Hillside Reflections

by Matthew Johnson

Disclaimer: this story is not meant to scare anyone or to cause concern. This is merely a reflection on a night where God was watching over two of us on this trip.

Daniel and I did not mean to be in this situation, but because of our lack of cultural knowledge, we put ourselves in a very interesting position. Being the adventuresome group we are, a few of us decided to walk up to the top of San Cristóbal late one night. San Cristóbal is a very large hill close to our apartments. When we got to the top, around 1:30 am, Daniel and I decided to sleep out in the forest on the side of the hill. By 3:30 am, Daniel and I had our hammocks set up, and we were ready for a good night's sleep. We slept for a few hours and then made the trek back down to the apartment the next morning without a care in the world.

Unbeknownst to us, this is one of the most dangerous parts of Santiago after dark. The next day in class, our Spanish teacher, Marcelo, laughed at us and told us that we were lucky to have come out of that forest unscathed. While Daniel and I certainly have a story to tell, there were definitely some eyes watching over us that night.