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So Karmen is wrapping up her visit. She'll be leaving tomorrow around noon. I figured I would recap our adventures with Karmen as a sort of commercial to persuade all of you to make a similar journey.

Karmen arrived Wednesday night. We picked her up in a taxi and brought her back to the girls' place.

She went to school Thursday and hung out with Amy in her classroom. She also got to see me teach Amy's kids a music class. That evening we got yaroa (french fries, meat, cheese) and headed back to my apartment and hung out with Andrew and Lisette drinking beer/rum-and-cokes/red wine, depending on your preference.

She loved school so much, she decided to come back on Friday. Friday afternoon was a nap followed by a trip across town with Lisette to a club she recommended. It was a great venue. Still loud, but not as bad as the other place. There were plenty of places to sit, the dance floor wasn't too crowded, and they even had live music later in the night. It was so fun.

Saturday was beach day. We took Karmen to the beach at Sosua. It was nice weather, not too hot, but the sun still came out some. The waves were huge, so we played in the surf for a while, until they got the better of us. Karmen and Amy both took their fair share of hard spills. Amy lost her sunglasses to the sea, and we've all been cleaning sand out of our hair since. But it was so much fun. We got drinks and food. Karmen ordered a Coco Loco, which we'd never tried, but it was inexpensive and sounded kind of fun. It turns out a Coco Loco is a coconut opened up with the milk still inside, some ice, and maybe grenadine, or fruit punch, something like that. No alcohol, but plenty of fresh coconut milk. Amy and I know what to get next time. We walked along the shops at the beach and Karmen picked up a polished coconut shell necklace and two paintings. (Amy got to practice her haggling skills) As we were walking back, we stopped at an ice cream place and tried Tres Leches Cake ice cream.

We took Karmen to church in Moca on Sunday. She loved it. Unfortunately the power was out almost the whole time, so I didn't get to play, but that meant I got to sing, which I enjoy, too. When we got back we took her grocery shopping and made some breakfast tacos. That afternoon we went to Plaza International (a mall) and walked around. The girls bought some new sunglasses and Latina jewelry. We rented a movie and got frozen yogurt. That night was spaghetti with Dan in Real Life.

Today was another day of school with Karmen. She really is excited about teaching English abroad now. After school we went down to Calle del Sol, which has a lot of street vendors and markets, but it was getting a little late, and everything was closing up. So we stopped for some more frozen yogurt (it is so delicious, you pick out some frozen fruit, and they blend it up with yogurt. amazing) and walked until we got to the monument. There we found a stand we had been to before and had cachapas for dinner. (you remember these, the cornmeal pancakes filled with meat, veggies, and cheese)

Tomorrow, she'll stop by school in the morning and take the taxi from there to the airport.

It has been so nice having a guest. Amy and I get to show someone all of the great things we've discovered. And Karmen's been a great guest. She really appreciates all of the adventures we've taken her on.

It's a long time until Christmas. Plane tickets will be cheaper if you come down in, say, late October? November? Just think, it could be your name, not Karmen's in this blog. It could be you having all of these fantastic cultural experiences. Come, discover Santiago. Book your flight today.