Journey Home

  I always imagined the last few days of my exchange being heartbreaking and terrible, but it turns out that the sadness comes in waves. You can hug your best friend goodbye feeling nothing other than lucky you had the pleasure of knowing her, but then randomly melt down when you realize you are walking down a certain street for the last time. Maybe this isn't how it works for everyone, but I am learning that this is how it works for me. 

Yesterday at 2:00pm I met up with a lot of friends in the bus terminal. They passed me letters and took pictures together and everything felt happy and light. The bus actually began driving away as we took our last group picture and we had to run to catch up hahaha. All of my friends wanted to go to the airport, but it's far away and expensive so I went with Manu, Rorro, and Paula. During the bus ride I talked to Paula while all of my other friends texted me sweet goodbye messages. There was a bit of traffic, so it took us a little longer than usual to get to the airport, but we had planned for that and had hours of spare time. When we arrived at the bus station, we all hauled all my heavy bags over to buy another bus ticket that would take me to the airport and then ran around buying Chilean treats I wouldn't be able to find in the US. Manu is the coolest kid ever and because he couldn't take me all the way to the airport, he rode the bus to Santiago with us just to "take me as far as he could" and then took another bus home to Rancagua right after! Saying goodbye to him wasn't difficult because we were all in just such good moods hahahah. It was weird! Before leaving, he handed me some Chilean chocolates and a Spanish grammar book that would answer the type of questions I am always asking him. It was the greatest gift and he knows me so well! I really love him. 

After that Paula and Rorro and I got on the bus to the airport. I seriously cannot stress how un-sad we all were! It felt so normal and I began getting excited about my journey home! I told them I was bummed to leave Chile because I know I will miss it a lot, but I had nothing to look forward to anymore other than seeing my family in the US again, so why not get happy about that?! None of us had any idea of what I needed to do at the airport, but we figured it out as a team! We printed my ticket and then went and test-weighed my bag because it looked very heavy. It was VERY heavy. Like $150 dollars worth of too-heavy. However my friends and I are little geniuses and decided to buy the cheapest little suitcase we could and distribute the weight. It worked and it was kind of hilarious sitting on the ground in public while throwing my clothes all over the place. The only downside to bringing another bag was that it meant I wouldn't be able to take my ukulele. I left it in the good hands of Paula and promised to come back for it in December hahaha. 

After all my bags were checked and ready, we still had about an hour before I needed to enter international security so we decided to go eat dinner in a restaurant. We laughed and had fun and it was seriously the best last meal I could have possibly eaten! 

After dinner we went downstairs and I hugged my beautiful friends goodbye. I knew I would miss them, but that made me happy because all I felt was how much I love them to pieces. I then took a deep breath and walked into security, and it was as simple as that. 

During my journey from Chile to the US I met many amazing people who helped me in a lot of ways. If it weren't for a man who pretended I was his daughter to let me get through security in the fast lane with the rest of his family, I would have missed my connecting flight! I got a lot of compliments on my blazer and I didn't sleep at all but I am having a good time hahahah. 

In 10 minutes I will arrive in SFO and hug my family for the first time in a year. Wow. It's really been a whole year, and what a great year it's been! I am such a lucky girl, and I know this little ending is just a big beginning in disguise. :) 

Big Day Thoughts

So today I guess I will be boarding the plane that will end my exchange. I feel very confused as I sit in my empty house that is usually filled with so many people. I finished packing up my last few things a few minutes ago, and now I don't really know what to feel. 

I feel lonely, mostly. I will go meet up with some friends in a few minutes and get a coffee or something and we will laugh and have fun but I still think I will feel a little lonely anyways. Today I will have to go to the airport in bus because my host family is in the South and my host family from before, well, Lilian is working and Manuel chose to teach classes during the hours I will be at the airport. I wish I could say I didn't care, that I have another family who would go no matter what if they could and friends who are going with me in bus (because both are true), but it actually hurts a lot that my first host family doesn't feel like they should take me to the airport. I know we had a few problems before, and I know that I am no longer their "responsibility", but I really love them a lot and I have all year and this makes me feel like they love me back a lot less. I lived with them for 8 months which makes them a huge part of my exchange, and it makes me sad that the year is ending like this. It makes me feel like all I really was to them was a responsibility that they no longer have to worry about. 

Times like this make me think about Anna, and all the ways I want to make her feel loved. I don't care what she is like, if we are completely different, or if we don't get along all the time. I am going to do everything possible to make her feel as loved as my second family and friends made me feel. Anna will be recieved at the airport with a thousand balloons and taken to the airport in the end with a million hahaha. 

I guess I am just sort of rambling on right now. 

This year has been an unforgettable one and it's making me feel all sorts of crazy emotions, but one thing I have always been here is happy. I'm happy now too, in some twisted silly way. :)

To Chiloe!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Chilean geography (which I'm guessing is the majority of you), Chiloe is an island in the far south of Chile. Chile is a long long country, so traveling always takes a while when you want to get to see the really cool parts. This last week my family gave me the opportunity join them on their winter vacation to Chiloe during my last week in Chile, and of course I said yes! The only thing was that they had plans to return on the 26th and my plane to the Us departs the  22nd so I had to return to Rancagua a few days early in bus. I was sooo excited to get to travel more in Chile! My first family didn't really like to leave the house much, but my second family had taken Alex on a 3 week long tour down into the south of Chile and she loved it. Now my host family tells me that they wish they had invited me along with Alex during the summer hahaha. That would have been nice, but I think it's even sweeter that they were planning another trip just so I could see a bit of the south before I left! 

We left Rancagua at like 10am on Wednesday and began the very long journey down to Chiloe. We stopped in Talca and had a nice lunch with our grandparents, and then continued south for many hours. At about 7pm one of the tires blew out as we sped along the freeway. I got very scared because Monse wasn't using a seatbelt and grabbed onto her with my life and she didn't even wake up hahaha. We got out of the car and fixed the tire. It took about an hour and a half, and my family wasn't even upset. They laughed and said they always had bad luck like this and I called it an adventure. 

After that little incident, I tried to sleep in the car. Cristobal and I were squashed into the back seat and it was kind of hilarious. We were soooo tired and we tried laying in like every position possible to mankind and just kept laughing because we couldn't feel our limbs and it was pathetic. We ended up just talking and after hours and hours of trying to sleep we finally did at like 6am. Two hours later we were woken up and told we had arrived. 

The place we stayed was called Curaco de Villes and it was a quiet little town with lots of sheep. It was rainy outside so I spent most of the four days cuddled up with my siblings and enjoying my last moments with them. My mom was down stairs cooking typical Chilote foods and laughing with the other moms. It was a mellow little half of a week, and I had a good time. I felt at home while hanging out with my family. My dad took me to see really old and famous churches on the island and then to a artisanal farmers market to buy a few things for my family in the US. 

This church is called the Iglesia de Achao and is made completely out of wood! It's hundreds of years old and very impressive. 

This one we saw at night and I just thought it was so lovely to look at all lit up with lights!

This is my host mommy and I being adorable. 

Family meal time!

On the way to drop me off at the bus station, we all cuddled up to eachother as close as we could. Everything felt still to me because I didn't feel like I could actually be saying goodbye to them. When we got out of the car, Monse wouldn't let go of me and hugged me as hard as she could. My entire family passed me letters they had written me to read on the plane. When the bus came and it was time to say goodbye, I felt sad because I wasn't crying. People always comfort so bees by saying "it's okay to cry it's nothing to be ashamed of", but that isn't my problem at all. When all I feel like doing is pouring out all the tears I have inside, I can't seem to shed a single one. I feel bad because I know it means a lot to other people to see you cry. It shows you care. I care about this family more than I care about almost anyone on my exchange, but I didn't cry until I was on the bus, and even then barely at all. Maybe I just feel lucky to meet them, or maybe my tears are saving themselves for another time and they really will eventually pour out of me. I don't know. All I know is this:

This family has done something to my heart that I hope will never ever be undone. They have truly shown me what it feels like to be accepted and loved in another country for everything I am, and to feel like I am worth all the love they have to give me. I feel at home with my three crazy siblings and I will miss our ticke fights and pillow wars. I feel like I have a mom who would fight for me through anything and who unconditionally loves me as one of her own. I feel like I have a father who knows so many things about the world and who works so hard and who is always eager to learn new things about me. I know I have a family here who will open their house to me and my future family even if it means sleeping with four people in a twin sized bed, and that they would be thrilled to do it. I love this family with everything I am, and I have always felt loved back, and that means a lot to someone like me. 

The bus ride to Rancagua was 17 hours long and I spent the first 6 hours of it reading "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" in SPANISH. I am proud of that because I downloaded it on my iPad months ago and tried to read it but it was too hard and now I understand every word! I have improved! :D

I tried sleeping but I can never sleep in buses. I tossed and turned for about to hours and then just gave up sleeping completely. I turned and realized my dad was awake in the seat next to me, and he smiled and said we only had a half hour left! WHAT?! Apparently my two hours was 8 hours. I was happy but still so sleepy. There was no comfortable way to sleep so I just sat back and waited out the next half hour feeling like a big lump of worn-out-ness. When we arrived in Rancagua, we walked the few blocks to our house and then I climbed into bed and fell asleep for a few hours and my host dad went to work. 

I am now off to the center to buy my last empanada and some Chilean candy for Stella. It's going to be a good day! 

All the Despedidas

This week has been full of goodbyes. 

I had my last day of school and my friends surprised me with a cake. It was delicious and everyone hugged me and made me feel very loved. During an assembly, the principal called me up on stage and gave me the school pin and flag. He said I had been a positive contribution to the school and that he can tell everyone will miss me. The pin is now on my blazer and I will surely hang the flag up in my room!

On Friday I went to a goodbye party Alex's friends threw for her. It was fun but I hated thinking about Alex leaving. I started feeling lonely but I had a pretty good time anyways. 

On Saturday night, Eduardo drove me up to Katie's house to say goodbye to her before she left for the airport. We passed eachother letters and then I hugged her and left. I wasn't feeling super sad until I started talking to Eduardo after. We went to get ice cream and were sitting in his car talking and I just began to cry. I cried because Katie was leaving and because Alex was leaving the next day and because I didn't want to say goodbye to anyone. He hugged me, which made me cry harder because I reallyyyy didn't want to say goodbye to him. We planned on that being our goodbye, but saying goodbye was too hard so we made plans for a few days later. When I got home, my family through a goodbye party for Alex and I and everyone came. I was tired and sobby like the entire night, and ended up going to bed early (at like three). Before going to bed, however, I enjoyed my last evening with Alex and ate a lot of desserts and joked around with my beautiful family. 

The next day I went to the airport to say goodbye to Alex. We almost didn't make it in time, because my family left super late, but we got there just in time to hug her one last time. It was painful watching Alex say goodbye and knowing I would have to do the same in one short week. 

Yesterday I went to Talca to say goodbye to Franco's family and I got to meet Robin, a German exchange student who had lived with them 2 years ago. We spent the day talking and eating yummy food and watching movies together. It was a simple goodbye, but an important one. I love that family a lot and I know I will see them again in the future. 

Today I have plans to meet up and have lunch with my friends from Coya and after that I will try to say goodbye to Eduardo again. Today is my last day in Rancagua, because tomorrow I will leave with my family to see the south of Chile. I am excited to go with them and have a few adventures in my last days here. I seriously can't believe this year has gone by so fast! 

I know this blog doesn't sound as bubbly as I usually do, but this stuff isn't very fun for me to write about. I am getting tired of saying goodbyes. I am still happy and I am not going to be depressed at home in the US or anything, it's just at some point I got tired of got tired of crying but realized I couldn't stop. 

The good thing is, I am going to make the most of my last days here. And I'm going to start right now! Bye. :)

School Swaps and a Big Surprise

This last week Alex and I decided to mix things up a little bit. We come from very different schools  and therefore live very different exchanges, so this week we decided to get an inside look on how the other lives on a day-to-day basis. We got permission from our teachers for me to go to school with her on Thursday and for her to come to school with me on Friday, and those two days ended up being very fun! 

On Thursday morning I got up and went to school with my siblings because they go to the same school as Alex. Alex's school, Instituto Ingles, is known for being one of the top schools in our city, and just from one day of visiting I could tell why! The school was huge compared to what I am used to, and I was kind of nervous because I didn't know anyone but I knew I'd be fine because I was with Alex. During the classes, the students were all very quiet and respectful and the teachers gave lectures in deep voices and everything felt very serious. However during the breaks, the students were fun and nice to talk to and it was great meeting all the people from Alex's stories! Her school was so organized and fancy and I had such a great day visiting! After school we met up with the other exchange students for the last time as a group. It probably should have been sad, but it wasn't. It felt so normal like nobody would go home and nothing would change. I think it will be a lot harder when we have to accept that we are all living in different countries and can't just take a taxi and meet up in the center for ice cream. At this point, however, I just feel numb. Happily numb, but still very numb hahahah. 

On Friday morning Alex and I went to my school together so she could see my exchange life. She was shocked at how incredibly small my school was. I would say that Colegio Quimahue is known for being the tiniest school, but because it's so little practically nobody knows it even exists hahaha! Alex really enjoyed her day there, though. She met all my friends (and I don't know how anyone could meet my friends and not fall in love with them as quickly as I did) and she got to see how we are kind of like a big family. A bunch of little kids came up and asked me if she was my sister hahahah and she was surprised that all the younger kids knew me. After school we went and at sushi for lunch with Paula and Helena and had a lovely time hehe. I eat a lot of sushi in this country...wow. 

Now for the BIG news:

On Saturday morning, my host mom recieved a call from a police officer saying that one of her son, Cristobal's, suitcases has been left behind in the airport. She was confused because Cristobal was supposed to arrive a week later, but soon realized that he had tricked her to come home a week early as a surprise. I had known about the surprise, and keeping it a secret was so hard! She had missed her baby boy soooo much and I just wanted to tell her but I never did. When she found out, though, she was furious! She stormed the house wanting to know who knew about the surprise and why nobody would tell her. My mom is one of those people who loves surprising others but dislikes being surprised herself hahaha. I sat her down and told her that the best thing she could do was get over herself and be happy! I told her she shouldn't be mad because she was going to see her beautiful boy again for the first time in a year and that if she wanted to surprise him we still had an hour! She told me that he loves lemon pie, so I agreed to make him one while she got ready and took a shower. I started to make the pie and then realized we didn't have butter, so I ran over to the jumbo. When I got back, he had already gotten home and was waiting for me in my room! 

Monse was probably the happiest to see her big brother again! Unfortunately, that didn't stop her from trying to tickle me to death for not telling her the big secret!

Cristobal's family loves him a lot and really missed him during this year. You could feel the house practically bursting with happiness and I was surprised at how much energy he had after such a long trip! I was so happy to see him after so long and he greeted me with a big bear-hug hahaha. He then went around town surprising all of his best friends at their houses while Alex (who had come over to the house after hearing the news) and I finished making the pie. We all sat down and had a big happy family lunch together that day and ate delicious food! 

After lunch, Cristobals friends and Alex and I all went to play a game of soccer. It was sooooooooooooooo amazing! I hadn't played in forever and it was just so so so fun! His friends are way better than me, but I actually scored a few goals and they were impressed because girls don't okay much soccer here  hahaha. It ended up being one of my favorite days of my exchange so far!

Seeing Cristobal get home makes me wonder about what it will be like for me. I mean I know it will be very different, for we are from two very different countries, but it's still comforting to see how grateful his family is to have him back! I know my family misses me and wants me home, and seeing his experience makes me look forward to going through the happy emotions he is experiencing. Leaving this country will be hard, but going home is just another part of the experience, and my plan is to make the best of that part of my exchange. 

Sooo yeah! We are all pretty happy over here! Freezing, but happy hahahha. I love this family and this country and this year so much. :)

Friends, Food, and Chocolate Fights

This last week went by really slow and really fast at the same time. It is very very cold in Chile now, and I am almost always shivering no matter what I am wearing. I don't remember it being do cold when I got here, but I guess I just didn't pay attention to it that much. I had a lot of distractions, maybe. Now I am absolutely freezing alllll the time and it's almost annoying hahaha. I want to slap cold in the face and just be like "no I have had enough of you just stop."

This week I went to crossfit for the last time in Chile. I had a good workout, and I was surprised that the crossfitians were actually bummed about seeing me go. The owners of the gym hugged me goodbye and sayed they were glad they met me and that I am good at crossfit and that they wish me well in life. It was cool for me that I had made connections even just by joining a gym!

On Friday I invited Paula, Fran, and Helena over to my house to make Oreo bonbons. I had never before invited a Chilean over to my new house because all my new friends live so far away! I was kind of nervous about being a good host, but we ended up having a great time. Actually, Paula and Momse began a chocolate fight in the kitchen because they said I need to loosen up when I cook. It's true, I get a little stressy when I try to cook with other people (or mostly just Monse because she doesn't do the whole "listening to people" thing very well hahaha). I might have gotten mad at them, but I love them all so much and chocolate tastes good so what's wrong with having it stuck in your eyebrows, right? Hahahaha. After making the dessert we called my mom and Molly so that my friends could meet my family. My family soon discovered how adorable my friends are, and my friends loved getting to know my mom and sister after hearing so much about them! I live for these little connections. 

After skyping them we skyped Hugh and that was even funnier! It was interesting watching them try to communicate and I wish they could all just meet in person! Maybe someday! 

(Helena, Paula, and Fran took some selfies on my iPad)

After a huge tickle fight my friends went home and I spent the rest of the weekend with my family. During the Chile game, Juliana and I were messaging eachother a lot and we were both so nervous! When Chile lost in penalties, all of Chile was pretty bummed out, but I was happy they had played so well. I was honestly impressed by how everything played out, and I'd say that if Chile had to loose, that was the absolute BEST way I have ever seen a team lose a football match! 

GO CHILE

This week Alex and I did something that I am extremely proud of. As many of may or may not know, I have had many problems with Rotary in Chile this year. The other exchange students and I have felt betrayed, unsupported, and abandoned by our clubs this entire year and we felt that something needed to be said. Alex speaks Spanish phenomenally and felt very strongly about this, so she decided to give the presentation. I was shy and didn't want to complain about anything at first, but then I was thinking about it and realized that of we didn't tell them how we felt, all the future exchange students were going to have the exact same experiences and that wouldn't be okay. Alex and I put on our bravest faces and walked as two teenage girls into a room filled with powerful middle-aged men to offer our not-so-pleased personal opinions in a second language. Alex had prepared her presentation and I went to support her and show them that she wasn't only speaking for herself. You guys couldn't possibly understand how amazing Alex is. She walked up there and spoke like the President. She spoke with grace, patience, and respect the entire time. The point we were making was that we have had the most amazing and wonderful years, but they were good because we made them that way. We were trying to express that we felt like they didn't care about us and that they should show more interest in the kids that leave everything they know to come overseas and represent their countries and learn about other cultures. These Rotarians didn't know our names or anything about us before we walked into that meeting, and we have been living here for over 10 months! During the end of the presentation, the Rotarians began to interrupt her and say things that were kind of attacking her and not letting her respond to her comments. They said that no exchange student has ever complained before and that they aren't interested in the program or getting to know us. Alex and I were feeling a little hurt but then one Rotarian stood up and said that even if he had to do it alone, he promised to get to know the new exchange students who will arrive in August. In the end we may have only changed a few minds, but even that felt like a great success. We didn't want to offend anyone, just protect the future exchange students from the unfortunate experiences we had had with our Rotary club, and to some extent I think we did that. 

That same day, Chile beat Spain in the Mundial! All of Chile was practically screaming. Cars where honking and I swear all of Chile was jumping out of joy! Alex and I got into my host moms car in red Chilean soccer jerseys and stood up through the sun roof with a Chilean flag and screamed and celebrated with all the Chileans as we drove through downtown Rancagua. It was probably one of my favorite moments of my exchange and I will remember it forever! 

Later in the week I went over to Alex's house to spend the night and visit my old family. Manuel was off in Curico visiting his father, but Alex and Lilian and I all had tea together and then Lilian and I did some catching up while Alex wrote some weird essay about the chemistry of potatoes or something. It was nice to sit in the old kitchen of my old house with my adorable little host mom again. I miss the Onces in that house so much so I made sure I enjoyed every bite! 

I have spent this entire weekend lounging around with my host siblings and being lazy. It's freezing outside, and when it isn't freezing it is pouring rain so we are happy to sit inside with hot chocolate and cuddle and watch movies. I spend a lot of time at home now, but it's okay because I never feel lonely. I see my friends at school and sometimes have lunch with them but I spend a lot of time with family now. In this family, I love spending time in the house, cooking delicious meals, and just feeling comfortable and like I belong. :)

Goodbye Katie Ward

This week I had to say goodbye to one of my closest exchange friends, Katie Ward. In Rancagua there are two Katie's whom I love very very much and I hated having to say goodbye to one of them so early. All the Rancagua kids are very close, so we kind of made her goodbye a week long thing. On Tuesday night we went over to her house to eat pizza and hang out and then on Wednesday we all took a trip to Santiago together. Before getting on the bus, however, we got into our matching Rancagüino hoodies and had a photo shoot for the last time we would all be together. 

We spent the day roaming around the markets in Santiago, having a nice lunch, and going ice skating. It was a beautiful day and we all took away some great memories!

On Saturday morning we all met at Katie's house to say one final goodbye. I went over there with the expectations of crying and crying but it didn't end up bing that way. Sitting in her house felt so normal, and even right now I still feel like I could take a Santa Teresa micro to her street and eat peanut butter with her while watching movies. Katie and I have very different personalities, but she has been such an important part of my exchange. During the summer when we never seemed to have any plans, we would always find eachother and then figure out ways to have fun. She was the shoulder I cried on when I found out I had to switch schools and has been ther for me this entire year even though she may not have wanted to hahahah. Arizona isn't that far away from California, but I am going to miss our days together in Chile. It's a good thing we have millions of hilarious memories to look back on, and I know we will make some more in the future. 

We call this picture "Katie Gets Thrown off the Island" or "And Then There Were Five." 

I love Katie a lot. I know I will see her again and I know there is Skype and I know I am lucky to love someone enough to miss them like I will miss her, but I will still miss annoying her and our jokes and just everything about our in-person friendship. 

Another Happy Little Semana :D

Oh my goodness guys! This past week was absolutely amazing for two reasons: I am in love with my host family and my Chilean friends are the most delightful people ever. Nothing super special happened this week, but it was just a super happy week and I had such a fun time living it hahaha. 

This week was filled with a bunch of little silly moments that I will probably sound ridiculous for telling you about, but I don't want to forget them, so I am going to write them out anyways. 

On Tuesday I went to crossfit alone because nobody else wanted to go with me because it was pouring rain and freezing outside. I however, was determined to get a good workout so I bundled myself in about a million jackets and stepped out into the stormy Chilean night. It was dark outside before I even began my journey to the gym, and because of all my clothes I probably looked like a fat man waddling down the street so a lot of cars splashed me as they drove by leaving me pretty wet with rain water. I shook it off and continued because I'm tough hahahah. I arrived at crossfit eventually and did my workout, but the journey home was even crazier. The rain had stopped and was able to catch a taxi pretty quickly. The ride was normal but when I went to get out, I stepped ankle deep into a muddy puddle. Embarrassed, I hurried to try and close the door and walk away and that is when I slipped and landed pretty much face first in the puddle! The taxi drove away and I got up all muddy and soaked and flustered. I was appalled at what just happened, and didn't even know what to think of myself. That's when I looked down at my feet and just started laughing. I probably looked like a crazy person, standing there in the gutter all dirty and drenched and just laughing, but I didn't care. I laughed because I never ever imagined I would find myself in a foreign country alone, standing in the rain, completely soaked, completely pathetic, and completely happy. What was there to be upset about? My day could only get better from that point and the only thing I had in my near future was a warm meal and my family waiting for me down the street. I like that I found a way to smile in that moment, because if I could find a way to be happy during little experience, I have faith I will be able to be happy no matter what life throws my way! When I got to my house, Maxi opened the door to a wet-puppy-looking freezing cold Sally and was super worried. He brought me a jacket and some warm slippers and told me I should shower hahah. My brother takes care of meee! He is the cutest. While I was in the shower he even put my wet shoes by the fire so they would dry! 

On Thursday Alex went to crossfit with me for the first time! She loved it but she doesn't want to pay to actually go as often as I do hahah. Still it was fun going with her and we had a lot more luck with our travels there than I had on Tuesday hahahha! 

This week I learned something in chemistry! I don't even know what I learned, but I learned it the day before the test and actually ended up taking a chemistry test! I was so excited because I love learning things and I wanted to show my teacher that even though I understand nothing in her class, she still matters to me. Also, now I can say I took a chemistry test in Chile! I don't know who I would ever end up telling that to, but I still like saying it hahah. 

I don't know why I am putting this in my blog, but Paula came to school with this little stuffed animal heater hanging out of her jacket like a little Joey in a pouch and it was so adorable that we took about five million pictures with it. What was even cuter though, was that the day after I ran up to her to show her that I had made the picture the wallpaper on my phone and she pulled out her phone to show me she had already done the same hahahah. So cute :D

Paula, Fran, and I have a whatsapp group now called "the bad girls" and it is seriously the most hilarious thing  you could ever read. It's mostly them trying to talk to me in English and then a series of Chilean and American cuss words jumbled together, but it is amazing. I promise. :)

This weekend Eduardo messaged me on Saturday morning saying that he had come back early from the Air Force Academy and that we had to hang out. He gave me about an hour to get ready, and then he came and picked me up and took me over to his house to have sushi with his family. His stepmom talked the ENTIRE time and she is the most hilarious person ever. We seriously had an entire lunch conversation about the pros and cons of fake boobs and I was trying so hard to control my laughter the entire time! 

After lunch I went home and my mom, sister, and I went to Santiago so I could meet the rest of their family. It was fun driving down there as just us girls hahahha. It reminded me of my road trips with my mom and Molly, just a lot less weird hahah. When we got to Santiago  and I finally met the family I instantly fell in love. They are all such warm and inviting people and I felt right at home right away. I recieved a lot of hugs and compliments on my "gringa smile" and I felt very content all weekend. We spent the night there and on Sunday on the way home, we stopped and ate completos in a gas station on the way home at like midnight on a school night because people in only need about 3 hours of sleep every night hahaha. 

That is about all that happened this week. It was a simple little week, but definitely a good one. I am so happy in this little country :)

Supermarkets and Goodbyes and Manu and Roses

This past week was kind of really fun because I had barely any school. From a combination of Rotary events and tests I didn't have to take, I spent the majority of the week hanging out with exchange students, Chilean friends, and family. It was a nice week. :)

On Wednesday I spent the afternoon with my friend Manu writing about a million essays. By a million essays, I mean we had to do a group project and then he helped me write one essay. I just want to take a moment to express how deeply grateful I am to have a friend like Manu. He sits next to me in class everyday and is always always there for me and all of my questions. This boy is a genius, but he is also one of the best people-persons I have ever met. Our conversations never bore me and he is used to all of my silly habits and tolerates me anyways. Manu is just someone who I feel like meeting made me a better person, and I could honestly see him being the president of Chile someday. I mean, I would vote for him! I am going to miss this kid too much, but I was more than lucky to even get to know him in the first place. 

(Unfortunately the only picture we have together...)

On Friday I met up with the other exchange students to take a bus to Santiago for a rotary goodbye party. We left at noon and spent the day riding the metro, eating rose flavored ice cream, and enjoying eachothers lovely company. I used to be afraid to hang out with exchange students too much, but in these last weeks I have with them, I try to cherish every minute that I get to spend with them as a group. It's so hard, now, to not think about all the goodbyes and to just disfute the last happy days have left with eachother. The party ended up being really boring, but it was nice to see everyone of course. 

These days I have found myself feeling very tired. I still have thirty-something days left in this amazing country, and I am so happy to be here and I love it so much, but the goodbyes seem to be silencing me a little too early. I get so confused when I think about leaving, and I know I shouldn't think about it so much, but when I don't it's still there pressuring the back of my mind. I don't know. Hahahaha. 

Today I went to the supermarket with my host mom for the first time, and wow! Chileans live so differently from one another. While my old family went to the supermarket everyday, my new family goes once a month and buys everything for the huge family. We had three carts filled to the rim and spent over three hours looking at food. Luckily, I had Monse to entertain me and ended up running into some friends from Coya, which was soooo nice because I miss them now more than ever. 

This seems like an ubrupt way to end a blog post, but I am very tired and have a chemistry test tomorrow. Goodnight! Bye!

Feverish but Happy

This past week wasn't that exciting, but it was a week in Chile and a week of my exchange so of course I loved it anyways! It's so weird that I have so little time left, but I'm not even going to think about that. I'm just going to enjoy every second like it's my last until it actually is. 

This week I spent most of my days in bed with a fever. Well, three days, but still that's kind of a lot. Wednesday was a holiday in Chile because of some naval battle in Iquique a trillion years ago, so Tuesday my friends and I decided to go out dancing! I went with some friends from the grade below me, and I don't know all of them very well so I was kind of nervous. When we got to he club thing, Alex and Louis ended up being there and I was soooo happy! Alex and I danced for a really long time and laughed and sang the songs at the top of our lungs! It was amazing! In the morning, well, this happened:

After that I was home sick until Friday evening, when I went to an exchange students goodbye party in Talca. My family and I had plans to spend the whole weekend in Talca, so it kind of worked out perfectly. I still felt a little sick, so I only stayed until midnight and then my dad came and got me. He took be to my grandparents house which turned out to be one of the favorite houses I have been to. It is small and colorful and there isn't any wifi. There were 7 of us staying there and only two bedrooms and two dogs were running around the house the whole time, but it just really felt like family there. I really like this family and it's just so easy to fit in here. I felt comfortable and relaxed and that is so amazing because I have been loving with them for such little time! 

Saturday night I went to my first Chilean baptism party. My little cousin was getting baptized, and afterwards they through a big party where everyone danced all night long! I had a headache, and my dad was sad that I wouldn't dance with him because I didn't feel well, but they understood and let me go with the promise that I would for sure dance next time. I would totally dance with these people! Instead I sat conversing with my new Chilean cousins. One of them is named Javi and she is 15 and we talked almost all night long hahah. She pretty much knows my life story by now and I know all about her. It was a great weekend but I am glad to be home! :)

Día de Alumno y la Gala de la FACH

I was going to blog on Saturday night, and then I was going to blog on Sunday morning, but then I forgot and decided to blog on Sunday night. Well it's Monday night now, but I still remember the amazing things that happened to me this past week and OF COURSE I have to share them with you! 

Last Friday was Chile's "Dia de Alumno" or "Students' Day." This holiday is celebrated like Mothers Day or Fathers Day, but instead the students are honored by the entire country and all the teacher put on shows at school while about parents make us big classroom brunches. 

The day started with a big classroom brunch where we all sat a put decorated tables in our classroom and ate delicious foods and cake. 

After eating, we played "Amigo Secreto" which is like secret Santa but without Christmas. I had to get a gift for a boy in my class, so I made him Oreo Bon Bons and a card and he loved them!

Paula had to give me a gift and what she gave me was exactly what I would have chosen out of all the gifts in the class: a letter. I know it might sound lame, but I have begun loving letters so much more than actual presents. I like words and I love when people form messages out of words just for me, and especially in Spanish! Paula made me a huge heart shaped card filled with a very long and sweet message and I loved it so much it is hanging on my bedroom wall!

After the brunch we went down to the courtyard to watch the teachers but on a show for us. It was absolutely hilarious! The teachers wore all sorts of wacky costumes and I was almost crying I was laughing so hard hahahaha! 

After the teachers show, one of the most beautiful things ever happened to me! I was told our whole senior generation was going to gather and take a group picture together. We all got in a big circle so that a teacher could take our picture from the balcony. We were waiting to take the picture when a bunch of people shouted for me to go into the center of the circle. I didn't understand what was going on, but I did it anyways. They them told me to start spinning in circles, which was even weirder, but I did that too! I spun about 10 circles giggling while everyone counted aloud my number of circles until they told me to stop. When I regained the focus in my vision, I saw a girl in my class holding up a Chilean flag that every single senior in my school had signed for me! I almost started to cry it was so sweet! They then ran in and gave me a big group hug! I haven't been alive for long, but that was certainly one of the happiest moments of my life so far. I later found out that it had been Lilian's idea and that she had brought the flag to school and told them to make me some sort of special moment. It was such a special moment. Best first host mom ever hahahah :D

That night, Alex and I went with Eduardo and his friend to their Air Force Ball. It was so much fun and we danced a lot and just had a good time together. Anywhere I go with Alex or Eduardo I am sure to have an outstanding time though, so I shouldn't have been so surprised! 

That's all I have really done! Today I went to crossfit for the second time and I am totally loving it. I completely ate dirt doing box jumps and was hunched over thinking I had ruptured every internal organ in my body for a few minutes, but after that I was fine and I finished the workout with nothing more than a bruise the size of Saturn on my left knee. Good night everyone!

Senior Hoodie

 Oh my goodness! Today I experienced one of the most touching things I have gone through on this exchange. 

As some of you might know, I had to change schools during the Chilean summer and it was pretty hard on me. I had an amazing group of friends in my old school who I love a lot and was devastated to have to leave behind. I was afraid of having to be the new girl again (which is a million times harder in Spanish, trust me) and I had doubts about my abilities to connect with my new classmates as well as I did with my old ones. I have only been going to my new school for a little over a month now, but I am glad to announce that in that amount of time I have met some pretty awesome people, experienced some pretty hilarious days, and have found a million reasons to be happy at Colegio Quimahue. Don't get me wrong; all that I have stated above is really nice, but what happened today changed everything for me and I just have to share it with all of you. 

This morning I walked into class and everything felt completely normal. The teacher got to class and began teaching a lesson. In the middle of the lesson, my friend Rocio walked up and whispered something to the teacher, who stepped away to give Rocio the classes attention. I was waiting for her to begin announcing something about school or a project, but instead she looked at me with a big smile and told me to come join her in front of the class. I was completely caught off guard and got super nervous, which apparently showed on my face because everyone around me started laughing and telling me not to worry and that I want in trouble. When I got to the front of the class, Rocio turned to me and began saying the sweetest things. She told me she spoke for the whole class when she said that she was delighted about how in such short time I have become such an important attribute to Cuarto Medio B, and that everyone appreciated having me around. She then told me that since I am one of them now, they wanted to show me how much that means to them, and at that moment my friend Manuel came up to me with a wrapped gift. The class started cheering for me to open it, and when I did, my heart practically melted to the floor. I pulled out the blue class hoodie embroidered with everyone's names on it and put it on immediatly! Everyone cheered and I loved the gift so much but the emotion left me at loss for Spanish vocabulary so I put my hands on my heart and just said "muchas gracias" a lot. This gift made me feel like a true member of my classroom, and the idea that they thought of me as one of them made me want to cry a little bit. :,)

The hoodies in Cuarto Medio are a Chilean tradition in most schools. Each class has it's own hoodie with everyone's names on it with little doodles that someone in the class usually draws. My class had made their hoodies over the summer before anyone knew me, before I even had an idea I would be changing schools. Before today, everyday all of my class except for me would wear their adorable matching hoodies and I would stand out a bit. I had always wanted one of the hoodies, but at first I felt silly asking about them because I didn't want to pry myself into the class or anything, and after a while I just sort of accepted that I wouldn't own one. Little did I know, all my classmates had gotten together my first week of school and decided to get me one in secret. They had all chipped in to raise the money for it, and then set up this elaborate plan of how to keep it a secret between them, the lady who makes the hoodies, and the head teacher of our class. They had a bunch of plans for if I came close to finding out, and even made a chat group for talking about it on Facebook! 

It might seem like I am a bit overexcited about such a little thing that happened, but for me this meant a lot. It meant that my dear classmates cared about making me feel cared about before they even really knew me. It meant that I was a part of the class before I had any idea they wanted me there, and most importantly the words Rocio used told me that they believed they had made the right decision and that they care about me even more now. Tomorrow I will go to school in my hoodie, and other than my height, skin tone, freckles, blonde hair, and blue eyes, I will look exactly like everyone else in my class! 

Today was an amazing day and I am absolutely in love with my class. If any of you are practicing your English by reading this, thank you so much for making me feel this way. I love all of you.