so much to write about......

HELLOOOOOO!

So I feel like things to write about just keep piling and piling up!  I keep a list of topics to write about on my blog and it just keeps getting longer and longer!  So much to share!  I think I have to realize that, well, I can't tell it all!  I'll try to tell you all the best, most interesting, things, ok?! :)

Have you all heard about the Miners here in Chile???  Basically, 33 miners are trapped inside a mine!  For more than 2 weeks we didn't know if they were alive or not!  On Monday, they sent up a note saying that the were in the Emergency Refuge in the Mine!  Thank the Lord!  They still don't know how they're going to get them out though...and it's going to be until DECEMBER until that happens.  CRAZY!  It's on the TV and all over the news everyday!  Click on the link to find out more: After 17 days, trapped Chilean miners send note they're alive. 

I was checking out my university's website and look what I've found: CLICK HERE.  I'm one of 279 international students....and I got in a picture!  (I'm on the far right in a white jacket with glassy eyes..hehe!)

ALSO....I've joined the basketball team...and made it on the website yet again!  Click the link to check it out and to see a picture of the team: our mascot is a sea horse! HAHA!  It's not the university's team, by the way.  It's just an intramural type team of foreigners.  Each "carrera" (or "major") has a team, so all the extranjeras (foreigners) get put on a team.  My only advantage: my height!!! hahahaaaaa!  Thanks Dad and Stephen, for the quick pointers!  They really helped!

Here is another link to a cool video about University Life in Valparaiso/Viña del Mar.  It's in Spanish AND English and it gives a pretty good look at the cities and the university.  :)

So far I've been going kind of link crazy in this post, but it's because I've been finding things and saving them! 

Here are some pictures to help explain what I've been up to lately:

I've been eating...a ton! like usual! right? This here is an EMPANADA de queso (of cheese!) and side of lettuce! hahaha

I got my Chilean ID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm so legit! (good American slang usage right there! yeah boii!---hard to translate to Spanish.)

El Congreso Nacional en Valparaiso! We also got a tour of the inside of it, but I won't bore you with those pictures.

CHILE! (p.s. you can assume that's me, right?)

My chilean sisters!  Ingrid, in the colors, and Sonia, in blue.  This was at Sonia's baby shower.  They play silly games here too!

Me, Sonia, and Osy (my host mom) on the couch together opening presents.

Riding the Funicular up to Cerro San Cristobal in Santiago.

Cool pic with the track in the background!

La Virgen on the top of San Cristobal.

She looks so tiny so far away....but when you get up close--she's giant!

Pretty Andes! Got smog? That entire gray mess is definitely not a giant storm cloud hovering over the city.

View of Santiago. Or...Santiasco!

This past weekend we went to Isla Negra! SOO beautiful and tranquil!

The group of us that went...on the beach! I just wish it was warm...again!

Got crab leg? Got it up your nose? I do.

Sun set!

Here's some evidence....it's spring here! FINALLY! YAY!

Alrighty, all, I must get going as I'm super tired.  I'll try to to post again during the week as it will be less busy than the last!  Hasta luego!!!!!!

P.S. I updated the last post with some more pictures and captions....so if you didn't already, go back and check them out!!!!! :)

MUA!

shoes, colectivos, classes, TP, supermercado, stoplights, cachai?

Hello everyone!

Soooo...in this post I'm going to tell you about some of the interesting things I've found/experienced here in Chile so far.  [Thanks, Bekah, for the "go-ahead" on this one!]

First off: shoes.  It's so hard to find shoes my size here!  Silly me didn't bring enough shoes thinking that I could buy them here.  Yeah...I should have looked to Mexico for that answer.  Just like in Mexico...they don't have big feet here, therefore...rarely carry big shoe sizes.  It's winter here, so I went shopping for boots--nicer, "city" boots.  They're not that expensive here either, so I thought it would be a good thing to buy.  Yeah, no.  I'm size 40 here...soooo...that's rare!  I decided to vote no to the boots and look for Converse instead.  Those I know they'll be comfortable and fit...except they're expensive here!  dang!  I ended up buying the Converse as my feet were dying with blisters and they were getting desperate.  Now, I own a pair of black Converse that I wear everyday on my now, happy feet.

This is the only picture that show's my shoes....plus it's a funny picture!  This was taken in Santiago at an altar.  I'm supposed to be "giving away" Nina to her new husband, Beatrice. 

Ooops! I found another picture of my new shoes!  Bekah, I'm leaving the other picture on my blog with it's comment so you can have a little giggle.

Colectivos:  They're all black cars and have little light up signs on the tops of them with where their route goes.  It's kind of hard to see in this picture, because the pole is in the way...but it's the only picture of a colectivo that I have.  (Also...the red and white bus is a micro...for your information.)

This is across the street from my apartment!

Here's a funny story.  Colectivos are taxis that run a specific route and you pay a set rate.  I got in a colectivo one day to go to class and slammed the car door...too hard.  Oops!  The doors on the colectivos are soooo easy to slam compared to the very easily jarred doors in America.  The driver gave me a lecture about closing the door nicely and I apologized and tried to tell him that I didn't know and that I didn't mean it.  Theeeen....a few days later I get in another colectivo and slam the door again!  Double oops!  I cringe, apologize, and wait for the driver to turn around and lecture me again.  Well...without further a due, the driver turns around and it's the SAME guy!  He recognizes me and gives it to me straight AGAIN.  This time almost the whole ride.  So, I've learned my lesson, twice. 

Classes: My first week of classes was, well, absent.  The students absent.  The professors absent.  My first class of the week, NONE of the Chilean students showed up to class!  The professor was just as confused as me and the other gringa were.  She did her little presentation and we got out super early, since we couldn't do everything she had planned.  She also told us to come an 1hr 45min late to the next class, as she will have to explain the same stuff again to the Chileans.

TP: The toilet paper is just one big roll outside of the stall.  In other words, they don't have TP in each stall.  That is, IF they even have TP AT ALL.  Most restaurants/bar/etc. don't have TP in the bathroom...therefore, you carry your own!  OR if you're brave enough, you can ask a worker for napkins/TP. hehehe 

My friend, Nina...showing us how it's down in style.

Supermercado: Supermarket.  I went with my host mom, Sonia, after church on Sunday.  It was pretty much the same, except...since we don't have a car...and we had TONS of heavy bags....the bag boy followed us to our house! hahah! instead of just helping us to the parking lot (which they don't have, cuz it's a city)...he pushed the cart full of our groceries about three blocks to our apartment complex.  Interesting...

Stoplights: Better yet, the cross walk lights.  Here's a pic to explain:

Note: "Tiempo espera verde peatonal" basically means, "Time to wait until the pedestrian can cross."  Did you catch that?  Instead of having time left in order for you to finish crossing...they have the time that you need to wait until you can start crossing.  It's backwards!  Can someone please explain to me how this is helpful?!  Because I can't figure it out!  Also, most lights don't even have the time...just like in the States.  Another difference is that instead of the "red stop light" flashing to warn you...the "green go light" flashes.  Backwards, yet again!  When you should stop and wait...it's like the green little walking guy is encouraging you to go across the street anyway....instead of like in the states where there's a flashing red hand telling you to beware.
 
Cachai?: This is just one of the many Chilenismos used here...and it cracks me up!  It's so fun to say!  It's like saying, "ya know?"

Shout out to mi Hanna.....I've found our Squidward while running on the beach one morning!  What a peaceful place to find our guy!

sand art! Kalamardo!

Running along the "boardwalk"...yes...I took my camera when I went running. hehehe

The beach...I wish it was warm!

I love you allllllllll SO MUCH!!!!!!  Know that I'm well, ok? :)

Diane

La Venganza de la Mosca...coming soon to a theater near you!

"The Revenge of the Fly"

Instead of coming to a theater near me...it came straight to my living room while I was eating breakfast this morning!  And it happened to my host dad!  Pobrecito!  So...here's the story.  I sat down to eat breakfast after sleeping in this morning--I don't have class until 3:40pm today...and it's a gym class--Juegos Mapuches!  (I think I might be getting a cold or something so I tried to sleep a lot last night.)  Anyways...back to the story.  I had just poured my bowl of cereal and cut up my banana and then Cuyin (Julio, my host dad) noticed a huge fly!  He seemed so irritated by it, because I think it's been in the house for about a week now (I think it came in through my window because for about two days it was in my room).  He very quickly grabbed the bug spray/eliminator and tried to chase it down!  He's kinda older (he's 64), so he's not the most steady on his feet.  Then as he reached out to spray the fly, which was on the window...Cuyin lost his balance and slow-motion-fell onto a coffee table and the glass top and a glass picture frame broke as he came crashing down.  I just sat there at the table with eyes wide open unsure of what he was going to say or if he was okay.  As he's sitting on the floor he turns over his shoulder and looks at me and kind of just shrugs his shoulders and makes a face.  I quickly stand up and ask him if he's okay and help him up.  I go to the kitchen to get the broom.  He starts picking up the pieces of glass and putting them in a trash bag and I ask him..."and the fly?"  He responds, "it's laughing!"  I start helping him pick up things that had fallen and he insists that I just eat breakfast.  I tell him okay, but if he needs help, just to ask me.  I go back to sit down at the table.  He later says, "la venganza de la mosca!"...hahaha...I laugh!  As I finish eating and as he finishes cleaning up, he says, "Perdon por interrumpir tu desayuno." ("I'm sorry for interrupting your breakfast.")  My response, "Don't worry about!....fue entretenido (it was funny!)"  He cracked up!  All in all, he was a great sport about it.  Later from my room I called out to him, "Cuyin! La unica cosa que necesitamos es un video!" ("The only thing that we need is a video!")....he cracked up again and later said..."Una novedad!" (To be honest, I had to look up that word...but he meant..."A new feature film"...I think)  I laughed anyway...even though I wasn't sure what he meant...I do that a lot, actually.

Soooo.....please beware of la venganza de la mosca!

Día del Niño en el campo!

Hola todos!  I hope this post finds you happy and well!

I feel like I have so much to catch you all up on...I'll do my best not to bore you. :P

This past weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday at my host sister's house in Villa Alemana (a small town just outside of Viña del Mar).  It's basically like a suburb...but a bit smaller.  I got to spend Día del Niño with my little nieces and nephew plus the other neighbor kids!  Fun times!  Also, let me clear this up for you, "Día del Niño" means "Kid's Day"....just like Mother's Day or Father's Day.  Chile also has Kid's Day!  What lucky kids!  Why don't the States have this special day?!  At first I was like..."what?! the kids get another day to get spoiled! so not fair!"....then....a neighbor came over to the house to give my little relatives gifts and said something like, "Well, you know that kids are gifts to us so it's just right to give them gifts on this special day!"  So cute!

proof of this wonderful day

Meet Samuel (Sammy) y Estefania (Estefy).  We went to a plaza (park) on Sunday to celebrate their special day!  And of course I played with them.  Let's just say I was the biggest kid on the playground that day.

There were also "exercise machines" in the plaza...but...I don't think they did much.  (Gabe, this doesn't even compare to P90X or better yet...P90GABE.)

My personal trainer: Sammy!

Demonstrating the newest exercise on the market....turning wheels while wearing roller blades! hahhaa!

I was way too big for that platform...Estefy and I playing tictactoe.

Here are all my nieces/nephew...Estefy, Sammy, and Cami!  My gift to them on this special day: SILLY BANDS from the States!  They loved them!

Then we ate a delicious lunch that my host dad made...look he's still wearing his apron!

We jumped a lot of rope this weekend.  So much fun!  Learned a lot of new jumping-rope-songs in Spanish.  [Note to self: don't jump rope right after stuffing your belly with foooooood!]

Estefy instructed me to make the peace sign....much cooler that way. hehehe!

It was a great day with the sun shining bright!  These last couple days have been kind of gloomy...very cloudy...no sun...and cold.  Bekah, I've been getting the drippys so often!  I think of you whenever I get them.  Isn't that lovely?!?! eh?! heheheheh!

Welcome to my humble abode...

Hola!

So I realize I haven't shown you all pictures of my house yet!  It's actually an apartment, but we still call it our casa (house) in Spanish.  You don't have to read all the captions if you don't want to....sorry, I wrote a lot! 

My apartment complex is the building in the center of the photo...the one next to the big brick building (which is the hotel I was at the first days!)  It was funny when my host family picked me up, because they asked me, "Is it okay if we walk to the house--do you like walking?--it's not that far."  I was like, "Sure!"  Then we didn't even walk one block and there we were! HA!

My number is 42...so that's the 4th floor, right? well...there are also apartments in between flights...so I actually walk up 8 "flights" of steps!  Good exercise!

Notice that the door handle is in the center of the door!  And it doesn't turn--it's just used to pull the door closed.  Every time you open or close the door shut, you have to use your key.  Also, the black box looking thing on the wall next to the door is a garbage shoot!  Cool, huh?

here is looking down the hallway to the left when you walk in (but I'm standing in the living room, not in front of the door.)

here is looking to the right when standing in front of the apartment door.  Notice that the fridge is, well, in the living room!  (you'll find out why next!)

This is the kitchen!  Tiny (wouldn't fit a fridge!) but nice!  I made it my chore to wash the dishes after meals.  (Thanks mom for teaching me how to wash dishes! hehehe!)  My host parents always say that I don't have to wash, but I insist that it's no problem at all and that I actually want to do it!  They made me promise them that once I start having homework that I will let them wash the dishes. hahaha...so cute!

here's looking out of the kitchen across the hall at the front door.

Here's a glimpse of the lovely veggies and fruit we eat tons of!

This is the heater----that heats the water (not the house)!  You have to light it with a match if you want hot water, and yes, we want hot water (especially for the shower in the morning!).  

The view from the kitchen window.

Back to the living room...my host mom and her brother painted that painting!

Two nights ago, it was me and my host parents on that couch watching the news at night.  They both dozed off and started snoring! hahaha! Then they woke up and my host dad said he was "thinking" and my host mom was just cracking up, because she always makes fun of Julio for snoring, and there she was...snoring too!

here's the inside of the fridge! "Cribs" style!

Fruta!!! My host dad makes the bomb orange-banana smoothie/juice!

In the bottom cabinets are all the dishes!  Very convenient!  If we forget something, we hardly have to get up from the table...hehehe.

There's always instant coffee and tea...and hot water in thermoses.  It's one way to warm up in the house!

view from the living room window to the right

view to the left.  Beautiful day out today!!

Bathroom/Laundry room!

You can't flush the toilet paper down the toilets here....being in Mexico has prepared me for this...among many other things, of course.

HOLA!  The basket behind me is where I put my stuff. :)

The shower!--don't worry, the window isn't open when your actually taking a shower.  There are shower curtains on both sides of the shower...the one hanging out the window is drying off. 

My host parent's room and my host mom!  She's was looking for a piece of paper that had someones phone number on it...so it's a little messy right now. :)

There's that cutie again!  Always smiling!  That's also her desk where she prepares for class.  She makes jewelry and teaches classes as well!

Some of the jewelry she has made!

Finally...my room! (HOPE FRIENDS: notice the gray blanket on my bed!?!? YES, I brought the wheelchair race prize that I am sooo proud of to Chile!)

Here's the window...my towel is hanging out to dry!  It looks like such a nice warm sunny day, with the window open and all...but trust me...it's chilly here!  It's better to open the windows during the day to let the cold air OUT of the house and to let the sun in!  Weird, huh?  (You like the little bear carpet!? When my mom first showed me the room she said that it's welcoming me into my new room! So cute!)

not that great of a view...but hey...that sun feels sooooo good coming in from the window!  The fresh air is always nice too!

Looking out the window to the right.

And...my closet!  Perfect, eh!?

And to end, here's a picture from last night!  My friend from CIEE, Melissa, ate over and we had a great dinner!  Here are my host parents showing off the food!

Wednesday was my first day of classes.  I had Psychology of the Adolescent and then the literature class at the University.  For the psych class...it was just me and another American (friend from CIEE)!  No Chileans showed up!  I guess that's normal for the first day/week of classes.  The class is supposed to last about 2 1/2- 3 hours so she said that for next week we should come an hour or so late, because she will have to explain everything she already did to the Chileans and she doesn't want us to have to sit through it again.  She was super nice, easy to understand, she studied in France so she is very understanding of us as foreigners.  I think that class is going to be great--once the Chileans show up! 

Yesterday, I had my Juegos Mapuches gym class and this time...the professor didn't show up!  So no class!

Today, I have my first camping class at 5:20pm.  There are some other CIEE kids taking that class, so it should be fun to take it with them along with Chileans! :)

OH!  Also, one more thing!  I went out for the first time this week!  We went with a HUGE group of foreigners and the student helpers from the University to a bar/club type thing.  There was dancing and it was fun.  I came back home early with two other girls---early, meaning, 1:30am.  YES, that was early!  Chileans go until like 6am!!!!!  I could never do that!  I went right to bed when I got home and the next morning woke up and went running down by the beach!  Oh, the joys of having fun without drinking...aka...without a hangover.  Going out was fun...it was an experience...but it wasn't as much fun as playing cranium with Hanna!!! hehehehehe!!!!!  Tonight it is someone's bday so we're going to go salsa dancing!  Yay!

If there's anything that you want me to post about....let me know!

Hasta luego!