgot everything but the good & true things they would do someday."

i hope this trip not only reminds me that the world is an incredible gift in which it is a privilege to dangle my feet, but it's a place in which we can and will do good and true things. there are images of beauty and images of suffering, and in truth, they are indistinguishable. i think the key is seeing both in everything and understanding the equilibrio(balance.)

paz, aqui y en todas partes
(peace, here and everywhere)