Exploring Concepción

This morning I woke up late after a MUCH needed 13 hour nap. Simón made breakfast and afterwards we went for a walk to his university. Universidad de Concepción is beautiful! He showed me the clock tower, the engineering college where he takes his classes, and the library. We passed a group of dancers using the windows of one of the buildings as a mirror, they were really good! There were bands playing on a stage on the central green, but otherwise the university was quiet. We walked to the sports field and Simón showed me his favorite view of the city.

On our way off campus Simón showed me a duck pond. There were a few black-necked swans, a wood duck (according to the internet, they don't live in South America...but I saw it.), and some other waterfowl. There was a little black bird who was tripping over itself and didn't look like it was very well. I tried to get the stuff off of its feet, but it wasn't coming off easy. The bird allowed me to get really close (definitely wasn't well) and I carefully caught it. I held the bird while Simón tried to untangle its feet. It was trapped in hair! It had clearly been in distress for a while because it was clear to see where the hair had wound so tight around its feet that the circulation was being cut off. Simón managed to free one foot, but the other was impossible without scissors or something sharp to cut with. I only hope that the oils from my hands don't cause the bird further problems than it already had and that it doesn't die of capture myopathy. 

We passed through an open air market. One stand was selling jewelry and combs made of bull horns, which was pretty neat. After passing the market, we went into the mall, which was HUGE. There were 4 or 5 floors. One floor was dedicated entirely to a food court, on one floor there was a supermarket, and on another floor there was a cinema. We bought frozen yogurt before going to the supermarket. The frozen yogurt shop let you pick two frozen fruits to blend into your yogurt and then you could pick a sweetener. Simón picked mango and chirimoya, a fruit that I had never heard of but is native to South America. We ate our frozen yogurt on our way to the supermarket, where we picked up fresh fruit and veggies and other necessities. Converting the dollar to Chilean pesos in my head is kind of a pain because there are 670 Chilean pesos to one USD. 

After buying groceries we made our way back to the apartment and made dinner. Simón made rice and a salad with onion and membrillo (aka Quince), while I made chicken. It was a beautiful first day in the city, I couldn't be happier. Tomorrow I'll go to the vet's office and ask if I can shadow a few days a week! Photos from today below <3 

Favorite City View

Duck Pond

Aloe Plants

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