We hiked "Crow Pass" a couple of weekends ago. It is a 24-26 mile hike - in this picture we reached the top (3500 feet). Ike, Nikki, Chris, Sam, and myself. We caught up with some Eagle Scouts later.

One thing I learned on this trip - BRING A SLEEPING PAD b/c the ground is cold!






Here are the Eagle Scouts crossing a river made up of FREEEEEEEZING glacier water. We went after them. We had to cross the river to keep going on the trail. We kept ourselves connected with two walking sticks.

Once we crossed, we set up for lunch. Ike went to get the boiling water to fill his "soup in a cup" and went to put the water back on the burner and spilled all the water - it was hilarious!






I think we have like 5 miles left of the trip. It's funny b/c guess what time you think it is here! I think it was around 9 or 9:30 pm. When we finally made it home at around 12:30 am it was still light out. Fun times in Alaska!






I went canoeing with some friends to Eklutna Lake which used to be a glacier. We visited Allie at the Orthodox Museum in Eklutna. She's been working there and at the Orthodox museum in Anchorage - she gave us a lovely tour of the Spirit Houses, which is something that the Native Alaskans buid on top of graves b/c they believe the spirit stays on earth for a year after death and is something that St. Innocent ( I believe) of Alaska accepted due to the very similar orthodox belief of death.

Well, I was supposed to fly back to Indy today and it's a very bittersweet feeling I have. I miss home and am very sad to be missing Caleb and Natalie's wedding this Sunday. At the same time I am at total peace in being here. Weird time of life, but good. God is good and patient with me during my little journey here.

Being here in Eagle River, Alaska has been wonderful. I love being able to spend time with the family and also go to all of the Lenten services during the week.

It's interesting how my faith hasn't been challenged that much just being around family and being so comfortable. While in Chile it was constantly a battle and I was more aware of God's love b/c I didn't have family there. God's love hasn't changed, but it's more of a struggle for me to stay in communion with Him through prayer b/c it's easier to talk directly with family about things. Learning how to daily put my trust in Him. At the moment I'm super thankful for all He has given me like my family and this beautiful community!


Jessica Sorenson and I walked up to the chapel Saturday morning to say some prayers. The chapel is located in the middle of the woods. She's a sweet girl from the St. John's church here in Eagle River. For those of you who know him - she's Father Jack Sparks' granddaughter. You can read more about this community at http://www.stjohnalaska.org/.





Inside the chapel. An icon of Jesus is in the middle with Mary to his right and St. John the Baptist on his left. The longer icon of just one person to our left is St. Herman of Alaska and to our right - I am not sure who that is.

Peter Lamb and I climbed up Mt. Baldi, but of course drove about half way up maybe more. It was still a nice hike in the snow and looking out over Eagle River was beautiful!

I made it home to my lovely family. Here's Allie, Gracie, Hanna and Emelia.

The week went by super fast, but it was nice to see family and friends!









I am cross country skiing for the first time here in Alaska. So, yes I made it safely to Alaska. It's also great to see family here! JD and Mary have two children now, Noah and Lina and Ike and Nikki are married and living in a cute cabin and are letting me stay with them.

Ike and Nikki at Chugiak High School's track and football field which becomes a cross country skiing track during the winter, obviously! It was a great workout. CC skiing is similar to running and I haven't been able to run for 2 yrs. b/c of my IT band and this wasn't hard on my knee, so it's a perfect workout! LOVE IT and feeling sore, wooohoo!

Well, I missed a flight yesterday due to a cancellation in Colombia. I had to stay in Miami last night and will hopefully be home tonight. I have about 5 days home and then I head up to Alaska to hang out with my brothers, their wives and children until July and will be back to Indiana for good then. I plan to keep this blog up.

One of the last things I did on my tour was go to a wine vineyard. The wine in Chile is SOOO cheap and good (well I drink cheap wine and think it's good).

I am happy to be coming home and this trip to Chile has been such a blessing and I have learned so much about God and myself ~ especially that I like warm weather and skipping out on winter! :)

Pomaire, Chile is famous for their pottery. Those of you who speak Spanish will understand. Those of you who don't can use your imagination or maybe will learn a little Spanish from the video. It's funny, the first pottery store I went to the lady was super rude and wouldn't let me so I just hopped to the next store and he was a lot nicer.

My trip to the south was great and I would highly recommend Chile as a place to travel for people who like outdoors and nature. Umm.... now I return home and then to Alaska. The other "patagonia" of the world. Woohooo!

These Sea Lions were so entertaining! I am in Valdivia, Chile and it´s beatiful here. I can´t believe how beautiful Chile is.

Yesterday I biked about 35 miles up to some waterfalls and then to a beach and the scenery was absolutley amazing. There is a partially active volacano there in Pucon and lots of green! I camped out for two nights under the stars.


Whoops, this is sideways but I am out of time. See the snow-topped volcano in the background! While I was biking I could smell the pine trees the air was so clean. Such a nice break from the busy and contaminated city of Santiago.

This is a picture of me, Nora (who I am living with now), Erica (Nora's best friend since she was a child), Erica's boyfriend (her husband passed away a few years ago), Carlos and Margarita (Erica's children).

Nora made "porotos granados", a typical Chilean soup. It was delicious. We of course had Chilean wine. It was a fun night and I learned a lot of Chilenismos.



I've officially ended my job as "English Teacher" or conversing with Chileans in English and my job at Bellavista Hostel. From left to right in this picture is Kika, me, Eli, Camila and Tamara. This was my favorite job I've had so far. I always looked forward to going to work. I was able to use my Spanish and English eveyday and meet people from all over the world. Today I met 2 guys from Israel. They told me about how they were in battle and their side of the story that is going on between Israel and Gaza. I loved this job and the people I worked with.

I am now heading off on a 7-9 day trip to the souther part of Chile. My itinerary is as follows (you can look some of these cities up on google to get an idea of the beauty I will see!):

Pomaire, Rapel Dam, Pichilemu (surfing capital), Punta de Lobos, Santa Cruz, Pucon, Villarica National Park, Villarica Volcano, Huerquehue National Park, Lican Ray, Panquipulli, Puerto Montt, Possibly the island Chiloe, Alerce Andino National Park, Puerto Varas, Llanquihue Lake, Saltos del Laja and Vina Balduzzi. I will be traveling with Pachamama (pachamamabybus.com) and they gave me a nice discount for having worked at the hostel. Other backpackers will go and I will probably meet some fun travelers! I am really looking forward to it.

I hope all is well at home. I am looking forward to seeing friends and family, but am also sad to leave good friends that I've made here. Life can be bitter sweet at times and when I leave on the plane to come home, I will be leaving some great memories and a beautiful country. Yes, I will probably shed a few tears. But right when I see family and friends, it will be all worth it in the end to come home!!! Love and miss you all back home! xoxo

Street artists are quite common in Chile. This is right outside the metro station "Baquedano". Chileans tend to be quiet and seem mad/sad on the buses, so it´s a breath of fresh air when people start singing or playing.

JD and Mary - Congratulations!! These travelers agreed to giving you two an impromptu congrats, there was no rehearsing. :) Mary - they forgot to say your name, but they meant it for the both of you.

Lots of love from Chile! Here is another video of me with 2 Chileans I work with telling them about how many nieces and nephews I have:

Jaime (the president of the Young Orthodox Group) and Katia (just came from the US to spend a year in Chile teaching English) are in the middle holding Irene. They are Irene's God parents. Irene was baptized this past Sunday, the same day as my new niece Hannah. Paulina and Carlos are the parents and Carlos is the one who corresponds with people from the EOC (Evangelical Orthodox Church, the church I belonged to when I was younger). Paulina and Carlos have been two of the most hospitable people since I have been to Chile. I am truly blessed to know them.




Here Padre Fransisco Salvador is baptizing Irene. He didn't dunk her all the way under. He put her bottom half under the water and put water on her head. She was completely calm during the whole process. Also, they wait about 15-20 minutes after liturgy (church service) to do the baptism. The closest family and friends stay for the service.

Before I had to rush to work at the hostel, I got to hold Irene. She smiled for me! It was as if I was holding little Hannah. It might not seem a big deal to you all, but it was just what I needed that day, a smile from a 2 month old.

Jorge is on the computer and you will notice Dirty Frank sleeping by his feet. Jorge is in charge of finding people to live in the hostel. His mother, Nancy, made me soup and tea b/c I got sick. You can hear the Chilean Spanish accent when Nancy talks. She uses the word "harta/o" for "mucha/o".

I have a new job that I am pretty excited about! I will be working at a hostel on the weekends and on Wednesdays. I will get to meet a lot of people from all around the world - we could start our own little United Nations!

Quick side note: "The Way of a Pilgrim" is a good book to read on the practice of the Jesus prayer. Joel Wilson sent this to me and has been a fresh of breath air. If you haven't read it, I would recommend it. The front page says "A classic of Russian spirituality."

The weather is amazing here, so hot and sunny everyday. Anyone want to come visit to get a break from the cold??

The only complaint about the hot/sunny days is that I sweat a lot and currently own 2 pairs of pants one of which is extremely uncomfortable. So, I end up wearing the same black pants nearly everyday. However, it's great b/c I am sooooo thankful right after my black pants are washed and clean to wear. I have learned how simple life is when owning only a few outfits.

My roommate, Lizzy from England, found/saved an abandoned kitten - he was literally skin and bones. His name is "Dirty Frank" or "Sucio Frank". She is taking good care of him and Dirty Frank is starting to gain enough energy to play. Hope all is well with everyone!

Today I have the day of from work so I've been reading a magazine called "Sabado" that comes every Saturday. There's a big stack of them sitting in the house, so I "steal" them to practice Spanish. I decided to go downtown to the main square "Plaza de Armas" to read, it's more motivating than in my room w/o windows.

I found a shady place under a tree in front of the court house. I didn't think anything about the grass being partially wet. "Hmmm... why would this grass be wet, it hasn't rained in months?" About 20 minutes later I found out b/c while I was reading the sprinkler went off and shot me right in the face! Haha!







I went back to the main square and saw a boy feeding the doves. Poor doves! :)






These 2 pictures are also in the "Plaza de Armas". The picture below - well, I should have asked if this is a famous cathedral or something.

I present you all to a wonderful friend - Megan. She's from Texas and this is her at Vina del Mar, Chile. She lives in the same hostel as I do. We went to a Mexican restaurant last night. Eating Mexican while speaking English with a US citizen reminded me of home a lot. It was a lovely evening. I am very thankful for her.

While we were walking home from the Mexican restaurant last night we saw a man peeing on a tree. We made a little chuckle and he noticed that we saw him and he yelled "disculpa chicas!" - "excuse me girls!". Ay, ay, ay.


To the right is a cute Chilean family on the beach. As the dad graciously took about 8 minutes to put sunscreen on his son so he wouldn't burn, a lot of things went through my head. First thing is hoping that I have a family someday and the next was "oh yeah I will have to put sunscreen on myself and my children, too much work!" :)

It's amazing how many sacrifices parents make for their children. So, this goes out to all the parents in this world - thanks for making the daily sacrifices for your children!

The trip to Vina del Mar was my first time in over two months to go to the beach. The bus ride only takes an hour and a half from Santiago.

My new phone number is: 317.641.9451. And, no I am not home.

My new address is:

Maturana 557
Comuna Santiago
Barrio Brasil
Santiago, Chile

The picture below: (left to right) of Evelyn (Chile), myself, Jaime (Chile), Alex (Germany), and Fernando (Brasil). Jaime is a friend of Alex and doesn't live in the hostel. The picture is missing a couple of people who live in the hostel including a girl from Texas (another United States citizen!). They are all wonderful people. Good times!

As I was heading out this morning, I see our dogs using sleeping in their houses. Note to people who buy really big nice expensive dog houses for their dogs: THEY ARE DOGS!! They really don't mind sleeping in cardboard and look at how authentic this is. Please remind me of this picture when I go to the pet store to spend $50 - 100 on a dog house.

Happy New Year to all!
May God grant you all a peaceful year.

I did move and will provide my new address later. I live in a French-style house with high ceilings and 7 other people from around the world. We share a big kitchen, 5 bathrooms, and my room is about the size of my last apartment. Today I had fun playing with a little 10-month old girl (neighbor). The cost is way better and I thoroughly enjoy the people I am living with. The only thing I am trying to get used to is being able to hear every noise in the house while trying to fall asleep.

We have a couple of dogs that the owner of our house and various other neighbors take care of. Two of them (Copito and Dandy) have a broken leg from being hit by cars. Here is a picture of "Copito". He is also blind in his right eye. When I first met him I was pulling up to the house on a bike that one of my roomies lent me to go to the gym and little Copito was limping at the end of the dog herd. He kept having to take breaks because he can only use 3 of his legs to walk. He would rest on his broken leg for support. His tail started waggling when one of the neighbors came to give them water and feed them. I was blessed that day to have met Copito, a joyful 3 legged Chilean limping dog.

Allie this video is for you! This is from Catemu on the farm. We were labeling tomato sauce jars. We both thought that the camera was on "take a picture" mode, but I forgot to take it off of "take a video" mode. So, Allie is pulling a funny one behind my back while I am posing and smiling for the "picture" when in fact it was a video that captured the whole thing. Allie and I were cracking up! Allie - you're hilarious! Miss you tons hermana! Hope you are doing well.