A Series of Unfortunate Events/A Wonderful Day in Paradise

How do I even begin? (I literally don't know because my brain stopped functioning a couple hours ago, but I think most of my blog posts will be written in a similar state, so sorry...you'll have to get used to this) I've been here less than a week and so much has happened already. We don't have class on Fridays, so the program took us to Playa Ensenada, a remote beach on the northern shore of the island. The 2.5 hour ride by guagua (a type of small bus) was great for napping, since we all went out the night before.

After leaving the city of Santiago, passing through the countryside, and stopping at a roadside café, we pulled up to this:

Playa Ensenada: the clearest, warmest waters I've ever encountered

It was almost the complete opposite of my usual beach-going experience. Instead of diving in to avoid being crushed by frigid waves, I just waded in for at least 300 m before the water was even close to being my height. So, there I was, hitting around a beach ball in the water with everyone else, when I go after the ball and feel a weird stinging sensation around my stomach. I thought my stomach was cramping for a second but realized it REALLY stung. It was a jellyfish. I wade back to shore and wait for the first aid kit, while everyone else comments on the welt developing across my lower abdomen. The welt somehow reached under my swimsuit, but I realized this was because my bikini bottom was kind of loose, so it must have fallen a bit as I was chasing after the ball, exposing more skin. This turned out to be a slight problem later.

It's a little hard to see, but the welt goes riiiiiight across my stomach. Morgan also took one for the team,  walking away with a sting on her leg. Fortunately, we had some kind of solution and didn't have to resort to the alternative (it involves another kind of yellow solution). 

The stinging calmed down after an hour or so, and I was back in the sun and water after a delicious lunch.

Lining up for food: the beach was a short strip of white sand, with a string of lunch stands a few meters away from the shore. 

Freshly fried fish, tostones (fried plaintains), a type of conche salad, mussels, rice + beans, and  cabbage

A group of us took boats out to a tiny island (the circumference was definitely less than 400 meters) to go snorkeling. I was expecting Johnny Depp to pop out of the sand, looking for rum. It was UNREAL. I didn't bring the camera on the boat but thanks to facebook, here it is:

but why is the rum gone?!

ANYWAYS, I'm getting to the best part of the story! We went snorkeling, and were on our way back to the main beach when I realized I was in the wrong boat. It really wasn't a big deal, since both boats were for our group, but the balance was a little off, so I hopped off to go to the other boat.  The driver of the other boat had already started the engine, and was drifting off into the ocean, but he waited for me. I swam about 100 m (FREESTYLE! Ronit would be proud), and reached the correct boat, while everyone watched. Then I realized I couldn't lift myself up onto the boat. (Still need to work on that upper body strength) So two of the guys in the boat helped lift me up, but as I went up, my bikini bottoms went down. Gravity. Everyone was watching the entire thing, including the director of my program. Thankfully, my bottoms didn't come off completely. I think... Basically, I somehow fell into the boat after I mooned half of the people in my program, and tried to cling on to whatever dignity I had left while laughing hysterically with everyone else. I managed to cut my knee too. I then mentally thanked Payne Whitney Gym's third floor pool, where I first learned to swim free-style.

I can't tell if my skin burns because of the jellyfish sting of because of a sunburn, but I am tan, content, and exhausted after a wonderful day in the sun.

Friday, Friday, gotta get tan on Friday....FUN FUN FUN FUN