What a week! What a week! What a week! This country has turned into a fiesta hotspot and it's all in aid of the Fiestas Patrias! After being at uni just two weeks, we were granted a week's holiday to celebrate Chile's independence day, the 18th September. Most people were given three days holiday but schools and universities profited from a whole week's worth of festivities. The date of the celebrations is not in fact when Chile actually gained independ...

It seems that Chile is the exact opposite of the UK when it comes to weather. In England, the further south you travel, the warmer the temperatures become. In Chile, I travelled 6 hours south of the capital and am now freezing my Royal Rastafarians off (or I would be if I had any)! On arrival at my home for the next ten months, a cute and slightly dated flat close to the centre of the city, my landlady greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and a lesson on ho...

I will never forget the sight of the Andes as I got off the plane in Santiago. Beautiful snowcapped mountains gliding smoothly into the fog (or rather unfortunately smog) of the bustling city. I took one look at them and knew that embarking on this adventure was the best decision I have ever made. The excitement in my stomach (that even on day three has not disappeared) confirmed that this is going to be a wonderful year! The city centre seems to me to be...