Of my final days in Valdivia;

I arrived in Valdivia, Chile in the end of March and Left mid July. Since it was the city where I was living and studying I got to know the city pretty well. On my bike I saw just about every corner of Valdivia and the surrounding countryside. I met many great students at the university and I got to know a few great professors at UACh. And I can never forget about how caring and friendly my host family was.

From Chile W16

In my last few weeks I was busy writing papers, preparing for finals, and getting ready to travel. One day the skies were all clear and it wasn't too cold (this was just before the winter solstice) so I went down to Niebla on the coast to write one of my essays.




  I got a bag of clam empanadas from the market and found a nice place on the beach to write about South American literature. I didn't really want to write so I spent a good amount of time taking photos on the beach.







Part of the empanada making process.


The market at Niebla. Most of the booths are selling empanadas, shish kabobs, or chicha.


This is apple chicha which is like apple cider.


Before Chile's first football game in the Copa America all the flags came out.


There were still plenty of protests going on in the city. For last few weeks my classes were held in buildings outside of the main island campus since the Chilean students took over the school. For about a month the university professors were not allowed to hold classes while the students blocked off the entrances and held a camp out on campus. This is a photo I took from my bedroom window. Most of the student marches would end at this university administration right next to my apartment. Over the months I saw lots of demonstrations with banners, megaphones, and noisemakers.



They have trolls in Chile too.



A statue next to my apartment.



Mi casa. I lived on the 3rd floor in an apartment with my host mom and brother.



My favorite empanada spot in town. I don't think it even had a name. But when ever there was a fresh batch ready they would put up a big sign saying 3 empanadas for 1.000 pesos. This is about $2 USD for some of the biggest empanadas you could ever eat.