The Actual Graduation

I just had one of those weekends that makes the week before it hard to remember. I am going to try to sum everything that happened up, but I have been having such a good time this summer that it is hard to choose what I should write about because writing about everything would take way too long! I spent a lot of this week worrying about what I was going to do about not having anything to wear to the graduation. My Chilean friends told me that it is a very elegant occasion and that all the girls spent a ton of money on their dresses; like prom. I, however, being Sally, decided that I didn't want to spend my money on a dress that I was going to wear for just one night, and found a $20 dollar pretty black dress in a store that everyone here thinks is super lame hahaha. I was happy to have this dress, but I really needed shoes. I wanted to find pretty gold heels and I big gold necklace because the dress was so plain. I frantically looked all over Rancagua for these shoes but I couldn't find them anywhere! The next morning I woke up and realized that graduation was in two days and I began to panic. At 9am I called Katie Ward, another exchanger in Rancagua, and woke her up to ask her to get on a bus with me in an hour to go to Santiago and look for shoes. She said yes. She wanted to help me! I had barely known Katie before the South Trip and even on the trip we didn't talk much, but she was willing to cancel her plans, rush out of bed, and spend money on public transportation just to help me out. It amazes me how many unforgettable people I have met in these past four months and Katie Ward is definitely one of them. I'm so lucky to have her as a friend! We went up to Santiago where some other exchangers met us in the mall. We looked around for shoes but everything was so expensive so we ended up just eating frozen yogurt and drinking Starbucks and talking hahaha.

 Katie and I stayed the night at another exchangers house and then hung out with her at her pool the next day in the early afternoon. Later, we took a bus back to Rancagua where my parents were waiting for us at the terminal. We dropped Katie off near her house and then my parents asked about the shoes. I had forgotten to worry because I had been having so much fun! It was 8pm at night and the next day was the graduation! My parents told me that they knew of a shop and drove me there because apparently they enjoy saving my life. We walked in to this tiny little store and I actually found some adorable little golden heels! I was stoked! It got even better when my parents told me they were buying them as one of my Christmas gifts! I am such a lucky girl. 

The day of the graduation I woke up without any jewelry to go with my shoes and dress. I worked out, took a shower, and took a cab over to the mall to try and find something. Right when I walked into the mall, I ran into my friend Cami and her cousin. I told them what I was looking for and they got super girly and excited and wanted to help me. I was grateful because I know nothing about putting together outfits and I am completely lost without Molly's fashion skills down here in South America. We found a black dress that looked like mine and Cami and her cousin waited and watched as I tried on atleast 23 different golden necklaces until enventually we found one that we all liked. I turned it over to look at the price and realized it was a $30 necklace! I was just going to buy it out of desperation, but Cami looked me in the eye and told me she would find me the perfect necklace, so I decided to trust my friend and we continued looking.  We walked outside where we found an old woman selling handmade jewelry. She had a gorgeous golden necklace on display and Cami convinced me to try it in. It was perfect and lovely but I was afraid it would be expensive. We asked the lady how much it costed and she told us $15 dollars! I was super shocked. I think the lady saw the sock on my face because she quickly began to try and calm me down. She told me "Don't worry! It's not that expensive because it comes with earrings too!" It was so awesome! I bought a necklace and earrings for half the price of the other necklace. I alps spotted some bracelets in her little stand and decided to get some of those too to enhance the outfit or whatever. 

After that little adventure I returned to my house for a quick lunch before my dad drove me to get my hair cut. That was pretty scary, guys! We arrived at the "salon" which was actually some woman's house in what I am pretty sure was the ghetto of my city. This lady cut my hair in her living room and the entire time I was worried I had asked for something other than what I wanted in Spanish! The lady cut my hair and then straightened it for me. She did an amazing job straightening, I must say. My hair felt so healthy and happy! I then returned to my house and put on all my fancy prom stuff. Bayron and his parents came by the house and picked me up! We drove out to the countryside and arrived at this beautiful mansion where all his classmates and their families and dates were strolling around outside and drinking juice and champagne. There was a professional photographer who was taking pictures as we entered. I would use those photos but I have no idea where they are hahaha. They had a beautiful ceremony and then we all ate dinner in a beautiful dining room. After dinner and dessert, the parents left and we all partied all night in the mansion hahah. Everyone was dancing and talking and celebrating that they were finally done with high school. It was like MORP and PROM at the same time, except better because it was free and prettier. I ended up spending most of the night talking to my friend Pipe who was there because his brother was graduating. We talked in English because when it gets late my Spanish doesn't make any sense. It was cool talking to him because I had no idea his English was practically perfect! He said he was too shy to speak in English before so he had never tried but I was impressed hahah. 

(I didn't take very many pictures before the party but I have these ones!)

Baryon's parents took me home where I collapsed in my bed and was woken up at 3pm for lunch. After lunch I went back to sleep until about 9pm. I got up, changed into daytime clothes, ate dinner with my family, and then went out to another party. This party was at my friend Javiera's house and was a sleepover for the entire Junior class that was organized by the parents. It was so much fun! We ate snacks and talked and swam until the next morning. We got a few hours of sleep and woke up to Javi's mom making breakfast for everyone! It was so sweet of her to take such great care of us! I got a ride home with Cami and then slept all afternoon. At dinner that night, I realized that by some miracle, I hadn't gotten sick after barely sleeping at all durning the weekend and wondered why I don't hang out with friends more. But a few minutes later, it occurred to me that I had sort of missed talking with my parents during the few meals I had missed while being out with friends. I decided that it's all about balance and that it is important for me not to forget that. I think that was a good thing to realize right before Christmas and New Years. I really do have an amazing life here in Chile and a gigantic part of that is because my host parents trust me, love me, and want me to have an great year here while still being safe. 

In other news, my haircut now sort of makes me look like a poodle who somehow got a hold of a hair dryer..

Whatever. Hahahah. 

I love you all! Please have a very merry Christmas. :)