Day 8 (5/11/13)-Free Day #1

Today was our first free day off from planned activities! Most people took the opportunity to catch up on sleep since it feels like we have been going nonstop since we arrived in Chile! Once we were all up and ready, most of us headed to grab a big lunch along the stretch of restaurants by the ocean. I got a steak, bacon, and cheese sandwich and a few other people ordered a huge shared meal of chicken, cheesy mushrooms, and other small things. It was one of the few meals we had without Brice or Jorge so we were on our own for understanding the menu and communicating with our server which gave us all a chance to practice our Spanish and talking with Chileans who only know Spanish. After we finished our meal, we walked along the the beach and stopped at the local vendors to grab some souvenirs! It was a perfect day outside and it was nice to just leisurely walk and enjoy the scenery. After we had our fill of the beach, we headed back to the hotel and I took a nap and ate a sandwich from the local grocery store. I have not been feeling well (sore throat, fatigue, fever) so I took it easy tonight and have just been resting so I will feel reenergized for the rest of our time here! The long days and lack of much sleep has definitely caught up to me so taking the night off was much needed.