Going to School in a Castle and Sleeping under the Stars: Or How My Life Continues to Change

Let me start by clearing up any confusion (at least confusion related to this blog, I am afraid I might not be much help with the confusion relegated to other parts of life), the title of this blog is not figurative.

I do, in fact, attend school in a castle. The down side to attending school in a castle is that there is no real air ventilation (it's summer here) and you climb a lot of stairs. However, this is far outweighed by the benefits. First, castles are just cool. No further explanation is really needed for that point. Second, going to school in a castle provides endless hours of imagining what the castle was like when it was originally inhabited by nobility. (Of course, these endless hours are separate from the other endless hours you spend in class paying impeccable attention to the lecture.) Second, you smile at the irony of learning about the history of the conquistadors and economic disparities while sitting in one of the "grand rooms" of the castle. Wouldn't the nobility be overjoyed to see us learning about their legacy in their party room?! Furthermore, there is something almost magical about learning about history in a historical building. Also, the bragging rights from going to school in a castle trump all. When people talk about their universities or how they are getting new equipement and then ask you where you go to school, you get to smile and say, "You know the castle near the center of town? Oh yeah, that's my building." And then you smile again.

Last weekend, I went on a camping trip to a beach south of where I live. Not only was the company great but the beach was incredible. After a night of BBQing and talking, we were getting ready to turn into our tents when this other chic and I decided to throwing our sleeping bags out onto the sand. I fell asleep listening to waves crash on the beach and under a blanket of stars. While this may strike some as illegal based on your experience in the US, sleeping under the stars is not a problem at all here. Homeless dogs roam the beaches here as well as the cities and they served as our guardians while we slept. Besides having a great time, I really enjoyed the chance to relax before school starts.

Just so you know that this blog is not figurative, here are some pictures-

The Castle (photos courtesy of PUCV)

The Camping Trip (photos courtesy of yours truly)