Day 12

Day 12:

Today was our “spa day”! We basically went to a country club that had a pool and tennis courts. There was nothing planned except for lunch so we could do whatever we wanted. When we arrived, it started to get sunny which was perfect for lying by the pool. It probably was a little too cold to swim, but lying by the water was so nice.  

Photo cred goes to Justine!

It was nice to relax and socialize for a bit and soon it was time for lunch. We were served french fries with beef and a fried egg on top. It was pretty good and went pretty fast. We finished and went back to our spot in the sun. A few people went to play soccer but I was still pretty sore from the past few days and opted out. I must have dozed off for a little because when I woke up my friends were gathering up their things and heading back to the main pool where our home base was located because it was almost time to go. I arrived just after "surgery" had occurred. My dear friend Brendan injured his big toe nail while playing soccer and it was necessary to remove the entire nail. It sounded painful but he's so tough that he sucked it up and took it like a man. I was thankful to have arrived when I did because I do not deal with blood very well. Even when everyone was talking about it, I felt squeamish. 

Next on the agenda was a barbecue at Verner's house. Verner is the guy in charge of organizing this program on the Chilean end at USM. In his backyard there was a pool, a ping-pong and foosball table, as well as an area for barbecuing. I was impressed with the apple trees and grape vines he had growing around the yard. He pulled down a bunch of grapes and gave them to us to eat which was awesome. A chef arrived to cook us dinner which was sausages and chicken and beef kebabs. All of it was so good! I kept going back to the grill for more. It started to get a little cold out, and none of us really brought a change of clothes so we huddled by the grill to keep warm. A few people (well, mainly Dave) took on the challenge of building another picnic table, since there wasn't enough room for everyone at the one table already there. I was very impressed that this task was completed in a relatively short amount of time. It was a great night but it was kind of sad because it made the end of the trip seem even more realistic. We all realized this was one of our last nights together in Chile:(