The U Camp

Sunset at the U Camp during the summer

Last summer, a few of my soccer friends and I went to a soccer camp at the University of Utah for four days. While there, our routine was eat, play soccer, sleep, repeat. It was tiring, but we also had a lot of fun. Now, during the offseason, our team doesn't get much time on the field so some of my friends, Marta and Gracie, and I decided to do another camp at the U. This one is every Friday afternoon and focusses on technical skills.

I have enjoyed every session I have gone to, but I also find it somewhat embarrassing when I'm there because most of the girls are older than me and way better. Playing around people I don't know that are way better than I am sort of makes me fall apart; I look like I've never touched a soccer ball in my life. That is obviously not true, but I can comfort myself by saying that I've been playing soccer for a little under two years and everyone around me has been playing for at least five. Anyways, this small, embarrassing factor has prevented me from looking forward to attending the camp on Friday afternoons. It seems like it sucks up the rest of my night even though it's only an hour and a half to two hours long. Against all odds, this week was different.

As usual, I found myself dreading the usual embarrassment I feel every Friday afternoon. Plus, Workout Club was doing a form workout that I would be missing. Of course, I have soccer the one time I really want to do a specific workout. Let's just say that for multiple reasons I did not want to go to the camp this week. Somehow I managed to change my mindset and convince myself that I was just going to hang out with my good friend, Gracie. Our focus this week was passing and receiving, or just possession, and, because of my more positive attitude, I was able to perform much better and have a lot more fun.

Afterwards, we went out to dinner at Noodles & Co. and had a blast remembering experiences we had at the U Camp over the summer. I learned more than just useful tips for passing and receiving from this week's training session. I learned, or rather was reminded, that your mindset and attitude really make a difference in how much you enjoy something and how much you will learn from it.

The Comforts of Home

Before leaving on my cruise to South America, everyone always told me how great the food on cruise ships is.  They were right, the food was phenomenal, but no matter how good the food is, it's possible to get tired of buffet food and four-course meals.  Near the end of the cruise, I found myself craving simple things that I eat at home.  (Such as fruit, bread, crackers, and other simple yet delicious snacks!) This week I was happy to finally get to make and eat whatever food I wanted.  Trying new, gourmet food is great, but eating familiar foods can be even better.

One comfort food I had multiple times throughout the week was hot chocolate.  I was craving hot chocolate multiple times over break but never had any.  Plus, the climate differences between Buenos Aires and Park City are extreme, so the transition took me a while to get used to.

Thursday night, for once, I didn't have very much homework.  I decided to make a treat for my seminary class since the semester ended Friday and many people would be switching into a different class.  I made Rice Crispy Treats with Captain Crunch Berries in them.  Something my cousin often makes when we have family get-togethers.  My seminary class loved them and my family was very pleased when I had extras to bring home.

Rice Crispy Treats!

On Friday night, my mom and I were trying to think of creative dinner ideas involving chicken.  I know it's random, but it's true.  I found a recipe on For the Love of Cooking that looked fun and delicious so we decided to try it out.  We made chicken taco cups by putting tortillas in a muffin tin and putting the chicken inside.  It was delicious and is something I would like to try again in the future.

1. Butter the muffin tin and place small flour tortillas (cut in half) inside.

2. Put whatever kind of meat and cheese you want inside
3. Place in oven for about 15-20 minutes

4. Enjoy! (We ate them with salsa, guacamole, and tortilla chips)

We also had a beautiful fruit salad on the side

Eating any food I wanted whenever I wanted to was something that made my chaotic finals week just a little bit better.

Visit For the Love of Cooking for a more detailed recipe.

The Vacation of a Lifetime

As I've mentioned before, the Christmas season didn't feel quite right this year. I'm attributing that to the fact that I spent my entire Christmas vacation on a cruise in South America. Starting in Valparaíso, Chile, which is about two hours northwest of Santiago, and ending in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Everything about the cruise ship itself was new and different; living on a giant boat for two weeks takes some getting used to. As much as I liked being able to relax and have no worries whatsoever, my favorite part of the cruise experience was definitely the shore excursions and touring cities. 

We visited Santiago, Valparaíso, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, Stanley, Puerto Madryn, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires; it's easier to just say that we went to Chile, sailed around Cape Horn to Argentina, and stopped in the Falkland Islands and Uruguay as well. It is truly incredible to think about how far we travelled in such a short amount of time. I absolutely loved this vacation and everywhere we visited. Each city had something unique that defined it. I simply couldn't take enough pictures to capture the unique beauty of each city, but here are some pictures I took that basically show what we did in each port.

Santiago, Chile

The first city we toured was Santiago. Although we did many things, including visiting old churches and squares, the thing I enjoyed the most was viewing the city from the helicopter pad on top of the tallest building in Santiago. A friend of ours works in this building and took us on top.

Valparaíso, Chile

Valparaíso, Chile

The next city was Valparaíso, it was also where we boarded the cruise ship. The views in Valparaíso were breathtaking. My favorite things about this city were the colors, shapes, and alignments of the buildings. Most walls had graffiti, but it was more like art than what we see most of the time. We didn't have much time there, but it was really enjoyable to walk through the streets and learn about the city from our tour guide. Valparaíso was the first city in Chile.

Emerald Lake
Puerto Montt, Chile

Puerto Montt, Chile

Our first shore excursion was in Puerto Montt. We traveled by bus to Emerald Lake, named for its emerald-colored water, and went around the lake on a catamaran. The water is so blue because it is glacier water. The Andes mountains are rich with copper, so when the glaciers slide down the mountainside and cut into it, some of the copper is deposited into the water. Thus giving it its beautiful color.

Punta Arenas, Chile

Next we went to Punta Arenas, were we saw the Magellanic Penguins.

Ushuaia, Argentina

One of my favorite cities we visited was Ushuaia, also known as The End of the World because it is so far south. We took another catamaran and saw sea lions. This was really interesting and fun, but my favorite part about it was how beautiful the mountains looked from the water.

Stanley, The Falkland Islands

Since it was Sunday, we went to church while we were in Stanley. This was a really interesting experience because there are only about four active members of the LDS faith on the entire island, so our meeting was held in the branch president's house. We spent most of the day with his family because it was rainy outside and there wasn't much we could do.

Sea Kayaking
Puerto Madryn, Argentina

On New Year's Day, we went sea kayaking and saw sea lions again. It was really cool because they are very curious and will swim very close to your kayak.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Almost all the cities we went to had markets on the streets. I really enjoyed looking through the various markets in Montevideo.

Buenos Aires,  Argentina

We went to a cemetery while in Buenos Aires that was fascinating to walk through. All of the tombs were huge and cost thousands of dollars to construct. Cemeteries in South America are typically quite different from those in the United States.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation in South America trying new things, I was extremely happy to finally be back in the United States, getting back to a familiar lifestyle.